TV Recap: July 10-16, 2022

NEW SHOWS
Better Call Saul – “Point and Shoot” (A) / mid-season premiere
I wasn’t among the group that considered themselves slightly bewildered by the previous episode, which ended with a shocking death. The writing staff has perfect crafted every moment, so even when we know certain events will or won’t happen, we’re still on the edge of our seats. It’s much harder than it looks.

What We Do in the Shadows
“Reunited” (B+) / season premiere
“The Lamp” (A)

BINGEING
Hacks – Season 2 (A average)
From now until the end of the year, this will be jockeying for the top spot on my favorite shows list with Barry and Better Call Saul. This show was already sharp and sexy, but it went to another level this season, even adding old pros like Laurie Metcalf and Harriet Sansom Harris. Both the show and the characters are more confident, leading to an obscene amount of laughs.

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2022 Emmy Picks: Drama

DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul (AMC)
Euphoria (HBO)
Ozark (Netflix)
Severance (AppleTV+)
Squid Game (Netflix)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
Succession (HBO)
Yellowjackets (Showtime)

Potential surprises:
Bridgerton (Netflix) – 1 nomination
The Gilded Age (HBO) – new show
Pachinko (AppleTV+) – new show
This Is Us (NBC) – 4 nominations
Yellowstone (Paramount Network) – never nominated

Ineligible: The Boys, The Crown, The Handmaid’s Tale, Lovecraft Country, The Mandalorian, Pose

In my dreams: Evil (Paramount+)

ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Brian Cox, Succession
Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Jeremy Strong, Succession

Potential surprises:
Jonathan Bailey, Bridgerton – never nominated
Kevin Costner, Yellowstone – never nominated
Adam Scott, Severance – new show
Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us – 3 nominations

Ineligible: Jonathan Majors, Josh O’Connor, Regé-Jean Page, Billy Porter, Matthew Rhys

In my dreams: Mike Colter, Evil

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Laura Linney, Ozark
Melanie Lynskey, Yellowjackets
Mandy Moore, This Is Us
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Zendaya, Euphoria

Potential surprises:
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show – 1 nomination
Toni Collette, Pieces of Her – new show
Carrie Coon, The Gilded Age – new show
Juliette Lewis, Yellowjackets – new show
Elisabeth Moss, Shining Girls – new show
Annie Murphy, Kevin Can F**k Himself – new show

Ineligible: Uzo Aduba, Olivia Colman, Emma Corrin, Elisabeth Moss, Michaela Jae Rodriguez, Jurnee Smollett

In my dreams: Katja Herbers, Evil

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2022 Emmy Picks: Comedy and Variety

COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Atlanta (FX)
Barry (HBO)
Hacks (HBO Max)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Ted Lasso (AppleTV+)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Potential surprises:
The Afterparty (AppleTV+) – new show
black-ish (ABC) – 4 nominations
Cobra Kai (Netflix) – 1 nomination
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) – 9 nominations
Emily in Paris (Netflix) – 1 nomination
The Flight Attendant (HBO Max) – 1 nomination
Ghosts (CBS) – new show
Insecure (HBO) – 1 nomination
PEN15 (Hulu) – 1 nomination
The Righteous Gemstones (HBO) – never nominated
Russian Doll (Netflix) – 1 nomination
The Wonder Years (ABC) – new show

Ineligible: The Kominsky Method

In my dreams: Reservation Dogs (Hulu)

ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Bill Hader, Barry
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso

Potential surprises:
Will Arnett, Murderville – new show
Don Cheadle, Black Monday – 2 nominations
Ted Danson, Mr. Mayor – 1 nomination
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm – 6 nominations
John Goodman, The Righteous Gemstones – never nominated for this role
Nicholas Hoult, The Great – never nominated
Danny McBride, The Righteous Gemstones – never nominated
Kenan Thompson, Kenan – 1 nomination

Ineligible: Michael Douglas, William H. Macy

In my dreams: Kayvan Novak, What We Do in the Shadows

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant
Issa Rae, Insecure
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish
Jean Smart, Hacks

Potential surprises:
Elle Fanning, The Great – never nominated
Jane Fonda, Grace and Frankie – 1 nomination
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building – new show
Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll – 1 nomination
Sandra Oh, The Chair – new show
Sarah Jessica Parker, And Just Like That – new show; previously won for this role on Sex and the City
Edi Patterson, The Righteous Gemstones – never nominated
Amy Schumer, Life & Beth – new show
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie – 4 nominations

Ineligible: Aidy Bryant, Allison Janney

In my dreams: Devery Jacobs, Reservation Dogs

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2022 Emmy Picks: Limited/Anthology Series and Movies

LIMITED/ANTHOLOGY SERIES
Dopesick (Hulu)
The Dropout (Hulu)
Maid (Netflix)
Station Eleven (HBO Max)
The White Lotus (HBO)

Potential surprises:
Gaslit (Starz)
The Girl from Plainville (Hulu)
Impeachment: American Crime Story (FX)
Inventing Anna (Netflix)
The Offer (Paramount+)
Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
The Staircase (HBO Max)
Under the Banner of Heaven (FX)
We Own This City (HBO)

In my dreams: N/A

TV MOVIE
Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers (Disney+)
The Fallout (HBO Max)
Fresh (Hulu)
Ray Donovan: The Movie (Showtime)
The Survivor (HBO Max)

Potential surprises:
Reba McEntire’s Christmas in Tune (Lifetime)
Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas (Roku)

In my dreams: Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon (Paramount+)

ACTOR IN A LIMITED/ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Colin Firth, The Staircase
Ben Foster, The Survivor
Andrew Garfield, Under the Banner of Heaven
Oscar Isaac, Scenes from a Marriage
Michael Keaton, Dopesick
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan: The Movie

Potential surprises:
Jon Bernthal, We Own This City
Sam Elliott, 1883
Oscar Isaac, Moon Knight
Samuel L. Jackson, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
Jared Leto, WeCrashed
Sean Penn, Gaslit
Sebastian Stan, Pam & Tommy

In my dreams: Sebastian Stan, Fresh

ACTRESS IN A LIMITED/ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Jessica Chastain, Scenes from a Marriage
Toni Collette, The Staircase
Elle Fanning, The Girl from Plainville
Lily James, Pam & Tommy
Margaret Qualley, Maid
Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout

Potential surprises:
Gillian Anderson, The First Lady
Jessica Biel, Candy
Olivia Colman, Landscapers
Viola Davis, The First Lady
Beanie Feldstein, Impeachment: American Crime Story
Claire Foy, A Very British Scandal
Julia Garner, Inventing Anna
Anne Hathaway, WeCrashed
Jenna Ortega, The Fallout
Julia Roberts, Gaslit
Emmy Rossum, Angelyne
Renée Zellweger, The Thing About Pam

In my dreams: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Fresh

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TV Recap: July 3-9, 2022

NEW SHOWS
The Boys – “The Instant White-Hot Wild” (A) / season finale
Basically everything you could want from this crazy-ass, maximalist season. My only quibble are the codas, which sort of backtrack on the climax a little bit. Still, this show has improved every single season. Somehow, that means Season Four should be even better.

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TV Recap: June 26-July 2, 2022

NEW SHOWS
Only Murders in the Building

“Persons of Interest” (B+) / season premiere
“Framed” (A)
The season premiere makes its mark as the most meta episode of television since It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s “The Gang Recycles Their Trash.” The addition of Michael Rapaport as an overly confident detective is perfect, and Amy Schumer’s knowing cameo as herself is on the right side of self-deprecating. Even more intriguing is Cara Delevingne as a queer art collective head who recruits (lures?) Mabel to express her simmering rage through art.

Stranger Things – Season 4, Part 2
“Papa” (B+)
“The Piggyback” (A-) / season finale
While I do think something is fundamentally broken with the streaming television model when two episodes take up more than four hours, the payoff was worth it. This is a show with big VFX and big emotions. While both can be exhausting at times, the effect is powerful.

REWATCH
Seinfeld – Season 8 (A- average)
My personal favorite season. With Larry David gone, the show was free to explore its more absurdist angles. The stories got more complex, but the laughs-per-minute ratio grew.

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Streaming Picks: July 2022

FILMS
Top Picks
Bringing Out the Dead – HBO Max 7/1
Dark Waters – Prime 7/1
Dead Ringers – Prime and Paramount+ 7/1
Se7en – Netflix 7/1
Sorry to Bother You – Hulu 7/1
I thought things were bad last month, but they’ve actually gotten so much worse. So here are some more well-made movies guaranteed not to lift your spirits.

Other Recommendations
52 Pick-Up – Prime and Paramount+ 7/1
127 Hours – Hulu 7/1
Ali (Director’s Cut) – Prime 7/1
American Pie – Peacock 7/1
Armageddon – Peacock 7/1
Away We Go – Peacock 7/1
Batman – Peacock 7/1
Batman & Robin – Peacock 7/1
Batman Forever – Peacock 7/1
Batman Returns – Peacock 7/1
Beverly Hills Cop – Paramount+ 7/1
Beverly Hills Cop II – Paramount+ 7/1
Big Daddy – Netflix 7/1
The Big Lebowski – Peacock 7/1
Big Trouble in Little China – Hulu 7/1
Blue Jay – Prime and Paramount+ 7/1
Blue Valentine – Peacock 7/1
Boogie Nights – Netflix 7/1
Bridesmaids – Peacock 7/1
Cadillac Records – Hulu 7/1
Cast Away – Peacock 7/1
Catch Me if You Can – Netflix 7/1
Cedar Rapids – Prime 7/1
Clue – Paramount+ 7/1
Clueless – Prime and Paramount+ 7/1
Confidence – HBO Max 7/1
Crimson Tide – Peacock 7/1
The Dark Knight Rises – Netflix 7/1
Date Night – Peacock 7/1
Dazed and Confused – Peacock 7/1
Death Race – Hulu 7/1
The Descendants – Hulu 7/1
Dodgeball – Peacock 7/1
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – Peacock 7/1
Eve’s Bayou – Paramount+ 7/1
Event Horizon – Paramount+ 7/1
Field of Dreams – Peacock 7/1
The Fighter – Prime 7/1
Forgetting Sarah Marshall – Peacock 7/1
Fried Green Tomatoes – Peacock 7/1
Get Him to the Greek – Peacock 7/1
GoodFellas – Netflix 7/1
Harry Potter series – Peacock 7/1
The Heat – HBO Max 7/1
Heist (2001) – Hulu 7/1
High-Rise – Prime 7/1
Hobo with a Shotgun – Prime 7/1 and Hulu 7/15
A Hologram for the King – Prime 7/1
The Hunted – Prime and Paramount+ 7/1
I Am Legend – Netflix 7/1
I’m Still Here – Hulu 7/15
Independence Day – Hulu 7/1
The Italian Job (2003) – Prime and Paramount+ 7/1
Jacob’s Ladder – Prime 7/1
Jennifer’s Body – Prime 7/1
John Wick – Peacock 7/1
John Wick: Chapter 2 – Peacock 7/1
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Peacock 7/1
Joy Ride – Hulu 7/1
Jumanji – Hulu 7/1
Kung Fu Hustle – Hulu 7/1
Last Night in Soho – HBO Max 7/1
The Legend of Zorro – HBO Max 7/1
Liar Liar – Peacock 7/1
Lincoln – Prime and Paramount+ 7/1
Lone Survivor – HBO Max 7/1
Looper – Peacock 7/1
Lord of War – HBO Max 7/1
The Machinist – Paramount+ 7/1
Marley & Me – Peacock 7/1
The Mask of Zorro – Paramount+ 7/1
Mean Girls – Netflix 7/1
Meet the Parents – Peacock 7/1
Midnight in Paris – Prime and Paramount+ 7/1
Milk – Hulu 7/1
Mystic Pizza – Paramount+ 7/1
Natural Born Killers – Netflix 7/1
Ocean’s Eleven – Peacock 7/1
Ocean’s Twelve – Peacock 7/1
Old School – Netflix 7/1
The Other Guys – Peacock 7/1
Patriot Games – Prime 7/1
Postcards from the Edge – HBO Max 7/1
The Pursuit of Happyness – Netflix 7/1
Rachel Getting Married – Hulu 7/1
Raging Bull – Prime 7/1
Revolutionary Road – Prime 7/1
The Rock – Peacock 7/1
Role Models – Peacock 7/1
Rosemary’s Baby – Prime 7/1
Safe (2012) – HBO Max 7/1
School Daze – Hulu 7/1
Seabiscuit – Paramount+ 7/1
Sexy Beast – Hulu 7/1
Shanghai Noon – Paramount+ 7/1
A Simple Favor – Peacock 7/1
A Simple Plan – HBO Max 7/1
Sin City (Unrated Version) – HBO Max 7/1
Sisters (2015) – Peacock 7/1
The Sitter – Hulu 7/1
Sleepless in Seattle – HBO Max 7/1
Snatch – Netflix 7/1
Speed – Prime 7/1
Spy Kids – HBO Max 7/1
Star Trek – Paramount+ 7/1
The Talented Mr. Ripley – Prime, Netflix and Paramount+ 7/1
Talladega Nights – Hulu 7/1
The Terminal – Netflix 7/1
Thoroughbreds – HBO Max 7/1
Throw Momma from the Train – Paramount+ 7/1
Trainwreck – Peacock 7/1
Tremors – Peacock 7/1
Unbreakable – Peacock 7/1
WarGames – Prime 7/1
Warrior – HBO Max 7/1
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape – HBO Max 7/1
Working Girl – Hulu 7/1
The World’s End – HBO Max 7/1
Zero Dark Thirty – Netflix 7/1
Before Midnight – HBO Max 7/2
House of Gucci – Prime 7/2
Leave No Trace – Netflix 7/4
Mad Max: Fury Road – HBO Max 7/9
Uncharted – Netflix 7/15
Godzilla (2014) – HBO Max 7/16

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TV Recap: June 12-18, 2022

EDITOR’S NOTE: Sorry for the delay. I thought this had already been published.

NEW SHOWS
Barry – “Starting Now” (A) / season finale
An absolutely perfectly constructed season finale that could also serve as a perfect series finale. Hader once again upped his game as an actor and director to deliver a further descent into darkness.

Evil – “The Demon of Death” (A-) / season premiere
No other show on TV pulls off being this compelling, funny and sexy. All the demons, unexplainable phenomena and human failings are back, and Wallace Shawn shows up as a priest who finds himself joyfully unburdened after a near-death experience.

BINGEING
Search Party – Season 5 (A- average)
About as far away as the show could have gotten from its original premise, yet still retaining its core elements: Dory is lost but constantly needs to be the center of attention, and all four of these Millennials are awful people, whether together or separate. This apocalyptic vision of a Brooklyn besieged by tech bros and false prophets was wildly unexpected, but still delivered the laughs.

Under the Banner of Heaven (A- average)
The best limited series of the year. Andrew Garfield gives another incredible performance as the dutiful Mormon detective who finds his faith shaken when another church member is horribly murdered. While I was less enamored with the historical reenactments of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, I was completely taken by the story of the Lafferty family being ripped apart. Intentionally or not, all the issues the show highlights are even more pronounced today: religious fanaticism, misogyny, easy access to weapons, determining “what the founding fathers would have wanted.” It’s all here.

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TV Recap: June 5-11, 2022

BINGEING
Grace and Frankie – Season 7, Part 2 (B+)
No show was probably more impacted by COVID shutdowns than this long-running Netflix sitcom. With most of the stars in their 80s, strict protocols and a long break were truly essential. We must protect these national treasures! The show remained consistently funny until the end, and allowed all the characters to grow from the selfish assholes most of them started out as. The finale itself wasn’t quite as sharp, with lots of yelling and surreal detour into A Matter of Life and Death territory. Still, it was an extremely satisfying wrap-up. There are still too few sitcoms whose main focus is providing laughs.

Luther – Season 5 (B+ average)
Another belated season, but one that wraps up nearly every dangling plot thread. “Episode 2” may be the most chilling hour the show has ever done.

OLD SHOWS
ER – “Time of Death” (A)
Watched this in honor of Ray Liotta’s passing and it’s easy to see why he won the Emmy. This is just incredible work.

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TV Recap: May 29-June 4, 2022

NEW SHOWS AND SPECIALS
Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special (A-)
Though initially unpolished, this posthumous special shows Norm was sharp and hilarious right up until the end. I passed on hearing commentary from the likes of Dave Chappelle afterward, but the hourlong special – recorded in Norm’s home the night before an operation – delivers the goods.

The Boys
“Payback” (A-) / season premiere
“The Only Man in the Sky” (A)
“Barbary Coast” (A)
It may have seemed at the end of Season 2 that this show had wrapped everything up. But really all it did was put its characters in a pressure cooker, and now everything’s ready to burst. Antony Starr continues to give one of most terrifying performances on television as Homelander. While other characters are showing their resolve (notably Hughie and Starlight), they’re unfortunately no match for an unhinged god.

BINGEING
Stranger Things – Season 4, Part 1 (B average)
The show still remains compelling, but by cramming this much story into seven jam-packed episodes, not all of them are done justice. Even by binging, it’s easy to forget what this group is up to or why this group is now in trouble. Oh, and there are even more new characters, meaning some of our beloved cast members only get one note to play, if that. But every bit of the supposed $30 million-per-episode budget looks like it’s on-screen, unlike some other series on competing streamers. And it’s still capable of transcendent moments, like Max levitating while listening to Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” or [redacted] explaining his evil plan and tragic backstory set to Philip Glass.

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