Ask Matt: TV’s Origin Stories, CBS Cancellations, an Adolescent Star & 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, it’s the most frequent complaint, but there’s always closed-captioning. Check out this story for more tips.)

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]. Look for Ask Matt columns on most Tuesdays.

When They Were Younger

Question: I’ve been intrigued by the NCIS: Origins and Dexter: Original Sin origination shows this year. I find the Dexter show fascinating, and the actor (Patrick Gibson) has the right twinkle in his eye to make him somehow endearing. I would like to believe that, fortunately, most of us will never have a serial killer in our lives, so how someone becomes one is interesting.

The NCIS: Origins story I find rather boring as it relates to Gibbs. On NCIS, I always thought of Gibbs as being like the mayo on a BLT sandwich; it enhances the sandwich but wouldn’t want to eat a mayo sandwich. The Franks stories have been interesting, and I wonder if the writers have the same problem with Gibbs and that’s why we get more insight into Franks than Gibbs. The stories themselves are fine, but I just don’t feel like I’m learning anything new about Gibbs. What’s your take on these two shows? — Linda

Matt Roush: It’s an interesting topic. Prequels aren’t the easiest things to pull off, given the expectations from the fan base, and while neither of these shows feels to me that they lived up to the original (at least not at their height), I can see their appeal. Watching the young Dexter learning from his mistakes before mastering his secret bloody trade was the best part of Original Sin, which otherwise came off (to me) as oddly crude and cartoonish in its execution and most performances.

Whereas NCIS: Origins intrigues me because it has a more melancholy tone than most current procedurals, in part because we’re seeing a young Gibbs (Austin Stowell) at his most vulnerable, still reeling from an unthinkable tragedy while also learning the ropes of his new profession. I was impressed by the Christmas flashback episode “Blue Bayou” that followed Gibbs before he joined NCIS, but won’t argue that the most interesting episodes this season have tracked the backstory of his boss, Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid), who is, let’s face it, a more colorful character. For those who’ve been asking when we’ll see the next new Origins episode — there hasn’t been one since Feb. 10 — the wait is about over, and it’s back next Monday.

CBS Swings the Ax Again

Question: I think CBS should change their logo from an EYE to a BROKEN HEART. The network seems to be breaking a lot of their viewers’ hearts with endless cancellations of beloved TV shows. It started with Blue Bloods and So Help Me Todd, then they just dropped a double bombshell that the FBI spinoffs were being canceled, followed by the news that S.W.A.T., the off-again, on-again series, is truly being canceled this time unless it gets saved again. And now, I just saw the news about The Neighborhood heading into its eighth and final season next fall.

Is there something going on behind the scenes at CBS? Of course, I did hear the news about the Blue Bloods spinoff. I hope we get to see other members of the Reagan family drop by to visit Danny in Beantown. I thought things were going well with the FBI franchise, considering they were preparing for another spinoff. Maybe the network should also change their call letters to NCIS, which seems to be the series of choice for them. And yes, I know they did cancel two NCIS series, but we got two more in their place, NCIS: Origins, and NCIS: Sydney, with a third possible spinoff in the works. What next, NCIS: Mayberry?

I find it very hard now to commit to a TV series, when the ax may fall any minute. I know some of these canceled series will be allowed a proper conclusion, and it is unrealistic to expect a series will continue forever. I’m sure at some point even the long-running Law & Order: SVU will meet its end, perhaps to be followed years later by Law & Order: SVU: The Next Generation. But then again there is the old adage: It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all. — Rob R.

Matt Roush: I’ll second your final thought because that’s the bargain you strike with any TV show you watch: Enjoy it to your fullest while you can, because nothing is guaranteed. If you think any of these decisions were easily made, I assure you they weren’t. This is all happening at a time when network fortunes, even for one as successful as CBS, are in decline, budgets are tight in an industry recently rocked by strikes, and this network’s parent company is currently in the process of being acquired, so these cancellations are purely business, not any reflection on the creative side. The FBI shows come from an outside studio, and the trades have reported that budget negotiations from season to season tend to be fraught. And with another potential spinoff (FBI: CIA) in the works, at least one of the current spinoffs was destined to end. S.W.A.T. has obviously been a season-by-season rollercoaster, and The Neighborhood is at the point where the cost of continuing may outweigh the benefits — and that sitcom is also planning a spinoff that could ease the transition next season.

None of this makes it any easier to say goodbye to a favorite show, but it’s been that way for as long as I’ve been watching TV. One of the reasons CBS gets inordinate attention for their cancellations these days is that they’re something of a victim of their own success. If it was only about ratings, they probably wouldn’t cancel anything.

A Star Is Born

Comment: You were right in your praise for Netflix’s Adolescence. And Owen Cooper IS astonishing. I don’t think I have seen a more amazing acting performance, even without considering that he is an untrained actor in his first role and that he performed flawlessly in that third episode with the psychologist (Erin Doherty) all in one take. (And it’s not the least astonishing just because they had to film that take more than once, according to what they are saying on the press tour.)

The juxtaposition of the story, showing what social media might be doing to our children, and Owen Cooper’s performance, showing what our children are capable of, is what struck me the most. I just now re-watched episode 3, and the second half of episode 4, and admire it more even than on the first viewing. Having watched it once already, I was able to just appreciate the acting choices made by Owen Cooper in episode 3. He’s such a natural actor and can do so much with small adjustments of his eyes and face, such as when a small smile turned into his mocking Erin Doherty for being afraid of a 13-year-old boy. His look at that point was masterly. And I had not fully observed how disgusted and disillusioned she was by realizing what he really thought and felt (e.g., the way she tossed down the sandwich from which he had taken a bite as if she didn’t even want to touch it now). The family scene in episode 4 was so touching. The most poignant moment for me was when their daughter went downstairs, having been wise and loving, and Stephen Graham said, “How did we make her?” and the wife replied, “The same way we made him.” I don’t think TV can get better than this, but I’ll keep watching. — D.P.

Matt Roush: For good reason, Adolescence is currently the No. 1 show on the streamer, and I’d like to think the series could be this year’s Baby Reindeer come awards season. I’m especially curious to see what 15-year-old Cooper does next. He’s a natural, and potentially a heartbreaker.

Give Her a Variety Show!

Question: Annaleigh Ashford was such a comic gem in the too-soon canceled B Positive. Do you think any network would sign her to some kind of deal? She’s so talented, she could do comedy, variety or even drama. Just wondering your take. P.S.: I would love it if CBS brought back B Positive but at this point, it is highly unlikely! It was just hitting its stride in the revamped Season 2! — Evan

Matt Roush: In the good old days (I’m showing my age this week), when blazing talents often appeared on or even were given the opportunity to host, music-variety shows, someone like Annaleigh Ashford would have been a perfect fit. (Think Bernadette Peters as a frequent guest on The Carol Burnett Show.) It’s too bad that the show B Positive became wasn’t the show from the start, but it did reveal her potential as a classic sitcom star. And having seen the Tony-winning actress kill it on stage in comedy (You Can’t Take It with You) and most recently in musicals (opposite Josh Groban as the funniest Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd since the original, Angela Lansbury), I won’t be surprised when and if she’s snapped up again should the right TV project come along. But for now, she’s back in dramatic mode as the lead in the new Paramount+ series Happy Face, which premieres on Thursday. I’ll be watching.

Hunting for Reassurance

Question: The small but passionate fanbase would like to know: NBC‘s The Hunting Party seems different from other procedurals since it focuses on the serial killer’s psyche and the mystery of why they escaped the Pit. What can you tell us about Season 2’s renewal chances? — Laura

Matt Roush: Not much at this stage. It’s still fairly early in its first season and shows like this live in that gray area where it’s neither a bonafide hit nor an instant flop. Its future may depend on what NBC’s needs are for next season and how well other midseason shows (Suits LA, Grosse Pointe Garden Society) are faring, and whether Brilliant Minds, the show that aired on Monday through the first half of the season, is coming back as well. Lots of variables here and could hinge on whether NBC sees The Hunting Party as its next The Blacklist. I don’t see it, but others might.

And Finally …

Question: What did you think of Grey’s Anatomy‘s return from a long hiatus? I appreciate that ABC airs the show in uninterrupted blocks and am willing to accept the long hiatus in order to avoid the stop-and-start nature of having to pepper in regular repeats. But I’ve got to say that I thought the episode was kind of disorienting. I remembered the tiresome store-shooting cliffhanger, and I remembered that Mika had broken things off with Jules and quit. But the other storylines from before Thanksgiving felt foreign to me. It took me a while to get my bearings with what was going on. I’d completely forgotten about whoever Amelia and Winston were treating, or that Owen had driven off with that woman he was friends with. I’d also forgotten that Ben was supposed to close the ER to traumas and didn’t. I don’t think they need to do “previously on” recaps every single week. But given that it had been several months since the last episode aired, but still the same day inside the world of the show, it would have been helpful to use a minute or two at the top of the episode to do a quick “previously on” montage given the circumstances. I know I could have watched the previous episode on demand again, but that’s not really the point. If you’re going to do a two-part episode where the two parts are separated by several months, it should allow for reminders of what happened previously. — Jake

Matt Roush: Couldn’t agree more. It might have helped if the stories left hanging had been more interesting, but the issue here is that those making TV shouldn’t make it this hard for us to reconnect after a long absence.

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]. (Please include a first name with your question.)