Let's Talk Television: Season Scorecard
It's the final recap of the past season, can you guess the series that end up on top?
A Quick Note About Programming
Summer hiatus is in full swing. Sure, there’s plenty of TV still airing but none of it is produced by Dick Wolf. In all seriousness, I need to catch up on the eleventy-billion other things I want to post on. Here are my final thoughts on this past season; Let’s Talk Television will return in the fall.
The Good
These are the series worth watching.
A for Excellent
The Pitt (Max)
I am biased towards medical dramas. And Noah Wyle. And Isa Briones. But this series pulled off an ambitious first season. The conceit of one season-long shift could have backfired as a gimmick or constraint, but instead, they used it to immerse the audience in conditions similar to the characters’: stressful and ambiguous. It starts strong, if slow, but builds to brilliance. Every character and performance has depth and nuance. Santos (Isa Briones) remains my favorite—a friend called her ‘abrasive and unlikable’, so, yes, of course she is! The old guard of Robby (Noah Wyle), Collins (Tracy Ifeachor), Dana (Katherine LaNasa), and Jack (Shawn Hatosy) is collectively my second favorite, but I honestly adore everyone. Yes, even Langdon (Patrick Ball). They are interesting people with interesting points of view and interesting lives, and it’s incredible that they built up so much affection in “one day”.
I still plan to do my 15-hour marathon in real-time rewatch in August (or later, my summer schedule is out of control). The Pitt has been renewed for season 2.
A for Effort
Andor (Disney+)
Andor is amazing and I love it, but its conceit of releasing a ninety-minute arc each week was less successful for me. I wanted more time to sit with the episodes. So much happened, and we lost so many characters. Everything felt rushed, and we had no time to process any of it. It almost makes sense in the same way The Pitt does—those years of the Rebellion probably felt the same. But instead of feeling immersive, it feels overwhelming. I shut down instead of leaning in. I’d keep the time skips, but spread out the episodes.
My other issue is the treatment of the female characters. All but one of them were diminished in comparison to the first season. Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) ate. But Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) lost all agency. Cinta (Varada Sethu) died tragically so that Vel (Faya Marsay) could give one (1) speech about loss and the war that paled next to those that Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård), Cassian (Diego Luna), and Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) give. Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) comes across as naïve and a pawn propped up to be the pretty face of the Rebellion, moved around the board by men. And Bix (Adria Arjona) is assaulted, goes through an addiction arc, gets to blow up one (1) building before being shuffled into the spiritually supportive girlfriend role and then shuffled off the board completely to raise her kid alone and in hiding.
All that said, Andor is beautiful to look at and adds a lot of worldbuilding and (especially political) context to the Star Wars universe, which is impressive this far into its existence as a cultural touchstone.
This was Andor’s final season. It ends immediately before the movie it grew out of, and I look forward to a 22-hour marathon of Andor seasons one and two, Rogue One, and finally, A New Hope. Probably not in real-time because that is almost a full day.
Law & Order (Peacock)
I’ve mentioned at least once that before OG Law & Order returned, it was my go-to answer when asked which cancelled show I wanted more of. The first three seasons of the return disappointed me to the point where I started to think it was some kind of “be careful what you wish for” situation. This season, they finally hit their stride. They finally figured out the right balance between case-of-the-week/professional plots and recurring storylines/personal plots. They finally let us sit with the characters. As much as I love Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), his retirement was the best thing for the show because it’s been consistently better since Baxter (Tony Goldwyn) arrived, and really took off with the addition of Jessica Brady (Maura Tierney). The show completely failed Cameron Manheim, but they learned from it. Brady has a point of view. Her interrogation scenes are electric, and the squad comes across as a team rather than a bunch of people who work together.
And then there’s Nolan (Hugh Dancy) and Sam (Odelya Halevi). They were always my favorite. This season went all in on them (as much as a Law and Order can), both individually and as a duo (couple in my view), and then used the last episode to blow it all wide open, and I gotta tell you, I am here for the drama. The show finally realized what they had in these two, and it better continue. I am so very normal about this.
Law & Order has been renewed for season 25.
Brilliant Minds (Peacock)
The series that asks “what if Dr. House was a nice gay boy, Dr. Wilson was a kick ass Black woman, and Dr. Cuddy was his mom?” straddles the line between Good and Bad. It was elevated into this bracket by 1) the disgustingly adorable relationship between Oliver (Zachary Quinto) and Josh (Teddy Sears), 2) the really good use of a coma-guy, and 3) the absolutely UNHINGED revelation that the Bipolar father whose loss fundamentally changed Oliver’s life and inspired his career trajectory was, in fact, still alive. And played by Mandy Patinkin to boot.
Brilliant Minds has been renewed for season 2.
A for Emotional
Law & Order: Organized Crime (Peacock)
This season of Organized Crime was all over the place. There are four-ish arcs over the ten episodes, and they only very loosely relate to each other. There’s “Elliot (Christopher Meloni) Returns to His SVU Roots” followed by “Italy and Eli (Nicky Torcia)” followed by “Elliot’s Reputation Era” (TBH, the entire series could be subtitled “Elliot’s Reputation Era”) followed by “Wrapping Up Season Four and Five with Yet More Tragedy”. These arcs do not build on each other in terms of plot, narrative, or escalation. For me, the highlight was episode two. The loss of Bunny (Maggie Toomey) hit me harder than the loss of Joe Jr. (Michael Trotter). Sorry, not sorry.
OC has a revolving door of showrunners, and it shows. The only through-line is Elliot, and specifically Elliot’s inability to save people. It was how they promoted this season:
“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I have promised people that I would save them, but I have not been keeping my word. But I’m going to do everything I can to stop it. So, I guess we should add ‘prideful defiance’ to my list of sins.”
The priest who hears this confession also ends up dead. Because Elliot couldn’t save him. It happens over and over. It’s the entire premise of the series. But we have five seasons now, and we’re still there. At some point, we have to move forward. The show takes baby steps in that direction throughout, but real progress requires a consistent vision, or at least a cohesive vision.
There’s a really good show inside this one, but I don’t know if it will ever get out. Partly because that really good version would be titled Law & Order: Stabler, and that goes against the ethos of the Laws and Orders. But it would be a better fit, especially this latest version on Peacock, and admitting that instead of pretending it’s something else would allow it to be a better show. In the meantime, we get a narrative mess with moments of beauty and brilliance, humor and horror, and Christopher Meloni elevating every second of his screen time to high art. I will never not give it an A for Emotional, and it’s all on him.
Law & Order: Organized Crime has not yet been renewed or cancelled. There are many hanging threads, and it would be a disservice to everyone not to give us at least one final season for closure.
Leverage: Redemption (Prime)
I love Leverage. I own all five seasons of the OG series and rewatch them periodically. As I’ve said before, I love heist stories, stories about a small group of competent specialists, stories about identity, and stories about atonement. And this one has the added bonus of bringing down the worst people in the world. Leverage is FOR ME. And Leverage: Redemption is just OG Leverage plus infrastructure and Noah Wyle!
These are ensemble series, but Nate was the protagonist of the OG, while the first season of Leverage: Redemption focused on Harry Wilson (Noah Wyle), and the second on Sophie (Gina Bellam). This season put the focus on Parker (Beth Riesgraf), and Parker is my favorite character forever and always. And while I miss Hardison (Aldis Hodge), the Parker and Eliot (Christian Kane) relationship is so very precious to me, and it, too, shone this season. The season was solid, but the show landed here because the Parker in the finale is THE Parker I’ve related to since 2008.
Leverage: Redemption has not yet been renewed or cancelled.
FBI: Most Wanted (Paramount+)
Look, this show pulled off a solid final season. The hundredth episode hostage situation was extremely random but also incredible. I’m still thinking about it. The series finale gave every single character an ending that was also a beginning. And happiness. Joy! I don’t care how realistic that is; none of these shows are realistic. I care that I care. And this stupid show made me care about Remy (Dylan McDermott) enough to care about his lawyer girlfriend, with whom he now owns a bar. I want them to be successful and happy. I am THRILLED for Barnes (Roxy Sternberg) and DEMAND that she and Hana (Keisha Castle-Hughes) show up on OG FBI. I feel secure that Nina (Shantel VanSanten) will, since she’s living with Scola (John Boyd).
There’s no great show struggling to break out of its FBI: Most Wanted mediocrity shell, and if McDermott wants to go toe to toe with Meloni he should get back on Organized Crime (100% Richard Wheatley should return now) because he’s outplayed in the “I can turn terrible into art” contest based on this series. But for what FBI: Most Wanted is, it’s better than it should be.
FBI: Most Wanted was cancelled after six seasons.
The Bad
Bad equates to “I don’t have much to say about this.”
B for Insubstantial
NCIS: Sydney (Paramount+)
I maintain that everyone should watch the pirate episode (“Fire in the Hole”). Honestly, the whole season is good, clean fun.
NCIS: Sydney has been renewed for season 3.
B for Inconsistent
FBI (Paramount+)
Unlike its spin-off, FBI was more Bad (read: meh) than Good (read: makes me feel things) this season. The Maggie (Missy Peregrym) and OA (Zeeko Zaki) relationship remains its heart and soul, and I am down bad for them despite the show’s insistence that they both have other romantic interests (though Maggie’s was written off for reasons?). Same with Isobel (Alana de la Garza) and Jubal (Jeremy Sisto). Meanwhile, Scola’s revolving door of partners didn’t work for me, and the one who stuck didn’t make an impression since I don’t remember her name. The season ended on a cool episode about our FBI going rogue to save the city, and honestly, I’d love to watch it transition into a rogue all the time version of the series, Leverage style. Instead, they regained control of the FBI and ended on a cliffhanger with Isobel collapsing. Not only is her life in danger, but she’s also eligible for retirement, and I can imagine a scenario in which Jubal is promoted to take over for Isobel, and Maggie is promoted to take over for Jubal. And I don’t hate that, though I’m not sure what happens to OA—maybe Nina comes back to partner with him—and I’d miss Isobel (and the Isobel/Jubal relationship that only exists in my head).
FBI has been renewed for season 8. CIA will also premiere.
High Potential (Hulu)
High Potential has, well, high potential. It’s quirky, like its heroine. It suffered from not knowing if it would get a second season, which threw the pacing off. Sometimes things progressed too fast to follow; other times, they were spinning their wheels. Then it was renewed, and the final episode of the season was chaotic af. I really like the characters and the aesthetic, and I look forward to season two.
High Potential has been renewed for season 2.
Elsbeth (Paramount+)
Elsbeth, to its credit, did shake things up some this season by adding a few “whodunits” to its normal “howcatchem” format, and by moving some pieces around by bringing in Teddy (Ben Levi Ross), promoting Kaya (Carra Patterson) which results in pairing Elsbeth (Carrie Preston) with others, and introducing love interests for all of the above. It was consistently enjoyable but not very memorable, and except for the Valentine’s Day episode (which I put in Bad!) I can’t think of any I want to rewatch.
Elsbeth has been renewed for season 3.
B for Safe
Doctor Odyssey (Hulu)
I thoroughly enjoy watching this stupid show. It’s peak terrible television, and it’s fun. However. They introduced throuple pregnancy shenanigans and geriatric pregnancy shenanigans and even twins, like the godsdamned soap opera it is, but stayed the course in favor of sharks and tsunamis. And that’s fine, but I prefer messy personal disasters. Max (Joshua Jackson) and Avery (Philippa Soo) are boring as a straight couple. And pretty boring as individuals. Tristan (Sean Teale) is more interesting and was sidelined too often. They could have played with the throuple dynamics even if they wanted to back away from the threesome or nix the pregnancy. Avery’s surgery was also a non-event, and I still want to know if Tristan has Huntington’s. The show is better at ideas than follow-through.
Doctor Odyssey has not yet been renewed or cancelled. And some of the crew are suing Disney.
Chicago Med (Peacock)
Sarah Reese (Rachel DiPillo) came back to make Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt) miserable, and I am here for it. Lenox (Sarah Ramos) is my neurodivergent queen, and I am SO MAD that her love interest turned out to be a sexual predator, but I actually loved how it all went down. We were duped and betrayed right along with her. Was it weird for that plotline AND the super dark one about Frost (Darren Barnett) and his adult co-star AND the whole Sarah Reese revenge tour to all occur in the same season as Dr. Charles’ questionable relationship with his patient/subordinate? It sure was! I don’t think they thought that through! The fact that said patient/subordinate Jackie (Natalie Zea) then disappeared suggests the same.
Anyhoo, the only people I really care about are Dean Archer (Steven Weber) and Hannah Asher (Jessy Schram). The tired news is that they remain the best part of the show by a margin wider than space. The wired news is that Hannah is pregnant, and she showed up at Dean’s apartment to talk about it. They will definitely break my heart with this. I tried SO HARD to care about Ripley (Luke Mitchel), but I cannot do it. He is a wet noodle, a kicked puppy with a temper, a nothingburger. Dean is a million times more interesting. I imagined an ill-advised Hannah and Dean hook-up after he told her how amazing she is while woozy on drugs. I almost wrote it. I want it to be real so badly. Would also accept his son being the father. Or an even more ill-advised random one-night stand with a stranger (or, like, Hayes, the sexual predator, CAN YOU IMAGINE), but Dean steps up to help her through the pregnancy (maybe she lets her sister adopt) and they fall in love. Whatever relationship they land on, they are my favorite, the end. But I dropped the series here in Safe because Ripley is the most likely choice, if also unimaginative. They also didn’t push the union plot enough for me.
Chicago Med has been renewed for season 11.
Law & Order: SVU (Peacock)
Sigh.
1.0 worked because of the central relationship and the novelty of centering especially heinous crimes. 2.0 worked because it allowed Olivia (Mariska Hargitay) to change. To rise in power, have longer-term relationships, and become a mother. 3.0 should work best of all. The central relationship is back (allegedly). We need to talk about sex crimes more than ever in the current version of America. Noah (Ryan Buggle) is a teen, and Olivia’s closing in on mandatory retirement, which could yield another rise in the ranks, an interesting career change (e.g., author/advocate who tours the country giving speeches), a refocus on her personal life, or all of the above. Olivia should be growing into her final form, setting up SVU to thrive without her through mentorship, and solidifying her legacy. All the pieces are there, but the show isn’t using them. Sometimes the show is actively taking them off the board. Kat Tamin, Grace Muncy, Tonie Churlish, Maria Recinos, Kate Silva—how many young women are they going to give Olivia to mentor and then disappear into the ether? What is the purpose?
Assuming the goal is 30 seasons, I would introduce one more young woman for Olivia to mentor, but give her a four-year contract so she sticks (honestly, if it were really actually up to me, I would keep Silva!). I’d give Stabler Organized Crime two more seasons, at the end of which Elliot retires. I’d make Season 29 of SVU all about Olivia’s preparation for retirement, with Elliot in a handful of episodes, and their relationship progresses. Fin (Ice-T) retires midway through, and Olivia retires in the season finale. Season 30 is about young detectives at the beginning of their careers and partnership, just like season 1. One might be Eli Stabler as a newly minted Detective. Elliot and Olivia appear in multiple episodes individually and together. So does every regular and recurring character possible. We check in with everyone. We celebrate the show, and we end where we started, because the work continues.
Instead, I expect four seasons of the same reluctance to move past the status quo, and at best, they cram my plan for Seasons 29 and 30 into one ninety-minute series finale. But a girl can dream.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has been renewed for season 27, and Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) is back as a series regular. I love Rollins, but I do not know how that will work, and given what’s happened in the interim seems like a bad idea.
The Ugly
Don’t bother.
F for I Don’t Care
9-1-1: Lone Star (Hulu)
Honestly, this series and FBI: Most Wanted had somewhat similar final seasons in terms of mechanics and themes, and those were what I want for my season 29 of SVU as described above. So why is Lone Star here? This season successfully made me care less about every single character and relationship in the show. It’s impressive, really.
9-1-1: Lone Star was cancelled after five seasons.
White Lotus (Max)
I don’t care. That’s it.
White Lotus has been renewed for season 4.
F for Nope
9-1-1 (Hulu)
What is there to even say? Without Bobby Nash (Peter Krause), I don’t want to watch the show anymore.
9-1-1 has been renewed for season 9. 9-1-1: Nashville will also premiere.
Alert: Missing Persons Unit (Hulu)
As you may recall, they killed off Captain Nikki Batista (Dania Ramirez) in the second episode of the season. They said they had reasons and a plan, but that was a lie. They barely mentioned Nikki the rest of the season (I don’t think they used her name once), and instead of promoting Mike (Ryan Broussard), they brought in a new character. A new character with previous ties to Jason (Scott Caan), and a weird working relationship with an ex. They replaced one cool woman of color in charge with another cool woman of color in charge who has the exact same issues. What was the point??
Alert: Missing Persons Unit was cancelled after three seasons. As it should have been.
The Rest
Agatha All Along (Disney+)
I will be publishing a series of posts on Wandavision and Agatha All Along in August.
Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc (Crunchyroll)
I will be writing about Black Butler at a later date.
The Last of Us (Max)
This show is good, but not really for me.
Watson (Paramount+)
I’m still torn on whether I like this enough to add it to the roster. It was renewed for season 2, which will premiere in 2026.
Top Chef (Peacock)
I cried at the end of the last three episodes of this season. So good.
Ships of the Season
There are ten of them, so this will be a separate post appearing tomorrow!
Show of the Season
Again, I’m biased because ER is my favorite television series ever, but I am also not at all alone in thinking The Pitt is the best series on TV right now.
What was YOUR best show of the season?