Welcome to the Q&A with longtime 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 [emailprotected]. Look for Ask Matt columns on every other Tuesday.
Should Ted Lasso Have Just Stayed Home?
Question: Am I alone in thinking that Ted Lasso should have left well enough alone? I feel that Season 4 has nothing new to say about these characters and their stories and is spinning its wheels trying to wrap up things which were already satisfactorily wrapped up after Season 3. What do you think: Was Season 4 a good idea? By the way, though she portrays the character beautifully, Tracey Ullman‘s character seems little more than an annoying distraction in this story. Somehow, she doesn’t even feel part of the show. — D.P.
Matt Roush: Whether I think it was a good idea or not, Ted Lasso returning feels more to me like an inevitability. British series are known (sometimes notoriously so) for leaving us wanting much more — think Ricky Gervais‘ original version of The Office — and while Ted is set mostly in the U.K., it represents an all-American success story, and our tendency is to milk a hit for all it’s worth. The idea for bringing the show back was solid, giving Ted a new underdog team (the underfunded women’s team) to coach, taking on the same old skeptics as well as a very conflicted new assistant, with Tanya Reynolds a standout as the dour Alice, the antithesis to the chipper Ted. But it’s also inevitable that many of the story beats now feel familiar, and it’s nearly impossible to recreate that feeling of discovery and delight from the show’s first seasons. With the exception of Alice, few of the new characters have come into focus with any real substance, and storylines like the off-and-on Roy and Keeley relationship feel awfully played out. All of which is to say that Ted Lasso has now taken on the comfort-food feel of many a long-running comedy. Like with Abbott Elementary, I’m rarely surprised anymore, but I’m still kind of glad to have it around, albeit with lowered expectations.
As for Tracey Ullman, I’m such a fan that even when she goes way over the top, which she does again this week (in a more official capacity), I’m willing to indulge her. If they were looking for a new comedy engine to rev things up, they could do far worse.
Dancing Between Soundstages?
Question: I don’t pay attention to reality shows, but I do pay attention to Grey’s Anatomy. So that’s where my head went when I noticed that Harry Shum Jr. is competing on Dancing with the Stars this season. His character (Benson “Blue” Kwan) was fired last season for giving a patient an experimental drug without authorization. But pretty much all of the major characters on Grey’s have been temporarily fired for one reason or other for a cheap cliffhanger, and then the show jumps through some hoops for the sake of drama to find a way to get them back in the hospital. This “tradition,” if you could call it that, goes all the way back to Izzie cutting Denny’s LVAD wire at the end of Season 2. This isn’t a spoiler request, but the pattern is notable. I would be shocked if the character being fired meant Shum is leaving the show. Because he is one of the new interns/now resident class that came in a few years ago, I doubt he is as expensive as the longer-tenured cast members, so Disney/ABC wouldn’t benefit from asking him to take episodes off as much as they do for the stalwarts.
So: How is he managing the Grey’s filming schedule and the DWTS rehearsal schedule and soon the DWTS live tapings? It seems hard enough that Grey’s and R.J. Decker are going to have to share Scott Speedman, and Shum is a much more consistent presence on the show in recent seasons than Speedman is. — Jake
Matt Roush: Since Harry Shum Jr.’s casting on Dancing with the Stars was announced, there has been plenty of speculation about what that means for the actor’s continued presence on Grey’s. We’ve reported that Shum participated in ensemble cast photos as production on Grey’s started this season, so he’ll likely be around at the beginning, if not longer. But Dancing fans are used to seeing the show’s celebrities juggle ongoing career commitments with the grueling rehearsal and performance schedules. Another Dancing contestant this season is Jenna Dewan, a current cast member of The Rookie, which returns in midseason but will also be in production during the Dancing season. Like Shum, who TV audiences first noticed as a dancing member of the Glee cast, Dewan has a dance background (including in Step Up), so presumably they both have a literal leg up against less seasoned competition. Neither would be doing this without their show’s cooperation, and in the larger picture, the studio and the network would most likely be on board with the cross-promotional opportunities their appearance on Dancing represents.
It’s About Time
Question: Will Season 23 of Grey’s Anatomy pick up right where it left off at the end of Season 22 or will there be a time jump? — Gim
Matt Roush: By all accounts, if any time has passed between seasons, it won’t be significant, as Grey Sloan adjusts to the absence of Teddy (Kim Raver) and Owen (Kevin McKidd) among many other subplots. (A “previously on” recap when the show returns on Oct. 15 would be appreciated, just saying.)
Will TNT Once Again Be a Pitt Stop?
Question: Last year we watched The Pitt for free on TNT. Do you know if the second season will be available like last year before the Season 3 premiere? — Michele L.
Matt Roush: It’s too early to know. TNT replayed the first season through the month of December last year as a promotional stunt and, no doubt, to drive traffic to HBO Max when the second season premiered in January. Season 3 is on the same timetable and trajectory, but given the show’s continued success and visibility at the Emmys and elsewhere, the company (Warner Bros. Discovery, which encompasses HBO and the Turner networks) may not feel the need for the extra exposure this time around. Shows remain exclusive to streaming platforms as a way to drive subscriptions, but it’s also possible that if they felt the stunt worked well last year, they might try it again. It would certainly be a nice present for those who don’t or can’t stream.
Is The Pitt All That and a Bag of Saline?
Question: I was a bit late to the party but just got through all two seasons of The Pitt. After all, it’s TV’s crown jewel right now and is about to win every Emmy. I liked the show; it’s well directed, and most of the cast are strong (there are a few who are terrible, though – hello, Victoria Javadi and Trinity Santos). Yeah, I get it. It feels like a real-life hospital, but how does that make this a powerful series worthy of the insane accolades it’s getting? For me, it actually exposes a lot of the negative side of the profession rather than glorifying it, and it’s very manipulative, political, and one-sided, not to mention occasionally cringe. And as someone who watched all of ER for its zillion episodes, the sense of déjà vu is obvious. I am OK with all of that, but again, I don’t get the obsession to nominate it for every single award in every single category. And this year there are so many shutout series because this one is hijacking everything. The Pitt isn’t showing us anything different that ER, Chicago Hope, The Resident, The Good Doctor, House, Grey’s Anatomy, etc. haven’t already done.
And just quickly about Widow’s Bay: Equally not getting the obsession with this one, but at least I like The Pitt. I kept falling asleep watching this one and couldn’t finish it. Not in a million years is this a comedy. It isn’t a dramedy either. It’s a category of fraud. And it’s about to also win all these awards for being “quirky.” I hope Hacks comes in for the win for its final year. — Sean V.
Matt Roush: This was obviously written before Monday night’s Emmy ceremony (and Widow’s Bay sweep), but reflects the backlash that often results from Emmy hype. Nearly every year, there are shows that dominate the field, whether it’s an epic like Game of Thrones or an industry satire like last year’s mega-winner, Apple TV‘s The Studio. Should the Emmy voters spread the wealth more evenly in their nominations? Almost always, the answer is yes. But when a show breaks through, as both The Pitt and (somewhat more unexpectedly) Widow’s Bay did this year, it tends to do so in a big way, and there’s nothing new about that.
So let’s discuss their relative merits. The Pitt may not have reinvented the medical drama, but it reenergized the format with an emotional urgency we haven’t seen since the early days of ER, and to compare it to more run-of-the-mill procedurals (many of which are quite good) does the show a disservice. I liked that The Pitt didn’t try to top itself in Season 2 with another mass casualty event but stayed true to its depiction of the exhaustion, stress and occasional triumph of the daily grind. (That it doesn’t glorify, or more to point sanitize, their everyday heroism is a plus.)
Regarding Widow’s Bay, it’s clearly not for all tastes, but the show is so original in its blend of horror and humor that I don’t begrudge its late-season surge, which happened without any sort of manufactured build-up or (excepting Matthew Rhys, who’s not yet George Clooney or Brad Pitt famous) marquee stars in the cast. Watching Kate O’Flynn break out as the show progressed was one of the most delightful surprises of the TV year. Personally, I was torn between this and Hacks — and the final season of The Comeback, to be fair — in terms of where I wanted the Comedy Series Emmy to go. Any of them was OK by me, and if I had a vote, it probably would have gone to Hacks for sticking the landing. Widow’s Bay will have many more chances, but given its blockbuster arrival at the Emmys, I’ll be curious what happens if this and Apple’s other big comedy hit The Studio go head to head in a future season.
Gone Missing from Fall
Question: I’m enquiring about the status of these TV shows that were not included in TV Guide Magazine’s Fall Preview grid and wondering if they will return. The shows are Murder in a Small Town, High Potential, The Rookie, Shifting Gears, Matlock, and Wild Cards. — Charles S.
Matt Roush: All of these shows will be back at midseason in early or spring 2027, which is nothing new for these ABC and Fox titles, but Matlock on CBS is taking an extended break because Season 3 represents something of a reset, and they wanted more time to plan it out. Wild Cards is something of an outlier, like most things on The CW. It has been renewed for a new season, and we expect The CW will air it, but that hasn’t been confirmed, and who can say about the timing, which is beyond random.
And Finally …
Question: I haven’t been watching much TV the last few months during the summer, but did check out USA‘s new cable drama Anna Pigeon. It has been mostly underwhelming, but it’s OK for summer. Had this show aired during the regular season, I probably would have dropped it after the sub-par pilot. I’m glad I stuck with it, though, because the fifth episode (“The Rope”) was stellar. The lead actress Tracy Spiridakos is quite effective, as she was in Chicago P.D., but the supporting cast is mostly weak. The scenic exterior shots and some of the cases are reminiscent of the far superior Big Sky, Tracker, Fire Country, Sheriff Country, and Murder in a Small Town. Did you have a chance to sample it? Would love to know your thoughts. — Fred
Matt Roush: I wouldn’t say Anna Pigeon is a great show, but it’s a very appropriate show as USA Network returns in fits and starts to its “blue sky” programming philosophy. I agree that “The Rope” episode was without question the season standout, although the following week’s resolution with its “surprise” twist was telegraphed too obviously and not all that convincingly. I could see the show jelling given time, and the Canadian location shooting is certainly easy on the eyes. There’s a place for escapism, and USA used to be that place. I’d rather encourage them to keep trying than nitpick this one to death.
That’s all for now. We can’t do this without your participation, so please keep sending questions and comments about TV to [emailprotected]. (Please include a first name with your question.)