Tag / The Blacklist

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2024: The Year In Television

With less and less good productions airing on network and cable networks and instead moving to the various streaming platforms, that seems to have taken over as my main form of non-game show television watching. Now that I work from home full time, I have plenty of time to take in whatever they have to offer. Since we cover the network and cable shows that I watch elsewhere, let’s take a look at the 22 seasons of shows I streamed on six different platforms this year.

9-1-1 Seasons 1-7 (Disney+)
I was introduced to this show when I was in Amsterdam and decided to watch from the beginning once I got home.

Based on a True Story Season 1 (Peacock)
Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina start a podcast with a serial killer.

The Blacklist Season 10 (Netflix)
One final go-around for the former NBC hit, which wrapped up its run in the summer of 2023.

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 17 (Paramount+)
The BAU returns once again, following up on plot threads from the previous season.

Derry Girls Seasons 1-3 (Netflix)
A group of friends in Northern Ireland grow up amidst a changing political climate.

Doctor Who Season 1 (Disney+)
Ncuti Gatwa ushers in a new era for Doctor Who.

Grey’s Anatomy Season 19 (Netflix)
A new set of interns start at Grey Sloan.

Nobody Wants This Season 1 (Netflix)
A gentile sex/relationship podcaster falls in love with a rabbi.

Only Murders in the Building Season 4 (Hulu)
Yet another murder in the building brings Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez back together for another investigation.

Remington Steele Season 2-5 (Amazon Prime)
The 80s hit, starring Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist, has become a weekend morning staple.

This is the Zodiac Speaking (Netflix)
The latest attempt to identify the notorious Zodiac killer.

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Post Mortem – The Blacklist

The tenth and final season of The Blacklist aired last spring and summer, wrapping up in July on NBC.  The original storyline, revolving around FBI agent Elizabeth Keen and her mysterious relationship to criminal mastermind Red Reddington, wrapped up after season eight when Megan Boone, who played Keen, left the show.  A revamped plot, with many new characters, was implemented for the final two seasons.  The main mystery behind the show, what is the relationship between Keen and Reddington, was never definitely answered.

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NBC Upfronts

NBC announced their new fall schedule yesterday, one which they hope is strike-proof, between reality programming and shows that were renewed early to keep them in production prior to the strike.  The week gets off to a familiar start with The Voice returning for another round on Mondays, followed by The Irrational, starring Jessie L. Martin as the latest behavioral science expert who uses his skills to help governments, law enforcement, and corporations.  Tuesday leads off with the week’s sole comedy block, with the Night Court sequel followed by Extended Family, starring Jon Cryer and Abigail Spencer as divorced parents who continue to raise their kids in the family home.  That is followed by another hour of The Voice and the rebooted Quantum Leap.

Wednesday and Thursday continue to be dominated by Dick Wolf franchises, with his three Chicago series running back-to-back-to-back on Wednesday and the two original entries in his Law & Order franchise the following night.  Found, starring Shanola Hampton as a public relations specialist who helps keep the spotlight on missing children, caps of the night.  The Wall kicks things off on Friday, followed by two hours of Dateline NBC.  Sunday remains filled with the NFL.

Law & Order: Organized Crime moves to midseason for its fourth season as a new show runner comes onboard.  La Brea will return for a shortened third and final season, as will the second half of Magnum PI‘s fifth season.  On the comedy side, the George Lopez comedy Lopez vs. Lopez, will be back for a second season while the futures of Young Rock , American Auto, and Grand Crew are up in the air.  A second season of Password is also expected, though it is dependent on the resolution of the writer’s strike.  New shows for midseason include The Americas, with Tom Hanks narrating a look at the “wonders, secrets and fragilities of the Americas – Earth’s largest landmass and the only one to stretch between both poles,” Deal or No Deal Island, which pits teams against each other and the banker to win lots of money, and an untitled America’s Got Talent spinoff series.

Shows gone from our sets include The Blacklist, New Amsterdam, and possibly others.

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Midseason Review – Sundays

With the advent of winter premieres, the start of the premium cable network shows, and with February sweeps around the corner, it’s time to revisit my thoughts from the beginning of the season and look ahead at what’s to come for Sunday nights.

Now, let’s see what interesting tidbits are coming this spring:

The Blacklist – The long running James Spader vehicle returns, for some reason, for its tenth season.

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2022: The Year In Television

With less and less good productions airing on network and cable and moving to the various streaming platforms, that seems to have taken over as my main form of television watching.  Now that I work from home full time, I have plenty of time to take in whatever they have to offer.  Since we cover the network and cable shows that I watch elsewhere, let’s take a look at the 32 seasons of shows I streamed on nine different platforms this year.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7 (Netflix)
The end of the road for the first series set in, but not completely part of, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Archive 81 Season 1 (Netflix)
A video archivist is hired to transfer video tapes rescued from a building fire, but they contain much, much more.

Barry Season 3 (HBOMax)
With the acting class disbanded, Barry falls back to his old job while trying to make amends.

The Blacklist Season 9 (Netflix)
Years after Elizabeth’s death, Red returns and the task force re-forms to track down her killer.

The Bear Season 1 (Hulu)
A world class chef inherits the family beef joint after his brother dies.

DMZ (HBOMax)
An adaptation of Brian Wood’s comic series about Manhattan becoming a DMZ following a second civil war.

The Flash Season 8 (Netflix)
Catching up in preparation for the upcoming final season.

High School Season 1 (Freevee)
An adaptation of the memoir from Tegan and Sara shows the twin girls growing up in Canada and discovering their musical talent.

How I Met Your Father Season 1 (Hulu)
Missing all the charm and humor of its predecessor but might have all been worth it for the surprise appearance in the last episode.

Inside Man (Netflix)
A misunderstanding leads to a math tutor being held hostage and a vicar doing anything he can to save his family.

Lost in Space Season 2 (Netflix)
The Robinsons manage to get to another planet, but run into more adventures. Continue reading →

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NBC Upfronts

Comedy makes a return to the one-time home of Must See TV, as a single hour-long comedy block comes to Friday.  NBC announced their new fall schedule yesterday that contained a single comedy and only two new shows making the cut.  The week gets off to a familiar start with The Voice returning for another round on Mondays, followed by a reboot of Quantum Leap, where a new team looks to follow up on the mysteries of the original.  Tuesday leads off with more of The Voice, followed by a second season of La Brea and the fifth and final season of New Amsterdam.

Wednesday and Thursday continue to be dominated by Dick Wolf franchises, with his three Chicago series running back-to-back-to-back on Wednesday and three entries in his Law & Order franchise the following night.  The Capital One College Bowl kicks things off on Friday until November, when it will be replaced by the new George Lopez comedy Lopez vs. Lopez, Young Rock.  Both will be followed by two hours of Dateline NBC.  Sunday remains filled with the NFL.

The Blacklist moves to midseason for its tenth go-around, though it is still producing a full 22-episode season.  Comedies waiting for midseason include a Night Court reboot, starring John Laroquette and Melissa Rouch, and the returning American Auto and Grand Crew.  Several drama pilots were not ready for consideration but may see life as midseason replacements.

Shows gone from our sets include This Is Us, The Thing About Pam, Ordinary Joe, The Endgame, Mr. Mayor, Keenan, and the never-aired Hungry.

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2021: The Year In Television

Now that I am home full time, I have plenty of time to catch up on the streaming shows I may have missed in years past or that were newly released. Since we cover the network and cable shows that I watch elsewhere, let’s take a look at the 34 seasons of the 24 shows I streamed on 8 different platforms this year.

13 Reasons Why Seasons 1-2 (Netflix)
When a high school girl commits suicide, she sends a series of confessional tapes to the people she deems responsible.

The Blacklist Season 8 (Netflix)
Having missed an episode or two along the way, I had to wait for the season to hit Netflix to combine with what was on my DVR to come up to date as the story of Elizabeth Keen wraps up.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part 4 (Netflix)
The final installment of the darker interpretation of Archie Comics character somehow found a way to crossover with the 90s ABC version before ending its run.

Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol (Peacock)
A very unfaithful adaptation of the novel which I probably should not have watched right after reading the book.

Devs (Hulu)
A woman keeps digging into the death of her boyfriend, running afoul of his employer, who is up to some sketchy stuff.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+)
Burdened by the legacy of Captain America, both the Falcon and the Winter Soldier try to find their way in a post-blip world.  When the government’s replacement Cap goes bad, the Falcon finally decides he is ready to take on the legacy Steve Rogers left for him.

The Flash Season 7 (Netflix)
I used a combination of Netflix and my DVR to catch up on the goings on from last season.

Hawkeye (Disney+)
Hawkeye takes on a new apprentice when the re-emergence of his old Ronin costume causes an uprising in New York’s underworld.

The History of Swear Words (Netflix)
Nicholas Cage hosts this look at some of our culture’s favorite words, including their etymology and most popular uses.

Loki Season 1 (Disney+)
Loki teams up with many different versions of himself to find out who is behind the TVA.

Love Life Season 1 (HBO Max)
An anthology series that follows one person’s romantic history per season.  The first season focused on Anna Kendrick’s Darby Carter as she learns to love herself and let herself be loved.

Mad About You Season 8 (Amazon Prime)
The 12-episode revival, released in 2019 on something called Spectrum Originals, finds the Buchmans rediscovering themselves after their daughter leaves for college.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation Season 1 (Netflix)
I wasn’t originally planning on watching Kevin Smith’s revival of the old He-Man cartoons, but when fandom acted all butthurt by them, I needed to see what the fuss was all about. Continue reading →

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Midseason Review – Thursdays

We are on the back half of our look back at the offerings for the new fall season. Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week for my television viewing habits, but not this year. Here’s what was on the slate for this season.

7:00

The Blacklist – The show continues on for a ninth season 9 without Megan Boone’s Elizabeth Keene for some reason.

After the initial effort needed to bring the team back together following the end of last season, we’ve gotten basically the same show without the weight of the mythology weighing it down.  Though at some point, it will all come crashing back when they decide to wrap up the show.

8:00

Ghosts – Rose McIver stars in this adaptation of a BBC show about a couple who think they are getting a beautiful country house but instead find it is falling apart and haunted.

I’ve heard good things and have some episodes recorded, but haven’t watched any of it as of yet.

Grey’s Anatomy – Old friends are supposed to return for the medical drama’s 18th season, with Kate Walsh and Abigail Spencer announced to show up.

Is there anything left to say about the show, other than it has been renewed for a 19th season?

9:00

Big Sky – I still haven’t watched the second story of season one, so season two may need to wait.

I still need to catch up on the end of season one.

It doesn’t look like there is anything exciting premiering in the near future.

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2021 New Fall Season – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night was traditionally the busiest night of the week for my television viewing habits, but has fallen off over the past couple of years.  This year is no exception.  Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.

7:30

The Blacklist – The show continues on for a ninth season 9 without Megan Boone’s Elizabeth Keene for some reason.

8:00

Ghosts – Rose McIver stars in this adaptation of a BBC show about a couple who think they are getting a beautiful country house but instead find it is falling apart and haunted.

Grey’s Anatomy – Old friends are supposed to return for the medical drama’s 18th season, with Kate Walsh and Abigail Spencer announced to show up.

9:00

Big Sky – I still haven’t watched the second story of season one, so season two may need to wait.

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NBC Upfronts

In a sad state of affairs for the one-time home of the Must See TV comedy block that dominated the ratings and multiple nights of programming, NBC announced a fall schedule yesterday that contained nary a single comedy and only 3 new shows making the cut.  The week gets off to a familiar start with The Voice returning for another round on Mondays, followed by Ordinary Joe, a new heartfelt, life-affirming drama telling parallel stories about a recent college grad and the different paths he could take based on a single decision.  Tuesday leads off with more of The Voice, followed by La Brea, an epic adventure that begins when a massive sinkhole opens in the middle of Los Angeles, pulling hundreds of people and buildings into its depths, and, finally, the new season of New Amsterdam.

Wednesday and Thursday have both been turned over completely to Dick Wolf, with his 3 Chicago series running back to back to back on Wednesday.  Thursday has been handed over to his Law & Order franchise, with the new L&O: For The Defense leading off the night, followed by the returning SVU and Organized Crime.  The Blacklist returns on Friday, followed by 2 hours of Dateline NBC.  Sunday remains filled with the NFL.

The comedy lineup won’t be back until midseason, with new shows American Auto, a workplace comedy that takes the wheels off the automobile industry, and Grand Crew, a new comedy from the the Brooklyn Nine-Nine team that proves that life is better with your crew, joining the returning Kenan, Mr. Mayor, and Young Rock.  This Is Us will also return at midseason for a sixth and final season.  The fate of a number of other shows, including Debris, Ellen’s Game of Games, Good Girls, Manifest, and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, are still up in the air.

Cancelled shows include Connecting and Superstore.