BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: November 25, 2024

Welcome to a pretty quick newsletter - it was a very busy week! This week, I am looking at A Man on the Inside and a few brief thoughts on What We Do in the Shadows and Silo.

The blog will be off next week but will return December 9 with the start of my end of year Top 10 lists!

"A MAN ON THE INSIDE"

It's always weird to write about Netflix shows on the blog because I'm sure many reading this have already binged the entire season of A Man on the Inside and I've only seen three episodes so far due to the aforementioned busy week. So I'll keep this review relatively short except to say that Mike Schur and Ted Danson have done it again. Schur's brand of comedy is one of my favorites and he rarely misses especially as a showrunner (some of his producing credits are less great). And Danson is just a TV icon at this point.

The premise of A Man on the Inside: putting Danson undercover in a retirement home is about as perfect a setup for those two as there can be. Schur excels at ensemble comedies that blend humor with heart and the ensemble of this nursing home really delivers the ensemble comedy while the sentimentality of aging brings the heart. And Danson has such a congenial presence that he just exudes charisma and charm. 

BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: November 18, 2024

Welcome to my weekly newsletter! This week, I am looking at Landman, St. Denis Medical and the second season of Silo. Plus I have thoughts on Disclaimer, American Sports Story and more!

"LANDMAN"

Unlike many, there hasn't really been a Taylor Sheridan show I've enjoyed. I have never seen Yellowstone. I watched a whole season of 1923 and Tulsa King but didn't love either one. I didn't finish 1883 and never even tried Lioness. But I was drawn to Landman because I thought the premise was interesting and I was particularly intrigued by the all-star cast. 

This is definitely a soapy drama but I quite enjoyed the first two episodes. It definitely feels a bit like a modern day Dallas meets Friday Night Lights. It's not as focused on the fabulously wealthy oil barons as Dallas was and gives more attention to the "boots on the ground" and of course it's not as endearing as Lights, but I feel like those two shows are at least starting points for the vibe as long as you understand I'm not saying this is anywhere as good as Lights. The main reason to watch this show is Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris. He's chewing scenery but doing it in a real delightful way. His interactions with his daughter, Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) and ex-wife, Angela (Ali Larter) were the highlights of the first two episodes even if the show veered a little too far into voyeuristic territory with the Ainsley character.

BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: November 4, 2024

Welcome to my weekly newsletter. It was a quiet week for premieres and next week is even more quiet so I will take a week off from the newsletter next week and return on November 18! This week, I am looking at Season 2 of The Diplomat and giving some quick thoughts on other shows.

"THE DIPLOMAT" SEASON 2

The Diplomat returned for its second season this week. The season is a brisk six episodes. I've gotten to the first three of them. I'm sure many have finished the season but these thoughts are only on the first three episodes. I enjoyed the first season of The Diplomat, particularly the performances of Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell but I found myself not really remembering a lot about it by the time the second season rolled around. So I was glad for the lengthy "previously on" that Netflix gave us. But as it started to come back to me, I felt like the show spent much of the first two episodes sort of resetting the table from its explosive (pardon the pun) finale.

It wasn't until the third season where I felt the show was settling into its plot for the second season. And therein lies the problem with these short seasons. Back when broadcast dramas used to be more serialized, it wouldn't have mattered if they spent an episode or two following up to a finale and getting things clear and reset for a new season. There were still 20 episodes to go! But here we have the third episode finally getting things going and there's only three episodes left. I am not necessarily advocating for serialized dramas to go back to 22 episodes a year because we all know they can run out of stories quickly. But getting back to 10 or 13 for most of these types of dramas would be really nice.