Ask Matt: ‘Hacks’ and Other Emmy Surprises, the New ‘Wheel’ & 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.

Funny Business at the Emmys

Comment: A few Emmy reflections: An actual comedy (Hacks) won Best Comedy! Such a surprise, even to the TV Academy, that they held it to the last award spot! The problems with In Memoriam segments persist: Too many shots of the singer and not enough of the departed. The Levys were very good, I thought. To me, the biggest surprise was the swathes of empty seats toward the rear of the auditorium. I’ve never seen, or at least not noticed, that before. What was up with that? I understand declining TV viewership, but usually they can fill the hall! — D.P.

Matt Roush: I wish I’d pointed out the empty seats in my own Critic’s Notebook recap of Emmy night. That was startling and made me wonder a few things: 1) How big is that auditorium (I’ve never been there) that they couldn’t sell or give away all of the seats; 2) Was there a shortage of seat-fillers this year; and 3) Whoever was calling the shots either didn’t notice or didn’t care that it looked like less than a full house.

To your other points: The Hacks win for Outstanding Comedy was quite the shock, but not an unpleasant one, although Season 2 of The Bear was that show at its best during its period of transformation. Still, it lives in that curious netherworld between drama and comedy, which feels especially unfair in the acting categories — The Bear won three of four, with two a repeat win, and both Guest Actor Emmys — because the roles are so much meatier than what you typically find in even an expert comedy performance. (Jean Smart’s depiction of Hacks’ supposedly over-the-hill comedian making her comeback being a notable exception.)

Here’s a radical thought for future In Memoriam presentations, and I’d love to see all of the awards shows try it out for a year: Just provide an instrumental backdrop—I was encouraged when I saw the violins, less so when Jelly Roll took the stage — instead of a featured performer, so we can focus more on the images and memories of the dearly departed. And please, no dancers! I’m not sure I’d put the Levy father-son duo in the “very good” category, but they do exude goodwill and didn’t get in the way. Overall, though, it felt to me like another flat ceremony that didn’t do enough to celebrate that year’s great accomplishments. (Would it have killed them to cut some banter in favor of some clips?)

What Was the Most Pleasant Emmy Surprise?

Question: I know you found this year’s Emmys very predictable, for better or worse, but which of the very few surprises pleased you the most? And how do you explain Lamorne Morris’ win in Fargo for supporting actor in the limited series/anthology category? I don’t think anyone predicted that. — Kate D.

Matt Roush: The surprise win that brought me the most joy was the writing award for Slow Horses, a terrific Apple TV+ series that’s just beginning to get Emmy attention. (Someday maybe Gary Oldman will get the Lead Actor award, and for the current season now airing, I’d be rooting for Jonathan Pryce as supporting or guest actor as the ex-spy in a state of confused dementia.) Like most of the so-called “experts” who participate in the annual Gold Derby predictions, I had Lamorne Morris at the bottom of that particular category, not because I didn’t enjoy his performance — all were worthy — but it very much felt to me that this terrific season of Fargo wasn’t high on the Emmy voters’ radar this year (Jennifer Jason Leigh didn’t even score a nomination), and much showier work was done by Robert Downey Jr. in The Sympathizer (which was otherwise invisible), while my top choice was Fellow Travelers’ Jonathan Bailey, that series’ best shot at an Emmy. It’s possible the top contenders split the vote, hard to say, but my best explanation is that at the Emmys, anything is possible.

Too Much Change on Wheel of Fortune?

Question: I just watched the new season of Wheel of Fortune. I am probably relatively unique in that I have never watched anything Ryan Seacrest has ever hosted before (American Idol has never interested me), so I had no preexisting opinion of him one way or the other. Pat Sajak has been doing the show longer than I’ve been alive, and he was great at this job, so of course I wondered how it would feel not to have him there, and I was curious to see how Seacrest would do. But what I wasn’t counting on was the makeover of everything else. The complete redesign of the set and change in the visual layout of the show felt weirder to me than Pat’s absence did. Whose idea was it to completely transform the way everything looks as soon as Pat left? Seacrest seemed to have about as good of a first show as could be reasonably expected. But the new set really threw me. I’m not a Wheel purist and I’m not saying that they need to keep the set frozen for the rest of time. But maybe make adjustments a little bit more slowly. What are your thoughts? — Jake

Matt Roush: I checked in for most of Ryan Seacrest’s first week and thought he was handling things just fine. (I was more struck last week by a shot during an interstitial Jeopardy! break that gave us a good look at what’s behind Ken Jennings’ podium, reminding me what a complicated and killer job that is.) Regarding Wheel and this new hosting era, it seems to me that there’s probably no better time to do a set revamp than during a changing of the guard. I might have been more surprised if he and Vanna White had made their entrance on Pat’s old set.

Wishful Thinking

Question: I’ve read that Kathy Bates announced she’ll be retiring from acting after Matlock is over. Is there a slim chance that CBS could bring back So Help Me Todd? They could have kept the series as a half-season show in case any new season show might flop. It was really good. — Carol H.

Matt Roush: One thing (Kathy Bates’ future retirement plans) has nothing to do with the other (the cancellation of So Help Me Todd) in this particular scenario. While it’s too early to know how audiences will (or won’t) accept this new and very different version of Matlock — I wouldn’t call it a reboot — I imagine CBS will give the show a fairly long leash to catch on, and there’s almost zero chance they’ll change their tune about So Help Me Todd, more’s the pity. That was without doubt CBS’s least popular call last season (at least where my mailbag was concerned), but even that show got two seasons. You make a good point about networks needing midseason backups, but CBS already has one promising contender in Watson, starring Morris Chestnut. Where Todd is concerned, that ship has sadly sailed.

A Bloody Shame

Question: Tell me, what is the difference between NCIS and Blue Bloods? On one hand, you have a program that has been renewed for a 22^nd season, while the other program is being kicked to the curb despite outcry from the fans and even cast members. CBS offers this flimsy excuse that every series must come to an end, so when does NCIS come to its end? The network wants to make room on its programming schedule for new programs, like NCIS: Origins and the other spinoffs. What is so new about these programs. I did hear that CBS is thinking of a Blue Bloods spinoff, but why not just continue the series for a few more seasons? Obviously, CBS could care less about what its viewers want. They made their decision and I’ll make my decision to turn away from other CBS programs. — Rob Bob

Matt Roush: Let me start this difficult discussion by saying that if you think CBS enjoys and looks forward to ending the run of a longtime Friday night hit featuring one of the network’s most popular stars ever, you’re very much mistaken. This was foremost a business decision, and that area isn’t my specialty, so I won’t delve too deeply into it except to note that the show and its principals had already taken a sizable pay and budget cut to keep the lights on for this final season.

From the more macro point of view, Blue Bloods is a very different animal from NCIS, where the franchise itself is the star of the show (think ER back in the day) with a somewhat interchangeable cast, which was even able to survive the departure of its marquee star, Mark Harmon. Blue Bloods, with its specific focus on the Reagan family, is not that sort of show, and while I don’t have evidence of this, I imagine it also doesn’t sell in overseas markets the way NCIS has become a global phenomenon over the years. It doesn’t help that CBS’s parent company is changing corporate hands, perhaps making the future tenuous for a number of properties. So while I empathize with any fan’s dismay at seeing a favorite show go away possibly too soon, Blue Bloods is not ending at the expense of NCIS continuing. (FYI: Blue Bloods fans should know that we’ve recently published a stand-alone “Special Farewell Edition” tribute to Blue Bloods that’s available on newsstands or for online order at BlueBloods2024.com.)

And Finally …

Question: I watch Expedition X (with Josh Gates), and for the past few seasons Jessica Chobot was a regular on the show. Now she is gone and there is a new person. What happened to Jessica? I thought she was really good on that show. — Joy

Matt Roush: Before the latest season of Expedition X premiered, Jessica Chabot shared an Instagram post explaining her exit: “To those who are asking why I’m not on this season, I’m working on something new with Discovery. Can’t wait to share the details about this new adventure soon.” It wouldn’t surprise me if her new project was also in the paranormal genre, but for now, that remains to be seen.

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.)