Ask Matt: Why So Long Between Streaming Seasons? ‘Yellowstone’s Ending, ‘Penguin’s Scene Stealer & 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]. Look for Ask Matt columns on most Tuesdays and very occasional Fridays.
Diplomatically Speaking, We Can’t Wait for Season 3!
Question: I just completed Season 2 of The Diplomat on Netflix. Other than the reduced episode count of six instead of eight that Season 1 offered, I loved it. Season 3 has already been greenlit by Netflix, but I’ve read that it isn’t likely to arrive until the first half of 2026! Do you know why it takes so long for streaming platforms to produce 6-8 episodes of television? I realize we experienced COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021 and then the dual writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023. But those events didn’t stop Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building from reliably producing 10-episode seasons every summer between 2021 and 2024. I would think that both The Diplomat and Only Murders in the Building would have similar post-production schedules unlike a series such as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. It seems a fair comparison and a fair question. What takes so long?! — Kelly
Matt Roush: It is a fair question, but one that’s hard to answer, because each show works on its own timetable, and with most streaming series, especially on Netflix, an entire season must be written, filmed and completed before it can air. (A show like Only Murders has a bit more leeway because the episodes drop weekly, and before the most recent season began this summer, I didn’t have access to the entire season.) The long lapse between seasons 1 and 2 of The Diplomat was ascribed in at least one interview with the show’s creator as being a matter of exhaustion, and there’s also a matter of scheduling people with busy careers when production is of such a limited duration. (If someone is contracted to a longer TV season, it’s a different story.) Until Netflix announces an official release date, I’ll stay hopeful we’ll get the third season sometime in 2025, because the Season 2 cliffhanger was bananas, and I want more!
Does Yellowstone Really Have to End?
Question: We’re finally going to see part 2 of Season 5 of Yellowstone. Since part 1, all those months ago, I’ve read all I can about the Kevin Costner/Taylor Sheridan situation. I think Mr. Sheridan has a tremendous ego that no one can battle; and I understand Mr. Costner wanting to move forward with Horizon, although I heard part 1 tanked at the box office. My question: With John Dutton in Helena as Governor, he could easily vanish from the show. So why can’t the show go on? The show has become far more than Kevin Costner. Fans are invested in other characters as well. It saddens me to think this wonderful cast has lost their jobs because of whatever the Costner/Sheridan situation is. Was it even considered to continue? — Debi S., Cheyenne, WY
Matt Roush: After reading this excellent profile of Kelly “Beth” Reilly, which suggests toward the end that there might still be more life for the Duttons in some form or other after these last six episodes begin airing on Sunday, I wouldn’t worry too much about the end of Yellowstone. The series as we know it may be ending, and the departure of the patriarch (however they end up writing him out) could be a catalyst for that, but Yellowstone has become a cottage industry, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some aspect of the original series reflected in whatever spinoffs or sequels are to come. I doubt the final chapter has been written yet, especially where Beth and Rip (and maybe a few others) are concerned. Regardless of the logistics that caused Kevin Costner and Taylor Sheridan to part ways, it certainly is odd to see a show this popular bowing out after just five seasons, especially one that hasn’t aired a new episode since New Year’s Day of 2023. (Talk about taking one’s time!) Maybe if Sheridan had spent a little less time on the prequels and other projects and more on the show that put him on the map, all of this could have been avoided.
Sofia the Sensational
Comment: I love it when someone upstages a big Hollywood name playing an iconic character, and that’s what Cristin Milioti is doing with The Penguin. I am still unclear as to who or what the “Penguin” is, and as much as I love Colin Farrell, I am six episodes in and still unclear as to what he is doing with the character. It’s not a bad performance at all, but just seems like it’s a ripoff of some De Niro/Pacino gangster movie. I also am unclear about the direction of the show and don’t even know why it’s called The Penguin. But Milioti is in a league of her own as Sofia Falcone/Gigante. I mean the commitment, the versatility, and every scene she is in is pure acting perfection. It’s such a revelation. and the series should just ditch Farrell and the Penguin nonsense and focus on her. This is what I was expecting Lady Gaga to do with the latest Joker movie (alas, she didn’t). Bravo, give her an Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG now. — Jamie G.
Matt Roush: Maybe your position has softened a bit on the Oz “Penguin” Cobb character since this weekend’s episode aired, with flashbacks to his childhood shedding more light on his and his mother’s tragic underdog past. Or maybe not. We’ve sung Cristin Milioti’s praises before in this column, but with the finale approaching this weekend, I couldn’t agree more that she was the big surprise in this series. Cobb’s gangster rise to power is a more conventional crime story, to be sure, but without his arc creating an iconic villain, we wouldn’t have been able to experience Sofia’s Gothic trajectory from wronged daughter to vengeful survivor. Maybe she can get her own spinoff?
What’s Matlock’s Endgame?
Question: Am I the only one who isn’t thrilled with the new Matlock? Don’t get me wrong. I love Kathy Bates, and the supporting cast is great, too. It’s the plot twist thing. [Spoiler Alert] It bothers me that her character is a liar and a thief, and she’s blaming the firm for her daughter’s death. I don’t see how they can get more than a season out of this plotline (and since it’s renewed already, I guess that’s the plan). Certainly, once her bosses found out, she’d be instantly unemployed, so is that the end of the series? Let alone the cases she worked on might be in jeopardy of reversal for fraud. Plus, she’s contributing to the delinquency of a minor, with her grandson assisting her efforts. I get the grief part, and wanting to see someone pay, but I think the producers have taken this one too far. Thanks for letting me vent! — Lisa B.
Matt Roush: That’s what we’re here for. If I have my timeline right, this was written before the episode aired where Matty was taken to task for using her grandson as an accomplice, and there have already been moments (with more to come) where Matty is tormented by the masquerade she’s performing and considers giving it up. The series isn’t hiding from the ethical and moral issues regarding her crusade, and without it, it would just be another legal show with a quirky heroine. (You make an interesting point about cases where she’s representing herself under false pretenses, so it might be a good idea to keep her out of the courtroom, which tends to be the show’s weak spot anyway.) But to project about what happens if and when she’s found out or acts upon a “gotcha” moment upon learning who’s most responsible for her daughter’s death is to get ahead of a series that deserves credit for turning our expectations upside down. I trust they have a plan for what comes next. Often on CBS, a show has been punished by the audience when it strays from formula because so many CBS shows tend to be all about formula. I’m thinking there’s just enough that’s traditional about Matlock’s storytelling that most viewers will roll with wherever they take the overarching narrative.
About That Laugh Track …
Question: What are your thoughts about comedy shows with laugh tracks? I find them so annoying and so distracting that I can’t even watch a show that has them anymore. Young Sheldon was so wonderful and never had a laugh track. Why does Georgie & Mandy‘s First Marriage now have a laugh track? And many other new comedies are also returning to that laugh-track formula. — Joanne L.
Matt Roush: Frequent readers of this column will be aware that this has become a frequent topic this fall (and after this, I’ll try to avoid in the future), but after watching the late-arriving pilots of Poppa’s House (with Damon Wayans Sr. and Jr.) and Happy’s Place (with Reba McEntire), it struck me that this really is a mini-trend, and until NBC’s St. Denis Medical arrives next week (very much worth watching), every new sitcom this season has been a return to the studio-audience three-camera format.
People who make these shows rankle at the “laugh track” designation because the shows are shot before a live studio audience and what we’re hearing (though often sweetened and amplified) is audience laughter. Of the three new shows, Georgie & Mandy seems the least offensive to me, and my take on why they went back to a studio audience (like The Big Bang Theory, the megahit that spawned Young Sheldon) is because the characters and tone are designed as broader than what they were aiming for in Sheldon’s coming-of-age story. (Remember that Young Sheldon was very much a departure for Chuck Lorre, who built an empire on the studio-audience sitcom format.) I’ll spare you my usual history lesson on how shows with so-called “laugh tracks” have historically been the highest-rated and most popular comedies since the earliest days of the medium. Friends, anyone?
And Finally …
Question: Several times this season, Grey’s Anatomy has mentioned the character of Carina DeLuca by name as Jo’s OBGYN, and yet Stefania Spampinato hasn’t been brought back to the show post-Station 19. Is it just me, or does this seem a little odd to you? I know the show has too many characters and they’re having actors take episodes off for purposes of budget cuts, but it seems like Carina should have some physical presence as she is both Jo’s boss and now Jo’s doctor. It strains the show’s credibility if we never see her. What do you think? — Jake
Matt Roush: I’m not sure credibility is the show’s greatest concern these days, and maybe it was a stretch when Jo (Camilla Luddington) and Linc (Chris Carmack) performed a DIY ultrasound. With twins on the way, it will be strange if Carina is nowhere to be seen should there be a complication in the pregnancy. Otherwise, in a show this overstuffed, I’m not that surprised that she’s being kept mostly off-camera.
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]. (Please include a first name with your question.)
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