Tube Notes with Ryan Benharris

I’m going to preview every major category before nominations are announced on Tuesday July 12th.

Check back regularly as I give in-depth analysis of who will/won’t and should be nominated.

Emergency blog post!

FX has dropped the full trailer for Season 2 of The Bear. If you haven’t watched Season 1 of The Bear, you’re distressfully missing out on one of the best new series of the entire decade. I charted it as the second best show of 2022 behind only one of the best series of all-time

For me, this is (by far) the most anticipated series of 2023. Full trailer below.

https://twitter.com/thebearfx/status/1658155287768084480?s=61&t=1SxmIPBkHo3Xi1Z3ju7ASQ

LFG, Chef

The following contains spoilers for Season 3 of The Mandalorian (…and also for Season 1 of The Book of Boba Fett).

“Why wasn’t season 3 of The Mandalorian just a 2 hour summer popcorn flick?” I muttered to myself as I stared at the extravagant Hollywood fight scenes as the last remaining moments of the final episode of season three ticked off my iPad. A season marred by confusing subplots that seemed to go no where and have, at most, infinitesimal relevance to a cohesive narrative foundation. A season where even the show’s most loyal fans seemed to lose interest. A season that premiered after the introduction of three new Star Wars Disney + series since its jaw dropping season 2 conclusion. A season that seems like it will forever be defined by an all time TV shark jumping, law and order copycat episode boasting appearances by Jack black, Lizzo, and Grogu cheating at space cornhole (but we’ll get to that).

My expectations weren’t off the chart for The Mandalorian to begin with. I’ve been a fan of the series ever since its inception; albeit I’m not, by any stretch of the imagination a Star Wars fan. It’s a lot easier for someone like me (with no emotional attachment to the franchise) to say that I thought Season 3, despite its few highlights was mainly a draggy, subpar disappointment.

Mandalorian’s third season felt mostly like content out of obligation…but that’s true of so many franchises drenched in overkill now-a-days. The season started by assuming you watched The Book of Boba Fett, and if you didn’t then, WELP… you had some questions. Big questions! Questions that it never actually addressed…let alone answered. It didn’t even tell you to go watch Boba Fett. It really can’t be overstated how lazy it was for the series to fly on the wings of hope that all viewersr just knew what needed to be done…”The Way,” if you will.

It wasn’t that The Mandalorian didn’t try to keep pace with what made it great for two years. The always brilliant Kate Sackhoff was thrust into an all-out starring role this year partly as a result of Disney being forced to part ways with Gina Carano after she shared controversial opinions online in 2021. Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze seemed like the only pillar preventing the story from going off the rails…but off the rails it went.

And you can’t discuss going off the rails without talking about Chapter 22 “Guns For Hire.” The ridiculed disaster seems destined to live forever as The Mandalorian’s version of Grogu lacing up the waterskis and heading directly for the Great White. Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard (her third entry in the series), the episode channeled a bad “Law and Order” mystery with Mando and Bo-Katan inexplicably playing detectives for King Jack Black and Queen Lizzo. Lizzo and the Kung-Fu Panda babysit Baby Yoda as he helps her cheat at some weird space Cornhole game while Detectives Djarin and Kryze try to find the villainous traitor amongst them poisoning all the droids. It’s revealed (in scooby-doo fashion) to be Christopher Lloyd whose established legendary status was entirely wasted on a bit part they could’ve filled with a guy who played one of Biff Tannen’s henchmen in Back to the Future Part 2. Even describing the episode feels like trying to explain to your buddy the dream you had after drinking a bottle of Mountain Dew before bedtime.

The last two episodes of The Mandalorian’s third season were really the only part of it that felt like it was attached to the overall series in any fashion. Even those episodes felt more like a tying of loose ends of the first two seasons than actual elaboration of the series’ plot.

The Mandalorian, along with Marvel’s WandaVision was one of Disney+’s first children. It was its first toe-dip into the already massive sea of content that makes up the modern golden age of television. And it made a big splash. Star Wars fans saw it as a rejuvenation of the franchise that was dulling with three new films that didn’t seem to be holding their weight. It was nominated for Emmy’s. The Mandalorian was so successful that it made Pedro Pascal one of the biggest stars on the planet without ever showing his face.

Despite all of that it certainly feels like exhaustion is settling in….and there’s the elephant in the room. At the end of 2022, Disney released Andor; a wonderful new Star Wars story that was showered with universal critical admiration. In doing so, it pidgenholed The Mandalorian into a corner to fill some pretty big shoes. Even Mandalorian’s third episode of the season, “The Convert,” a mess of a heist story with new characters that time ultimately forgot fairly quickly, felt directly influenced by the best parts of Andor…if not completely copycatting them. By the middle of the season I was ready to start outright declare Andor a better series all-together. It was so good it actually hurt The Mandalorian’s brand.

The Mandalorian certainly feels like it’s suffering from franchise exhaustion. When there’s too much of a franchise, even the franchise’s best parts seem to get old, fast.

Rian Johnson’s breakout Peacock hit starring Natasha Lyonne as a human lie detector on the run brought a fresh breath of nostalgia to the golden age of television with its quirky anthology, Columbo style murder of the week series.

Each episode brought a wealth of veteran actors whose performances ranged from sinister to endearing…each one wackier than the next.

Here’s my definitive ranking of the entire season (Spoilers within)

10. “Exit Stage Death” (Episode 6)

Ellen Barkin and Tim Meadows play washed up network drama stars who take advantage of their public hatred for each other to cash in big. Barkin’s performance was clearly the highlight…with a few show stealing scenes from newcomer Audrey Corsa. It lacked a lot of what worked for “Rest in Metal” and the elements of it that made it unique from the other episodes weren’t overtly compelling

9. “Rest in Metal” (Episode 4)

The brilliant Chloe Sevigny needs one more hit song to escape her life in a Home Depot stock room and rejuvenate the career of her 90’s metal band, Doxxxology. When its dopey young rent-a-drummer writes it, she and the band stoop to a murderous plot to ensure he doesn’t come away with the spoils of fame and leave them back out in the cold. The on-screen chemistry between Leonne and Sevigny was perfect. The murder and execution was silly…and the shear stupidness of the other bandmates was as annoying as it was a bit hackneyed

8. “The Orpheus Syndrome” (Episode 8)

Charlie’s first exposure into the universe of the highfalutin found poor Nick Nolte the victim of the impeccable Cherry Jones’ unflappable quest to keep her deadly past a secret. Easily the most free-spirited episode of the season, it builds to a climax that’s more bizarre than it is satisfying

7. “The Future of the Sport” (Episode 7)

One of the more fun episodes of the season was a bit hindered by its wavering between trying to be large scale and fitting within the constraints of looking and feeling lower-budget. This was the first time that we were legitimately forced to empathize with the would-be murders…until Charlie firmly reminds us that we were, in fact, dealing with a legit “PSY-CHO.”

6. “The Night Shift” (Episode 2)

What’s special about The Night Shift is that you get to experience for the first time that the series isn’t just about Charlie’s life on the run (or even at all about that at some points), but instead that it’s going to be something different each week. This one had the most underrated guest cast including Oscar nominated Hong Chau as a drug peddling truck driver, Brandon Michael Hall as the poor victim, and a sort of over-the-top Colton Ryan as our heartless murderer. Megan Suri steals the show, and is one of the characters I’d love to see back in the second season. John Ratzenberger does his best John Ratzenberger…which was just John Ratzenberger-y by me.

5. “The Stall” (Episode 3)

Was I gonna love an episode about a BBQ Pitmaster who gets all animal-loving righteous, turns vegan and has to be murdered by his brother because of it?…of course I was. Living early in the episode, this one had a lot of heavy lifting. It had to reinforce the notion that this is an anthology series, but it also had to flex that the supporting cast could keep up with Natasha Lyonne. It did both of those things with perfection. Lil Rey Howery was brilliant as the murderous BBQ empire heir, as was his seedy accomplice played by Danielle MacDonald. The episode is filled with funny social=political commentary that makes you truly appreciate Charlie’s journey all over the United States. It was the first episode where I realized this was going to be a special series.

4. “Dead Man’s Hand” (Episode 1)

Poker Face had an arduous task in creating a pilot that would both attract an audience but sort of hide what its really about. I don’t think the pilot did that necessarily perfectly, but what it did do was force you to create an immediate bond with Lyonne that would be the foundation for the rest of the season. Looking at all ten episodes in retrospect, the performances in this episode by Adrin Brody or Benjamin Bratt (who we’ll get to in a second) weren’t anything to write home about. It effectively forced you to constantly have the details of that incident in your mind throughout the season…which also effectively put you directly into Charlie’s head. As a stand-alone episode it wasn’t tremendous…but as a backbone of the series, it was important and well executed.

3. “The Hook” (Episode 10)

…back to Benjamin Bratt. If he turned in a less than memorable job in Episode 1, he more than made up for it in the season finale. I could honestly listen to him slam-poet Blues Travelers songs for decades. The final showdown that’s been brewing for (what we learn has been a full year) comes to fruition as Charlie gets her revenge for the death of her friend, and Bratt’s “Cliff” sees himself unable to get out of the cage he’s been trapped in for decades. Was it campy? Sure. Was it the best episode of the season? No. Did it set up a 2nd season where we’ll get the television return of the legendary Rhea Perlman? You bet your goddamn ass.

2. “Escape From Shit Mountain (Episode 9)

The baddest bad guy around this season was Joseph Gordon-Levitt…of course he was. Rian Johnson’s bestie makes his inevitable debut in the most visually stunning and most exciting episode that combined all of the elements of the entire series. Unsurprisingly, directed by Johnson it was the biggest budgeted and most thrilling episode of the lot. Where it wasn’t the best episode of the season was in its performances…but one other episode was far better at that. Where it WAS the best episode of the season was its ability to place Charlie directly into the chaos

1. “Time of the Monkey” (Episode 5)

The best reviewed episode of the season was by far its most entertaining and the perfect encapsulation of what the entire series is about. Judith Light and S. Epatha Merkerson as murderous hippies with absolutely no consciences and a lifetime of getting away with it were the stuff that spin-offs are made of. Just absolute 10/10 performances a couple of legends. Enter K Callen as the nosy, but righteous neighbor, and you’ve got the stuff these types of series’ dreams are made of.

1. Better Call Saul (AMC)

Tim Goodman, one of my favorite television writers of all time, in his “Best of 2013” list wrote of his ranking Breaking Bad the number one series of the year, “What more could possibly be said about this show that I (and many others) haven’t already said? I’ll tell you this. It’s inconceivable to me how this could be anything other than No 1.”

On the eve of the series finale of what ultimately became my 4th favorite series of all time, legendary comedian Gary Gulman tweeted, “I was suicidal when Better Call Saul premiered. It was the only hour each week I found more comforting than the idea of oblivion. I vowed to defer ending things until I found out what happens to Saul. In the meantime I got well. Thank you Better Call Saul for buying me some time.” I shared my own experience that night of how Season 4 aired one month into the pandemic…and how my own anxiety and depression vanished into thin air for sixty minutes on ten Monday nights in April of 2020. The true magic of fiction is that at its absolute peak, it can stop the entire world around you. In its final season, BCS valiantly stuck the landing that, literally, no one doubted it would. Its perfect performances and masterful storytelling will be veritably unmatched by anything in years to come. It’s going to leave a massive gaping void as something I’ve looked forward to for the last eight years; an indescribable hole. I write these things for you…but mostly I write them for me. Losing Better Call Saul hurts…a lot. But it was something I cherished and ultimately valued way higher than anything else on television. As the great Goodman professed; It’s inconceivable to me how this could be anything other than No 1.

2. The Bear (FX on Hulu)

Gripping, heart stopping and a meticulously real depiction of restaurant life was only a part of what made Christopher Storer’s incredible dramedy about a culinary trained chef who inherits his brother’s struggling Chicago hot beef sandwich shop the year’s most addictive series. The Bear was chalk full of wonderful performances by its leads Jeremy Allen, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and newcomer Ayo Edebiri.

3. Severance (Apple)

Apple’s dystopian thriller about employees who elect to literally sever the part of their brain that operates at work from the one that runs their home lives kickstarted a massive year for the streaming service…and a likely massive second career for Ben Stiller in directing brilliant action / mystery series.

4. Barry (HBO)

In its fourth year, the Bill Hader vehicle was better and way less comedic than in the past. Phenomenal supporting performances from Sarah Goldberg, Anthony Carrigan and the brilliant Henry Winkler complement the master class lead performance repeatedly turned in by Hader.

5. The Devil’s Hour (Amazon)

British crime mystery about a social worker / (sort of) single mother who wakes up every night at 3:33 on the dot with premonitions about her seemingly out-of-the-ordinary young son is never what it truly appears to be. With a splash of supernatural and a heavy dose of racing against the clock to catch a killer, the series is the easiest six hour binge you’ll find all-year.

6. Peacemaker (HBO Max)

The initial concept of a DC Comic spin-off series from last year’s successful film The Suicide Squad wouldn’t lead you to believe that one of the year’s best series would be deep, hilarious, and marvelously scored and choreographed. There are zero doubts about John Cena’s ability to carry a comedy or action series as its lead. What was most shocking to me was that somewhere near the end of it, it turned in one of the most perfectly directed / written and acted episodes that I remember from the entire year. While Disney + shelled out one Marvel series after another, HBO had what was, by far, the best comic book series of the year in Peacemaker.

7. Black Bird (Apple)

Led by two outstanding performances from Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser, Dennis Lehane’s terrifying (and yet weirdly heroic) adaptation of the true story about how an the FBI hired an incarcerated felon to go undercover to try to elicit a confession from a serial killer inside of a maximum security prison in the 90’s leaves a lasting impression of the true horror in the world and the lengths to which seemingly regular and flawed humans will go to stop it.

8. We Need to Talk About Cosby (Showtime)

The docuseries about the rise and fall of Bill Cosby, compiled by comedian W. Kamau Bell unveils the agony of the lives affected by someone who lived his entire life hiding in plain sight. It perfectly aligns deference to Cosby’s cultural influence with his demonic behavior that was a mystery to most of the world for so long. It’s a difficult series to watch for so many reasons, but true to its name, it’s an important voice to the victims who deserve our attention.

9. Reservation Dogs (FX on Hulu)

Hulu’s gritty series about a group of teenagers struggling through adolescence in an Oklahoma Native American reservation came back for its sophomore season even stronger and more endearing than its excellent first season in 2021. The young stars churn out award-level performances and the storytelling excels on multiple levels.

10. Andor (Disney +)

Disney + released three live-action Star Wars series this year, and Andor was easily the best of all of them. An easy-watch for casual Star Wars fans (and even non-fans), the series more closely follows modern heist dramas than it does science fiction storylines. Star Wars brand or not, it was easily one of the best series of the year and an admirable follow-up to the excellent Mandalorian series.

11. Euphoria (HBO)

HBO’s absolute emotional roller-coaster shock ride that is Euphoria returned for its second seasons this year. Zendaya solidified herself as one of the best actors on the planet while the supporting cast settled into creating a world of unique personalities and shocking scandals. I could spend days talking about how most people watching the series don’t truly appreciate (or flat out don’t understand) its subtle narrative structure and how its sharpest critics are markedly more stupid than they probably realize, because they honestly don’t understand what’s actually going on. But that’s another blog post for another day.

12. Single Drunk Female (FreeForm)

An excellent comedy series starring Sofia Black-D’Elia who loses everything as a result of alcoholism and is forced to return to Boston to live with her mother (played by Ally Sheedy) flew under the radar as one of the my favorite new series that’s built around heart and the strength of the human spirit when challenged with the struggles of addiction.

13. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

With the exception of its need to cater to the goofiness of its two male leads, Only Murders in the Building didn’t fail to hit the same stride it did with its first compelling season. At this point, Selena Gomez is acting circles around Martin Short and Steve Martin, but is still under appreciated for it. The setup for the third season was its most impressive trick to-date.

14. Abbot Elementary (ABC)

Quinta Brunson’s depiction of elementary schools in Philadelphia hit an obvious nerve for anyone who’s ever been in education or loved someone who has. The series is filled with heartwarming characters and enough school spirit to make you truly wish everyone cared about public elementary education as Quinta clearly does.

15. Atlanta (FX)

Donald Glover gave us his swan song for the final season of what has been one of the most critical acclaimed series in television history….or final seasons, should I say. Because he dropped two this year. The first half of the season was mostly an anthology series with one-off episodes enriched in symbolism about American and European culture and systemic racial inequality. The second half of the season allowed for what mostly resembled resolutions for the main characters and plot series…with one of the better series endings I can remember.

16. Bluey (Disney Junior)

The Aussie series turned absolute phenomenon does the impossible and makes children’s programming absolute appointment viewing. Possibly the best kid’s show I’ve ever seen. What never ceases to impress me about it (as it gets exponentially better every season) is that it never feels like it needs to talk down to kids to be effective and it never needs to speak sarcastically to adults to be funny. At this point it isn’t even silly nor chic to say it’s one of the best series on television, right now because every critic seemingly concedes that.

17. Hacks (HBO Max)

Last year’s breakout comedy doesn’t seem like it will run out of story any time soon as its two lead actresses continue to dazzle critics and audiences alike. As long as it continues, Jean Smart will continue to rack up awards and Hannah Einbinder will continue to be one of Hollywoods biggest rising stars.

18. Moon Knight (Disney +)

In Disney’s super-saturated world of Marvel series, I’d be lying if I said I came anywhere near being able to catch up with all of them…and mad respect to you if you did, because that’s a legit chore at this point. Moon Knight felt different than other Marvel product. It didn’t have the familiar characters or the recognizable lead actors that the other series could brag about. What it did have was an original story with stunning visual effects and some pretty stellar performances.

19. Station Eleven (HBO Max)

HBO’s post apocalyptic series about the survivors of a deadly pandemic hit a little closer to home in 2022 than it probably realized it would when it was written years before the COVID pandemic. Solid performances anchored its complicated and moving storytelling about hope in the wake of unthinkable devastation

20. As We See It (Amazon)

A series about four adults living within varying levels on the autism spectrum as roommates in a shared living environment was something that I hold near and dear to my heart (and also something I found to be quite terrifying at times at an inexplicable personal level). Stellar performances from the four actors playing the residents combined with an equally as good performance by Sosie Bacon as the live-in employee tasked with keeping their lives together made for a funny and heartwarming story about how people struggling with being different find common ground in the same difficulties we all face together.

21. Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel (HBO)

The Bo Burnham directed comedy special certainly lives in an unconventional world of stand-up comedy…but becomes even more unconventional when Carmichael uses it as a vehicle to come out to the world. His effective anectodes tug at the heartstrings of anyone who’s ever battled with the cause and effects of keeping secrets. It’s a rare feat when you can use 55 minutes to elicit feelings of happiness, sadness, bravery, anger and pride. Carmichael easily planted himself among today’s greatest storytellers and created one of the most memorable comedy specials of all time.

22. What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Consistently being one of the best comedies on television for four years mans you get to flex your strengths in weird and unapologetic manners. The cast and writers of WWDITS get all the free range with creativity they want as they consistently shell out one of the most rewarding series of the year.

23. Pachinko (Apple)

Apple’s adaption of the 2017 novel about generations of a Korean family’s emigration from Korea to Tokyo is one of the more visually stunning series in recent memory.

24. Fleishman is in Trouble (Hulu)

Here’s the part of my list where I start speculating that things are good even though I haven’t seen all of it. What’s already been good about Fleishman is in Trouble is that it’s not so much the mystery it’s promised, but instead an introspective look at grief and loss from multiple perspectives. Since most of it will come after this is released, I’ll truly be able to evaluate if it belongs on this list, but right now it does.

25. The Girl From Plainville (Hulu)

And, finally, the part of my list that should enrage you to the point of going “what are you doing here?” Look. I wanted this series to be better than it was…and at times it wasn’t good. But the performances (especially Elle Fanning) were fine enough, and the story was something I already knew a lot about. Were there better shows this year? Probably. Did I watch them? Maybe. But I also watched Cobra Kai and like 9,000 hours of Man vs. Food, so cut me some slack, okay? Also…this series was fine. you should watch it.

Coming Thursday December 8, 2022