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, it’s the most frequent complaint, but there’s always closed-captioning. Check out this story for more tips.) 

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.

Odyssey Fans Left Adrift (and Bereft)

Question: Has Doctor Odyssey officially been axed? We loved that over-the-top show!!! — Mark in Whitewater, WI

Matt Roush: Sadly for fans, the news was confirmed over the last few days that with the cast’s options expiring, Doctor Odyssey‘s campy voyage on ABC had come to an end. There may be a very slight chance that executive producer Ryan Murphy could resurrect the show, possibly on Disney’s Hulu streamer, in the future, but given the show’s starry cast and guest list and not insignificant production costs, I wouldn’t make reservations anytime soon for future sailings. Given Murphy’s relationship with ABC, where 9-1-1: Nashville is joining the original 9-1-1 in the fall, I was somewhat surprised they’d jettison Odyssey after just one season, but prime-time real estate and budgets are ever more precious, so this guilty pleasure’s luck ran out.

Having a (Soccer) Ball

Question: The moment I have been dreading since I started watching Welcome to Wrexham has come. Wrexham AFC has now been promoted to the English Football League’s Championship division where they will be playing my favorite team, the Norwich City FC Canaries. I have been a Canaries supporter since the 2012-13 season when I started watching Premier League matches on the Fox Soccer Channel. I needed a rooting interest, so I decided on Norwich, where I was once an exchange student at the local university. In that time, I have learned a lot about how football/soccer teams operate and the history, traditions, and fan and community engagement. Welcome to Wrexham has done a wonderful job showing all of that. I have experienced lows and highs during my time as a Canaries fan with four relegations from, and three promotions to the Premier League. It is very hard to get out of the Championship and has proven in recent years to be almost impossible to stay up in the Premier League. All three promoted sides from the previous season have come back down for the new season. Wrexham has their work cut out for them.

I’m just wondering how Welcome to Wrexham ends. If they get promoted in the next couple of seasons, they’ll have to keep going with the show. If it takes longer or they don’t make it at all after x number of seasons, then what? — Frank

Matt Roush: I love that you now have competing rooting interests in the season ahead, when the Red Dragons eventually face the Canaries in the Championship division. Welcome to Wrexham has humanized not only the team but the town over four seasons, so that even those with glancing familiarity with the English football (soccer) league system got caught up in their come-from-behind rise. As they noted in the season finale, when Wrexham was promoted (for an unprecedented third consecutive year) into Championship, they’re once again the underdogs. Which makes great real-life sports drama whether they keep winning or experience a setback, so I imagine they’ll keep filming the series for a while longer, or for as long as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney (and FX) choose to keep it going. No one knows how it’s going to end, which is rather exciting.

Question: Years ago, I was a big fan of primetime soap operas like Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest and Knots Landing to name a few. And one of the big attractions to these shows had to do with the season-ending cliffhangers. I couldn’t wait to see “Who Shot J.R.,” who survived the Moldavia Massacre, who survived the Tuscany Valley earthquake, and did Val get her babies back? Unfortunately, there were other cliffhangers to which viewers never got the answer, like whose baby was that on Lois & Clark, and did Sam Beckett ever get home in either version of Quantum Leap. I thank NBC for producing a finale for Timeless. My point is: Why do producers continue to use the “cliffhanger” in so many programs when the real “cliffhanger” is whether the series will be renewed?

In some cases, like Blue Bloods and the FBI spinoffs, there was enough notice to write a proper ending, but there have been so many others that have left viewers hanging. Perhaps it’s a way to entice viewers to continue watching the series, should it be lucky enough to get renewed, but if it isn’t, it seems to leave viewers discouraged and cautious about investing in watching a new series. Is there any other reason why some series will use the cliffhanger, especially when there’s always the possibility of cancellation? I think you made a great suggestion that producers should film alternate endings for a series, a season finale and a series finale. — Rob R.

Matt Roush: This topic has come up in this column often enough that I’m not sure if I or someone else came up with the notion of filming alternate endings for season — which sometimes inadvertently become series — finales. This isn’t always feasible, either economically or because a show might air its finale before its fate has been determined. There are also some shows (like NBC’s now-defunct Grosse Pointe Garden Society) that are structured in such a way that the finale organically (so to speak) is intended to launch a new storyline, should they get a chance. Maybe they’d be smarter to wrap the story up in one season and start the next mystery the next time around.

Though they’re a too-often-used device, cliffhangers are popular for producers and fans of serialized storytelling precisely because they play into the “what happens next” mindset of watching weekly TV shows. I’ve said repeatedly that producers of marginally rated, and especially new, series are fooling themselves if they think ending with a big twist and cliffhanger will ensure their survival. What it usually guarantees is frustration for anyone who watched the show to its premature end.

What’s Your Emergency? Awards Neglect

Question: Why is a show like 9-1-1, with its dynamic ensemble cast and compelling storylines, consistently overlooked when it comes to major award nominations? From Jennifer Love Hewitt‘s powerful arc involving domestic violence early in the series to her later kidnapping storyline, to Peter Krause‘s recent character death, and Angela Bassett‘s intense emotional journey throughout the show, the series showcases some truly outstanding performances and ensemble work. It deserves more recognition. — Steve O.

Matt Roush: The best a procedural series like 9-1-1 can hope for are nominations in technical categories, because especially when it comes to drama series, formulaic shows on broadcast TV are virtually invisible to the Academy membership, who when they’re marking their Emmy ballots rarely look past the high-profile and more adventurous series on premium cable and streaming. That doesn’t mean excellent work isn’t being done on some of these shows, it just isn’t being taken as seriously if it’s even being seen.

The Waiting Game

Question: I have a couple of questions about the upcoming The Neighborhood offshoot Crutch on Paramount+ starring Tracy Morgan. First, what’s with the delayed release date? Producer Cedric the Entertainer recently confirmed a fall release date. Why do you think it took so long for a series that was ordered in May of 2024 for them to come out with eight episodes of a multi-cam? Speaking of which, why do you think they limited the order to eight episodes? I can’t imagine a multicam sitcom would be that expensive. I know that this is on streaming where episode orders are slimmer than broadcast, but even two more for a total of 10 would still fit the P+ bill. (They did 10 with former multicams Frasier and iCarly.) I’m aware that things do still cost money, and that Tracy Morgan is high-profile, and that they’ve brought on Neighborhood stars Tichina Arnold and Max Greenfield to guest star, but still, would 10 have been that risky? — Shirley

Matt Roush: Paramount+ has yet to make an official announcement about when Crutch will premiere, but we’re already far enough into the summer that fall seems most likely. I have no insights into any streamers’ scheduling practices, or what it took to produce eight episodes of Crutch, but generally, it’s easier to promote and get an audience for new shows in the fall, and when The Neighborhood returns for its final season, they could use it as a promotional vehicle. As for the episode order, they might have taken a conservative approach for logistical reasons or to test its appeal with a short order — unlike Frasier and iCarly, this isn’t a known commodity — with an option to expand in future seasons if it’s successful.

And Finally …

Question: I was watching the “Two Options” episode of Major Crimes (S3 E7) and wondered if it was supposed to be a backdoor pilot for a new series starring Jon Tenney and Laurie Holden, etc. Was this the intent? If so, why didn’t it go forward? I think it would have been an exciting show. — Bonnie

Matt Roush: That’s a blast from the past — 10 years ago, actually, when TNT opted not to make a spinoff built around the LAPD’s S.O.B. (Special Operations Bureau), the seeds of which were planted in this episode that aired in the summer of 2014. One of the reasons the series didn’t go forward may have been because of an executive transition at the time that put a crimp in series development. Back then, TNT still had a robust production slate, unlike today, when you can barely find a single original scripted series worth watching on a basic cable network.

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.)