Welcome to my Monday newsletter! Back after a week off, I am looking at Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat and Imperfect Women. Pluss, the latest episodes of The Pitt, Paradise and Shrinking! Also, I am counting down my Top 10 Series Starting with G and taking a look at the Supporting Actor and Actress in a Limited/Anthology Series race.
WHAT'S NEW
I didn't jump on the Jury Duty train when it first came out but once I did watch it, I absolutely loved it and was amazed at how it all came together and how they found the absolute perfect person to be the one person not in on the joke. I was pretty skeptical (though not surprised) when they announced a second season. It felt like lightning wouldn't strike twice.
While it may not be quite as perfect as the first season, the second season so far seems to get closer than I would have thought. Once again, they found the perfect person to play the one guy who doesn't know what's going on. With this season being set at a company retreat for a small hot sauce company, they have the exceptionally genial and easygoing Anthony Norman at the center. He has the same vibes about him as Ronald Gladden from the first season but if anything, it's almost harder to believe that he really doesn't know what's going on. A sequestered jury feels more controllable than a company retreat plus if he lived in the area, he wouldn't know about the hot sauce? Also wouldn't you be tempted to look up your co-workers on social media? I'm sure the producers accounted for all of these things I'm talking about but I almost went down a conspiracy theory path because it seems almost too contrived.
But assuming all is on the up and up, it's another fun season with a wacky cast of characters. The only thing that didn't really work for me was a problem I had with the first season too. Keeping the actors in character for scenes without Anthony or with talking heads feels a little odd. I feel like they basically need to have Anthony present all the time or show us something behind the scenes. But trying to advance a sitcom plot without the point of the show in certain scenes feels unnecessary. Still, I'm already very much awaiting the reveal.
I didn't hate Imperfect Women and I certainly like a lot of the actors involved, but this glossy murder mystery has the feel of Apple concocting a show through Chat GPT that is most emblematic of their slate of high powered but ultimately hollow dramas (there are some exceptions, as always). I had some hopes that the sheer power of Kerry Washington, Elisabeth Moss and Kate Mara would be enough to lift this show up but I should stop being fooled by Apple's star power. This is a by-the-books murder mystery show at its best and quite messy at worst. Despite being advertised as a trifecta, Mara has barely been seen in the first two episodes (though I'm sure the inevitable fill-in backstory episode is still to come).
My biggest problem with this show is that none of it feels real. Maybe part of this is the point, but I don't feel like any of them feel like friends or lovers. And certainly none of them seem to be reacting in any way that would imply their friend or wife had just been murdered. Even though I like the individual performers, it makes it hard to connect with the story. If it turns out that they are all involved in the murder, fine, but then there should be some sort of connection between them. Right now, I'm just not feeling any connections anywhere in the show. I will probably stick with this show but fear I am going to continue to feel disappointed.
LAST WEEK ON...
I read in Alan Sepinwall's recap last week that the character development for Dr. Robby this season is great if the writers are intentionally showing a lot of flaws. If they don't realize how he's coming off to the audience this year, then that could be a problem. Because I trust the team behind The Pitt, I believe this is all intentional and I think it's interesting to sort of show the warts behind the doctor we all loved in the first season. Yes, he had some flaws in the first season but it felt more tied to his own mental health. This season, while still good with patients, we are seeing him not interact as well with his colleagues. And again, that is really interesting if it is heading somewhere. It's been interesting to see Al-Hashimi become more likable as Robby has gotten less likable over the course of the season. Only four episodes remain, I'm very curious to see where it's heading. As for the ICE story, I don't know... I guess the last thing I want is for a show that has done so much goodwill for TV and the medical genre to become a political football. I'm not saying there aren't important things to discuss and to shy away from it, but I just think maybe I wouldn't have gone down that road int he second season. I'm sure it will be handled well, but it's just not a choice I would have made.
Paradise
The show I love to hate continues to confound me. What is happening on this series? Every single week is a "departure" episode - the kind made famous by Lost and that we almost always see at least once in an eight or ten episode prestige streaming series. But it feels like every episode of Paradise this season is either a side quest or filling in a backstory of another character. Yes, this most recent episode did move the plot forward a bit but this feels like a show without enough of a story so all it wants to do is backfill and detour.
Shrinking
If there was ever a cast that deserved an Ensemble win at the Actor (formerly SAG) Awards, it's the cast of Shrinking. Of course everyone wants to talk about Harrison Ford and deservedly so but Jessica Williams has been incredible this season. Then there's Ted McGinley who week in and week out provides great comic relief while also proving more than capable of carrying serious lead storylines. There's Christa Miller and Michael Urie, who are both hilarious and such fully developed characters. Lukita Maxwell was such a find as a teenager holding her own with all these adults. And there's not enough respect for Jason Segel, who often is the glue to hold this entire cast of characters together. I'm not the biggest fan of Luke Tennie but that's OK. This week was a week with so many chances for so many characters to shine and even though I didn't love the plots of this week, this is just a cast I want to spend a half hour with every week for forever.
THE BEST TV ALPHABETICALLY: LETTER G
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 G:
I haven't watched this show since its original run but I have fond memories of it and plan to revisit it at some point. In all the post-Friends attempts of Matthew Perry's career, this was definitely the strongest entry.
9. Good American Family (Hulu, 2025)
This show is the most I've differed from the mainstream critical opinion in recent years. It was hated by critics but I really enjoyed it. I thought the pacing was great, the storytelling was interesting and the performances, especially Ellen Pompeo and Imogen Faith Reid, were very strong.
8. Girls5Eva (Peacock/Netflix, 2021-2024)
The first of two entries in a row that are in partly due to their theme song. This show eventually lost its way for me but I thought the first season was hilarious and had such a unique point of view. And again, that theme song...
7. Gilligan's Island (CBS, 1964-1967)
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale... this was never one of my childhood favorites like other 60s sitcoms that were in reruns when I was a child in the 90s. But it's pretty darn iconic with well-crafted characters (even "the rest") and an endearing and enduring charm.
6. Gilmore Girls (WB/CW, 2000-2007)
I've actually never finished this show, it's a bit of a "small dose" one for me. I know it's a very bingeable show for some but I need to space out the quirkiness. Still, you can't beat the small town charms of Star's Hollow and the brilliant performance of Lauren Graham, who should have been a perennial Emmy nominee for this.
5. The Good Wife (CBS, 2009-2016)
I watched this entire series after its original run and it certainly ebbed and flowed as to be expected with a serial drama existing in the "22 episodes a year" era. But at its high points, it was such a high quality show amidst a sea of procedurals and thrillers.
4. The Good Place (NBC, 2016-2020)
This was a show that was bookended by a brilliant first season and one of the best series finales of all time. In between, it sometimes struggled to fill entire seasons but the expert cast never faltered and the show managed to stick its landing, which is no easy feat.
3. The Goldbergs (ABC, 2013-2023)
This show went on a couple years too long (the last season is a complete disaster) but in its early days, it was consistently fresh and funny. It never strayed too far from its format but the family comedy was pure joy on a weekly basis in those first few years punctuated by a great soundtrack.
2. Ghosts (CBS, 2021-Present)
This show premiered a few months before Abbott Elementary "saved broadcast comedy." I love Abbott but Ghosts has never gotten the respect it deserves for taking what seems like it could be a limited concept and continually finding authentic ways to keep it going and keep it funny.
1. Get Smart (NBC/CBS, 1965-1970)
This was a pretty easy choice this week for #1. The 60s spy satire might seem dumb on first glance before you realize how biting its satire was within the confines of a 1960s network TV comedy. On top of that, the production values were pretty darn strong for a 60s show and the performances from the cast led by Don Adams and Barbara Feldon have made it very rewatchable.
AWARDS CORNER
I'm kicking off my Emmy Preview for the year with a look at Supporting Actor and Actress in a Limited/Anthology Series. After a few boon years for limited series, it definitely feels like a subgenre in retreat as we moved past the Peak TV era and as streamers are showing more interest in on-going series again. Circa 2021 or 2022, most of these names listed below wouldn't have gotten into the category. But at that time, we had just huge names doing limited series and that is less the case now for sure. Here are my current forecasts for the two supporting races:
Supporting Actor in a Limited Anthology Series:
1. Charles Melton, Beef
2. Jonathan Banks, The Beast in Me
3. Ben Kingsley, Wonder Man
4. Tom Hollander, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
5. Jake Lacy, All Her Fault
6. Richard Jenkins, DTF St. Louis
7. Troy Kotsur, Black Rabbit
Just Missing: Alessandro Nivola, Love Story
Also in the Mix:
Nick Offerman, Death by Lightning
Michael Pena, All Her Fault
Leslie Odom Jr., Imperfect Women
Arian Moayed, Wonder Man
Stephen Graham, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
Supporting Actress in a Limited/Anthology Series
1. Yuh-Jung Youn, Beef
2. Cailee Spaeny, Beef
3. Naomi Watts, Love Story
4. Dakota Fanning, All Her Fault
5. Laurie Metcalf, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
6. Grace Gummer, Love Story
7. Brittany Snow, The Beast in Me
Just Missing: Sophia Lillis, All Her Fault
Also in the Mix:
Kate Mara, Imperfect Women
Betty Gilpin, Death by Lightning
Lesley Manville, Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Natalie Morales, The Beast in Me
Rebecca Ferguson, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
COMING UP
There's a handful of premieres in the last full week of March. On Tuesday, Disney+ has the second season premiere of Daredevil: Born Again. The show received a mixed to positive reception for the first season though not quite the acclaim the old Netflix version had. A third season is already in the works. On Wednesday, Prime Video has the premiere of Bait, an autobiographical comedy starring Riz Ahmed. It feels like we get less of these auteur type shows these days. On Thursday, Netflix drops its horror series Something Very Bad is Going to Happen. As with all things Netflix, there's always a chance it could break out and be a sensation but it feels like it will have a more limited appeal. On Friday, Apple TV has the fifth season premiere of For All Mankind. The space drama last aired new episodes way back in January 2024. It's been a show that has had its fans but there was a more muted response to the most recent season and now it's been a loooong time.
If you are looking for my Pilot Re-Reviews that have been in this newsletter before, I am not a contributor to The TV Ratings Guide and posting them there on Tuesdays!
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