The Top 10 Best Television Episodes of 2018

10) "Prague" Succession (HBO)
Season 1 / Episode 8
Premiere Date: July 22, 2018
Directed By: S.J. Clarkson

Brief Description: I know Succession is going to end up on a lot of Best Of lists this year, but this is going to be the only spot on my lists. Not a big fan overall. Yet I did enjoy this episode because it's probably the show's funniest. In a world of super rich people, instead of actually flying to Prague for a bachelor's party, the gang goes to an Everything Goes club in New York where Tom "closes the loop".

9) "Something Stupid" Better Call Saul (AMC)
Season 4 / Episode 7
Premiere Date: September 17, 2018
Directed By: Deborah Chow

Brief Description: After a slow start to the season, Better Call Saul picked up steam in the second half, solidified by an incredible montage to start the episode where we see Kim and Jimmy drift apart in a split screen. This show is able to say so much without saying anything at all.

8) "Janet(s)" The Good Place (NBC)
Season 3 / Episode 9
Premiere Date: December 6, 2018
Directed By: Morgan Sackett

Brief Description: The very concept of The Good Place, a demon torturing four mortals in the afterlife, by its very nature can lead to limitless possibilities. Add to the fact that you have the genius behind Parks and Recreation and the serialized nature of the nature inspired by the creator of Lost and The Leftovers, and you're left with the possibility if creating some incredibly creative television episodes. The mid-season finale of season 3 of this show was no exception and was a phenomenal showcase for breakout star D'Arcy Carden. As the gang of mortals are struck in Janet's void (Carden), Michael (Ted Dansen) and Janet meet the afterlife's accountants led by the great Stephen Merchant.

If I Had An Emmy Ballot: Comedies (2016 Edition)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

- Vanessa Bayer (SNL)

- Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine Nine)

- Loretta Devine (The Carmichael Show)

- Kether Donohue (You're The Worst)

- Noel Wells (Master of None)

- Debra Winger (The Ranch)

JUST MISSED: Elizabeth Banks (Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp), Jane Krakowski (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt)

Kate McKinnon seems to be the break out star from this batch of SNL females. She was nominated in this category last year and she’s starring in the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot. However, my heart will always remain faithful to Vanessa Bayer, who has quickly become SNL’s true chameleon… From a current SNLer to an SNL alum we have Noel Wells for her work as Aziz Ansari’s love interest in Master of None. Like Bayer, Wells brings a calm, Girl Next Door charm to her comedy which contrasted well with Ansari’s comedy stylings… Hollywood veteran Debra Winger also played well alongside her TV significant other, played by Sam Elliot, in Netflix’s The Ranch. Winger was able to bring emotional heft and witty one-liners to help make the show as good as it was… Another TV Mother played by an TV veteran that did excellent work this past year was Loretta Devine as the matriarch of the Carmichael clan in The Carmichael Show. The show itself is mainly a medium for comedian Jerrod Carmichael to express his political views and hot button issues, but the show never loses sight of its characters and Devine helps ground the familial structure... Someone who is never grounded is Lindsay, played by Kether Donohue on You’re The Worst. Aya Cash did most of the heavy lifting this past season with her depression storyline, but it was Donohue’s Lindsay spiraling out of control after her divorce that ended up being the best part of the show… Lastly, we have Stephanie Beatriz. I love Brooklyn Nine Nine, and normally I choose both Beatriz and Melissa Fumero, but I gave the slight edge to Beatriz as the show gave her more to do with the storyline of a love interest played by Jason Mantzoukas and then dealing with the fallout of his disappearance.

The 14 Best TV Shows of 2014

Television programs and programming is in a weird place right now. The Golden Age of Television is long gone (although its official death came when Breaking Bad ended last year) and in its wake we're seeing a huge crop of quality TV shows from a variety of different sources. Yet despite the gross number of quality programming, there isn't a show like The Sopranos or Breaking Bad anymore. Hell, there isn't even a Lost anymore. You'd think with more traditional and non-traditional service providers cropping up that at least one of them would give us The Next Big Thing, but it hasn't happened yet. Instead, what we're left with is a shit ton of really-good-but-not-Holy-Shit-amazing shows. While the "Top 14 of 14" sounds like a gimmick, it's sort of not. There's just that much good television shows to talk about that I need to expand my list beyond a Top 10, but I had a difficult time going past 14. So without further ado, here is my list of The 14 Best TV Shows of 2014:

Grading The Best TV Shows of the Year (So Far)

2014 is only halfway over, yet there have been a litany of great television shows that have aired. Many of them I've seen, a good a majority I have not. We live in an era of television that is classified by quantity over anything else, and seeing as I am just one man, I can only watch so much. But I have watched a buttload of shows, and here are my thoughts on every television show I've seen this year.


Community (NBC)
Season: 5
Created By: Dan Harmon
Original Start Date: January 2, 2014
Grade: A

Brief Description: While I was in the minority feeling that Dan Harmon deserved to get kicked off of his own show after the atrocious Season 3, I'm glad he was brought back for Season 5. Season 4 show runners Moses Port & David Guarascio did their best Dan Harmon impression, but easily came up short creating a soulless monster. Harmon dialed back the insane extremes he took his characters to in Season 3 (mainly Abed) in this new season, and in turn created one of the smartest and funniest sitcoms around. #RIPCommunity.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)
Season: 1b
Created By: Dan Goor & Michael Schur
Original Start Date: January 7, 2014
Grade: A

Brief Description: Brooklyn Nine-Nine was one of the smartest and funniest sitcoms of 2014 and is competing against Community for the best comedy of the year. Like most sitcoms, it took a little bit to get its bearings and its voice straightened out, but those stumbling blocks came in 2013. What the FOX sitcom aired in 2014 was a well-defined and hilarious work of art filled with three-dimensional characters. Based upon how strong Season 1 was, I have no qualms with the rookie comedy wining the Golden Globe last year for Best Comedy Show, and I hope it gets a handful of Emmy nominations in a few weeks.

2014 Emmy Predictions and Hopefuls: Outstanding Comedy Series

Recently, the Emmy's released every person and show eligible in all of their categories for the 2014 Primetime Emmy's for their nomination ballot. This post is dedicated to everything related to Outstanding Comedy Series category. It will be both who I think will actually earn a nomination as well as who I think deserves to earn a nomination. However, there is one main ground rule- I have to go off of the actual Emmy nomination ballot. Which means that if the series isn't actually eligible to earn a nomination in real life, then it's not eligible to be mentioned in this post. Makes sense, doesn't it? Let's begin!

COMEDY

WHO I THINK WILL GET A NOMINATION:

- Girls (HBO)
- Louie (FX)
- Modern Family (ABC)
- Orange Is The New Black (Netflix)
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
- Veep (HBO)

2014 Emmy Power Rankings (Comedy)

Last Monday, the Emmy's released their nomination ballot for their voters to vote on. It's a comprehensive list of every single person and show that is eligible in each particular category. This list right here is a Power Rankings of the top contenders in each particular category and how I believe the nominations will play out in a month. Who do I think will get a nomination? Who do I think is in the running but will come up just short? How many major nominations will your favorite show get? Find out when you check out our 2014 Emmy Power Rankings for Comedy Series:

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

1) Orange Is The New Black (Netflix)
2) Modern Family (ABC)
3) Veep (HBO)
4) Louie (FX)
5) The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
6) Girls (HBO)
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7) Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)
8) Parks and Recreation (NBC)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR

1) Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
2) Louis C.K. (Louie)
3) Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
4) Don Chedle (House of Lies)
5) Matt LeBlanc (Episodes)
6) Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory)
_______________________________

7) Robin Williams (The Crazy Ones)
8) William H. Macy (Shameless)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS

1) Taylor Schilling (Orange Is The New Black)
2) Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep)
3) Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie)
4) Lena Dunham (Girls)
5) Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation)
6) Anna Faris (Mom)
_______________________________

7) Zooey Deschanel (New Girl)
8) Emmy Rossum (Shameless)
9) Melissa McCarthy (Mike and Molly)
10) Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs)

10 Quick Reactions To The 2014 Emmy Nomination Ballot

Throughout the entire month of May, I wrote many Emmy Questions pieces regarding many of the shows eligible and likely to be nominated for an Emmy in 2014 including House of Cards, Mad Men, Modern Family, Breaking Bad and many, many others. You can check out all of my articles here. A lot of the questions for these particular shows were regarding which categories certain actors would be nominated in. The Emmy's helped answer those questions today as they released every single show and person eligible in every single Primetime Emmy category. Here are 10 "Quick" Reaction to the 2014 Emmy Nomination Ballot that was released today.

1) True Detective

Click Here For Our True Detective Emmy Questions Post

The biggest question of all during this "Emmy pre-season" is what category would Woody Harrelson throw his hat into. HBO isn't ashamed to do what they can in order to maximize nominations and prestige, especially considering True Detective is a mini-series yet it's nominated in the Drama Series categories. Matthew McConaughey is a lock to earn a nomination, and is probably the favorite to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, so it was unclear whether Woody Harrelson would also be considered a Lead Actor as opposed to a Supporting Actor. The lead actor category is already crowded, and adding Woody Harrelson into the mix makes it almost impossible for anyone to get a nomination!

However, Woody Harrelson was clearly a co-lead with McConaughey and is eligible as such. Even though HBO probably could have maximized its nominations by submitting Harrelson as a supporting actor, the network seems so confident in the show, that Harrelson was submitted as a lead.

I was correct that Cary Joji Fukunaga submitted "Who Goes There" with its excellent oner at the end of the episode for Outstanding Directing, but I was incorrect as to what episode Nick Pizzolatto would submit in the writing category. I thought it would be the show's pilot, but it turned out to be Episode 5, "The Secret Fate of All Life." Since both Fukunaga and Pizzolatto directed and wrote, respectively, all eight episodes by themselves, they're only eligible for one nomination each.

2014 Emmy Questions: Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Click here for the introduction to The Cover 3's "2014 Emmy Questions" series

COLD, HARD LOCK NOMINATIONS: N/A

STRONG EDUCATED GUESS NOMINATIONS: Outstanding Comedy Series, Best Actor (Andy Samberg), Best Director (Phil Lord), Best Screenplay

QUESTION ONE: How will the Emmys treat Brooklyn Nine-Nine come nomination time?