Ask Matt: Will ‘Frasier’ Return to CBS? Plus ‘Severance,’ ‘Irrational’ & 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
CBS Could Sure Use a Show Like the New Frasier
Question: I actually really loved the new Frasier. What are you hearing about whether CBS will air more episodes? I really don’t want to pay for streaming, and network TV could use some decent content right now. — Teri
Matt Roush: For now, I wouldn’t count on it. The deal for rebooting Frasier was always made with an eye for the Paramount+ streaming platform. (That’s why the episodes are longer, not necessarily a good thing.) The CBS stunt, as we’ve seen done before on Paramount’s cable network to promote the various Yellowstone spinoffs, was really just a tease, and an incentive to get viewers to subscribe to what companies like Paramount Global see as their future. That said, you’re absolutely right that CBS’s poor excuse for a strike-altered fall season could use something like Frasier, and my friend at Vulture, the wise Joe Adalian, made this very argument in one of his fine “Buffering” columns. Depending on how long the actors stay on strike and how long it takes to get fresh programming back on the air, it’s possible CBS could pick up more of the first season, though there’s no talk of this that I am aware of. Paramount+ will almost certainly continue to have exclusive access to the first-run episodes for the time being, although the new Frasier would be an even more appropriate fit for broadcast TV.
The Strikes Keeping Fan Favorites on Hold
Question: Can you give us an update on our favorites, The Handmaid’s Tale and Severance? I can’t find out anything. And don’t you think Severance truly deserved the Emmy for Best Drama because of its brilliant originality and writing? On another topic, Apple’s Lessons in Chemistry is pretty close to Mad Men excellence. If this screws Severance out of another Emmy, I won’t be so upset. Unless Severance is even better in Season 2 — IF there is a Season 2. — John L.
Matt Roush: New seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale and Severance were both sidelined by the strike. Production on Severance’s second season was paused by the strike and won’t resume until the actors go back to work. Handmaid was still in the writing stage for its sixth and final season when the writers’ strike brought everything to a halt. So we’ll have to be patient to get these shows back sometime in 2024.
As for Severance at the Emmys, it was always going to be a tough call between a show this innovative and one as brilliant and popular (especially with Emmy voters) as HBO’s Succession, which will almost certainly win again for its final season (with Severance not back in the mix again until next year). Squid Game and Season 1 of Yellowjackets also generated great buzz in the 2022 race, so while I agree that Severance was deserving for its riveting first season, I wasn’t surprised to see it come up short. Regarding Lessons in Chemistry, which I also love, it will be competing in the limited-series categories, not drama series, so Severance won’t have to worry about that.
Is The Irrational Irrationally Cautious?
Question: Why is there a notification before each episode of The Irrational saying it is not based on real events? Last week I think the notification actually was shown both before and after the episode. I don’t recall seeing it for the pilot, but it has been there for each of the others. Any idea why? None of the other NBC scripted dramas I watch feel compelled to remind me that I am watching fiction, is there something special about this one that has the lawyers worried? — Tenille
Matt Roush: These advisories are best known for appearing before episodes of the various Law & Order series, and I’ve always assumed that’s because of the “ripped from the headlines” nature of the storytelling, which takes inspiration from notorious cases while putting their own fictional spin on it, using the notification to give them legal protection. I was also startled to see these notices so prominently displayed on The Irrational, which doesn’t feel nearly as reality-based (with the possible exception of the episode about the downed airliner). Still, in our litigious times with such fascination in true-crime TV, it may be in any fictional show’s best interest to err on the side of abundant caution.
Why So Sunny, Philly?
Question: I’m always late to the party. Upon my son’s recommendations, I binge-watched all of What We Do in the Shadows and am currently watching Season 3 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I enjoy both and find myself laughing aloud during each episode. My question concerns Sunny. Is there a meaning to the title, and do the creators base the characters on people they know, or are the creators comic geniuses who invented outrageous characters and storylines? — Adrienne, Winter Garden, FL
Matt Roush: I’ve read that the show’s original title while in development, It’s Always Sunny on TV, may have been inspired by the a-ha song “The Sun Always Shines on TV,” but co-creator Rob McElhenney once joked on Jimmy Kimmel Live that they simply couldn’t think of a better name. My take on the title has always been that it’s meant to be ironic, much like the peppy theme music, when you consider the miserable lives of these bad-luck boobs, living under a dark cloud of their own misanthropic making. The show’s genesis is a bit more complicated, having grown out of low-budget home movies the guys made when they were all looking for work, so I guess you could say it was all inspired by their friendship, taken to an absurdist level.
The Waiting Game Continues
Question: Do you know when we can expect to see the third season of HBO’s Industry? I’m pretty sure I read their production was not affected by the strikes, so hoping we’ll see a premiere soon. — Matt G.
Matt Roush: You’re right that production reportedly was not affected by the strikes, and while HBO hasn’t announced anything yet, it’s probably safe to say we won’t see the new episodes until 2024, though how early in the year we don’t yet know. It feels like the premium networks are parceling out their shows a bit more carefully, because even when cameras begin rolling again, there won’t be as much in the pipeline for a while. So it might make sense to hold a show like this back so there will be something new to air until things back to normal.
And Finally …
Comment: The writers’ strike has ended, but before TooMuchTV comes roaring back, I recommend you take advantage of this relative lull and watch the blackly comic crime mystery Deadloch on Prime Video. Only one season so far, and seriously, it checks SOOOOO many of your boxes. Come for the Tasmanian landscapes, stay for everything else. — Ryan
Matt Roush: I appreciate the recommendation, especially for shows from other lands which the streamers tend to premiere with minimal fanfare and without promoting the way they do their homegrown product. (I don’t believe I got a single heads-up about this show’s premiere in June.) I’m also rather touched and amused to imagine that people think that, even in these strike-impacted months, I’m running out of new things to watch. Just keeping up with the regular weekly output of shows I follow, plus trying to consume full seasons of new and returning programming as they arrive (fewer than before but still not an inconsiderable amount), leaves me precious little time for this kind of discovery. I will, however, add it to my list with thanks, and am happy to share the tip with others.
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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