Welcome to my Monday newsletter. This week, I am looking at Disclaimer, the fourth season of Abbott Elementary and the end of the first season of Bad Monkey. Also I have some quick thoughts on English Teacher, Only Murders in the Building and American Sports Story!
Disclaimer is a new star-studded limited series on Apple TV+ and it comes from acclaimed filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron. In press for the show, Cuaron has committed the cardinal sin of calling it a "seven hour movie" which TV fans (including this one) hate to here. There's a reason TV is a different medium than movies. There needs to be an episodic nature to them even when they are serialized stories and there's a reason very few people want to watch a seven hour movie. I feel like when people like Cuaron (or others in the past including lots of Marvel people) say things like that, they truly feel like they are saying something that would be enticing to people but it has the exact opposite effect.
However, the good thing about an auteur filmmaker like Cuaron doing TV is you know you are going to get something beautifully shot and that is the case with Disclaimer. I have my concerns about the story but there's no denying that it is very well shot. The cast is top notch too, particularly Kevin Kline. He is captivating in every scene he's in and was easily the best part of the first two episodes. Sacha Baron Cohen is almost unrecognizable in this and Lesley Manville has a small role (so far) that is interesting. As for the lead performance, I'm going to withhold judgment on what I think of Cate Blanchett. Despite being the star, she's not given a ton to do in the first two episodes with so much setup (more on that below) and I do like Blanchett generally so we'll see.
My biggest critique is this is a prestige glow over what basically amounts to a tawdry sex scandal plot. Like, everything is treated as life and death and granted there is some death in the show. But it just feels like insanely high stakes for what appears to be a relatively contained story between the couple families at the center of it. I'm not saying something specific can't have universal truths but there just seems to be something a little bit jarring about the seriousness this is given. Like, if you take away the auteur director and the flashy production values, what really is there? Anything more than a sleazy plot from a much lesser show? Maybe you could make that argument often about prestige TV but this just has that Apple feel of a glossy, expensive drama that is missing a heart and soul.
Abbott Elementary returned for its fourth season this week. As I noted multiple times on this blog, I thought the third season started really strong with Janine working for the district. But I thought it was real clumsy in bringing her back to Abbott and the show never really recovered as the end of the third season was the weakest stretch the show has had. I also could take or leave the Janine and Gregory "will they or won't they." Though I love Quinta Brunson and Tyler James Williams on the show, I am not obsessed with the two of them as a pair.
But I'm happy to report that the fourth season kicked off with a sharp, funny and self-assured first episode. Spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn't caught up yet. The show made the decision to keep Janine and Gregory together so they are dating as the season begins and there's some funny moments with HR that harkens back to when The Office found out about Jim and Pam dating. Though I'm lukewarm on the central couple, I'm happy to see the show heading in a different direction with these two characters and I hope they just let them be together for awhile
I'm not sure how much the golf course storyline will permeate through the season, but I do think it potentially has some legs, particularly with the culture clash that was addressed in the cold open. It also feels like we haven't seen the last of Matt Oberg as the smarmy lawyer for the golf course. There were definitely some Parks and Rec Eagleton vibes in this story. I know I've compared this premiere to both The Office and Parks so far but I'd take that as a compliment since those are two of the best to ever do the mockumentary. Most importantly, the Abbott cast just was firing on all cylinders and playing well off each other to start the season. Hopefully it will continue that momentum through the whole season this time and not just the first half.
Bad Monkey wrapped up this week and I have mixed feelings about the season overall. There were parts I absolutely loved and that starts with the performances. Vince Vaughn, Meredith Hagner, Rob Delaney and Natalie Martinez among others were just doing dynamite work week-in and week-out. Perhaps the best part though was the vibes for this show. I haven't been to the Florida Keys but it felt so authentically set in the Keys and it really felt like it lived in its world, whether that was the Keys, Miami or the Bahamas. It was the perfect summer show as far as vibes went.
But as summer turned to fall, my biggest fear about the show started to become realized. The story just simply wasn't big enough to last a ten episode season. I mentioned this before when talking about the show. But this is a series that I think screamed to be a "case of the week" show. A high caliber, high production value version of a procedural like Poker Face. Because Vaughn was so capable of carrying the show and the series was so sure of itself in its setting, it didn't need a very nuanced plot. It could coast on the "murder of the week" and be an incredibly enjoyable show.
I hope this gets a second season and I imagine they'll do another season-long case with many new cast members joining the fold. But I'd love to consider them taking things in a different direction and building up the best parts of the show.
SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
It's a busy week for premieres with the CBS premiere week as well as a few high profile streaming premieres. The fun kicks off on Monday with the 22nd (!) season premiere of NCIS on CBS followed by its new prequel series, NCIS: Origins, which has a two hour premiere. This will take the place of NCIS: Hawaii to keep at least two NCIS shows on the air, like there has been since 2009. On Tuesday, CBS has the trio of FBI shows premiering: FBI (Season 7), FBI: International (Season 4) and FBI: Most Wanted (Season 6). Also premiering on Tuesday is a five episode fourth season of American Horror Stories on FX/Hulu. Wednesday has the second season premiere of Shrinking on Apple TV+, which is one of their more acclaimed shows. Wednesday also has the eighth season premiere of Sistas on BET. On Thursday, CBS has the premiere of its Young Sheldon spinoff Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage followed by the fourth season of Ghosts. After the timeslot premiere of Matlock is the second season premiere of Elsbeth. If Georgie & Mandy is any good, I am all in on this entire CBS lineup. Also on Thursday is the third season of The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix as well as the premiere of comedy The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh on Prime Video. On Friday, CBS has the return of S.W.A.T. for Season 8 and Fire Country for Season 3 followed by the final run of episodes of longtime Friday stalwart Blue Bloods. Friday night also has the return of Reba McEntire to network TV with NBC's Happy's Place followed by the third season premiere of Lopez vs. Lopez. Also premiering on Friday is Peacock's Satanic Panic series Hysteria! and Hulu's limited series Rivals. The week rounds out with the return of The Equalizer on CBS.
ODDS & ENDS
- Both English Teacher and Only Murders in the Building went out of their main location this week. English Teacher's episode was set at a Dallas teachers conference and had some real honest dialogue about teacher burnout. It was probably the least funny episode of the season but sharp in its observations. Only Murders headed to Long Island as the main trio went into hiding while others joined them. It had some things to like (Melissa McCarthy had a solid guest appearance) but I have to say it. I just don't like Meryl Streep on this show. Her character has just never worked for me and I became less interested in the episode once she showed up.
- I've been waiting to see the New England Patriots episodes of American Sports Story because I follow the NFL a whole lot more than college football. Of all the Ryan Murphy shows this fall, I do think Sports has been the best one. Each week has had some compelling moments and star Josh Andres Rivera is really strong in this show as Aaron Hernandez. He has managed to find the right balance of making the audience love him and also feel frustrated by him. While some of the Patriots characters (Laith Wallschleger's Rob Gronkowski) are caricatures and others (Tom Brady) are pretty much non-existent, I found Norbert Leo Butz's portrayal of Bill Belichick to be fascinating. He has some of the mannerisms down pat but also seems to be making some bold acting choices. I don't love it all but I think it's all interesting.
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