When “SEAL Team” debuted on CBS in the fall of 2017, it was a show I hadn’t even planned on watching. I thought it would be your typical CBS procedural with some “rah-rah America hell yeah” energy thrown in. It just wasn’t the type of show I was looking for.

But, as one should with entertainment, you must watch something to truly know it. I gave “SEAL Team” a shot, primarily because I’d been impressed with cast member Max Thieriot’s performance in A&E’s “Bates Motel,” and now, after seven seasons and 114 episodes, I can honestly say it’s been one of my favorite shows of the last seven years.

“SEAL Team” was so much more than I expected. It wasn’t just a brainless, rah-rah military show. Sure, it was one of the most action-packed shows on television, with scenes capable of making your heart pound while watching, but where it shined was on the home front and through getting into the minds and heads of these American warriors.

Another aspect of “SEAL Team” that’s almost shocking on television today is it was able to air seven seasons and more than 100 episodes while never lacking in quality. I felt like this final season was just as interesting as any of the ones that came before it.

The seventh season focused primarily on how Jason Hayes (David Boreanaz) was dealing with his head injuries, the fallout of his calling the military out for not caring about such injuries, and how his 20-plus-year career as a Navy Seal would play out. The most significant side plots were Ray (Neil Brown Jr.), who went on what amounts to a retirement tour with the Bravo Team, and the addition of a new character, Drew Franklin (Beau Knapp), who joined the team under mysterious circumstances.

The final season did a terrific job of integrating the Drew quickly with it being only 10 episodes, something it had done the season prior with the addition of Raffi Barsoumian as Omar Hamza, who replaced Thieriot’s Clay Spenser when Thieriot left the show to lead his own drama “Fire Country” on CBS.

“SEAL Team” wrapped up in a manner that I believe should excite fans of the series. I won’t get into the odds and ends of how everything wrapped up, in case folks haven’t gotten through the end of season seven yet, but all the threads are neatly tied, and there shouldn’t be anything that leaves fans of the show upset.

I have no doubt the show could’ve continued further. As I said, there’s no lack of quality over time with the show, but there’s nothing wrong with a show going out on top before it has the time to grow stale.

“SEAL Team” more than earned its trident over its seven seasons. 

by Julian Spivey
The second episode of the milestone 50th season of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” saw stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze return as host less than a year after making his hosting debut on the show.
Bargatze’s SNL debut in season 49 was one of the best-received episodes of the season. It included memorable moments like George Washington’s Dream, which many hailed as the show’s best sketch in years, and the music video Lake Beach.

Bargatze may not have been as funny the second time, but he seemed more comfortable. The cast was clearly having a good time with him, and the show, overall, felt more relaxed than last week’s season premiere.

Here are the best and worst moments from the episode: 
​

Best
George Washington has more dreams. It was risky for ‘SNL’ to bring back last season’s best sketch for a sequel as recurring bits, something the show rarely does these days, and they are never as memorable and pleasing as the first time. And while George Washington’s feelings about the duality of many English language words weren’t quite as funny as last year’s take on the differences between England and America, it was still pretty humorous, and Bargatze, a rare host with a recurring sketch, fits the writing of the sketch perfectly with his signature deadpan humor.  

Worst
If you had told me one of the most disappointing moments of Bargatze’s episode would’ve been his monologue before the show, I would’ve thought you were insane. Bargatze might be the single funniest stand-up comedian of this moment, and his monologue from last year was a highlight of an excellent episode. If there’s one thing Bargatze should knock out of the park on ‘SNL,’ it's his monologue. While Bargatze’s homespun humor revolving around how some words, like ‘oil’ are hard to say for Southerners and the embarrassment of having two Door Dash drivers show up at your house at the same time did provide laughs, it simply wasn’t as good as one what expect from a comedian of Bargatze’s stature. 

Best
Heidi Gardner has been one of my favorite cast members since her debut season on the show. Her willingness to dive in and go for laughs at any cost is something I’ve always loved about her. And she certainly dove in and dove in hard during Saturday’s Mile High Burger Challenge, where her character must try to eat the largest cheeseburger you’ve ever seen in your life in 10 minutes or less. What ups the ante is that this is happening during a family conversation about what to do with their elderly father, who might have dementia. When Gardner faceplanted full speed into the burger, something that caused nearly everyone in the sketch, but especially Bowen Yang, to break, I couldn’t control my laughter. 

Worst
There weren’t any eye-rolling-inducing sketches on ‘SNL’ this week, which is hard to do for any sketch comedy show with comedy being so hit or miss. Still, the one that spoke to me the least on Saturday night was the Sabado Gigante sketch featuring Marcello Hernandez as Don Francisco and Bargatze as a pulled-from-the-audience contestant who doesn’t understand a lick of Spanish. Bargatze does really well in these fish-out-of-water bits, but this gave me the fewest laughs of all that appeared on the show this week. 

Best
The golf tournament pre-tape featuring Bargatze as a professional golfer having the worst of all luck had me in stitches. From the moment he hits the bird on his tee shot, you know this guy isn’t going to have anything go his way. For me, the biggest laugh was the upside-down dead turtle in the pond. The “what can possibly happen next” aspect of the sketch, coupled with Bargatze’s reactions to his horrible luck, made this one of the night’s best moments. 

Worst
What’s going on with Please Don’t Destroy? The comedy trio of Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy appeared in nearly every season 49 episode and in many shows before that since joining the show as writers and digital video guys in 2021. It is bizarre for them not to appear in the first two episodes of season 50. It occurred to me how odd it was when this weekend’s episode featured a digital short from The Lonely Island crew with Andy Samberg, who’s been hanging around to show to play Doug Emhoff in the cold openings, and Akiva Schaffer as two businessmen rapping about a business idea called “Sushi Glory Hole.” The video/song was fun, don’t get me wrong, and it’s nice to see a Lonely Island bit in the milestone 50th season, but where are my Please Don’t Destroy guys? 

The 50th season of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” began on Saturday, Sept. 28, hosted by “Hacks” stars and multiple-time Emmy Award winner Jean Smart.

Here are the best & worst moments of the season premiere: 
​

Best
‘SNL’ always seems a little more fun during election years – although 2020 was a huge disappointment with the stunt casting of Jim Carrey as Joe Biden to go along with the stale Donald Trump performance of Alec Baldwin.

There was still hope that this year’s election would provide some fun, even with Trump still involved (James Austin Johnson’s accurate portrayal brought new life into the performance). The season premiere didn’t disappoint, opening with an almost 15-minute sketch focusing on political rallies of both Kamala Harris and Trump.

Maya Rudolph has reprised her role as Kamala Harris, which she debuted during the 2020 election season. It’s a solid performance that mixes accuracy with a “fun aunt” personality.

I had figured ‘SNL’ might be done with the stunt casting of prominent political figures letting cast members have the spotlight instead, but they immediately put that to bed with the debut of comedian Jim Gaffigan as Harris’ running mate Tim Walz. Gaffigan is the perfect casting for the role and did a supreme job as the Minnesota Governor, so I couldn’t be upset about it. The casting of former ‘SNL’ cast member Andy Samberg as possible First Gentleman Doug Emhoff was a bit more confusing. Samberg has never been known for impressions and doesn’t have the right feel for Emhoff, though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t laugh.

The best new impression of the sketch came from perhaps the finest impressionist in ‘SNL’ history. Dana Carvey returned to Studio 8H to debut his terrific impression of President Joe Biden. Amazingly, he’s the 10th different person to portray Biden on the show.

The most head-scratching impression, even more so than Samberg as Emhoff, was Bowen Yang as J.D. Vance, a move that sees ‘SNL’ go from an accurate portrayal to one of intentionally mocking the real-life person. I’m for it because I know how much it’ll probably get under Vance’s skin. 

Worst
So, there was nothing during the season premiere that I felt was offensively bad, but there was one sketch in the second half of the episode I knew undoubtedly wasn’t for me, and that was The Talk Talk Show with Charli XCX featuring Yang as the pop star. I’m sure members of Gen Z may have enjoyed it, but rarely has an ‘SNL’ sketch ever made me feel old, and at 37 years old, I knew this one was for folks younger than me. 

Best
Yang has made quite a name for himself for the wild and wacky Weekend Update spots he’s done over the years, like the iceberg that sunk the Titanic. One of his best yet came during the premiere when he portrayed the internet’s cutest new sensation, Moo Deng, the pygmy hippo, as a celebrity struggling with newfound celebrity in a clear take on pop star Chappell Roan. The sketch included Moo Deng hilariously demanding “hose” and then being sprayed in the face with water while trying to drink the water. It was a perfect showcase for Yang’s brand of humor, though it has gotten him into a bit of hot water from some fans mistakenly feeling he was being mean to Chappell Roan, who he’s a fan of. Chappell Roan will be a guest on ‘SNL’ on Nov. 2. Maybe the two can do a bit together? 

Worst
Spirit Halloween’s response to the show’s satirical Spirit Halloween ad. ‘SNL’ did a humorous commercial on the premiere about how Spirit Halloween swoops into all of your city’s abandoned buildings for one month a year to sell you Halloween costumes. It wasn’t an original idea but a comical one with some good lines. Then, the next day, the actual Spirit Halloween, thinking it could out comedy, the professional comedians acted butt-hurt on social media, mocking the show with a new costume of a ‘SNL’ cast member with the packaging reading: “dated references,” “unknown cast members” and “shrinking ratings.” It’s not the first time a company has taken an ‘SNL’ sketch far too seriously, and every time, the business comes off looking ridiculous for doing so.  

Disclaimer (AppleTV+) – Friday, October 11
All of the other great actresses of the modern era have brought their talents to the small screen, so now it’s Cate Blanchett’s time with AppleTV+’s psychological thriller “Disclaimer.” The seven-episode limited series, written and directed by Oscar-winner Alfonso Cuaron, sees Blanchett as a respected journalist/documentarian who discovers she is a novel's main character, revealing a hidden secret. The series co-stars Oscar-winner Kevin Kline and Oscar-nominated actors Sacha Baron Cohen and Kodi Smit-McPhee. 

Shrinking (AppleTV+) – Wednesday, October 16
“Shrinking,” the Bill Lawrence/Brett Goldstein/Jason Segel-created comedy that stars Segel as a therapist struggling with grief after the death of his wife, was one of the best new series of 2023 and returns for a second season on AppleTV+ on Wednesday, Oct. 16. The best thing about “Shrinking” is the wonderful chemistry between the ensemble cast that includes Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams and Christa Miller that made for some of the biggest laughs on TV last year. 

2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (Disney+) – Saturday, October 19
Disney+ will carry the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony live for the second year. This year’s Rock Hall inductees are A Tribe Called Quest, Mary J. Blige, Jimmy Buffett, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Alexis Korner, John Mayall, MC5, Ozzy Osbourne, Suzanne De Passe, Big Mama Thornton, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield. The star-studded evening will include appearances and performances by Kenny Chesney, Chuck D., Roger Daltrey, Dr. Dre, Sammy Hagar, Jelly Roll, Dua Lipa,  Demi Lovato, The Roots, James Taylor, Keith Urban and more. An edited broadcast will appear on ABC on New Year’s Day 2025.

Before (AppleTV+) – Friday, October 25
AppleTV+’s limited series “Before,” premiering on Friday, Oct. 25, is exciting primarily for two reasons: 1) Billy Crystal’s first significant role in some time 2) Billy Crystal in a dramatic role. Crystal stars as a recently widowed child psychologist whose newest client is connected to his past. The 10-episode series co-stars Judith Light, Rosie Perez and Jacobi Jupe.  

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen (Disney+ & Hulu) – Friday, October 25
“Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen,” premiering simultaneously on Disney+ and Hulu on Friday, Oct. 25, is being billed as “the most in-depth look ever at the creation of the [Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band]’s legendary live performances.” The documentary, directed by Thom Zimny, includes footage of rehearsals, backstage moments, archival clips and reflections from Springsteen himself. It’ll be a must-watch for Springsteen fans. 

Here I am again — in a waiting room. It doesn’t matter if I’m at my general practitioner or dentist or, in this case, waiting for my sister-in-law to deliver her baby girl and make me an uncle for the first time. 

There’s one thing all of these places have in common, whether I’m in my home state or visiting family multiple states away. 

​HGTV will be on the waiting room television - probably at a higher than necessary volume. That way, it can drown out the screams of the dentist drilling through your enamel or the women in the throes of labor pain. 

It’s the most harmless of all entertainment options. No cable news to remind those waiting on their procedure or their loved ones to pop a watermelon-sized baby out of their body that the world is a crazy and dangerous place. There are no politics potentially leading to fisticuffs in the room between lefties and righties bickering over the fall of America, which they can both agree is happening but can’t agree on the reasonings why.

And there’s never sports because you don’t want fans loudly cheering or jeering on a game while medical procedures go down behind the doors and walls. If there is screaming, it will be because there’s a watermelon passing through one’s birth canal and not because your team’s right fielder dropped a ball he’d lost in the sun. 

Have you ever noticed that despite the fact that these shows on HGTV feature differing faces and different names, they’re all essentially the same? Someone is helping a couple, almost always white and straight, find the right dream home, usually deemed a fixer-upper, within a certain budget, and then they start remodeling, knocking all sorts of walls down, and making it the perfect little home. 

I don’t even spend that much time in waiting rooms. But I’ve seen enough HGTV for life. Dammit, Julia, is that kid here yet?! 

Slow Horses: Season 4 (AppleTV+) – Wednesday, September 4
The fourth season of AppleTV+’s drama series “Slow Horses” premieres on Wednesday, September 4, hot after receiving nine Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (Gary Oldman), and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Jack Lowden). “Slow Horses” has become one of television’s best examples of an exciting spy thriller in recent years. 

Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist (Peacock) – Thursday, September 5
“Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” tells the story of a heist in Atlanta in 1970 at an afterparty for a historic Muhammad Ali comeback fight. Based on the 2020 iHeart true-crime podcast of the same name, ‘Fight Night’ features Kevin Hart as a hustler named Chicken Man, who’s looking to clear his name as the number one suspect of the heist. The supporting cast features Don Cheadle, Taraji P. Henson, Terrence Howard and Samuel L. Jackson. The eight-episode limited series premieres on Peacock on Thursday, September 5. 

Frasier: Season 2 (Paramount+) – Thursday, September 19
Paramount+’s reboot of “Frasier” last year was better than anything I expected. It wasn’t quite the same award-winning series we remembered from the ‘90s and early ‘00s, of course, without the supporting cast of David Hyde Pierce, Jane Leeves and the late John Mahoney, but still full of laughs at the expense of the hoity-toity titular character, still played with ease by Kelsey Grammer. The second season premieres on Thursday, September 19.   

Colin From Accounts (Paramount+) – Thursday, September 26
The Australian import “Colin From Accounts,” which streams in the U.S. on Paramount+, was one of the pleasant surprises of 2023. The series features real-life couple Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer as a couple of down-on-their-luck people who have a meet-cute that turns complicated when a stray dog is struck by a car, and they decide to take care of it. The sitcom, which initially airs on the Australian streamer Binge, is occasionally more broad than American sitcoms, but the chemistry between Brammall and Dyer makes the show worthwhile. The second season drops on Paramount+ on Thursday, September 26. 

With the 50th season of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” set to premiere on September 28, we should be finding out the host of the season premiere any day now.

I’m sure the network and producer Lorne Michaels will pull out all the stops this season for the milestone 50th season of the show, with multiple anniversary specials set to air in the early part of 2025. I’m sure we’ll see many famous and fan-loved familiar faces joining the show during this season.
But it’s always been my hope that Michaels and SNL would celebrate the 50th season in a truly spectacular fashion by hosting all 20 of its episodes during the season by former cast members of the show.

Ideally, I’d like to see the show choose stars from each era of ‘SNL’ to host throughout the season. How about Dan Aykroyd representing the original cast? Eddie Murphy for the early ‘80s when he essentially saved the show from extinction. Dana Carvey for the late ‘80s. Adam Sandler for the early ‘90s. Will Ferrell could represent the late ‘90s. Tina Fey or Jimmy Fallon for the early ‘00s. Then, you could take your pick from Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, Andy Samberg, etc. Kate McKinnon could represent the most recent era.

Unfortunately, this dream is probably too far-fetched, especially in the entertainment business that relies so much on Nielsen ratings to measure success. Would the show feature more eyes with, say, Dana Carvey, returning to host it over someone like the summer star of 2024, Glen Powell? Probably not. No doubt, the ‘SNL’ fanatics would be pumped, but it wouldn’t drive the extra viewers that the network and show hope to boost the ratings.

I’m sure familiar faces will return to host the show this year. One’s who are relevant in the pop culture zeitgeist at the moment or are perhaps big enough to sustain a large audience on their own. But for some of the show’s legends, the best we can probably hope for is a fun cameo during the season or maybe on one of the star-studded anniversary specials, similar to what we saw 10 years ago for the show’s epic three-hour 40th anniversary special.

But if I had my choice of how I would like to see the episodes go this year, it would look something like this:

1. Dan Aykroyd & Bill Murray
Ideally, it would be great to let Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray each host a separate episode, but ‘SNL’ rarely has hosts the age of these guys. Aykroyd is 72 and Murray will be 74 by the season premiere. But if they could share hosting duties and swap off the amount of time each would need to appear on screen, I think it could be done. The only problem is whether they would want to do it. Murray is a member of the hailed Five-Timers Club, but he hasn’t hosted ‘SNL’ since 1999. Though Aykroyd has appeared on the show many times since he left after its fourth season, he’s only hosted once, and that came more than 20 years ago. Another thing that would be genuinely cool would be to see Chevy Chase return to the show to say, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night,” one last time. But he’s reportedly been long banned from the show for, let’s say, his cantankerous personality.

2. Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy seems like one of the more likely former cast members to return to host the show for its milestone season. He returned in December 2019, which was his first appearance on the show other than a brief 40th-anniversary cameo since the ‘80s. That 2019 show was an instant classic, and he seemed to enjoy his time on it.

3. Dana Carvey with David Spade (or Mike Myers)
Dana Carvey is one of the greatest cast members in the history of ‘SNL,’ though he may be the person on this list with the least successful post-‘SNL’ career. Still, that hasn’t kept him from returning to host in the past, as recently as 2011. Carvey is only one hosting gig away from the coveted Five-Timer’s Club and, surely, the show wouldn’t want to keep him from that honor. Pairing Carvey with his “Fly on the Wall” podcast host and former castmate David Spade would make perfect sense. Having him co-host a show with his “Wayne’s World” partner, Mike Myers, would also be a huge nostalgic moment. See, ‘SNL,’ there are options!

4. Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler was the biggest “why hasn’t this cast member returned to host the show” question mark for the longest time before he finally made his host debut in 2019. That hosting stint came on the heels of his Netflix comedy special “Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh.” His latest stand-up special, “Adam Sandler: Love You,” just dropped on Netflix, and that, combined with the show’s 50th anniversary, means there’s no better time for his second hosting gig.

5. Will Ferrell
Many consider Will Ferrell the greatest cast member in the history of ‘SNL.’ He was undoubtedly the MVP of his era. So, why wouldn’t you want that guy to return for the significant milestone? He’s probably one of the likeliest former cast members we’ll see host this season. Ferrell has hosted five times, most recently in 2019.

6. Tina Fey & Amy Poehler
Like Aykroyd and Murray before them, I’d be perfectly fine seeing Tina Fey and Amy Poehler host stand-alone episodes, but if you can get these two to do the show together, you definitely should. Fey and Poehler are two of the most successful and vital female cast members in the show’s history, and it was Fey’s turn as head writer of the show that turned the tide from ‘SNL’ as a boy’s club into a show that females could eventually dominate.

7. Kristen Wiig
Kristen Wiig is considered by many to be the MVP of her era, which contained some major heavy hitters and multiple names you’ll see on this list. She just hosted the show last season, her fifth time hosting, so it might be a bit soon for her and the show, but with it being a milestone such as this, they should throw that out the window.

8. Kate McKinnon
It didn’t take long for Kate McKinnon to take over as the ‘SNL’ MVP once Wiig left the show in 2012. For many people, if they don’t consider Wiig the greatest female cast member in the show’s history, then it’s McKinnon they would have at the top spot. Like Wiig, McKinnon returned to host ‘SNL’ just last season, but fans wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to see her every year if offered.

9. Maya Rudolph
Much like the two legendary ladies above, Maya Rudolph hosted ‘SNL’ last season, and it may be too soon for a return appearance as host. But the show has already announced that Rudolph will be reprising her role as Kamala Harris throughout the election, where we will get to see her go toe-to-toe against James Austin Johnson’s terrific Donald Trump impression. Might as well let her host one of the week’s she’s going to be at the show anyway.

10. Jimmy Fallon
I’m legitimately surprised we don’t see Jimmy Fallon host ‘SNL’ on an almost annual basis. He films “The Tonight Show” in the same building, seems to be the biggest fanboy of the show, and is close to Michael. Surprisingly, he hasn’t hosted since 2017. Maybe his day job takes too much of his time? But I’d be shocked if he wasn’t on the shortlist to host in season 50.

11. Seth Meyers
For some of the same reasons I said about Fallon, I’m surprised Seth Meyers hasn’t been back to host ‘SNL’ more often. Since leaving the show in 2014, he has only returned to host once in 2018. He’s less of a performer than Fallon, but I thought his hosting stint in 2018 was rather good. He’s probably the greatest living Weekend Update anchor the show has ever seen.

12. Bill Hader
Bill Hader is one of the most beloved cast members in ‘SNL’ history, both for memorable characters like Stefon and as one of the greatest impressionists the show has ever seen. I don’t know how truthful this is, but I heard on an episode of the Saturday Night Network podcast that it seems like Hader doesn’t have a lot of interest in returning to host ‘SNL.’ He returned twice in 2014 and 2018, but he seems happy doing his own projects. He’d be on my very short list if I were Michaels.

13. Jason Sudeikis
When Jason Sudeikis returned to host ‘SNL’ in 2021, it was one of the most joyous returns from a former cast member returning to host. I’d love to see him back. He may be a bit busy focusing on these rumors as to whether or not his Emmy-winning AppleTV+ series “Ted Lasso” is or isn’t going to return for a fourth season, though.

14. Chris Rock
Chris Rock didn’t have the most successful ‘SNL’ career, which is no fault of his own. Even in the early ‘90s, when he was on the show, the show still didn’t know how to feature an African-American cast member positively. He became a massive star following his departure. He’s returned to host the show three times, most recently in 2020.

15. Tracy Morgan
Few cast members have been as likable in their returns to host as Tracy Morgan, who returned to host in 2009 and 2015. Almost a decade without hosting the show is too long! Morgan has timeless characters, such as Brian Fellows and Astronaut Jones, that would easily play in today’s world.

16. Will Forte
Will Forte is one of those guys whose lack of high-profile work currently could keep him from returning to the show. He recently had a Netflix series, “Bodkin,” that looked promising but gained zero attention in the pop culture zeitgeist. Still, he’s a popular figure within Studio 8H and among hardcore ‘SNL’ fans. So, there’s a reason to hope.

17. Andy Samberg
Andy Samberg was one of the most influential cast members in ‘SNL’ history with the digital shorts he did with his The Lonely Island cohorts. Coming on the show around the same time YouTube debuted helped send his career and videos online into the stratosphere. Samberg has only returned to host the show once since he left in 2012, doing so in 2014. It’s time for him to return.

18. Cecily Strong
Cecily Strong is the only former cast member on this list who hasn’t returned to host the show, but that has a lot to do with her being the most recent on this list to leave the show in December of 2022. I hope her standing with the show is good, as I know she was initially supposed to be in the cold open of an episode last year but backed out after dress rehearsal, supposedly due to how offensive it was. Honestly, the show should’ve cut it. It bombed worse than any cold opening in show history. Hopefully, that’s not something Michaels and the show would hold against a legendary cast member.

19. Molly Shannon
Molly Shannon did a lot of heavy lifting in the late ‘90s on ‘SNL’ so the women of the last 25 years on the show could become the huge stars they are. It was great to see Shannon return to host just two seasons ago, her second hosting stint but first in 16 years. Hopefully, the show doesn’t wait as long between her second and third hosting stints.

20. Conan O’Brien      
So, this one is cheating just a little bit because Conan O’Brien was a writer on ‘SNL’ but never a cast member. It’s crazy that O’Brien has only hosted the show once, back in 1999 when he hosted ‘Late Night’ on NBC. He, of course, had a high profile falling out with NBC since then, getting screwed out of “The Tonight Show” gig. However, O’Brien has appeared on ‘SNL’ since then in a cameo in 2022. He currently has a travel show on Max, so if it were ever time to bring him back to Studio 8H to host, it would be now.

Season two of “The House of the Dragon” returned to HBO this summer. The prequel series to the massively successful HBO series, “Game of Thrones,” continued to show us the events that unfolded within the Targaryen family 300 years before the events of the original series.

As we know, King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Constantine) had decided to make his daughter, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), his rightful heir. This, of course, caused controversy because she is a female. He was given the crown over his sister, Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), because of his gender. He overlooked his brother, Daemon (Matt Smith), who is now married to Princess Rhaenyra. On his deathbed, he told his wife, Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke), of a prophecy of The Prince That Was Promised. She mistakenly believes that this means he is wanting their son, Prince Aegon II (Tom Glenn-Carney) to ascend the throne. Alicent’s misunderstanding pushes all the events of the war into motion.

Season two sees Princess Rhaenyra out for blood. The young prince, Aemond, has killed her son, Jacaerys, and she wants payback — his head on a stick! When the assassin cannot locate Aemond in the castle, the events that unfold lead to shocking deaths and consequences for everyone involved.

Rhaenyra struggles with the idea of the war. Is it avoidable? She wants to know for certain before waging it. When it becomes apparent that it is unavoidable, she struggles to find the best action to win it.
King Aegon II suffers a major blow to his rule and new leadership threatens to undermine him. Prince Aemond becomes even more arrogant and vindictive. Queen Alicent starts to feel remorseful that a war is going to take place at all ... it is impossible to feel sorry for her, though, knowing that she played a major role in it all happening in the first place. Finally, Prince Daemon battles some major inner demons that threaten his chances to be an asset to Princess Rhaenyra’s challenge to the throne.

“House of the Dragon” continued the high production value of its predecessor to almost perfection. The show has such beautiful production design, exquisite costumes, astonishing visual effects, and great acting, and it delivers shocking events in the perfect direction. You should never think any character is safe, even with a smaller cast. They are not. The feeling that no character was safe was one thing that made “Game of Thrones” so exciting to watch and that same uneasiness for a character’s fate remains in ‘HOTD.’

One thing that hurts this series is that the momentum was able to continue a little easier in the original “Game of Thrones.” This is probably because there were so many characters and so many stories. If the progression of one story took longer, we could focus on more interesting ones for the time being. The scope of the prequel is focused solely on this small portion of characters, making it more difficult for the writers to keep everything compelling.

One thing is for sure, though: the season starts with a huge bang. The first five episodes are truly compelling and suspenseful television. The problem is that it isn’t able to sustain that momentum throughout the entire season (even with the episode total being reduced from 10 in the first season to just eight for the second season). It is clear, though, that this season does appear to be really setting the scene for an epic third season.

Hopefully, the less compelling moments of season two will lead to an action-packed blockbuster of season three. One thing is clear, though: war (and winter) is coming. 

The Clinton Presidential Center Presents program featured the “What’s Next? The Legacy of “The West Wing,” a conversation with actors and authors Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack on Monday, August 26, at the William J. Clinton Library and Museum in Little Rock, Ark.

The program was held in conjunction with the center’s newest exhibition, Commanding the Screen: The American Presidency in Film and Television, which began on August 17 and will run through March 23, 2025. That exhibition explores cinematic performances of fictional and real-life presidents and features original costumes, props, and other memorabilia from TV and film featuring the American presidency. I hope to check it out soon.

Dr. Jay Barth, the director of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, moderated Monday night’s event asking Fitzgerald and McCormack questions over the hour-long program about the impact of “The West Wing,” some behind the scenes of the show and how it has impacted society, both in American and abroad.

Barth also took questions from audience members who appeared live at the center and via a live stream and had previously submitted questions when registering for the event.

Fitzgerald portrayed Carol Fitzpatrick, assistant to press secretary C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney) for the entire seven-season run of “The West Wing.” Since the series ended, Fitzgerald has left acting behind to focus on civic duty as the Senior Director for the nonprofit organization Justice For Vets.

McCormack, who claimed at the Q&A that she’s “always late to the party,” joined the cast of “The West Wing” in the show’s fifth season as Deputy National Security Advisor Kate Harper and stayed with the show until it ended with its seventh season in 2006. Since the end of “The West Wing,” McCormack has starred in the USA Network drama “In Plain Sight” and the excellent but unfortunately short-lived ABC sitcom “The Kids Are Alright.”

Fitzgerald and McCormack’s book What’s Next: A Backstage Pass to The West Wing, which was available for purchase at the event and the authors signed for fans following the Q&A, was published by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House, on August 13. The two have been on a book tour since.

Fitzgerald mentioned that she had been approached to write a book about “The West Wing” around 2019 and had asked McCormack to collaborate with her at a birthday party for fellow cast member and friend Janney. They joked that they decided upon it after being a bit overserved at that party.

There were a lot of interesting anecdotes during the Q&A event, like talk of who some ideal casting may have been for some of the roles – some of which I’d known (like Sidney Poitier as President) but others who weren’t known for acting like former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. The original idea for the series was to focus solely on the President’s staff, with the President rarely seen. That all changed, of course, when the fantastic Martin Sheen was cast as President Josiah Bartlet.

Fitzgerald shared a story about how generous Sheen was with the entire cast and crew from day one on the set, how he shook hands and held conversations with every background artist, Sheen’s preferred term for “extras,” and how everybody was part of a family.

The show ended 18 years ago, but Fitzgerald and McCormack's words about their cast mates and friends show that the feeling of being a family is still felt by all today. Much of the cast is evidently in the same text chain, with the exception of Sheen, who’s more of a Luddite.  

Fitzgerald and McCormack's discussion was a terrific way to begin the celebration of the 25th anniversary of “The West Wing,” which premiered on NBC on September 22, 1999. I can’t wait to dig into their book, as I have been waiting for such a thing to exist for many years.

​“Evil” wrapped up its terrific four-season run on Paramount+ on Thursday, August 22, with its finale, aptly titled “Fear of the End.”

“Evil” and its showrunners, Robert and Michelle King, were put in a box in bringing their beloved series to an end. They were informed after the originally 10-episode fourth season was through filming that it wouldn’t return for a fifth season but were gifted an additional four episodes to wrap the story. It was a gift for the show and the fans but also an unenviable task to try to wrap such a complicated story in such a short amount of time.

The series features three people: Kristen (an agnostic psychologist), David (a Catholic priest), and Ben (an atheist scientist), who come together to attempt to access and solve supernatural religiously related cases.

The show had such a high with its 10th episode of season four, which was supposed to be the fourth season’s finale, in which Leland Townshend (Michael Emerson), the show’s main villain over its run, having a final showdown with his ex and Kristen’s mom, Sheryl (Christine Lahti), which ended the season in tragedy and would’ve set up perfectly for a fifth season.

The additional four episodes that concluded the series were entertaining. Still, certain aspects were clearly rushed, especially how the show dealt with Kristen’s marriage to Andy (Patrick Brammall) and its ultimate path to dealing with Leland.

The Kings, being the witty, sarcastic writers and showrunners they are, dealt with the final four episodes by throwing the fact that they had been canceled into the faces of the network hosting them. Not only has “Evil,” the show, been canceled, but so has the Church’s accessors program and St. Joseph’s Church itself, which is being sold off to help the Catholic Church financially.

I never expected that our trio of heroes would be able to defeat evil itself. I don’t know if anything could beat the idea of evil. So, there would always be a feeling of not necessarily receiving closure with the show. But it at least felt like the show would end with Leland’s defeat – and in a way, it did, but it also had to be left open-ended enough for the possibility of the show continuing elsewhere. The Kings and the cast want to continue work on “Evil,” but I feel like if there were going to be a savior for the show, it would’ve come by now – but maybe another entity like Netflix, which has seen success streaming the series’ first three seasons – was waiting for the series to finish airing and seeing the response and numbers before deciding.

And, so just as the show has been put in a box by its abrupt cancellation and limited wrap-up, Leland too has been placed in a box, literally, with his new home being the box at a silent monastery from season two’s fantastic episode “S is for Silence,” which was supposed to have held a demon before Kristen (Katja Herbers) accidentally let it loose.

It’s a good enough place to store Leland while the show is potentially in limbo, but I have a feeling it’ll be his place for eternity.

Our three heroes' friendship will never be defeated by evil, but their paths have been forced to diverge due to the assessor’s program in New York coming to an end. Ben (Aasif Mandvi) has taken a high-paying desk job that he can’t pass up to travel across the world with David (Mike Colter) and Kristen, who have left for the Vatican to continue their job trying to uncover and defeat evil.

The show always seemed to be on the path of Kristen and David winding up together – whether they end up as an actual romantic couple or remain two friends who love and need each other – but that path was forced into hyperdrive by the show’s untimely ending. This may have been how it would always end for these two characters. Open-ended.  

Ultimately, I think “Evil” did the best it could, given its circumstances. It’s not the complete closure I would’ve wanted from one of the best TV shows of the last half-decade, but it’s nice to have at least the chance to have an ending.