TV 2021 TV DISCUSSION

[Curt McGirt]

I will warn you, some of the time shifts between seasons are jarring. They don't pick up immediately after each other, so it's a "several years down the road..." kind of situation. And towards the end it feels like there is a lot of cast to keep track of. Otherwise, good show.

[Johnny Sorrow]

I just saw the trailer for the Sopranos prequel. How have I just heard about this? Looks pretty good.

[The Natural]

The New Statesman. My favourite Rik Mayall show and character, Alan B'Stard.

[Dolfan in NYC]

Siri, show me something I know I want but I know I'll hate.  

 

 

[RIPPA]

TLC has finally gotten around to cancelling Counting On

[odessasteps]

7 hours ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

Siri, show me something I know I want but I know I'll hate.  

 

 

I'd feel better about this if Terry was still around to counter balance Neil.

[bobholly138]

On 6/30/2021 at 7:57 AM, RIPPA said:

TLC has finally gotten around to cancelling Counting On

I'm sure some other channel will give that family another show.

[John from Cincinnati]

SUCCESSION SEASON THREE!!!!

"This fall"

 

[Craig H]

10 hours ago, John from Cincinnati said:

SUCCESSION SEASON THREE!!!!

"This fall"

 

Let's fucking go! 

[HumanChessgame]

I'm finally giving The Sopranos a try. When it initially aired I'd occasionally catch an episode since it came on before Oz and Six Feet Under, but it never really did anything for me. What is generally considered the best/"if you're not into it by now you're not going to be" season? I'm already aware the end was a disappointment to a lot of fans.

[Mister TV]

33 minutes ago, HumanChessgame said:

I'm finally giving The Sopranos a try. When it initially aired I'd occasionally catch an episode since it came on before Oz and Six Feet Under, but it never really did anything for me. What is generally considered the best/"if you're not into it by now you're not going to be" season? I'm already aware the end was a disappointment to a lot of fans.

Season 1 is very good but they were still working the kinks out, there’s going to be a point in season 2 where you‘ll be hooked and in for the full run. 

[Curt McGirt]

Yeah. I just rewatched 2-4 and 3 is probably the best, but 2 is the one that will get you.

[Brian Fowler]

I guess I'm an outlier here. I love the entire series, but I don't think the show ever fully recovered from the death of Nancy Marchand and was never quite as good after that.

Edited July 10, 2021 by Brian Fowler

[driver]

Nearing the end of season 2 myself. It's to forget how good these episodes were.

[J.H.]

Richie Aprile was such a scuzwad in cast of characters that are all scuzwads and the way Junior plays it smart by seeing how the other Capos reacted to just the idea of replacing Tony and makes his play from there. It finally shows Junior as being far more canny than he was in S1.

James

[odessasteps]

To maximize eyeballs...

Gabe Kaplan is on Gilbert's podcast this week. 

The description says Battle of the Network Stars talk. 

Edited July 12, 2021 by odessasteps

[Dolfan in NYC]

The Emmys have made their nominations!  

Michaela Jae Rodriguez has just made history as the first trans actress to be nominated for Best Lead in a Drama (Pose).

The nominees:

Comedy

Spoiler

Lead Actress, Comedy
Aidy Bryant, “Shrill”
Kaley Cuoco, “The Flight Attendant”
Allison Janney, “Mom”
Tracee Ellis Ross, “Black-ish”
Jean Smart, “Hacks”

Lead Actor, Comedy
Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish”
Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method”
William H. Macy, “Shameless”
Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”
Kenan Thompson, “Kenan”

Supporting Actress, Comedy
Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”
Aidy Bryant, “SNL”
Kate McKinnon, “SNL”
Cecily Strong, “SNL”
Juno Temple, “Ted Lasso”
Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso”
Rosie Perez, “The Flight Attendant”

Supporting Actor, Comedy
Carl Clemons-Hopkins, “Hacks”
Kenan Thompson, “SNL”
Bowen Yang, “SNL”
Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso”
Brendan Hunt, “Ted Lasso”
Nick Mohammed, “Ted Lasso”
Jeremy Swift, “Ted Lasso”
Paul Reiser, “The Kominsky Method”

Guest Actress, Comedy
Jane Adams, “Hacks”
Yvette Nicole Brown, “A Black Lady Sketch Show”
Bernadette Peters, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”
Issa Rae, “A Black Lady Sketch Show”
Maya Rudolph, “SNL”
Kristen Wiig, “SNL”

Guest Actor, Comedy
Alec Baldwin, “SNL”
Dave Chappelle, “SNL”
Morgan Freeman, “The Kominsky Method”
Daniel Kaluuya, “SNL”
Daniel Levy, “SNL”

Comedy Series
”Black-ish” (ABC)
“Cobra Kai” (Netflix)
“Emily in Paris” (Netflix)
“Hacks” (HBO Max)
“The Flight Attendant” (HBO Max)
“The Kominsky Method” (Netflix)
“Pen15″ (Hulu)
“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)

Limited Series, Movie or Anthology

Spoiler

Lead Actress, Limited Series, Movie or Anthology
Michaela Coel, “I May Destroy You”
Cynthia Erivo, “Genius: Aretha”
Elizabeth Olsen, “WandaVision”
Anya Taylor-Joy, “The Queen’s Gambit”
Kate Winslet, “Mare of Easttown”

Lead Actor, Limited Series, Movie or Anthology
Paul Bettany, “WandaVision”
Hugh Grant, “The Undoing”
Ewan McGregor, “Halston”
Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Hamilton”
Leslie Odom, Jr., “Hamilton”

Supporting Actress, Limited Series, Movie or Anthology
Phillipa Soo, “Hamilton”
Renee Elise Goldsberry, “Hamilton”
Jean Smart, “Mare of Easttown”
Julianne Nicholson, “Mare of Easttown”
Moses Ingram, “The Queen’s Gambit”
Kathryn Hahn, “WandaVision”

Supporting Actor, Limited Series, Movie or Anthology
Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton”
Jonathan Groff, “Hamilton”
Anthony Ramos, “Hamilton”
Paapa Essiedu, “I May Destroy You”
Evan Peters, “Mare of Easttown”
Thomas Brodie-Sangster, “The Queen’s Gambit”

Limited Series
”I May Destroy You” (HBO)
“Mare of Easttown” (HBO)
“The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix)
“The Underground Railroad” (Amazon Prime)
“WandaVision” (Disney+)

Made-For-Television Movie
”Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square” (Netflix)
“Oslo” (HBO)
“Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia” (Lifetime)
“Sylvie’s Love” (Amazon Prime)
“Uncle Frank” (Amazon Prime)

Drama

Spoiler

Lead Actress, Drama
Uzo Aduba, “In Treatment”
Olivia Colman, “The Crown”
Emma Corrin, “The Crown”
Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Mj Rodriguez, “Pose”
Jurnee Smollett, “Lovecraft Country”

Lead Actor, Drama
Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”
Jonathan Majors, “Lovecraft Country”
Josh O’Connor, “The Crown”
Rege-Jean Page, “Bridgerton”
Billy Porter, “Pose”
Matthew Rhys, “Perry Mason”

Supporting Actress, Drama
Aunjanue Ellis, “Lovecraft Country”
Gillian Anderson, “The Crown”
Helena Bonham Carter, “The Crown”
Emerald Fennell, “The Crown”
Madeline Brewer, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Ann Dowd, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Yvonne Strahovski, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Samira Wiley, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Supporting Actor, Drama
Michael K. Williams, “Lovecraft Country”
John Lithgow, “Perry Mason”
Tobias Menzies, “The Crown”
O-T Fagbenle, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Max Minghella, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Bradley Whitford, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Giancarlo Esposito, “The Mandalorian”
Chris Sullivan, “This Is Us”

Guest Actress, Drama
Alexis Bledel, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Claire Foy, “The Crown”
Mckenna Grace, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Sophie Okonedo, “Ratched”
Phylicia Rashad, “This Is Us”

Guest Actor, Drama
Don Cheadle, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”
Charles Dance, “The Crown”
Timothy Olyphant, “The Mandalorian”
Courtney B. Vance, “Lovecraft Country”
Carl Weathers, “The Mandalorian”

Drama Series
”The Boys” (Amazon)
“Bridgerton” (Netflix)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
“Lovecraft Country” (HBO)
“The Mandalorian” (Disney+)
“Pose” (FX)
“This Is Us” (NBC)

Variety and Competition

Spoiler

Variety Talk Series
”Conan” (TBS)
“The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)

Competition Series
”The Amazing Race” (CBS)
“Nailed It!” (Netflix)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)
“Top Chef” (Bravo)
“The Voice” (NBC)

Reality Show Host
Nicole Byer, “Nailed It!“
Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness, “Queer Eye”
RuPaul, “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary, “Shark Tank”
Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons, “Top Chef”

Unstructured Reality Program
”Becoming” (Disney+)
“Below Deck” (Bravo)
“Indian Matchmaking” (Netflix)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race Untucked” (VH1)
“Selling Sunset” (Netflix)

Variety Sketch Series
”A Black Lady Sketch Show” (HBO)
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

 

[Matt D]

What stands out this year is just how much of this stuff I've actually seen! I blame the pandemic. Feels more like half instead of a handful.

 

[John from Cincinnati]

Cheadle with an all-time "fuck it, at least I recognize his name" nomination. 

[Greggulator]

Hacks on HBO is really great. Jean Smart deserves every award.

Every other show I have ever watched about the comedy business, except for 30 Rock, completely sucks. But they made a dramatic show about a relationship between an aging comedian with a huge ego and a struggling young writer with an even bigger sense of entitlement that is also funny. And the actual comedy presented works, too. 

The writers got their start on  Broad City, which is one of my favorites. This is such a great change.

 

[Curt McGirt]

So, I binged all of The Sopranos for the real first time ever, having found the last two seasons. Couple thoughts: 

- Watching it in full I got a better grasp of the different families and crews and just what the fuck was going on. When I watched it with my dad the first time, them talking about no-shows and trading off pieces of different unions was like a foreign language. 

- AJ comes off as almost infuriatingly stupid on this show. It's not the lack of interest he has or the spoiledness that bothers me, it's that he doesn't even have hobbies. Everything he does blows up in his face (sometimes literally) but he can't ever evoke any sympathy. He also never smiles unless he's laughing every once in awhile. Probably a good choice for the character.

- Here's my fruitless pie-in-the-sky version of what happened during and after the last scene

Spoiler

The gunman was the Members Only Jacket Guy. He went into the bathroom to pick up a gun, or psych himself up. I know, a Godfather reference, but I can see Tony looking up at Meadow walking in the door and the guy coming up from behind and putting two in the back of his head. Maybe he kills AJ too even though they talk about family not being targeted, because he's old enough to come looking for revenge and has some connections. If not I can see the dumbass trying to get revenge like he did with Junior and failing miserably. Meadow and Carmella are both traumatized but go back to their lives. If AJ does survive, back with the mobbed up connections to start a club somewhere or start shooting porn. Probably knocks up the 17 year old "model" too. 

- The scene at the gas station will never not make me laugh. "OH, SHIT!" *kid pukes* The other great laugh that never gets old is the bum saying "I told you young people that crack was some baaad shit."

- There are a disturbingly large amount of shots of Tony having an orgasm in the last two seasons. Not even trying to analyze that. 

Edited July 18, 2021 by Curt McGirt

[Eoae]

Quote

Lead Actress, Comedy
Kaley Cuoco, “The Flight Attendant”

The Flight Attendant was a comedy?

I didn't watch it, but the trailers certainly didn't give me the impression it was a comedy.

[EVA]

Not a pure comedy, but it was legitimately funny and was more likely to get nominations in the Comedy field, thus…it was deemed a comedy. 
 

Cuoco was very good in it and deserved a nom.  Shockingly good.

Edited July 19, 2021 by EVA

[Craig H]

Hacks was...fine...I tend to agree with Neal Brennan that the biggest problem with Hacks and anything else about comedy writing or stand up comedy is that the stand up comedy they wind up showing ultimately sucks. I think the only tv show or movie that I can think of that didn't have that problem were the bits they showed on Funny People. I'm talking about the comedy club stuff that actually filmed sets from comedians. In fact, I'm not sure I laughed much during Hacks at all, but it was passable and the dynamic between Deborah and Ava was what sold me more than anything else. Even then, they're both extremely unlikable people. In fact, I think the only likable character is Marcus, but even then he's just the typical character that could easily make the right decision for himself and doesn't and shoots himself in the foot instead. 

The only reason I even watched Hacks was because Michael Schur exec. produced it and Jen Statsky, who wrote on Parks and Rec, The Good Place, and Broad City also was the main driver of the series. So I was expecting that sort of quality here and it just wasn't there.

In fact, I'll say that HBO has something of a problem right now when it comes to comedies. Silicon Valley and Veep both left huge, gaping holes in their lineup at the same time and nothing has been able to fill that void. What's worse is that the new stuff that HBO Max has come out with has felt very un-HBO. Hacks feels closer to an HBO series, but Flight Attendant feels like something that could have been on broadcast TV. 

HBO also has this weird shit where they seem to pump out one series about rich pieces of shit after another now. They hit with Succession and since then it's been that series about young, powerful people, or this White Lotus series, or Hacks. Their limited series stuff is still great though. And the documentaries are still good. It's just the prestige dramas and hilarious comedy series are seriously lacking and it's like they're in a holding pattern until the Last of Us.

[odessasteps]

HBO also gave us Entourage and Ballers before that, right?