February 14, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Alessia Cara, Bartees Strange, Captain America: Brave New World, Court of Gold, Family Guy, Good Cop/Bad Cop, Grimsburg, Horror, Last Week Tonight, Love & Hyperbole, Neil Young, Oceanside Countryside, Oscar-Nominated Short Films, Paddington in Peru, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special, SNL, SNL50, SNL50: The Homecoming Concert, The Great North
I’ll watch anything with Leighton Meester in it (CREDIT: The CW Network/Screenshot)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Captain America: Brave New World (Theaters)
–Oscar-Nominated Short Films (Theaters)
–Paddington in Peru (Theaters)
TV
–SNL50: The Homecoming Concert (February 14 on Peacock) – Live from Radio City Music Hall
–Family Guy Season 23 Premiere (February 16 on FOX)
–The Great North Season 5 Premiere* (February 16 on FOX) – *-Or the second episode. There was also an episode that aired right before Christmas.
–Grimsburg Season 2 Premiere (February 16 on FOX)
–Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special (February 16 on NBC) – There will also be a red carpet show immediately preceding.
–Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Season 12 Premiere (February 16 on HBO)
–Court of Gold (February 18 on Netflix) – Paris Olympic basketball documentary.
–Good Cop/Bad Cop Series Premiere (February 19 on The CW) – Starring Leighton Meester and Clancy Brown
Music
-Alessia Cara, Love & Hyperbole
-Bartees Strange, Horror
-Neil Young, Oceanside Countryside – Previously unreleased from 1977.
January 21, 2025
jmunney
Best of 2024, Broad City, Television
@fter Midnight, American Dad!, Best of 2024, Bob's Burgers, Conan O'Brien Must Go, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Elsbeth, Evil, Evil Superman, High Potential, John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in L.A., Last Week Tonight, Mr. Bates vs the Post Office, Pop Culture Jeopardy!, Solar Opposites, St. Denis Medical, The Floor, What We Do in the Shadows, Whose Line is it Anyway?, X-Men '97, Young Sheldon
CREDIT (Clockwise from Top Left): FX/Screenshot; FOX/Screenshot; HBO/Screenshot; CBS/Screenshot
Television offers both the thrill of the new and the comfort of the familiar. So with that in mind, I’ve decided to split my Best TV of 2024 roundup into two lists: one for the Debutantes, and another for the Returning Champions.
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February 16, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Adult Contemporary, Blu Wav, Chromeo, Coming Home, Granddaddy, Jennifer Lopez, Last Week Tonight, Madame Web, Oscar Nominated Shorts, Paloma Faith, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, The Glorification of Sadness, This Is Me… Now, Usher
A final Batch of new episodes is on the way (CREDIT: Disney+. © 2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Madame Web (Theaters)
–Oscar Nominated Short Films (Theaters)
TV
–Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Season 11 Premiere (February 18 on HBO)
–Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3 Premiere (February 21 on Disney+) – Final Season Alert!
Music
-Chromeo, Adult Contemporary
-Granddaddy, Blu Wav – I’ve never heard of this band before, but they sound interesting.
-Paloma Faith, The Glorification of Sadness
-Jennifer Lopez, This Is Me… Now
-Usher, Coming Home
February 17, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Animaniacs, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Back to School with Gus Johnson, Caroline Polachek, Desire I Want to Turn Into You, Emily, Hello Tomorrow!, Jeopardy!, Jeopardy! High School Reunion Tournament, Last Week Tonight, Marlowe, Movies for Grownups Awards, Oscar Nominated Shorts, Quest for Fire, Return to Seoul, Skrillex
Billy Crudup doing the Apple thing (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
–Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
–Emily (Theaters)
–Marlowe (Theaters) – Liam Neeson plays Philip Marlowe.
-Oscar Nominated Shorts (Theaters)
–Return to Seoul (Theaters)
TV
-AARP’s Movies for Grownups Awards (February 17 on PBS)
–Animaniacs Reboot Season 3 (February 17 on Hulu)
–Hello Tomorrow! Series Premiere (February 17 on Apple TV+) – Retrofuturism … on the moon!
–Back to School with Gus Johnson (February 18 on FOX) – Sportscaster taps into his inner Billy Madison.
–Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Season 10 Premiere (February 19 on HBO)
–Jeopardy! High School Reunion Tournament (February 20-March 9; check local listings)
Music
-Caroline Polachek, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
-Skrillex, Quest for Fire
July 8, 2022
jmunney
Awards Shows, Emmys, Television
2022 Emmys, Beat Shazam, Conan, Emmy Wish List, Emmy wishlist, Emmys, Holey Moley, How to with John Wilson, I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson, Last Week Tonight, RuPaul's Drag Race, The Chase, The Masked Singer, Whose Line is it Anyway?
CREDIT: Netflix/Screenshot
Fun (or Frightening?) Fact: this year’s Emmy ballot includes nearly 3000 performers. We’ve all known for several years now just how overwhelming television has become, but somehow it still had room to launch into another level. So for my personal wish list, I decided not to think about it too hard. I’ll just include however many or however few selections per category I’d like to. I’ve probably forgotten some worthy contenders, but I won’t stress about it too much. We’ll find out what the TV Academy thinks when the nominations are announced on July 12!
When will Holey Moley become “The Multiple Emmy Award-Winning Holey Moley”? Hopefully very soon!
I was a little surprised to see Conan on the ballot again, as our orange-topped late night legend wrapped his TBS run over a year ago. But I suppose he did last into June, and the Emmy eligibility period does begin in the previous year’s June, and I’m certainly not going to complain about honoring our boy Conezy one more time!
And finally, hopefully How to with John Wilson can shine through in the weird category it’s been submitted in.
KEY:
Bold=My winner
*=I have placed this nominee in a different category than the Emmy ballot.
**=Not on the Emmy ballot
Variety Talk Series
Conan
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Variety Sketch Series
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson*
Whose Line is it Anyway?
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February 18, 2022
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Beach House, Dog, Last Week Tonight, Once Twice Melody, Severance, Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Severance (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
–Dog (Theaters) – Starring Dog.
–Texas Chainsaw Massacre (February 18 on Netflix) – Here we go again…
TV
–Severance Series Premiere (February 18 on Apple TV+) – Directed (mostly) by Ben Stiller, starring Adam Scott.
–Last Week Tonight Season 9 Premiere (February 20 on HBO)
Music
-Beach House, Once Twice Melody
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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July 9, 2021
jmunney
Awards Shows, Emmys, Television
American Utopia, Conan, Earth to Ned, Emmys, Eric Andre: Legalize Everything, Holey Moley, How to with John Wilson, Last Week Tonight, Match Game, Nate, RuPaul's Drag Race, Sherman's Showcase, The Chase, The Hustler, The Masked Singer, To Tell the Truth, What the Constitution Means to Me, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Whose Line is it Anyway?, Wilmore
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. Finally, on Day 4, we wrap things up with Variety and Reality.
Did you know that there’s a talk show hosted by an alien puppet on Disney+? If you didn’t before, you do now. And you’re going to want to watch all of it as soon as possible before you die. It’s called Earth to Ned, and it’s hilarious and boasts a lineup of fantastic guests. It’s got vibes of Jiminy Glick, but it’s much more kind-hearted. It’s a celebration of talk shows as an art form and general phenomenon, and that’s why I believe that it should win the Emmy for Variety Talk Series.
Variety Sketch Series is where the oddballs that don’t slot easily into any other category end up, and thus that’s where the inimitable How to with John Wilson deserves our love.
And as for Reality, my enthusiasm is much the same as it was last year, when I was demanding praise for the first season of mini-golf extravaganza Holey Moley while the second season was airing. And now this year, I’m demanding praise for Season 2 while we’re in the midst of Season 3.
KEY:
Bold=My winner
Variety Talk Series
Conan
Earth to Ned
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
WILMORE
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February 12, 2021
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, Death by Rock and Roll, Judas and the Black Messiah, Kenan, Kenan Thompson, Last Week Tonight, Minari, Momma Named Me Sheriff, The Pretty Reckless, Young Rock
Kenan (CREDIT: NBC/YouTube Screenshot)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (On Demand) – A new comedy classic.
–Judas and the Black Messiah (Theaters and HBO Max)
–Minari (February 12 in Theaters, February 26 On Demand)
TV
–Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Season 8 Premiere (February 14 on HBO)
–Momma Named Me Sheriff Season 2 Premiere (February 14 on Adult Swim)
–Young Rock Series Premiere (February 16 on NBC)
–Kenan Series Premiere (February 16 on NBC) – Kenan Thompson is still on SNL, but he’s also got his own sitcom now.
Music
-The Pretty Reckless, Death by Rock and Roll
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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