BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: September 17, 2024

Welcome to my (one day late) newsletter1 This week, I am recapping the Emmy Awards plus sharing thoughts on How to Die Alone and more!

EMMY AWARDS RECAP

The Emmy Awards were held Sunday night and it was an interesting night with some predictable results and some big surprises. of course the surprise everyone is talking about is Hacks winning over The Bear. While there was backlash to The Bear's third season and its continuous placement in the Comedy field, the win for Hacks was surprising because The Bear won many awards earlier in the night including Lead Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Directing. But the overall prize went to Hacks, a show that's much more of a comedy coming off a delightful third season and also had a third win for Jean Smart as well as Writing. And even though voters were supposed to be voting for the second season of The Bear, it was clear from the series loss and Liza Colon Zayas' win that the third season was very much on the mind of voters. That Supporting Actress award really should have been Hannah Einbinder's considering how Hacks did overall and Zayas had her showcase in the third season, which is eligible next year. Oh the weirdness of the streaming calendar with the Emmys window.

BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: September 9, 2024

Welcome to my Monday newsletter! This week has an Emmy Awards preview, thoughts on English Teacher and The Perfect Couple and more!

EMMY AWARDS PREVIEW

The Emmy Awards are this Sunday! Here's my look at what will win, should win and should have been nominated in the major categories. Among the series races, I think Shogun is the only lock. The other two frontrunners could be upset. The Bear seems likely to win especially if voters kept it in their heads that they were voting for Season 2. But if some voters take into account their dislike for Season 3, that could hurt the chances for The Bear and give a lane to Hacks to win. Meanwhile, in the Limited Series category, Baby Reindeer seems like too big a phenomenon to not win. But the offscreen controversies surrounding the show could hurt it. If that happens, it seems like the Emmy could go to either True Detective: Night Country or Fargo, or maybe even the very deserving Ripley. 

Outstanding Comedy Series

Will/Should Win: The Bear

Should Have Been Nominated: The Righteous Gemstones

Outstanding Drama Series

Will Win: Shogun

Should Win: Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Should Have Been Nominated: Elsbeth

Outstanding Limited Series

Will Win: Baby Reindeer

Should Win: Ripley

Should Have Been Nominated: None - these are the five I would have nominated!

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Will/Should Win: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear

Should Have Been Nominated: Kayvan Novak, What We Do in the Shadows

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Will/Should Win: Jean Smart, Hacks

Should Have Been Nominated: Rose Byrne, Platonic

BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: September 2, 2024

My Monday newsletter is back as we head into the fall! Today I am looking at my most anticipated fall shows, reviewing summer TV and sharing some thoughts on the newest season of Only Murders in the Building!

TOP 10 MOST ANTICIPATED NEW FALL SHOWS

This fall feels a lot more like a normal fall after last year's strike-affected fall season. And after a rough summer of new TV (see more on that below), there are some really interesting shows coming over the next couple months! Here's a look at my Top 10 most anticipated new shows of the fall season!

10. The Perfect Couple (Netflix, September 5)

I'm a little leery of this one because I've grown tired of watching Nicole Kidman play wealthy white women with major first world problems. But I'm intrigued by the rest of the cast, which includes Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning and Meghann Fahy, the latter whom I absolutely loved on the second season of The White Lotus. It looks very soapy but also looks interesting enough for me to give it a try and hope it is one of the better versions of that type of show.

9. Agatha All Along (Disney+, September 18)

Unlike some other shows on this list, my interest is this show dropped after seeing the trailer. I loved Kathryn Hahn on WandaVision so even though I'm not much of a Marvel guy, I was very intrigued by this show. But I thought the trailer looked pretty bad. The production values look like cheap CGI and Hahn seems to be missing all the pizazz she had on WandaVision. Still, this show has Aubrey Plaza, Patti LuPone, Debra Jo Rupp and others in the supporting cast. I'm still definitely giving it a try but I'm much more apprehensive.

8. Nobody Wants This (Netflix, September 26)

This show was on my radar but I became a little more interested after seeing the trailer. Kristen Bell and Adam Brody are both very likable actors and the premise, about an agnostic woman who falls for a rabbi, has potential. It seems very much like a rom-com movie of the 90s but that's not a bad thing. It's nice to see the rom-com genre getting two leads in their 40s and there doesn't seem to be some unnecessary hook or deep dark secret here. I think it could be a very pleasant watch.

7. Matlock (CBS, September 22)

I really enjoy Kathy Bates so even though this show is way outside my demographic, I think it'll be a really solid legal show. Elsbeth revived my hope that network procedurals can still have some fun and this seems like a really good pair with Elsbeth on Thursday nights. I loved Bates in the otherwise troubled Harry's Law and she will certainly be a force here. Kathy Bates in a legal drama procedural on CBS just goes down easy. It may not be as ambitious as some of the other shows on this list, but it certainly could be some nice comfort food TV.

6. How to Die Alone (Hulu, September 13)

This was a show that was not on my radar at all until I saw the trailer. Now it's definitely a show I'm curious about. I loved Natasha Rothwell on The White Lotus and this seems to be a show with distinct voice and vision (coming from Rothwell). The story, about a JFK employee who tries to turn her life around after a near-death experience, has a promising plot to be able to explore relationships and I thought the trailer had a lot of fun and sweet moments. It could be a surprise this fall.