It's just a few more days until the end of the longest and worst reality series we've had to endure in our personal history of watching the tube. Our hope is that we won't need to see Donald Trump ever again, and that there will be a blowout on Nov. 8 that will rival 1984 or 1964. While we wait for that to happen, we need distractions. There's always the late-night comedians to help us with the daily onslaughts from Herr Trump, and if we're feeling especially masochistic, CNN and MSNBC, but we have gone for sitcoms and dramas of the scripted kind to keep our blood pressure within reason.
Fortunately, there's a hella great TV this season both on and off the tube (yes, we're streaming and binging). One thing we won't get to see before the election is the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode ripped from the Trump headlines. The episode had been scheduled for Oct. 26, but got pulled. The episode, "Unstoppable," the preview for which has remained online, features Gary Cole as a self-proclaimed "handsome, charming millionaire. 'Women throw themselves at me.'"
Cole is a politician whose campaign blows up when several women accuse him of grabbing them by the �" well, you know. Now the episode will air on Nov. 16, the week after the election. We think NBC was cowardly for not airing it since they always claim their stories, while ripped from the headlines, are purely fiction. But Trump seems to be able to do enough damage on his own without scripted help, so tune in post-election for that one.
One of the only good things to come out of this endless election season is while working to elect Hillary Clinton, the cast of Will & Grace did a short video in September to get out the vote. When it went viral, interest was sparked in a re-boot. According to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC is considering a one-season return of the popular gay sitcom. The foursome of Will (Eric McCormack), Grace (Debra Messing), Jack (Sean Hayes) and Karen (Megan Mullaly) have been busy acting in a range of projects since the show ended a decade ago after 194 episodes. But they have all expressed interest in Will & Grace: The Sequel.
Messing has been on NBC for a while, first in Smash, then in The Mysteries of Laura, just cancelled in May. Out gay actor Sean Hayes. who exec produces NBC's Grimm, had an ill-fated run in Smash, then his own gay sitcom Sean Saves the World was cancelled after one season. But he's been nominated for a fistful of Tonys and guested on top-rated shows. Megan Mullaly had her own talk show and has also been on a dozen others. McCormack starred in Pound Puppies for six seasons, and Perception for three.
We recently caught some old episodes of W&G, and they are still funny, but the show would need to be brought into the 21st century. The actors are significantly older (though wearing it well), and as Hayes' sitcom illumined, audiences now are looking for much more sophisticated LGBT fare. What would a W&G re-boot look like? McCormack told THR in an interview with Messing about the shoot for the election: "The whole eight years was lightning in a bottle. You want to be careful that you don't mess too much with that bottle."
Messing noted that TV isn't just network now, as it was when W&G premiered. Perhaps NBC wouldn't be the best place to revive the fey frenetic foursome. Messing said, "Maybe having the limitations of being on network TV lifted may give us a fun, fresh opportunity because we could be really, really naughty!"
Maybe. Our memories of W&G as our first weekly TV fix of gayness are precious. We'd hate to have them smashed. Conversely, there's not nearly enough LGBT TV, and the success of a series like Transparent shows there is definitely a market for complex LGBT comedy with characters that are not all gorgeous 20somethings. W&G feels like our gay past, not our gay future, but if the foursome is open, why not? We would like to see some middle-aged gay folks on the tube, and a comedic LGBT Big Chill could be compelling.
Housewife helper
Speaking of comedies, we take back everything questionable we said about American Housewife because it's brilliantly funny and probably the best new comedy on the tube this season. Katy Mixon is hilarious, and she really is the show, although the supporting cast is all quite strong. We love Katie's besties the best: Doris (San Francisco comedian Ali Wong) and Angela (Carly Hughes), who is a lesbian, demand some suspension of disbelief (how did Katy find these two women of color in her whiter-than-white suburb, why did she seek them out?), but the exchanges among the three make us forget (almost) they are basically props. In the Oct. 25 episode, Katy tells Angela she could have sex with a woman and does the most amazing visual as she waves her hands and says she could do those (Angela's quite lovely breasts) but not that (waves toward the nether regions), with a pitch-perfect tone for both. It's fun. And we need fun.
But drama is our wheelhouse, and we can't say enough great things about our fave new show, Fox's The Exorcist. This may be the best new drama on the tube this season, and it has everything. There are two sexy, complicated priests, Father Tomas (Alfonso Herrera) and Father Marcus (Ben Daniels). There's Oscar winner Geena Davis as Angela (she also has a shocking secret identity) and Sharon Gless as her mother.
Aside: The exceptionally queer-friendly Gless is only 13 years older than Davis and has been playing a lot of mothers in the past 15 years, including on Queer as Folk and Burn Notice. But there seem to be a dearth of roles for older women on the tube, so nice work if you can get it.
Angela's older daughter Katherine (Brianna Howey) is a lesbian ballet dancer cut from the Black Swan cloth. Her lover came pre-deceased, so we only get to see Kat in mourning for her beloved at present, as well as some sexy flashbacks. The younger daughter, Casey (Hannah Kasulka) is, well, possessed.
We are rarely at a loss for words, but this show leaves us in awe. It's sumptuous visually. The acting is superb and understated. Davis is a little large for this stage: at over six feet, she's taller than everyone, which makes her more imposing than she intends in this claustrophobic drama. Nevertheless, we believe her desperate search for help for her daughters. She initially thinks the problem is with the heartbroken Katherine, whose lover is killed right before the story opens, but that's because she doesn't realize Casey is consorting with a Baron Samedi dude.
Daniels and Herrera are mesmerizing. Daniels has won a bazillion theatre awards, and his tone is pitch-perfect. His role is the most challenging, as we need to believe he believes (even though he's on the verge of being a fallen priest) that there is Evil with a capital E in the world. His Father Marcus is deeply damaged and has spent time in the developing world as a white savior, so he has baggage. The Exorcist is layered: You can watch it solely as superb horror drama. Or you can delve deeply into the psychological aspects of mental illness vs. possession, the priesthood and its issues, the psycho-sexual nuances of budding female sexuality and priestly celibacy, the role of the Church in the lives of poor people of color. It's a Pandora's box that can be unpacked in each episode. But be warned, it's extremely violent and unsettling. Binge at Fox.com or Hulu.
The clock is ticking toward the season finale of ABC's How to Get Away with Murder because Viola Davis's contract makes for a shorter season than most. The Oct. 27 episode gave us Annalise (Davis) defending Danny, a lesbian vet who slit the throat of a man who came onto her and the woman she was with in a bar. He survived, but barely. Did Danny do it because she has PTSD? Turns out yes and no. Like everything HTGAWM, it's complicated, but also deep and meaningful. It left us pondering about what war does to women.
Meanwhile, Connor and Oliver, wth? While it's fun seeing Connor play house with Michaela and Asher (he flops on their bed wearing her robe), we want him back with Oliver. Except Michaela found him an Internet date, Tom, and it looks like they will see each other again after they kissed at the door. We'll try to be happy that now there are three gay guys on the show instead of just two and random hookups. We still don't know who is under the sheet, but we will find out the same week we find out who is going to be our next president. Our money is on Nate.
Over at Grey's Anatomy, Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) has been wandering around as the solo lesbian since she sent Callie (Sara Ramirez) off with their daughter and Callie's new love, Penny. But on Oct. 27, Leah Murphy (Tessa Ferrer) returned to the hospital to an all-around whoa. Maybe these two will land back in bed together. Leah ostensibly broke up Arizona and Callie, so hard to say. But Arizona did enjoy the frolicking. Now Leah is a better surgeon. We just don't want Arizona falling off the canvas because she doesn't have anyone to screw. This is often the kiss of death for LGBT characters.
Some startlingly good new shows you also want to add to your DVR repertoire include USA's Eyewitness and Hulu's Chance. Hugh Laurie is massively talented: novelist, musician, actor, raconteur and friend to LGBTQ folks. We hated House yet watched it for the entire eight years because of Laurie (and the bisexual character of Thirteen, played by the sumptuous Olivia Wilde). He's that compelling. This season we've got two limited series with Laurie. The Night Manager was on AMC in the late spring. Chance just debuted on Hulu. In-between, Laurie was on Veep .
Chance is set in the Bay Area, and pays extended homage to Hitchcock's Vertigo. Laurie plays neuropsychiatrist Dr. Eldon Chance, whose specialty is examining the files of patients who are coping with serious illness or have experienced horrifying freak accidents and making determinations about their care. He steers clear of actual patients. It's a dark set-up, and the mood doesn't lighten. Chance is lured into patient care by Jaclyn Blackstone (the amazing Gretchen Mol), suffering from some vague complaints that mimic those of Kim Novak in Vertigo, and a violent cop husband in equal measure.
But there is more: Chance is in the midst of a divorce from his wife Christina (Diane Farr) and needs money because his kid is in private school. Things get darker as Chance becomes enmeshed in a relationship with an antiques dealer (Clarke Peters from The Wire, quite fey here) and some other less savory characters, one of whom, D (Ethan Suplee), might be a sociopath.
Chance notes, "I'm a medical professional. I'm not some Raymond Chandler character." He's clearly both. His relationship with D reminds us of a line from The Maltese Falcon when Humphrey Bogart says to Peter Lorre after striking him, "When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it." We recommend sticking your toe in the Bay water of Chance, for Laurie and Suplee. If it feels too cold, you're already home.
Eyewitness is the best gay-themed drama of the season so far. It's a remake of a Norwegian series, and translates well from the bleak European landscape to In Cold Blood rural America. We don't want to give too much away, but this series has a gay couple: one semi-out, one decidedly not. Tyler Young plays Philip Shea and James Paxton (son of actor Bill Paxton) plays Lukas Waldenbeck, the gay couple. Their performances lure the viewer immediately. They're also lovely to look at.
Julianne Nicholson (L&O: Criminal Intent, Boardwalk Empire) plays a New York City detective, Helen Torrance, who's moved to upstate New York to work as a town sheriff. Helen has moved there with her husband and child to have a more bucolic existence. But as we know from Capote to Cheever to O'Connor, things lurk in rural America that are no less awful than the blatant violence of the city. Women who once sought adrenaline highs are not going to go gentle into that staid night. Eyewitness is uniquely compelling, in part for Nicholson's understated performance and the performances of Young and Paxton, in part because of the claustrophobic atmosphere created by showrunner Adi Hasak (Shades of Blue ). A must-see.
Finally, because this is 2016 and nothing is normal, Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg have a show debuting Nov. 7 on VH1 called Martha and Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party.
"My homegirl Martha and I have a special bond that goes back. We're gonna be cooking, drinking and having a good time with our exclusive friends," Snoop told the Hollywood Reporter when their show was announced. "Can't wait for you to see how we roll together!"
The two have been good friends since they met in 2008 when Snoop was on Stewart's show making mashed potatoes and the two talked about everything from Snoop's upcoming album to his performing for the soon-to-be-inaugurated Barack Obama. Last week Snoop and Martha were on Ellen's show talking about their project and playing a game of "Never Have I Ever" with daytime's favorite lesbian. When the topic went to sexting, all three guests (Anna Kendrick was the third) said they had.
"Martha, you've sexted? Do you know what that is?" Ellen asked.
Stewart replied, "I have used technology for a lot longer than you have, Ellen."
When asked if the sextee was "someone current" or an old flame, Stewart flipped her sign back and forth and said, "It doesn't say 'None of your business' here."
So for amazing moments like that, for glimmers of gay and the City by the Bay, and for the last days of the election, you know you really must stay tuned.