CREDIT (Clockwise from Top Left): Paramount Plus/Screenshot; Mitch Haaseth/Disney; Paramount Plus/Screenshot; Apple TV+
For my 2023 TV wrap-up coverage, I’ve decided to compile a list of the shows I was most excited to watch week in and week out. Or day in and day out, in the case of more regular programming. Or in the case of series that released their entire seasons at once, they’re the shows that I was most excited to press play on the next episode button. These aren’t necessarily my favorite shows of the year, though there’s definitely some overlap.
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 Creator (Theaters) –Saw X (Theaters) – One half of “Saw Patrol.” –Stop Making Sense (Theaters) – Remastered and back on the big screen.
TV –The Simpsons Season 35 Premiere (October 1 on FOX) –Bob’s Burgers Season 14 Premiere (October 1 on FOX) –Family Guy Season 22 Premiere (October 1 on FOX) –Quantum Leap Season 2 Premiere (October 4 on NBC) –Chucky Season 3 Premiere (October 4 on Syfy and USA)
–Loki Season 2 Premiere (October 5 on Disney+)
Music -Animal Collective, Isn’t It Now? -Wilco, Cousin
CREDIT (Clockwise from Top Left): AMC/Screenshot; ABC/Screenshot; Paramount+/Screenshot; Hulu/Screenshot)
To demonstrate how great TV can be found pretty much everywhere these days, I’ve decided to pick the best show on each network and streaming service on which I regularly watched at least one show that aired in 2022. However you’re getting your fill of TV nowadays, you’re bound to find something enjoyable. If you and your remote ever find yourself hopelessly adrift, I can vouch that the following are all great places to find your way back to safety.
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Bros (Theaters)
–The Greatest Beer Run Ever (Theaters and Apple TV+)
–Smile (Theaters)
TV
–Saturday Night Live Season 48 Premiere (October 1 on NBC) – Don’t Miles Teller Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, because the Babysitter’s NOT dead, but do Miles Teller Mom that Miles Teller is Hosting the SNL season premiere (Kendrick Lamar musical guest).
-“A Sinister Halloween Scary Opposites Solar Special” (October 3 on Hulu)
–Chucky Season 2 Premiere (October 5 on Syfy and USA)
–Reginald the Vampire Series Premiere (October 5 on Syfy) – Starring one of Peter Parker’s best friends.
Music
-Björk, Fossora
-Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cool It Down
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:
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Lamb (Theaters)
–No Time to Die (Theaters) – Daniel Craig is so happy that this is finally coming out.
–The Rescue (Theaters)
TV
–Muppets Haunted Mansion (October 8 on Disney+) – Ed Asner has passed away, but he was not murdered or scared to death on the set of this.
–Nancy Drew Season 3 Premiere (October 8 on The CW)
–Whose Line is it Anyway? Season 18 Premiere (October 9 on The CW)
–Legends of the Hidden Temple Reboot Premiere (October 10 on The CW) – Formerly of Nickelodeon.
–The Baby-Sitters Club Season 2 (October 11 on Netflix)
–Chucky Series Premiere (October 12 on SyFy) – Chucky the Doll, that is.
–A Night in the Academy Museum (October 12 on ABC) – Hosted by Laura Dern and Tom Hanks.
–B Positive Season 2 Premiere (October 14 on CBS)
–The Kids Tonight Show Series Premiere (October 14 on Peacock)
Sports
-WNBA Finals (Begins October 10, ABC and ESPN)
Starring: Gabriel Bateman, Mark Hamill, Aubrey Plaza, Bryan Tyree Henry, Tim Matheson, Marlon Kazadi, Beatrice Kitsos, Ty Consiglio, David Lewis, Carlease Burke
Director: Lars Klevberg
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Rating: R for Prime Bloody Cuts of Human Meat
Release Date: June 21, 2019
The original 1988 Child’s Play was a sneaky little B-horror pic that snuck in some pointed satire about the crass commercialism of marketing aimed at children by asking the question: if the soul of a serial killer were transferred to a toy doll, would all the adults be too distracted to notice? The remake takes its aim at the paranoia surrounding artificial intelligence. This is oft-explored territory, so the horrors of the next-gen Chucky doll (voiced with easy panache by Mark Hamill) are not particularly unique. But the satire is built around a salient, timely concern: what if all of our smart Internet-connected devices suddenly became weaponized against us? The new Chucky is part of the “Buddi” line assembled by Kaslin Industries, an Amazon-esque tech monolith that promises consumers a domestic utopia with its thorough suite of products, with Tim Matheson as the wise, old, just-creepy-enough face of the company.
While the ideas of nu-Child’s Play are impressively on target, its plot machinations are a bit too silly and Grand Guignol for their own good. Original flavor CP worked on a visceral level because while Chucky was nearly impossible to kill, he wasn’t impossible to subdue. But upgraded Chucky is far more omnipotent, as he can basically become telepathic and telekinetic with the right Bluetooth signal. Thus, it is never in doubt that he is going to kill someone, which leads to the hyper-violent stakes being raised in ways that call to mind Saw and Final Destination much more than I expected. Occasionally, there’s a really devastating sick visual joke to lighten up the gore, but most audiences can expect their bloodlust to be satisfied many times over. Ultimately, Chucky is defeated less because of any weakness and more just because the movie is about to end.
Also in the “been there, done that” category is Chucky’s motivation: the old “if I can’t be your friend, then nobody can.” Frankly, I think that Chucky has more on his mind than just what some random kid thinks of him. But that is what his programming demands once he meets young Andy (Gabriel Bateman) and automatically “imprints” on him. It suggests a worst-case scenario of how it would go if the most smartphone-obsessed among us had their feelings reciprocated. Smart A.I. can be dumb, but while this Child’s Play is satisfyingly diverting, it doesn’t convince me that our devices are that psychotic.
Child’s Play is Recommended If You Like: Smart device paranoia
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