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
More
June 4, 2021
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Blue Weekend, Celebrity Family Feud, Changephobia, Liz Phair, Loki, Nowhere Generation, Rise Against, Rostam, Soberish, The Chase, The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It, To Tell the Truth, Wolf Alice
Wow, Loki. (CREDIT: Marvel Entertainment/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
–The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (Theaters and HBO Max)
TV
–Celebrity Family Feud Season Premiere (June 6 on ABC)
–The Chase Season Premiere (June 6 on ABC) – “The Beast” joins Ken, Brad, and James.
–To Tell the Truth Season Premiere (June 6 on ABC)
–Loki Series Premiere (June 9 on Disney+) – Wow.
Music
-Liz Phair, Soberish
-Rise Against, Nowhere Generation
-Rostam, Changephobia
-Wolf Alice, Blue Weekend
January 22, 2021
jmunney
Entertainment To-Do List, Podcasts, Television
Alan Sepinwall, mixed-ish, Podcasts, To Tell the Truth, Too Long Didn't Watch
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
TV
–mixed-ish Season 2 Premiere (January 26 on ABC)
–To Tell the Truth Season Premiere (January 26 on ABC)
Podcasts
–Too Long; Didn’t Watch – TV critic Alan Sepinwall invites some famous friends to watch the first and last episodes of shows they’ve never watched before.
July 23, 2020
jmunney
Awards Shows, Emmys, Television
$100000 Pyramid, 2020 Emmys, Conan, Emmy Wish List, Emmys, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Holey Moley, Last Week Tonight, Match Game, RuPaul's Drag Race, Saturday Night Live, Sherman's Showcase, The Masked Singer, To Tell the Truth, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Whose Line is it Anyway?
CREDIT: ABC; IFC
The 2020 Emmy nominations will be announced on July 28. As per annual tradition, I have assembled a Wish List for as many categories as I have something to say about. There is no minimum or maximum number per category, nor is there any strict adherence to official Emmy rules. And of course, there is the necessary caveat that I have not seen everything. Even with much of the country shut down for the past few months, that’s impossible.
Now that I have made my way through the avalanche of award-worth Dramas, Comedies, and Limited Series, it’s time to get a little silly with the Variety shows. And this year, I decided to also talk about Reality, as there are enough competition shows that I plainly love to be able to fill out a ballot.
Conan is my top choice among the talkies, as Mr. O’Brien and company adapted quite naturally to the new reality of at-home production and Zoom interviews. The Soul Train/American Bandstand homage that is Sherman’s Showcase is the easy choice in Sketch Series; seriously folks, you gotta check this show out. And while I don’t always include SNL in the field, it earned a spot this year thanks to the resiliency demonstrated in its at-home episodes.
Moving on to Reality, where my Competition Program picks are dominated by game shows, naturally enough. At the top of the heap is the mini-golf showcase Holey Moley, one of the most purely fun and positive shows on the air right now. And Joe Tessitore and Rob Riggle are the perfect silly/serious M.C. pair to present the whole shebang.
KEY:
Bold=My winner
CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot
Variety Talk Series
CONAN
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
More
May 15, 2020
jmunney
Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
All Visible Objects, Brec Bassinger, Celebrity Escape Room, Charli XCX, Community, DC's Stargirl, Graduate Together, Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020, Holey Moley, How I'm Feeling Now, Jack Black, Joel McHale, Luke Wilson, Moby, Red Nose Day, Stargirl, To Tell the Truth
CREDIT: The CW/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.
TV
-Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020 (May 16 on Various Networks)
–DC’s Stargirl Series Premiere (May 18 on DC Universe and May 19 on The CW) – Starring Brec Bassinger as Stargirl; Luke Wilson and Joel McHale also appear.
–Community Cast Reunion Table Read and Q+A (May 18 on YouTube)
–Celebrity Escape Room (May 21 on NBC) – A Red Nose Day celeb goof-off hosted by Jack Black
–Holey Moley II: The Sequel Premiere (May 21 on ABC) – Mini-golf is so hot right now.
–To Tell the Truth Season Premiere (May 21 on ABC)
Music
-Charli XCX, How I’m Feeling Now
-Moby, All Visible Objects
September 10, 2019
jmunney
Game Shows, Television
$100000 Pyramid, ABC, ABC Summer Fun and Games, Battle of the Network Stars, Card Sharks, Celebrity Family Feud, Family Food Fight, Game Shows, Holey Moley, Match Game, Press Your Luck, Summer Fun and Games, The Gong Show, To Tell the Truth
CREDIT: Byron Cohen/ABC
Summer 2019 is winding to a close, which means we will soon have to say goodbye for now to one of my favorite programming blocks, ABC’s “Summer Fun & Games.” I’ve been meaning to do an appraisal of how well each show reaches its potential and how thoroughly they strike my particular pleasure centers, and that’s what I’ve done below. I’ve included all the shows that are currently on the block as well as those that have been cancelled or are on hiatus, organizing them into categories worthy of their status.
CREDIT: Heidi Gutman/ABC
The Titans
Celebrity Family Feud
Match Game
It’s your boy Steve Harvey hosting the stalwart program that all the fame-os want to be on. And it’s Master MC Alec Baldwin fully inhabiting the ringmaster role in the perfect venue where celebrity shtick comes to (blank).
More
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