BENJAMONSTER NEWSLETTER: September 21, 2026
Welcome back to another season of my Monday newsletter. It has now been 16 years since I started this blog and I'm continuing to enjoy it so I'll keep doing it until I don't feel like it anymore! I have considered switching to some sort of e-mail distribution since e-mail newsletters are the thing now. But this works for me so I'm going to leave it as is for now.
This year, the newsletter will continue to be mostly about TV but I will also have some other things about other interests: movies, theater & even the NFL!
Also, I am a contributor to The TV Ratings Guide and posting there on Tuesday evenings with a look back at old network pilots. I am currently working through the 2011-12 season!
This week, I am looking at Summer TV and the Emmy Awards. Plus, my Top 10 Shows Starting with O, some NFL thoughts, an early look at the Oscars Best Picture Race and more!
WHAT'S NEW
While the blog was on a break this summer, there was still TV worth talking about. For me and the shows I was interested in watching, it felt like we were in a bit of a lull in June before there were a lot of new shows premiering in July that I was interested. Then August felt like a complete wasteland. But still, mostly because of July, I would say there was more good TV this summer than last summer but not by as much as I hoped.
The best thing I watched this summer was, without a doubt, Furious. The propulsive Hulu thriller was the one show I really couldn't wait to watch on a weekly basis. With expert performances from Emmy Rossum, Lola Petticrew, Scoot McNairy and especially Quincy Tyler Bernstine, this show was a rare prestige drama airing in the middle of the summer. It was the best of the thrillers that aired this summer, better than Apple's two entries. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed started off incredibly strong and I was totally hooked through a few episodes but it petered out at the end. And Lucky, which was the one I was most excited about, ended up a bit of a disappointment despite a strong turn from Anya Taylor-Joy and some lavish production values.
The end of the summer brought the second season of Adults, which leveled up to being an even better comedy in its second season. I wish it was a weekly show with 22 episodes a season though, It's the kind of comedy that needs that. Alice and Steve was a goofy little show that I liked more than I thought I would while the now cancelled Not Suitable for Work was a bore and The Hawk was dreadful. Despite putting on my Most Anticipated list, I ended up not checking out Lanterns after deciding it wasn't for me from the trailer and reviews.
And finally, let's turn the attention to two of the biggest shows of the 2020s: The Bear and Ted Lasso. The Bear ended its five season run in June. I hated the first half of the last season - I was just so tired of these characters and their drama-filled lives on a supposed comedy. But then the show turned it around for the second half, with the show finally getting back to its roots with a very stressful night at the restaurant in the penultimate episode a true highlight. By the end, I was actually a bit sad to say goodbye which I did not expect. As for Ted Lasso, I know the reviews have been mixed at best for its fourth season but I am enjoying it. I think it's a big step up from the third season, especially when it's focused on the women's team and new cast member Tanya Reynolds as Alice Chilton.
Today marks the official start to the 2026-27 season. Though that doesn't mean as much as it used to, there are still a lot of shows coming soon to break the summer dry spell. This fall does not have as many new shows I'm interested in as there usually are but I'll add to caveats to that. First of all, something could also surprise me (after all, Furious wasn't on my most anticipated summer show list). Second, there are a lot of returning shows I'm excited about, which I mentioned below this list.
10. The Good Daughter (Peacock, November 12)
I sort of feel the same way about this show that I did about The Five-Star Weekend heading into summer. It could be a campy thrill ride or it could just be dull and not worth my time. The latter is what Weekend ended up being. Hopefully, things will go better for The Good Daughter, which does benefit from having two stars I really like in Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy.
9. War (HBO, October 1)
I'm definitely interested in this one and hope it's not too British for my tastes. I like that it has already been renewed as an anthology series and I thought the trailer looked strong for this series, set around a high profile divorce case and starring Dominic West and Sienna Miller.
8. American Hostage (MGM+, September 20)
This may be cheating a bit since it has already premiered but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet because I was away this weekend. I think Jon Hamm is always great even when he's in bad things (hello, Your Friends and Neighbors). This is based on a true story but I don't know much about it so I'm excited to see what happens in this show even with some mixed reviews.
7. Nocturne (Apple TV, October 30)
I have hopes that this Western PA-set Apple TV thriller will fill the Furious-sized hole in my heart with perhaps a healthy dose of one of my favorites from last fall, Task. You never know with these types of shows but it has a really strong cast (Liev Schreiber, Zazie Beetz, Stephen Graham, Bill Camp, Rory Culkin, Chrissy Metz and Poorna Jagannathan). I'll be curious to see the trailer for this one.
6. 12 12 12 (Apple TV, November 13)
12 12 12 arrives two weeks after Nocturne and I have similar feelings about this show though I'm a bit more intrigued by the premise. The 12 12 12 stands for 12 month of planning a heist, 12 hours of the heist itself and 12 days following the heist. It seems like a clever premise as long as it doesn't get too cute with its varying timelines. Hopefully at least one of Nocturne or 12 12 12 really work for me.
The bad news is there are only five new scripted shows on Broadcast TV this fall. The good news is that more than half of them look pretty darn good. Tonight's entry, NBC's Line of Fire, feels like a bit more serialized and darker version of Blue Bloods and I'm always intrigued by a broadcast entry that blends the procedural and serialized elements plus I always enjoy Peter Krause.
4. Eternally Yours (CBS, October 8)
Although this comes from the people behind the underrated Ghosts, I wasn't totally sold on this. I'm not a huge fan of vampire fiction but already loved a vampire comedy in What We Do in the Shadows. But this trailer really sold me and now I have hope that it will be another fun and quirky comedy like Ghosts, which has never gotten the respect it deserves.
3. Cupertino (CBS, October 8)
Robert and Michelle King are responsible for some great TV including one of my favorite current broadcast shows, Elsbeth. I have hopes that this will be a cut above your average legal drama because of that pedigree and a strong cast including Mike Colter, Renee Elise Goldsberry and Busy Phillips. Any success for a more ambitious broadcast show, which this appears to be, is a win so I'll be rooting for this one.
2. Phony (Hulu, October 20)
Speaking of people I always love, this show stars Connie Britton and has a great premise (a teenage boy wakes up after a car accident convinced his mother is an imposter). I think it sounds very promising and I hope it lives up to the hype in my head. It's not clear at all to me if its tone is more comedic or more like a thriller, but I'm here for it either way.
1. Dig (Peacock, November 23)
Any show that reunites Michael Schur and Amy Poehler is going to vault to the top of my list. The Parks and Recreation duo is back over a decade later with a comedy about archaeologists working in Greece who get caught up in a conspiracy. This show also stars Hugh Laurie and Fina Strazza, who was great on Broadway in John Proctor is the Villain. But this is all about Schur and Poehler. I hope they can catch lightning in a bottle for a second time together.
Returning shows I am excited about include Abbott Elementary (ABC, October 7), Elsbeth (CBS, October 8), The Lowdown (FX, October 14), The Diplomat (Netflix, October 15), St. Denis Medical (NBC, November 2), Bad Monkey (Apple TV, December 2) & P-Valley (Starz, December 4)
LAST WEEK ON...
The Emmy Awards
It's been a week since the Emmy Awards now and most people already have said what there is to say about the telecast and awards so I'll keep this brief. I appreciate the effort from Mariska Hargitay but this was not a venue that suited her. There's no question that she's one of the most successful TV actresses in TV history but I feel as though perhaps it has given her a sense that she can do more than she's actually capable of. But she was game and seemed genuinely excited to be there so it was a step up from Nate Bargatze. And none of the cheesy bits and production numbers were as bad as the running gag from last year that hijacked almost every acceptance speech. The telecast was badly paced too as they had way too much time at the end after pushing some big awards to the Creative Arts Emmys. The presenters were mostly forgettable aside from a killer bit from John Mulaney and a little bit of charm from Marcello Hernandez.
As far as the winners, it was a huge night for Widow's Bay, a show I liked but not as much as many others apparently. I was okay with Hacks not getting the win for its uneven final season but I would have voted for Shrinking. And speaking of Shrinking, this is the second year in a row that Harrison Ford was robbed. Yes, Stephen Root is great in everything he's in including Widow's Bay and ditto to Jeff Hiller last year for Somebody Somewhere, but Ford was straight up robbed for the incredible performance he is giving. The Pitt clearly suffered from some vote splitting in the Supporting categories with big surprises there (I'm thrilled for the Tom Pelphrey win though). And DTF St. Louis... well, I just don't get it. But I do acknowledge it was a bad year for Limited Series.
The other highlights of the night were both sentimental: the great Michael J. Fox receiving the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award and the In Memoriam, particularly the tribute to Catherine O'Hara from three of her on-screen children Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy.
It sounds as though the Emmys could be moving to Amazon next year. While it definitely feels like the end of an era with awards shows leaving Broadcast TV, it's where TV is heading and maybe they won't be so confined by network rules especially regarding ads and time. Award shows pretty much only appeal to awards junkies like me and industry insiders at this point, so why not lean into that and just focus as much as possible on the awards itself. There's no need to keep chasing a bigger audience who don't care about awards shows.
THE BEST TV ALPHABETICALLY: LETTER O
10. Ordinary Joe (NBC, 2021-2022)
"O" isn't the strongest letter I've done which is why NBC's short-lived multiple timelines drama comes in at #10. It was a messy show that had several problems but I still think it was an interesting idea that could have worked if it had been in better hands. I'm pretty sure I stuck with it the whole run because I was intrigued by what it could be.
9. Once Upon a Time (ABC, 2011-2018)
I was in and out on Once Upon a Time. It was a show I always wanted to like a little more than I did. I've actually always been curious to revisit it and keep going, even if it's bad. Probably because I always have a soft spot for fairytales. We'll see if I ever do revisit it.
8. The Oprah Winfrey Show (Syndication, 1986-2011)
I was not a regular watcher of Oprah the way I was with The Rosie O'Donnell Show or many late night shows. But I can fully appreciate her legacy and influence. From books to dieting to presidential elections, Oprah was part of the monoculture that no talk show host is now.
7. Ozark (Netflix, 2017-2022)
At its best, Ozark could be quite thrilling (the Tom Pelphrey arc, most Julia Garner material). At its worst, it was a dimly-lit show that was tedious to get through. I have no desire to ever revisit this show but there were times I was fully engaged and engrossed in ways I wasn't for the shows that are lower on this list.
6. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu, 2021-Present)
This is sort of the comedic equivalent of Ozark for me. There are times where I am all in on this show (specifically the first season and I always thought the most recent season was underrated). There are also times where I think its not nearly as clever as it thinks it is (the third and fourth season). I'm leery about the upcoming London season but I will always love the main three characters in this show.
5. The Odd Couple (ABC, 1970-1975)
Many, many shows have riffed off an Odd Couple-type premise but the actual show The Odd Couple was the most distinct. Based on a stage play, it feels a lot like a stage play and benefits so much from the crackling chemistry between Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, who were always perfect foils for each other in a way that never got tiring.
4. The Other Two (Comedy Central/HBO Max, 2019-2023)
The Other Two is a truly absurd comedy but one that is worth checking out if you have never seen it and like offbeat shows that teeter on the ridiculous. It's the second best use of Molly Shannon I've ever seen (The White Lotus is the first) and the two leads (Helene Yorke and Drew Tarver) are perfect for the tone this show tries to achieve, and often does.
3. The $100,000 Pyramid (ABC, 2016-Present)
I'm only including the Michael Strahan version because I haven't really watched the other versions but I'm sure they'd all be up here because I just love the gameplay of Pyramid. I love the slight differences needed between the regular rounds and the winner's circle. They often have good celebrities playing the game and Strahan has proven to be an adept host.
2. The OC (FOX, 2003-2007)
Despite being the perfect age for The OC when it first aired, I never watched it until I started it a couple summers ago and have been making my way through the show at a glacial pace but the slow pace has nothing to do with my enjoyment. Its a great time capsule to the early 2000s and does the soapy teen drama vibe better than any other teen drama I've ever seen. I have really loved making my way through it for the first time.
1. The Office (NBC, 2005-2013)
I mean, of course. NBC's seminal workplace comedy was the cornerstone of its comedy lineup for years and produced one of TV's all-time greatest characters in Steve Carell's Michael Scott. Though the show faltered without him, it has some of the highest highs of any sitcom ever. I still laugh when I think of so many of those early season moments and the show managed to have such a unique and effective blend of cynicism and heart that so many have tried to capture since. It's an all time classic as far as I'm concerned.
AWARDS CORNER
This space will sort of jump around the major awards (Oscars, Emmys, Tonys - sorry, Grammys, but I don't follow you enough) with a few detours into other award shows as warranted. There won't really be a set focus, just a periodic check in on major categories at major awards.
We are in the midst of fall festival season for movies which means the Best Picture race is slowly starting to coalesce. Right now, it looks like we're looking for the other nine nominees who will lose to The Odyssey but it's obviously still early and plenty could change. Of particular note are the critical responses to a few big swings like Digger, The Social Reckoning and The Further Mis-adventures of Cliff Booth, none of which have been seen unlike some other festival favorites.
With that being said, here's how I see the 10 Best Picture nominees at this point in time, ranked from most to least likely:
1. The Odyssey
2. La Bola Negra
3. Wild Horse Nine
4. The Debut
5. Dune: Part Three
6. Fjord
7. Behemoth!
8. Project Hail Mary
9. The Invite
10. Digger
Keeping an eye on: Club Kid, Obsession, Elsinore, I Play Rocky, Possible Love
NFL MUSINGS
Here's a few thoughts with one Week 2 game remaining on Monday Night in Los Angeles between the Rams and Giants:
- Right now, there are two teams looking more complete than any others and they both reside in the NFC West. Seattle and San Francisco are both undefeated and both look great. With backup QB Drew Lock at the helm, Seattle pounded an Arizona team that was game last week and made it look easy. Meanwhile, San Francisco just demolished the Dolphins after their big showing in Australia against the Rams.
- The other 2-0 teams are certainly intriguing. Buffalo looks to possibly have the best offense in the league and looks very hungry but their defense makes me nervous. Kansas City also is looking reminiscent of their Super Bowl teams in many ways but they struggled to close the game last night. Cincinnati actually has a 2-0 start for a second straight year but I need to see more from this snake-bitten franchise before I truly believe. The Eagles are always fast starters but let's see how they respond when they hit adversity. And the Vikings defense has looked downright scary despite a tepid offense. All those teams could join Seattle and San Fran in the upper echelon if they can be a little more convincing in their weaker areas. And then there's the Raiders. A mirage or are they actually a threat to be good? Time will tell but it might be more about the Dolphins and (surprisingly) the Chargers being no good.
- A team I'm definitely keeping my eye on is the Panthers. Yes, their defense was miserable against the Bears last week but this is two weeks in a row that Bryce Young has played lights out on offense. In a bad division, this is a team that could stack up some wins quickly. On the other end of that game, there is no worse team than the Falcons right now. I'd even trust the Dolphins over them.
- I picked LA Rams vs. Houston for the Super Bowl in preseason and they haven't won a game yet. But I still don't feel terrible about the pick. I still think Houston can pull it together. They were slow starters last year too. And I do think the Rams will rebound tonight against the Giants.
- The Packers are one of my two teams along with the Bills but I don't feel good about the Pack at all even with a win over the Jets in overtime. This does not look like a team ready to compete at all with the big dogs in the NFC.
- A couple "get right" games happened in Week 2 after surprising losses in Week 1. Dallas and Denver both looked much better this week after embarrassing primetime losses in Week 1. I have a feeling those Week 1 losses will be a distant memory soon.
- Finally, the Browns winning was really the worst thing that could have happened for them long term. Everyone knows Deshaun Watson is not the answer but this win prolongs it and keeps Shedeur Sanders on the bench. Sanders is probably not the answer either but the Browns will need to try and Watson is going to stink it up again real soon.
COMING UP
This week marks the beginning of the traditional broadcast season and while that doesn't mean nearly as much anymore, we still have a network premiere on the first night with Line of Fire on NBC. This is a slot that used to deliver big premieres but we are well past that now though I think NBC really wants their freshman shows to work. On Tuesday, FOX's Doc returns for a third season as it has become a flagship show for FOX in a short time. On Wednesday, Apple TV's Brothers brings Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson back to TV in a comedy that I feel will be divisive with critics and viewers. On Thursday, Netflix has its reboot of A Different World which seems quite different from the original hit of the 80s and 90s. On Friday, Starz has the premiere of the spinoff of S.W.A.T.: S.W.A.T.: Exiles, which brings Shemar Moore back in the role he played on the CBS procedural. Finally, Sunday has the animated premieres on Sunday of The Simpsons, Universal Basic Guys and Grimsburg while a live action comedy returns to the night for the first time in awhile with Animal Control.
I am now a contributor to The TV Ratings Guide and making Pilots Revisited posts on Tuesdays. Check it out!
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