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!
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.
The Drama and Limited Series categories were less surprising. Shogun was dominating just as it was at the Creative Arts Emmys with wins for Series, Lead Actor, Lead Actress and Directing. But it did have a surprise loss in Writing to Slow Horses. Baby Reindeer came up big with wins for Limited Series, Lead Actor, Supporting Actress and Writing. It lost Directing to the very deserving Ripley and the most out-of-nowhere win went to Lamorne Morris for Fargo. While deserving, I didn't think he stood a chance.
As for the ceremony itself, I felt like it was a little lackluster. Eugene and Dan Levy were serviceable but not particularly memorable. There wasn't any incredible speech moment and I felt like there were some clunky transitions. I like these cast reunions they have done at the last two ceremonies but the scripted bits are real lame.
Hulu's new Natasha Rothwell dramedy How to Die Alone premiered on Friday with its first four episodes. With my very busy weekend, I have only been able to watch the first two so far. There are things I like about it but overall, I'm having trouble with the tone of the show. It reminds me a bit of the early episodes of Somebody Somewhere, a show I grew to like quite a bit so we'll see if that happens here. I absolutely loved Rothwell in The White Lotus and look forward to her return to the show in the third season. But I'm not quite sure she has the charisma to carry a show. A lot of these star-driven true to life "comedies" like the aforementioned Somebody Somewhere as well as Better Things, Ramy, Woke and others (all descendants of Louie) need to rely on the central performer and their sensibilities. At least through two episodes, I'm having a hard time picking up on Rothwell's vibe and tone because it feels a little under-cooked or scattershot.
Rothwell is not being helped much by her supporting cast. The rest of the characters are pretty bland including Conrad Ricamora as best friend Rory and Jocko Sims and ex Alex. One of the things that helped the early episodes of Somebody Somewhere was the dynamic between Bridget Everett and her on-screen friends. Even though the show was finding its footing, there was a real natural chemistry there. These actors are not giving Rothwell much and she's not reciprocating much. I didn't get the sense that they were friends or that they have dated.
This review sounds really negative when I read it back but I'm still optimistic with six episodes left to watch. I think Rothwell has the chops. I'm hopeful the show can smooth out its rough edges. There were glimmers (the show had a great heart/humor moment in the first episode in a hospital room) but it wasn't enough for me yet through two episodes.
SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
We really get going with fall shows this week with a flurry of premieres, several of them high profile. Tonight, ABC has the first new drama of the season with Kaitlin Olsen's High Potential, a series originally slated for last season. Tonight also has the premiere of American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez on FX, the first installment in a potential new anthology series. On Wednesday, Disney+ has the long-awaited premiere of Agatha All Along, coming nearly four years after Kathryn Hahn's breakout character on WandaVision. Thursday is a big day with four premieres led by HBO's unusual Thursday debut of The Penguin starring Colin Farrell. The series will move to Sundays after a Thursday premiere as it seems HBO is just dipping its toes into airing shows on Thursdays. Thursday also has the next installment of Netflix's Monster with Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. This is coming seven years after NBC told the same story with Law & Order: True Crime. Netflix also has the premiere of the animated Twilight of the Gods on the same day while Paramount+ has the second season premiere of its Frasier revival. The week wraps up with two drama sneak peeks after NFL games. FOX has a preview of lifeguard drama Rescue: Hi-Surf one day ahead of its regular Monday slot while CBS has a sneak peek of Kathy Bates' Matlock, which won't air regularly until October 17.
ODDS & ENDS
- I'm so impressed with how quickly English Teacher has figured out what it is. The characters and their relationships feel so authentic and they are in a groove that usually takes comedies much longer than a couple episodes to figure out. The third episode had some really funny moments (including the entire "asymptomatic Tourette's" bit) but the line reading of the year on any show belonged to guest star Jimmy Fowlie as a waiter who, exasperated, sat down at the table with "I literally have Covid." Doesn't sound funny to read but the line delivery and context was brilliant.
- I thought The Perfect Couple ended acceptably enough for the type of show it was. The show tried way too hard to make everyone a suspect so the reveal of the killer didn't really pack a punch. However, the final episode was the closest the show got to having the right tone. The scene with Liev Schreiber's Tag practicing his rehab speech followed by Nicole Kidman's Greer holding a family meeting was funny and well done. The show finally seemed to embrace the absurdity of the family more than it had in the first five episodes (save for the stellar theme song). Overall though, this show felt very disjointed and unfocused and while it was a breezy binge, I have a feeling I'm going to forget about it very quickly.
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