the-stage-manager

[the-stage-manager]

None of my recommendations are really "like 911", but these were all the shows I stumbled onto after I binged 911 for the first time and wanted more. All of these shows have really solid writing but vary WILDLY in genre. So. Take my recommendations with a grain of salt.

- The Orville is an homage/spoof of Star Trek. It's like if Star Trek was allowed to say fuck. It's funny and very crass (especially in season 1), but doesn't shy away from exploring sexuality, gender identity, war, morality, and the nature of love. It's written by Seth MacFarlane and it does have family Guy vibes at times, but it also has the capacity to be really, really heartfelt. It also has one of the best, most compelling ships I've ever seen in Claire/Issac. I went to force everybody I know to watch The Orville, because it's phenomenally well written, and it goes to all of the places that Star Trek was afraid to go. It was the first thing I watched after I finished 911 the first time.

- Primeval is about a kid named Jason who gets transported back in time to ancient Greece. It ties a lot of Greek myths together in a really compelling story, and it reminds me a lot of Merlin. There's no real queer or POC rep, but it's got some good found family vibes and some really, really good twists. If you like Greek mythology, this show is for you.

- The Rookie is great, if you haven't seen it. It's a cop procedural, really excellent found family vibes, and it doesn't feel like Copaganda the way shows like Blue Bloods do. It can get pretty silly at times, and its more focused on action, but the writing is pretty solid and Angela/Wesley are couples goals. Really good POC representation, queer rep is pretty meh. Youve probably heard of this show but I figured I'd recommend it anyways

- This is going to sound SUPER childish, but Pokemon: Horizons (the new animated series) is my comfort show and I can't not recommend it. Obviously it's a children's show. But the plot is actually pretty compelling, and it's got found-family vibes to the MAX. If you're a pokémon fan growing up, and you want to just watch heartwarming, childish nonsense, this is my go-to.

- Helluva Boss is an animated show about 3 imps and a hellhound who run an assassination business in hell. If funny and stupid and crass and I swear to God it's the gayest show I've ever seen. You can find all the episodes on YouTube. It's very Tumblr/DeviantsArt-core. And crass. Lots of sex jokes. Lots of swearing. But the character development is really good, the shipping is good, it's just a good fucking show, but it's also edgy and not for everyone.

- Nurse Jackie is really good medical procedural about a nurse with an opoid addiction. It's like House but edgier and more focused on the characters, rather than the medicine. Jackie is a bad person with a sort of good heart. She does right by her patients but has a tendency to fuck over the people around her. It's a very real exploration of addiction. All of the characters are really, really well written, but it can be sort of exhausting to watch Jackie spiral further and further out of control as she becomes increasingly alienated from the people around her. Like, this is a phenomenally well written procedural, it's one of my all-time favorites, but it's also pretty brutal. It reminds me a lot of BoJack Horseman—you want to see her get better, you want to see her be a better person, but deep down, you know she'll never change.

Any suggestions on a new show to watch that’s like 911 but actually follows through with story lines and has the found family aspect cause I literally cannot deal with bad writing atm

[the-stage-manager]

When the show that’s been disappointing and letting me down all season disappoints me and lets me down

[the-stage-manager]

Honestly? This show has a HUGE problem with queerbaiting and it's not just Buddie.

Hen and Karen get SIGNIFICANTLY less attention than the other couples, and their plotlines always seem to revolve around their kids. The number of times they've kissed on screen can be counted on two hands. It almost feels like their kids serve as a buffer, so the audience doesn't have to see them acting intimately, like a couple.

Buck's bisexuality feels like it's been swept under the rug. He barely had any screen time with Tommy, the word "bisexual" has never once been uttered, and there has been no further exploration of his sexuality.

We've had a couple of episodes that have explored themes of racism—especially under Gerrard (and... Yeah, it feels weird that his racist ass got redeemed without EVER addressing the racism), but homophobia hasn't ever been a subject outside of Josh's shitty "pre-glee coming out" monologue.

It's like this show wants to label itself as "queer" without letting any of their characters be queer. It has no problem condemning racism or sexism, but homophobia? No, they don't want to take a stance on it. They don't want to shove it down your throats. They don't want to lose their homophobic viewers.

For the people who said its not queerbaiting, have you been following with their interviews and pr? Why on earth would they touch or even mention about 'buddie' if its not something that they're considering on happening?? And also for those who said its not queerbait because Buck is canonically bi, if the ship is queer and they're being suggestive about it, its queerbait. But overall this season has been such a mess even before Bobby's death.

[the-stage-manager]

guys. im not gonna stop watching the show (probably). but the only thing i gained from 8b was 8x09, 8x11, and 8x17.

[the-stage-manager]

get mustache’d loser

[the-stage-manager]

I hope the cast and crew at least get to have a nice long relaxing haitus and enjoy a nice break away from everything.

[the-stage-manager]

Let's take a moment to acknowledge that Buck had more lines with the real estate agent than with his friends.

Peak writing over there

[the-stage-manager]

the seismic shifted back to its original place

There wasn't a single seismic shift in any of the character's storylines.

[the-stage-manager]

SLUT STRAND GAME STRONG 🫶🏻

[the-stage-manager]

continuing to watch this show even tho i'm actually getting fed up with it but i'm still holding onto the tiniest sliver of hope that we will eventually get gay eddie and buddie:

[the-stage-manager]

I just want to say one more thing, in the event others are feeling this way. When real life can feel overwhelming, disappointing, painful, cruel and filled with compromise, sometimes Tv (and other forms of storytelling) are sometimes the only place where we get what we want, where we can rest assured the happy ending is just around the corner. Those stories become an emotional life raft of sorts in the storm of our real lives- so when it feels like a story lets us down or betrays us- that can hit in a really painful way. So if you’re having a lot of heavy or angry feelings I want you to know that you’re not reacting to “just a show”, You’re reacting to being let down by something you leaned on for comfort, hope, and escape.

There’s true meaning and comfort in fiction and there’s no right or wrong way to connect with it. So let yourself feel what you feel

💜

[the-stage-manager]

Well, obviously I'm not talking about people sending death threats, I'm just talking about people who are expressing their disappointment. And also thank you! I can be kind of talkative, and I tend to be a bit rambly, and I know it was a LOT, but I'm really glad you liked it and read it, that means a lot!

Now why are we going after Oliver for queerbaiting and why are we assuming Eddie kicked Buck out can we take a few steps back and take a breath

[the-stage-manager]

Most of the queerbaiting accusations have nothing to do with the actual writing of the show, and everything to do with how (Oliver specifically) answered the Buddie themed questions in the interviews. Queerbating is a marketing term, used to describe the way networks hint at the possibility of queer ships going canon in promotional material in order to boost viewership, despite knowing fully well that they have no intention of ever actually allowing that ship to go canon. Literally, it's using PR to bait the queers. Which is exactly what ABC did—they stuck Ryan and Oliver together for a bunch of interviews, and asked a bunch of Buddie related questions, despite knowing fully well that there would be ABSOLUTELY ZERO buddie content in the actual finale.

Obviously, the one at fault is ABC, because they approved the questions, they set up the interviews. HOWEVER, people are feeling really betrayed by Oliver, because he's been very outspoken against queerbaiting in the past. Yet, in those interviews, he made a lot of comments hinting about Buddie going canon, despite knowing fully well that there would be no content in the finale. And to be clear, PR teams don't write interview answers for the actors. The actors write their own answers, and PR teams approve them. Oliver was the one who, despite being vocally against queerbaiting in the past, chose to make a bunch of comments about how gay some of their past scenes have been. Meanwhile, Ryan was the one who explicitly said that he prefers to see Buck and Eddie as brothers.

So yeah, it's not about the actual episode, it's about the interviews. People are upset about the interviews. Obviously, there's only so much control the actors have over the situation, but a lot of us still feel kind of like Oliver led us on.

I need people that are accusing Oliver Stark and Ryan Guzman of queerbaiting to STOPPP. Good lord guys, they have done so much to avoid this very thing and yet here some people are, harassing them (get Tim Minear or ABC instead!!).

Also, season 9 has yet to come out! I know some of yall are dooming and closing, and that’s your prerogative, but Buck and Eddie are SINGLE going into season 9. Maybe wait a sec?

Although you’re welcome to resume once we get to season 9 and one of them gets a girlfriend/boyfriend or something that otherwise permanently shuts them down. Until then, nothing has been permanently shut down. This end of season 8 has been poorly written, but that is one storyline that wasn’t closed, and to me that feels intentional!

[the-stage-manager]

He's just an actor, it's not his fault, he has very little control over the situation...

But also, he wrote the answers to the interview questions, they weren't written for him. The PR team controls what he is and isn't allowed to say, but those responses were all his. Ryan at least had the decency to tell us that he views Buck and Eddie as brothers and he likes their relationship best as "a straight man and a bisexual man". Meanwhile Mr. Oliver "I hate queerbaiting" Stark had no problem getting the viewers hopes up and making the "oh yeah that's super gay" comments, and trying to get Ryan to read thirst tweets about Buck out loud so it looks like Eddie is saying them about Buck, despite knowing fully well that nothing was happening in the finale.

Like... Obviously there's only so much control he has over the situation, but I'm still kinda disappointed in him.

*through gritted teeth* oliver stark was just doing his job and saying the answers the PR team told him to say, he is not responsible for queerbaiting me

[the-stage-manager]

Nobody's "going after" Oliver. People are expressing their disappointment in him because he's made several comments where he has EXPLICITLY stated that he wants no part in queerbaiting, and yet, here he is, engaging in queerbaiting. Especially after some of the comments he made earlier this season, where he blatantly admitted to lying for PR... Some of us feel a little bit betrayed.

Because, let me be clear, this was a very blatant case of queer baiting—specifically Ryan and Oliver doing interviews together to boost viewership of the finale, making comments about how gay some of the scenes he does with Ryan are, all the while knowing that there will be NO payoff for Buddie fans in the finale.

Obviously, he's just an actor. He's literally just doing his job. He can't control the script, or the directing, or the PR stuff. He doesn't even have complete control over what he can and cannot say during interviews. However, he does have some control over what he says, nobody's writing down the answers for him. Ryan at least had the decency to admit that he sees these characters are brothers, and prefers their relationship for what it is: a straight man and a bisexual man.

Oliver however (and remember, of the two of them, he's the one who has gone out of his way to talk about queerbaiting and his opposition to it) had no problem leading viewers on, despite knowing fully well that nothing was going to happen in the finale.

When they were reading thirst tweets together, Ryan was visibly uncomfortable anytime he had to read a tweet thirsting for Buck/Oliver. He didn't want to leave viewers on, he didn't want to give them the impression that anything was going to happen. Oliver, meanwhile, was playing into it. Which, obviously, is fine. That interview was just two friends goofing around, and I think it's asinine to insist that all actors must constantly monitor what they say for fear of upsetting the fandom.

There are bad eggs in every fandom. There are some people in this fandom who will probably harass all of her, and I cannot emphasize enough how inappropriate that is. He's literally just an actor.

Oliver is just an actor, he has very little control over what happens to his character, and he has very little control over the interviews he's signed up for. I don't necessarily think that he's in the wrong here, but I also don't think that people are wrong for expressing their disappointment in him for getting their hopes up during those interviews.

Now why are we going after Oliver for queerbaiting and why are we assuming Eddie kicked Buck out can we take a few steps back and take a breath

[the-stage-manager]

I'll go back to being delusional about Buddie canon tomorrow.

Today, I'm just pissed off.

[the-stage-manager]

and this is just today