Welcome to my Monday Newsletter! This week, I am looking at Ripley and Sugar and kicking off my Emmys Preview with the Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series race. Plus, I have some thoughts on Loot, Palm Royale, The Girls on the Bus and more!
I've watched half of the season of Ripley, which dropped all eight episodes on Netflix last Thursday after a long and torturous road to getting on the air. The project was announced for Showtime way back in Fall 2019. Filming in Italy was delayed due to COVID and then after the series had been filmed, Netflix ended up picking up the show from Showtime as the premium channel's priorities changed. The show doesn't really feel like a current era Showtime show but it also doesn't really feel like a Netflix show.
I don't really care where it fits though because I really enjoyed the four episodes I watched and can't wait to watch the rest of the series. The series, which is set in the 1960s and mostly in Italy, is famously shot completely in black and white and it is STUNNING. It is one of the best looking series I have seen in a long time and the black and white filming, which might feel like a gimmick in lesser hands, is the perfect choice for the type of story the show wants to tell. The show was a little slow moving at first (the second episode was my least favorite of the four) but once the plot got going in the third episode, it really put it all together. Before that, it was coasting a bit on vibes but the vibes were so good, I hardly cared.
Andrew Scott is taking on the Mr. Ripley role in this and he's giving a really interesting portrayal compared to the more charismatic performances in the past. Scott is really playing up the sociopathic elements of the role as he hardly seems to be enjoying his con game. There are lots of scenes with Scott doing mundane tasks and yet he makes it very interesting and dark. The supporting performances, including Johnny Flynn and Dakota Fanning, are strong too but this is really Scott's show. I plan to finish the show over the next week so I'll probably have more thoughts in next week's newsletter.
The other big premiere last week was Apple TV+'s Sugar, a noir crime drama starring Colin Farrell as private detective John Sugar. He is investigating the disappearance of the granddaughter of movie mogul Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell). The series apparently has a big twist about halfway through its first season. I have my guesses but it wasn't revealed in the first two episodes, which dropped on Apple TV+ at the end of last week.
As far as what we did see, it seemed to be a show that isn't quite sure how much to lean into its tone and style. There were fun jazzy credits and the show slips into black and white moments from time to time (which was interesting since I watched it back to back with Ripley). The voiceover from Farrell definitely has the feel of a jazzy crime noir drama. The second episode really leaned into the old-fashioned movies framework. But none of these choices are done with any consistency and, as a result, they don't even seem to have a point sometime. At least with Ripley, the stylistic choices are there all the time. Like it or hate it, it knows exactly what it wants to be as a show. This show seems to be throwing a bunch of things at the wall to see what sticks.
On the plus side, this show has Colin Farrell, who overcomes some pedestrian writing and typical missing person case tropes with his charisma and style. He is creating a character much better than the show around him is. There's some other strong performances too from Amy Ryan to James Cromwell to Dennis Boutsikaris. I'm hopeful for Nate Corddry too though he didn't have a ton to do in the first two episodes. Right now, Farrell's scenes with Kirby Howell-Baptiste seem to slow momentum down, but I have a feeling that will change. We'll see what happens with the twist but I couldn't help but wonder if this show may have been better off as a case of the week show. The case as it stands doesn't seem capable of propping up a whole season.
Each week from now until July 15 (Emmy nominations come out July 17), I will be taking a look at one of the major Emmy categories (series & lead/supporting actors and actresses in Comedy, Drama and Limited Series). This week I am looking at Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series!
With Ted Lasso, Barry and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel out of the way, the comedy categories seem destined to be dominated by three shows: The Bear, Hacks and Abbott Elementary. It wouldn't be surprising to see five or six or even all seven slots in this category taken up by actors from those shows. That will include last year's winner and this year's frontrunner Ebon Moss-Bachrach from The Bear. But that show could also get Oliver Platt, Matty Matheson and Lionel Boyce in. Maybe even all four actors get in if The Bear really cleans up. Chris Perfetti, William Stanford Davis and 2022 & 2023 nominee Tyler James Williams from Abbott Elementary and Paul W. Downs and surprise 2021 nominee Carl Clemons-Hopkins from Hacks could round out the category with Williams nearly as much of a lock as Moss-Bachrach. The only other potential returning nominees are Saturday Night Live actors Bowen Yang and Kenan Thompson but SNL actors have seemingly been losing favor with nominations. If SNL makes a comeback, I wouldn't rule out James Austin Johnson either. Among potential nominees from other shows, the best bet is probably Paul Rudd for his well-liked arc on Only Murders in the Building. After that, we're really looking at dark horses and spoilers. That could include Harvey Guillen or Mark Proksch for What We Do in the Shadows, but that show has never been able to get attention for its actors. There's also JB Smoove for the ending Curb Your Enthusiasm, but that seems unlikely. Real dark horses include Ricky Martin or Josh Lucas if Palm Royale somehow hits it big or Brandon Scott Jones if Ghosts could ever get some attention.
Current Projected Nominees (ranked in order of confidence):
1. Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear
2. Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary
3. Oliver Platt, The Bear
4. Lionel Boyce, The Bear
5. Paul Rudd, Only Murders in the Building
6. Paul W. Downs, Hacks
7. Matty Matheson, The Bear
Possible Spoilers:
8. Chris Perfetti, Abbott Elementary
9. Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live
10. Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Hacks
SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
Once again, it's a quiet start to the week before things get busier at the end. On Thursday, Prime Video drops all eight episodes of its highly anticipated video game adaptation Fallout. The decision to drop it all at once is surprising for something this high profile but Prime also did that recently with Mr. & Mrs. Smith. On Friday, Apple TV+ has the premiere of the Michael Douglas-led limited series Franklin, starring Douglas as Benjamin Franklin. Also on Friday, Netflix has the premiere of Good Times, an animated adaptation of the hit 70s sitcom. The trailer has gotten very mixed reception online so far. Finally on Sunday, HBO has the premiere of The Sympathizer, which has a buzzy supporting performance from recent Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr. It will try to be much more in the conversation than its HBO Sunday 9pm predecessor The Regime.
ODDS & ENDS
- I watched the first two episodes of the second season of Loot. Just like the first season, this is a show that I find to be completely... fine. There are a few good moments and it's clearly trying to expand its world and ensemble as so many comedies do in their second season. But it rarely has a truly funny moment. It still feels like a show finding its way except I'm becoming more convinced this is all it's ever going to be. Again, not bad. But just... fine.
- It felt this week like Palm Royale took a turn towards a Big Little Lies type of plot. I'm continuing to enjoy the performances but I still feel like it doesn't have a consistent tone. I like when it is satirical and poking fun at extravagant living. I'm less interested when the shows zeroes in on some of its mysteries involving the lead characters. And the fifth episode this week had a whole lot more of the latter than the former. I'll continue to praise Carol Burnett though, who is just doing such great work.
- We are halfway through the season for The Girls on the Bus and I definitely like it more than I did at the beginning of the season. The actresses are adding some dimensions and growing into their parts and connections with each other. I think this week had some interesting things to say about what it's like for female reporters and the work/life balance. I still am wishing there wasn't that weird flash forward in the first episode because it feels like it's building towards something it doesn't need to. It does feel like no one is talking about this show though.
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