📺 Get the cornstarch...
The plot thickens.
Greetings. A lot of network shows are back for the second halves of their seasons this week, including Grey’s Anatomy, which we honestly didn’t realize was still on air until writing this week’s newsletter. Just us?
In today’s edition:
Jean-Ralphio as a singing murder suspect
Staring directly into camera and saying “wooder”
Climate denying realtors
Only Murders in the South Pole
— Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen
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Take your pick
We each choose a recent-ish show to review and feature every week.
If your problem with murder mysteries is that they aren’t funny enough, try… The Afterparty
Keywords: outlandish, murder mystery, comedy
Watch if you like: Search Party, Only Murders in the Building, Community
Jess’s Rating: B
Who killed Dave Franco at a high school reunion afterparty? Tiffany Haddish investigates a suspect list that includes Sam Richardson (aka Richard Splett from Veep), Ilana Glazer (of Broad City fame), Ben Schwartz (Jean-Ralphio from Parks and Rec), and a handful of other actors that will have you pulling up IMDB to figure out what sitcom you know them from. In other words, I’m obviously watching this show for the cast.
The underlying premise here isn’t new. A “locked-room mystery” is a common trope that involves a murder that could have only been committed by a known set of people based on the setting. Think Murder on the Orient Express or Knives Out. But the execution here is original: each episode is from the perspective of a different suspect, and each is in the style of a different movie genre. Sam Richardson’s episode feels like a rom-com movie, and Ben Schwartz’s feels like a movie musical, and so on.
Listen, there’s nothing I like more than a murder mystery, except a good sitcom. Put them both together and what’s not to like? It’s not groundbreaking and it’s not as funny as the sitcoms that these actors are known for, but it’s a zany good time.
Length: ~40-min runtime, 6 of 8 episodes in Season 1 are available now with new episodes released on Fridays
Watch on: Apple TV+
If you thought Parks and Rec was great but could’ve featured more hoagies, try… Abbott Elementary
Keywords: workplace comedy, mockumentary, heartwarming
Watch if you like: Parks and Recreation, The Office, It’s Always Sunny
Jenni’s Rating: A
Guys, this show is going to be big, mark my words. My elevator pitch for Abbott Elementary is that it’s basically Parks and Rec but set in an underfunded Philadelphia public school following a group of teachers and staff who are mostly doing their best.
Quinta Brunson stars as Janine, an obsessively optimistic second-grade teacher determined to work around budget cuts to help her students succeed. She’s supported by an incredibly strong ensemble cast who all somehow seem multifaceted and made me care about them within the first 22 minute episode. I wish I could say something great about every one of them but it would make this review too long, so honorable mention goes out to Lisa Ann Walter (aka Chessie from Parent Trap!?!) as Melissa Schemmenti, the South Philly Italian American teacher who always “knows a guy”.
It’s generally hard for a show to make me laugh out loud, but this one did. Many times. It could be that I find the constant Philly references more amusing than the next guy but, hey. Despite its slightly depressing critique of the very real issues in the American public school system, this show is empathetic and lighthearted and funny. Go watch it please.
Length: 22-minute runtime, 1 season / 9 episodes
Watch on: Hulu, ABC
We watched so you don’t have to
Where we feature a show that you may have been tempted to check out, but we’re here to tell you…it might not be worth it. 🤷♀️
Selling Tampa
Keywords: reality, drama, real estate (sort of)
Similar to: Selling Sunset, Real Housewives
Jenni’s Rating: D-
So you liked Selling Sunset and thought you’d give the Florida-based spinoff a try. I have to strongly suggest you reconsider.
While the setup is there, the followthrough is simply not. The personalities and luxury homes are just as big as those in the original California edition — that’s not the issue. The biggest problem in my eyes is that the show is called Selling Tampa and I don’t think I’ve seen a single house sold. The only “house” I remember them selling is 1) not in Tampa and 2) just a plot of land, not a house at all. Half the appeal of its predecessor show was the drama involved in staging a house and wooing the right buyers and closing a deal!!
Also (and this might just be a me thing, but) with so many mentions of “desirable waterfront properties” I absolutely expected at least one conversation to be about the fact that the Tampa shoreline will likely be, I don’t know, slightly more underwater soon? Say…three feet by 2040?
This show is heavy on interpersonal drama and focuses far less on the things that I want in my reality television: selling homes and climate change. I jest, but If you’re itching for a new reality show and don’t really care about the premise, go for it, I guess. Maybe you’ll like it just fine. But if you’re like me and were hoping to see more luxury homes actually get sold, skip.
— Jenni
Length: 30-min runtime, 1 season / 8 episodes
Watch on: Netflix
Previously On
Where we highlight shows that have long-since ended or been canceled, that are well-worth digging back up.
The Head (2021)
Keywords: survival thriller, mystery, suspenseful, violent, dark
Watch if you like: Sharp Objects, The Alienist, The Fall, Agatha Christie stories
Jess’s Rating: A
Another locked-room mystery (see The Afterparty above), but this time without an ounce of humor. The Head is both aesthetically and thematically dark, ominous, twisted, and doesn’t shy away from violence.
The show is set in Antarctica at a research station where a team of scientists is trying to stop global warming. In the opening scene, we see the “summer team” depart at the start of winter, leaving the winter team behind. When the summer team’s head honcho returns at the turn of the season, he finds his wife missing and basically everyone else dead (the bloody and definitely-not-an-accident kind of dead). Throughout the rest of the show, he tries to figure out what happened to them.
This is a murder mystery but it’s also a survival thriller, and that amps up the anxiety you’ll feel while watching it. I’d recommend this one as a binge watch for this winter when you’ve got a weekend day with no plans. It unravels at a consistent pace and there’s enough twisty moments to keep you riveted.
— Jess
Length: ~1 hr runtime, mini-series / 6 episodes
Watch on: HBO Max
Your shows, returned:
Law and Order, Season 21: Premieres tonight on NBC
Station 19, Season 5: Returns from hiatus tonight on ABC
Grey’s Anatomy, Season 18: Returns from hiatus tonight on ABC
Legacies, Season 4: Returns from hiatus tonight on The CW
Big Sky, Season 2: Returns from hiatus tonight on ABC
Killing Eve, Season 4: Premieres February 27 on BBC America / AMC+
American Idol, Season 20: Premieres February 27 on ABC
Better Things, Season 5: Premieres February 28 on FX / Hulu
Top Chef, Season 19: Premieres March 3 on Bravo
Star Trek: Picard, Season 2: Premieres March 3 on Paramount+
The Problem with Jon Stewart, Season 1: Returns from hiatus March 3 on Apple TV+