Benjamonster's TV

Last week, I looked at  My Top 10 Most Anticipated Returning Shows  for 2023. This week, I turn towards the new shows. This is more of a crapshoot because I don't know how these shows will turn out. On  last year's list , my Top 2 were The First Lady and The Gilded Age and I ended up feeling "meh" at best about both of them. Meanwhile, one of my favorites like The Bear wasn't even on my radar. But based on what I know now, here are My Top 10 Most Anticipated New Shows of 2023! Honorable Mentions (shows that look interesting but I'm skeptical if they'll really work for me and my tastes): The Last of Us (HBO), The Idol (HBO), Masters of the Air (Apple TV+), All the Light We Cannot See (Netflix) 10. FULL CIRCLE (TBD, HBO Max) There isn't too much information on this show yet but it is notable for being a rare venture into television by acclaimed film director Steven Soderbergh. He has only done a few TV projects in his career, most notably The Knick . Thi...

Happy New Year! I'm kicking off 2023 with a look at my Top 10 Most Anticipated Returning Shows of 2023. For this list, I am sticking with shows that have not yet aired in this Emmy cycle and also looking at shows that are definitely or very likely to return in 2023 whereas some others like Euphoria are more unknown. So here we go! Check out my  list from last year ! 10.  AMERICAN AUTO (January 24, NBC) The 2021-22 TV season saw a slew of strong new broadcast comedies. Abbott Elementary got most of the attention and whatever attention Abbott didn't get went to Ghosts . Those two shows are very deserving but there was another show that flew under the radar with a quietly strong first season. American Auto is a spiritual successor to Superstore . It was perhaps less fully formed than the two other comedies mentioned but it really found its groove as the first season went on. I'm really glad NBC renewed the show and I expect it will really hit its stride in Season Two. 9. THE O...

My Top 10 Tuesday today is Top 10 Parks and Recreation Characters ! After today, I will be doing some Emmy Preview posts on Tuesdays for the rest of the "season." Close Calls: Chris Traeger, Mona Lisa Saperstein, Perd Hapley 10. JENNIFER BARKLEY Before Kathryn Hahn got a ton of attention as Agatha on WandaVision , she was loved in more niche circles. For me, her best role ever (perhaps including Agatha) was as Jennifer Barkley, the high powered campaign manager for Bobby Newport who drifted in and out of Pawnee in the later years of Parks and Rec . Her line deliveries and complete disregard for the small town was always so funny, she was a tour de force every time she appeared. 9. JEAN-RALPHIO SAPERSTEIN I know some people find Jean-Ralphio irritating but I most certainly do not. The show used him sparingly, which was smart. But Ben Schwartz's character made the most of every appearance. He was a giant ball of weird energy who turned the lines into performances. He always...

For my Top 10 this week, I am counting down the Top 10 The Dick Van Dyke Show Characters ! 10. STACEY PETRIE Trying to come up with a #10 for this list was difficult as we're basically reduced to guest stars, there are really only nine regular or recurring characters on the show. I put Stacey Petrie on the list because it's fun to watch Jerry Van Dyke and Dick Van Dyke interact with each other and because Stacey was a more fully realized character than a lot of one-off guest stars. 9. RITCHIE PETRIE I love The Dick Van Dyke Show but let's be honest, Ritchie is towards the bottom of the list as far as TV Kids go. He sometimes has some funny moments and there are some good moments for Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore interacting with them but more often than not, Larry Mathews is an unfortunate weak part of the show. He still comes in at #9 though because he's obviously an important character.

My Top 10 this week is Top 10 7th Heaven Characters ! 10. DEENA STEWART Deena is on this list solely because I was the same age as the character when the show first aired and had a huge crush on her at the time. I found Simon annoying and thought Deena really needed to be with me instead. She wasn't a great actress (but who on this list was?) but I was pretty heartbroken when she left the show. 9. SARAH GLASS CAMDEN The last gasp of solid episodes of 7th Heaven came when Sarah joined the cast as love interest and then wife for Matt. The show played up the fact that she came from a Jewish family with a Rabbi father while Matt was from a Christian family with a preacher father. But she was a down to earth personality and a good fit for Matt.

My Top 10 this week is Top 10 8 Simple Rules Characters ! 10. JEREMY One of Jonathan Taylor Thomas' few post- Home Improvement acting roles came on 8 Simple Rules in a three episode arc as a tutor and then love interest for Bridget. The opposites attract story was pretty strong and the Thomas arc was one of the better post-Paul 8 Simple Rules things. There was a natural chemistry between Thomas and Kaley Cuoco that I wish could have developed more. 9. KYLE Kyle was a character who dated both daughters and also was friends with Rory. I always felt the show forced things a little bit when Kyle got together with Kerry though I guess it was sort of means to an end because that story was ore about the dynamics between the sisters. He was at his funniest though in the early days when he was Bridget's dim boyfriend sparring often with Paul.

My Top 10 this week is Top 10 The Mary Tyler Moore Show Characters. This is my all time #1 show so it was a list I took quite seriously! 10. GORDY HOWARD The Mary Tyler Moore Show only had eight regular characters during its run and back in those days, recurring characters on shows were few and far between. One of the few was Gordy the weatherman played by John Amos before he hit in big with Good Times and Roots . Gordy was always good for a few quips and the show occasionally dabbled with him being the only black character in a white sitcom/ensemble. I'm sure he would have had more to do if the show was made today but he made the most of his limited opportunities. 9. IDA MORGENSTERN Nancy Walker only appeared in four episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show but boy did she make her presence known in a role she then shined in on Rhoda too. Her first two appearances ("Support Your Local Mother" and "A Girl's Best Friend is Not Her Mother") are among the all-time...

My Top 10 this week is Top 10 Superstore Characters ! 10. KELLY WATSON Superstore shares a lot of similarities with The Office and Kelly is certainly the Karen Filipelli of this show. She got a little bit of a bad rap for coming in between the main love story on the show through no fault of her own. I liked that she still held her own and they made her a teeny bit crazy but enough of her own personality and not just a cog in the Amy-Jonah story. Kelly Stables played it well. 9. BO THOMPSON Bo was such a great "small dose" character. Had he been a series regular, he might have been a more annoying character than Marcus (who you'll notice is not on this list). But because Bo was such an infrequent character, he made his mark much like Jean Ralphio on Parks and Recreation . He was such a man child who tried way too hard and Johnny Pemberton had an incredible way with his delivery.

This week for my Top 10, I am counting down my Top 10 The People vs. O.J. Simpson Characters ! I should mention that I am basing this off the characters in the series, not their real-life counterparts. 10. F. LEE BAILEY I always enjoy seeing Nathan Lane do dramatic work because he always blends it nicely with comedy and that was the case with his role in this series. F. Lee Bailey was one of the many larger-than-life lawyers involved in the case. Lane wasn't given as much of a chance to give the character depth which is why he only comes in at #10, but as a later addition to the proceedings, he still made a pretty strong impression. 9. MARK FUHRMAN Before there was such a thing as Cancel Culture, Mark Fuhrman was cancelled in the court of public opinion and with good reason. But the series and actor Steven Pasquale did a great job of conveying how his own words and choices in other parts of his life limited what was a pretty damning testimony. He lost all credibility and Pasquale d...

My Top 10 this week is Top 10 The Sopranos Characters ! 10. LIVIA SOPRANO Early on in The Sopranos , before actress Nancy Marchand's death, Tony Soprano's mother was a very prominent character. Though she was only in the first couple years, her character gave us plenty of interesting material in her own right and set up our understanding of Tony through the rest of the series. A different show would have found ways to make her more sympathetic. Not The Sopranos , they delighted in showcasing the mental torture she put others through and they never backed away from that. 9. JANICE SOPRANO Another actual family member of Tony's, his younger sister Janice also makes the list. She provided more comedic relief on the series as she was so often a complete hot mess. She gets into ridiculous relationships and can't move forward in her life, which drives Tony crazy. There's probably a Janice-type character somewhere in your family so Tony's frustrations with her were alw...

My Top 10 this week is Top 10 Roseanne Characters ! I did factor in the revival season of Roseanne but not The Conners , since that is technically a different show. 10. CRYSTAL ANDERSON-CONNER Crystal wasn't one of my favorite characters. I felt like she was overused at points and might have been better off as an occasional guest star. At her best moments though, she provided a different dynamic to Roseanne than Jackie provided as a non-family confidante for the main character (though of course she eventually became family).  9. BOOKER BROOKS Before he became a breakout star on ER and then a worldwide movie star, George Clooney had humble beginnings on a lot of failed shows. His most steady job early in his career was on Roseanne . He was a pretty prominent character in the first season who had a funny relationship with both Roseanne and Jackie. Of course Clooney was meant for bigger things but I wish Booker had stuck around as a character.

My Top 10 this week is Top 10 Friends Characters ! A tough list to make as Friends is one of my favorite shows! Close Calls: Gunther, Judy Geller, Sandra Green 10. JACK GELLER Jack Geller was such a ridiculous and bombastic character and he fends off some strong close calls (including his wife!) to come in at #10 on the list. Elliott Gould played the awkward father character to perfection who always shared just a little bit too much and went a little bit too far. But he also ultimately meant well and had some very sweet moments on the show with his on-screen children. Jack and Judy provided a different type of dynamic whenever they were on the show with the age difference. 9. MIKE HANNIGAN Phoebe was always a little bit of an outsider among the six main cast members - she wasn't siblings with any of them, she didn't date any of them, she didn't know any of them when they were in high school. So her story occasionally was parallel. That continued towards the end of the serie...

My Top 10 this week is Top 10 Murphy Brown Characters ! 10. ELDIN BERNECKY I know a lot of people like Eldin, but his character wasn't quite for me. He has some nice moments but in general, I tend to want the "home" scenes to go by quickly and get back to the office scenes. And as far as recurring jokes go, the revolving door of secretaries is a much better one than Eldin painting Murphy's house for years and years. But the character did have a heart of gold so that has to count for something. 9. AVERY BROWN There were two Avery Browns on Murphy Brown  - Murphy's mother and Murphy's son. Colleen Dewhurst won Emmys but it's been a long time since I've seen her limited appearances. So I went with Avery, the son, thanks to the ill-advised 2018 revival. While that revival was completely stale and unnecessary, Jake McDorman was easily the best part of it with a fun personality and a good relationship with his on-screen mother.

For my Top 10 Tuesday, I am counting down my Top 10 The Americans Characters! Spoilers ahead in this post if you haven't watched the entire series. 10. GABRIEL Veteran actor Frank Langella joined the cast of The Americans pretty late in its run and while the show already had a lot of prestige, he brought an added layer of gravitas to the cast. Gabriel had great scenes with Philip and Elizabeth that involved a lot of honest conversations and he was also a big player when Paige was possibly joining her parents. 9. KIMMY BRELAND Before her breakout role on Ozark , Julia Garner was turning heads in a great supporting role in later seasons of The Americans . There was a lot of mystique to her character early on and it led to some questionable decisions by Philip. While some of those mysterious characters were given a little too much time on The Americans , I actually could have stood to see more of Kimmy because I liked her story and her impact on Philip's story.

This week, my Top 10 is Top 10 Laverne & Shirley Characters ! 10. SONNY ST. JACQUES Laverne & Shirley wasn't a show with a ton of characters. In fact, I considered including a couple Happy Days characters who guested on the show to round on the list but that didn't seem true to the spirit of these Top 10 lists. So I went with Sonny St. Jacques, a decent but mostly inconsequential character from the later Hollywood years. Ed Marinaro was game for the role but he didn't really add much (or take away much) from the show. 9. RHONDA LEE Another Hollywood-era character, Rhonda Lee comes in just ahead of Sonny because she was a little bit better of a character who had funnier moments and more meaningful plots (some of the time). She was a nice contrast to the Midwest sensibility of Laverne and Shirley even if she was clearly trying to be the "Chrissy Snow" in an era where Three's Company was dominating the ratings.

After a couple weeks of end of year and beginning of year lists, my Top 10 Tuesday is returning to characters from shows with the Top 10 The Good Wife Characters ! 10. JACKIE FLORRICK Peter's mother was the mother-in-law from hell and played with delight by Mary Beth Peil. I always liked her subtle and passive-aggressive approach towards Alicia as it was one of the many ways the show would venture into comedy. Any episode she was on was sure to have a couple strong moments and enlivened the home life of Alcia, which was not always one of the strongest parts of the series. 9. PETER FLORRICK It was tough to rank Peter Florrick in light of the recent news that his portrayer, Chris Noth, is a pretty bad guy. He may have slid down a couple notches on this list with the news so fresh but Peter Florrick was never one of my favorite characters on the show. He was always a side character and the story with him seemed to go round and round in circles. Perhaps he would have been a more effect...

Last week, I looked at my  Most Anticipated Returning Shows of 2022 . Today, I am looking at my Top 10 Most Anticipated New Shows of 2022 ! I will stress this is my personal list, not a list of the generally most anticipated shows or else shows like The Lord of the Rings, House of the Dragon and Halo would be on the list. But I am not personally interested in any of those shows so they are not on here. 10. THE WOMAN IN THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE GIRL IN THE WINDOW (January 28, Netflix) This show would not have made my Top 10 list before the trailer dropped a week ago, but after seeing the trailer, I became very interested. The title is so long, it stretches past the point of being annoying and ventures into the absurd territory. But I really enjoy Kristen Bell and the trailer definitely gave me Flight Attendant vibes along with the obvious references to the classic Rear Window . I think this could be a fun and twisty mystery show and I'm a sucker for shows like that. 9. W...

I'll be taking a break from the character lists for the next two weeks and looking ahead to 2022. This is my list of my Most Anticipated Returning Shows for 2022 . For this list, I did not include shows that have already aired in this Emmy cycle such as Ted Lasso . I know Season 3 will likely come in 2022 but I feel like we're still "in" Season 2 since that will be the season looked at for both my personal awards and the Emmys. 10. BRIDGERTON (March 25, Netflix) The second season of Bridgerton is famously not going to include Rege-Jean Page as his breakout role as the Duke of Hastings was a one year contract. The second season, like the second book the series is based on, will focus on Jonathan Bailey's Anthony and his quest for a wife. With a lot of new cast members, I'm curious to see where the series goes. My only concern is it was such a breakout show that surprised everyone and I worry that the second season will be too aware of its success and lean too h...

Before the blog heads on a break next week, my Top 10 this week is Top 10 Episodes of 2021! Close Calls This is Us "One Small Step" (3/23/21) Modern Love "On A Serpentine Road, with the Top Down" (8/13/21) Brooklyn Nine-Nine "The Last Day" (9/16/21) 10. WandaVision "Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience" (1/15/21) As I've probably stated before on the blog, I am not a Marvel fan. But I was willing to cast that aside for WandaVision because of its homage to classic TV. And while I was mostly uninterested in the mythology, I absolutely loved each classic sitcom that it paid tribute to. Perhaps the most impressive visually though was the first episode, a clear tribute to The Dick Van Dyke Show and actually filmed (pre-pandemic) in front of a live studio audience as the title of the episode says. It wasn't even a parody, the episode was played straight as a 60s sitcom save for a couple odd moments and its commitment to the form was pretty impr...

For my Top 10 this week, I am counting down my Top 10 I Love Lucy Characters - one of TV's all time classics but not one with a ton of characters. 10. CAROLYN APPLEBY Carolyn Appleby was only in ten episodes (once as Lillian Appleby) but it felt like more because she was referred to often by Lucy. She was a pretty typical busybody and was at her best when she was competing with Lucy for one reason or another (such as who had the better baby pictures). She created a different dynamic as a female contemporary to Lucy as even Ethel was a little bit older. 9. MRS. MCGUILLICUDY Lucy's mother accompanied the Ricardos and Mertzes to Hollywood and she was just an unbearable as you might imagine. But she provided a lot of funny moments for Lucy and Ricky, and she played the annoying role very effectively. It shouldn't be a surprise that an older version of Lucy would be even more of a loose cannon and the show had fun with that though I wish they explored a little more of her relati...