AFI's Top 10 TV Shows of 2016 Include 'The Crown,' 'Stranger Things'

Not a lot of surprise choices in this list of the best shows of the year from the AFI, but I can't agree on the placement of HBO's The Night Of. That one started off stunningly well and ended hugely disappointing. Everything else is aces, though. At least the ones I've seen, which is all but The Crown (need to get started on that one) and This is Us (NBC is basically dead to me, so I don't know if I'll ever watch anything on that network ever again. At least not until they cancel The Apprentice).

• The Americans
• Atlanta
• Better Call Saul
• The Crown
• Game of Thrones
• The Night Of
• The People vs. O.J. Simpson
• Stranger Things
• This is Us
• Veep

WGA TV Nominees Include 'Stranger Things,' 'This is Us' 'The Americans'

The Writers Guild announced its 2016 nominees today, and the choices are all pretty stellar. I haven't checked out the zeitgeisty Westworld yet, and I also haven't seen This is Us, but Stranger Things, The Americans and Better Call Saul all boast some great writing.

DRAMA SERIES

• The Americans
• Better Call Saul
• Game of Thrones
• Stranger Things
• Westworld

COMEDY SERIES

• Atlanta
• Silicon Valley
• Transparent
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
• Veep

NEW SERIES

• Atlanta
• Better Things
• Stranger Things
• This is Us
• Westworld

LONG FORM ORGINAL

• American Crime
• Confirmation
• Harley and the Davidsons
• Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge and Michel'le

LONG FORM ADAPTED

• 11.22.63
• American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson
• Madoff
• The Night Of
• Roots

Florence Henderson 1934-2016

Known the world over as Carol Brady, Florence Henderson passed away last night at the age of 82, from sudden heart failure. Originally a stage actress in the 1950's, she then appeared in various variety specials on television throughout the 1960's and became the first woman to guest host The Tonight Show in 1962, before Johnny Carson began his 30 year reign. But of course her defining role, the part that turned her into a TV icon, was as the "lovely lady bringing up three very lovely girls" on ABC's The Brady Bunch (1969-1974), the sitcom whose cultural impact grew on a mythical scale in syndication for generations of kids. As we all know, the show's legacy lived on through reruns and reunion shows and movie reboots long past its original run, and Henderson becomes the third member of the original cast to pass away, after Robert Reed's death from AIDS complications in 1992, and Ann B. Davis's passing just two years ago. Only the six Brady kids now remain.

Opening credits to The Brady Bunch Season 4:

New Shows Get Recognized in 2016 Critics Choice TV Nominations

Not a whole lot of surprising nods this year, a lot of picks matching up with the Emmys. But there is some new stuff in the mix, like The Crown, Stranger Things, Atlanta and Westworld. I'm happy about the two Outlander stars of course (I don't think they've actually been acknowledged by the critics before). And Samantha Bee needs to win here and every other award for talk show very easily. Don't know how I ever lived without her.

BEST COMEDY SERIES
Atlanta – FX
Black-ish – ABC
Fleabag – Amazon
Modern Family – ABC
Silicon Valley – HBO
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Netflix
Veep – HBO

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ellie Kemper – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Netflix
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Veep – HBO
Kate McKinnon – Saturday Night Live – NBC
Tracee Ellis Ross – Black-ish – ABC
Phoebe Waller-Bridge – Fleabag – Amazon
Constance Wu – Fresh Off the Boat – ABC

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Anderson – Black-ish – ABC
Will Forte – The Last Man on Earth – FOX
Donald Glover – Atlanta – FX
Bill Hader – Documentary Now! – IFC
Patrick Stewart – Blunt Talk – Starz
Jeffrey Tambor – Transparent – Amazon

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Julie Bowen – Modern Family – ABC
Anna Chlumsky – Veep – HBO
Allison Janney – Mom – CBS
Jane Krakowski – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Netflix
Judith Light – Transparent – Amazon
Allison Williams – Girls – HBO

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Louie Anderson – Baskets – FX
Andre Braugher – Brooklyn Nine-Nine – FOX
Tituss Burgess – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Netflix
Ty Burrell – Modern Family – ABC
Tony Hale – Veep – HBO
T.J. Miller – Silicon Valley – HBO

BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin – Saturday Night Live – NBC
Christine Baranski – The Big Bang Theory – CBS
Larry David – Saturday Night Live – NBC
Lisa Kudrow – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Netflix
Liam Neeson – Inside Amy Schumer – Comedy Central

BEST ANIMATED SERIES
Archer – FX
Bob’s Burgers – FOX
BoJack Horseman – Netflix
Son of Zorn – FOX
South Park – Comedy Central
The Simpsons – FOX

BEST REALITY COMPETITION SERIES
America’s Got Talent – NBC
MasterChef Junior – FOX
RuPaul’s Drag Race – Logo
Skin Wars – GSN
The Amazing Race – CBS
The Voice – NBC

BEST STRUCTURED REALITY SERIES
Chopped – Food Network
Inside The Actors Studio – Bravo
Penn & Teller: Fool Us – The CW
Project Runway – Lifetime
Shark Tank – ABC
Undercover Boss – CBS

BEST UNSTRUCTURED REALITY SERIES
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown – CNN
Chrisley Knows Best – USA Network
Deadliest Catch – Discovery
Ice Road Truckers – History
Intervention – A&E
Naked and Afraid – Discovery

BEST TALK SHOW
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee – TBS
Jimmy Kimmel Live! – ABC
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – HBO
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah – Comedy Central
The Late Late Show with James Corden – CBS
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – NBC

BEST REALITY SHOW HOST
Ted Allen – Chopped – Food Network
Tom Bergeron – Dancing with the Stars – ABC
Anthony Bourdain – Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown – CNN
Nick Cannon – America’s Got Talent – NBC
Carson Daly – The Voice – NBC
RuPaul – RuPaul’s Drag Race – Logo

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones – HBO
Kit Harington – Game of Thrones – HBO
John Lithgow – The Crown – Netflix
Mandy Patinkin – Homeland – Showtime
Christian Slater – Mr. Robot – USA Network
Jon Voight – Ray Donovan – Showtime

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Christine Baranski – The Good Wife – CBS
Emilia Clarke – Game of Thrones – HBO
Lena Headey – Game of Thrones – HBO
Thandie Newton – Westworld – HBO
Maura Tierney – The Affair – Showtime
Constance Zimmer – UnREAL – Lifetime

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sam Heughan – Outlander – Starz
Rami Malek – Mr. Robot – USA Network
Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul – AMC
Matthew Rhys – The Americans – FX
Liev Schreiber – Ray Donovan – Showtime
Kevin Spacey – House of Cards – Netflix

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Caitriona Balfe – Outlander – Starz
Viola Davis – How to Get Away with Murder – ABC
Tatiana Maslany – Orphan Black – BBC America
Keri Russell – The Americans – FX
Evan Rachel Wood – Westworld – HBO
Robin Wright – House of Cards – Netflix

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul – AMC
Game of Thrones – HBO
Mr. Robot – USA Network
Stranger Things – Netflix
The Crown – Netflix
This Is Us – NBC
Westworld – HBO

BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A DRAMA SERIES
Mahershala Ali – House of Cards – Netflix
Lisa Bonet – Ray Donovan – Showtime
Ellen Burstyn – House of Cards – Netflix
Michael J. Fox – The Good Wife – CBS
Jared Harris – The Crown – Netflix
Jeffrey Dean Morgan – The Walking Dead – AMC

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
All the Way – HBO
Confirmation – HBO
Killing Reagan – National Geographic
Roots – History
The Night Manager – AMC
The People v. O.J. Simpson – FX

BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Bryan Cranston – All the Way – HBO
Benedict Cumberbatch – Sherlock: The Abominable Bride – PBS
Cuba Gooding Jr. – The People v. O.J. Simpson – FX
Tom Hiddleston – The Night Manager – AMC
Tim Matheson – Killing Reagan – National Geographic
Courtney B. Vance – The People v. O.J. Simpson – FX

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Sterling K. Brown – The People v. O.J. Simpson – FX
Lane Garrison – Roots – History
Frank Langella – All the Way – HBO
Hugh Laurie – The Night Manager – AMC
John Travolta – The People v. O.J. Simpson – FX
Forest Whitaker – Roots – History

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Olivia Colman – The Night Manager – AMC
Felicity Huffman – American Crime – ABC
Cynthia Nixon – Killing Reagan – National Geographic
Sarah Paulson – The People v. O.J. Simpson – FX
Lili Taylor – American Crime – ABC
Kerry Washington – Confirmation – HBO

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Elizabeth Debicki – The Night Manager – AMC
Regina King – American Crime – ABC
Sarah Lancashire – The Dresser – Starz
Melissa Leo – All the Way – HBO
Anna Paquin – Roots – History
Emily Watson – The Dresser – Starz

'Atlanta' is recognized for comedy by the critics

Preview for New Season of 'Homeland' Sees Carrie Back in New York

UGH. I still watch Homeland and I'm here for the new season, but man. This is going to be just fucking bitter, given how it's partly about protecting the first female president-elect of the U.S. between her election and inauguration. They were hedging their bets on topicality as always and now it's going to leave a bad taste in my mouth. Will I ever see that historic day? Not feeling very hopeful at the moment. America thinks women are such trash that we elected a racist, unqualified sexual predator over the most qualified person in history. Well, it wasn't the majority anyway. Most americans did make the right choice but our voices were not heard. Apparently we don't count. Homeland can have its fun living in a fantasy world where women are respected enough for this to happen.

RECAP: SNL 10/22 "Tom Hanks"

It's Tom Hanks, guys! One of the all-time great SNL hosts is back for his ninth crack at it, which means it's a better episode than last week's, almost automatically. There's something about the innate joy in Tom that makes you smile just watching him host this thing, and he's somebody who actually does elevate whatever kind of sketch he's in, so it was a good night to have him.

COLD OPEN: The hosts don't usually show up in the opening, but when you've got Tom Hanks and it's the final presidential debate, then why not? He gets to play Chris Wallace, who moderated the last of the shitshows, and Alec and Kate bring their A-game to the final showdown, where Trump's own words get incorporated into the sketch almost verbatim. Kate's Hillary gets some great moments here as well, promising to feast on Trump this time around and rattling off her credentials with glee. I don't know what they're going to do with Alec now that the debates are over, but I have to assume we'll see him again as Trump at least a couple more times before America finally passes this orange kidney stone. It's getting ever closer, people.

MONOLOGUE: Tom puts on a sweater and gives a lecture to the country in his role as America's "dad." It's pretty funny, as he tells us it's normal for the complexion to keep getting darker and that we're a lot "gayer" than we used to be, too (lol).

BLACK JEOPARDY: I normally don't think this sketch is all that funny, but this one works, solely because of Tom as Doug, a redneck Trump supporter who actually knows the answers and has a lot in common with the contestants. That is...until we get to the Black Lives Matter category. I liked this skit because it felt like it had a real point to make, which is unusual in the writing for most SNL sketches. Nice job.

HALLOWEEN BLOCK PARTY: Tom and Cecily are a couple who puts on a show for their neighbors that they've worked on for a year, which basically is just them belting out songs with gusto. I haven't seen Tom really go for it in the singing before, but this is pretty stupid. 

BROKEN: A spoof of 30-minute shows that qualify as comedies even though they're dramas. This is targeting Transparent, with everyone in tears and moaning about their lives, and ads running over it to point out how "funny" it is. It's spot on, I have to say (and I say that as a Transparent fan).

FLOORS OF FRIGHTS: Kate and Beck are a couple being scared in a haunted house elevator ride, except for Tom, whose character David Pumpkins is a random dancer in the middle of the scares. This didn't make me laugh, aside from Tom's going for it crazy eyes look, but I have a feeling some people will like it. It's one of those weird characters that some go for and some don't. I didn't this time.

UPDATE: More debate jokes from Jost and Che, who I cannot stand much of the time, and tonight was one of the worst. Ugh. Che especially, go fuck yourself with your overly privileged asshole or at least do some homework on who Hillary Clinton is, you ignorant shit. How I wish Samantha Bee could be on every one of these lame shows. Leslie comes on to do a stand-up bit defending herself from the hack she suffered over the summer- it's probably her finest moment, given how awful and gross that attack was. Then Cecily comes on as the dreaded (for me) Girl at a Party, but come on- let's have the funnier version of this character instead, which is Drunk Uncle. Where's he been this season?

SULLY: Tom plays Sully Sullenberger, who wants to get back into piloting, but is forced to be an assistant to the new captain, played by Alec Baldwin! He annoys him with his constant commenting on his celebrity and trying to take over the plane, which is kind funny. Guess Alec stuck around because he wanted to do a skit with Tom Hanks. Who wouldn't?

A GIRL'S HALLOWEEN: A pre-taped bit where Vanessa, Aidy and Cecily are dressing up cute for Halloween and wanting to just grab dinner in a low key girl's night out, but wind up getting hammered, wreaking havoc in a restaurant and making fools of themselves on the street in "before" and "after" cutaways. I don't usually like a lot of these but for some reason I actually kind of liked this one. Shrug.

AMERICA'S FUNNIEST PETS: Tom does his Ron Howard impression for the pet show host, while Kate and Cecily come on as the French commentators who go super dark, murderous and suicidal on the pet videos. They did this one before, it's good for a couple laughs. 

Well, Tom Hanks elevates quite a bit and pretty much makes you smile at anything he's in, so I would say this episode gets a solid B. It wasn't overly hilarious but it didn't have anything painful either, and a great host makes it easy and fun to watch at least. This was the rare fourth episode in a row for the show, as it takes next week off and comes back on the 5th with Benedict Cumberbatch (!) hosting, for the last episode before the election. Whew, thank god we're almost there! The country will hopefully be breathing a huge sigh of relief after this year and a half long nightmare.

Breathtaking New Footage Revealed in 'Planet Earth II' Trailer

Aaaaahhhh! I can't wait for this!!! I may be the only person to geek out over a multi-part nature documentary, but when it's the sequel to 2006's Planet Earth, one of the best documentaries I've ever seen, I'm gonna be there on day one, people. Narrated once again by David Attenborough and with a score from Hans Zimmer, this is airing on the BBC next month. 

RECAP: SNL 10/15 "Emily Blunt"

Oof. Emily Blunt has the unfortunate task of hosting a really terrible episode, as the writing staff fails again, but will probably, as usual, make some waves due to the ongoing Trump fiasco as he continues dragging the country through hell on his way to defeat. It’s not like Emily’s a bad host exactly, but she doesn’t leave much of a mark.

COLD OPEN: We start with the town hall debate, taking place in the wake of the Trump tape and the multiple accusations of sexual assault facing the orange asshole. The skit isn’t as good as the first debate one was, although they do get points for ridiculing the town hall questioners and showing Trump stalking Hillary around the stage like the shark from Jaws (all I think was missing was to have her whip around and spray him with mace). 

MONOLOGUE: Emily comes out and leads a singalong of ‘C’mon, Get Happy’ with promises of fun, cookies and puppies handed out to random audience members. It’s fun.

ESCORTS: A terrible sketch where Emily and Leslie are weirdo, high priced escorts who have crazy demands for their clients (the two new guys whose names I have not learned yet- one of them is Mikey, but I don’t know who’s who). This isn’t funny at all, and yet again I can’t believe this skit is what they chose to start out with.

MELANIANADE: This will get the most attention, as Cecily co-wrote a dead on spoof of Beyonce’s ‘Sorry’ from Lemonade, with all the Trump women getting in on the action to diss the idiot in charge. Cecily’s Melania, Emily is Ivanka, Vanessa is Tiffany, Kate is KellyAnne, and Sasheer is Omarosa (lol). The funniest part to me was Beck’s cameo as Mike Pence, and Alec shows up at the end as Trump.

SHORT FILM FESTIVAL: A parody of a film festival Q&A, as the entire cast is involved in the pretentious short film starring Emily, leaving Vanessa as the sole audience member to ask everyone questions. I guess it makes a point about the annoying nature of some film festivals, but it’s not that funny and way too long.

CHONK: An ad for “average” size clothing for women intended to make everyone feel good, but advertising itself as “chonk,” which pisses off the models. It’s kinda okay, I guess, but the bar feels low tonight.

UPDATE: What else can we start with but multiple Trump jokes? If it’s any consolation this time, I think Jost and Che have had it and slam him hard on the many, many women he’s assaulted, as more seem to come forward every ten minutes. It’s starting to feel oppressive, and I can’t fucking wait for this nightmare election to be over. Kate comes on as the Russian peasant woman to comment on newly damaged US-Russian relations (she’s good), and Vanessa then does a bit as the Disney news kid, on all the assault stuff of course. Update may be the best part of the show today.

BURGER KING: And it’s followed by one of the worst skits the show has ever done. A party van pulls up to a drive thru and annoys Pete by having a different psycho greet him in every window of the vehicle and not order anything. I really can’t describe how awful (and long) this sketch is. Words fail me. It’s horrendous. NEVER bring this back, please.

THE SINK: A quick short with Emily doing a voiceover for a gaudy, weirdly shaped sink that feels out of place next to normal looking bathroom appliances. Odd, but at least there’s kind of a joke here, unlike the last one.

HONDA ROBOTS: A car exhibition that has Emily as one of two server robots who keep malfunctioning and annoying people in the crowd. Eh, this one’s lame, but Emily goes for it. I guess it’s not that bad, but it’s not hilarious either.

MELANIA MOMENTS: These are pretty solid, as in this one Melania fantasizes about having the maid replace her and “lie under Donald” so she can escape to the outside. Lol.

BRITISH BAKE-OFF: A spoof of the popular British reality show (which I have never seen, but I understand it’s a phenomenon in the UK), with Emily and Cecily as rude cockney contestants who don’t bake their cake right. It’s not that funny, to be honest. I think this must have been done as a nod to Emily, who’s probably a fan of the real show, but again, I have no idea what the references are, so it’s pretty much lost on me.

HAMPSTERS: Now this is an 11:55 skit alright. A totally off the wall spoof of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf set in a hampster cage, with Kate doing the Liz Taylor part in full hampster costume. I think this must have been Kate’s idea actually, and it’s SO weird that it almost kind of amuses me. Again, at least there’s something of a joke here.

So, this episode was really not good overall. It had the debate, it had another good Melania moment and it had the Lemonade spoof. Everything else was forgettable or really painful, and Emily didn’t elevate anything, unfortunately. I have to give it a D. I’ll be back next time with Tom Hanks, returning for his ninth hosting stint! See you guys then.

'The Affair' Returns for Season 3 in November

This is another one of my addictions that I'm looking forward to returning on November 20th. The second season was just as good, if not better than the first, so I'm excited for it to come back, even though more focus on Noah being in prison doesn't look all that intriguing (the juicy parts of this show is everything not involving the murder stuff). Still, this remains a highly addictive, absorbing soap opera that manages somehow, not to feel like one. 

Season 3 of 'Black Mirror' Comes to Netflix

If you haven't watched this show, I urge you to check it out now. It's The Twilight Zone for the 21st century and dare I say it, just as good. Season 3 dropped on Netflix yesterday, so if you aren't being blocked from the website by cyberattacks, drop what you're doing and tune in. It's amazing.