I watch terrible television so you don’t have to.
Previously On
FBI (CBS)
Season Grade: B-
This season was all over the place. I think the pacing was off but I’m not totally mad about it because it felt like an ensemble. Tiffany and Maggie got arcs. Jubal, Scola, and Isabel got spotlights. And OA was somewhere in between. Something that seems to happen every season even though he’s the most interesting character to me. But flitting around to different plots and povs got in the way of a coherent storyline.
FBI Most Wanted (CBS)
Season Grade: B+
I could not begin to tell you what the thematic point of this season was. Family, maybe? The different ways to build one? But at the end of the day, it finished off the season with a wedding reception jazz procession through the streets and everyone paired off except Barnes. And while Barnes is getting a divorce, which is the opposite of being paired off, she had a lot of great stuff with Remy and with Nina. The relationship work is solid and they do better with the moral ambiguity of the victims and villains in this series than in the OG. I think because Remy is somewhat morally ambiguous himself, while OA, Maggie, Jubal and the rest are very earnest. Anyway, I don’t want to like it better but I do.
Elsbeth (CBS)
Season Grade: B
It’s quirky and I like quirky. It’s weird to have a crime procedural without mystery: the audience is made aware of who the murderer is in all but one episode. But that final episode worked because it broke the rules of the series— and that can also be said of Elsbeth’s characterization. Elsbeth the series broke the rules of Elsbeth the character as laid out in The Good Wife and The Good Fight. And that’s good. Elsbeth’s schtick on The Good Wife/The Good Fight only worked because we got it in small doses so I appreciate that they didn’t rely on it but rather built out both her character and her supporting cast. As a whole, it wasn’t brilliant but it was good. And I like quirky.
9-1-1 (Fox)
Season Grade: B
This show is absurd and it mostly knows it. Banks on it even. But in the middle of all the over-the-top shenanigans, it achieves pathos and catharsis and has a lot of heart. And I approve of giving Malcolm Jamal Warner a job. (I miss The Resident).
Alert Missing Persons Unit (Fox)
Season Grade: B
So, full disclosure, I haven’t seen the last couple of episodes of season two. I’d suffered through the cliffhangers of So Help Me Todd and CSI: Vegas, both canceled, and MPU was still up in the air. It’s now renewed, thankfully, and I will get around to it, but I haven’t.
The ensemble is made up of MESS and the setting reminds me of Cold Case, which I still love, so this series has my heart despite and/or because of its absurdity.
Chicago Med (NBC)
Season Grade: C
I like the focus on Hannah and Archer. I like the new doc. I like that Sharon and Maggie got arcs. But there was nothing at all memorable about this season. It happened. It was fine. I don’t have anything to say.
Law & Order (NBC)
Season Grade: C
The show still thinks it’s the 90s and I want to punch Nolan in the face every week. But Reid Scott and especially Tony Goldwyn brought some new energy. I’m sad to lose Camryn Manheim but the show never deserved her. And I have half a mind to write a fic where Sam snaps and burns the courtroom down. tldr; I’m equally angry about how much I do and don’t care about these characters.
Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Season Grade: C+
I am going to write a whole post about why Olivia Benson is a way better character than she is ever allowed to be so I will keep this short. This season was extremely disjointed. There were So. Many. Threads. That. Went. NOWHERE. And I still don’t know why. I want to know why.
There were some great crumbs. I fully enjoy somewhat unhinged Olivia. I really like Curry. Fin had more to do. I love Amanda. Bruno is adorable. SVU remains my drug of choice. But it was a mess of a season and not in a good way.
Law & Order: Organized Crime (NBC)
Season Grade: A-
OC was messy, too, and the bits and pieces didn’t fully fit together. But the commitment of the actors (literally all of them) plus the brilliance of the production design and the exquisite work of the composer, elevates it to Art. Peak melodrama and high art.
What’s Next?
Star Trek: Prodigy‘s second season drops July 1 on Netflix. Subscribe to Antimatter Pod for our recaps.
I’m watching the new seasons of: House of the Dragon, The Bear, Cobra Kai, and later in the summer Only Murders in the Building and Slow Horses.
I’m planning in-depth posts on: SVU, ER, Arcane, and possibly Battlestar Galactica.