Welcome to the Q&A with TV critic — also known to some TV fans as their “TV therapist” — Matt Roush, who’ll try to address whatever you love, loathe, are confused or frustrated or thrilled by in today’s vast TV landscape. (We know background music is too loud, but there’s always closed-captioning.)
One caution: This is a spoiler-free zone, so we won’t be addressing upcoming storylines or developments here unless it’s already common knowledge. Please send your questions and comments to [email protected]. Look for Ask Matt columns on most Tuesdays.
Dexter Back from the Dead?
Question: I recently read about two new Dexter shows that said Michael C. Hall would be “onscreen” in both. I had heard about the prequel (Dexter: Original Sin) and know he is doing the voice-over for the young Dexter, that makes sense. But the second show, Dexter: Resurrection, takes place after the events of Dexter: New Blood, at the end of which Dexter was killed. The writer and producers promised he was truly dead in interviews. Please tell me his appearance will be some kind of hallucination a la Dexter’s sister Deb in New Blood, and not some kind of Bobby Ewing-in-the-shower moment. — Karen
Matt Roush: Truly dead but not most sincerely dead? That’s a very good question and I imagine we won’t know how they pull this off until the latest sequel arrives (Original Sin is coming first). Why they’re pulling this off, however it plays out, is less mysterious. Showtime (or Paramount+ with Showtime if you choose to use that horrible appellation) is doubling down on its hit franchises, seeking new ways to exploit its most popular titles, with several planned spinoffs of Billions and, naturally, Dexter. From the scant information we have at this point, it does sound like reports of his death (which was quite graphically portrayed in New Blood) were premature. Whether fans buy it may depend on how eager they are to become dark passengers on his next adventure.
When Jay Sees Dead People
Question: At this year’s Comic Con, the producers of Ghosts let the cat out of the bag that Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) will see the ghosts in Season 4. I understand why they would want to talk about this because it will be a major turning point for the show. However, that’s also why I kind of wish they hadn’t come out and revealed it, as it would have been a really fun surprise to see unfold naturally within the show. I know I wouldn’t have expected it now if they hadn’t said something. What are your thoughts on this development? – Jake
Matt Roush: It’s not unlike how I feel about the Dexter news previously discussed. I don’t fully understand it, and because I don’t want to be further spoiled — reminder: this isn’t that sort of column — I’ll take it at face value that this is going to happen, and I’ll wait to see it before I weigh in. I agree, though, that an event this major is something I wish hadn’t been spoiled, although I also have no idea (and would prefer not knowing) if this twist will be long-lasting or just for an episode or story arc. I love the idea of Jay finally being able to visualize the ghosts after all this time, and I can only imagine how awkward it has been for Ambudkar as Jay to have to wait for the ghost actors to finish their bits without being able to react. Ghosts hasn’t let me down yet, so I’ll be excited to see this.
Sounds of Buzzers, Signifying Nothing?
Question: Since they have gotten rid of the middle round on America’s Got Talent, and everyone who gets put through at their audition is on the live shows, what is the point of the Golden Buzzer that sends them “straight through to the lives?” Just makes for a cheesy moment now as it literally does nothing. — TV Rob
Matt Roush: Say it isn’t so, America’s Got Talent doing something cheesy? The way I understand it, and the way NBC presented it in its most recent announcement regarding the live shows (starting this week), is that the judges asked for more buzzer opportunities this year, a way presumably to give them more agency and to better express their enthusiasm for their favorite acts. The format this season now includes four weeks of live quarterfinals (starting Aug. 13, with results on Wednesdays) in which one judge each week gets to use the Golden Buzzer again to move an act past the semi-finals and directly to the final round. This is a popular gimmick, and I’m not surprised that they’d milk it. Whether this invalidates or cheapens the use of the Golden Buzzer during the audition round is, I suppose, a subject for debate.
What’s the Opposite of Scene Stealer?
Question: I just binged Presumed Innocent on Apple TV+. (I was waiting for the last episode.) I actually liked it a lot, but though I thought Jake Gyllenhaal did well, and I think he’s a good actor, he never completely sold me in his portrayal of a prosecutor. It’s impossible to put into words why I felt that way, but I was a career prosecutor myself, and I guess I just have instinctive impressions of what successful prosecutors are like. I was really impressed with Ruth Negga, whom you singled out in your review, I have heard her name for a long time, but I don’t actually remember watching her before. In my opinion she stole every scene she was in here. But O-T Fagbenle was totally miscast. From the beginning, I could not believe that someone as obviously insincere as he was (or at least that’s how he came off to me) in everything he said could have won an election (notwithstanding recent examples in real life). I know that he has received praise in other projects, but he was horrible in this. As Carolyn Polhemus said of Tommy Molto, Fagbenle gave me “the ick.” — D.P.
Matt Roush: If you liked Ruth Negga in this, I advise you to check out her exemplary film work in Loving and Passing, to name a few. She’s also great as the kickass heroine in Preacher, though that sort of violent dark fantasy isn’t for all tastes. Regarding O-T Fagbenle (best known for The Handmaid’s Tale) as the calculating new D.A. Nico Della Guardia, that performance was certainly notable, though not in a good way. It was quite obviously a choice for him to play the adversarial role with such supercilious smugness, where even the set of his mouth was mannered beyond belief or comprehension. (All that was missing was a twirling mustache.) Why they went this route I don’t know, because the actor is perfectly naturalistic as June’s husband. Ick, surely, but also one of the few things I’ll remember about this thrice-told tale.
The U.K.’s Lost Birds
Question: I really liked Three Little Birds on BritBox and was looking forward to Season 2, but it was not renewed. I feel like this is the type of show PBS presents. I have no idea how that could be suggested to PBS. What do you think? — Sue C.
Matt Roush: This British series, from Sir Lenny Henry and inspired by his mother’s migration from Jamaica to the U.K. in the 1950s, would be a good fit on PBS. Unfortunately, PBS itself lacks the resources to produce original dramas like this. When ITV canceled the show after one season, that sealed its fate. I’m afraid that unless another production partner steps in, it would be out of PBS’s hands even if they were interested.
Blast from the Past
Question: I’ve been watching the old (1957-1963) sitcom The Real McCoys. It brings back some good memories. In the beginning, Luke (Richard Crenna) had a wife (Kathleen Nolan), but at the end, he was a widower. What happened to her in real life? I also haven’t seen what she died of in the sitcom. Did she just want to move on, or did she die in real life? I know Walter Brennan died. Was that limp he had in the sitcom real? I also know Richard Crenna died at a young age. I remember him as Walter in the Our Miss Brooks sitcom. He was in a lot of other movies for TV. He was a very good actor. — Pat L.
Matt Roush: Thanks for the trip down memory lane. (The Real McCoys is even just before my time, although I vaguely remember it in repeats.) I relish any opportunity to dig back into the TV Guide Magazine archives, and here’s what I found: In 1962, Kathleen Nolan (who played Kate) left the show in a contract dispute. (TV Guide quotes co-star Walter Brennan as responding to news of her demands at the time, “The tail ain’t goin’ to wag the dog.”) It appears that the series never revealed the cause of Kate’s death, but this coincided with the show’s move from ABC to CBS for its final season, and turning Crenna’s Luke into a widower gave the series new storylines as Grandpa (Brennan) kept trying to set Luke up.
In real life, Nolan went on to become president of the Screen Actors Guild for two terms in the 1970s and is now 90 years old. Brennan, a three-time Oscar winner who died in 1974 at 80, faked his limp on the show. Richard Crenna eventually transitioned into drama, winning an Emmy for the 1985 movie The Rape of Richard Beck, appearing in the first three Rambo films, and playing NYPD Detective Frank Janek in a series of TV movies in the 1980s and ’90s. He died at 76 in 2003 of pancreatic cancer.
That’s all for now. We can’t do this without your participation, so please keep sending questions and comments about TV to [email protected] or shoot me a line on X (formerly) Twitter @TVGMMattRoush. (Please include a first name with your question.)