Ask Matt: TV Deaths That Linger, the Golden Globes & 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.
RIP to Some Memorable TV Characters
Comment: In a recent Ask Matt column, you recalled how hard it was to keep the death of Matthew Crawley on Downton Abbey a secret since you saw the news way before it aired in the States. Just mentioning that brought back memories I decided to share. That was not the death that destroyed me on that show. Since it was on the cover of Variety that Dan Stevens was leaving — or maybe he had already left if the death scene had already aired overseas — when he was killed off, it was not a total surprise. However, when they killed off Lady Sybil, I was shocked, I was heartbroken, and I was devastated. I would unfollow everything Downton Abbey once it started airing in England because it’s so much better to watch it without knowing, but that was such a gut punch.
I’ve only really been shocked three other times that I can recall: Will Gardner (Josh Charles) on The Good Wife, mostly because in today’s age, keeping that a secret is no easy task; Adebisi (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) on Oz, which sounds crazy because people died on that show all the time and it was a true ensemble, but that year he was basically the star; and by far, the most shocked I’ve ever been was in Highlander, with Richie Ryan (Stan Kirsch) getting his head accidentally chopped off by Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul), his best friend. What?????
However, my biggest TV nerd thing lately (aside from this email) was that I literally cheered when I saw a half-second clip of the TV movie Combat High from the late ’80s appear during the George Clooney montage in the Netflix film Jay Kelly. That TV-movie is one of my all-time guilty pleasures, and I really wanna know how many other people recognized it. Thank you for indulging me while I’m dealing with writer’s block and felt like getting some TV talk off my chest. I hope I did not waste too much of your time. — Rob
Matt Roush: Nerding out on TV should probably be inscribed on my tombstone someday, so I enjoyed these reflections more than you can imagine. Killing off major characters on TV shows remains a popular topic in this column (though it’s rarely a popular move and is often derided as lazy storytelling), and as I tend to say each time it comes up, as long as the death has dramatic impact that is earned and is memorable (as these seem to be), then I’m OK with it. The one that still stands out to me in my long history of watching (and writing about) TV is Rosalind Shays’ sudden and fatal trip down an open elevator shaft in L.A. Law. And good catch on Combat High. Had to look that one up.
Categorical Confusion at the Globes
Question: Personally, I’m happy that Owen Cooper won in the Drama Series category at the Golden Globes, while Stephen Graham was in the Limited Series category, so they could both win, but isn’t that a bit ridiculous? The Golden Globes did mix up movies and TV categories better than the Critics’ Choice Awards did, but Nikki Glaser‘s monologue (which was excellent, and I love her) was 10 minutes of jokes about movie stars. — D.P.
Matt Roush: This is a continuation of last week’s conversation about TV shows taking a backseat to movies at these combined awards shows, which is never a surprise, but I should point out that at both the Globes and the Critics’ Choice ceremonies, Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham were competing separately as supporting (Cooper) and lead (Graham) actors. And at the Globes, the TV supporting categories lump together actors from weekly dramas and limited series as well as comedies (though no male supporting actors in comedy made the cut this year).
Why is CBS Taking January Off?
Question: Every CBS promo for new (CIA, Y Marshals) and returning shows (Tracker, NCIS Tuesdays, Ghosts, Matlock, Elsbeth and the Friday dramas) at the 2026 midseason shows a late February or early March start date. Why would the network basically go dark through all of January? Are the Olympics that big a threat? Vicky
Matt Roush: Apparently so, at least from CBS’s perspective. I can understand why they might delay new series — especially on Sundays, which will be disrupted by so many major events over the next few weeks beyond the Olympics (Grammys, the Super Bowl)—to allow them to gain momentum without interruption, but it does seem like a missed opportunity to keep so many of their popular shows off the air for what will be a two-month or more hiatus. On the upside, CBS is expected to put plenty of promotional muscle behind a dedicated midseason premiere week starting Feb. 23, the day after the Winter Olympics wrap. And by restarting so many series so late, there will likely be fewer spring repeats between their return and the end of the season.
Royally Entertained — and Repulsed
Comment: I just wanted to call out how much I am enjoying Apple TV‘s Palm Royale this season. Sure, the narrative isn’t always its strongest asset (who cares), but it’s a fun series. I always feel joyful watching it like I did Desperate Housewives or Ugly Betty back in the day. The production qualities are impeccable, and it deserves awards for its production, cinematography, music score, costumes, and makeup! I love that opening sequence every time, and the acting is just A-grade: an ensemble of women having a ball from Alison Janney (she’s even better this year) to Julia Duffy (she’s my fav) to the always impeccable Carol Burnett. I mean, let’s cheer for a show that celebrates women like this. I don’t hear as much about this show as it deserves, although I saw Kristen Wiig got a SAG nod, so yay for that. Not everything needs to be as intense as The Pitt. Let’s champion fun shows! And bring on Season 3!
Speaking of intense, I just finished Monster: The Ed Gein Story on Netflix. Took me forever to get through it. I loved the first two Monster series, but this one left me feeling like I needed a shower to rub off the unpleasantness. My question here: I know the critics ripped this apart, and audience reviews online were rotten, and I think it’s all deserved, but Charlie Hunnam has received some awards kudos for it, and the series kicked butt for Netflix with viewers, so what’s the takeaway from this? Yes, Charlie Hunnam gave it his all and was maybe the best thing about it, but to take a spot from someone from a better series doesn’t cut it for me. — Liam
Matt Roush: Where both of these shows (which could hardly be more different) are concerned, my response is: To each their own. I’m glad you’re enjoying Palm Royale, but for me, the second season has been even more disappointing than the meh first, which at least had a coherent through-line for the most part, with Maxine’s attempts to break into Palm Beach society. I’ve tried to stay with it this season, and each time I watch that fabulous title sequence with that catchy theme music, I wish to be transported to something akin to a Blake Edwards comedy extravaganza. (The time period they’re evoking is certainly right for that.) But with all of this comedy talent and period production expertise, it just doesn’t hang together, and I’m rarely if ever amused even at its campiest. You ask who cares about narrative, and I’m afraid I do. I get that not everything needs to be an intense drama, and I champion many comedies, but this just depresses me with its wasted potential. That said, Wednesday’s Season 2 finale ends with a few stylistic flourishes that remind you of what the show could be—and almost plays like a relatively satisfying series finale should the show not get renewed.
As for the Ed Gein Monster series, I wasn’t the least surprised that it performed well given its bizarre subject matter and ludicrously lurid treatment. But as I noted in my TV Guide Magazine one-star review, “Monster goes from the depths of depravity to the height of hypocrisy when it tries to blame the audience for having an appetite for the sensational swill it’s serving.” I was probably more offended by the series’s inept recreation of Hitchcock’s Psycho and Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre than by Gein’s creepy psychopathic antics. As awful as the series was, Charlie Hunnam immersed himself so fully in the role that he earned whatever accolades and nominations he has received. I was sorry, though, that the Globes didn’t make room for Michael Chernus, whose depiction of another serial killer in Peacock‘s more thoughtful Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy was far more nuanced and disturbing.
Here’s One for the Gear-Heads
Question: Why is Shifting Gears not hyped as much as other TV shows? It’s #1 for ABC this season and rates better than Abbott Elementary, but it doesn’t get much attention. I also see it’s finishing up after 13 episodes, so ABC isn’t showing much faith in it. I mean, it’s not re-inventing the TV game, but I like having a show that is just good family comedy for 30 minutes, and the cast is great together. It just screams snob factor. I mean, Abbott Elementary is just Modern Family/The Office and every other mockumentary redux. More love for it! — Lorenzo F.
Matt Roush: I see a lot of promotion for Shifting Gears on ABC, but it’s not the kind of comedy that gets awards attention, if that’s what you’re talking about. And to counter your opinion of Abbott Elementary, others could argue that Shifting Gears is just (name your multi-cam family comedy from any era) redux. Mockumentaries are no longer innovative, but they’re an established form of TV comedy, and while traditional sitcoms in front of a studio audience have long been the most popular format (from I Love Lucy to The Big Bang Theory), single-camera comedies tend to get the most industry love, and for years now, Abbott is just about the only broadcast network comedy to achieve any visibility at awards shows. (The Critics’ Choice Awards being an exception, which found room to acknowledge Ghosts and Elsbeth this year.) I would also note that the setting of Abbott at an underfunded urban public school makes it one of the more relevant comedies airing anywhere.
But that doesn’t diminish the fact that there’s a strong appetite for shows like Shifting Gears, which is why they’re still part of most networks’ menus. (Even Netflix has several traditional multi-cam comedies that earn multiple season renewals, though rarely reap awards attention the way something like Nobody Wants This does.) Its short season may have less to do with the network’s level of support than with ABC’s rebooting of Scrubs, which will take over the show’s Wednesday time period in late February after the Olympics.
And Finally …
Question: I watched The Night Manager miniseries when it first aired because you recommended it, and I really liked it. However, that was 10 years ago. I have not revisited it at all since its original airing. I barely remember any details now. Of course, what was originally the miniseries has now become simply Season 1 retroactively. Have you seen Season 2 yet? If so, what is the entry point for it? Do I need to watch the miniseries again before starting Season 2, or would I be able to watch Season 2 and understand it independently? — Jake
Matt Roush: A decade is an awfully long time to go between seasons, especially for a property that felt as self-contained as the original Night Manager, which successfully dramatized a popular John le Carré novel. I haven’t watched all of the new series (streaming Sundays on Prime Video), and it hasn’t grabbed me quite as much as the first story, but it’s easy enough to follow. The script acknowledges how much time has passed in the world of its main character (Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine, now living under a different alias), and while there are callbacks to the Hugh Laurie season, it’s an entirely different story and mission, so it shouldn’t be difficult to pick up. It’s still a strong premise, and Hiddleston is a compelling hero. (Hard not to miss Hugh Laurie, though, but he can be seen in the current third season of Apple TV’s international thriller Tehran.)
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.)
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