April Roundup: 'Matlock' Finale, 'Heartstopper' News and Love for 'The Pitt'

Also, 'The Conners' Wraps Up, 'The Big Bang Theory' Podcast, more Joyful Things and Thai celebrating its New Year!

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April was a good month with so much goodness that I was excited about as an entertainment fan as well as my job as a journalist. So, in case you missed any of my work this month, here’s a recap:

Who knew a broadcast drama starring an Oscar winner in her 70s would grab awards and, more importantly, solid ratings in a time when streaming is the cool kid on the block? But CBS’s Matlock premiered last fall and wasn’t the direct reboot of the Andy Griffith series but, instead, gave us a legal drama with Kathy Bates as sharp, elderly lawyer Madeleine Matlock, aka Madeleine Kingston.

Matty, using the Matlock name and acknowledging the classic TV show as a way to disarm and charm people, gets herself a job at a prestigious firm in hopes of finding out who suppressed key evidence that could’ve stopped the opioid crisis that took the life of Matty’s daughter. This mystery was the first season through-line and many of the show’s storylines came to a head in the first season finale on April 17. For Variety, I talked to Matlock showrunner/executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman about everything that went down and what it all means for the show’s second season.

Saying goodbye to the TV family we first met in 1988 happened on April 23 when the last episode of The Conners aired on ABC. I cover the history of the show including Roseanne, the Roseanne revival and how the show crashed and burned but was saved with The Conners. Check out my story in the Los Angeles Times when all the main cast member weighed in on what it meant to say farewell. Read the oral history of the show here.

Justin Stephens / Disney

Besides The Conners ending its run, a lot of shows are wrapping up their current seasons in fine fashion. First, Prime Video’s House of David finished it’s freshman season with that epic David and Goliath battle. I talked to executive producers (and co-directors of the finale) Jon Erwin and Jon Gunn about how they pulled it off and what’s in store for Season 2. Check out the story here.

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I’ve been holding my breath (like so many of you) waiting to hear if we were going to get a fourth season of Netflix’s Heartstopper. The coming of age/coming out/love story of jock Nick (Kit Connor) and sensitive Charlie (Joe Locke) has had three wonderful seasons full of laughs, tears and a community of friends that we’d all like to be a part of. But with Connor and Locke both blowing up on Broadway, film and TV, it was starting to seem unlikely they’d even have time to continue the show. Thankfully, we heard last week that in lieu of a fourth season, we’ll be getting a final movie to wrap up the story. I’ll take it! Here’s more:

April is also the month for Thai New Year so I ventured out to explore four major areas of Bangkok to see first hand what the celebrating was all about and, thanks to my husband Boyd, we also found out why water is always a big part of it.

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It felt like a good time this month to bring another edition of Joyful Things. Here’s my latest feel-good clips from TV and film classics and now.

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TV show podcasts are a thing now and while even I can’t listen to them all, this one celebrating The Big Bang Theory is a must-listen. My pal, fellow journalist and New York Times best selling author Jessica Radloff, is the host of the new podcast so I hopped on zoom with her to talk about how it all came together and what we can expect on the podcast. I also tried to stump her with some TBBT trivia so check out the video in the post below to see if I was successful or not! (You can also find the podcast on Apple, Spotify and anywhere else you get your podcasts!)

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Is The Pitt worth all the hype it was getting while its first season was airing on MAX? The short answer is ABSOLUTELY! The hospital drama just wrapped one of the most heart wrenching, perfect first seasons I’ve seen in a television series in a long time. So, I weighed in about what makes the show so great and why it’s definitely worth your time (as is the hilarious NBC medical comedy St. Denis Medical…though Netflix’s new drama Pulse is one you can skip!).

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Holy Box Office! It’s not a new thing for Jesus Christ drama The Chosen to premiere its season first in movie theaters but season five airing in theaters hit some new records that are worth shouting about. Check out my story below on just how much better the box office was compared with last year when Season 4 dropped there first.

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April was also a good month to tout that what I’m doing here on Substack is something that I don’t do for the money but it’s a resounding show of faith when I get a paid subscriber (monthly or annually). Of course, free subscriptions are also still available so if you haven’t subscribed yet, click on the story below and sign up! I thank you in advance!

And if you’re at a loss to find a good show to watch, check out Diarra from Detroit, which bends a few genres and after a first run on streamer BET+, it aired earlier this year on the cable channel BET. Another good reason? It’s coming back for a second season!