TV News: I decided to check up on some of the fates of shows I have on my watchlist to see if anything had been cancelled, or renewed. Here’s a shortlist of some decisions I hadn’t yet mentioned or reported. Netflix has picked up XO Kitty for a third season, and they also commissioned scripts for a third season of The night Agent, which is generally a good sign. Amazon had renewed Reacher for a fourth season ahead of its premiere. They have yet to pick up Clean Slate, though the showrunner claims there are talks headed in a positive direction. MMAX has renewed Harley Quinn for a sixth season. Paramount Plus has not yet made a decision on School Spirits, however CBS has already picked up Tracker for Season 3, Matlock for Season 2, Elzabeth for Season 3, and Ghosts for seasons 5 AND 6, but has not yet made a decision on Papa’s House (which is their only remaining sitcom without a pickup right now). ABC has not made formal decisions on The Rookie or Shifting Gears, though Abbott Elementary is set to return.
TV Shows Watched: Toxic Town: S1E4 (Netflix) with audio description, Mythic Quest: S4E7 (Apple Plus) with audio description, Top Chef: S23E1 (Peacock) with audio description, Grosse Pointe Garden Society: S1E4 (Peacock) with audio description, The Leopard: S1E3 (Netflix) with audio description, Deli Boys: S1E2 (Hulu) with audio description, Grimmsburg: S1E3 (Netflix) with audio description, The KArdashians: S1E7 (Hulu) with audio description, The Daily Show: Monday (Paramount Plus) no audio description, Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney: S1E1 (Netflix) no audio description
Best Episode: Top Chef- I’ve actually watched every episode of this show. It was a staple of my diet when I could see, and it became one of the hardest things to sit through without audio description. When I tuned in to find that the newest season of top Chef had audio description, and it wasn’t the same audio description as The Traitors, I leapt out of my seat, rocketed through the ceiling, and landed some 20 miles away. it was kind of a bitch to get back without my cane, but the power of Top Chef compelled me. We live in a world where ABC is selectively choosing to not have audio description on American Idol, but Bravo, which isn’t even required to produce audio description, is finally getting it for a show that premiered in 2006. Did I maybe watch a more technically proficient program? Sure. Nothing made me happier than seeing audio description on a show I’ve been watching for 19 years.
Runner Up: Toxic Town- the finale to Toxic Town was pretty great. If I hadn’t seen so many strong female lead performances this year, I would think Jodie Whittaker had a shot at an Emmy nomination, but it seems unlikely.
Best Audio Description: Top Chef- Again, I’m just in celebration mode. We went from no audio description, to audio description. Based on the level of description we’re getting, it’ll never appear here again. honestly, the most we can hope for is knowing which chef is talking, and maybe a few other visual cues. It’d be really hard to describe all the dishes and what they look like. Making me hungry through audio description is a new territory yet to be explored.
Runner Up: Deli Boys- I love Dave Wallace on comedies. He’s trying so hard to make Shifting Gears funny, but Deli Boys actually is funny, so he doesn’t have to do as much work, and it feels just right. I will acknowledge, that perhaps, considering the specific makeup of the cast of Deli Boys, that perhaps a different narrator would have been better for representational purposes, but I also know nothing about Dave’s background. But it has crossed my mind in a responsible casting sort of way. But, a different narrator likely wouldn’t lean in as much into comedy as dave does.
Best Performance: Jodie Whittaker (Toxic Town)- I think Iv’e picked her for three of the four episodes, because she’s just that good. When she finds out Tracey was left out of the suit, her reaction is perfect, and later her moment with Tracey is spot on. She also finally gets rid of her trifling ex-husband, which was just a great moment for everyone.
Runner Up: Amy Lou Wood (Toxic Town)- As Tracy, Wood has been a consistent performer, but she really did have the best scene in the finale. Her character, already having been told she can’t be a part of the lawsuit, still testifies because the other mothers deserve justice. She has a moment where she describes her daughter’s short life on this earth, and then the lawyer for the other side objects and says “this lawsuit isn’t about dead kids”, and her clap back to that was brilliant, heartbreaking, and earned her this spot.
Best Moment Of Audio Description: I Heard A voice (Top Chef)- The best moment was hearing a voice. I didn’t switch or check the track, I just started to play the episode, and the voice was there for me. So, for the first time, I believe since I started doing this, the answer to this question was “the moment I heard the narrator’s voice”.
Runner Up: Kendall Loves Everyone (The Kardashians)- So this episode centered around Kim getting the vogue cover over Kendall, and their mother wondering how she was going to break it to the stupid rich influencer. So, she summons Kendall to the house, and she arrives in a Lamborghini, setting the tone for a diva moment, but then she got out of the car, and “hugged a member of the crew”. I even heard her say something like “How ARE you?” Like she was genuinely happy to see this key grip, or best boy, or whatever crew position they had. it was such a random moment of the show, and I just had to pick it. I’ve thought way too much about Kendall just running around and hugging everyone to balance out the fact that her car could put a few kids through college.
Worst Of…- Everyone’s Live with John Mulaney was rough. Like, dude hasn’t shaved in a few days, so it is just a little more than a five o’clock shadow, and more like sandpaper on his face. not long enough to qualify as a beard, but more than just missing one day of shaving. the kind of rough you get when in a car with crappy suspension driving down a gravel or dirt road. Rough. On top of that, no audio descriptionn. it felt like they literally decided that day they were making a TV show, and then did it, and forgot to hire someone to do live audio description. I watched it almost a full week later, so I’m not sure if this will ever get audio description, but aside from a few zingers from Mulaney, this is one of the least funniest things I’ve ever seen. It was painful at times. I think it might be the worst talk show I’ve ever sat through. Tracy Morgan coming out as King Latifha was excruciating, especially as he forgot his lines, and John had to prompt him. The reason this show is live is because it has a call in function, but if we’re blind, and watching it live, I guess we don’t get to call in? I can firmly say that I will not be watching again, unless it gains AD and the company begs me to or something. I just wanted it to be over.
