BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: January 29, 2024

Welcome to my Monday Newsletter. This week, I am looking at the new limited series Expats, Masters of the Air and Griselda, the latest episode of True Detective: Night Country and more!

EXPATS

There were three big premieres this past week but none of them were super exciting to me personally. The one I enjoyed most though was Expats, a Prime Video limited series based on the 2016 novel The Expatriates. The series, set in an expatriate community in Hong Kong, follows the interconnected lives of three women (Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, & Ji-young Yoo). 

The first two episodes were not perfect by any means but they interested me enough to definitely keep watching. I was frustrated in the first episode when the characters just kept talking around an event that was meant to be a secret from the audience. This isn't some mystery box show, I don't think it needed to keep what happened a secret until nearly the end of the second episode. And the very obvious vagueness in dialogue to keep the actual event a secret got irritating after awhile. It was wholly unnecessary. Obviously something happened to Kidman's son, obviously it had to do with Yoo's character. Why the need to keep it such a secret? I also wasn't convinced that a series that only has six episodes needed to spend an entire episode in a flashback. 

BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: January 22, 2024

Welcome to my Monday newsletter! Today I am looking at Death and Other Details, the season finale of Fargo, the latest episode of True Detective: Night Country, the Emmys and more!

DEATH AND OTHER DETAILS

There's a whole lot of murder mysteries premiering in January on TV. One of the ones that interested me most going in was Death and Other Details, a dramedy set aboard a luxury cruise ship. After watching the first two episodes, which premiered on Hulu this past Tuesday, I'm still somewhat intrigued but my enthusiasm was dampened somewhat by two uneven episodes to kick off the series.

There's a strong cast here led by the Violett Beane and the great Mandy Patinkin along with strong supporting actors such as Jayne Atkinson and Jere Burns. When I put this show on my Most Anticipated list, I drew comparisons to The White Lotus because it's a murder mystery in a luxurious setting. But this certainly doesn't aim as high as Lotus and yet it takes itself more seriously. There's some odd tonal issues in the first two episodes. Sometimes it seems to want to be a super fun, unserious murder mystery. Other times, it seems to want to explore trauma and deeper issues. The former is much more enjoyable than the latter.

BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: January 15, 2024

Happy Emmys Day! This week's Newsletter includes a review of True Detective: Night Country, a preview of the Drama categories at the Emmys, thoughts on the season finales of For All Mankind and The Curse, the latest episode of Fargo and more!

TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY

I actually haven't watched any of the True Detective seasons. It's always been on my list but as the reaction to the second and third season was more muted, I just never got around to it. So I can't comment at all on how the fourth installment, Night Country, compares to previous seasons. But I thought the first episode of Night Country was strong and I look forward to watching the rest of the season. The first episode does a great job with mood setting. It starts on the last day of daylight in Northern Alaska and then continues when Alaska is dark 24 hours a day (hence the "Night Country"). The feel of constant night seems to be a major part of this season given the name but it also helps tremendously with mood-setting.

BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: January 8, 2024

Welcome to my weekly newsletter! This week I am looking at the Emmy race in the comedy categories as well as the latest episodes of Fargo, For All Mankind, The Curse and more!

EMMYS COMEDY PREVIEW

Last week, I looked at the Limited Series races for the upcoming Emmys (January 15). Here are my predictions & wishes in the main comedy categories!

Outstanding Comedy Series

Will Win: The Bear

Should Win: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Should Have Been Nominated: Poker Face

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Will/Should Win: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear

Should Have Been Nominated: Drew Tarver, The Other Two

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Will Win: Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary

Should Win: Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Should Have Been Nominated: Bridget Everett, Somebody Somewhere

BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: January 1, 2024

Happy New Year! In a very busy newsletter today, I am looking at my most anticipated shows for 2024, the Limited Series race at the upcoming Emmys, For All Mankind, The Curse, The Crown, Fargo, Dr. Death and more!

MY TOP 10 MOST ANTICIPATED SHOWS OF 2024

As we begin 2024, there should be no shortage of TV with the strikes resolved. We may not get back to pre-strike Peak TV but there will be plenty to watch. Here are my Top 10 Most Anticipated Shows of 2024. To be considered for this list, it had to be new or an anthology. So even though I can't wait for a returning show like Abbott Elementary in February, I did not include it on this list. 

Honorable Mentions: Ripley (Netflix, TBD), Griselda (Netflix, Jan 25), The Penguin (Max, TBD), Apples Never Fall (Peacock, March), Shogun (FX/Hulu, Feb 27), Sugar (Apple TV+, TBD)

10. Agatha: Darkhold Diaries (Disney+, TBD) - I have enjoyed exactly one Marvel show in the history of Marvel TV shows and that was WandaVision. Some of it was the TV spoofing they were doing. But it was also Kathryn Hahn's portrayal of Agatha. So a spinoff starring Hahn will at least get me to tune in.

9. Death and Other Details (Hulu, January 16) - A murder mystery set in an exotic location certainly gives off The White Lotus vibes. While I would never expect this one to be as good, it has a great cast led by Mandy Patinkin that gives me hope.

8. Masters of the Air (Apple TV+, January 26) - In general, I am not a huge fan of military dramas. But this looks to be sparing no expense and it's set in a time period that I find more interesting than modern day military dramas. So I'm definitely going in with a hopeful and open mind.