Welcome to my Monday newsletter. This week, I am looking at Paradise and the latest episode of Severance plus I have thoughts on Watson, Abbott Elementary and The Pitt!
When Landman ended its first season earlier this month, I felt a bit sad because I didn't have an absolutely bonkers, ridiculous show to watch on a weekly basis. Well, that may have been short-lived because Hulu's Paradise is here. I thought this was going to be a prestige play and it's definitely trying to be. It came from Dan Fogelman and starred Sterling K. Brown. The two men are, of course, vets of This is Us, a show that was solid to spectacular for most of its run (save for the rough COVID-tinged fifth season). Paradise is silly with a capital S but, unlike Landman, it's taking itself far too serious to be as enjoyable as a show that knew how stupid it was.
The first episode ends with a big twist. I won't spoil it here for those who still plan on watching, but knowing there was a twist going in definitely changed how I viewed the first episode. I recently watched the movie Parasite for the first time and did not know there was a major twist. What an exciting moment when the twist happened! When I know there's a twist, I'm definitely watching in a different way and truly it's a more distracted way. I am spending the episode looking for clues instead of watching for the narrative.
The problem is this show seems to give in to the worst instincts of Fogelman (this happened once in awhile on This is Us too). The show is so enamored with not showing us everything and being intentionally vague that it eventually gets to a frustrating place. These mystery box shows can be well done even when they aren't giving answers that frequently (hello Severance) but they have to at least be fully committed to their conceit (hello again, Severance). This show is all about the deception and that's a frustrating experience for a viewer. That being said, I will probably stick with this show unless it ends up annoying me too much. I am always a fan of Sterling K. Brown and the rest of the cast (including James Marsden, Sarah Shahi and Julianne Nicholson) are all stellar. This show is probably going to annoy the crap out of me but I'll still want answers only to inevitably be disappointed.
After an intriguing first episode and an underwhelming second episode to kick off the second season, Severance kicked into high gear with a really strong third episode. One of the first things I thought when watching this episode is "I bet Ben Stiller directed this one" and sure enough, he did. He has a flair when he directs that was missing from the second episode, which he did not direct. The third episode was a thrilling, fast-paced episode that really started to bring the new season into focus.
I like that the show is expanding the different things happening within Lumon Industries and the world is expanding even within one severed floor. The most obvious example is Mammalians Nurturable Department, which was of course the scene everyone is talking about this week. But it's also happening in other stories: I think the concept of Dylan getting to meet his outie's wife is a really interesting one that I look forward to the show continuing to explore (and it never hurts to have Merritt Wever in anything). And I remain fascinated by Sarah Bock's Miss Huang and what will ultimately happen with her character.
The only part that's really not working for me yet is Patricia Arquette's Mrs. Cobel/Mrs. Selvig. I get why the show removed her from her first season capacity to shake things up but I feel like so far, it is struggling to bring her back in. Too much of Arquette's role so far in the second season is being angry behind the wheel or storming/driving away. I hope things start to crystallize with her character soon. The final moments of the episode, though, felt almost as thrilling as the first season finale and I can't wait for the next episode.
SCRIPTED PREMIRES THIS WEEK
This week is quiet except for Thursday. On that day, there are three premieres: Netflix has the premiere of the Australian limited series Apple Cider Vinegar starring Kaitlyn Dever. In a quiet year for limited series, the Netflix of it all could help it make some awards noise if its any good. Also premiering Thursday is the comedy Clean Slate on Prime Video. The series stars Laverne Cox and counts the late Norman Lear among its producers. Also premiering on Thursday is The Z-Suite on Tubi. The comedy stars Lauren Graham and Nico Santos and while Graham has had a lot of TV success, is anyone interested in watching originals on Tubi? We'll see.
ODDS & ENDS
- Watson premiered on CBS last Sunday after the AFC Championship Game but I didn't get the chance to watch it live (I was still stewing over the Bills loss to the Chiefs). So I watched it this past week and what I have to say is, it is IP run amok. The show is a standard medical drama but with a cold open that didn't match the rest of the tone of the show and a few passing mentions of Sherlock Holmes. It's all silly. Just be a regular medical drama. The connections to Sherlock Holmes are so wholly unnecessary. But it's not even a good medical drama at that so this is a pass for me.
- This week's Abbott Elementary had some great lines (Quinta Brunson was the funniest she's been in awhile). But could the Abbott staff have possibly been more slow in figuring out what the golf course was up to? The show let the viewers be way ahead on this and it just made the staff of educators look pretty dumb that it took them as long as it did to figure out what the golf course had up its sleeve.
- The Pitt continues to just be excellent. I am so enamored with this show and how effortlessly they breeze in and out of stories. What a pleasant surprise this show has been.
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