Welcome to my Monday newsletter! This week, I am looking at new shows Pluribus, Death by Lightning and Stumbled plus the season finale of The Lowdown and the latest episode of The Morning Show. Also, I'm continuing my Top 25 Shows Since 2000 with #4 and taking a look back at the short-lived My Generation!
WHAT'S NEW
The highly anticipated Pluribus debuted on Friday with its first two episodes. The show, which is Vince Gilligan's first show since Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, was shrouded in secrecy up through its premiere and already has a lot of fans and glowing critical reviews. I wasn't sure what I would think even though I loved Breaking Bad (I started Saul and couldn't get into it but want to give it another try sometime). The reason I wasn't sure was because there were some sci-fi descriptors even though most previews called it "genre-bending." Well, genre-bending is definitely the right word for it as the first two episodes were very different from each other. I absolutely loved the first episode and while I was a bit more lukewarm on the second, I am still very excited for the series.
The first episode was completely thrilling with some pandemic vibes that led to a lot of unsettling scenes (everyone being afflicted except for Rhea Seehorn's Carol at the bar and the hospital as well as them "waking up" were really well shot). I could barely look away for the entire first episode and I jumped right into the second episode. In hindsight, I wish I had waited because I don't think I was in the right mindset to watch a second episode, especially one that was so different. The second episode was laying a lot of groundwork, it seems, for the rest of the season. It had a lot more humor to it but not nearly as much action. I don't see it as a sign that I'm not going to like the series. I almost wish they had done three episodes to start because the second episode felt like so much set up.
Seehorn is really strong, which is no surprise while it's not super clear which of the rest of the cast will be seen frequently (only one other actor - Karolina Wydra as companion Zosia - was credited as a regular in the second episode). Gilligan is a master at keeping his foot on the gas so I'm very curious to see where this show, which has already been renewed for a second season, goes as things continue. With The Lowdown and Task recently coming to an end, I have a feeling this will jump in as the week-to-week show everyone is talking about in November and December.
I've been looking forward to Netflix's Death By Lightning for a long time. It seemed like it was in development for forever but finally arrived last week with a short four episode season. The short episode count gave me pause that there were behind the scenes issues. And maybe there were. But I've watched two of the four episodes and am feeling relieved that I really am enjoying this show so far. This feels like a relic from an earlier era of a few years ago when streamers (and sometimes premium/cable channels) would spend an arm and a leg on a star-studded, very expensive looking limited series. This show seems to have spared no expense to create its world in 1880. The performances, particularly the two leads (Michael Shannon as James Garfield and Matthew Mcfadyen as Charles Guiteau) are superb but the rest of the cast is also strong, especially Nick Offerman who had quite the showcase in the second episode.
My only complaint is I already feel like this is going to be too short of a limited series, a rare problem for historically-based limited series. Usually there's too much padding but at a lean four episodes, I already feel like we aren't able to explore everything we should. This is an era and story that I don't think a lot of people know about. It's not the Lincoln assassination or the Kennedy assassination where there can be a fair number of assumptions about details viewers know. But I'm halfway through the series and Garfield just got elected president. I know it was a short term but I'm not convinced they can effectively portray his term, the assassination and the aftermath with just two episodes yet. We'll see. It's really good. I just wish it was longer.
It's funny that in a week with a mind-bending Vince Gilligan streaming show and an expensive period Netflix drama to talk about a mundane NBC sitcom but that's just the way it goes. Stumble is a new cheerleading comedy starring Jenn Lyon and Taran Killam and it's the definition of the word "fine." It wasn't one of the worst comedy pilots I've ever seen, but it didn't have the promise of some recent success stories in broadcast comedies like Abbott Elementary, Ghosts and St. Denis Medical. It also wasn't as strong as DMV, which is still finding its way. I can't say that I laughed but I also didn't get so annoyed that I wanted to turn off the TV. Lyon and especially Killam had some good moments but recurring guest star Kristin Chenoweth is continuing to become a caricature of herself. The ensemble is large for a broadcast sitcom in 2025 but there were some promising types. I'll give this a few more weeks.
Also...
I haven't gotten to All Her Fault yet but I'm hopeful based on reviews and love for Sarah Snook. I watched the first episode of All's Fair and found it absolutely dreadful. Ryan Murphy at his catty worst. I won't be watching anymore of that. What a waste of a great cast (Kim Kardashian not included). The first two episodes of the second season of St. Denis Medical picked u where things left off last season. I thought the first season started OK but ended stronger and this seemed like a more assured start, typical of a second year comedy that has found its footing
LAST WEEK ON...
All season long, I really enjoyed the characters more than the mystery on The Lowdown and that certainly came to pass again in a finale where I felt like the first half tied up the mystery a bit more overly and neatly than I would have liked. But then there was a beautiful coda to the first season that was everything I loved about the show wrapped up in about twenty minutes to end the episode. So because I was only so-so on how the mystery ended (everything felt just a bit too convenient to me to completely work), I can't say I liked the finale as much as the show at its best (the "This Land" episode remains my favorite). But I think the last chunk of the episode down to the very final scene ended the season in the best possible way for the characters (and, by extension, the audience). This show, and particularly Ethan Hawke's performance, was so vibe-based that if it gets a second season, I'd like to see less emphasis on an overarching mystery. I don't think it needs to be a case of the week show but maybe a couple cases per season each spanning a couple episodes. Anything that will get Ethan Hawke interacting with great actors while also exploring his character's personal life would be a great show. I feel like this had a lot of buzz with critics but not with audiences so who knows if it'll get a second season but I sure hope it does.
The Morning Show
I feel like The Morning Show is about a season away from doing an "evil twin" storyline like you would see on a daytime soap. The show is getting more ridiculous by the day. The number of eyerolls its inviting is increasing exponentially. Last week's episode featured two stories about aging parents (tied to Joe Biden of course because The Morning Show is always awkwardly a step behind on current events). The storyline with Jennifer Aniston and guest star Jeremy Irons worked enough because Aniston can still sell her material in this show even when its beneath her. But the story of Cory's (Billy Crudup) mom (guest star Lindsay Duncan) wanting to perform euthanasia on herself? I'm sorry, that was ridiculous. Not the topic itself but the way it was handled. From the overdramatic phone call to the slow motion run. It just didn't work on any level. Nothing with Billy Crudup's material or how he is doing it is working for me this season and yet it's still better than Reese Witherspoon, who has become a completely unnecessary character. Maybe I'll quit this once-very enjoyable show for the fifth season but I'm gonna stick it out for now.
TOP 25 SHOWS SINCE 2000
One of the happiest, most hopeful, most optimistic comedies to ever hit the airwaves, Parks and Recreation is a relic of the Obama era now but it still holds up as a great TV comedy. After a bumpy start (the first season of six episodes is pretty rough), the show found its groove and became one of the most consistently funny and clever shows over its seven season run, one where its back was against the wall all the time due to low ratings. Even a more recent optimistic show like Ted Lasso has shades of darkness, this show was pure sunshine. With a brilliant cast led by Amy Poehler and featuring Nick Offerman as one of TV's all time great characters, Ron Swanson, the show was hopeful about government, hopeful about life and hopeful about people. We don't just need more shows like Parks and Recreation in our lives, we need more people like those characters working in government. Check out my thoughts from when Parks went off the air in 2015.
PILOT RE-REVIEW
This season, I am traveling back in time to the 2010-11 season, the first season I did this blog. I will be re-reviewing the pilots from that season, at least as many as I can find!
Original Review: Click Here!
What I Think Now: Although my tastes have evolved since 2010 and I maybe didn't have a great sense of what really good TV looked like back then, I could still identify a stinker. And boy is this a stinker. I think I maybe appreciated the concept more this time around. It really had the potential to be something unique. But there was no way this documentary format was going to sustain the show for a multi-year run. It already had some serious inconsistencies in the pilot. Some of it was really leaning into the documentary angle but then they clearly wanted to play some character development scenes where the "documentary" almost felt like a hidden camera crew. It was like they wanted to be able to use this very gimmicky concept while also following quite a few standard drama tropes and the failure to lean into either type of show completely only hurt it. One of the many fatal flaws of this show was making each character a "type." That only aided to them being extremely one dimensional characters and there were so many of them. Not that they had much to work with, but the acting was just horrendous across the board, particularly when responding to the documentary crew. This was truly a mess in every way.
What Happened to the Show: My Generation was one of the worst reviewed shows of the Fall 2010 crop. The show was slotted on Thursdays at 8pm - a slot that was a nightmare for ABC from when Ugly Betty moved off the night in 2009 until Grey's Anatomy was moved to an earlier time in 2014. My Generation debuted to minuscule ratings and was one of two fall shows that was cancelled after just two episodes (the other being Lone Star). What's most surprising is what happened to the showrunner after this show. It was adapted from a Swedish series but the American showrunner was none other than Noah Hawley. Hawley found much more success as a showrunner a few years later with Fargo and has gone on to also create Legion and the recent Alien: Earth. My Generation was quickly forgotten, as it should be.
COMING UP
After a very busy week of premieres, it's a quieter week but there's still a couple high profile premieres. On Wednesday, Apple TV has the second season premiere of Palm Royale. Despite mixed reviews, the first season was nominated for an Emmy for Comedy Series. On Thursday, Netflix has the premiere of the limited psychological thriller The Beast in Me starring Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys. Like any Netflix show, it has the chance of becoming a breakout hit. On Friday, Prime Video has the premiere of Malice starring David Duchovny. I've seen it described as "Ripley meets The White Lotus" which certainly has me intrigued. Finally on Sunday, Paramount+ has the second season premiere of Landman, which was a pretty popular show about a year ago.
Comments
Post a Comment