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Blunt Talk

Blunt Talk is an American television sitcom on the Starz cable network starring Patrick Stewart, created by Jonathan Ames, and executive produced by Seth MacFarlane.[1][2] The series' first two episodes were released online on August 15, 2015,[3] and premiered on Starz on August 22, 2015. The first season concluded on October 24, 2015.[4]

Blunt Talk
Blunt Talk Intertitle
GenreSitcom
Created byJonathan Ames
Starring
Theme music composerMoby
Opening theme"Blunt Talk Theme"
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes20
Production
Executive producers
Running time27–30 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkStarz
ReleaseAugust 22, 2015 (2015-08-22) –
December 11, 2016 (2016-12-11)

Starz ordered 20 episodes, which were split into two seasons.[1] The second season premiered on October 2, 2016, and concluded on December 11, 2016.[5] On December 20, 2016, the show was cancelled after two seasons.[6]

Premise

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The show follows British newscaster Walter Blunt who moves to Los Angeles with the intention of conquering American nightly cable news. His misguided decisions on and off the air prove that his ultimate ambitions will be difficult to achieve.

Blunt's name was taken from the minor character Sir Walter Blunt in William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, which was Stewart's first role with the Royal Shakespeare Company.[citation needed]

Cast

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Main

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Recurring

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Guest stars

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Episodes

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SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
110August 22, 2015 (2015-08-22)October 24, 2015 (2015-10-24)
210October 2, 2016 (2016-10-02)December 11, 2016 (2016-12-11)

Season 1 (2015)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
11"I Seem to Be Running Out of Dreams for Myself"Tristram ShapeeroJonathan AmesAugust 22, 2015 (2015-08-22)0.446[18]
22"I Experience Shame and Anticipate Punishment"Tristram ShapeeroJonathan AmesAugust 29, 2015 (2015-08-29)0.341[19]
33"All My Relationships End in Pain"Michael LehmannJonathan AmesSeptember 5, 2015 (2015-09-05)0.204[20]
44"A Beaver That's Lost Its Mind"Michael LehmannReed Agnew & Eli Jorne and Jonathan AmesSeptember 12, 2015 (2015-09-12)0.221[21]
55"The Queen of Hearts"Bill D'EliaKirsten Kearse and Jonathan AmesSeptember 19, 2015 (2015-09-19)0.169[22]
66"Goodnight, My Someone"Bill D'EliaSam Sklaver and Jonathan AmesSeptember 26, 2015 (2015-09-26)0.179[23]
77"Meth or No Meth, You Still Gotta Floss"Michael LehmannDuncan Birmingham and Jonathan AmesOctober 3, 2015 (2015-10-03)0.160[24]
88"Who Kisses So Early in the Morning?"Michael LehmannJim Margolis and Jonathan AmesOctober 10, 2015 (2015-10-10)0.183[25]
99"I Brought a Petting Goat!"Tristram ShapeeroJonathan AmesOctober 17, 2015 (2015-10-17)0.136[26]
1010"Let's Save Central Florida! Let's Save Midtown!"Tristram ShapeeroSam Sklaver and Jonathan AmesOctober 24, 2015 (2015-10-24)0.161[27]

Season 2 (2016)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
111"I Remember That Time More Like a Movie I Saw Than a Life I Lived"Tristram ShapeeroJonathan AmesOctober 2, 2016 (2016-10-02)0.160[28]
122"If It Comes in a Plastic Bag, Don't Eat It"Tristram ShapeeroSam Sklaver and Jonathan AmesOctober 9, 2016 (2016-10-09)0.135[29]
133"Your Therapist and His P.... Are Here"Leslye HeadlandDuncan Birmingham & Jonathan AmesOctober 16, 2016 (2016-10-16)0.095[30]
144"How Is It That Every Conversation We Have Comes Back to the Size of Your Penis"Leslye HeadlandJeanne Darst and Jonathan AmesOctober 23, 2016 (2016-10-23)0.112[31]
155"It's Been Months Since I Kidnapped You"Bill D'EliaKirsten Kearse & Jonathan AmesOctober 30, 2016 (2016-10-30)0.105[32]
166"Love Is Not Linear"Tristram ShapeeroRobbie Macdonald and Jonathan AmesNovember 6, 2016 (2016-11-06)0.119[33]
177"I Can't Believe I Made Love to a Sociopath"Michael LehmannSam Sklaver & Jonathan AmesNovember 13, 2016 (2016-11-13)0.155[34]
188"A Cell Doesn't Have to Be a Closet"Michael LehmannDuncan Birmingham & Jonathan AmesNovember 20, 2016 (2016-11-20)0.107[35]
199"Walter Has to Look After Walter"Tristram ShapeeroKirsten Kearse & Jonathan AmesDecember 4, 2016 (2016-12-04)0.098[36]
2010"Is This All Because I Didn't Call You"Tristram ShapeeroJonathan AmesDecember 11, 2016 (2016-12-11)0.077[37]

Ratings

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Season 1

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Viewership and ratings per episode of Blunt Talk
No. Title Air date Rating/share
(18–49)		 Viewers
(millions)		 Ref.
1 "I Seem to Be Running Out of Dreams for Myself" August 22, 2015 0.13 0.446 [18]
2 "I Experience Shame and Anticipate Punishment" August 29, 2015 0.15 0.341 [19]
3 "All My Relationships End in Pain" September 5, 2015 0.07 0.204 [20]
4 "A Beaver That's Lost Its Mind" September 12, 2015 0.10 0.221 [21]
5 "The Queen of Hearts" September 19, 2015 0.05 0.169 [22]
6 "Goodnight, My Someone" September 26, 2015 0.03 0.179 [23]
7 "Meth or No Meth, You Still Gotta Floss" October 3, 2015 0.06 0.160 [24]
8 "Who Kisses So Early in the Morning?" October 10, 2015 0.07 0.183 [25]
9 "I Brought a Petting Goat!" October 17, 2015 0.05 0.136 [26]
10 "Let's Save Central Florida! Let's Save Midtown!" October 24, 2015 0.04 0.161 [27]

Season 2

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Viewership and ratings per episode of Blunt Talk
No. Title Air date Rating/share
(18–49)		 Viewers
(millions)		 Ref.
1 "I Remember That Time More Like a Movie I
Saw Than a Life I Lived" 		October 2, 2016 0.06 0.160 [28]
2 "If It Comes in a Plastic Bag, Don't Eat It" October 9, 2016 0.05 0.135 [29]
3 "Your Therapist and His P.... Are Here" October 16, 2016 0.03 0.095 [30]
4 "How Is It That Every Conversation We Have
Comes Back to the Size of Your Penis" 		October 23, 2016 0.04 0.112 [31]
5 "It's Been Months Since I Kidnapped You" October 30, 2016 0.03 0.105 [32]
6 "Love Is Not Linear" November 6, 2016 0.05 0.119 [33]
7 "I Can't Believe I Made Love to a Sociopath" November 13, 2016 0.07 0.155 [34]
8 "A Cell Doesn't Have to Be a Closet" November 20, 2016 0.04 0.107 [35]
9 "Walter Has to Look After Walter" December 4, 2016 0.02 0.098 [36]
10 "Is This All Because I Didn't Call You" December 11, 2016 0.02 0.077 [37]

Reception

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Critical response

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Blunt Talk received generally mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season of the show a rating of 53%, based on 34 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The site's consensus states, "Blunt Talk squanders Sir Patrick Stewart's considerable gifts on a show that too often mistakes forced vulgarity for wit."[38] Metacritic gives the show a score of 54 out of 100, based on reviews from 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[39]

Dominic Patten of Deadline Hollywood states in his review, "If the new series from creator Jonathan Ames and executive producer Seth MacFarlane was just a mix between another Network-inspired show about journalism and some very consistently bad behavior on the part of Patrick Stewart’s cable news host Walter Blunt, it would be hard to recommend giving such a collection of clichés much of your time. However, Blunt Talk, which debuts August 22 on Starz, is more than that and worth going along for the ride."[40]

TV Columnist Brian Lowry of Variety states in his review, "The premiere starts with a rambunctious energy that temporarily promotes a sense of good will. Stewart’s Walter Blunt goes on a bender, sings rap and picks up a transgender prostitute. When the hooker politely asks if he’s troubled at all by who she is, he replies cheerfully, “No, I’m English.” The adventure ends fantastically badly, at least for Blunt's reputation. But from there, the series—which Ames produced with the seemingly ubiquitous Seth MacFarlane — pretty rapidly disintegrates, relying too heavily on Stewart's madcap antics and an assortment of not particularly distinctive supporting players, including Walter's sycophantic producers, Richard Lewis as his therapist and Romany Malco as the harried network boss."[41]

The Guardian's Brian Moylan states in his review, "Blunt Talk is an odd bird. It's sort of like if The Newsroom and Veep had a love child and it was raised by Nanny McPhee in the Royal Shakespeare Company. It takes a close look at cable news and the personalities and celebrity involved, but it's essentially about one man who is trying to change himself and do the right thing, but is incredibly bad at it. A crew as colorfully inept as Selina Meyer's also surrounds him, but they don't have the stinging bile of Veep's crew.[42]

Mike Hale of The New York Times states in his review, "It’s not accurate to say that Patrick Stewart hasn’t done comedy. He was funny playing himself as a poker-faced pervert in an episode of Extras, or dancing with Kelsey Grammer and telling him how sexy he looked in a tux on Frasier. And he’s lent his plummy voice to a raft of animated shows from Family Guy to Robot Chicken. But it’s fair to say that Blunt Talk, a new sitcom beginning on Saturday night on Starz, offers Patrick Stewart as we haven’t seen him before. Shuffling around an airport men’s room stall with his pants around his ankles, for instance, losing his patience as he tries unsuccessfully to cover the toilet seat, or gravely asking a transgender prostitute whether he can feed at her breasts."[43]

Accolades

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For the 73rd Golden Globe Awards, Patrick Stewart was nominated for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy.[44]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Starz Gives 20-Episode Order to Seth MacFarlane-Patrick Stewart Comedy 'Blunt Talk' | Variety". variety.com. 29 April 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
  2. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (29 April 2014). "Starz Orders Two Seasons of Seth MacFarlane Comedy 'Blunt Talk'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  3. ^ Bibel, Sara (August 17, 2015). "Starz Streaming Premiere Episodes of 'Survivor's Remorse' Season 2 & 'Blunt Talk' for Free on Facebook". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 19, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  4. ^ Petski, Denise (May 13, 2015). "Seth MacFarlane's 'Blunt Talk' & 'Survivor's Remorse' Get August Premiere Date On Starz". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 16, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  5. ^ Dornbush, Jonathon (August 1, 2016). "Ash vs Evil Dead, Blunt Talk Season 2 Premiere Dates Revealed". IGN. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  6. ^ Roots, Kimberly (December 20, 2016). "Blunt Talk Cancelled at Starz". TVLine. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Jacki Weaver To Co-Star In Seth MacFarlane's Blunt Talk Series On Starz". Deadline Hollywood. 22 September 2014. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  8. ^ "Dolly Wells Joins Starz Comedy Blunt Talk; Joel De La Fuente & Michael Rispoli Cast In Amazon Pilot The Man In The High Castle". Deadline Hollywood. 6 October 2014. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  9. ^ a b c "Blunt Talk: First Look At Patrick Stewart In Starz's Scripted Comedy". Variety. 28 January 2015. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Ed Begley Jr., Mary Holland Join Seth MacFarlane's Starz Comedy 'Blunt Talk'". The Hollywood Reporter. 24 February 2015. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Dawidziak, Mark (August 15, 2015). "Writing takes the brunt of blame in 'Blunt Talk' starring Patrick Stewart". Cleveland.com. Advance Publications. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  12. ^ Holloway, Daniel (August 22, 2015). "'Blunt Talk' Creator Reveals 'Star Trek' Actors He Will Cast, Why He Stopped Watching 'Game of Thrones'". TheWrap. The Wrap News Inc. Archived from the original on August 23, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
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  38. ^ "Blunt Talk: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Archived from the original on August 25, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
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  40. ^ Patten, Dominic (August 19, 2015). "'Blunt Talk' Review: Patrick Stewart's Starz Comedy Nails Pitfalls Of Celebrity". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on August 21, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  41. ^ Lowry, Brian (August 19, 2015). "TV Review: 'Blunt Talk'". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  42. ^ Moylan, Brian (August 21, 2015). "Blunt Talk: Patrick Stewart's new show is duller than it should be". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 21, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  43. ^ Hale, Mike (August 21, 2015). "Review: On 'Blunt Talk,' Patrick Stewart Is Far From Home and Caught With His Pants Down". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 24, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  44. ^ "Golden Globe Awards 2016 Nominations - Full List". Rotten Tomatoes. December 10, 2015. Archived from the original on December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
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