Jeff "Jmunney" Malone's Self-Styled "Expert" Thoughts on Movies, TV, Music, and the Rest of Pop Culture
October 30, 2020
Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television Elvis Costello, Hey Clockface, The Mandalorian, Young Sheldon Leave a comment
The Mandalorian (CREDIT: Star Wars/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
–The Mandalorian Season 2 Premiere (October 30 on Disney+) – Baby Yoda is on this show.
–Young Sheldon Season 4 Premiere (November 5 on CBS)
Music
-Elvis Costello, Hey Clockface – The 31st studio album from Mr. Declan MacManus!
July 21, 2020
Awards Shows, Emmys, Television 2020 Emmys, American Housewife, Atypical, Baskets, Better Things, black-ish, Emmy Wish List, GLOW, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Living with Yourself, mixed-ish, Never Have I Ever, Saturday Night Live, Schitt's Creek, Sex Education, Sherman's Showcase, The Conners, The Goldbergs, The Last O.G., The Righteous Gemstones, What We Do in the Shadows, Young Sheldon, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist 2 Comments
CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots
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.
Yesterday I kicked off my Emmy Wish List coverage with plenty of Drama. Today it’s time to laugh along with the Comedies, and boy, what a year for laughter it was! At the top of my list are those wacky vampires (Vacky vampires? Wacky wampires? Vacky wampires?) of What We Do in the Shadows, which in its second season staked itself permanently in my heart. It’s my winner for Comedy Series and all but one of the acting categories. Too bad it doesn’t have a Supporting Actress, otherwise it would’ve been a clean sweep.
Matt Berry is at the top of the Lead Actor heap thanks almost entirely to the Jackie Dayton episode (which ought to also earn Mark Hamill a Guest Actor trophy). Meanwhile, Mark Proksch slays the Supporting Actor Field thanks to Colin Robinson taking full advantage of his promotion. And Natasia Demetriou is the #1 Lead Actress because Nadja is awesome in every episode.
As for the Supporting ladies, I’ve got a little bit of everything, and ultimately it just felt right to go with the representative of the oldest show on my ballot as the winner.
Some other notables: Never Have I Ever and mixed-ish make the strongest showings of freshman series, Sex Education switches its category placement from Drama to Comedy (and remains worthy of praise), and I’m currently only on Season 2 of Schitt’s Creek, but I’m sure it’s just as good in its final season.
KEY:
Bold=My winner
!( )!=I haven’t caught up to the current season of this show, but I still wanted to recognize it.
Comedy Series
Atypical
Baskets
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Mixed-ish
Never Have I Ever
Sex Education
!(Schitt’s Creek)!
What We Do in the Shadows
January 4, 2020
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 1 Comment
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.
September 20, 2019
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television Ad Astra, Between Two Ferns, Between Two Ferns: The Movie, black-ish, Brittany Howard, Crank Yankers, Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Disenchantment, Emmys, Evil, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Jaime, Loro, mixed-ish, Schooled, Single Parents, South Park, Superstore, The Conners, The Goldbergs, The Good Place, The Masked Singer, The Unicorn, Young Sheldon Leave a comment
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
–Ad Astra (Theatrically Nationwide) – Dad Astra.
–Between Two Ferns: The Movie (Streaming on Netflix)
–Loro (Limited Theatrically) – Bunga bunga!
TV
It’s that time of year again!
–Disenchantment Season 1, Part 2 (September 20 on Netflix)
-Creative Arts Emmy Awards (September 21 on FXX)
-71st Primetime Emmy Awards (September 22 on FOX)
–The Conners Season 2 Premiere (September 24 on ABC)
–black-ish Season 6 Premiere (September 24 on ABC)
–mixed-ish Series Premiere (September 24 on ABC)
–The Masked Singer Season 2 Premiere (September 25 on ABC)
–The Goldbergs Season 7 Premiere (September 25 on ABC)
–Schooled Season 2 Premiere (September 25 on ABC)
–Single Parents Season 2 Premiere (September 25 on ABC)
–It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 14 Premiere (September 25 on FXX)
–South Park Season 22 Premiere (September 25 on Comedy Central)
–Crank Yankers Season 5 Premiere (September 25 on Comedy Central)
–Superstore Season 5 Premiere (September 26 on NBC)
–Young Sheldon Season 3 Premiere (September 26 on CBS)
–The Good Place Season 4 Premiere (September 26 on NBC)
–The Unicorn Series Premiere (September 26 on CBS)
–Evil Series Premiere (September 26 on CBS)
Music
-Brittany Howard, Jaime
July 9, 2019
Awards Shows, Emmys, Television 2019 Emmys, A.P. Bio, American Vandal, Barry, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Emmy Wish List, Emmy wishlist, Emmys, GLOW, Happy!, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Jane the Virgin, Murphy Brown, Russian Doll, Speechless, The Big Bang Theory, The Goldbergs, The Good Place, The Last O.G., The Other Two, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, What We Do in the Shadows, Young Sheldon 3 Comments
CREDIT: Scott Patrick Green/Netflix
The 2019 Emmy nominations will be announced on July 16, and as that annual occasion approaches, I typically put together my own list of which shows and performers I would like to see recognized. But I’ve had some mixed feelings about that this year, as I’ve grappled with the fact that in the era of Peak TV, it becomes more and more impossible to capture all my favorites in one place. Ultimately I decided I wouldn’t be too formal or too precious about it. If there are ten shows I really want to see nominated, then I’ll list ten on my wish list. But if there are just two I really like in another category, then I’ll just list two.
I’m kicking things off today with Comedy. Before I get to my selections, I’ve got some thoughts to share, mainly about the new entrants. Among freshman shows, The Other Two mixed affecting family dynamics with the silliness of fame, while What We Do in the Shadows was just so wonderfully goofy. But it’s a couple of sadly cancelled high school-set sophomore shows that have my most love: Netflix’s poopy mockumentary American Vandal and NBC’s sharp and lovable A.P. Bio.
Among the actors, Young Sheldon‘s ensemble has really been a welcome part of my weekly life, and with that in mind, it’s been a while since either the Academy or I have recognized Jim Parsons for The Big Bang Theory, and you know what? I’m going to recognize him for his final year. Among names that you may not recognize (yet), let’s all keep in mind What We Do in the Shadows‘ Kayvan Novak for our future comedy endeavors.
Nominees are listed in alphabetical order. My top choices are in bold.
Outstanding Comedy
American Vandal
A.P. Bio
Barry
GLOW
The Goldbergs
The Good Place
Jane the Virgin
The Last O.G.
The Other Two
Speechless
What We Do in the Shadows
October 1, 2017
Television, What Won TV? Difficult People, Halt and Catch Fire, Rick and Morty, The Good Place, VICE, You're the Worst, Young Sheldon Leave a comment
In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.
Scoot McNairy as Gordon Clark – Halt and Catch Fire _ Season 4, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Tina Rowden/AMC
Sunday – Rick and Morty
Monday – Young Sheldon
Tuesday – Difficult People
Wednesday – You’re the Worst, and the title is back to being so true.
Thursday – The Good Place, The Good Place, The Good Place
Friday – VICE
Saturday – Halt and Catch Fire, and I keep watching the saddest parts again and again.
