SpoilerTV's Weekly Round Table: 95th Edition

Hello and welcome to a new edition of SpoilerTV's Weekly Round Table! Joining us this week is popcultureguy (PC), SarahR (SR), Alison D (AD), Prpleight (JH), Jamie Coudeville (JC), Ellys Cartin (EC), Giulia Del Buono (GB), KathM (KM), and myself (ZF). You just have to sit back enjoy the read and join the discussion in the comment section down below.

January is bringing back an onslaught of returning shows. What early 2021 show are you most excited for and why?

popcultureguy: The early 2021 shows I’m most excited about are all in the superhero space. After a year of no MCU content, I’m super excited to finally clap eyes on WandaVision this month and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in March. And I’m intrigued to see how Batwoman handles the transition to a new lead character/leading lady when season two begins in January.

SarahR: Prodigal Son!!! I can't wait for this show to start up again. Until it starts up, I will be watching Cobra Kai season 3. There are loads of returning and new shows I'm looking forward to! I won't name them as it'll take too long.

Alison D: I’m looking forward to the return of quite a few shows. I binged Season 3 of Cobra Kai and definitely enjoyed it, but I also found myself wondering when people were going to call the police. There are so many returning shows I'm anticipating, including The Rookie, Prodigal Son, Dickinson, 911 Lone Star, Legacies, Finding Your Roots, and Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous. It’s an eclectic mix. As far as new there’s Hemingway on PBS, Secrets of Sulphur Springs on Disney, Clarice on CBS, and Netflix’s History of Swear Words. I’m enthusiastic about swear words. A misguided teacher once assigned a paper on the etymology of your favorite word, I took full advantage. And since I’m reviewing it, there’s the CW’s Walker.

Prpleight: One of the things I ended up doing during quarantine was watching shows that I'd dismissed during their original broadcast. Two of them actually ended up getting me hooked. The Charmed pilot hadn't impressed me. I didn't like any of the characters, the story wasn't interesting and I deemed it not worth my time. I had the same reaction to Prodigal Son, with the addition of not liking the lead actor. I started watching Charmed at episode 6 and got hooked. So I'm looking forward to its return. I picked up Prodigal Son, pretty much where I'd left off, and eventually got hooked on that one as well.

For the rest of my shows, it's more a matter of feeling like I'm moving closer to normal. I'm a TVPhile so, since I was a teenager, I have looked forward to the start of the fall TV season. (My second favorite season.. 1) Halloween, 2) Start of the Fall TV Season and 3) Christmas. LOL) I was actually surprised to see new show comments turn up on SpoilerTV. I'm still feeling slow to get back into the grove of watching TV and getting into the spirit of writing my reviews.

I am excited about the prospect of firing up my DVR after work and having a ton of new stuff to watch.

Jamie Coudeville: There are only a handful that I'm really excited about. Dickinson is probably at the top of that list. Also Legacies, despite it's not so stellar storytelling at times, I'm still excited to start reviewing it again. While it's not exactly a returning show, I am very excited for WandaVision even though I have no idea what to expect. And, before I forget, I'm also excited about A Discovery of Witches (which I started while everything else was gone).

Ellys Cartin: The January lineup alone flooded me with excitement. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Dickinson, A Discovery of Witches, The Resident, and BOTH 9-11 shows. Those excellent returning shows aren’t even the tip of the iceberg! New seasons of All-American, Nancy Drew, and Search Party are on their way. Netflix’s animated hits Carmen SanDiego and Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous premiere their respective final and second seasons. January may be gloomy on the outside, but we are truly getting top shelf quality shows to keep us company. Coincidentally, these are also some of TV’s most colorful, well-lit shows too. We’re in for a treat.

Giulia Del Buono: I'm pretty excited to see the new season of New Amsterdam and both 911 shows.

KathM: Holly Hunter and Kyra Sedgwick are performers I’d watch doing pretty much anything, and they both have shows coming up. Mr. Mayor, which stars Ted Danson and Hunter, looks like it has a good ensemble cast but I’m not overly excited about the premise. But really, whatever, give me Holly Hunter. I’m even less sure about Call Your Mother, largely due to the premise which just sounds stupid, but I know Sedgwick has great comedic timing and I’ve missed her on tv so I’m willing to give it a shot. I loved The Equalizer as a kid, and I can’t wait to see how the reboot stands up to the original. But none these compare to the promised-by-the-producers first quarter airing of the newest season of Line of Duty! This is easily one of my favorite shows and I can’t wait to watch the newest season.

2020 brought about a strange era of television that we'll likely see the effects of for years to come. This includes the Zoom episodes, sudden finales, and script changes to accommodate COVID restrictions. What are some specific moments you think will be interesting to look back at?

Alison D: None of my shows featured Zoom episodes, but COVID-19 did cause some unintended season finales. I didn’t really notice at the time. I was too busy wondering how long the world would be turned upside down—I didn’t think it would be this long. So, I think I’m more interested in what comes next for television. Questions like: What changes in filming or storylines will I notice from the pre-COVID era? How will networks handle scheduling with so many delayed premieres or will it force a new model? One change, on the few shows that have returned, is the characters wearing masks, which likely serves the purpose of protecting cast and crew while reflecting the real world. And then there are the shows that have made the choice to directly address the pandemic, NCIS: New Orleans comes to mind. I’m one of those people that doesn’t really want to see the pandemic addressed as we’re still living it. For me, it robs television of its escapist nature and every mention feels too soon.

Ellys Cartin: I have never enjoyed an Emmy awards ceremony as much as 2020’s. With that being said, most of the scripted TV adjustments to COVID-19 didn’t translate well, whether it was the multiple much too soon takes on our changing world or the abrupt interruptions to ongoing storylines. The multiple renewal reversals are an especially sharp cut. The Fall 2020 shows with their widely varying approaches and consistency to addressing the changes have been their own headache. There were things I wish I could have blamed on COVID-19, like Killing Eve s sharp decline in quality.

What were some of the highlights of 2020? Let's try to look a bit on the bright side!

popcultureguy: It was so early in 2020 that it’s hard to remember that’s when it happened, but I thought the series finale of The Good Place did a good job sticking the landing.

SarahR: I got the chance to watch a lot more TV than usual!

Alison D: I’ve always considered myself a pretty regular streamer, but 2020 found me turning to it more than ever. I had the opportunity to catch up on all those past must see series that people rave about, as well as binge all the new offerings. And there were some great new offerings, like The Wilds, The Queen’s Gambit, Julie & The Phantoms (where’s our renewal Netflix?), Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Central Park, Normal People, Blood & Water, Get Even, I May Destroy You, Unsolved Mysteries, Dash & Lily, and The Flight Attendant. I mean there were also a few duds—no names but maybe better writing and less melodrama between the nearly gratuitous nudity and pas de deux—but everyone needs a “head scratching, is this as bad as I think it is, what the actual hell, let me find something good to say about it” show in their life.

Prpleight: One of the bummers about writing reviews for the site (for me..it's my process) is that I have given some of my viewing time to rewatching the episodes I am reviewing. So I really enjoyed being able to watch (and re-watch) some stuff I hadn't been able to find time for. I also really enjoyed discovering new shows. I already mentioned Charmed and Prodigal Son. I also discovered The Hardy Boys, Julie and the Phantoms.

Jamie Coudeville: Agents of SHIELD's final season was a major highlight for me. I miss the show already. A highlight for me personally, was that I managed to catch up with a lot of shows (which I may regret in the coming months). I also started a TVD and TO rewatch, which I was in desperate need of.

Ellys Cartin: Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult’s performances in The Great! Absolutely wonderful comedies like Upload, Dead to Me, and Ted Lasso. An incredible second season of Kingdom. An unexpected Walking Dead renaissance (not looking at you, World Beyond, although I appreciate you are here to usher in the endgame). Enola Holmes!!!

Giulia Del Buono: I rewatched a lot of shows that I used to watch and love, but I would say that it's I May Destroy You that totally.... destroyed me. Wow, what a show! Michaela Coel is a genius, truly. The way that the show is written is unlike anything I've seen before. I watched it the first time and then I felt the urge to watch it again. She really created something special, for here to stay.

What are you looking forward to in 2021?

SarahR: I'm hoping that there is a lot of things to look forward to in the new year, nothing specific comes to mind though. I'm mainly hoping none of the shows I watch are cancelled.

Alison D: Other than a return to normal, the new one, on screen and off, I’m really looking forward to the streaming services continuing to serve up quality television. And unlikely as it is, I’d love to see some of the rescinded renewals reconsidered. Here’s to 2021.

Prpleight: I'm looking forward to being able to worry less. Television-wise, I'm looking forward to seeing the planned previous season finales for a couple of shows. Nancy Drew in particular.

Jamie Coudeville: Well, I think this first half of 2021 is going to be insane TV show wise. Usually our shows are more spread out but this is going to be a lot at once so is it bad if I say I'm looking forward to the summer? I do look forward to all the shows that had their seasons and storylines cut short, finally be able to finish them. And I am definitely looking forward to all those Marvel Disney+ shows that are coming our way. I think when we do our yearly summaries at the end of 2021, it's going to be a very interesting one.

Ellys Cartin: Top new shows to keep on your radar. Wandavision. Shadow and Bone. Nine Perfect Strangers. I’m also excited for the special episode of Kingdom and hope that a third season renewal follows.

Giulia Del Buono: Finding Alice on ITV and It's A Sin on Channel 4 are high on my list, but I'm also pretty psyched for the Gossip Girl reboot. I'm intrigued by the cast and excited to see what direction the show will take, now that it's set in a completely different era from the original.

KathM: Travel! Travel, travel, travel! just want to see a different part of the world (or just get out of the city) and see how their world works now. My husband’s family is In the UK, so when we can finally get there I have no doubt things will be very different.

That wraps up another round table! Feel free to drop your thoughts in the comments below. See you next week!

You can email zoe@spoilertv.com if you have any question suggestions.