Ask Matt: Wondering About ‘Wonder Years,’ Tonys on TV, More About Cancellations (‘Perry Mason,’ ‘Winchesters’)
Welcome to the Q&A with TV critic — also known to some TV fans as their “TV therapist” — Matt Roush, who’ll try to address whatever you love, loathe, are confused or frustrated or thrilled by in today’s vast TV landscape. (We know background music is too loud, but there’s always closed-captioning.)
One caution: This is a spoiler-free zone, so we won’t be addressing upcoming storylines here unless it’s already common knowledge. Please send your questions and comments to [email protected] and follow me on Twitter (@TVGMMattRoush). Look for Ask Matt columns on most Tuesdays.
Should ABC Rethink Its Summer Strategy with Wonder Years?
Question: It was bad enough when ABC decided to burn off the award-winning The Wonder Years in the dead of summer, but that schedule was done before the writers’ strike. Given the walkout, wouldn’t the network have been wise to hold off showing it as a rare, original scripted show in the fall, when everyone else will be either in endless reality hell, foreign programs, or reruns? Imagine how well it might do if there was no real competition against it and how many might discover this delightful show who don’t watch it now? I can’t understand why they’ve delayed it so long in the first place, but since they did, what’s another few months, when programming it in the fall would give them a much bigger audience? What a waste of a great opportunity. — Aaron F.
Matt Roush: Indeed, it’s one of the great mysteries of this broadcast season why ABC kept this Peabody-winning comedy on the shelf for so long. I won’t argue your logic about holding it back even further into the fall when it might be a rare beacon of new scripted content except to note that given the amount of new programming arriving on the various channels and platforms this week alone, no one seems to be particularly concerned about the drought that could be facing viewers in a few months. (I’m betting that ABC will siphon shows from their Disney+ and/or Hulu streamers to fill the void for a while if necessary.) All of which is to say that ABC’s shabby treatment of The Wonder Years’ second season is inexplicable, and since it hasn’t been officially canceled yet, we should rally around the show when it returns on Wednesday. It deserves much better.
The Improvised Tony Awards
Question: Is it just me or did the Tony Awards almost work better with no script? I didn’t mind the general lack of presenter banter. I watched the whole thing across Pluto TV and CBS, and yet I never got restless or bored as I often do with award shows. I thought it moved right along. They had a lot of great speeches. And having so many people mention the strike in such a public-facing way might actually work out better for the WGA than it would have if they had stopped the show. I also loved being able to see all of the awards, thanks to the free streaming portion. I hope they keep that up next year instead of locking it behind Paramount+. — Jake
Matt Roush: The Tonys broadcast should be a model to all awards show producers going forward. It was streamlined by necessity, which as usual is the mother of invention and resulted in an entertaining show with few if any annoying indulgences. The speeches at the Tonys are almost always impassioned and memorable, and this year was no exception. Most of the musicals presented well on TV, acting as a valentine to Broadway and even regional theater, with Ariana DeBose sheer perfection as the host. Kudos to the Writers’ Guild for allowing the show to go on. I agree that it worked in their favor, with so many actors as well as writers, and other creatives standing up for them. I hope this summer of discontent can be resolved soon.
Question: As I write this, I’m watching “Act One” of the Tony Awards on Pluto TV. Here’s my question: Why in the world would the Tonys relegate the Lifetime Achievement Award — for a legend like Joel Grey, no less — to a pre-show ceremony that most people will never see? — Mark
Matt Roush: It’s a shame, but also a reality of the Tony Awards that so many deserving winners (including the composer of Kimberly Akimbo), and segments like the honorary tributes, only get the spotlight in the broadcast equivalent of off-Broadway. The producers opted instead to allow Joel Grey and Cabaret composer John Kander to take an awkward walk-on/walk-off bow on CBS after a performance of Chicago’s “Hot Honey Rag” by Julianne Hough and Ariana DeBose. The reason has everything to do with time management, and while we can argue with their choices, I can tell you from what I know about past productions that the producers of the Tonys are under a stricter mandate than most about coming in on time. (If the Tonys got Grammy-sized ratings, the situation might be different.)
I’ll also never forget the late and legendary Elaine Stritch’s meltdown in 2002 when she was played off on CBS during her acceptance of a special award for her one-woman show. If they had been forced to step on Grey’s charming but hardly compact acceptance speech, had it been on CBS instead of the more flexible pre-show, we might feel even worse than we do about the honor being presented before the main event. I imagine most of those with a special interest in theater and the Tonys found a way to watch this on Pluto, which as Jake noted is a free platform.
An Unpopular Verdict
Quesiton: Given HBO’s unfortunate cancellation of Perry Mason after its second season, is anyone worried that the last episode put Perry (Matthew Rhys) in jail? Let’s have a movie where he’s sprung, wins a case, and gets respect from L.A. – David M.
Matt Roush: I would watch that movie. More to the point, a Perry Mason movie might be more feasible than another season-long story arc, which I felt was ultimately detrimental to the series. The first season had a strong throughline as Perry evolved from shabby P.I. to underdog lawyer, and while I didn’t need the show to become a case-of-the-week procedural (there are enough of those), it also shouldn’t drag.
Life After The CW?
Question: Walker Independence and The Winchesters on The CW have been canceled. I thought both were really good and enjoyed watching them. Any chance another network will pick them up? — Don
Matt Roush: Regular readers of this column will know that my answer to this understandably frequent question about any given cancellation is usually a no—and in this case, it’s more definitive than usual. Earlier this month, we reported that The Winchesters’ executive producer (and former Supernatural star) Jensen Ackles conceded defeat in his hope of finding a new home for the horror prequel. The same has proved to be true for the Walker prequel. In both cases, we’re talking about spinoffs so associated to this network’s brand that it’s hard to imagine who else would have continued these shows after just one season each.
Will Fall Ever Get Here?
Question: I was wondering about the premiere dates for the new CBS shows Matlock and Elsbeth. It originally said Fall 2023, but then some ads said summer or coming soon, so what are the odds? I hate the usual summer fare (Big Brother) and would love to see something scripted. I’m assuming they already have some shows in the can since they are advertising with clips from the shows. On the other hand, would it be a bad sign for the series if they premiere in summer? – Kristine H
Matt Roush: Well, that last part’s not going to happen. I know these are confusing times, but even in a normal year, the promo clips you see for fall TV are typically taken from a pilot episode or a pilot presentation. With few exceptions, new network series ordered during pilot season don’t go into production until right about now or July at the latest to make a fall premiere. (Which is why there should be more urgency right now about negotiations getting back underway.) I can’t imagine CBS ever promised a summer run for any of these shows, but I have seen the “Coming Soon” tag on these promos, including during Sunday’s Tony Awards show. That’s the network being hopeful yet vague, because nothing will be coming until the strike is resolved.
And Finally …
Question: If TNT is going to show the British import scripted series The Lazarus Project, why can’t TNT show Season 4 of Snowpiercer? — Patricia C.
Matt Roush: As usual, it’s all about the bottom line. TNT dropped Snowpiercer even though the fourth season had been produced as part of a mammoth tax write-off following the Discovery-Warner merger. It’s a lot cheaper to acquire overseas product like Lazarus for syndication than it is to produce original content. It’s just a bit startling to see either of the Turner networks airing scripted content at all these days.
That’s all for now. We can’t do this without your participation, so please keep sending questions and comments about TV to [email protected] or shoot me a line on Twitter @TVGMMattRoush. (Please include a first name with your question.)
