By MARK KENNEDY, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — If Ellen Pompeo was going to find a new role after 20 years as a series regular on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” it had to be good. She thinks she found it as a supermom whose world collapses in Hulu’s “Good American Family.”

“I was looking for a real creative challenge. I think this was an opportunity for me to completely disappear into a role,″ she says. ”Characters like this don’t come along all that often.”

“Good American Family” fictionalizes the true story of Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian-born orphan with dwarfism, adopted as a child by an American family who soon accuse her of being a troubled adult masquerading as a child.

Pompeo plays the adoptive mother, whose character has become a sought-after speaker and author after raising a son with autism but now finds herself at her breaking point with Natalia, her marriage strained, in legal jeopardy and her reputation in tatters.

“We were taking all of this research that we had and amplifying certain moments or adjusting certain moments for kind of dramatic license,” says creator and co-showrunner Katie Robbins, who also created “Sunny” and wrote for “The Affair.”

“The thing that was important was to tell a propulsive, compulsively watchable thing. But, at the end of the day, the most important thing was to tell it in an emotionally authentic way to the people involved.”

Over the years, the case has been the focus of several TV shows, podcasts and documentaries, including Investigation Discovery’s documentary series “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.”

If viewers hope to get clarity on who the heroes are, they’ll not get it with “Good American Family.” It tells the story from multiple points of view, flashing forward and back, to create a complex family drama that also has elements of a thriller.

“You really have to pay attention to who’s doing the telling,” says Robbins. “Using perspective felt like an opportunity both to tell the story in kind of a fresh way, but also to allow us as storytellers to take the viewers on an experience that would help them confront their own biases in unexpected ways.”

The series starts from the perspective of the adoptive parents — Mark Duplass plays the husband — who eventually turn on their new family member, but then shifts to Natalia (played by Imogen Faith Reid), slowly cracking any snap judgements the viewer may have had going into it.

“Everybody comes into the experience of this story with sort of a different way of looking at it,” says co-showrunner and executive producer Sarah Sutherland. “It’s sort of like a Rorschach test. I just thought it was super-fascinating to sit with the kind of uncomfortableness of that.”

The eight episodes that begin debuting Wednesday seamlessly blend darkness and light, showing moments of family levity but also scenes of terror, as when Natalia approaches her parents’ bed with a knife.

“In terms of the tone, I am a firm believer that life is a real genre blend,” says Robbins. “The happiest moments in my life have been undercut often with tragedy, and the saddest moments I’ve often found myself finding something absurdly hilarious. So everything that I write, I try to let all live in that sort of tension because that’s what it is to be a person.”

At its core, “Good American Family” is about how we are raised and how that can echo through generations. We learn how Pompeo’s character was treated by her mother and how Natalia wasn’t always raised with familial love, priming them for a face-off.

“We’re examining the ways in which one is parented trickles down and affects the way that one is a parent,” says Robbins. “It changes the way that you perceive the world. And I think that it’s a fascinating thing that runs through the arc of this series.”

Pompeo sees an even larger point — how everyone these days has their own definitive version of events and sees things though their own lens.

“Even if you know you’re wrong, it takes an extraordinary amount of humility to admit you’re wrong. It’s so much easier to just go with it, stick to the ego and say, ‘I wasn’t wrong,’” she says.

“We see that with what’s happening in our country right now. People will fight to the death before they admit they were wrong. It doesn’t matter what we see, right?” she adds.

“We’re seeing things before our eyes, and people are saying something else, and we’re choosing to believe what was said instead of what we’re seeing. And that is the human condition.”

Do you know these names: Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Parent, Jay Sebring, and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca?

What if I add to that list the name Sharon Tate?

Ah, there you go. Those are the names of the people killed by Charles Manson and some demented buddies on the nights of Aug. 8 and 9, 1969, Tate the most prominent because she was a beautiful movie star, married to filmmaker Roman Polanski, and eight months pregnant with their child.

Long time ago, I know, but so bloody and weird and headline-grabbing were the killings and ensuing trial and most of all Manson that they have stayed through the decades, creeping into our dreams and nightmares and coming at us in a steady stream of rehashing in books, movies and documentaries, some interesting and some merely exploitative.

Last time I remember remembering them was while watching “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 movie that, among many things, presented a wild, fairy tale version of the real events of what was and still is called the Manson Family murders.

Now they are on my mind yet again, courtesy of “Chaos: The Manson Murders,” a new 90-minute documentary on Netflix.

This would not ordinarily have grabbed my attention because I have over the decades had more than my fill of Manson-related subjects. But attached to “Chaos” is the name Errol Morris, which gives it a certain credibility, since he is a distinguished documentarian whose decades-long career has included such films as 1978’s “Gates of Heaven,” on the pet cemetery business; 1988’s “The Thin Blue Line,” his controversial film about the trial and conviction of a man for killing a Dallas police officer; 2003’s “The Fog of War,” which focused on Robert McNamara, the secretary of defense during much of the Vietnam War, which won an Academy Award; and “The Pigeon Tunnel” in 2023, about the life and work of novelist John le Carré.

Here he is in collaboration (and in intellectual tussle) with the work of journalist Tom O’Neill, in essence adapting O’Neill’s 2019 book, “CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties,” written with Dan Piepenbring.

As I expected, there is much repetition of known facts in the film but a judicious use of vintage material as Manson, a failed musician, wild-eyed hippie and career criminal, gets released from prison and in 1967 gathers around himself a bunch of younger outcasts who are all living together on a rusted movie set of a rural ranch.

He orders some of them to commit a series of gruesome murders and we get those bare details, effectively and vividly dramatized, but we don’t get a lot of answers to some of the questions raised and there are plenty.

Among them, and in no specific order:

Why didn’t law enforcement, such as parole officers, slap cuffs on Manson and send him back to jail when they had the chance?

And how did Manson turn a group of peaceful hippies into savage killers?

How was it that the Beach Boys’ drummer Dennis Wilson and record producer Terry Melcher nearly gave Manson a record deal? We hear Manson play guitar and sing.

What do the activist organization Black Panthers have to do with this?

Why do we meet Lee Harvey Oswald’s assassin Jack Ruby? And what is Louis Jolyon “Jolly” West, a subcontractor for the CIA’s Project MKUltra, doing as a court-appointed psychiatrist for Ruby? And what is Project MKUltra?

How did the Beatles’ “White Album” get into the mix?

There are more questions and plenty of talking, some of it from interviews of Manson by such TV personalities as Diane Sawyer, Geraldo Rivera and Tom Snyder.

Among the most compelling conversations are those that take place between Morris and O’Neill. The filmmaker asks pointed questions, operating from an authoritative position. He is probing, curious, suitably skeptical. And he is able to get O’Neill to admit, “Frankly, I still don’t know what happened. But I know that what we were told isn’t what happened.”

The movie is held together more by its questions (for which there are no real answers) than facts, presented in a visually compelling manner, peppered with such things as old movie clips of Laurence Harvey in the “Manchurian Candidate,” in which mind control is a chilling key.

Morris and his compelling moviemaking is likely to get a bigger audience than most of his previous documentary work. That’s a good thing even though this is not his finest work.

It’s still pretty good and one of the finer offerings of the massive Manson-inspired “Helter Skelter” enterprise. And if you ask yourself why there is not much here from Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, know that his book, “Helter Skelter” was published in 1974. It was subtitled “The True Story of the Manson Murders.” And it is the best-selling true crime book of all time.

rkogan@chicagotribune.com

By BETH HARRIS, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mikey Madison won the best actress Oscar on Sunday for “Anora,” a role that catapulted the 25-year-old into a burgeoning film career after achieving initial success on television.

The Brooklyn-set comedy-drama had received six nominations.

Madison had been best known for playing a sullen teenager in the FX comedy series “Better Things,” which ended in 2022. She also appeared in the hit movies “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” and the fifth installment of the horror franchise “Scream.”

Those jobs attracted the attention of director-writer Sean Baker, who penned the title role in “Anora” for Madison. She studied Russian and did her own stunts in the film, in addition to learning to pole dance to play an exotic dancer who marries the son of a Russian oligarch.

The film debuted to critical acclaim at Cannes last year, winning the Palme d’Or. It has gained momentum ever since, with its box-office success easily outearning its $6 million budget.

Hollywood veteran Demi Moore of “The Substance” had been the Oscar front-runner, having won over Madison at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards. However, Madison beat out Moore for the BAFTA two days before Oscar voting ended, as well as at last weekend’s Independent Spirit Awards.

She was born Mikaela Madison Rosberg in Los Angeles, one of five children of psychologist parents. Her mother signed her up for an acting class in her mid-teens after Madison had trained in competitive horseback riding, which she found lonely compared to the collaborative nature of acting.

In addition to Moore, the other nominees were Cynthia Erivo for “Wicked,” Karla Sofía Gascón for “Emilia Pérez” and Fernanda Torres for “I’m Still Here.”

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean Baker won best director at the Oscars on Sunday for “Anora,” bookending a dominant awards season for the American filmmaker whose stories seek to humanize sex workers and immigrants.

Baker, 53, wrote, produced, directed and edited the film, which is also among the top contenders for best picture. The comedy-drama stars Mikey Madison as a Brooklyn exotic dancer who marries the impetuous son of a Russian oligarch. They impulsively tie the knot on a ketamine-induced Las Vegas getaway, angering his parents, who send their bumbling henchmen after the couple to force an annulment.

“If you didn’t cast Mikey Madison in ‘Once Upon a Time,’ there would be no ‘Anora,’” Baker told Quentin Tarantino, who presented the award.

Baker came into the night the favorite for the directing Oscar after earning the top prize from the Directors Guild of America, a win that historically all but guarantees an Oscars victory. He also took home the top awards at the Producers Guild and Independent Spirit Awards.

This year’s best director lineup featured five first-time nominees in the category for the first time in nearly three decades. All had writing credits on their respective films, demonstrating the academy’s growing preference for auteurs who can masterfully bring their own vision to life. For the Oscar, he beat out Brady Corbet of “The Brutalist,” James Mangold of “A Complete Unknown,” Jacques Audiard of “Emilia Pérez” and Coralie Fargeat of “The Substance.”

Going into the night, Baker had the potential to win a record four Oscars for “Anora,” which was nominated for six in total. He won for best original screenplay and best editing — a rarity as directors don’t typically cut their own films. He is also up for best picture.

“Anora” brings Baker’s signature style of provocative comedy from indie theaters into the mainstream, blending slapstick humor with social commentary in a way that makes lessons about marginalized groups palatable to a wider audience. He made the film on a modest budget of $6 million — an amount one producer joked is smaller than the catering budget of some of its competitors. Last year’s best picture winner, “Oppenheimer,” had a $100 million budget.

Baker has been vocal about the difficulty of making independent films and surviving as an indie filmmaker in an industry that increasingly supports big-budget spectacles. In a rousing speech at the Independent Spirit Awards, he said indies are in danger of becoming “calling card films” — movies made only as a means to get hired for projects at major studios. Without backing for independent films, he said, some of the most creative and innovative projects might never be made.

He exhorted filmmakers to keep moving films for the big screen, bemoaning the erosion of the theatergoing experience.

“Watching a film in the theater with an audience is an experience. We can laugh together, cry together, scream in fright together, perhaps sit in devastated silence together. In a time in which the world can feel very divided, this is more important than ever. It’s a communal experience you simply don’t get at home,” he said.

Baker has long been passionate about using his craft to help destigmatize sex work. His 2012 film “Starlet” follows a budding friendship between an adult film star and a crotchety widow who sells her a thermos full of cash at a yard sale. Baker said the connections he formed with sex workers involved in the project inspired him to feature them in several other films.

He received widespread praise for “Tangerine” (2015), in which he used three iPhone 5S smartphones to tell a story about transgender sex workers in Los Angeles. In “The Florida Project” (2017), a single mother living in an Orlando motel turns to sex work to provide for her daughter. And “Red Rocket” (2021) follows a retired porn actor’s journey back to his small Texas hometown.

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr., Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Adrien Brody clinched his second Oscar for best actor, winning Sunday for his role as a visionary Hungarian architect in “ The Brutalist ” and solidifying his legacy as one of Hollywood’s most compelling talents.

Brody took home best actor at the 97th Academy Awards for his powerful portrayal of Lázló Tóth, who escapes the Holocaust and sails to the United States to find his American Dream. The film spans 30 years in the life of Tóth, a fictional character whose unorthodox designs challenged societal norms, and his relentless pursuit of artistic integrity.

Brody triumphed over fellow nominees Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown,” Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing,” Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave,” and Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice.”

“The Brutalist,” which is nominated for 10 Oscars including best picture, is Brady Corbet’s three-and-a-half-hour postwar American epic filmed in VistaVision. Brody starred in the film alongside Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce.

After winning best actor at the 78th British Academy Film Awards in February, Brody said “The Brutalist” carries a powerful message for divided times.

“It speaks to the need for all of us to share in the responsibility of how we want others to be treated and how we want to be treated by others,” he said. “There’s no place any more for antisemitism. There’s no place for racism.”

Brody won an Academy Award for best actor in 2003 for his role in “The Pianist.” His gap of 22 years would be the second longest between best actor wins. It was 29 years between wins for “Silence of the Lambs” and “The Father” for Anthony Hopkins.

Brody is also known for his performances “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Darjeeling Limited” and “Midnight in Paris.”

For Brody, his role in “The Brutalist” had obvious echoes with arguably his most defining performance. In Roman Polanski’s 2002 “The Pianist,” Brody also played a Jewish artist trying to survive during WWII.

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr., Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “I’m Still Here,” a film about a family torn apart by the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil for more than two decades, gave Brazil’s first Oscars win on Sunday in the best international film category.

The Walter Salles film stars Fernanda Torres as Eunice Paiva, the wife of Rubens Paiva, a former leftist Brazilian congressman who, at the height of the country’s military dictatorship in 1971, was taken from his family’s Rio de Janeiro home and never returned.

Salles paid homage to Paiva’s bravery, and Torres for portraying her along with Fernanda Montenegro, the daughter of one of the country’s greatest stars. She appears late in the film as the older Eunice.

“This goes to a woman who after a loss suffered during a authoritarian regime decided not to bend and resist. This prize goes to her,” Salles said during his acceptance speech, as the audience gave a standing ovation. “And it goes to the two extraordinary women who gave life to her.”

“Today is the day to feel even prouder of being Brazilian,” Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wrote on X, “Pride for our cinema, for our artists and, primarily, pride for our democracy.”

The focus of “I’m Still Here,” based on the memoir by Paiva’s son Marcelo, is Eunice, the mother of five left to remake their family’s life with neither her husband nor any answers for his disappearance. It unfolds as a portrait of a different kind of political resistance — one of steadfast endurance.

Eunice refuses the military dictatorship’s attempt to break her and her family. When, in one scene, Eunice and her children — by then long without their disappeared father — pose for a newspaper photograph, she tells them to smile.

“The smile is a kind of resistance,” Torres told The Associated Press. “It’s not that they’re living happily. It’s a tragedy. Marcelo recently said something that Eunice said that I had never heard: ‘We are not a victim. The victim is the country.’”

“I’m Still Here” is a deeply Brazilian story, made by one of the country’s most acclaimed directors (Salles’ films include “Central Station” and “Motorcycle Diaries”) and Montenegro.

Also nominated for best international film were Denmark’s “The Girl with the Needle,” Germany’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” Latvia’s “Flow” and France’s “Emilia Pérez,” a onetime Oscars favorite marred by controversy.

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “No Other Land,” the story of Palestinian activists fighting to protect their communities from demolition by the Israeli military, won the Oscar for best documentary on Sunday.

The collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers follows activist Basel Adra as he risks arrest to document the destruction of his hometown, which Israeli soldiers are tearing down to use as a military training zone, at the southern edge of the West Bank. Adra’s pleas fall on deaf ears until he befriends a Jewish Israeli journalist who helps him amplify his story.

“About two months ago, I became a father, and my hope to my daughter that she will not have to live the same life I’m living now, always fearing settlers, violence, home demolitions and forcible displacements,” said Adra.

“No Other Land” came into the night a top contender after a successful run on the film festival circuit. It did not, however, find a U.S. distributor after being picked up for distribution in 24 countries. For the Oscar, it beat out “Porcelain War,” “Sugarcane,” “Black Box Diaries” and “Soundtrack to a Coup d’État.”

The documentary was filmed over four years between 2019 and 2023, wrapping production days before Hamas launched its deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that started the war in Gaza.

In the film, Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham embeds in a community fighting displacement, but he faces some pushback from Palestinians who point out his privileges as an Israeli citizen. Adra says he is unable to leave the West Bank and is treated like a criminal, while Abraham can come and go freely.

The film is heavily reliant on camcorder footage from Adra’s personal archive. He captures Israeli soldiers bulldozing the village school and filling water wells with cement to prevent people from rebuilding.

Residents of the small, rugged region of Masafer Yatta band together after Adra films an Israeli soldier shooting a local man who is protesting the demolition of his home. The man becomes paralyzed, and his mother struggles to take care of him while living in a cave.

By MARIA SHERMAN, Associated Press

First-time Academy Award nominee Daniel Blumberg is now an Oscar winner. He took home the trophy for original score for “The Brutalist” on Sunday.

Blumberg beat Clément Ducol and Camille (“Emilia Pérez”), Kris Bowers (“The Wild Robot”), Volker Bertelmann (“Conclave”) and John Powell and Stephen Schwartz (“Wicked”).

“I’ve been an artist for 20 years now,” Blumberg said in his acceptance speech. “And when I met (director) Brady (Corbet) I met my artistic soulmate.”

Corbet’s “The Brutalist” follows Lázló Tóth, a fictional visionary Hungarian architect who escaped the Holocaust, sailed to the United States to find his American Dream and created the style of architecture the film takes its name from.

When the nominations were announced in January, Blumberg told The Associated Press that he was actually with Corbet when he learned of his first-ever nod. “It’s been quite a surreal day,” he said. The pair shared a hug when the news arrived.

“‘The Brutalist’ was always such an important project for me,” Blumberg continued, describing the team behind it as dedicated to making “something with urgency, to make something with no compromise.”

Earlier in the night, French composer duo Clément Ducol and Camille took home the original song award at the Oscars on Sunday for their track, “El Mal.”

In January, “El Mal” also earned the pair a Golden Globe in the same category.

The musical “Emilia Pérez” is a lot of things — a musical, a transgender parable, endlessly controversial and frequently criticized for its depiction of Mexican culture.

“We are so grateful,” Camille said in her acceptance speech. “We wrote ‘El Mal’ as a song to denounce corruption, and we hope it speaks to the role music and art can play and continue to play as a force of good and progress in the world.”

The award was presented by Mick Jagger. “I wasn’t the first choice,” he joked. “The producers really wanted Bob Dylan to do it.”

Ducol and Camille beat Diane Warren for “The Journey” from “The Six Triple Eight,” Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Brandi Carlile and Andrew Watt for “Never Too Late” from “Elton John: Never Too Late,” and Abraham Alexander, Brandon Marcel and Black Pumas’ Adrian Quesada for “Like A Bird” from “Sing Sing.”

They also beat themselves: Their composition “Mi Camino” from “Emilia Pérez” was also up for the award.

The first-time Oscar nominees had a total of three nominations, including original score, at the 97th Academy Awards.

“You go from anxiety to relief, and you’re filled up with energy and you need that,” Camille told The Associated Press in January, when nominations were announced. “We’ve worked so much, and we’ve worked so much for the campaign … I feel very fulfilled and very happy for all the team.”

Camille said the film’s recognition “represents something very important.”

“It’s a very free, provocative and empathic, compassionate movie. And I really think this is what we need now.”

“It’s totally incredible. I was like, ‘What?’ It’s three nominations. It’s huge,” added Ducol. “We were involved at the beginning of the construction of the story in music … So everything is linked together, is woven together between the script, the screenplay, the songs. And so, we feel like it’s our story, our movie … It’s not just a musical or reflecting a story or reflecting action in the movie. The music and the songs, in this movie, is the script. It is the story.”

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr., Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul Tazewell made history at the Oscars, becoming the first Black man to win best costume design.

Tazewell won for his masterful design work in “Wicked” at the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday. It is his first win and second nomination. He was previously nominated in the category for his work on Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.”

“I’m the first Black man to receive the costume design award,” he said in his acceptance speech, which was met with a couple standing ovations. “I’m so proud of this.”

Backstage, Tazewell said winning the award is the pinnacle of his career. He said he feels humbled to inspire other Black men aspiring to become costume designers.

“I’ve been designing costumes for over 35 years — that has been on Broadway and now it’s film,” he said. “There was never a Black male designer who I saw that I could follow and see as an inspiration. But to realize now that it’s actually me.”

Before the Oscars, Tazewell won awards at BAFTA, Critics Choice and Costume Designers Guild awards. He’s the second Black person to in the category after Ruth E. Carter made history for her work in 2018 for “Black Panther,” which made her the first African American to win in the category.

Carter became the first Black woman to win two Oscars in 2023.

“She has paved the way for designers of color,” Tazewell said.

In his acceptance speech, Tazewell thanked “Wicked” stars Ariana Grande and Cynthis Erivo.

“To my muses, Cynthia and Ariana and all the other cast,” he said. “Thank you for trusting me with bringing your characters to life. This is everything.”

Tazewell built a legendary career, winning an Emmy in 2018 for his costume work on “The Wiz Live!” and a Tony for “Hamilton.” He worked with Erivo on the 2019 film “Harriet,” which was his first feature film.

Tazewell, who has earned nine Tony nominations, gained notoriety through theater projects such as “The Color Purple,” “In the Heights,” “MJ the Musical,” “Suffs” and “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

By HILARY FOX, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — No matter your ailment, there are plenty of TV doctors waiting to treat you right now on a selection of channels and streamers.

Whether it’s Noah Wyle putting on his stethoscope for the first time since “ER,” Morris Chestnut graduating to head doctor, Molly Parker making her debut in scrubs or Joshua Jackson trading death for life on a luxury cruise, new American hospital dramas have something for everyone.

There’s also an outsider trying to make a difference in “Berlin ER,” as Haley Louise Jones plays the new boss of a struggling German hospital’s emergency department. The show’s doors slide open to patients Wednesday on Apple TV+.

These shows all contain the DNA of classic hospital dramas — and this guide will help you get the TV treatment you need.

“Berlin ER”

Dr. Suzanna “Zanna” Parker has been sent to run the Krank, which is only just being held together by hardened — and authority-resistant — medical staff and supplies from a sex shop. The result is an unflinching drama set in an underfunded, underappreciated and understaffed emergency department, where the staff is as traumatized as the patients, but hide it much better.

From former real-life ER doc Samuel Jefferson and also starring Slavko Popadić, Şafak Şengül, Aram Tafreshian and Samirah Breuer, the German-language show is not for the faint of heart.

Jones says she eventually got used to the blood and gore on the set.

“It’s gruesome in the beginning, highly unnerving. And then at some point, it’s just the most normal thing in the world,” she explains. “That’s flesh. That’s the rest of someone’s leg, you know, let’s just move on and have coffee or whatever.”

As it’s set in the German clubbing capital, the whole city seems to live at a frenetic pace and the staff deals with the pressure by partying. The music, the lighting and the pulse of the drama also rubs off on the audience.

“When I saw it the first time I was sitting there, my heart was racing,” says Jones of watching the program. “I knew what was coming, but I just, you know, my body just reacted. And I think that really says a lot.”

Would she agree to be treated by Dr. Parker? Jones reckons it depends on what day you catch her.

DIAGNOSIS: “This is Going To Hurt” gets the “ER” treatment — side effects include breathlessness and heartbreak.

“The Pitt”

Emergencies are often against the clock, but in “The Pitt,” they are on a timer. Attached to a bomb.

Each episode shows an hour of Dr. Michael Robinavitch’s emergency room shift on one of the worst days of his life. After avoiding all doctor roles since the finale of “ER” in 2009, Wyle pulls on the navy hoodie of a weary Dr. Robby — this time in Pittsburgh.

Initially an idea for a “ER” reboot with producer John Wells, the show morphed into a fresh take on the challenges medical professionals face in the wake of the world-shifting pandemic.

“It felt a little sacrilegious to try to walk back into that arena prematurely,” says Wyle. “It was really only thoughtfully, soberly, cautiously and meticulously that we attempted it again.”

Robby is calm and competent in showing his medical students how it’s done, while keeping his own mental health crisis hidden. Not that there are many places to hide: Wyle explains that they are setting themselves apart from other hospital dramas by turning up the lights, cutting the mood-telegraphing music and showing the real dimensions of the department.

“All of those kind of lend themselves to doing something different,” he says. “Rattling the cage, you know, trying to put a new spin on an old form.”

Joining him in Max’s “The Pitt” are co-stars Tracy Ifeachor, Katharine LaNasa, Patrick Ball and Supriya Ganesh.

As for his own medical knowledge, Wyle says there are procedures he feels adept at least pretending to do. With the amount of time he’s spent playing a doctor, he could have earned his own degree by now.

“I’ve been doing this long enough,” he says. “So I’m either the worst student or one of the best doctor actors around.”

DIAGNOSIS: With front-line workers against the clock, it has a similar pathology to both “ER” and “24.”

“Watson”

Also in Pittsburgh, you’ll find The Holmes Clinic for Diagnostic Medicine, where it’s still life-and-death, but your heart rate can afford to slow a little.

It’s run by Dr. John Watson, former colleague of Sherlock Holmes, the famous sleuth who has bequeathed the funding for the medical center.

Chestnut plays the lead “doc-tective,” as he puts it, leading a team trying to solve medical mysteries while avoiding old foe Moriarty (Randall Park) — Watson is still dealing with a traumatic brain injury from their last encounter.

And Chestnut is no stranger to the long words and Latin terms that accompany hospital dramas. Chestnut was a nurse in “ER,” a former army doc in “Nurse Jackie” and a pathologist in “Rosewood.” More recently, he was the ruthless and talented neurosurgeon Barrett Cain on “The Resident.”

Luckily, his Watson has a better beside manner and uses cutting-edge science to help puzzle out a unique selection of patients, alongside his staff, played by Eve Harlow, Inga Schlingmann and Peter Mark Kendall.

The Sherlock mythology is provided by show creator, Arthur Conan Doyle fan and ex-“Elementary” writer Craig Sweeny, who brings a case-of-the-week style to the program. Chestnut reckons it’s this literary twist on the medical mystery formula that sets it apart from “House MD,” whose lead character was more of a Sherlock.

And he wouldn’t hesitate to be treated by Dr. Watson because “he wants to understand you as a person” and “truly cares” about his patients.

DIAGNOSIS: More tests needed to confirm if “Elementary” or “House” is the leading condition.

“Doc”

Over her 30-year career, Molly Parker has never played a doctor before. In “Doc,” based on a true story, she jumped right in with the top job, chief of internal medicine, at Minneapolis’ Westside Hospital.

A car crash causes the overachieving, work-centric Dr. Amy Larsen to lose eight years of her memory, turning her into a patient with a traumatic brain injury. Parker portrays both versions of Larsen through Fox’s debut season — the career woman in flashback and the mother learning to trust again in the present.

The focus of the show is on feelings over physical ailments, as Larsen has to deal, all over again, with the loss of her son.

“What I liked about this is that it has all the elements of that genre, like it has the high stakes and the mystery illness and the romantic love triangle,” explains Parker, who stars alongside Anya Banerjee, Jon-Michael Ecker, Amirah Vann and Omar Metwally. “But at the center of it is this woman who is going through this really profound grief.”

Parker has learned “not to diagnose yourself on the internet,” a deeper respect for health care workers and that playing a doctor is not easy.

“The most you can do is sort of try to get the words right sometimes,” she says with a smile, admitting she still can’t pronounce the name of one particular drug.

“It’s, like, so important in the entire season,” Parker adds, “and I said it wrong every single time.”

DIAGNOSIS: For fans of “Grey’s Anatomy,” where complications come from relationships rather than infections.

“Doctor Odyssey”

An honorable mention goes to Dr. Max Bankman of “Doctor Odyssey,” who set sail at the end of 2024 and is finishing up Season One’s maiden voyage March 6 on ABC.

Joshua Jackson, who previously portrayed real-life man of malpractice Christopher Duntsch in “Dr. Death,” is on board as the accomplished and smiley new head of a luxury cruise liner’s medical team. “Doctor Odyssey” comes from super producer Ryan Murphy and is set in the same world as his “9-1-1” franchise, with an upcoming crossover episode starring Angela Bassett.

Phillipa Soo and Sean Teale complete the ship’s medical threesome contending with a surprisingly frequent number of bizarre illnesses and accidents that befall the guest stars (episode one: a broken penis). Jackson acknowledges the cases are “absurd and fun and wild and over-the-top,” much to the amusement of his brother, who runs an actual ER.

But that is the appeal, he says, for viewers to “exhale” and find “welcome relief” from the stress of real life.

“To have this, you know, pretty bauble in the middle of your week to just come in and go on an adventure,” Jackson explains. “The stakes are high, the relationships are intense. Everything’s very dramatic. And 42 minutes later, you realize you’re just in the most beautiful place in the world.”

Unfortunately, his own medical skills remain more Dr. Death than Dr. Bankman.

“I could really, really, deeply mess somebody up,” he says. “I have just enough terminology and jargon to sound like I know what I’m doing, but none of the practical skills.”

Jackson wouldn’t hesitate to put his own health in the hands of Dr. Bankman, though, citing the miracles he’s able to perform weekly on The Odyssey.

DIAGNOSIS: Call “9-1-1” for a therapeutic trip on “The Love Boat.”

The long-running, Emmy Award-winning reality series “Survivor” is back for its 48th season, and for the third consecutive season, a Michigan native is among the castaways battling for the title of Sole Survivor and the coveted $1 million prize.

Charity Nelms, a 34-year-old flight attendant and fitness coach, is ready to take on the ultimate challenge when the show premieres with a two-hour episode on CBS on Wednesday, Feb. 26.

She follows in the footsteps of the last two women who won “Survivor” — Southfield native Rachel LaMont in season 47 and Gibraltar native Kenzie Petty in season 46.

Southfield’s Rachel LaMont wins ‘Survivor,’ $1 million top prize as Sole Survivor

Downriver native wins ‘Survivor,’ $1 million prize

Nelms, who recently relocated from Michigan to St. Petersburg, Florida, is no stranger to pushing herself to the limits. Over the past decade, she has undergone a significant physical and mental transformation, shedding 100 pounds and building a thriving career that merges her love of fitness with her role as a flight attendant.

A former student at Monroe High School, she took a gap year after finishing high school through homeschooling. She traveled and did ministry work. Later, she trained at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport flight school while working multiple jobs, balancing her education with her fitness journey. Now, she’s stepping onto the beaches of Fiji with the same drive that's carried her through life’s biggest obstacles.

“'Survivor' is kind of making up for lost time for me,” Nelms said. “A decade ago, I was in ministry school in Alabama. I was struggling with an eating disorder. At that time, I was 100 pounds overweight, the heaviest I'd ever been. And I was skipping morning prayer because, just to be honest, it was really boring. I skipped class and morning prayer multiple times a week to lay in bed and watch 'Survivor.'”

While watching "Survivor," she was fascinated by strategy, physical endurance and social dynamics, but at the time, she never imagined herself as someone who could compete.

“I remember thinking: ‘I have such an adventurous spirit. I love to travel. This is so cool. I would love to do this.’ But just from deep-rooted insecurity, I thought: ‘I could never do that. I could never hold up in those physical competitions. I don’t want people to see my body. I don’t even want to be in a swimsuit,’” she said.

That perspective has changed drastically.

After years of hard work, both in the gym and in reshaping her mindset, Nelms is ready to prove to herself and to the world that she belongs on "Survivor."

“Being on 'Survivor' runs deep for me. This is not just like, ‘Oh, cool game, and maybe a million bucks.’ I have something to prove to myself. I have worked really hard to be here,” Nelms said.

To prepare for the game, she dug deep.

“I have gotten really healthy inside and out, both in the weight loss, but also just in the confidence of who I am and what I'm capable of when I started training for 'Survivor,'” she said. ”It was even kind of just an emotional moment for me, not that I've made it on the show, but just that I'm even able to train for this, and I am going to hang in there with the other 17 people.”

To train: “I was running every day, lifting every day, I was balancing on anything I could find to balance on. I was getting balls and walking around with them on my head. I was running around with no shoes on with weights over my head. I was spinning. I was swimming in the ocean,” she said. “I am lucky enough to be in Saint Pete, so you know I had an ocean seven minutes away. I was going out to the beach and swimming and seeing how fast I could go.”

A natural leader with an infectious energy, Nelms has high hopes for her social game.

“I think I have a level of charisma that makes people comfortable. I love to bring a group together. I'm a natural-born leader,” she said. "I will make anybody laugh, even to the point where I'm embarrassing myself. Very self-deprecating. That is my personality and I think people feel comfortable with that.”

But she’s also aware of her biggest challenge: her blunt nature.

“My kryptonite? Speaking my mind. Sometimes, my tongue will get me into trouble because I am a no-BS person, just straight to the point. I’m from Michigan. I married someone from the South, and now I realize, ‘Oh, I’m very frank.’ We’re very to the point. … So I think that could get me into trouble, but I’m very aware of it.”

Nelms’ journey to the island is a testament to her resilience. From battling insecurities to building a thriving career and transforming her health, she has proven she doesn’t back down from a challenge. Now, she’s ready to take that mindset into "Survivor" 48.

“I know who I am. I know what I’ve been through. I know who I’m not. I have such a settled feeling. And to be honest, we’re all sizing each other up and looking at each other. I’m not intimidated by anyone,” Nelms said.

She said her greatest lesson learned is to trust her gut.

“You know I have only gotten myself in trouble when I haven't trusted my gut,” she said. "If you watch the show, you know it's a wild ride. But being chosen for 'Survivor' instilled this confidence in me that I can do anything I set my mind to.”

"Survivor" launches with a two-hour episode at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, on CBS. The series then shifts to 90-minute weekly episodes beginning Wednesday, March 5.

If it felt like “Saturday Night Live” took to the airwaves in 1975 with a renegade spirit, 50 years later it’s become not only a late-night tradition, but traditional. Hitting the half-century mark is a milestone. But a show doesn’t stick around that long because it’s willing to experiment or step on toes, but because it is fully embraced by the establishment.

That’s the (likely unintended) subtext throughout the various behind-the-scenes documentaries produced by NBC ahead of the show’s 50th anniversary special airing Sunday. These are in-house projects that stay on-message — warm and laudatory — but they are not without their fascinating moments. All can be streamed on Peacock.

An additional programming note: The first episode of “Saturday Night Live,” which originally aired on Oct. 11, 1975, with host George Carlin and musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian, will air on NBC in “SNL’s” usual late-night timeslot this weekend, in place of a new episode.

“Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music”

Co-directed by Oz Rodriguez and Ahmir Thompson (aka Questlove), the two-hour documentary includes a remarkable 7-minute montage of “SNL’s” musical performances that opens the film. But it also puts a long-overdue focus on the show’s musical history, which tends to get sidelined, and it’s a good reminder of the sheer variety of music that has been featured over the years.

• The opening montage blends clips in a way that segues brilliantly from one to the next, as if the songs were sonic cousins that should have been considered in tandem all along. It’s the kind of creative musical gambit we rarely see on TV, put together by people who clearly love all genres of music and see how they’re interrelated.
• The show’s opening theme song is instantly recognizable — and in no way hummable. And yet it works. Here’s how Jack White describes it: There is no consistent melody, “it’s just a wailing saxophone of someone being taken out of the building playing saxophone, by the police, and the microphone’s still connected.”
• As someone points out, the similarities between music and comedy are many: Timing, cadence and misdirection. Not mentioned: The prolific use of drugs, especially in the ’70s. But this is a cleaned-up version of “SNL’s” past, so …
• In the show’s first two decades, it was more likely to expose lesser-known bands to a wider audience. Devo in 1978. Talking Heads in 1979. The B-52s in 1980. Funky Four Plus One in 1981 (the first hip hop group to perform on the show, thanks to host Debbie Harry using her clout to get them on). An appearance on national TV used to have a big effect. I wonder if that’s still true, but with fewer places for singers and musicians to perform on live TV, the show still holds relevance in that regard.
• As “SNL” increasingly became mainstream, the documentary is a reminder that the musical acts retained an unpredictable and rebellious edge for a bit longer.

“SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night Live”

The four-part docuseries is hit-and-miss, but maybe that’s fitting since the unevenness mirrors the show itself. This should feel more momentous, especially in the streaming era when a long run might be seven seasons. (According to a recent report in Vulture, “SNL” remains “consistently profitable despite being incredibly expensive to produce” at $4 million an episode.)

Episode 1: “Five Minutes”: The show’s audition process is infamous by this point. Each person steps on an empty stage and performs for a small group of stone-faced decision-makers. The awkward silence is true in some cases, but other times you can hear off-camera guffaws.

• Cast members (mostly from the past 20 years) reminisce about the experience as they watch footage of their auditions. Some are cringe, but a handful are surprisingly good, including Will Ferrell, who was fully-formed from the start. There are the people who didn’t make the cut but went on to significant careers anyway: Jim Carrey, Jennifer Coolidge, Mindy Kaling, Kevin Hart, Stephen Colbert. The Dick Ebersol years — when executive producer Lorne Michaels left the show from 1981 to 1985 — might as well not exist, and there are only brief snippets of the original Not Ready for Primetime Players, including Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin. It’s such a weirdly recent assemblage who are featured. The ’70s, ’80s and most of the ’90s are elided, even though the whole point is that the show has been around for 50 years
• Of the show’s casting and talent staff interviewed, you notice the dearth of Black people and other people of color and it makes you wonder in what ways — subconscious or otherwise — that’s affected the show’s lineup over the years.
• Ego Nwodim, who joined the cast in 2018, offers some insight into that, albeit indirectly: “I felt like I could do the job in a way that would make it easier for the next Black woman. And I say this not to say that every day I’d go in thinking, ‘This is for Black women!’ — I wasn’t. But I wanted the audience to have a point of reference of a Black woman they felt had the skill set to do the job and their brains could go, ‘Oh yeah, she belongs.’ And then the next Black woman who comes after me, my hope is her time is 5% easier because of the work I did there.” She says she benefits from the Black women who came before her. There were just five. In 50 years.
• In case you were wondering if nepotism is part of the “SNL” fabric, of course it is! We learn that George Wendt called “SNL” about considering his nephew Jason Sudeikis.

Episode 2: “More Cowbell”: The weakest of the episodes, it functions as an anatomy of a sketch. Specifically the “More Cowbell” sketch (technically called “Recording Session”) from 2000 starring Christopher Walken and envisioned by Will Ferrell as an absurdist version of Blue Öyster Cult recording the band’s 1976 hit “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.” The sketch is fine. Funny even! I’m not sure it’s interesting enough to warrant a one-hour, semi-tongue-in-cheek episode about the making of it. Surely there were other sketches with better backstories.

Episode 3: “Written By: A Week Inside the ‘SNL’ Writers Room”: This would be compelling if James Franco hadn’t already made a documentary called “Saturday Night” documenting the same process. It’s embarrassing how alike the two projects are. For a more comprehensive, warts-and-all look at the show, you can check out the nonfiction book “Live from New York: An Uncensored Story of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests.”

There’s also a new biography about 80-year-old Michaels by Susan Morrison called “Lorne: The Man Who Invented ‘Saturday Night Live’” that broaches topics these documentaries studiously avoid, including staff pushback Michaels received when he booked Donald Trump to host during his campaign for president in 2015: Despite Michaels’ insistence that the show was non-partisan, the writers felt he was putting his thumb on the scale and “‘helping’ Trump — a sentiment that was only bolstered amongst staff who recalled to Morrison that Michaels had wanted to ‘tone down a harsh Trump sketch’ and allow him to show ‘some charm.’”

• The writers are droll about their second-tier status. “I believe our names roll by extremely fast over shots of the castmates hugging and meeting the famous people,” says head writer Streeter Seidell. A lot of famous people were writers on the show —  but only became famous once they left the show and found opportunities on camera, including Will Arnett, Larry David, John Mulaney, Sarah Silverman.

• The writers produce their own sketches, meaning they write the scripts but are also responsible for helping to shape the performances and working with the rest of the crew on the sets and costumes. Louie Zakarian, head of the makeup department, has been building prosthetics on the show for nearly 30 years. “We did a ‘Game of Thrones’ sketch and we had one night to build a dragon,” he says. I would have loved an episode focusing on how these art departments actually function on such a short timeframe, creating everything from scratch each week.
• “You are fully in charge of three to four minutes of live network television,” says Mulaney about the autonomy writers are given. “NBC had nothing to say about it. Nothing. And when they did, we’d tell them no. We’re like 25 and we’d go, ‘We’re doing it.’” It’s a weird framing considering the show isn’t in the business of controversy or boundary pushing.
• Writer Celeste Yim’s path to the show: “I went to NYU for playwriting and was like, ‘Great, this is it, I’m going to be a playwright and write about things that really matter.’ And then basically immediately got the most corporate comedy job in the world.” This is the first time someone actually names it instead of buying into the lore — “SNL” may be desperate to style itself as bold, but at the end of the day, it’s just corporate.
• More than anything, you feel a deep sympathy for the writers. They seem beaten down and miserable, in it for the rare adrenaline rush of a sketch getting big laughs, but also mostly because it’s the kind of resume item that can lead to other jobs down the line. There’s nothing easy about comedy and the pressure to write funny material on a short deadline is daunting. I think it’s OK that a lot of it doesn’t work. But you wonder if the environment fostered by Michaels is the only way to do it. (As the aforementioned Vulture piece points out: “His age has added an undercurrent of queasiness to the 50th anniversary victory lap as Michaels’s empire rolls on without a firm succession plan. For better or worse, the machinery of American comedy has built up around him, and no one knows how the laugh factory will function if Michaels retires — or what it means if he chooses to cling to the show into his twilight years.”)

Here’s Tina Fey: “The rewrite tables were tough. They were grouchy. People would take the rundown of the show and just go through it, sketch by sketch, and make fun of it. Make fun of the title. Goof on it, goof on it, goof on it. You would leave the room fully knowing that that writers room was taking a (dump) on it while you were gone, and it just was kind of the way it was.”

“I don’t know if it’s the same anymore,” she says (the documentary doesn’t bother providing an answer). “Maybe it should get that way again a little bit,” Fey adds, and it would have been enlightening to hear why she thinks that kind of backbiting is beneficial to creativity. The idea that people can only do their best work under those circumstances probably deserves to be challenged.

Episode 4: “Season 11: The Weird Year”: Finally, Ebersol’s existence is (barely!) acknowledged, if only because Season 11 marked Michaels’ return to “SNL” as executive producer, taking over for Ebersol. Michaels’ eye for talent has always been one of his strengths, but  you could say the same of Ebersol, who assembled casts that included Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal and Martin Short. Well, regardless, Michaels cleared house when he came back, hiring a number of performers — including Randy Quaid, Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr. — who had little or no previous sketch comedy experience.

• The episode is the only one that even vaguely criticizes Michaels, but you really have to read between the lines because he’s portrayed as a godlike figure. (Even at this point, he was already living a certain lifestyle; people remember being called out for meetings by the pool at his house in the Hamptons.)
• That Michaels failed to create an environment in which a talent like Damon Wayans could thrive is such a big mark against him (Michaels fired him that season).
• There’s a lot of emphasis on the show faltering during Season 11 (tensions between the writers and the cast are alluded to) but the documentary and its participants don’t analyze more deeply the why of it all. At any rate, the season ended with a sketch that literally envisioned the cast set on fire.
• I had forgotten that Michaels brought Francis Ford Coppola on to direct an episode that season, with Coppola on camera for some of it. It’s such a departure for the show and just the kind of experiment you wish the show had embraced in the years since.
• Jon Lovitz has the best observation about the show, then and now: “We’re live but we’re not taking advantage of it.”

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic.

By JOHN CARUCCI, BROOKE LEFFERTS, GINA ABDY and RYAN PEARSON

NEW YORK (AP) — Legions of comedic talent have paraded through NBC’s Studio 8H, whether as cast members, writers or hosts of “Saturday Night Live.”

As the sketch show marks its 50th anniversary with a bevy of celebrations, its cast members and alumni look back on their favorite sketches and the enduring legacy of “Saturday Night Live.”

Fred Armisen, cast member 2002-2013, one-time host

FAVORITE SKETCH: “The Wizard of Oz”

“There’s a ‘Wizard of Oz’ one that we did that actually John Mulaney wrote, where there’s like this new footage of ‘Wizard of Oz,’ of a character that got cut out of a movie, and it’s a weather vane,” said Armisen, who played Weathervane alongside Anne Hathaway’s Dorothy. “Something about it, I just I really love that sketch.”

Chloe Fineman, cast member 2019-present

FAVORITE SKETCH: “Everything is amazing,” the current cast member said, but she seemed to hope the anniversary special would see a reprise of “The Californians.”

“All of it are sort of ‘pinch me’ moments and I feel like it’ll be even bigger than the 40th,” she said of the upcoming special.

Will Forte, cast member 2002-2010, one-time host

FAVORITE SKETCHES: “More Cowbell,” with Christopher Walken fixated on adding that signature sound to Blue Öyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” Forte named a few, but “Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer” was another favorite. Then, of course, there’s Adam Sandler’s classic “The Chanukah Song.”

“I hadn’t seen ‘The Chanukah Song’ in a long time. … It just happened to be on the other day,” said Forte, who was freshly reminded: “It’s so good.”

Seth Meyers, cast member 2001-2014, former head writer, one-time host

FAVORITE SKETCH: “More Cowbell,” perhaps a universal favorite.

“I think ‘Cowbell’ would work if English was your like 10th language. … I think that’s a safe pick,” he said. “It’s Will Ferrell at the height of his powers. … It’s an all-time host Christopher Walken doing a thing that only Christopher Walken could do.” (Of the last 12 months, Meyers is also partial to Nate Bargatze’s “Washington’s Dream” sketches.)

WHY “SNL” ENDURES: To Meyers, who now hosts “Late Night” in Studio 8G, “Saturday Night Live” is like sports. It’s live. No one knows what’s going to happen.

“It’s so beautifully uneven. I’ve always said the worst show has something great and the best show has something terrible,” Meyers said. “And there’s no there’s no host that can guarantee consistency. … If you laid all the Alec Baldwin-hosted episodes out there, there’s a huge gap between the best one and the worst one. And there’s no real reason to explain that, other than just everybody sort of had a bad week.”

Bobby Moynihan, cast member 2008-2017

FAVORITE SKETCHES: “Haunted Elevator,” with Tom Hanks as the spooky-yet-goofy David S. Pumpkins; “Calculator Christmas Gift,” where Fred Armisen and John Malkovich have their odd holiday wish list fulfilled; “Tennis Talk with Time-Traveling Scott Joplin,” which is somehow exactly what it sounds like.

“David Pumpkins always comes to mind as just, like, the weirdest thing we ever got on. And I love the idea of future generations trying to figure it out, as well,” said Moynihan, who added that he was drawn to “amazing, weird sketches.”

John Mulaney, writer 2008-2013, six-time host

FAVORITE SKETCHES: “Toilet Death Ejector,” an infomercial flogging an “elegant” solution to avert the indignity of dying on the commode, and “Monkey Trial,” featuring, yes, a monkey but not one on trial — one presiding over it.

“Those are two quality Simon Rich premises executed,” said Mulaney, who wrote the former with frequent collaborators Rich and Marika Sawyer and the latter with Rich. Both sketches date to Mulaney’s hosting stints.

Laraine Newman, cast member 1975-1980

FAVORITE SKETCH: “Plato’s Cave” from the Not Ready for Prime Time Players era, where Steve Martin plays a beatnik, and “The Swan,” a parody of a 2000s reality show.

“I remember seeing there was a horrible reality show called ‘The Swan’ where they did this massive plastic surgery on people. And I think they did a parody of that with Amy Poehler and a bunch of other people. And it was the first time I’d seen her and I was like, ‘My God, this girl is so good,’” Newman said. “But as far as our show, I think that this one sketch called ‘Plato’s Cave’ or the beatnik sketch, is, I think, a really good representation of our show. And it’s the whole cast.”

WHY “SNL” ENDURES: There’s a long list of people responsible, she says, but atop that list? Show creator Lorne Michaels.

“The fact that the show has remained relevant is because of the approach that Lorne has, which is that he always has new people, whether they be writers or performers with new perspectives and original ideas and characters,” Newman said. “And that’s, I think, what moves the show along in terms of tone and relevance.”

Jason Sudeikis, writer 2003-2005, cast member 2005-2013, one-time host

FAVORITE SKETCH: “What’s Up With That?” a recurring series with Kenan Thompson as a game show host.

“Part of the reason I put it in there is because I feel very proud of the group, the generation I came up on and through the show … both on camera and behind the scenes,” Sudeikis said, noting the “real wild” cameos like Robert De Niro and Robin Williams.

Kenan Thompson, cast member 2003-present

WHY “SNL” ENDURES: It has good people, and they know where the line is.

“We work with brilliant people. I think we all have a pretty solid sensibility, where we kind of know where the offense is and we work really hard trying not to tread in places that are uncomfortable or whatever without warrant,” the longtime cast member said. “But at the same time, I can’t please everybody and we’re still trying to like, like lighten the mood, if you will. So, you know, we’re doing that as long as we’re not like overly stepping — like if you step on a toe, you say, ‘I’m sorry. Excuse me.’ Then that should be OK. … We should be able to just move on and continue to explore or continue conversations that may or may not be uncomfortable. That’s kind of our job.”

Bowen Yang, writer 2018-2019, cast member 2019-present

WHY “SNL” ENDURES: At its heart, it’s a variety show.

“I think with a show like ‘SNL,’ we have the latitude to be a little variety show and give you different sensibilities and different parts of that, different perspectives. I love it,” the current cast member said. “It’s a very pluralistic place for comedy because it’s one of the last places where you can sort of have a grab bag of different kinds of stuff.”

Pearson contributed reporting from Los Angeles. For more coverage of the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live,” visit https://apnews.com/hub/saturday-night-live.

Network television would be unrecognizable without a lineup of hospital dramas. It’s a hardy genre for a reason. In the CBS series “Watson,” Morris Chestnut plays Dr. John Watson — that’s right, Sherlock Holmes’ old pal — but he is no longer the loyal sidekick of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories, but at the forefront of his own medical procedural. On paper, these ingredients seem promising: A riff on the Sherlock template and a likable star in Chestnut. And yet neither is enough to make the show work.

Set in present-day Pittsburgh — why Pittsburgh? — Sherlock is presumed dead (somewhere at the bottom of the Reichenbach Falls) and he’s left Watson a considerable inheritance. The money is for a clinic, allowing Watson to return to his original profession and assemble a small group of young physicians who help him solve medical mysteries. If only his colleagues were given the kind of qualities that suggest they’re people rather than dialogue-delivery machines. One character’s primary trait seems to be that she has a Texas accent. “Everyone who comes into this clinic is a puzzle,” Watson tells them. “They don’t need doctors — doctors are everywhere — our patients need detectives.”

Setting aside that “House” already did a fairly entertaining version of this, it’s a silly pronouncement: Many people have health conditions that aren’t easily diagnosable. This isn’t rare or unusual. In fact, it’s the basis of every medical show ever. But just in case you weren’t following along, when Watson details a patient’s ailments, he’s compelled to spell it out once again: “It sounds like a mystery and mysteries are what we do.”

Is it off-putting that one of the doctors complains about her boyfriend not proposing while they’re supposed to be diagnosing a little girl’s problems? I mean, yeah, because we have no investment in these people, so framing the moment as a funny bit of character banter fails to land. Everything is a posture. Nobody feels like a person, nor is there mention of cost or insurance until Episode 5. Considering this is one of the most consistently terrible experiences for anyone with health issues in America, it’s a conspicuous omission. Is Watson’s clinic footing the bill for every test, treatment and hospital stay? How much money did Sherlock leave him, anyway? Who knows.

Apparently no case-of-the-week show can exist in the 2020s without a serialized storyline ladled in to create a high-stakes threat to the protagonist, which is why there are also shadowy forces who want Watson dead. But if you can’t make the idea of medical detectives interesting enough to carry the series, this isn’t going to fill the gaps. Watson’s inner circle also includes an ex-wife who runs the hospital (if only the tension between them felt like it matters), plus a rough and tumble sort from England called Shinwell, whose presence amounts to little more than a few lines here and there: “Everything OK, guv?”

Shinwell was a minor character in one of Doyle’s short stories as a former criminal and Sherlock informant, and it’s fine that show creator Craig Sweeny decided to include him and expand on his relevance (“Elementary” did it, too) — but then Sweeny would have to actually do that, instead of whatever we get here. The show expects the viewer’s knowledge of the Sherlock stories to do a lot of work, instead of foregrounding and establishing these characters through good writing.

That extends to Watson himself, who is portrayed as a master of deductive reasoning, a swaggering know-it-all who has a genius-like understanding of human nature and the world itself. In other words, he’s written as just another version of Sherlock, instead of his own man. Chestnut has considerable screen charisma, but he can’t overcome the weak scripts. “The game’s afoot. We have a new case. Who wants to amaze us with their insights?” he says to his team, and it’s strangely perfunctory and underwhelming.

As Sherlock would say: “Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself.”

“Watson” — 1.5 stars (out of 4)

Where to watch: 8 p.m. Sundays on CBS (streaming on Paramount+)

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic.