Emmys 2023: What if TV Movies had their own awards? (Key Stats + Personal Ballot)

by Juan Carlos Ojano

TV movies (now that mostly means streaming titles) have returned to favor amongst Emmy voters after a nadir of interest last season. All of the nominees for Outstanding Television Movie have received nominations outside that category - a stark difference from last season. This year, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (8 noms) and Prey (6) lead the pack, with Hocus Pocus 2 (3) and Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas and Fire Island (2 each) trailing behind. Even Boston Strangler got a single nom despite being absent in the Television Movie category. Frankly, this should have been the case for the past few years - especially beginning with the pandemic year/s - since this category has registered a steady uptick of eligible films.

Stats, graphs, and a personal ballot after the jump... 

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TV Review: "Only Murders in the Building" Comes Back With a Vengeance

By: Christopher James

Our favorite podcasting trio return in the second season of Hulu's hit show, "Only Murders in the Building."We should’ve expected Season 2 of Only Murders in the Building to be a huge hit. The Hulu streamer became a four quadrant hit last fall, likely because it smashed together elements from all four quadrants. Older audiences tuned in for the classic pairing of Father of the Bride stars Steve Martin and Martin Short. Selena Gomez helped bring in a younger crowd as the third member of the mystery solving crew. A genuinely compelling mystery ties them together. On paper, it might read like it was made by a committee to appeal to the broadest possible audience. Yet, the series brings it all together through the shared fad for true crime stories and the culture of podcast listeners devoted to the genre.

Season Two of Only Murders in the Building recaptures the magic of the first season while upping the ante...

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Cláudio's Best Shot Pick: Fire Island (2022)

The next episode in our series, 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot,' arrives Thursday night. This week's film is Andrew Ahn's Fire Island, which recently premiered on Hulu. You still have time to participate! In the meantime, here's Cláudio's entry:

For the past decade or so, numerous filmmakers have tried to revive the romantic comedy with varying degrees of success. And yet, it seems that the romcom's heyday will never return. Still, there's plenty of nostalgia for those days gone by when mid-budget projects of this ilk were a mainstay of any studio's output. Nowadays, every such exercise feels like an exception to the rule, a precious rarity, and a throwback. Maybe that's why the modern romcom refuses to stick, as it often comes off as a retrospective homage rather than its own thing. Or else it's too focused on justifying its existence, wanting to appear cool and hip with such alarming vehemence it ends up forgetting the basics that make these movies work.

By centering identities rarely depicted in mainstream cinema, appealing to classic literature tropes, and getting a director with a strong point of view, Fire Island avoids most of these pitfalls. It succeeds where others have stumbled, and even if it doesn't revive the romcom's Golden Age, it's pleasant summer entertainment…

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Review: The Girl From Plainville (Hulu)

By Christopher James

Elle Fanning tackles the role of Michelle Carter, the teen who convinced her boyfriend to take his own life, in "The Girl From Plainville."The trend of documentaries getting turned into narrative miniseries continues with The Girl from Plainview on Hulu. The case of The Commonwealth vs. Michelle Carter has been widely reported on through documentary and deep dive articles. The story touches on so many hot button items: teenage suicide, social media, bullying in relationships and whether one can prosecute someone over texts. 

So does the new Hulu series have more to say on the topic that has already been said?

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Capsule Review: Tech Triple Threat - "Super-Pumped," "The Dropout" and "WeCrashed"

by Christopher James

Which new show about the rise and fall of a major tech company prevails in the end?Do you ever get deja vu while watching a TV or movie? Trends always lag a year or two when it comes to pop culture. More so than ever, the minute a story or documentary takes off, production companies are working on the scripted version of the story. In the course of a month, there will be three separate miniseries dramatizing famous tech flameouts from the last decade. Showtime was the first out the gate with Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber, which has already been renewed for season two, centering around Facebook. Next up was Hulu with The Dropout, which cast Amanda Seyfriend as Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. By the end of the month, Apple TV+ will premiere WeCrashed, where Oscar winners Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway star as the charismatic couple behind WeWork, Adam and Rebekah Neumann.

It’s easy to make comparisons when so many similar series come out in quick succession. Between the three shows, there’s a clear winner and clear loser. Which is which? Read on to find out...

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