Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This week, I am looking at Zero Day, Good Cop/Bad Cop, the latest episode of The White Lotus and giving some Oscars predictions. Plus, thoughts on the SAG Awards and the latest episodes of The Pitt and Severance!
I'm sure some of you have already finished the entire series but I am three episodes into Netflix's new political thriller limited series Zero Day. The show had a fair amount of anticipation due to its great cast but the reviews weren't promising. Still, I went in hoping I would feel differently from the critics and I'm sorry to say that I don't. I will probably finish it since there's only three more episodes. But if this was a 10 episode season, I probably would have bailed by now.
The series is a classic offender of the "tell, don't show" problem. Characters spend so much time filling in backstory or details by just giving clunky expositional thoughts that aren't natural at all. The show feels like yet another attempt at recapturing the magic of 24, something that too many shows (including 24 spinoffs) have failed at in the last, ahem, 24 years. This time, we have Robert DeNiro playing a Joe Biden-type ex-president who spends a lot of time watching TV after a mysterious event called "Zero Day" that hacks into phones across the country. Eventually, he is put in charge of a Zero Day commission by the current president (Angela Bassett) after a speech to a crowd that would make Aaron Sorkin cringe and then a bunch of hushed tones and conspiracy plots start to unfold.
The show is yet another batty show joining Landman and Paradise so far this year. But while Landman was a ton of fun and Paradise is self-serious but more committed to the bit, Zero Day is just a boring version of a batty show that takes itself far, far too serious and is a colossal waste of an incredible cast. In addition to DeNiro and Bassett, this show has Connie Britton, Jesse Plemons, Lizzy Caplan and many more. And everyone is completely wasted. It's a shame.
I had no intention of watching Good Cop/Bad Cop on The CW until I saw a couple positive reviews. I'm glad I checked it out and I might just stick with the show. The show stars Leighton Meester as a small town detective in the Pacific Northwest who works for her father (Clancy Brown) and is forced to partner with her brother (Luke Cook), who is different from her in just about every way.
Since the strike, it feels like we have gotten a ton of breezy network procedurals: Elsbeth, Matlock, High Potential, Will Trent. They all harken back to the USA "Blue Sky" era (Cook seems to be channeling Adrian Monk in his role) and all the shows are far less dour than the Law & Orders and FBIs of the world. It's a trend I've really enjoyed and this is another winner with a charming performance from Meester and a quirkiness in setting that might recall a show like Northern Exposure.
Like most procedurals, the show will rise and fall on the case of the week to some extent, and truly I didn't care a ton about solving the murder in the pilot. But it did have a lot of humor and great banter between Meester and Cook. This is the type of show that might get a little bit of attention if it was part of the CBS Thursday lineup but, as it stands, it feels like a buried little show that won't get any attention. But if you like those other new network procedurals mentioned above, you should check this out. It's not doing anything particularly unique, but it is fun.
We are only two episodes into the third season of The White Lotus sand the show definitely has a darker tone than the first two years. There's still plenty of satire and biting writing, but the whole affair has a more somber and serious tone. All of the characters seem sad to varying degrees. None of this is a criticism. I think it's interesting though because there are people (not me) who thought the first two seasons deserved to be classified as a comedy.
Every character this year feels on the verge of a complete meltdown and the smoldering tension is making for an uneasy experience so far. Mike White is so brilliant with both cringe and unease so it's all working well. The most obvious powder kegs are Rick (Walton Goggins) for unclear reasons and Timothy (Jason Isaacs) for more apparent reasons. But I remain endlessly fascinated by the trio of friends who are seemingly heading for blows. No one can write cattiness like Mike White and the scenes of the pairs of friends talking about the third had some of the most realistic depictions of the hushed tones, talking about someone but trying to still play nice vibe that I'm sure we've all seen or been part of at some point in our lives. In addition to catty, Mike White is also so incredible at writing judgmental rich people and Timothy's family, while still recalling the first season family, has such interesting dynamics.
The only story that feels like it's struggling to get off the ground is Belinda. I got in the first episode that we needed to get to know the new characters and it was all about introducing them and their arrival to the resort. But the second episode still struggled to move Belinda's story forward. Given that she seems to be a prominent part of the flash forward, I hope her integration in the plot comes sooner rather than later. I trust that it will.
The Oscar nominations are this coming Sunday and while this blog focuses on TV, I did get a chance to see half of the Best Picture nominees (Anora, Conclave, Emelia Perez, The Substance and Wicked Part One). I liked all of them to varying degrees except for Emelia Perez (and yes, I hated it before its Oscar campaign self-destructed). My favorite of those five was current frontrunner Anora but my favorite film from 2024 was A Small Pain, which I was really hoping would get into the Best Picture field. Here are my predictions for the major awards at the Oscars:
Best Picture: Anora
Director: Sean Baker, Anora
Lead Actor: Adrian Brody, The Brutalist
Lead Actress: Demi Moore, The Substance
Featured Actor: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Featured Actress: Zoe Saldana, Emelia Perez
Original Screenplay: Anora
Adapted Screenplay: Conclave
Of those eight categories, I think the two lead performances are the most vulnerable. In Lead Actress, it feels like Demi Moore is going to win especially after her SAG win, but I wouldn't rule Mikey Madison (especially if Anora wins Best Picture). Lead Actor seemed sewn up for Adrian Brody but then he lost the SAG Award to Timothee Chalamet last night. I am still picking Brody but it appears to be a closer race than initially thought. Conclave's win for Ensemble was a surprise too and it could certainly upset in Best Picture but I am sticking with Anora after it won all the other guild awards.
SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
It's a pretty quiet week for premieres. There's the return of Shoresy on Hulu on Wednesday, but the show has already returned in Canada. Thursday has two premieres on Netflix. The big premiere is Running Point, a basketball comedy from Mindy Kaling starring Kate Hudson, Drew Tarver, Brenda Song, Max Greenfield and others. The show has been in the ether since it received a straight to series order way back in June 2021. Also premiering on Thursday is the British limited series Toxic Town based on a true story.
ODDS & ENDS
- I have not had a chance yet to watch NBC's two new dramas that premiered Sunday night. I'm not sure I'll actually even check out Suits: LA considering I never watched the original and it hasn't gotten good reviews. Grosse Pointe Garden Society hasn't gotten great reviews either but I'll still check that out so check back next week for thoughts on that show.
- The SAG Awards were an OK awards show. I thought Kristen Bell was serviceable as host but nothing special. That bit about all her co-stars didn't really work for me. I thought the production quality was clunky at times. As far as the TV winners, I'm ready for the Shogun parade to be over and for other dramas to start winning again. The biggest surprise though was Only Murders in the Building and Martin Short winning. That is a show that is always nominated but never a winner so those two wins were huge (and undeserved, IMO) upsets.
- A week after what I thought was the worst episode of the season, The Pitt responded with its best episode of the season. The eighth episode - covering 2-3pm of the 15 hour shift was a harrowing hour that had me fighting tears. But it was so well done. The story of the girl who drowned was just tragic but yet another incredible showcase for Noah Wyle as the benevolent doctor. And the show finally reached the end of another sad story - the teenager who died of an accidental overdose - with a poignant and powerful honor walk as he went to be an organ donor. But yet even with these horrific events that no one would ever want to go through, the show does an expert job of balancing how the doctors truly feel for their patients while also laugh about ridiculous situations, sometimes within a few minutes of each other. This show is just such good TV. Everyone should be watching it.
- I am all over the place on Severance this season. I remember seeing a review headline about the second season that said it was a frustrating but fascinating season and that's exactly where I am with the show. It is endlessly interesting to me on an episodic basis and yet it feels a bit like it's spinning its wheels with the larger story. Now to be fair, the first season was a real slow burn for awhile but it was slowly picking up steam. This week feels like fits and starts of interesting stories. Each story feels like it's gaining ground slowly: Mark and Helly, Dylan's innie & outie relationship with his life, Irving & Burt, Milchick & Miss Huang (who knows where the heck Ms. Cobel is) but I also am sort of feeling nervous on behalf of the show because there's only four episodes left this season! I feel like I'm not going to be able to truly assess this season until its over.
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