Welcome to my Monday newsletter! This week, I am looking at the special episode of The Bear, the season finale of Rooster and the latest episodes of Margo's Got Money Troubles and Euphoria. Plus, my Top 10 TV Shows starting with M and a look at the Limited Series Emmy race!
WHAT'S NEW
I don't have anything new to report this week. The number of May premieres I am interested are few and far between and I'm pretty behind on some of my "background" shows (meaning broadcast network procedurals mostly). I will say that I am thrilled that NBC went back to pilot season this year and I hope the other networks follow suit. They didn't do 20+ pilots like the old days but it sounds like they were happy with the eight they made, picking up four of them. It will be interesting to see if it results in higher quality broadcast shows.
LAST WEEK ON...
The Bear dropped a surprise episode this week that was a flashback focusing on Richie and Mikey (Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal) taking a work trip to Gary, Indiana in 2019, three years before The Bear premiered. Perhaps the most attention given to Gary since The Music Man, the episode sort of covered both the good and bad of The Bear. I think this is the kind of episode that would have been just killer earlier in the run but by now, I think I'm a bit numb to all the big feelings of The Bear's characters and the constant shouting and tortured souls. But that being said, Moss-Bachrach and Bernthal have such a handle on their characters and they are a pleasure to watch. Since I take the summer off from the newsletter, I'm not sure if I'll get the chance to write about how The Bear's final season goes. But I think I'm going to feel about it the way I have felt for awhile now. I'm all for shows that come back year after year but this show has maybe outstayed its welcome. This was a great showcase episode but all it really did (until the final seconds) is provide more context to characters we already know well.
Rooster (Season Finale)
The first season of Rooster came to an end last night and I still mostly feel the same way I felt about it at the beginning of the season. This is a show with a lot of potential that didn't completely come together in the first season. I'm very excited it is getting a second season though because it feels like a show that could take a leap. The pieces are in place. I was not totally sold on the first season of Shrinking either so I'm optimistic this will follow the same trajectory. I think Steve Carell is absolutely the best part of it (close second to Connie Britton who *fingers crossed* could be a series regular next season given the events of the finale?). The part that works the least is easily Phil Dunster. They've got to figure out what to do with his character or write him off the show because it's just not working. I'll be eager to tune into a hopefully improved second season.
Margo's Got Money Troubles
I was a little down on this show last week but I thought this week's episode was better because it moved things forward narratively. I do think it is sort of turning into a soapy melodrama, but the acting is so good that it makes it worthwhile. I enjoyed the scene where Greg Kinnear's Kenny proved to not react at all how the others feared when he heard about Margo's OnlyFans escapade. I also think the tension with Mark (Michael Angarano), needs to be at the forefront of the conflict, at least for this season (we can't just keep having mother-daughter fights). So I was happy to see that come back into the main story this week.
Euphoria
I just don't even know what to say about this show. It always feels like a mess but sometimes it's so visually stunning. But it is just so exploitative and it seems like Sam Levinson has active disdain for his young stars populating the cast. I'm going to finish this season and continue to remain fascinated by the show but it's a very frustrating, if interesting, watch on a weekly basis.
THE BEST TV ALPHABETICALLY: LETTER L
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 M.
M was a real competitive letter with plenty of solid shows sitting on the outside. But my list kicks off with a show that really leveled up its IP origins. What could have been a standard spy show was instead a thoughtful look at marriage and commitment while also having glorious production values. I'm excited but nervous for the second season.
9. Master of None (Netflix, 2015-2021)
One of the best "slice of life" shows from an era full of them. Aziz Ansari's comedy was up and down but when it was at its best, it was brilliant. The Thanksgiving episode is one of the best episodes of this century as far as I'm concerned.
8. My So-Called Life (ABC, 1994-1995)
The co-poster child for the "Cancelled Too Soon" moniker (along with Freaks and Geeks), My So-Called Life was a gem of a show in an era where it just really wasn't meant to thrive. But the thing about this show (and Freaks) is they are so pure. They never had time to go off the rails so we just have one glorious season that can be tainted by what came after.
7. Modern Family (ABC, 2009-2020)
This show is the exact opposite of My So-Called Life. A show that very much overstayed its welcome. The show became very tired and the characters became caricatures. But in its early years, it was a well-deserved network comedy standout gobbling up Emmy statues thanks to its smart comedy and big tent-style heart.
6. Mare of Easttown (HBO, 2021)
Perhaps the best version of the "Who Done It" show there ever was. People were playing along with Murder Rankings and by the end, it didn't really matter who the killer was in this evocative HBO drama. It was about the journey, not the destination (though the destination was plenty satisfying).
5. Mad About You (NBC, 1992-1999)
It wasn't always consistent but at its best, Mad About You was as good as any sitcom. It could never quite figure out the supporting characters, but when it focused on the neurotic couple at the center of the story, it was electric.
4. The Middle (ABC, 2009-2018)
This is a top tier show to be all the way down at #4. The Middle premiered on the same new Wednesday lineup as Modern Family in Fall 2009 and while Modern roared out of the gate, it was The Middle that was the more consistent and funnier across its long run. It's a show I've never revisited but I'm sure I'd like it just as much if I did.
3. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video, 2017-2023)
This is where this exercise of ranking shows gets wonky. I had to put The Kominsky Method at #1 for K when that show wouldn't even crack my Top 200 TV shows. But my #4 favorite show of all time comes in at #3 because apparently all the best shows start with M. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel got a ton of acclaim at first but deserved it all the way through with sparkling production values to match sparkling performances. An all time classic in my books.
2. Mad Men (AMC, 2007-2015)
The greatest drama of all time comes in at #2 thanks to the greatest comedy of all time also starting with M. Mad Men is as good as advertised (see what I did there) with its meticulous detail of the 1960s coupled with its incisive look at societal issues that were prevalent then and now. It's entertaining of course but also incredibly thought provoking while also being dazzling to look at.
1. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS, 1970-1977)
And here we are with my all time favorite TV show (with I Love Lucy a very close second). It's now been almost 50 years since The Mary Tyler Moore Show ended and while the fashions and details of working in a TV news station may have changed, the comedy and characters are as timeless as ever. The incredible writing and perfect cast made this a show that I will never tire of and I hope people keep discovering even 50+ years later.
AWARDS CORNER
The Limited Series category was THE category for awhile at the Emmys in the late 2010s and early 2020s. But as streamers have pulled back on the big ticket limited shows and embraced ongoing series again, this is not the stacked category it used to be. But there are still strong contenders and it's always fun to have a category that changes from year to year. Here are my current forecasts for the two races:
Outstanding Limited Series
1. The Beast in Me
2. Beef
3. Love Story
4. Half Man
5. Black Rabbit
Just Missing: All Her Fault
Also in the Mix:
Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Lord of the Flies
DTF St. Louis
Death by Lightning
The Girlfriend
COMING UP
It's another pretty quiet week as the Emmy window winds down. On Wednesday, Prime Video has the premiere of the college drama Off Campus, which has already been renewed for a second season. College and young adult dramas and comedies have been pretty prevalent lately to mixed results. Also premiering on Wednesday is the one episode third and final season of Good Omens on Prime Video so make of that what you will. On Thursday, Netflix has the premiere of the crime thriller Nemesis, which doesn't seem to have a lot of buzz. Also premiering Thursday is the biblical drama The Old Stories on Prime Video's Wonder Project. Finally on Friday, Paramount+ has the premiere of its Yellowstone sequel Dutton Ranch. The series stars Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser and is basically Yellowstone without Kevin Costner and with the ability to stream on Paramount+ instead of Peacock.
If you are looking for my Pilot Re-Reviews that have been in this newsletter before, I am now a contributor to The TV Ratings Guide and posting them there on Tuesdays. I will also doing Emmy Nominations Preview posts on the site on Wednesdays for the next few weeks.
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