Ask Matt: Too Much Saturday Night Football? ‘Afterparty,’ ‘Murders’ & More
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 and very occasional Fridays.
An Extreme Case of Saturday Night Lights
Question: I have to admit, I’m not a football fan, unlike many in America. My only “Friday Night Lights” is to turn on a lamp after dark. Which is not to say I’m unaware of how popular the game is. But my question is: how much is too much? Last Saturday (Sept 9), every single over-the-air broadcast network — every one! — had a college football game on in prime time. ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and even the CW were all showing different matches, with each, I assume, competing for roughly the same audience. I have no objection to showing the games, especially on a low homes-using-TV night, but really, every single network? Yes, there are cable stations and tons of streaming options and I’m sure the nets get a lot more for their commercials showing live football than another rerun, which is all there now seems to be on Saturday nights. (Remember when that night was home to All in The Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H on CBS and NBC’s Saturday Night At The Movies? Boy, have times changed!) But whatever happened to networks showing a variety of different programs to try and serve disparate audiences? I honestly can’t remember a time when all of the “Big 5” broadcasters were showing the exact same thing at the exact same time on the exact same night. Is this a first? Either way, what a disservice to the non-sports fans out there. — Aaron F.
Matt Roush: I’m always reluctant to say something’s a first, because I’ll invariably have forgotten something. And there are events like the “Stand Up to Cancer” telethons that air on all major platforms simultaneously on purpose. But this appears to be a bit of an outlier — CBS, for one, designated this as a special, and will soon be back in the 48 Hours business on Saturday nights — although you’re probably going to need to get used to seeing sports encroach even further onto network prime time, especially given the circumstances of the industry strikes making the broadcast nets something of a desert for new programming. ABC has aired college football on Saturdays for quite some time, NBC has a Big Ten (and Notre Dame) contract and The CW’s new incarnation includes an ACC contract for the first time, so expect them to go heavy on Saturday night football through the fall. This five-way logjam may also be due to the fact that the regular fall TV broadcast season is still a week away from its official start, such as it is.
And yes, I fondly remember that CBS lineup on Saturdays in the 1970s (including The Bob Newhart Show and The Carol Burnett Show) — and when movies on network TV on Saturdays and Sundays (ABC) were still such a big deal. Times have changed — although the national appetite for football, college, and pro, hasn’t.
An Afterparty-Pooper
Question: Just binged both seasons of The Afterparty on Apple TV+, and I liked them both. I do have a problem with Season 2, though. I understand the “willing suspension of disbelief” stuff, but these writers, who constructed an intricate plot, left a big hole in the entire second season, unless I missed something. The characters go the whole season accusing each other of murder, but because they never called police (nor even examined the body for puncture wounds or other wounds) they really had no reason to think that the guy was murdered! How did they know he hadn’t died of natural causes? Not to mention that even if he was poisoned there was no particular reason to zero in on that particular plant. As I said, I enjoyed the show in spite of this, but writers of this caliber surely shouldn’t have done it this way. — D.P.
Matt Roush: That didn’t bother me. For the groom — and his lizard! — to perish simultaneously on the night of the wedding was suspicious just on face value. And whether you bought it or not, the entire season was predicated on the notion that they all agreed not to alert the police. Bringing in ex-detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) was a hedge against consulting a more official expert opinion. If hazy memory serves, several characters had prior knowledge of the poisoned plant on the premises, so jumping to that conclusion made some narrative sense — although for me, the joy of The Afterparty isn’t so much the whodunit of it all but the stylistic fun they’re having with everyone’s genre-specific backstories. (The Backstory wouldn’t be nearly as catchy a title.) I confess I lost the thread of the mystery at times this season, but on a spoof like this, I tend not to sweat the details.
I Spy a Snub
Question: I have recently discovered Slow Horses on Apple TV+ and I absolutely loved it! The acting, the story, the characters … everything is just perfect. I wanted to ask why we don’t see much buzz and press for this show, and particularly why has Gary Oldman not received an Emmy nomination for his outstanding performance? I believe Gary should have been winning for this role and show a couple of times already: He is absolutely great. — Hector
Matt Roush: Slow Horses, based on Mick Herron’s equally terrific book series about a group of disgraced MI5 agents in London who somehow always rise to the occasion, is what I’d call (spy reference unintentional) a sleeper. I and others have raved about the show, and I try to beat the drum on its behalf through the duration of its two short seasons to date (six episodes per), but sometimes it’s just hard for a show to break through the tidal wave of product when it by design doesn’t make a lot of noise. (In its first season in 2022, Apple’s Severance soaked up most of the buzz.) I agree it’s surprising that an Oscar and Emmy winner like Gary Oldman (who plays the team’s corrosive, disheveled yet sharp-witted leader) has been overlooked, but the competition in that category is fierce, with academy favorites like Succession, Better Call Saul, and Ozark (in 2022) leaving precious little room. Maybe when the show returns for a third season, more of a fuss can be made. In the meantime, the books really are wonderful.
Go, Canada!
Comment: I wanted to send praise for Son of a Critch, the Canadian comedy currently airing on The CW. I like The Wonder Years, and Critch is just as good. The recent (Aug. 28) episode about the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church was probably the best episode yet. The whole thing was handled movingly and sensitively, yet still with humor. I hope that during the writers/actors strikes the networks will take advantage of the opportunity to show other gems from foreign broadcasters. — Paul
Matt Roush: You may get your wish, and The CW in particular has been filling its schedule with shows from Canada, Europe (The Swarm), and streaming (Children Ruin Everything). If they were all as good as Son of a Critch, a modest and at times unexpectedly affecting nostalgic charmer, this fall wouldn’t look to be in such bad shape.
A Towering Boo-Boo?
Question: I was watching the fifth episode of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, with Meryl Streep and Martin Short riding the Circle Line southbound on the East River. The view of Lower Manhattan was spectacular, except for one thing: the Twin Towers were standing majestically in the distance! I realize stock footage is used for those scenes, but shouldn’t it have been updated? It’s been 22 years. — Lynn
Matt Roush: I had to call another colleague in to make sure I wasn’t not seeing things, but when I played back that scene, I get why you might mistake those glittery skyscrapers for the Twin Towers, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. (I’m ashamed not to know which Lower Manhattan buildings they were in the distance, but I rarely get out of Midtown.) I also did a quick search online because if they had mistakenly aired such outdated footage, especially this close to the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, surely someone else would have noticed. I believe this is just a case of mistaken identity. (First time I watched, I couldn’t look past Martin Short’s missing tooth.)
And Finally …
Question: Supposedly 61st Street was picked up by The CW, but I can’t find any information on it. Do you have any information? I thought it was a great show. — Jim C.
Matt Roush: The second season of the gritty legal drama was indeed rescued by the new CW after AMC dropped it, but it’s being held until midseason (most likely early 2024). No air date announced yet.
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.)
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