October 28, 2022
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Sports, Television
Armageddon Time, Babyface, Big Mouth, Blockbuster, Changes, Girls' Night Out, Jeopardy!, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Prey for the Devil, The Wonder, World Series
Hello, Blockbuster? It’s your cousin, Randall Blockbuster. (CREDIT: Ricardo Hubbs/Netflix © 2022)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Armageddon Time (Theaters)
–Prey for the Devil (Theaters) – New frights for Halloween.
–The Wonder (November 2 in Theaters, November 16 on Netflix) – It stars Florence Pugh.
TV
–Big Mouth Season 6 (October 28 on Netflix)
–Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions (Begins October 31, check local listings) – A new format this year.
–Blockbuster Season 1 (November 3 on Netflix) – Randall Park and Melissa Fumero work at a video rental store.
Music
-Babyface, Girls’ Night Out
-King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Changes
Sports
-World Series (Begins October 28 on FOX) – Phils vs. ‘stros.
January 26, 2022
jmunney
Best of 2021, Best of TV 2021, Television
A Black Lady Sketch Show, A.P. Bio, American Crime Story, American Dad!, American Housewife, Animaniacs, Atypical, Best of 2021, Big Mouth, Big Shot, Bob's Burgers, Chad, Chucky, College Bowl, Conan, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dickinson, Earth to Ned, Evil, Fantasy Island, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Ghosts, History of Swear Words, Holey Moley, Home Economics, How to with John Wilson, I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson, Impeachment: American Crime Story, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Jeopardy!, Joe Pera Talks with You, Last Week Tonight, MacGruber, March Madness, Miracle Workers, Never Have I Ever, Only Murders in the Building, PEN15, Physical, Pose, reservation dogs, Resident Alien, Rick and Morty, RIverdale, Rugrats, RuPaul's Drag Race, Saturday Morning All Star Hits!, Saved by the Bell, Search Party, Sex Education, Solar Opposites, Succession, Superman & Lois, The Baby-Sitters Club, The Beatles: Get Back, The Chase, The Conners, The Good Fight, The Handmaid's Tale, The Kids Tonight Show, The Masked Singer, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, The Other Two, The Problem with Jon Stewart, The Sex Lives of College Girls, The Shrink Next Door, The Wonder Years, To Tell the Truth, Tuca & Bertie, Ultra City Smiths, WandaVision, Wellington Paranormal, What We Do in the Shadows, Whose Line is it Anyway?, Y: The Last Man, Young Sheldon, Ziwe, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
CREDIT (Clockwise from Top Left): Screenshot, Netflix, Screenshot, Screenshot
For the Year of Our Screens 2021, my list includes all the shows that I would recommend to my fellow viewers as “worth watching.” So that’s 77 shows! There’s a lot of TV nowadays, and a lot of it’s also pretty good.
I utilized a self-imposed rule in which I had to watch at least 50% of a show’s 2021 output for it to be eligible. However, there were some noteworthy shows that I watched less than 50% of, so I’ve spotlighted those in an honorable mention section:
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November 5, 2021
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Aimee Mann, Animaniacs, Big Mouth, Diana Ross, Dickinson, Eternals, Joe Pera Talks with You, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Queens of the Summer Hotel, Thank You, The Beta Test, The Future
(CREDIT: Apple TV+)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–The Beta Test (Theaters)
–Eternals (Theaters)
TV
–Animaniacs Season 2 (November 5 on Hulu)
–Big Mouth Season 5 (November 5 on Netflix) – Looks like November is Animat-vember.
–Dickinson Season 3 Premiere (November 5 on Apple TV+) – Final Season Alert!
–Joe Pera Talks With You Season 3 Premiere (November 7 on Adult Swim)
Music
-Aimee Mann, Queens of the Summer Hotel
-Diana Ross, Thank You
-Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, The Future
July 6, 2021
jmunney
Awards Shows, Emmys, Television
2021 Emmys, A.P. Bio, American Dad!, Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun, B Positive, Big Mouth, black-ish, Chad, Dickinson, Emmys, mixed-ish, Mr. Mayor, PEN15, Resident Alien, Rutherford Falls, Saved by the Bell, Search Party, Solar Opposites, Staged, Ted Lasso, That Damn Michael Che, The Conners, The Eric Andre Show, The Unicorn, Young Sheldon
CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot
It’s that time again! The 2021 Emmy nominations will be announced on July 13, which means I’ve got a Wish List for the nommy noms I’d most like to see! In case you’re wondering, I haven’t held myself to any minimum or maximum number of entrants per category, nor do I strictly adhere to official Emmy rules. (I’ve included explanations for my deviations.) And of course, I must mention that I haven’t seen everything, so there are probably some worthy considerations I may have missed. First up: Comedy and Animation.
Almost every single one of my Comedy Series preferences from last year is not eligible this year, whether because of series finales or longer-than-average breaks in between successive seasons. Luckily we have a plethora of streaming services to fill the gaps, and plenty of them are represented here. We’ve got Hulu! We’ve got Peacock! We’ve got Apple TV+! We’ve even got that dang HBO Max. There’s also some room for basic cable in the form of Syfy’s Resident Alien. And it looks like for the first time since I’ve been making Emmy Wish Lists, there is no broadcast network series making my cut (although one of my choices began as an NBC show and another is a reboot of an NBC show).
In the acting categories, it’s an absolute embarrassment of riches in the Lead Actress category, with every one of the ladies I’ve selected giving the performances they were born to play. That’s also true of Alan Tudyk, who’s my easy winner in the Lead Actor field. (He’s an alien … pretending to be a human! Can you imagine?!) Over in Supporting, it’s a mix of newbies and usual suspects, with plenty of sitcoms really making full use of their deep ensembles these days.
KEY:
Bold=My winner
*=I have placed this nominee in a different category than the Emmy ballot.
Comedy Series
A.P. Bio
Dickinson
Pen15
Resident Alien
Saved by the Bell
Search Party
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January 6, 2021
jmunney
Best of 2020, Best of TV 2020, Television
A.P. Bio, American Dad!, Animaniacs, Beef House, Best of 2020, Better Call Saul, Big Mouth, Dispatches From Elsewhere, How to with John Wilson, Joe Pera Talks with You, Killing Eve, Middleditch & Schwartz, Never Have I Ever, PEN15, Rick and Morty, Search Party, The Baby-Sitters Club, The Mandalorian, What We Do in the Shadows, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
(CREDIT: FX/YouTube Screenshot)
When making Best Episode lists, some TV critics limit themselves to one entry per show, but I never operate by that self-imposition, as certain shows are just masterful when crafting a single hour or half-hour (or whatever runtime they feel like using), and that ought to be reflected in the ledger. So you’ll find that several shows have wound up more than once in this list, and those tended to be the ones that also fared the best on my Best Shows of 2020 list. You’ll also find at least one program that didn’t make my Best Shows list, as it’s possible to have one excellent outing within an otherwise disappointing season. So forthwith, if someone who missed all TV in 2020 asked me for a refresher, here is where I would direct them:
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January 4, 2021
jmunney
Best of 2020, Best of TV 2020, Television
A.P. Bio, American Dad!, American Housewife, Animaniacs, Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun, B Positive, Beef House, Best of 2020, Better Call Saul, Better Things, Big Mouth, black-ish, Bob's Burgers, Bojack Horseman, Devs, Dicktown, Dispatches From Elsewhere, Earth to Ned, Fargo, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, grown-ish, His Dark Materials, Holey Moley, How to with John Wilson, Jeopardy!, Joe Pera Talks with You, Last Week Tonight, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Match Game, McMillion$, Mike Tyson Mysteries, mixed-ish, Mrs. America, Muppets Now, Nancy Drew, Never Have I Ever, Normal People, PEN15, Rick and Morty, RIverdale, RuPaul's Drag Race, Saved by the Bell, Search Party, Sex Education, Solar Opposites, Stargirl, Superstore, The Conners, The Eric Andre Show, The Goldbergs, The Good Fight, The Good Lord Bird, The Last Dance, The Last O.G., The Mandalorian, The Masked Singer, The New Pope, The Plot Against America, The Twilight Zone, The Unicorn, Three Busy Debras, Unorthodox, What We Do in the Shadows, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Whose Line is it Anyway?, Wilmore, Young Sheldon, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
Clockwise from Top Left: What We Do in the Shadows, Never Have I Ever, Better Call Saul, How To with John Wilson (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots)
Last year, I decided to rank as many TV shows as I felt like recognizing in my year-end list, and that worked out so well that I decided to do it again for 2020. So welcome to my ranking of the 67 Best TV Shows of 2020! Not every show is accompanied by a blurb, just the ones that I felt like I really needed to say something about.
I worked with a self-imposed rule that I had to have watched at least 50% of a show’s 2020 output for it to be eligible, but there were some shows that I’ve only just begun to watch that I wanted to recognize as well, so they’ve got their own Honorable Mention section. And there were also some shows that aired relatively few episodes in 2020 to the point that I didn’t think they should be eligible either, so they’ve also got an Honorable Mention section. And then there’s one more show that’s managed to establish its very own Honorable Mention section, and that’s where we start.
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December 4, 2020
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Arctic Monkeys, Big Mouth, Candice Bergen, David Fincher, Dianne Wiest, Godmothered, Herman J. Mankiewicz, Let Them All Talk, Mank, Meryl Streep, MTV Movie & TV Awards, Mulan, Steven Soderbergh
MANK (CREDIT: Netflix)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Godmothered (December 4 on Disney+)
–Mank (December 4 on Netflix) – Fincher on Mankiewicz.
–Mulan (December 4 on Disney+, without the premium fee)
–Let Them All Talk (December 10 on HBO Max) – Soderbergh directs Streep-Bergen-Wiest on a cruise.
TV
–Big Mouth Season 4 (December 4 on Netflix)
–MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time Special (December 6 on MTV)
Music
-Arctic Monkeys, Live at the Royal Albert Hall
January 4, 2020
jmunney
Best of 2019, Best of TV 2019, Television
American Dad!, American Housewife, AP Bio, Barry, Baskets, Best of 2019, Better Things, Big Mouth, black-ish, Bob's Burgers, Bojack Horseman, Broad City, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Documentary Now!, Fleabag, Fosse/Verdon, GLOW, I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Jane the Virgin, Jeopardy!, Joe Pera Talks with You, Last Week Tonight, Legion, Living with Yourself, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., mixed-ish, Momma Named Me Sheriff, Mr. Robot, Pose, Rick and Morty, Russian Doll, Sex Education, Sherman's Showcase, Silicon Valley, Speechless, Superstore, The Conners, The Goldbergs, The Good Place, The Kids Are Alright, The Last O.G., The Mandalorian, The Masked Singer, The Orville, The Other Two, The Unicorn, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Undone, Watchmen, What Just Happened??!, What We Do in the Shadows, You're the Worst, Young Sheldon
CREDIT (Clockwise from Top Left): Amazon; Disney; Pamela Littky/FOX; Rhys Thomas/IFC
Under the known laws of physics, it is currently impossible to watch every TV show (or even just every good show) airing new episodes in a given year. But for those of us who treat televisual consumption as a transcendent pursuit, we do our best to fit in as many programs as possible, which means that there are more than ten or even twenty shows worth recognizing in an annual best-of list. So this year, I decided to rank as many shows as I thought were worthy of recognition and provide blurbs for the ones where I really needed to say something.
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October 4, 2019
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Television
Big Mouth, Joker, Lucy in the Sky, Mr. Robot, Nancy Drew, Pain and Glory, RIverdale
CREDIT: Netflix
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Joker (Theatrically Nationwide) – Worth checking out to have your own reaction.
–Lucy in the Sky (Limited Theatrically) – Lucy! I’m home, in space!
–Pain and Glory (Limited Theatrically)
TV
–Big Mouth Season 3 (October 4 on Netflix)
–Mr. Robot Season 4 Premiere (October 6 on USA) – The final season unfolds over Christmas.
–Riverdale Season 4 Premiere (October 9 on The CW)
–Nancy Drew Series Premiere (October 9 on The CW)
February 14, 2019
jmunney
Best of 2018, Best of TV 2018, Television
#MurphyToo, A Boy and His Priest, A Random Killing, Atlanta, Barbershop, Barry, Best of 2018, Better Call Saul, Big Mouth, Bojack Horseman, Canada (1950–Present Day), Chapter Eight: Know Your Truth, Childish Gambino, Donald Glover, Donald Glover/Childish Gambino, Giving and Receiving, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Joe Pera Talks to You About the Rat Wars of Alberta, Joe Pera Talks with You, Mac and Me, Mac Finds His Pride, Milk, Mr. Peanutbutter's Boos, MST3K, Murphy Brown, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Pose, Saturday Night Live, Sharp Objects, SNL, South Park, Swipe Right, Teddy Perkins, Thanksgiving and Taking, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, The Gang Solves the Bathroom Problem, The Last O.G., The Planned Parenthood Show, The Showstoppe, Winner, Woods
CREDIT: Guy D’Alema/FX/FX Networks
If you’re still catching up on the best TV of 2018, the following playlist would be a great way to go about it.
1. Atlanta, “Teddy Perkins”
2. Saturday Night Live, Donald Glover/Childish Gambino
3. Atlanta, “Barbershop”
4. Mystery Science Theater 3000, “Mac and Me”
5. Big Mouth, “The Planned Parenthood Show”
6. BoJack Horseman, “The Showstopper”
7. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, “The Gang Solves the Bathroom Problem”
8. The Assassination of Gianni Versace, “A Random Killing”
9. Barry, “Chapter Eight: Know Your Truth”
10. Pose, “Giving and Receiving”
11. Joe Pera Talks With You, “Joe Pera Talks to You About the Rat Wars of Alberta, Canada (1950–Present Day)”
12. BoJack Horseman, “Mr. Peanutbutter’s Boos”
13. Murphy Brown, “Thanksgiving and Taking”
14. Atlanta, “Woods”
15. Murphy Brown, “#MurphyToo”
16. Better Call Saul, “Winner”
17. The Last O.G., “Swipe Right”
18. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, “Mac Finds His Pride”
19. South Park, “A Boy and a Priest”
20. Sharp Objects, “Milk”
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