TV Talk: ‘Stranger Things’ ends its bloated season; Chris Pratt stars in bleak thriller ‘Terminal List’

Just when you think Netflix’s “Stranger Things 4” couldn’t get more bloated, writers/directors the Duffer Brothers make the last two episodes of the season even longer.

Episodes eight and nine, now streaming, clock in at 85 and 140 minutes, respectively. That’s a lot of “Stranger Things” — too much, as it turns out.

While there are some nice small moments — a few Will (Noah Schnapp) scenes indirectly address his sexuality; Max (Sadie Sink) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) have some welcome interactions. It’s all the overheated bombast that feels like filler that disappoints. Helicopters explode. Characters get tossed like rag dolls. Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) goes after Max for the second time. The Kate Bush song “Running up That Hill (A Deal with God)” gets recycled.

There are some satisfying scenes around Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who gets integrated back into the gang and shares some important interactions with Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine) and boyfriend Mike (Finn Wolfhard).

And yes, there are deaths that are foreshadowed with the subtlety of an Eleven meltdown.

“Not everything has a happy ending,” says Robin (Maya Hawke) ominously. “I have this terrible gnawing feeling it may not work out for us this time.”

Indeed, the events of these episodes don’t work out for all the characters, although only one character’s possible demise truly stings. But even that feels like rather than committing to consequences, the Duffers might ultimately pull their punch.

Fans will stream the show anyway, and who can blame them? They got hooked when “Stranger Things” felt fresh and nostalgic for something other than itself.

‘The Terminal List’

Now streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video, “The Terminal List” is a particularly brutal ho-hum conspiracy thriller starring Chris Pratt as Navy SEAL James Reece, whose platoon is wiped out in a botched covert mission in the opening scenes of the series.

Complicating matters, Reece is an unreliable narrator because of injuries he sustains — his constant drinking doesn’t help — and that’s compounded when he returns home and begins to suspect a conspiracy is afoot.

Is it the terrorist he was trying to kill who’s out to get him? Maybe it’s an NCIS agent played by actor Warren Kole, who spent some of his childhood with his grandparents an hour south of Pittsburgh and got his start in the business as a photo double for actor Simon Baker when CBS’s “The Guardian” filmed in Pittsburgh in the early 2000s? Or could it be the seemingly helpful, concerned secretary of defense Lorraine Hartley (Jeanne Tripplehorn)? Is Reece paranoid or are there forces out to get him?

Ride-or-die best friend Ben Edwards (Taylor Kitsch, “Friday Night Lights”) is in Reece’s corner, but reporter Katie Buranek (Constance Wu, “Fresh Off the Boat”) is only out for a story, whether it comes from Reece or another source.

Based on the best-selling novel by Jack Carr, Homewood native Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day”) directs the premiere episode, written by showrunner David DiGilio (“Strange Angel”). A lot of “The Terminal List” is standard-issue, macho-man military conspiracy theory fare, just darker, bleaker, duller and more humorless.

Kept/canceled/revived

FX renewed “The Old Man” for a second season.

Hulu canceled “Woke” after two seasons.

Apple TV+’s “See,” starring Jason Momoa (“Sweet Girl”), premieres its third and final season Aug. 26.

HBO ordered a fourth season of “True Detective” that will star Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as the investigators charged with finding out what happened to six men at the Tsalal Arctic Research Station in Ennis, Alaska.

Amazon Freevee will develop a potential sequel to ’80s sitcom “Who’s the Boss” that will feature original series stars Alyssa Milano and Tony Danza. No word if Danny Pintauro or Carnegie Mellon grad Judith Light will reprise their roles.

NBC will revive CBS’s canceled “Magnum P.I.” reboot for two 10-episode seasons, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Channel surfing

New episodes of “American Detective” hosted by Westmoreland County native and 1968 University of Pittsburgh grad Joe Kenda will premiere at 10 p.m. July 6 on cable’s Investigation Discovery and the same day on Discovery+. … Alex Wagner (Showtime’s “The Circus”) will take over the 9 p.m. weekday timeslot on MSNBC from Rachel Maddow beginning Aug. 16. … HBO started production on the 10-episode fourth season of “Succession” with a promise of “existential angst and familial division” for the Roys as the sale of Waystar Royco to Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard) comes closer to fruition. … Disney+ debuts the six-episode docu-series “America the Beautiful,” from the producers of “Planet Earth” and narrated by Michael B. Jordan, on July 4. … Reruns of CBS’s “Blue Bloods” will debut on cable’s UPtv with a July 4 marathon, 5 p.m.-3 a.m. The regular time slot for “Blue Bloods” reruns will be 8 p.m.-12 a.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10 p.m.-12 a.m. Thursday, 8 p.m.-3 a.m. Saturday. … NBC revives the game show “Password” starring Jimmy Fallon and hosted by Keke Palmer at 10 p.m. Aug. 9. … Taking a page from Hallmark Channel, Cable’s GAC Family channel will air Christmas movies this month, July 2-4.