foolish watcher

Have you watched ‘Midnight Mass’ yet? Because I really want to talk about ‘Midnight Mass.’

Therese Odell
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PLOT TWIST! Instead of a cute doggo, today, I present to you what I can only assume is a demon in dog form:

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While simultaneously trying to catch up with the dodos on Bachelor in Paradise and American Horror Story, this weekend I binged Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass on Netflix. My 30-second review is that if you’re a fan of his other Netflix series, The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, definitely give this a looksee — but don’t expect ghosts. And even if horror isn’t your thing, you still might give this a peek; in addition to its scares, it serves a very resonant character drama. (But be prepared for a lot of monologuing.)

Set on a remote island that has seen better days, the story of Midnight Mass is set into motion when a charismatic and mysterious priest arrives to replace the community’s elderly Monsignor. And then the miracles begin. Though not related to The Haunting series, Midnight Mass is similarly emotionally resonant as Flanagan’s previous shows, and also filled with big ideas, this time about addiction, faith, forgiveness, redemption, and the very nature of life and death.

I will tell you now: it’s a slow start, and until it arrives at its frenzied and violent conclusion, there are long stretches of talking that might bore some. It’s talky. It’s very very talky. Additionally, I felt like some of the twists were visible a mile away, and the bigger idea behind the “horror” of it all, if you will, was something a very smart high school junior might have come up with. I don’t mean that in an entirely negative way, just that without giving too much away, the supernatural element and how it relates to religion specifically is something that has been explored before.

All that said, this show has a depth and beauty to it, and it resonated with me — I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Though I felt smug about being able to predict where it was going after the first couple of episodes, that smugness was ultimately replaced with respect and lingering wonderment.

Anyway, if you have watched it, here are a few interesting pieces about the series that are all super-spoilery, so, seriously, don’t read if you haven’t watched:

And if you haven’t watched it, here’s a review that calls it one of the best series of the year.

17 DRAGONS!

If you don’t have an HBO or HBO Max subscription, now’s your chance to watch season one of The Sopranos for free. But just be warned: this is like when drug dealers or Chick-fil-A offer free samples — you’re going to get hooked. The Many Saints of Newark will premiere this weekend; here’s a comparison of the characters as their younger selves.

HBO’s The Last of Us revealed this first look at the upcoming apocalyptic drama:

Rudy Giuliani has been banned from Fox News for being a lunatic and probably a liability (although according to a “source” he hasn’t been BANNED, he’s just “not relevant,” so, you know, banned), and he’s all hurt about it, LOL.

Netflix had their big “TUDUM!” event this weekend, where they revealed a ton of news and trailers — see below for the biggest titles. These two recaps contain all of the trailers released.

That Henry Cavill is a great friend:

The potential IATSE strike continues to loom over Hollywood, potentially shutting down productions everywhere but HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, and BET. A bunch of celebrities is throwing their social media weight behind the IATSE.

Apple TV+ has fewer than 20 million subscribers, and y’all are missing out.

Here’s why Becky wasn’t in the season premiere of The Conners.

Yes, Rick Astley loved that Ted Lasso Rick Roll.

William Shatner is going to space on Jeff Bezos’ dick rocket.

Another dude just broke the $1 million mark on Jeopardy!

Pat Sajak and Vanna White aren’t going to be on Wheel of Fortune forever. DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, MICHAEL RICHARDS.

So Dog the Bounty Hunter is trying to boost his visibility by glomming on to the Gabby Petito tragedy.

Congratulations to Lena Dunham and Luis Felber.

Sarah Jessica Parker finally opened up about the loss of her friend and co-star Willie Garson:

Renewals

In Development

Casting News

Mark Your Calendar

R.I.P.

Cliff Freeman, Adman who came up with the “Where’s the Beef?” campaign for Wendy’s; the “Sometimes you feel like a nut” for Almond Joy and Mounds; and “Pizza! Pizza!” for Little Caesars

Bobby Zarem, Hollywood publicist

WATCH THIS

The Good Doctor: Shaun and Lea celebrate their engagement in the season premiere. 9 p.m., ABC

Citizen Kane: Orson Wells’ masterpiece and what some incorrectly label the best movie of all time, as if they’ve never even seen The Godfather. 7 p.m., TCM

American Experience: Citizen Hearst: The first of a two-part look into William Howard Hearst’s life. As you can see above, TCM is also airing Citizen Kane, which, of course, is a thinly-veiled depiction of Hearst’s life, so I wondered if there was some sort of anniversary related to Hearst happening today, and the answer is … sorta? Wednesday will be the 80th anniversary of his death, which, OK, but then why not air this and Citizen Kane on Wednesday? Confused. 8 p.m., PBS

Late Night:

MON. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC Dancing with the Stars
(new)		 The Good Doctor
(new)
CBS The Neighborhood
(new)		 Bob ♥ Abishola
(new)		 NCIS
(new)		 NCIS: Hawai’i
(new)
CW Roswell, New Mexico
(new)		 Penn & Teller: Fool Us
(repeat)		 Local
FOX 9-1-1
(new)		 The Big Leap
(new)		 News/Local
NBC The Voice
(new)		 Ordinary Joe
(new)
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