Love it? Hate it? Over it? Let me be the judge of that. Reel Snarky is film, TV, and music news for the masses! I'll be breaking it down for you trailer by trailer, cast by cast, chiseled face by chiseled face--no holds barred, baby. 24/7 entertainment news, with all the bite and no BS. 'Cause you know what they say--if you can't stand the snark, get out of the kitchen.
ABC cancels HAPPY ENDINGS because they really do hate us
In case you were wondering about ABC’s feeling for us, let me be the one to break the news: it’s over. They have called it for Happy Endings, time of death: Friday, May 10.
The network idiotically and finally gave in to their worst indulgence and cancelled one of the only solid comedies it has currently on air and THE flat-out funniest comedy on TV. Happy Endings is off to live out the rest of its hilarious and under appreciated life in the bowels of Netflix, forever doomed to attract viewers from beyond the grave, only to leave those viewers heartbroken when they reach the end of the third season and realize they will never see Penny, Brad, Jane, Max, Alex, or Dave ever again.
That is unless a cable network is smart enough to snatch it up. Speaking of which, USA? TBS? Anybody? DON’T YOU LET MY BABY GO, YOU HEAR ME?
Okay, gonna go weep now. This is the most un-ahmahzing, not cayute thing ever. I hate you ABC, forever and always. I hate you.
If there is a god: USA Network might save ABC’s HAPPY ENDINGS
Could we be that lucky?
Deadline is reporting that the USA Network could possibly maybe perhaps kinda be thinking about taking ABC’s Happy Endings for their own, once what is most definitely probably going to be the show’s last season airs this spring.
Not unlike NBC’s fraught self-loathing for the once brilliant Community, ABC has just flat out given up for this comedic goldmine. I have turned many of my friends onto it, after being asked the question “What are your favorite shows on TV?” and then arguing till I’m blue in the face that Happy Endings deserves to be at the top of that list. Happy Endings is flat out THE most consistently funny comedy on TV. Period. The fact that ABC does a terrible job of marketing or supporting the show—what with switching up times slots and trying to burn off two episodes at a time—it’s a wonder the show has even last this long. The thought of a truly amazing ensemble comedy being thrown to the wayside just makes my heart ache.
If USA decides to bring it into their quirky little family, I think it could be a good fit. USA does actually have some good programs (Psych, Suits, White Collar), and they recently acquired syndicated episodes of Modern Family, which coincidentally used to air directly following Happy Endings. Could they reteam the two? Could be a great option.
Either way, I blame this on ABC, except for the little part of me that blames this on idiotic humans who choose to watch shit like My Big Fat Gypsy Wife Swap Duck Dynasty Honey Boo Boo instead of brilliantly crafted television.
Dreams do come true: Damon Wayans Jr. and Jake Johnson to co-star in buddy cop comedy
My brain is crying with happiness.
Because the universe clearly wanted the two of them to be together, hilarious sitcom boys Jake Johnson (New Girl) and Damon Wayans Jr (Happy Endings) have been cast to co-star in the buddy cop comedy Let’s Be Cops. What’s that you say? You didn’t realize you could be this happy? I know. Me either.
Considering Damon Wayans Jr has been killing it for 2.5 seasons over at the heinously underrated and underwatched Happy Endings, and Johnson is having the season of his life over on New Girl, the idea of the two of them together on the big screen, pretending to be cops, makes me just DIE. I die. It’s just too good. Is there such a thing as too much amazing? If so, I don’t wanna know.
The film will see the two pranksters playing cops, when of course they find themselves in a bit of a hilarious predicament upon running into real life criminals.
ABC still hates HAPPY ENDINGS, moves it to Fridays to die
In a move surprising absolutely no one, ABC has announced that it has moved its brilliant-yet-underwatched-and-underappreciated comedy Happy Endings to the graveyard that is Friday night.
After a failed experiment to burn off a few episodes by airing them on Sunday AND Tuesday, the network has just flat out given up and moved it to Friday night, a night not generally known for its outstanding television programming.
This is more than likely going to be the last season of this show, and that’s a flat out shame because it’s fucking brilliant. It’s the most consistently laugh-out-loud, crying tears from fits of laughter comedy on TV, and the chemistry between the cast is the best I’ve seen since Friends.
Honestly, I haven’t seen a network hate one of its own quality programs quite like this since NBC’s very obvious self-loathing of Community. I really wish these guys would know a good thing when they have it. But alas, there’s always room for Celebrity Wife Swap, right?
RuPaul and Andy Richter to guest star on HAPPY ENDINGS
Penny is gettin’ a dad!
Andy Richter has signed on to guest star on Happy Endings as none other than Penny’s dad! While I think Megan Mullally was the PERFECT choice to cast for Penny’s mom, I am very intrigued over this particular announcement. Not because I don’t love Richter (because I so do), but because I just can’t see Penny as his offspring for some reason? I don’t know. I am very open and very interested to see how this goes!
The second bit of news concerns everyone’s favorite drag queen: RuPaul has also signed on to guest star on the ABC comedy. He’ll reportedly be playing Brad and Jane’s hairdresser who decided to take on Max as a new client.
Looks like despite the grim outlook most of us have for the underrated sitcom, 2013 is lookin’ up!
It’s the end of the year, so you know what that means! Annual ‘Best Of’ lists. MY FAVORITE.
I’m going to start with the best TV shows of 2012 (mainly because I still have several more films to see before I can make my final judgements on this year’s best films.)
So here we go! (These are in no particular order.)
1. Girls The show that spawned a million blog posts about loving or hating Lena Dunham is indeed on my top 10 list. I have mad respect for Dunham for all that she has done and continues to do as a woman in the entertainment industry. I love Girls; I love that it makes me cringe, laugh, shake my head, weep in relation to the bad moments—yes, I love Girls.
2. The Walking Dead After a killer first season (pun intended), and a lackluster season two, The Walking Dead came back with a vengeance this fall for an action-packed third season. The writers figured out that less talking is better, more action makes for a more enjoyable show, and sometimes it’s okay to make your main character totally batshit crazy. After the fiasco that was the Sophia storyline in season two, the paced has picked up quite a bit, resulting in an intense, enjoyable, weekly adrenaline rush that you just can’t find anywhere else.
3. Breaking Bad I have, and will, stand by the statement that I made earlier in this year: I think Breaking Bad may be the best show—ever. I never cease to be flat-out amazed by the cinematic quality of the show, and the fucking powerhouse, gut-wrenching acting chops from every single person involved. Almost every show on TV (both good and bad) can’t manage to keep viewers surprised at nearly every single turn—except Breaking Bad. If that doesn’t keep you coming back, I don’t know what will.
4. Revenge Soap done right. Revenge is what Sunday night dramas are all about—filthy, lying couples, family coups, sinful affairs. Done in the right way, these things play out like a delicious little present each and every week. Revenge manages to walk the line of both delightfully soapy and genuinely well-crafted—something that many weekly dramas would kill to be able to accomplish so well.
5. Happy Endings Many shows have tried to recapture the magic that NBC created with Friends in the early 90s. Shows have tried a similar formula and failed, never able to recreate the perfect witty banter, the insane chemistry between cast members, the painfully funny long-running gags like Friends had done—until now. Happy Endings was a surprise little darling that came along as a mid-season filler a few seasons back, and has grown into one of the most consistently laugh out loud, slap your knee hilarious shows on television. The fluidity of the fast-paced snark that flows from character to character is unrivaled as far as current, popular comedy shows go, providing viewers with a blatantly silly (albeit hysterical) 30 minute tryst to look forward to once a week.
6. New Girl Try to put aside for a moment the fact that you feel pressured by society into shit-talking this genuinely good TV show just because it stars Zooey Deschanel. New Girl has gone from quirky new sitcom starring a girl I don’t know if I should love or hate to a fantastic ensemble comedy that hits all the right notes of fun, whimsy, despair, heartbreak, and love. Sure, Deschanel’s Jess started off as the anchor to the show’s first season, but it became clear very quickly that Winston, Nick, Schmidt, and CeCe all had important roles to fill in her life and meaningful stories to tell. This is another example of a cast that works so well off of each other it’s almost scary. As a 25 year old who is still trying to find herself, New Girl really hits home in the best possible way.
7. Parks and Rec There really are very few words I can think of that can adequately describe the immense amount of adoration that fills my heart for this show. Parks and Rec is without a doubt, the BEST comedy on TV. It’s definitely the most well-written, consistently amazing comedy, hands down. The actors at the center of Pawnee are some of the most talented in the biz, with Amy Poehler reminding me every week why I want to be her best friend. We cry with her, we laugh with her, we want to be Ron Swanson’s right hand lady friend. The stories that come out of Pawnee are the kinds that we are familiar with and can relate too—friends becoming lovers, the daily grind, fighting for what you believe in, family and friends are everything—but done in such a beautifully comedic way it feels like a treat every week. I am rarely so invested in characters on comedy shows, but I’ll be caring about the residents of Pawnee for the long haul. That, and THIS just wins all the things:
8. Louie Depressed never looked so good. Louis CK has a gift, and that gift is making the most inanely mundane things seem hilarious, no matter just how awful they might actually be. He is a schlub, through and through, but with the self-deprecating humor that has made his standup a treasure to most, he is also lovable. The earnest way in which we can relate to Louie is both scary and appreciated, when we’re so used to being surrounded by superficial assholes everywhere we look. I cringe, you cringe, we all cringe for every episode of Louie—and I love it.
9. Downton Abbey It’s hard for me to write about Downton Abbey without being a bit resentful that the seasons are so short and very far between. That being said, this period epic from BBC is just a flat out delight. Early 20th century class wars and societal pressures has never been more entertaining. It’s another good example of a soap done right—this time if a soap opera were set in war times and you put a fancy top hat on it. And even amid all the legitimately heavy material covered in the show (adultery, murder, PTSD, war), there’s still always time for a good, old-fashioned love story—one that just gives me goosebumps thinking about it. It’s written splendidly well, and acted even better.
10. Sherlock Speaking of few and far between! Geez. I don’t know what it is about the BBC that makes them think they can just drag us along like that! But anyway. Sherlock quickly became one of my absolute favorite shows this year. The style in which it is shot, the maniacal graphic callouts, the devious villains and quick rapport between, oh, well, EVERYONE, makes this show one of the best on TV. It’s one that makes me think, makes me raise my eyebrow in skepticism, makes me admit that I’ve been had. Sherlock is unlike any other show on TV, and that alone makes the wait all the more worth it.
Awesome shows like COMMUNITY, HAPPY ENDINGS, & DOWNTON ABBEY own Critics’ Choice noms
My beloved Community leads the pack with 6 nominations total. YEAH. Suck on that NBC. Come on. Don’t you get it? If not, I’ll be forced to pull a Counting Crows on you.
And now I’m just going to SQUEEEEE for a few minutes for a few of my favorite people being nominated: Casey Wilson and Damon Wayans Jr from Happy Endings!!!!! Amy and Nick from Parks and Rec!!!! Downton Abbey’s Mary, Michelle Dockery!!! SCHMIDT!!! Jesse, Gus, and Walt from Breaking Bad!! Sherlock!!! GIRLS!!!!
Anywho.
Full list of noms below.
Best Drama Series Breaking Bad — AMC Downton Abbey — PBS Game of Thrones — HBO The Good Wife — CBS Homeland — Showtime Mad Men — AMC
Best Actor in a Drama Series Bryan Cranston — Breaking Bad — AMC Kelsey Grammer — Boss — Starz Jon Hamm — Mad Men – AMC Charlie Hunnam — Sons of Anarchy — FX Damian Lewis — Homeland — Showtime Timothy Olyphant — Justified — FX
Best Actress in a Drama Series Claire Danes — Homeland — Showtime Michelle Dockery — Downton Abbey – PBS Julianna Margulies — The Good Wife — CBS Elisabeth Moss — Mad Men — AMC Emmy Rossum — Shameless — Showtime Katey Sagal — Sons of Anarchy — FX
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Peter Dinklage — Game of Thrones — HBO Giancarlo Esposito — Breaking Bad — AMC Neal McDonough — Justified — FX John Noble — Fringe — FOX Aaron Paul — Breaking Bad – AMC John Slattery — Mad Men — AMC
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Christine Baranski — The Good Wife — CBS Anna Gunn — Breaking Bad - AMC Christina Hendricks — Mad Men — AMC Regina King — Southland – TNT Kelly Macdonald — Boardwalk Empire — HBO Maggie Siff – Sons of Anarchy — FX
Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series Dylan Baker — Damages — DirecTV Jere Burns — Justified — FX Loretta Devine — Grey’s Anatomy — ABC Lucy Liu — Southland — TNT Carrie Preston — The Good Wife — CBS Chloe Webb — Shameless — Showtime
Best Comedy Series The Big Bang Theory — CBS Community — NBC Girls — HBO Modern Family — ABC New Girl — FOX Parks and Recreation — NBC
Best Actor in a Comedy Series Don Cheadle — House of Lies — Showtime Louis C.K. — Louie — FX Larry David — Curb Your Enthusiasm — HBO Garret Dillahunt — Raising Hope — FOX Joel McHale — Community — NBC Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory — CBS
Best Actress in a Comedy Series Zooey Deschanel — New Girl — FOX Lena Dunham — Girls — HBO Julia Louis Dreyfus — Veep – HBO Martha Plimpton — Raising Hope — FOX Amy Poehler — Parks and Recreation — NBC Ashley Rickards — Awkward — MTV
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Ty Burrell — Modern Family — ABC Max Greenfield — New Girl — FOX Nick Offerman — Parks and Recreation — NBC Danny Pudi — Community — NBC Jim Rash — Community — NBC Damon Wayans Jr. — Happy Endings — ABC
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Julie Bowen — Modern Family — ABC Alison Brie — Community — NBC Cheryl Hines — Suburgatory — ABC Gillian Jacobs — Community — NBC Eden Sher — The Middle — ABC Casey Wilson — Happy Endings — ABC
Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series Becky Ann Baker — Girls — HBO Bobby Cannavale — Modern Family — ABC Kathryn Hahn — Parks and Recreation — NBC Justin Long — New Girl — FOX Paul Rudd — Parks and Recreation — NBC Peter Scolari — Girls — HBO
Best Animated Series Archer — FX Adventure Time — Cartoon Network Bob’s Burgers — FOX Family Guy — FOX Star Wars: The Clone Wars — Cartoon Network
Best Movie/Miniseries American Horror Story — FX Luther — BBC America Sherlock — PBS Page Eight — PBS The Hour — BBC America Game Change — HBO
Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries Benedict Cumberbatch — Sherlock — PBS Bill Nighy — Page Eight — PBS Woody Harrelson — Game Change — HBO Idris Elba — Luther — BBC America Dominic West — The Hour — BBC America Kevin Costner — Hatfields & McCoys — History
Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries Jessica Lange — American Horror Story — FX Gillian Anderson — Great Expectations — PBS Julianne Moore — Game Change — HBO Patricia Clarkson — Five — Lifetime Lara Pulver — Sherlock — PBS Emily Watson — Appropriate Adult — Sundance
Best Reality Series Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations — Travel Channel Hoarders — A&E Sister Wives — TLC Kitchen Nightmares — FOX Pawn Stars — History Undercover Boss — CBS
Best Reality Series — Competition The Pitch — AMC Shark Tank — ABC So You Think You Can Dance — FOX The Voice — NBC Chopped — FOOD The Amazing Race — CBS
Best Reality Show Host Tom Bergeron — Dancing with the Stars — ABC Nick Cannon – America’s Got Talent — NBC Cat Deeley — So You Think You Can Dance — FOX Phil Keoghan — The Amazing Race — CBS RuPaul — RuPaul’s Drag Race — Logo
Best Talk Show Conan – TBS The Daily Show with Jon Stewart — Comedy Central Late Night with Jimmy Fallon — NBC Jimmy Kimmel Live! — ABC The View — ABC
The fall TV schedules have been announced for NBC, Fox, and ABC (still waiting on CBS and The CW), and here’s what we’ve got:
(new shows in RED)
So Revenge moves to Sundays to take the Desperate Housewives slot (I’m not super disappointed by this as I know Revenge will flourish here);
Glee moves to Thursdays against Grey’s Anatomy (good luck);
Remember when I was so happy to hear that ABC renewed Happy Endings for a FULL 22-episode season for the fall? Well they pulled the old bait and switch on us, as they’ve renewed, sure, but moved it to Tuesdays up against New Girl.New Girl has become one of the better comedies on TV (and I do truly love it, even if I had to grow into it), but it’s not as good as Happy Endings. Not to mention it’s picked up quite a loyal fanbase now, whereas I have gone blue in the face trying to convince people that Happy Endings is a fucking brilliantly hilarious show (and I still feel like no one believes me). So, yeah, let’s put them against each other. GOD DAMN YOU ABC.
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind, (like my Top Music and Film picks) this list is exclusive to shows that I watch on a regular basis, or was otherwise able to review—-and limited to my overall TV taste, natch. I obviously don’t get around to checking out all of the fantastic shows that are currently airing (sadly).
I am fully aware there are great shows to be seen, and that I am not listing them here—doesn’t mean they aren’t great, I just don’t watch them. K?
