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 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.
On the plus side, the things that worked about the show's first season are still working. Russell and Sewell are fascinating to watch together with some genuine disdain coupled with the history they have together. There were elements of that in Russell's previous on-screen marriage on The Americans but this one feels more like a powder keg which is fun to watch. I think a lot of the supporting cast is solid too. The third episode (the 4th of July one) had a nice episodic feel, which I'm always a fan of. I'm excited to watch the rest of the season.
This would normally go in my Odds & Ends section but since it was a very quiet week, I'm going to share some thoughts about ongoing shows here!
- The fourth season of Only Murders in the Building came to an end this week. I think it was a slight step up from the third season but I ultimately haven't really loved this show since the first season. I just always feel a little underwhelmed by it. I think it overdoes the guest stars and I feel like it could be funnier, but I think the biggest problem is I haven't found the season-long mystery compelling since the first season. I debated not continuing to watch after the third season but then the fourth season launched at a quiet time for new TV. So when Season 5 arrives might have an impact on if I continue.
- Elsbeth broke a bit from format this week by not necessarily giving away what happened with the killer at the beginning of the episode. Despite a fun guest turn from Brittany O'Grady, I'm not sure the switch work because it became more about unfolding the "who" instead of the "why" and "how." But it also wasn't a surprise at all who was involved so I think the show works better when the audience is one step ahead.
- The Halloween episodes of Abbott Elementary and Ghosts were both fun. Props to Janelle James rocking it as Blade and the hilarious recurring joke of Melissa and the guinea pig. Ghosts did a different spin on their usual Halloween show but it was a very clever plot, I just wish it was a little more Halloween-y. It brought a good end (for now?) to the Patience story.
- I thought What We Do in the Shadows was so funny this week. The railroad plot was just a classic type of situation for this show.
- I hope Damon Wayans Jr. has more episodes coming up in Shrinking. He has an easy chemistry with Jessica Williams and it's a much better use of his talents than Poppa's House.
SCRIPTED PREMIERES COMING UP
There's pretty much nothing premiering this week unless you count the second half of the fourth season of Outer Banks on Netflix. But since I'll be taking next week off, here's a look at what's coming the following week. On Tuesday, November 12, NBC has the final new broadcast series of the fall with St. Denis Medical. It seems to be in the vein of NBC comedies from a few years ago. The first five minutes were released in September to mixed reviews. On Wednesday, Apple TV+ has the second season premiere of Bad Sisters. The show has a lot of critical acclaim and a little bit of awards attention and Apple is hoping it breaks through more in the second season. Thursday has the premiere of Cross on Prime Video, another show in the Jack Ryan/Reacher vibe that Amazon loves to have. Thursday also has the premiere of holiday series Holidazed on Hallmark+ as well as the Irish thriller Say Nothing on Hulu, which has gotten some attention from TV afficionados. On Friday, Apple TV+ premieres the second season of Silo, a show that seems like has gotten more eyeballs since its quiet launch in Spring 2023. Finally on Sunday, Paramount+ has the debut of the latest show in Taylor Sheridan's world: Landman starring Billy Bob Thornton, Ali Larter, Jon Hamm and others. Sunday also has the premiere of Dune: Prophecy on HBO to take over for The Penguin. Despite the success of the Dune movies, I haven't gotten the sense that people are super excited for this.
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