Ask Matt: Meredith, Come Back to Seattle! | Entertainment News

Welcome to the Q&A with TV Critic – also known as the “TV Therapist” to some TV fans – Matt Roush who will attempt to address anything you love, loathe, confuse, or frustrate, or excite in today’s vast television landscape are. (We know background music is too loud, but there are always subtitles.)

One warning: this is a spoiler-free zone, so we won’t cover any upcoming storylines here unless it’s already well known. Please send your questions and comments to askmatt@tvinsider.com (or use the form at the bottom of the column) and follow me on Twitter (@TVGMMattRoush). Look for Ask Matt columns on many Tuesdays and Fridays.

Meredith Gray is part of the Gray Sloan Memorial

Comment: I was really disappointed that Grey’s Anatomy premiere sent Meredith to Minnesota. Two seasons ago, Meredith was excluded from the rest of the promotion when her license was revoked. Last year we spent most of the season with her on Death Beach. She’s reportedly the only person she wouldn’t do the show without, and after all, we got a chance to see her in her prime again at the premiere. So what are you doing? Send them back into their own separate story. I was excited to see Peter Gallagher again because I enjoyed him so much on Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, but my joy quickly faded when it became clear they were re-isolating Meredith.

It’s frustrating when you want to see Meredith Gray work with the other doctors we know and love rather than trying to find a cure for Parkinson’s. I have no problem with the artistic decision to go beyond COVID after an entire season dedicated to him, but “Cure For Parkinson’s” sounds like it’s swaying on science fiction territory. I mean seriously? I know that you will likely guess patience to see where the action leads. I’ve given the show a lot of indulgence over the years because when the show is very effective it makes up for the more frustrating moments. But I don’t think it’s unreasonable to really, really see Meredith Gray at the center of Grey’s Anatomy again. She stood on the sidelines for far too long. – Jake

Matt Roush: It wouldn’t be a new season of Grey’s without a bit of a complaint, would it? Most of the attention after the premiere seemed to be the return of Scott Speedman (whose character, I’m honest, I had to look up – it’s been a while) to be seen as Meredith’s obvious new love interest this season and in the bigger picture that announced comeback of Kate Walsh (October 14th) as Addison Montgomery. But you have a point. If this action goes on for too long without her returning to home base – and her family, by the way! – it gets tiring to see how she interacts with everyone on her phone or computer. At least, with the nagging exception that their late mother (Kate Burton) haunts her mind, they’re not ghosts like they were last season.

There has to be a law

Question: Who am I complaining to about the abrupt firings of Jamie Gray Hyder and Demore Barnes from Law & Order: SVU? Both characters were a welcome addition to the show! Why did you choose to drop it? I am very, very disappointed. I hope you can explain it! – Eva M

Matt Roush: The most direct way would be to report your displeasure to the Wolf Entertainment production company in Universal City, CA. But the Law & Order franchise is known for its infamous revolving door in support of the cast. With a few exceptions, appearing on a Law & Order show isn’t a lifelong endeavor, despite the fact that Kat (Hyder) and Deputy Chief Garland (Barnes) had unusually short terms in office. Whether this was a creative or a budgetary decision has yet to be explained, but I would agree that the visuals were worse than usual, losing a young LGBTQ official and the show’s first black deputy boss in one fell swoop.

Give me a (prison) break!

Question: I keep seeing posts about a new season of Prison Break on social media. Is that true or should I just ignore it? – Gen

Matt Roush: Don’t get yourself hoped for until something is officially announced, but few things would surprise me less than to see one of Fox’s earlier hits return in one form or another. In a recent interview with Deadline, Fox’s entertainment boss Michael Thorn noted that there are another 24 restarts in active development, adding, “We’re always open to reinventing our best intellectual property (intellectual property)” they have no pitches heard yet, but were open to it. Maybe that got the rumor mill going again. As we see more and more often, everything old is new on network television, and it won’t stop anytime soon.

Too much drama in my dramas

Comment: While it’s nice to have a new season of network TV shows, it sure would be nice if there weren’t that many kidnappings of pregnant women and children (The Rookie, 9-1-1, Bull) or that many cyberattacks from . would be Hospitals, Los Angeles etc (The Resident, 9-1-1 and up) in shows that are usually at least a little lighthearted. – Kathy K

Matt Roush: Call it new season-itis, a state that affects shows that return from long breaks to make as much noise as possible when they return, hoping to get some attention and traction. (That’s why we’re seeing so many dramatic exits this fall as well.) Hopefully they’ll revert to easier storylines soon, but if the stakes on these characters sometimes don’t go high, what’s the point? ?

That’s a wrap

Question: Have you ever heard if Get Shorty is coming back? I can’t find any information on whether it’s been extended or canceled, which leads me to believe it’s one of those limbos that will never be resolved until everyone forgets the show exists – which I hope it doesn’t . Do you have any good news? – Toni M

Matt Roush: Your instinct is right. While Epix never officially or publicly canceled the show, Get Shorty is history. (Rule of thumb: If it’s been two years with no news of a resumption of production on a show, the chances are it’s over.) I enjoyed this adaptation of the Elmore Leonard property, one of the better show business Satires. Thankfully, a lot of his great cast – Chris O’Dowd, Ray Romano, Sean Bridgers, Lidia Porto (Housekeeping) – keep popping up on TV and film.

And finally …

question: Is there any hope that ABC will repeat the show Dancing with the Stars in the future with a new host, new judges, and new “stars”? – Unsigned

Matt Roush: A common lawsuit. Tyra Banks is only two seasons in her abusive takeover of the show, so I doubt we’ll see any new format change (including longtime judges) for the foreseeable future. The “stars” change from season to season, of course, but I can imagine that you are actually lamenting the caliber of celebrity that dancing attracts, which has been a problem for some time. Even so, like I said a year ago, showing the door to Tom Bergeron wasn’t the solution to the show’s problems.

That’s all for now. We can’t do this without your participation, so please keep sending TV questions and comments to askmatt@tvinsider.com or drop me a line on Twitter (@TVGMMattRoush), and you can also ask questions using the handy form below. (Please include a first name with your question.)