Welcome to my Monday newsletter!
WHAT'S NEW
Amidst the Super Bowl and Olympics, Peacock launched The 'Burbs on Sunday, based on the 1989 film. I watched the first episode, it was all I had time for. I'm not sure if I'll keep watching the show. On the one hand, I like a lot of the cast: Julia Duffy, Paula Pell and Mark Proksch have all been reliable scene stealers in other shows while Keke Palmer is a charming lead. I'm also always intrigued by a "suburbia is not what it seems" plot in shows.
However, this all felt a little undercooked to me. There was a completely wooden performance by Jack Whitehall but I could have gotten over that if the how had a little more to offer. Nothing was funny enough (with the exception of Proksch stroking Palmer's hand when they were introduced or spooky enough to make me sure I want to commit to eight episodes. I either needed it to be genuinely creepy with a mystery that felt worth exploring or a really biting or funny satire. I didn't expect it to be the former, it was always billed as more of a comedy and I believe the tone of the film wasn't very serious either. But I thought it had a chance to be the latter and instead it seemed satisfied by being a paint-by-numbers approach to suburbia.
I think I may have talked myself out of watching more episodes as I wrote this and reflected on the pilot.
LAST WEEK ON...
I was a little critical last week of the show keeping Brett Goldstein in the fold for the third season. It felt like his character had reached an end point and nothing more than a check-in was needed. I still sort of feel that way but his character being around allowed for a KILLER Jessica Williams scene. For someone who hit it big on The Daily Show and is known more for her comedic timing, this was an incredible acting performance as her character, Gaby, confronted Goldstein's Louis. Williams is the MVP of this young season and showing more range than I gave her credit for. And it appears as though maybe Goldstein won't hang around now too so that's a doubly good thing.
The Pitt
This week's episode of The Pitt featured one of the grosser procedures for me (give me blood over bowel movements any day). I also thought it was notable just how prickly Noah Wyle's Dr. Robby was throughout the episode. I think it's easy to lose sight of how many episodes have gone by compared to how much time has passed. So in a normal show, Robby and Langdon (Patrick Ball) would certainly be resolving their fight after five episodes. But in real time, it's only been five hours and if I'm mad at a co-worker when I arrive at work, I'm probably going to still be mad five hours later. As for a check-in on the new characters, I'm warming up to Dr. Al-Hashimi and Joy but I'm still not enjoying Ogilvie and wasn't said to see him get, shall we say, splattered.
THE BEST TV ALPHABETICALLY: LETTER B
In honor of 2026, I am looking at the 26 letters of the alphabet and listing my Top 10 TV Shows of All Time that start with that letter (no "The" or "A" don't count as the first letter of a show). This week, I am looking at letter B:
Pamela Adlon's very personal slice-of-life series had its ups and downs but at its best, it really compelling, often hilarious and emotionally rich. A great performance from future Oscar winner Mikey Madison is a cherry on top.
9. Batman (ABC, 1966-1968)
It's so goofy but this was my introduction to Batman and the candy-coated aesthetic is a nice contrast to the many dark and brooding Batmans who have come since. Plus there was that murderer's row of villain portrayals.
8. Blue Bloods (CBS, 2010-2024)
A very reliable and steady cop show. Airing at a time when the public's perception of policing went through quite a lot of ups and downs, this show always aimed to show what the world might look like when genuinely good people were always the good guys.
7. The Brady Bunch (ABC, 1969-1974)
Here's the story... this show is one of the cheesiest ever and yet it's iconic in so many ways. Forget all the incarnations and spinoffs that have come since, the original run still holds up with its big heartedness.
6. Broad City (Comedy Central, 2014-2019)
A time capsule of a pre-COVID New York City, this show had such a distinct voice and was very much in the right place at the right time as it straddled the Obama days to the first term (always bleeped out) days.
5. The Bear (FX/Hulu, 2022-Present)
Yes, the third and fourth season haven't been as strong as the first two seasons and it's definitely a drama, not a comedy. But it has managed to make a kitchen one of the most stressful TV settings ever while also doing some very deep character work.
4. The Bob Newhart Show (CBS, 1972-1978)
Airing on Saturday nights with The Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family and M*A*S*H, it was well-liked but often considered in the second tier of great 70s comedies. It really should be in the first tier with the wacky cast of characters grounded by TV's ultimate straight man, Bob Newhart.
3. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX/NBC, 2013-2021)
Similar to Blue Bloods, this show aired at a time of great unrest with police but didn't take things that seriously (until the ill-advised final season arc). It just was a super fun workplace comedy with a memorable cast of characters and a brilliant comedic performance from the late Andre Braugher.
2. Breaking Bad (AMC, 2008-2013)
I didn't watch Breaking Bad when it was it originally airing (I wish I had) but caught up several years later. It was a heart-pounding mesmerizing psychological look at one character's descent and those he hurt and strung along on the journey. I wish I could watch it for the first time all over again.
1. Bewitched (ABC, 1964-1972)
Often incorrectly lumped in with other dumb 60s sitcoms, Bewitched had so much heart and charm, especially in its early seasons (the black and white episodes are brilliant). Led by the enchanting Elizabeth Montgomery, this show and its star were something special and it was a gateway to my love of Classic TV.
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: This was a slog to get through in 2011 (I believe I watched the two hour premiere, which was actually the first two episodes but just reviewed the pilot). It was a slog to get through just one episode in 2025. Now a full disclaimer that I am generally not into superhero shows or movies so it's got a tougher hill to climb. But this is just silly. It's one of those shows that has a campy style (including the titles of each part of the episode and many of the costumes) but yet it takes itself way too seriously to actually be campy. So there's a tonal dissonance and it's not nearly as fun as it could be. Instead, the pilot is actually quite glum in places. I was more intrigued by the first half of the episode when they were sort of presenting the origin story but it really lost me as it went along. I was happy to not watch another hour of the show this time around.
What Happened to the Show: The Cape premiered at a time when superhero properties were just starting to graduate from nerddom to mainstream pop culture. This was after Iron Man but before The Avengers. And on TV, this was before the DC shows started airing on CW so there weren't a ton of superhero shows (though No Ordinary Family was airing the same season). This show also felt very out of place on NBC, which had a lot of upscale shows. The series premiered with a two hour pilot on a Sunday night and then repeated it the next night, which would be its regular slot (Mondays at 9pm) while The Event was on hiatus. The ratings were not bad for the pilot but it dropped pretty fast once it started airing on Mondays. It didn't help matters that Harry's Law was a surprise success after at 10pm. The Cape saw its episode order cut from 13 to 10 - never a good sign - and was officially cancelled at Upfronts in May 2011. Star David Lyons returned twice to NBC with the two year run of Revolution and the short lived Game of Silence. He was more recently seen on the Apple TV+ drama Truth Be Told.
COMING UP
With the Olympics underway, it's a really quiet two weeks for premieres. This week has just one scripted premiere: Love Story on FX, which gets underway on Thursday with a three episode premiere just before Valentine's Day. The first season of the planned anthology series focuses on JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. It doesn't seem like it has a ton of buzz which shows the diminishing interest in Ryan Murphy empire shows compared to a few years ago.
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