Ask Matt: ‘Bear’-ish on Comedy, ‘Ghosts’ Invisible to Emmys, Fall’s Staggered Premieres & 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 or developments here unless it’s already common knowledge. Please send your questions and comments to [email protected]. Look for Ask Matt columns on most Tuesdays.
Growling at The Bear’s Emmy Dominance in Comedy
Question: You’re the expert, so I thought I’d ask you: Why in heaven’s name is The Bear put in the Comedy category for awards?!!!! There is more comedy in Succession, which was considered a drama! It’s a decent show but way too much “drama” with the characters for some people. Ted Lasso should have won all the awards for Best Comedy the last time around for its final season. It was clever, one of the funniest shows ever — like when Jamie is teaching Roy how to ride a bike or Rebecca’s emotional and exceptional speech to the Board of Directors. Much better writing than The Bear. Jeremy Allen White is why I continue to watch it. But enough is enough with all this angst. Ted Lasso is a classic that everyone should watch. It’s not always a comedy, but the majority of it is. The Bear is a drama series with a comic moment once an episode. No one I know thinks The Bear should be in the Comedy category for awards. I believe Ted Lasso should have won all the comedy awards last time with its exceptional writing and performances. Breaks my heart that they didn’t get what they so deserved.
A second note: I really enjoyed the Apple TV+ World War II docudrama Masters of the Air. However, as much as I like Austin Butler in other things, he was very lackluster in this show. He didn’t even mildly resemble the real person that he played. I think the perfect person they should have cast in that role would have been Glen Powell. He even resembles Buck Cleven a lot more. Thank you! — Pam L
Matt Roush: We’ve discussed the Bear-as-comedy issue before, but given its record haul of nominations this year (23, the most ever for a comedy’s single season), it’s worth a revisit. It’s up to the show’s producers, network and/or studio to decide how and where to submit a series, so long as it falls within the Academy’s rules. I tend to agree that a show this dramatically intense barely qualifies as a comedy, just because the episodes are roughly a half-hour (sometimes more), although Season 2 — which is what’s being recognized here and is my favorite season to date — had a less depressive quality (for the most part) as Carmy and his crew prepared the restaurant for its new identity, with many characters experiencing significant growth along the way. Not hilarious in most cases, but very much a human comedy. And yes, Succession was much funnier. In a perfect Emmy world, The Bear would be competing with dramas and Shogun would be dominating the limited-series categories—why are they doing a sequel?—but that’s not where we are.
Regarding the final season of Ted Lasso at the last Emmys (which aired in January because of the strikes): Even most of its champions felt this wasn’t Ted at its best, and it had received plenty of Emmy glory before. (Though Phil Dunster in his last story arc was surely deserving.) And re Masters of the Air: Fair point, though maybe after Top Gun: Maverick, Glen Powell wouldn’t have wanted to be typecast as a flyboy? He’s certainly enjoying his leading-man moment and would have fit right in with Masters’ cast. (Talk about a show that got almost no Emmy love!)
Will Ghosts Ever Have a Ghost of a Chance at the Emmys?
Question: What will it take for the TV Academy to recognize Ghosts? This feels to me like a timeless instant classic with such a great ensemble of colorful characters and performers, with writing that manages to be hilarious while also adding depth to characters both long dead and still living. People are going to be enjoying this show for years, including in its syndicated or streaming afterlife. I enjoy many of the contenders in the Comedy Series category, but Ghosts deserves to be among them. — Nancy
Matt Roush: Agreed. And while this may be a somewhat facetious response, perhaps CBS should license the first few seasons of Ghosts to Netflix for extra exposure, in the hopes the Emmy voters will confuse it with a Netflix show (since they seem to be obsessed with their product) and finally pay it some attention. I’m afraid that when a show has gone three full seasons without any significant Emmy recognition, it’s unlikely ever to surface on their radar. It’s especially dispiriting to see a show as disappointing (though star-laden) as Palm Royale on Apple TV+ make the cut over Ghosts because, presumably, of its higher celebrity profile. Like everything at the Emmys these days, it’s a crowded category, and I’m thrilled that a cult item like FX’s Reservation Dogs finally got noticed. If Ghosts should ever sneak in, I’d be equally overjoyed.
Nostalgic for Premiere Week
Question: I was reading TV Insider’s story about fall premiere dates. Why this mess of a schedule again? It’s so confusing when shows start at all different times instead of everyone starting in mid-September like they used to. Then they wonder why they can’t get enough viewers. We have no idea when anything is on! — Teri
Matt Roush: Well, that’s what we’re here for. (And TV Guide Magazine as well.) The traditional premiere week is one of TV’s more endangered species, no doubt about it. And given the trends toward year-round premieres—although the summer is particularly bleak when it comes to broadcast network offerings — and delaying some of the most promising new programming until mid-season, I wonder if we’ll ever see a time again when a flood of new and returning shows suddenly appears in mid- to late September. (There were always October premieres, but rarely as many as this year.) Of course, there also used to be the argument that by blanketing the schedule with so many shows all at once, it was just as chaotic for the viewer to find and sample all of the offerings. I’ve read in the industry trades that several of the networks — CBS in particular, which you’d think would hew to the more traditional model — are using fall football this year as a promotional tool and/or launching pad for their series, which is why CBS in particular is waiting until October to launch most of their series within a single week. Scattering the premieres is one way to garner more attention, for better or worse.
The Summer Programming Drought
Question: When I look over the channel grids that TV Guide Magazine provides, I see very few red “N” indicating new programs. What is new is game shows and reality TV. We pay a lot to cable TV for access to network television. What are we getting for these subscriptions? I say a bunch of crap. Series have gone from 20 episodes a season to around 10. There are only a few new summer-season shows like there used to be. Since the pandemic and writers’ strike, network TV has gone to hell in a handbasket. Why has network TV abdicated its responsibility to provide quality entertainment? How do we, the TV-viewing public, get the networks to do their job and provide quality entertainment? I am sure this question is on the minds of most of your readers, so please publish with your answer. — Dusty P
Matt Roush: I am just as sure many share your frustration, but given the shaky economics of broadcast TV and the uncertain futures of some of their parent companies, I doubt we’ll see a renaissance of adventurous summer TV again on the networks anytime soon. Game shows and reality TV are a cost-efficient way to keep the lights on, and efforts in recent years (though not that recent) to launch new scripted entertainment in the summer have usually been met with a resounding and costly thud. (Granted, the shows were rarely top-notch.) You can contact the networks and share your displeasure as you did here, but since these companies tend to put their best foot forward on their streaming platforms (forget basic cable anymore), that’s where you might think about investing your subscription dollars.
In terms of what the networks could do to mix things up: Why not borrow more from their streaming archives the way CBS has done by airing the Paramount+ crime dramedy Tulsa King on Sundays? Which brings me to the next question:
Tulsa King of Comedy?
Question: I’m watching Tulsa King on your recommendation. First, it is good, and Stallone is good in the role. However, I think they missed a better show. Before I started watching (I’m through four episodes now), I hoped it would be played more ironically, with some humor, even some bungling and bizarreness, something with more of a Fargo or Lilyhammer feel. I think that would have made this show a classic, one for the ages. Now maybe Stallone wouldn’t have wanted to do that kind of show, but I actually think he’d do well with some more self-deprecation and black humor. What do you think? — D.P.
Matt Roush: It’s been a while since I watched the series when it began streaming on Paramount+ in late 2022, but it felt to me that it was at least as much of a fish-out-of-water comedy as it was a crime drama. Establishing and maintaining the balance between humor and action in this sort of series can be tricky, but the character Stallone is playing is an awfully good fit, and watching the locals’ reactions to his antics and attitude were often amusing. At least to me. My expectations weren’t all that high, to be honest. Though there are some quirky characters in the show — Martin Starr’s pot-dealing Bodhi, for one — I never imagined it would aim for the intoxicating surrealism of a Fargo. Which doesn’t mean it isn’t solid entertainment.
And Finally …
Question: Do you have any idea why The Incredible Dr. Pol was canceled? — Marie
Matt Roush: As far as I can tell, National Geographic never issued an official explanation, but after a successful long run of 24 seasons over 13 years with more than 250 episodes, the network may have felt it had enough inventory and it was time to move on as the channel develops new programming. I’m not sure if the spinoff The Incredible Pol Farm will be returning to Nat Geo WILD, but I’d bet animal lovers haven’t seen the last of this family.
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 X (formerly) Twitter @TVGMMattRoush. (Please include a first name with your question.)
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