Tag Archives: tv

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #32

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“Strange Case”

I’m not sure how I am feeling about Lovecraft Country after the first five episodes. We are half way through and I am not sure what this show’s overarching story is about.

This episode focused more on Ruby and Montrose than it did on anything else. I have to say that Ruby’s story was gross as it seemed to embrace some body horror (of which I am not a fan) as she gruesomely transforms between her natural self and that of a white woman. Blood and floppy skin everywhere.

Meanwhile, we learn that the hidden issue with Montrose is that he is gay and it is the 1950s where you simply cannot be out of the closet.

I started out confused as Atticus beat the crap out of Montrose at the beginning, because, fact is, I had not remembered the ending to episode four. I had to go back and re-read what I had written about it last week.

Another revelation fell into Ruby’s story this week as we discover William, who had taken Ruby last week for sex on the staircase, is actually Christiana, transformed into William just as Ruby had transformed into a white woman. Bizarre.

How does all this work together to further our story? Unclear at this point. Atticus, between sexual encounters with Leti, was working on a translation for some of the pages, and he deciphered one word at the end of the episode… “DIE.” This caused him to call his former flame, Ji-ah, and ask her how she knew. What does any of that mean?

The show continued to have scenes that were extremely uncomfortable to watch… and I am not just talking about the scenes of body horror or creatures. The scenes with the white people treating the blacks the way they did were just as difficult to watch as anything on the show. I do wish there was at least one white character that was not a total racist piece of garbage.

There are ten total episodes and we are currently half way through the one and only season. I hope things start to come together in the narrative soon. It does feel very disjointed.

Dexter: Resurrection S1 E8

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“The Kill Room Where it Happens”

Dexter is struggling with all of the outside forces coming into him.

  • Angel Batista’s obsession is making things difficult. Batista nearly caught Dexter in a kill room. Dexter found the ear pods Batista left behind in his car though.
  • Dexter failed to grab “Rapunzel” who did not like Hamilton. “Did you know they all rapped?” LOL.
  • Harrison asking for help with Elsa’s landlord.
  • Prater showed up at the site where Dexter was having dinner with Harrison. No good will come of that.
  • Blessing getting mad at Dexter when Dexter let it slip to Blessing’s daughter about her father’s past. Perhaps the rumors of Blessing being the New York Ripper, a twist that I would not be a fan of. However, his reaction to Dexter’s mistake made me think that there is more to Blessing than we thought.

However, it seemed as if Detective Wallace is filled with doubt about Batista and what he is doing. She did not respond to the story of the kill room very well, and she called down to Miami to ask about the Bay Harbor Butcher case only to find out that Batista was no longer an active police captain. Batista surely is looking shaky as his obsession with Dexter might be bringing him down.

Harrison had a night of sex with Gigi. I don’t know why but I just do not trust Gigi at this point. Maybe that is just the type of show Dexter is that I question anyone new, but I am just unsure about her at this point. I do hope she is not going to betray Harrison because I like seeing him happy for once.

I know now that there are two more episodes of Dexter: Resurrection remaining. Surely, there will be a confrontation between Dexter and Batista among those and I get a feeling that Blessing may have something in his past that we still need to face. I do hope that neither Batista or Angel wind up on Dexter’s table. Prater, however, I feel is destined for that table.

Peacemaker S2 E1

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“The Ties That Grind”

I watched the first episode of Peacemaker season two last night, but, to be honest, I was really tired and I dozed through a bunch of the show. It is not a criticism of the episode as much as it was how tired I was after all day at school and the open house that night.

So I woke up early this morning and rewatched the episode, and I am so glad that I did. I realized that I actually dozed through the entire bit with Chris (Peacemaker) and his father and his brother Keith in the alternate universe, which is a major piece of the episode.

Before we go on, let’s talk the most important part… the dance routine on the opening credits. I have to say, my first thoughts were that I did not love it as much as I did last year. While I did enjoy it, and the dancing of the cast was as corny and over-the-top as ever, I feel as if the song this season, “Oh Lord” by Foxy Shazam, does not reach the level of awesomeness as “Do Ya Wanna Taste It?” by Wig Wam. That is just a personal preference, and I will say that I found it more entertaining the second time, so perhaps this will be a song that will grow on me as the season progresses whereas last season’s song grabbed me immediately.

Moving on, I thought this episode was really strong and highlighted more of the character aspects of the cast, especially Chris, Economos, and Harcourt. Chris’s entire storyline with the alternate world Peacemaker was amazing. The scene where Chris sat silently as his dad and Keith talked was powerful and a bit sad. I wonder if, in this universe, his dad is not the racist piece of garbage that was displayed last season. They do seem to be working together as a trio.

There was less about Adebayo and Adrian Chase (Vigilante) though they do appear in good scenes complimenting the other performances. I expect more from both before the season ends.

Also, shout out to the Bludhaven reference made during the episode. Bludhaven is the city outsie of Gotham where Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing, resides.

Another major switch came in the “Previously on” section at the beginning of the episode where they made a couple of adjustments to scenes from seaosn one. Specifically, we hear Adebayo make mention of the “Justice Gang” instead of the “Justice League.” Another switch was the iconinc scene at the end of season 1 where the Justice League shows up and we see Flash and Aquaman from their movie sides. Here we get the Justice Gang with Guy Gardner and Hawkgirl making comments instead. None of these adjustments bother me any and it makes me wonder if the plan is not to have Chris move into a different world, but to have Chris’s world be the actual DCU.

I know everyone was making the guess that Peacemaker would jump universes, but I think that is not going to be the way they go. With these few retcons, I think the story will be Chris goes to the happier universe with his cool dad and living brother, but he needed to return to his home world which is the DCU. I could be wrong on that, but I am calling it right now.

Peacemaker season two episodes drop every Thursday on HBO Max.

Dexter: Resurrection S1 E6

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“Cats and Mouse”

David Dastmalchian has an awesome twist in this episode of Dexter: Resurrection.

Dastmalchian’s serial killer, The Gemini Killer aka Gareth, showed up at Dexter’s place as the Blessing family above were having a wake for the dearly departed mother. Dexter took advantage of the situation and killed him.

However as Prater had organized a helicopter trip for the serial killer’s club, Dexter was worried that they would figure out that he was responsible as the new guy for the sudden disappearances of the group.

And then, The Gemini Killer showed up to get in the helicopter. Twins. Gemini Killers, plural.

What an awesome shock that I did not see coming.

This episode was packed full too. Mia wound up dead, hanging in her cell. It looked as if Charley had paid off a guard to take care of business. This happened coincidentally just as Batista, Wallace and Olivia had arrived at the prison to show Mia a photo of Dexter to see if she recognized him as the Bay Harbor Butcher. Of course, that would have been a big time reveal as she believed he was the Dark Passenger.

There were several great scenes here too. There were some wonderful moments with Dexter and Harrison. Harrison attended Blessing’s mother’s funeral. Harrison helped Dexter out after Dexter called his son and asked him if a hoody was proper attire for a funeral.

There was also a fantastic scene between Dexter and Blessing, who had came to apologize for being snippy about some ice. The scene was also very tense since Gareth was dead in the shower/tub.

Dexter is doing a wonderful job of being a part of Harrison’s life. Harrison told his dad that he had an image of killing the landlord, but Dexter talked him down, easing the anxiety that Harrison was clearly entertaining in his head.

I really enjoyed this episode. It felt like it was adding so many awesome moments that I kept waiting for it to end. The end with the reveal of the Gemini Killer was absolutely a masterfully campy end.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #29

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“Whitey’s On the Moon”

I really enjoyed episode one last week for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk featuring Lovecraft Country. Unfortunately, this week’s episode felt like I was watching the show in fast forward. So much happened and there was a super ton of exposition and it felt like the flow of this was way off whack.

I am not sure exactly was was real and what had happened. There is a secret society based on Adam from the Garden of Eden. Leti died, but comes back. Atticus turned out to be a descendent of the founder of this secret society. Leti and George forgot everything about the night before and then a little bit later, remembered everything that had happened. They all had weird delusions in their rooms with people from their past although Leti’s delusion was having sex with Atticus who turned out to have a snake as his penis. Tony Goldwyn showed up having what looked like parts of his liver removed to serve for dinner. Then he turned to stone and got crushed in the last act of the episode. The castle collapsed into the ground. They found Montrose but the episode ended with George succumbing to his gunshot wound he got from Tony Goldwyn.

As I said, this was insane.

It all felt so rushed that it diluted what should have been a powerful moment at the end of the episode… the death of George. I am not sure if this is a final death or if he will be coming back like Leti did. Montrose’s arrival was also bizarre as he just dragged himself out of the ground in handcuffs.

Oh and it kicked off with the theme song from The Jeffersons.

I found this episodes too packed with stuff that could have been spread out over several episodes. I am not sure what is coming next, but the pacing was just such a problem for me. I do like the characters and the setting, but everything was just flying at such a pace that I was not able to engage as much as I would have liked.

Wednesday S2 E2

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“The Devil You Woe”

I have found the second season of Wednesday on Netflix to be a bit of a mixed bag so far. Anything dealing directly with Wednesday and her orbit has been great. Episode two revealed her stalker, an invisible girl who is Wednesday’s #1 fan.

There was also a great scene between Wednesday and Tyler at the insane asylum. Tyler’s psychiatrist makes me suspicious. There is more to this character than the few fleeting moments we get with her.

It was Prank Day at Nevermore, which feels like a horrible idea. Barry Dort is another of the new characters this year that clearly has more to his story than what we know. Will the principal of Nevermore now be like the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts?

Donovan Galpin, a major character of season one, was found dead by Wednesday, his eyes pecked out by crows. “Murdered by a murder of crows” as Wednesday said. Donovan’s eye found its way to Wednesday and Enid’s dorm room.

All this is fun and I expect will mix together before the end of season two. What I have not enjoyed at all so far has been Pugsley Addams and his storyline. There is just something about Pugsley that is off-putting. I am also not fond of Eugene this season. I loved that character last year, but I am just not feeling him in season two so far. These two together have been dragging these episodes down.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is great as Morticia and seeing her more this season is only a good thing. She has some storyline that requires her to bring in her mother. It ties into Barry Dort’s desire as he blackmailed Bianca to use her siren song on Morticia.

There are two more episodes in the part one of season two.

What We Do in the Shadows Season 6

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Today I finished the final season of What We Do in the Shadows on Disney +. Season six had eleven episodes, one more than any of the other seasons. I have to say… I thought this season was the worst of the six. Not that it was bad overall, but it just did not feel like it was scattered all over the place.

These were a few of the highlights for me:

  • Laszlo’s ghost father arriving was a funny bit. His father trying to take over Laszlo’s body was a fun scene.
  • I enjoyed the Monster, created by Laszlo and Colin Robinson, but that joke ran out of steam during the season.
  • The big night for the Baron led to the vampires looking to kill the group. This felt familiar (no pun intended), but I thought it was one of the better episodes of the season.
  • I did like the concept of Nandor and Guillermo forming a crime fighting duo. I would have liked more of this during the season instead of a joke at the end.
  • The Finale. I’ll talk about that in a little while.

Low lights:

  • Jerry. Though it was funny that they forgot to awaken another vampire who used to live with them as he entered “super slumber,” the character of Jerry was hardly worth the time and turned out to be a throw away as the season progressed.
  • Guillermo working at the office. It had some funny moments, but it did not work well for me. It was lackluster.
  • They repeated a couple of beats from the series, including how Nandor was ready to go to war with the TV show filming outside.
  • Sleep hypnosis. Nandor as Richard Nixon was funny, but overall the idea was barely enough for an episode.
  • Nandor’s Army? That felt like a waste.

Let’s talk about the finale. I loved this. It was easily the best episode of season 6. It was so meta that I found it highly entertaining. The documentary filming was coming to an end and Guillermo was having trouble accepting it. They had so many fun meta lines which were referring to the documentary, but in reality were designed toward the actual show itself. My favorite was Nadja, who, when talking about how the documentary should end, mentioned how the doc should have ended last year after Guillermo was turned back to human after being a vampire. This line basically said the fifth season finale would have made a better ending to the show than anything done during season 6. She was 100% accurate.

They added some parody endings that came about when Nadja hypnotized the audience. The first one was a spoof of The Usual Suspects. The next two, which came as post credit scenes, were one like Newhart, with Nandor having a dream and telling Guillermo, who is in bed with him, about it. The third spoof was one of Rosemary’s Baby, with Nadja playing the role of Rosemary (and Colin Robinson back as a baby again). These were a lot of fun and an enjoyable way to end the series.

With the whole group (except Guillermo) singing “We’ll Meet Again” was a wonderful moment. Even better was when Laszlo exclaimed, “Now, everyone but the Guide!” because of how badly she was singing. I laughed out loud at that line, which was said off screen.

While this season would be my least favorite of the six, What We Do in the Shadows is one of my favorite comedies of all time. The stories were great. The characters were a hoot. It was very enjoyable. I do think it was time for the show to come to an end [although I would have loved more of the crime fighting Nandor (aka The Phantom…Menace) & Guillermo (aka The Cowboy Kid)].

What We Do in the Shadows Season 5

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I binged season five of What We Do in the Shadows today and it was a great season once again. This show is one of the most consistently funny shows on television.

This season had several running storylines that carried through most of the year. These included:

  • Guillermo’s slow transformation into a vampire after giving money to Derek to turn him. Little did Guillermo know how much of an insult that would be to his master.
  • A hex that had been cast over Nadja, causing terrible things to happen to her.
  • The Guide trying to fit in with the rest of the vampires.
  • Guillermo’s uncertainty over what he wanted to be.

My favorite episode of the season was “Local News”, which was an episode featuring a local news reporter covering the story of a water main break on the street of the vampires’ house. They interviewed Nandor and he believed he accidentally let slip that he had lived in the house for centuries. Believing that he had given away the truth that they were vampires, the group started going crazy. It was really funny and resolved wonderfully. It also crossed over with Guillermo going to see his mom to tell her about his life choice.

Another thing I really loved was the development of the character of Guillermo over the ten episodes. He was learning a lot about himself, to the point where he realized that he was not going to be able to become a vampire. His Van Helsing blood had been fighting off the vampirism all season, keeping him from fully turning.

I loved how, when Nandor finally discovered the truth, it led to another truth. Nandor never turned Guillermo into a vampire over the years because he knew that Guillermo did not have the stomach for the killing involved. Nandor really showed that he knew Guillermo well, but also cared for his familiar/bodyguard.

I also liked how the other vampires showed some concern for Guillermo, way more than they had ever done. I would go as far as to say that they all had accepted him as part of their lives. Laszlo, Nadja, Colin Robinson and even The Guide went out of their way to try and help Guillermo. That was way different than the first season.

Cameo of the season: Patton Oswalt. He became a major component in helping Nandor get past his hurt feelings, allowing him to save his friendship with Guillermo. And he did all this before being thrown to his death.

I am also a fan of how characters from previous episodes/seasons keep showing up. It gives the show a real flavor and world that has a lived in feel to it. The Baron, Derek, The Doll, Topher, Djinn etc.

Although I could see this change a bit, here is my current list of seasons in order of my favorites:

  1. Season 1
  2. Season 4
  3. Season 5
  4. Season 2
  5. Season 3

I could see seasons 4 & 5 flipping places after more time to reflect. Season six has 11 episodes instead of 10 and it is the final season of the show.

Stick S1 E5, E6, E7, E8, E9

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So I wanted to catch up on Stick, which is on Apple TV + and has episodes dropping on Wednesdays. I do believe the final episode of the season is this week, so I had five episodes to run through in order to get caught up.

Stick is such a great show and it is a easy watch as the episodes run around 30 minutes. It is also very well-written and compelling in a sport that does not truly entice me much.

Much like the F1: The Movie and auto racing, a film/show can be entertaining and engaging if it is intelligent and well-written, acted and smartly plotted out even if I am not a fan of the sport involved. I am not a fan of golf, but Stick is far more than just about golf.

The story of Pryce trying to help Santi to become the best he could be in the world of golf took a lot of turns, some that very not necessarily positive, but everything worked well.

That is, until Santi’s father showed up at the end of episode nine. That feels like one more major hurdle for the characters to overcome.

Some other cool highlights of the five episodes include:

  • The truth with Zero and Pryce’s deal coming out rocked Santi’s world. We knew that was going to happen when it first happened.
  • Santi and Zero have sex. This was surprising… especially with Santi looking for advice from Pryce. I really thought Pryce was going to respond differently and I liked the uncommon response he had.
  • Timothy Olyphant is always a welcome actor in any show I am watching.
  • Mitts and Elena’s relationship comes around. I like them together.
  • We get more with Pryce and his dead son. The dream of Pryce with his son, Jett, was really hard to watch.
  • The whole scam to try and get Santi into a pro PGA tournament was strange, but cool.

There was a lot of enjoyment in these episodes and I have grown to like these characters.

What We Do in the Shadows Season Four

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Season four of the FX show What We Do in the Shadows was next up. I liked season three, but it felt like a step down from the previous two seasons. What would season four be like?

I loved this season.

The end of season three sent the crew off in different directions. Nadja and Guillermo went to England so Nadja could be on the major vampire council. Nandor was off on his world trip. Laszlo stayed behind to raise baby Colin Robinson, who had come out of the torso of the dead body of Colin Robinson.

The first episode of the season wrapped these arcs up immediately, bringing them all back to the house, which is in a terrible condition.

Several great season-long storylines including:

  • Colin Robinson growing as a baby to a teen and so on.
  • The house and the damages to it.
  • The Vampire Nightclub- Nadja’s.
  • Nandor’s marriage and his Djinn (yes, he found a Djinn)
  • Guillermo’s continued involvement with the crew and his wish to be relevant.

My favorite story of the year was Colin Robinson as the baby and his growth, much like baby Groot from the Guardians movies. Laszlo took on a parent role for the baby, even though he was a terrible father. Guillermo stepped in several times to make sure that the baby did not die. Colin singing and dancing on the stage at Nadja’s club, his continued anger, his pounding holes in the basement walls with a hammer… all these things contributed to a wonderful arc for Colin. Or perhaps it was more of an arc for Laszlo, since Colin Robinson wound up exactly where he was when this whole thing started.

When Colin walked out in the finale looking exactly like he always did, it was a shocking moment. He did not remember anything from the past year. What was the most amazing things was the way this clearly affected Laszlo, who, though he remained quiet about it, was very melancholic over the loss of the boy who he had been raising (however poorly) over the last year. It was a subtle and deep moment for Laszlo that truly gave me some emotional investment.

My favorite episode was the surreal “Go Flip Yourself” episode that plays like it is a home renovation show with twins Bran and Toby Daltry. Toby is immediately eaten by Nadja, but the rest was as if the episode was on that show. It had a great payoff too as Brian Daltry, who led the whole renovation (as it was) turned out to be Simon the Devious and the entire Go Flip Yourself renovation show was set up as a scam to get his hands on Laszlo’s witch-skin hat again.

“Private School” was another awesome episode as they tried to get Young Colin into a private school. Nadja constantly hypnotizing the school headmaster to change their story was some comedic gold.

Other highlights included a face off with the Jersey Devil, Guillermo in a vampire fight club where he winds up fighting Nandor, Guillermo coming out as gay to his family in the most wild way possible, Guillermo’s boyfriend Freddie who Nandor developed a crush on and used one of his wishes from the Djinn to turn his wife, Marwa, into a duplicate of Freddie in every way. Then, having Freddie and Marwa-Freddie get together and cheat on Guillermo was horrible.

The finale feels as if season five may finally be the season of Guillermo as he took a bagful of money (that he had embezzled from the club) to Derek, the former vampire hunter club kid who was now a vampire, and asked him to turn him into a vampire. Is it finally going to happen? I do hope Guillermo gets what he wants because he has been such an MVP for the vampire house and he is always getting stomped upon.

Season five is next.

Smoke S1 E1, E2

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“Pilot”

“Your Happy Makes Me Sad”

Since I currently do not have any active TV shows going, and having finished off the X-Files recently, I started to look for some new programs to watch. Yes, I am doing the season binges of What We Do in the Shadows, but I needed something to spread out over a few weeks to a month. I have started Stick on Apple TV, which was great. I then started another Apple TV + show called Smoke.

Apple TV + has had some great shows such as Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Silo, The Studio and Dark Matter. There have been a bunch of Apple TV + shows that I have not watched, but are fairly well liked.

Smoke caught my attention from the show synopsis: “When an arson investigator begrudgingly teams up with a police detective, their race to stop two arsonists ignites a twisted game of secrets and suspicions.”- from Apple TV + website.

I will say that after the pilot episode of the show, I was not sure how I felt about it. It was a slow burn for sure and I was just not sure if I was engaged enough to commit to it. However, by the end of the second episode, I was fully in. This show is currently active, with, I believe 5 episodes out. A new episode comes out on Fridays, so it would be nice to get caught up before the next episode is released.

Taron Egerton starred as the arson investigator who has his share of troubles and he is working with former marine and current police detective Michelle Calderon (Jurnee Smollett). Egerton is excellent so far in the show and the two leads have great chemistry. Egerton was probably the main reason why I kept going after episode one.

I do like the mystery aspect of this show, even though it seems that one of the arsonists is not much of a mystery. The second one has a massive reveal at the end of the second episode that makes me wonder what exactly was going on.

Stick S1 E1, E2

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“Pilot”

“Grossweiner’s Law”

Owen Wilson starred in a new series on Apple TV + called Stick and it had been on my radar recently. With my TV shows currently lacking, I decided to get a few new ones to watch over the next few weeks or so. Stick was the first one to try.

I really love Owen Wilson. Well, to be fair, I was not that familiar with Wilson until he took on the role as Mobius on Loki, Owen Wilson has been one of my favorite actors. And after watching the first two episodes of this series, you can tell that he has found another awesome role to play.

There is an absolute feel to this series, and, although it is early, I can say that the show Stick gave me Ted Lasso vibes. I really enjoyed the first two episodes. Owen Wilson is utterly charming in the role, again making a comparison to Jason Sudeikis’s Ted Lasso.

The plot is Owen Wilson played Pryce Cahill, a former pro golfer who had a meltdown on a course and sent his life spiraling into chaos. The show has not specifically told us what caused the meltdown, but it certainly implied heavily and I feel as if I have a clear idea of what happened without even going into specifics.

Pryce is on the course to give gold lessons when he hears a 17-year old boy driving the golf ball on the driving range. Pryce was unbelievably impressed with the boy’s swing and tries to convince the boy to allow Pryce to take him on the circuit.

The Boy, Santi, had that natural swing that told Pryce that he was special. Santi was not excited about it and worried that Pryce was simply a stalker. Pryce went to see Santi’s mother, Elena (Mariana Treviño) and tried to convince her to let him take Santi on the road.

The show also featured Marc Maron, as Pryce’s friend ad former caddie, and Judy Greer as Pryce’s ex-wife Amber-Lynn.

I really liked the set up of these characters. There are life details that we will be learning as the show progresses that will make these characters deep and well developed. There is something that happened with Santi’s father. Something happened to Pryce and Amber-Lynn’s child. I’m excited to see more of this show.

What We Do in the Shadows S3

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So I dove into the third season of What We Do in the Shadows this morning, planning another binge watch of the ten episodes. I do like this model of taking some time and binging this series. I pulled it up on Disney +.

Overall, I have to say that I think season three was not as entertaining as season two, which has been my favorite so far. However, season two was more of a bunch of individual episodes whereas season three has a running throughline of the season. Although you may not know about it at the start, it does all pay off in spades by the end.

I was finding myself liking Colin Robinson more each episode this year, so the death of this character was tough. Seeing him as a Colin-faced baby at the end of episode 10 was rough too. I did enjoy how Laszlo was bonding with Colin Robinson through the season, with the knowledge that at 100 years old, energy vampires die.

Nandor’s eternal-life crisis was another storyline that progressed through the season, and came to a head at the end. He tried to join a cult, take the Super Slumber and, eventually, choosing to take a trip across the world. It was a sad ending for him too as he expected Guillermo to accompany him on the trip and he promised the familiar/bodyguard that he would turn him into a vampire at the end. Of course. Guillermo would face yet another trouble.

Poor Guillermo had a tough season as well, as he felt rejected and afraid of winding up alone. As the vampires all were ready to make their away out of the house and on adventures, Guillermo did not know what he was to do. Of course, his skills as a vampire killer was shown off several times during the season, including a cool final battle with Nandor. I was shocked when Laszlo, who was preparing for Nadja and his trip to England, flipped Guillermo into the coffin that was meant to be for Laszlo and sent him in his place. It was all because Laszlo needed to stay behind and look after baby Colin Robinson.

Even though I may not have considered this my favorite of the seasons, it continued to be extremely funny, even if some of the situations turn out to be silly. It is consistently one of the funniest shows on TV.

2025 Emmy Nominations

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Here are the nominees for the EMMY Awards. These were given out this morning with some sad omissions. For me, I was hoping for Kathryn Hahn to be nominated for Agatha All Along. I would have liked for Patti LaPone to get a nom too, as her episode was one of the best of the year. I am thrilled that Agatha All Along received a nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics with “The Ballad of the Witches Road.” That should really win. There was no song that was more intricate to the plot than this one.

Nothing for Squid Game is shocking, despite season 2 being a lesser season. And despite getting 14 nominations, there was nothing for Diego Luna or Stellan Skarsgård in acting categories.

Way too man nominations for The White Lotus, which was, at best, an average show this season. That show dominated the acting categories and should probably only should have had about half of the noms it got.

I love Martin Short, but I really thought Steve Martin had a better season on Only Murders in the Building this year with all the stuff he had to do with Jane Lynch’s character Sazz Pataki’s murder.

Outstanding drama series

  • “Andor” (Disney+)
  • “The Diplomat” (Netflix)
  • “The Last of Us” (HBO Max)
  • “Paradise” (Hulu)
  • “The Pitt” (HBO Max)
  • “Severance” (Apple TV+)
  • “Slow Horses” (Apple TV+)
  • “The White Lotus” (HBO Max)

Outstanding comedy series

  • “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
  • “The Bear” (FX)
  • “Hacks” (HBO Max)
  • “Nobody Wants This” (Netflix)
  • “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
  • “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)
  • “The Studio” (Apple TV+)
  • “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)

Outstanding limited or anthology series

  • “Adolescence” (Netflix)
  • “Black Mirror” (Netflix)
  • “Dying for Sex” (FX)
  • “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” (Netflix)
  • “The Penguin” (HBO Max)

Outstanding television movie

  • “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” (Peacock)
  • “The Gorge” (Apple TV+)
  • “Mountainhead” (HBO Max)
  • “Nonnas” (Netflix)
  • “Rebel Ridge” (Netflix)

Outstanding reality competition program

  • “The Amazing Race” (CBS)
  • “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (MTV)
  • “Survivor” (CBS)
  • “Top Chef” (Bravo)
  • “The Traitors” (Peacock)

Outstanding talk series

  • “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
  • “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
  • “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)

Outstanding scripted variety series

  • “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO Max)
  • “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

Outstanding variety special (live)

  • “The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar” (Fox)
  • “Beyoncé Bowl” (Netflix)
  • “The Oscars” (ABC)
  • “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” (NBC)
  • “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert” (Peacock)

Outstanding variety special (pre-recorded)

  • “Adam Sandler: Love You” (Netflix)
  • “Ali Wong: Single Lady” (Netflix)
  • “Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years” (Hulu)
  • “Conan O’Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize For American Humor” (Netflix)
  • “Sarah Silverman: Postmortem” (Netflix)
  • “Your Friend, Nate Bargatze” (Netflix)

Outstanding game show

  • “Celebrity Family Feud” (ABC)
  • “Jeopardy” (ABC)
  • “The Price is Right” (CBS)
  • “Wheel of Fortune” (ABC)
  • “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (ABC)

Outstanding lead actress in a drama series

  • Kathy Bates, “Matlock”
  • Sharon Horgan, “Bad Sisters”
  • Britt Lower, “Severance”
  • Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”
  • Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”

Outstanding lead actor in a drama series

  • Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”
  • Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
  • Pedro Pascal, “The Last of Us”
  • Adam Scott, “Severance”
  • Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”

Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series

  • Uzo Aduba, “The Residence”
  • Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This”
  • Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”
  • Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”
  • Jean Smart, “Hacks”

Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series

  • Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”
  • Seth Rogen, “The Studio”
  • Jason Segel, “Shrinking”
  • Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
  • Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”

Outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Cate Blanchett, “Disclaimer”
  • Meghann Fahy, “Sirens”
  • Rashida Jones, “Black Mirror”
  • Cristin Milloti, “The Penguin”
  • Michelle Williams, “Dying for Sex”

Outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Colin Farrell, “The Penguin”
  • Stephen Graham, “Adolescence”
  • Jake Gyllenhaal, “Presumed Innocent”
  • Brian Tyree Henry, “Dope Thief”
  • Cooper Koch, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”

Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series

  • Patricia Arquette, “Severance”
  • Carrie Coon, “The White Lotus”
  • Katherine LaNasa, “The Pitt”
  • Julianne Nicholson, “Paradise”
  • Parker Posey, “The White Lotus”
  • Natasha Rothwell, “The White Lotus”
  • Aimee Lou Wood, “The White Lotus”

Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series

  • Zach Cherry, “Severance”
  • Walton Goggins, “The White Lotus”
  • Jason Isaacs, “The White Lotus”
  • James Marsden, “Paradise”
  • Sam Rockwell, “The White Lotus”
  • Tramell Tillman, “Severance”
  • John Turturro, “Severance”

Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series

  • Liza Colón-Zayas, “The Bear”
  • Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”
  • Kathryn Hahn, “The Studio”
  • Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary”
  • Catherine O’Hara, “The Studio”
  • Sheryl Lee Ralph, “Abbott Elementary”
  • Jessica Williams, “Shrinking”

Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series

  • Ike Barinholtz. “The Studio”
  • Colman Domingo, “The Four Seasons”
  • Harrison Ford, “Shrinking”
  • Jeff Hiller, “Somebody Somewhere”
  • Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear”
  • Michael Urie, “Shrinking”
  • Bowen Yang, “Saturday Night Live”

Outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Erin Doherty, “Adolescence”
  • Ruth Negga, “Presumed Innocent”
  • Deirdre O’Connell, “The Penguin”
  • Chloë Sevigny, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”
  • Jenny Slate, “Dying for Sex”
  • Christine Tremarco, “Adolescence”

Outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Javier Bardem, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”
  • Bill Camp, “Presumed Innocent”
  • Owen Cooper, “Adolescence”
  • Rob Delaney, “Dying for Sex”
  • Peter Sarsgaard, “Presumecd Innocent”
  • Ashley Walters, “Adolescence”

Outstanding guest actress in a drama series

  • Jane Alexander, “Severance”
  • Gwendoline Christie, “Severance”
  • Kaitlyn Dever, “The Last of Us”
  • Cherry Jones, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
  • Catherine O’Hara, “The Last of Us”
  • Merritt Wever, “Severance”

Outstanding guest actor in a drama series

  • Giancarlo Esposito, “The Boys”
  • Scott Glenn, “The White Lotus”
  • Shawn Hatosy, “The Pitt”
  • Joe Pantoliano, “The Last of Us”
  • Forest Whitaker, “Andor”
  • Jeffrey Wright, “The Last of Us”

Outstanding guest actress in a comedy series

  • Olivia Colman, “The Bear”
  • Jamie Lee Curtis, “The Bear”
  • Cynthia Erivo, “Poker Face”
  • Robby Hoffman, “Hacks”
  • Zoë Kravitz, “The Studio”
  • Julianne Nicholson, “Hacks”

Outstanding guest actor in a comedy series

  • Jon Bernthal, “The Bear”
  • Bryan Cranston, “The Studio”
  • Dave Franco, “The Studio”
  • Ron Howard, “The Studio”
  • Anthony Mackie, “The Studio”
  • Martin Scorsese, “The Studio”

Outstanding directing for a drama series

  • “Andor,” Janus Metz (“Who Are You?”)
  • “The Pitt,” Amanda Marsalis (“6 P.M.”)
  • “The Pitt,” John Wells (“7 A.M.”)
  • “Severance,” Jessica Lee Gagné (“Chikhai Bardo”)
  • “Severance,” Ben Stiller (“Gold Harbor)
  • “Slow Horses,” Adam Randall (“Hello Goodbye”)
  • “The White Lotus,” Mike White (“Amor Fati”)

Outstanding directing for a comedy series

  • “The Bear,” Ayo Edebiri (“Napkins”)
  • “Hacks,” Lucia Aniello (“A Slippery Slope”)
  • “Mid-Century Modern,” James Burrows (“Here’s To You, Mrs. Schneiderman”)
  • “The Rehearsal,” Nathan Fielder (“Pilot’s Code”)
  • “The Studio,” Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg (“The Oner”)

Outstanding directing for a limited or anthology series or movie

  • “Adolescence,” Philip Barantini
  • “Dying for Sex,” Shannon Murphy (“It’s Not That Serious”)
  • “The Penguin,” Helen Shaver (“Cent’anni”)
  • “The Penguin,” Jennifer Getzinger (“A Great or Little Thing”)
  • “Sirens,” Nicole Kassell (“Exile”)
  • “Zero Day,” Leslie Linka Glatter

Outstanding writing for a drama series

  • “Andor,” Dan Gilroy (“Welcome to the Rebellion”)
  • “The Pitt,” Joe Sachs (“2 P.M.”)
  • “The Pitt,” R. Scott Gemmill (“7 A.M.”)
  • “Severance,” Dan Erickson (“Cold Harbor”)
  • “Slow Horses,” Will Smith (“Hello Goodbye”)
  • “The White Lotus,” Mike White (“Full-Moon Party”)

Outstanding writing for a comedy series

  • “Abbott Elementary,” Quinta Brunson (“Back To School”)
  • “Hacks,” Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky (“A Slippery Slope”)
  • “The Rehearsal,” Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Adam Lock-Norton and Eric Notarnicola (“Pilot’s Code”)
  • “Somebody Somewhere,” Hanna Bos, Paul Thureen and Bridget Everett (“AGG”)
  • “The Studio,” Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory and Frida Perez (“The Promotion”)
  • “What We Do in the Shadows,” Sam Johnson, Sarah Naftalis and Paul Simms (“The Finale”)

Outstanding writing for a limited or anthology series or movie

  • “Adolescence,” Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham
  • “Black Mirror,” Charlie Brooker and Bisha K. Ali (“Common People”)
  • “Dying for Sex,” Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether (“Good Value Diet Soda”)
  • “The Penguin,” Lauren LeFranc (“A Great or Little Thing”)
  • “Say Nothing,” Joshua Zetumer (“The People in the Dirt”)

Outstanding writing for a variety series

  • “The Daily Show”
  • “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”
  • “Saturday Night Live”

List from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2025-primetime-emmy-nominations-full-list/

The Bear S4 E9, E10

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Spoilers

“Tonnato”

“Goodbye”

These final two episodes of season four show exactly why The Bear is constantly nominated for Best Comedy Series at the Emmys.

That is sarcasm. This is not a comedy series for me. It is a full on drama that might have some comedic aspects at times.

Nothing showed that more than these final two episodes which were full of amazing moments and performances that were off the charts.

First, in “Tonnato,” we get an amazing set of scenes with Carmy and his mother, Donna. Jamie Lee Curtis may as well make some room on her mantel for another Emmy because this was unbelievable. The performance was so raw and powerful and brought a tear to my eyes. She was as vulnerable as you could be in this scene while expressing her overwhelming guilt and regret over her behavior and choices. Jeremy Allen White was an exceptional scene partner as he pillowed her performance while not taking away from it. Both of these characters felt on the precipice of an emotional breakthrough, though at any second, it could fall apart. It was a tremendously powerful scene.

Then, in the finale of the season, Carmy, Sydney and Richie (with Natalie eventually joining) spent the episode out back of the restaurant screaming at each other over the impending departure of Carmy from The Bear. Carmy’s decision to “retire” has been forming over the last few episodes as he realized that he did not love what he was doing anymore and that he was only serving as a roadblock for the restaurant’s success.

With the backdrop of the ticking clock, Carmy’s decision may have felt like a betrayal to Sydney and Richie, but he seemingly was able to convince them that he was not just dropping them. The ownership agreement, half for Jimmy, half for Sydney, Natalie and Richie, was something that Sydney insisted on (including Richie).

Carmy’s confession that he had attended Michael’s funeral, even though everyone thought he had not gone, was massive for Richie. You can see why these three actors in particular have been so in demand lately for other projects. They are truly some fantastic performers (no pun intended as Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who played Richie will be Ben Grimm, the Thing, in Marvel’s Fantastic Four in a couple of weeks).

I thought the fourth season of The Bear was far superior to season three, which felt like a down year to me. I loved the way Carmy was going on the self-improvement trip. I really wanted to see the scene where he gave the green sweater (which he found at his mother’s in episode 9) back to Claire, but hopefully that scene will make it into a future seasson.

This season left plenty of plot threads dangling, as the ticking clock struck zero at the end of the final episode. Was that the end of the restaurant or will it be able to be saved as they were starting to put things together, albeit slowly.