Welcome to my Monday newsletter! This week, I am looking at Your Friends and Neighbors, Season 2 of The Last of Us and Season 4 of Hacks. Plus the season finale of The Pitt and the latest episodes of The Righteous Gemstones, Good American Family and The Studio as well as the Lead Actress in a Limited Series/TV Movie Emmy race and #24 in My Top 25 Shows Since 2000!
WHAT'S NEW
Your Friends and Neighbors is a new Apple TV+ show that marks the first starring TV role for Jon Hamm since Mad Men. While he has done other shows in supporting roles such as Fargo, The Morning Show and Landman, he has not fronted a TV show since he was Don Draper and there's plenty of Don Draper (2025 edition) in this new show, where he plays a wealthy man who hits a rough patch and starts stealing from his friends and neighbors to keep up his lavish lifestyle.
I'm a huge fan of Hamm even when he's in less than stellar shows (hello, The Morning Show) so I'm going to watch anything he's starring in and the premise of this show really intrigued me. Watching the first two episodes that dropped this past week, I felt pretty unsure about the show after the first episode but more excited after the second. I think my negative attitude about the first episode stemmed a lot from the series starting with a crazy situation and then a voiceover along the lines of "I bet you're wondering how I got here" before flashing back to months earlier. The flash forward to kick off a pilot is the most tired TV trope of this era and I really wish shows would stop that entirely. I also felt like the rest of the characters besides Hamm's Andrew Cooper didn't really pop in the first episode, which was also extremely expositional.
The second episode had more more intrigued with better material for the supporting players including his on-screen wife (Amanda Peet) and lover (Olivia Munn). I also thought the "caper" side of the show got a little bit more interesting in the second episode. My favorite podcast, The Watch, talked about how refreshing it is to watch Jon Hamm do what he does best, just like Noah Wyle in The Pitt. Obviously it can be fun when actors stretch their wings and do something totally different (like Hamm did in Fargo) but there's also comfort in seeing them right in their wheelhouse and that's the case here. I'll keep watching this one for sure.
It's been over two years since we've seen The Last of Us but it finally returned to HBO last night. The new season picks up five years after the end of the first season (minus a brief prelude) and a lot of the episode is spent helping us get caught up. But it's done well, it's not clunky exposition. I loved the depiction of Jackson, Wyoming in the first season so it's fun to see it as a thriving and booming town in a post-apocalyptic world. The jump scares are still there and the show is as unsettling as ever. I get the feeling that this first episode doesn't fully show us what the season is going to be like but I thought it was very well done and I'm excited to see where things go. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey picked right up where they left off, even if it doesn't seem like Ramsey's Ellie is five years older than the last time we saw them. Isabela Merced was a strong presence in this first episode as Dina and she was quite captivating I thought. Adding Kaitlyn Dever and Catherine O'Hara to the cast is never going to hurt either even though we only got a very brief glimpse at Dever in this first episode.
Hacks returned for its fourth season and, unlike The Last of Us, it feels like it hasn't been gone that long. The joys of shows actually returning around the same time every year! The first two episodes dropped this week and I thought it was a little bit of a slower tune-up than Hacks usually has. I loved the idea heading into the fourth season of Deborah and Ava being at each other's throats, but I actually felt like the show went a little too hard with that or perhaps didn't execute it as well as I hoped. I just felt like the actions of both Deborah and Ava were veering a little too close to the absurdist level from two people who do realize how important this is for both of them. That's why I appreciated the grounded responses from Paul W. Downs (who was hilarious in both episodes) and Helen Hunt. I thought an icy standoff between the two leading ladies could be really compelling in the fourth season but, after watching the first two episodes, I'm sort of glad they didn't dwell there too long (or at least it appears that the worst of it is past them). As always though, Jean Smart is in the role she was born to play and Hannah Einbinder has really grown into her role. And Meg Stalter was a delight along with Downs, just like last season.
ALSO...
I only had time to watch the season premiere of The Handmaid's Tale's final season even though three episodes dropped. Handmaid's was a show that I watched during the COVID shutdown and then I've kept up with it since but I'm not super enamored with it and ready for it to be done. It was last seen way back in November 2022 so I barely remembered what was going on. I thought the premiere was solid though. We'll see how the final season unfolds and how much I care.
The Pitt (Season Finale)
The Pitt's brilliant first season came to an end this week and, let me tell you, I was not happy to see this show go. I don't think I've been this enamored with a new show and excited to watch it on a week to week basis since my first check-in at The White Lotus in Summer 2021. The simple concept of each episode being an hour in a shift at an ER worked on a beautiful level that put it well above any other medical show I've ever watched (no, I never watched ER). We spent 15 hours in one small location with all these characters and got to know so much about them. And it wasn't through voiceovers or flashbacks or clunky exposition. It was just getting to know them while they were going about their day. In the beginning, I was immediately enamored with Noah Wyle's Dr. Robby. But by the end of the season, I felt close to all the characters. I felt like I was finishing a shift with them (without doing any of the work of course).
This show also always cares about the little details. I noticed it in the first episode when the doctors were getting a squirt of hand sanitizer before entering the room. I noticed it in the last episode when there were remnants of blood on the sink in the bathroom. No detail was too small to be attended to. And there's a reason why many doctors and nurses said this is the most realistic medical drama they've ever seen. The team behind this show did the work and took it all very seriously and it was palpable in every episode.
As great as every element of this show was, it ultimately comes back to Noah Wyle. This is one of the best performances of the decade. His Dr. Robby has been the character we all need right now. He's become to medicine what Martin Sheen's President Bartlet was to politics: a brilliant, compassionate man who has his own faults and demons but always comes through for everyone else as a shining light. Wyle gave such a layered and vulnerable performance and surely he needs to be recognized come Emmys time or the Emmys mean nothing. I'm happy to hear that Season 2 is slated to arrive in January 2026 and will be another 15 episodes though I do wish it was even sooner.
The Righteous Gemstones
The Righteous Gemstones did its annual interlude episode that flashes back to the childhood of the Gemstone siblings. This time it was set in 2002, and not surprisingly, it explored the friendship between Aimee-Leigh Gemstone and Lori Milsap. I'm not that interested in Megan Mullally's Lori so that part of the episode was not all that interesting to me. There was also more context to a brief scene we saw at the beginning of the season which ties into the season-long arc and even the Bradley Cooper episode. I'm still not really sold on the season-long plot there were some fantastic moments from the kids, starting with Emma Shannon who once again has a pitch perfect performance as a young version of Edi Patterson's Judy Gemstone. It's really amazing.
Good American Family
Last week's episode of Good American Family did the typical midpoint thing and changed perspectives. This week, it looked at the story from Natalia Grace's point of view and I thought it was an excellent episode. The show has made Natalia seem like a nightmare and made the Barnett family, while flawed, seem like they were mostly in the right. But by flipping the perspective this week, it really opened up a different side to the story and Imogen Faith Reid was super strong in this episode as a broken and complicated individual.
The Studio
After loving the first three episodes of The Studio, I was a little more lukewarm on the most recent episode. It still had some funny moments but I just feel like the noir parody has been done to death and Olivia Wilde wasn't as game a guest star as the other directors in the first three episodes. I think the episode was also sorely missing the rest of the supporting cast including Kathryn Hahn and Catherine O'Hara. It was a little too much Seth Rogen and Ike Barinholtz.
THE EMMY RACE for LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES/TV MOVIE
Although the Limited Series categories are lacking this year, there are several strong contenders for Lead Actress in a Limited Series/TV Movie though right now it appears like it might be a two woman race for the win. The frontrunner is Cristin Milioti, who gained rave reviews for The Penguin. She couldn't get past Baby Reindeer's Jessica Gunning in winter awards where her co-star, Colin Farrell, won. But Gunning is not around anymore and this is the only category where breakout Netflix hit Adolescence doesn't have a contender. Her biggest competition appears to be Michelle Williams for Dying For Sex. The series may not be as widely viewed as The Penguin but Williams has earned lots of acclaim and is no stranger to this category as a former winner (for Fosse/Verdon). After that, rounding out the category gets a bit more interesting. Despite the mixed reception for Disclaimer, many assume Cate Blanchett will get in. She's also no stranger to this category after being nominated for Mrs. America in 2020. As mentioned, TV movie actors and actresses always have a hard time breaking in here but Renee Zellweger is certainly a notable contender for Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Kaitlyn Dever seems likely to be in the public consciousness due to The Last of Us so it wouldn't be surprising to see her get in for Apple Cider Vinegar even though that show didn't make much of an impression. I'm a bit skeptical of the chances for anything with Say Nothing, but it did receive lots of acclaim so you can't rule out Lola Petticrew. Then there's Ellen Pompeo. After never receiving an Emmy nod for Grey's Anatomy, she is in her first big post-Grey's series with Good American Family and has been hustling but the reception to the show has been mixed at best. I still think she could sneak in. Sirens is still a ways off so it's hard to know how that show will be received but I wouldn't count out Julianne Moore or Meghann Fahy. Long Bright River didn't really make an impression and Peacock struggles to break through but Amanda Seyfried is still a recognizable name and we should always keep an eye on Nicole Kidman, who has had a mixed track record with her many forays into TV in recent years. The Perfect Couple was widely seen so you never know. A few other movie dark horses are Anya Taylor-Joy for The Gorge, Uzo Aduba for The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat and Viola Davis for G20.
Projected Nominees (ranked by likelihood of a nomination):
1. Cristin Milioti, The Penguin
2. Michelle Williams, Dying For Sex
3. Cate Blanchett, Disclaimer
4. Renee Zellweger, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
5. Ellen Pompeo, Good American Family
Just Missing:
6. Kaitlyn Dever, Apple Cider Vinegar
7. Lola Petticrew, Say Nothing
8. Nicole Kidman, The Perfect Couple
TOP 25 SHOWS SINCE 2000
#24 - MONK (USA, 2002-2009)
I hear the eyerolls looking at Monk making the list. I know it's nothing but a frothy USA show from their Blue Skies days and even though it was the most acclaimed at the time, all the "cool kids" prefer Psych or Suits from that era. But darn it, Monk was my favorite. I thought it perfectly captured the light-hearted procedural vibe while also wanting to be a little bit more. Maybe its view of OCD behaviors was simplistic, but Tony Shalhoub made Adrian Monk such a well-rounded character. The show was also filled with great guest stars and tons of fun settings and plots. I feel like current shows like Elsbeth and High Potential are descendants of a show like Monk where there are murders in pretty much every episode but nothing feels all that serious and yet, it's serious enough to not be a straight comedy.
COMING UP
It's another week of several premieres though not as high profile as last week. On Wednesday, Apple TV+ has the premiere of the surrealist comedy Government Cheese. It seems like it'll be a tough show to break through but could get some critical love. Also premiering Wednesday is Sherlock & Daughter on The CW. Yes, another series based on the Sherlock Holmes IP. On Thursday, Netflix premieres the soapy drama Ransom Canyon starring Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly. This show feels like it's Netflix trying to tap into the Yellowstone crowd. Also premiering on Thursday is the Ramy Youssef animated comedy #1 Happy Family USA on Prime Video. Prime Video also has the third season of Leverage: Redemption premiering on Thursday. Another Thursday premiere is Law & Order: Organized Crime on Peacock. This is the first season airing on Peacock after four seasons on NBC but the premiere is also airing on NBC. Finally on Sunday, HBO has the second season premiere of The Rehearsal which earned attention for its controversial first season and especially the finale.
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