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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Streaming Picks: June 2022

FILMS
Top Picks
Brazil – Peacock 6/1
Paths of Glory – Paramount+ 6/1
The Card Counter – HBO Max 6/10
The Mist – Netflix 6/22
Last month I focused on comedy’s because there was so much awfulness in the world. Well, guess what? Shit got worse! So I’m leaning into that by highlighting these masterfully directed bummers, including The Card Counter. Paul Schrader’s latest was one of my top 10 films of 2021.


Other Recommendations
13 Going on 30 – HBO Max 6/1
1917 – Peacock 6/1
Alien – Hulu 6/1
Aliens – Hulu 6/1
Alien³ – Hulu 6/1
Along Came Polly – Peacock 6/1
The Amazing Spider-Man – Netflix 6/1
The American – Hulu 6/1
Anchorman – Netflix 6/1
Annie Hall – Prime 6/1
As Good as It Gets – Paramount+ 6/1
Baby Mama – Peacock 6/1
Back to the Future – Peacock 6/1
The Bank Job – HBO Max 6/1
Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey – Paramount+ 6/1
Black Swan – Prime 6/1
The Bourne Legacy – Peacock 6/1
The Bourne Ultimatum – Peacock 6/1
Boxcar Bertha – Paramount+ 6/1
The Brady Bunch Movie – Prime and Paramount+ 6/1
Bridesmaids – Hulu 6/1
Brokeback Mountain – Peacock 6/1
Burn After Reading – Hulu 6/1
But I’m a Cheerleader – Peacock 6/1
Call Me by Your Name – Prime 6/1
Chef – HBO Max 6/1
Christmas Vacation – Netflix 6/1
Colossal – HBO Max 6/1
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – HBO Max 6/1
Dante’s Peak – Peacock 6/1
The Deer Hunter – Peacock 6/1
The Departed – Netflix 6/1
Dick – Hulu 6/1
Die Hard – Hulu 6/1
Die Hard 2 – Hulu 6/1
Die Hard with a Vengeance – Hulu 6/1
Domino – HBO Max 6/1
Dumb and Dumber – Netflix 6/1
Edge of Seventeen – Netflix 6/1
An Education – Hulu 6/1
Eraser – Netflix 6/1
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial – Peacock 6/1
Fast Five – Peacock 6/1
Fences – Prime and Paramount+ 6/1
The Fifth Element – Hulu 6/1
The Fighter – Netflix 6/1
The Firm – HBO Max 6/1
Galaxy Quest – Prime 6/1
Get Low – Hulu 6/1
The Grand Budapest Hotel – HBO Max 6/1
Groundhog Day – Prime 6/1
Hairspray (2007) – HBO Max 6/1
Harold and Maude – Paramount+ 6/1
Hellboy II: The Golden Army – Peacock 6/1
How Do You Know – HBO Max 6/1
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days – Paramount+ 6/1
The Hurt Locker – Netflix 6/1
I Know What You Did Last Summer – HBO Max 6/1
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer – HBO Max 6/1
The Importance of Being Earnest – HBO Max 6/1
In & Out – Prime and Paramount+ 6/1
In the Line of Fire – Hulu 6/1
Jaws – Peacock 6/1
Juice – Paramount+ 6/1
Juno – Prime 6/1
Klute – HBO Max 6/1
Magnolia – Paramount+ 6/1
The Mask – HBO Max 6/1
Megamind – Prime 6/1
Mermaids – Paramount+ 6/1
Mission: Impossible – Netflix 6/1
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Netflix 6/1
Mo’ Better Blues – Peacock 6/1
mother! – Prime 6/1
Mr. Mom – Prime 6/1
Napoleon Dynamite – Hulu 6/1
The Nutty Professor (1996) – Hulu and Prime 6/1
Office Space – Paramount+
The One I Love – HBO Max 6/1
Paris Is Burning – HBO Max 6/1
Philadelphia – Prime 6/1
Pitch Perfect – Peacock 6/1
The Preacher’s Wife – Paramount+ 6/1
Predator – Hulu 6/1
The Presidio – Prime and Paramount+ 6/1
The Professional – Hulu and Netflix 6/1
Prometheus – Hulu 6/1
The Pursuit of Happyness – Peacock 6/1
Rosemary’s Baby – Prime 6/1
The Sandlot – Prime 6/1
Scream 4 – Paramount+ 6/1
Selma – Paramount+ 6/1
Shaun of the Dead – Prime 6/1
Sideways – Paramount+ 6/1
Slumdog Millionaire – Hulu 6/1
Speed – Peacock 6/1
Spider-Man – Peacock 6/1
Spider-Man 2 – Peacock 6/1
Spy Kids – Paramount+ 6/1
A Star Is Born (2018) – HBO Max 6/1
Steel Magnolias – Netflix 6/1
There’s Something About Mary – Hulu 6/1
The Thing (1982) – Peacock 6/1
The Time Machine (2002) – Prime 6/1
Titanic – Netflix 6/1
Top Gun – Prime 6/1
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot – Paramount+ 6/1
White Men Can’t Jump – Peacock, Prime and Paramount+ 6/1
Witness – Paramount+ 6/1
World’s Greatest Dad – Prime 6/1
Zoolander – Paramount+ 6/1
No Time to Die – Prime 6/10
The Wolf of Wall Street – Prime and Paramount+ 6/12
The Worst Person in the World – Hulu 6/13
Detroit – Paramount+ 6/14
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? – Netflix 6/16
Non-Stop – HBO Max 6/17
It (2017) – Netflix 6/19
Philomena – Netflix 6/20

NEW SHOWS & SPECIALS
Top Picks
The Boys (Season 3) – Prime 6/3
Evil (Season 3) – Paramount+ 6/12
Only Murders in the Building (Season 2) – Hulu 6/28
This spring was already jam-packed with new and returning shows, and the summer won’t be giving us a reprieve. Two of the smartest shows about “Our Current Troubled Times” return, while Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez will be back with more laughs and mysteries in Season 2 of Only Murders in the Building.

Other Recommendations
Bill Burr Presents: Friends Who Kill – Netflix 6/6
Birdgirl (Season 2) – HBO Max 6/20

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TV Recap: May 22-28, 2022

NEW SHOWS
Better Call Saul – “Plan and Execution” (A) / mid-season finale
A breathtaking episode that pays off every little moment of this half-season so far. Patrick Fabian gives the best performance of his career here, which makes the final seconds that much more devastating.

BINGEING
The Kids in the Hall – Season 6 (B+ average)
Any sketch series is by definition hit-or-miss. While it’s such a delight to have these guys back, this particular season feels almost entirely front-loaded. The first three episodes are packed with laugh-out-loud sketches, while the later episodes have more unusual sketches that don’t produce nearly as many laughs.

REWATCH
Seinfeld – Season 7 (B+ average)
Some of the more wacky episodes feel like the writers trying to do something crazy in hopes that Michael Richards can make it work (which he often does). Still, this season in particular has a mean edge that keeps it from feeling stuck in a rut.

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