September Media Diet

The Pitt, S1 - HBO | Did it deserve all the Emmys? Probably not. But do Emmy voters, like me, look back with nostalgia to a simpler time of procedural TV dramas like “ER?” Yes. Time will tell if it has the star-making power of that erstwhile NBC juggernaut, but it’s definitely engaging television.

The Studio, S1 — Apple TV | What about this one? Did it deserve all the Emmys? It did not. I know Hollywood swooned for the camera shots and the soundtrack and homages to famous moments in cinema (half of which went over my head), but I really disliked how everyone talked over each other all the time and every episode devolved into a shouting match between characters.

Platonic, S2 — Apple TV | I liked this Seth Rogen star vehicle more than I did “The Studio.” But that may be because of Rose Byrne, whose Australian accent gets me every time. It’s a sitcom about two best friends of the opposite sex who aren’t attracted to each other, and it doesn’t try to be anything more than that.

Yellowjackets, S1 and 2 — Netflix | Not sure how this story will end because we don’t subscribe to Paramount+, but I assume all seasons will eventually make it to Netflix. We’ve liked what we’ve seen, even if the initial premise (a plane carrying a High School girls’ soccer team crashes in the Canadian Rockies in 1995 and the survivors aren’t found for 18 months, during which time they are driven crazy by hunger, and yes, resort to cannibalism) is a little far-fetched.

Alien: Earth, S1 — FX on Hulu | I’m a sucker for the “Aliens” franchise, but this TV series from Noah Hawley does take liberties with the Ridley Scott canon! Cool plot, though, involving the uploading of the consciousness of kids with terminal diseases into synthetic, supercomputer bodies. But are they super enough to survive extraterrestrial predators?

The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf by Isa Arsen | The first book I would have reviewed for the AP, but can now just comment on here. 😝 I’d give it just a 4 out of 10. It’s set in the 1950’s and tries too hard to draw parallels between the title character, an actress who gets hooked on cocaine and tangled up in some nasty business while performing summer stock in New Mexico, and Lady Macbeth. 

The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty | Found this in one of those free “Little Bookstores” in the neighborhood and read it because I liked “Big Little Lies” and a couple of her others. It’s a nice beach book. Written in 2011.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale — Theatrical | A charming and satisfying end to Julian Fellowes’ TV and cinematic magnum opus about the Crawley family and their Yorkshire estate. Set in 1930, it hit all the right notes — from nostalgia for things fans remembered from season 1 to a plot that empowers women and gives the household staff hope for life outside of service.

A Beautiful Noise — Musical | We kicked off our four-show 2025-2026 Proctor’s Theatre subscription with this musical memoir about the life of Neil Diamond. I knew all but one of the songs, so it was fun just to hear familiar songs played live by a big band with choreographed dancing and a lead singer (the 2015 “American Idol”) who would win a Neil Diamond impersonation contest with ease. As for the story, we’ve heard it all before from artists of all stripes. Lonely boy, pours himself into music, hits it big, doesn’t pay attention to his family because he’s on the road all the time, finally gets it right with Wife No. 3, then has to stop touring in his late 70’s because of Parkinson’s.