Benjamonster's TV

THE BAKER AND THE BEAUTY Starring: Victor Rasuk, Nathalie Kelley, Dan Bucatinsky, David Del Rio, Michelle Veintimilla, Belissa Escobedo, with Lisa Vidal and Carlos Gomez Developed for American Television by Dean Georgaris Based on the Israeli Television Series "Beauty and the Baker" by Assi Azar Telelplay by Dean Georgaris,  Directed by David Frankel Last year was the first time I read some of the pilots before Upfronts. I had plans to read all of them but only made it through ABC and a few NBC ones. There were a lot of ABC ones that I was interested in and go figure they picked up almost none of them. But one of the ones I actually really liked, much to my surprise, was The Baker and the Beauty . It's been about a year since I read the pilot but a lot of it stuck with me watching the pilot tonight and I am happy to report that the final product was as charming as the script. The Baker and the Beauty is based on an Israeli series but centered on a Hi...

BROKE Starring: Jaime Camil, Pauley Perrette, Natasha Leggero, Izzy Diaz, Antonio Raul Corbo Created by Alex Herschlag Written by Alex Herschlag, Directed by Victor Gonzalez Broke has been billed as Pauley Perrette's return to CBS following her long run on NCIS . She's also been the focal point of most of the advertisements. So I was surprised to see it was Jaime Camil who received top billing for the show. The fact that this was what I chose to talk about first in my review should tell you how I felt about this show, the latest in the unfortunate string of lame multi-camera sitcoms. It continues to bother me so much that shows in this form struggle so hard to be clever or well-written when there are so many historical examples ( Cheers, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, etc) that did it to perfection. Broke is about a blue collar single mom, Jackie (Perrette) who has to welcome in her very wealthy sister Elizabeth and her husband Javier (Natasha Leggero and Jai...

COUNCIL OF DADS Starring: Sarah Wayne Callies, Clive Standen, J. August Richards, Michele Weaver, Emjay Anthony, Thalia Tran, Blue Chapman, Steven Silver and Michael O'Neill Created by Joan Rater and Tony Phelan Written by Joan Rater & Tony Phelan,  Directed by James Strong The network that brought you This is Us and has tried to replicate it since with Rise and The Village , has another one for you. Now, this is coming from someone who loves This is Us but also recognizes when a show is being manipulative and not creative. Every hit spawns copycats, look at what happened (and is still happening to a degree) after shows like Friends and Lost . There could be worse types of shows to try to emulate though and  Council of Dads seems to fall somewhere in between the best of these kinds of shows ( This is Us ) and the worst ( The Village ). Council of Dads is centered on a family whose father, Scott (guest star Tom Everett Scott) gets cancer. The pilot ta...

DUNCANVILLE Starring: Amy Poehler, Ty Burrell, Riki Lindhome, Zach Cherry, Yassir Lester, Betsy Sodaro Created by Mike Scully, Julie Thacker Scully & Amy Poehler Written by Mike Scully, Julie Thacker Scully & Amy Poehler, Directed by Anne Walker Farrell Duncanville is the newest entry to the FOX animation library. It is centered on an average 15 year old named Duncan (Amy Poehler) who is always on the verge of making bad choices with his friends, much to the chagrin of his family. His mother, Debbie (also voiced by Poehler) is a pretty domineering mother while his dad, Jack (Ty Burrell) tries to be cool but is pretty lame. I mentioned this in my review of Bless the Harts , but I am not a cartoon fan. There is not a single cartoon that I watch regularly. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it was a live action sitcom. I readily admit that I have some bias against cartoon so take this with a grain of salt. I did enjoy this pilot more than Harts , so th...

FOR LIFE Starring: Nicholas Pinnock, Indira Varma, Joy Bryant, Mary Stuart Masterson, Dorian Crossmond Missick, Tyla Harris, with Glenn Fleshler and Boris McGiver Created by Hank Steinberg Written by Hank Steinberg, Directed by George Tillman Jr. I may have mentioned this before, but last spring was the first time I read some of the pilot scripts. I started with the ABC scripts with plans to read all of them. Not surprisingly, life got busy and I never made it past the ABC ones. But I did read every ABC pilot. The show that became For Life came in #5 for my dramas out of nine and was one of the only three actually picked up by ABC. I do trust my instincts on pilot reads now because this show turned out as middle of the pack as its script indicated it might be. For Life is centered on an inmate, Aaron Wallace (Nicholas Pinnock), serving a life sentence for a crime he didn't commit. Through a loophole, he managed to get a law degree and is now serving as a lawyer ...

KATY KEENE Starring: Lucy Hale, Ashleigh Murray, Katherine LaNasa, Julia Chan, Jonny Beauchamp, Lucien Laviscount, Zane Holtz, Camille Hyde Developed by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Michael Grassi Based upon the comic book by Archie Comics Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa & Michael Grassi, Directed by Maggie Kiley On paper, Katy Keene is a spinoff of Riverdale . It is based on the Archie Comics and in the same universe as CW's broody parent show. But, in practice, this show seems more like it's trying to be The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel set in present time instead of the 1950s. It also probably is a recall to Ugly Betty to those who were fans of that show. It offers a very whimsical and romanticized view of New York City with bright music and brighter colors. The moodiness of Riverdale is nowhere to be found here so it's hard to associate the two shows together. It is centered on two friends, the title character (Lucy Hale) and Josie McCoy of "J...

TOMMY Starring: Edie Falco, Michael Chernus, Adelaide Clemens, Russell G. Jones, Olivia Lucy Phillip, Vladimir Caamano, Joseph Lyle Taylor and Thomas Sadoski Created by Paul Attanasio Written by Paul Attanasio, Directed by Kate Dennis OK, so the first time I tried to watch Tommy , I fell asleep. Unlike some people, this rarely happens to me with TV so that might be an indictment on Tommy  but I also think it had to do with me being really tired and it being late. I think that because upon second viewing, I actually found Tommy  to be pretty decent. There are times where Tommy feels like it could be called Blue Bloods: Los Angeles . After all, it is centered on a police chief, this time in LA and with the city's first ever female chief, Abigail Thomas or "Tommy" (Edie Falco). She has her team but also contends with adversaries such as Mayor Buddy Gray (Thomas Sadoski), allies to the former disgraced police chief and a difficult relationship with her daug...

INDEBTED Starring: Adam Pally, Abby Elliott, Jessy Hodges, with Steven Weber and Fran Drescher Created by Dan Levy Written by Dan Levy, Directed by Andy Ackerman Indebted is certainly not lacking in experienced sitcom performers. In the same show, we have veterans from The Nanny, Wings, Happy Endings and Saturday Night Live . That's a pretty wide range of comedies that have their fans from all walks of life. So a show with this much talent can't be bad, right? Well, meet Indebted . Indebted starts in a very strange way, with Dave and Rebecca (Adam Pally & Abby Elliott) basically mid conversation with the laugh track alive and well. It was almost like they cut a few seconds and it made for a very weird start that felt off. Then the show proceeded to immediately tell us (not show us) the plot by introducing Dave's parents, Debbie and Stew (Fran Drescher & Steven Weber). First of all, the show treats Drescher like she's Lucille Ball coming back ...

OUTMATCHED Starring: Jason Biggs, Maggie Lawson, Tisha Campbell, Ashley Boettcher, Connor Kalopsis, Jack Stanton, Oakley Bull Created by Ion Zimmet Written by Ion Zimmet, Directed by Jonathan Judge I looked at the date on my computer as I was writing this review to make sure it was still 2020. Because FOX's new Outmatched looks and feels like it could have premiered in 1998. For starters, the premise is pretty silly. Two average-intelligence parents (Jason Biggs and Maggie Lawson) are surrounded by three genius children (Ashley Boettcher, Charlie Kalopsis & Jack Stanton) and one average kid (Oakley Bull). If, for some reason, you find that premise complicated, have no fear! They basically reiterated throughout the entire pilot. That was the single most annoying thing about the pilot. It was truly a one joke show. The entire episode from start to finish was about the kids being smarter than the parents. I mean, literally. There have been some other sitcoms...

9-1-1: LONE STAR Starring: Rob Lowe, Liv Tyler, Ronen Rubinstein, Sierra McClain, Jim Parrack, Natacha Karam, Brian Michael Smith, Rafael Silva, Julian Works Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Tim Minear Written by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Tim Minear, Directed by Bradley Buecker I've had very mixed feeling about Ryan Murphy's shows over the years. Plenty of them are too preachy, too erratic or too weird for me. But one of his that I actually do like is 9-1-1 . I love it for its mix of ridiculous situations and strong characters. It puts a little bit of a Ryan Murphy spin on a traditional procedural and it surprisingly works. Like any good procedural, we have a "more of the same" spinoff which sort of dilutes the freshness that 9-1-1 brought to the genre. 9-1-1: Lone Star has a little bit of a different feel than the mothership while also having elements that remind us of the original 9-1-1 . As opposed to meeting a group already w...

LINCOLN RHYME: HUNT FOR THE BONE COLLECTOR Starring: Russell Hornsby, Arielle Kebbel , Roslyn Ruff, Ramses Jimenez, Brooke Lyons, Tate Ellington, Courtney Grosbeck, with Brian O'Byrne and Michael Imperioli Developed by Mark Bianculli & VJ Boyd Teleplay by Mark Bianculli & VJ Boyd, Directed by Seth Gordon Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector was originally just called Lincoln . I understand the need to change from Lincoln (they didn't want audiences thinking it was about the president - although I would have preferred that). But why such a long and cumbersome name? Why not just call it The Bone Collector , the same title as the novel and film? It's not like shows have shied away from using the same name as their source material. I start with that because that was the most interesting thing about the pilot, it's ridiculous title. It wasn't a bad show, there was nothing laughably terrible. But it brings absolutely nothing new to the ge...

ZOEY'S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST Starring: Jane Levy, Skylar Astin, Alex Newell, John Clarence Stewart, with Peter Gallagher and Mary Steenburgen Created by Austin Winsburg Written by Austin Winsberg, Directed by Richard Shepard I watched the premiere of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist  immediately after watching the premiere of FBI: Most Wanted  and talk about two shows that couldn't be more different. FBI: Most Wanted was basically as standard as it gets while Zoey is unlike anything I've watched. I honestly don't know what to make of this wildly whimsical show. I feel like I oscillated between thinking it was utterly ridiculous and ridiculously charming. There were times it worked really well and other times it was a little manipulative and corny. But I have to give major props to NBC and the show for trying something different. After seeing a by the books procedural, this was a breath of fresh air for network TV. Zoey 's plot plays out as c...

FBI: MOST WANTED Starring: Julian McMahon, Kellan Lutz, Roxy Sternberg, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Nathaniel Arcand Created by Rene Balcer Based on the Series "FBI" Created by  Dick Wolf & Craig Turk Written by Rene Balcer, Directed by Fred Berner I watched a grand total of 1.5 episodes of FBI last year. Even though there are procedurals I really enjoy, this one just didn't click for me and there's plenty of other shows like it. I know there was a backdoor pilot that aired on FBI last year but I didn't see it, so this felt a little bit like dropping in on any procedural drama. In some ways, that was a little bit of a relief because exposition on these kinds of dramas can be extremely awkward and often result in the "case of the week" getting less attention than it should. It was clear watching this episode that exposition is really not necessary for a show like this. Sometimes, there are character driven procedurals. The Chicago sh...

DEPUTY Starring: Stephen Dorff, Yara Martinez, Brian Van Holt, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Siena Goines, Shane Paul McGhie and Mark Moses Created by Will Beall Written by Will Beall,  Directed by David Ayer FOX's new drama  Deputy was billed as blending the "spirit of a classic Western" with a "modern day attitude" and boy, do they try to hammer that home throughout the pilot. This is a show that wants to have it all and appeal to all without actually taking a stand on anything. It's like they wanted to do their rootin' tootin' shoot 'em up and get the bad guys approach that might appeal to conservatives but then bend over backwards to make progressive storylines such as immigration. As a result, the show suffers quite a bit from its tone and feel not matching its words and beliefs. Deputy centers on a veteran lawman, Bill Hollister (Stephen Dorff). How do I know this? Well, his first line is "I'm a lawman." Due to an a...

THE MOODYS Starring: Denis Leary, Elizabeth Perkins, Francois Arnaud, Chelsea Frei and Jay Baruchel Based on the Australian series "A Moody Christmas" Created for American television by Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg & Tad Quill Teleplay and Story by  Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg & Tad Quill, Directed by Bob Fisher & Rob Greenberg FOX is doing something interesting this year by running a three night, six episode holiday series. While it's billed as a "limited holiday event," I am still reviewing it because if it were to somehow make it big, you can bet FOX would find a way to get more episodes. But I'm pretty sure that won't happen so it's likely to stay a limited series. Oh well, still worth a review. The Moodys is based on an Australian limited series with a similar premise. It centers on a Chicago family with grown children getting together at Christmas time. Veterans Denis Leary and Elizabeth Perkins play the parents a...

NANCY DREW Starring: Kennedy McMann, Leah Lewis, Maddison Jaizani, Tunji Kasim, Alex Saxon, Alvina August, with Riley Smith and Scott Wolf Developed by Noga Landau, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage Teleplay by Noga Landau, Josh Schwartz & Stephanie Savage, Story by Noga Landau Directed by Larry Teng I've only been watching CW shows for this blog for a few years (this is my fourth season reviewing them) and it's amazing how much the "C" shows (from CBS Studios) have a very distinct brand to them. If Nancy Drew was on any other network, it would have a different feel. But on this network, it's so very similar in feel to so many others. The most obvious connection is Riverdale  (it's a shame the CW didn't have this show during Riverdale 's one half season two years ago where it really seemed to have some heat). We had a small town setting, gorgeous actors, an Ariana Grande song playing in the background. What else do you need...

BATWOMAN Starring: Ruby Rose, Rachel Skarsten, Meagan Tandy, Nicole Kang, Camrus Johnson, Elizabeth Anweis and Dougray Scott Based on Characters Created for DC by Bob Kane with Bill Finger Developed by Caroline Dries Written by Caroline Dries, Directed by Marcos Siega If you've read this blog a long time, you probably know I am not a fan of superhero shows or movies. You may also know that the Batman Universe is the exception to the rule. I have been a fan of Batman-related things since I was young and it has always defied my dislike for the superhero genre. I go see the Batman movies, I even watched more than a full season of Gotham . So, I was more interested in Batwoman than any DC show that's ever been on the CW. I didn't ultimately stick with Gotham , but one of the things I liked most about it was its noir feel and general moodiness. Batwoman evokes some of those same feelings. The series has received a lot of attention, both positive and negat...