Ask Matt: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’s Revolving Door, Franchise Fatigue & More

Welcome to the Q&A with TV critic — also known to some TV fans as their “TV therapist” — Matt Roush, who’ll try to address whatever you love, loathe, are confused or frustrated or thrilled by in today’s vast TV landscape. (We know background music is too loud, but there’s always closed-captioning.)

One caution: This is a spoiler-free zone, so we won’t be addressing upcoming storylines here unless it’s already common knowledge. Please send your questions and comments to [email protected] and follow me on Twitter (@TVGMMattRoush). Look for Ask Matt columns on most Tuesdays and very occasional Fridays.

Who’s Next Out the Grey-Sloan Revolving Door?

Question: So, Kelly McCreary is leaving Grey’s Anatomy, too. At this point, who is sticking around? I know it is ABC‘s signature show and a huge moneymaker, but honestly, how many people need to leave in order for them to actually start considering the end of the story?

On another note, I know the show is called Grey’s Anatomy, and I can’t believe I’m about to request less Meredith, but why do they think it’s a good idea to feature Meredith/Ellen Pompeo narrating episodes she’s not actually in? Station 19 used to have voiceovers from Jaina Lee Ortiz and then dropped those and no one seemed to notice. I respect Ellen Pompeo’s decision to leave, but it feels out of place and unnecessary for her to do voiceover when she isn’t part of the story. —Jake

Matt Roush: I get this is a rhetorical question, because we still have a very few original cast members staying put (Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr.), and Grey’s Anatomy seems to be putting many of its chips on the new batch of interns, several of whom have even moved into Chez Meredith to try to revive the vibe when Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, George, Alex and the gang were still relatively green. Cast departures are commonplace on long-running ensemble shows like this, although losing the title character for the back half of a season is a more exceptional circumstance. I expect we’re fairly near a time when ABC will decide it’s finally time to close shop, but I’d be surprised if they don’t give us a full season to prepare.

As for the narration: That is a signature of Grey’s Anatomy, and hearing Meredith’s voice providing the life-lesson context from afar lets fans know we’re still living in her world even when she’s not around. It doesn’t bother me any more than the voice-overs (which in the early days kept me from embracing the show fully) do in general.

Will Franchise Fatigue Slow Down the IP Race?

Question: The announcement of the upcoming final season of Star Trek: Discovery, the last (we think) season of Picard streaming now, the collapse of the Arrow-verse with Flash in its final season, who knows what’s going to happen with Superman and Lois, the feature films of various reboots and revived characters not making that much money — does it appear to you that intellectual property (IP) franchises are entering a down cycle? Some franchises like Star Trek seem to have a cycle of about 25-30 years. Viacom/CBS putting out so many series at once repeated what happened in the ’90s with Next Gen, Voyager, and DS9 running almost simultaneously, producing a glut that possibly people have gotten tired of, while other franchises, like James Bond movies on a slower schedule, seem to be able to go on without such ups and downs.

I’m just waiting for somebody to discover the “franchises” and reboot Beverly Hillbillies–Green Acres–Petticoat Junction” and Danny Thomas–Andy Griffith–Mayberry RFD–Gomer Pyle.” —Tom F.

Matt Roush: Anecdotally, you have an argument. But it still looks to me like the various networks’ and studios’ appetite for IP hasn’t diminished a whit. Considering Showtime’s recent pivot, developing more shows based on popular titles like Billions and Dexter, it seems that for the foreseeable future, we’ll keep seeing more of what we’ve seen before. I’d be more worried about the Trek franchise if Strange New Worlds hadn’t come on so strong last year. Discovery may well have run its course, and I like looking at Picard as a triple-layered limited series with its final act being its juiciest. The Arrow-verse, which I’d argue was overextended to begin with, was doomed by the sale of The CW, and Warner Bros. is still all in on DC properties. And as we saw with the strong launch and early renewal of the Night Court reboot, there’s an audience even for middling recreations of shows from our nostalgia memory bank.

Have Lifetime Movies Gone Darker?

Question: Have they changed the kind of movies that they show on Lifetime? I haven’t watched Lifetime in a while. I thought they had more family-oriented movies on that channel. I just watched a movie about a teenage girl who was kidnapped by a horrible man and after that a movie about a surrogate mother who died and the celebrity parents who got the baby. There were terrible people in that movie. too. So I was wondering if they have changed their movie genre. It seems like they used to have nicer movies. That’s why I don’t watch LMN anymore because of their creepy movies. I like the Hallmark channels and AMC. They have very nice movies. —Peggy

Matt Roush: AMC? I think you mean TCM, where the vintage classics may not always be nice, but on percentage, they’re nearly always excellent. As for Lifetime, you may be confusing its holiday movie lineup through November and December with its output most of the rest of the year, which leans heavily on dark and lurid stories of true or imagined crimes against women. Every so often (the Emmy-nominated Mahalia, Patsy & Loretta, the inspirational Giving Hope: The Ni’Cola Mitchell Story airing this Easter), Lifetime raises the bar, but looking at my calendar since the new year, here are some of the titles, which should tell you everything: How to Murder Your Husband, Bad Behind Bars: Jodi Arias, Sherri Papini: I Kidnapped Myself, The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story, A Rose for Her Grave: The Randy Roth Story, 12 Desperate Hours, Girl in the Closet. They’re nothing if not consistent.

Do You Wanna Dance?

Question: I know you were among the more vocal critics who blasted Dancing with the Stars after they dumped Tom Bergeron and gave the reins to Tyra Banks. I agreed with you, and also with your decision to bail on the show going forward, but are you reconsidering now that they’ve announced former Mirrorball winner Julianne Hough to return as co-host with Alfonso Ribeiro, replacing Tyra? –Kathy H.

Matt Roush: This is certainly a more agreeable hosting combo, and I trust that Julianne will keep the focus on the dancing (a nice change), although I imagine there will still be viewers who’ll never get over losing the expert hosting of Tom Bergeron — or the show moving to streaming, for that matter. That said, I’ll gauge my interest on who they cast next season, but the real issue is that I rarely have time in my schedule (thanks to the glut of multi-episode streaming originals) to give over two hours to any reality-competition series anymore. I’m even falling behind already on Top Chef: World All Stars, and that’s a favorite.

Turning the Hose on Fire

Question: I gave Fire Country a few weeks and that was enough. I’m not a critic, just a viewer. The acting and writing leave a lot to be desired. Why is it so popular? — Maureen

Matt Roush: Welcome to the world of “to each their own.” Fire Country isn’t likely ever to be an Emmy, Writers Guild, or SAG contender, but that’s not why it exists. From my perspective, it fits in pretty well to CBS’s procedural-heavy schedule as a non-taxing Friday show, and unlike Fox and NBC, the network was lacking a series in the first-responder space, so this fits that bill with a twist. Plus the show’s star and co-creator Max Thieriot no doubt has a fan base from his time on the CBS (now Paramount+) series SEAL Team. I wouldn’t debate you on its quality — like anyone, you’re entitled to your opinion — but I’m also not surprised that it’s holding its own. (Getting the post-AFC Championship Sunday slot this year didn’t hurt.)

And Finally …

Question: I know you are busy, but I must know (since I am not young) will I live to see the end of Netflix‘s The Crown and the second half of the final season of Manifest? It is way past time for them to be holding these in their vault to attract/keep subscribers. —Jackie

Matt Roush: First off, I wish you good health, and as long as we all keep kicking in 2023, we’ll get to see both of these things, Manifest presumably sooner than The Crown, which last I looked was still in production on the final Season 6. The issue with Netflix is that because its series don’t air weekly, that requires all episodes to be finished, including post-production, before anything can drop. That often means long waits between seasons that people tend to binge over a few days, with pining for more starting almost immediately. (In these cases, though, that will be all they wrote.)

That’s all for now. We can’t do this without your participation, so please keep sending questions and comments about TV to [email protected] or shoot me a line on Twitter @TVGMMattRoush. (Please include a first name with your question.)

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