Ricky Gervais has brought us another sitcom and dared us to reject both it and him; Will Leitch has returned to accept the challenge. Around The Dial clicks through Good Girls , Creative Galaxy , and Call The Midwife , before Dave and Tara take on a Taskmaster task for Extra Credit. Will presents Nathan For You 's "Finding Frances" for the Canon; we crown the week's Winners and Losers; and then we finish "That's What It's Called?" in Game Time. Take a break from mourning and join us! GUESTS 👤 W...
Mar 13, 2019•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 241
Does Whiskey Cavalier seem familiar? And is it because ABC is trying to clone Castle again, some more? That's returning guest Kathryn VanArendonk's theory, and the regulars are inclined to agree -- but we also agree that, although the new spy drama isn't prestige TV and doesn't make sense all the time, it's also pretty good and doesn't take itself too seriously, and once Lauren Cohan learns how to handle a gun (and stop looking like Countess Luann from RHONYC ), it's got a bright future. After w...
Feb 27, 2019•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 240
IFC's parody series Documentary Now! is back for its third season with six new spoofs of noteworthy docs, starting with Wild Wild Country (here reimagined as Batsh*t Valley ). Is it still as note-perfect as its first two seasons have been? Molly Lambert makes her Extra Hot Great début to join us and discuss! Around The Dial clicks through Adam McKay's new Amazon infotainment series This Giant Beast That Is The Global Economy , Naked & Afraid , Sneaky Pete , and Miracle Workers . Erica presen...
Feb 20, 2019•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 239
Amazon's import from ITV, White Dragon , is about a life and marriage that isn't what it seemed...and unfortunately, that's a meta comment on the show, because it seemed good, but was not. Allison Lowe Huff returns to discuss the show's first dumb, then too-Bond protagonist; the actors we didn't see enough of; and the Lost -ish Hydra of questions and puzzles. Then we moved on to a mini-Wheel of Murder and recommended overseas crime shows we DID like, including a French Agatha Christie, a Japanes...
Feb 13, 2019•2 hr 2 min•Ep. 238
Just in time for Groundhog Day, Netflix has released Russian Doll , in which Natasha Lyonne's Nadia keeps dying and being resurrected into the bathroom at her birthday party. Joining us to discuss is first-time guest/New York Times TV critic James Poniewozik! Around The Dial checks in with Speechless , Corporate , The Challenge (speaking of immortal), and Bud Light's bizarre Game Of Thrones crossover. Lauren tries to make it a Canon submission hat trick with "The Equestranots" episode of Bob's B...
Feb 06, 2019•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 237
Comedy Central's new..."sibcom"?, The Other Two , follows the (usually falling) fortunes of Cary and Brooke when their 13-year-old brother becomes an overnight internet sensation, and enduring internet sensation Joe Reid is back to talk about the little things the show gets right, how to talk about Survivor superfans, and why lonely and funny can co-exist. We went Around The Dial with The Good Place , Rent! Live , QB1: Beyond The Lights , and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt before Dan Cassino asked us...
Jan 30, 2019•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 236
Showtime has tried something new with a sitcom project: hired a creator who's actually good at making funny shows! So we're seeing how well this strategy is working with a discussion of David " Happy Endings " Caspe's new '80s Wall Street sitcom Black Monday -- as well as HBO's third season of High Maintenance (now in the Sunday night big leagues) -- with returning guest and tri-state native David J. Roth! The announcement of a Perry Mason remake starring Matthew Rhys has us debating Will Dave H...
Jan 23, 2019•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 235
Yet another reboot of a '90s WB "classic" has hit the earth in Roswell , a "reimagining" of Roswell -- and we were very lucky that the TWoP recapper of that "fine" original, Dan Blau Rogge, could join us to wonder who the new version is for, why the consistent element among the two series had to be the crappish acting, and when the show will stop being quite so obvious about the double meaning of the word "alien." Next, we went Around The Dial with Fosters spinoff Good Trouble, Adam Ruins Everyt...
Jan 16, 2019•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 234
A new year has dawned, and with it two buzzy new reality shows: MTV's Vanderpump Rules -alike Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club , and Fox's Korean import, The Masked Singer . To join us in discussing any complicated feelings we may have had about them, we've invited Kat Angus and Jocelyn Geddie, co-hosts of the podcast I Hate It But I Love It. Around The Dial takes us through Tidying Up With Marie Kondo , Gary And His Demons , Project Runway All Stars , She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power , and an I Am ...
Jan 10, 2019•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 233
Happy new year! It may comfort you to know that we did not resolve to be less ridiculous in 2019, which is how we have brought you another very special all-FMK episode -- this time, also implicating Nick Rheinwald-Jones. How did your FMK submissions shake out? Find out now! GUESTS 👤 Nick Rheinwald-Jones TOPICS Lead Topic: 👰 FMK NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 232 page on ExtraHotGreat.com 🐦 Nick Rheinwald-Jones on Twitter...
Jan 02, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 232
'Tis the season to be...janky? Not for us -- we got a top-of-the-line guest, Kevin P. O'Keeffe, to join us -- but janky is Nailed It! 's specialty, and we're here for their melty, slapped-up brand of holiday cheer, including the joy Jacques brings to the world, '80s-movie slow claps, and those hilarious reveals. But we're also discussing the RPDR "Holi-Slay Spectacular," and that hour was not on everyone's nice list despite a festive effort at twerking from Ru and Michelle's stunt doubles. Later...
Dec 19, 2018•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 231
Here's hoping you rested your ears over Thanksgiving, because they're getting battered by Season 2 of Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel , and Sherman-Palladino superfan Nick Rheinwald-Jones is returning to discuss whether it killed or bombed. Around The Dial clicks through the Comedy Central sketch special Goatface , Magic For Humans , The Comedy Lineup , and a whole slate of food shows, including Top Chef , The Final Table , and The Great British Bake Off . For her Extra Credit question, Carol...
Dec 12, 2018•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 230
It's just the three of us for our EHG "holiday episode" -- a meditation on the theme of Christmas creep. And yeah, they DO start playing carols in the mall on, like, November 2 these days...but that's not exactly the definition "creep" that became central to our discussion as we contemplated a Hill Street Blues that contained literally all the acting, plus plenty of judgment of singletons; an All In The Family double episode in which a hate crime led to a lengthy crisis of faith for Edith, who w...
Dec 05, 2018•42 min•Ep. 229
Resident upstate...er, resident Kim Reed is back to talk about Ben Stiller-directed drama/thriller/ Shawshank aspirant Escape At Dannemora . We discuss everything from accents to wardrobe to pacing to whether trying to recreate '70s thrillers is a worthwhile goal. Should Sarah keep watching past Episode 4? Keep listening and find out. After that, we debate whether Dave would Hate This Jekyll-and-Hyde thing on The CW, and go Around The Dial with two comedy specials, Catastrophe , The Final Table ...
Nov 28, 2018•2 hr 1 min•Ep. 228
Netflix's Narcos has moved to a new time period and a new location with the spinoff Narcos: Mexico , and Maggie Serota has joined us to talk about what's changed as our attention turns from Colombian cartels to ones closer to a certain famous border. Around The Dial clicks through Showtime's Shut Up And Dribble , A&E's The Clinton Affair , perennial segment star Patriot , and an update on Teen Titans Go! . Tara makes the case for inducting The Larry Sanders Show 's "Where Is The Love?" to th...
Nov 21, 2018•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 227
As Amazon brings the scripted podcast Homecoming to TV in an adaptation starring Julia Roberts -- apparently she's done some films? -- we welcome Mark Lisanti to talk about its music, its colour scheme, and how engrossing we found its conspiracy thriller storyline. Around The Dial takes us to two comedies by and for fortysomething women ( Baroness Von Sketch Show and Sally4Ever ), two other Amazon series ( The Romanoffs and Patriot ), the ninth season of The Real Housewives Of New Jersey , and D...
Nov 14, 2018•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 226
Netflix's political potboiler returned last weekend -- without its former linchpin in the Frank Underwood role. WE returned with first-time guest Kathryn VanArendonk to talk about whether this is the one Netflix-original season that actually felt too short; which is more egregious, Doug's beard or Claire's pregnancy pad; and what the franchise might have gained by just coming back in five years' time with all-new characters and no Spacey baggage. We went Around The Dial with Will & Grace, Su...
Nov 07, 2018•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 225
With Hallowe'en upon us, we decided to take a look at this season's two witch remakes: The CW's Charmed , and Netflix's Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina . Eve Batey joins us to discuss whether they put a spell on us, or if we wished we could burn them at the stake. Around The Dial stops at The House On Haunted Hill , Iron Fist 's second (and final) season, and Counterpart . Find out whether the climax for Seinfeld 's "The Contest" is its induction into The Canon. And then, after you learn the week...
Oct 31, 2018•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 224
The Conners debuted last week, sans its controversial founder -- and Sarah Baker made HER EHG debut to talk about everything from how the show handled "Roseanne"'s death to the healing properties of Goodman and Metcalf to whether we'll keep watching without a possible train-wreck as motivation. We went Around The Dial with The Cool Kids , Get A Room With Carson And Thom , a Camping / Splitting Up Together comparison, and a German Flying Circus before Dylan Garsee hoped an RPDR All Stars episode ...
Oct 24, 2018•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 223
Big Mouth has returned to Netflix for a second season of monstrous puberty (and puberty monsters), and Joe Reid is joining us to talk about the various sweaty humiliations that come with it! Around The Dial takes us to America To Me , Maniac , Chuck , and Dave's forcened sampling of Dreamland . Joe proposes the induction of the Friends episode "The One Where Rosita Dies" into the Nonac. Then after we name the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a golden Game Time. Get a textbook to hide your bon...
Oct 10, 2018•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 222
When the most exciting thing about a new show is the moment David T. Cole rechristens it Men Of A Certain Beige , you know you've got problems...but returning guest Jeb Lund soldiered bravely through our grumpy discussion of ABC's attempt to throw This Is Us , Desperate Housewives , and thirtysomething in a blender. We went around the dial with the new Murphy Brown , HBO's Jane Fonda docu, Ken Burns's Prohibition , a plea to reboot Behind The Music , and Dave's French stand-up TV forcening. Jeb ...
Oct 03, 2018•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 221
After the successes of its Hawaii Five-0 and MacGyver remakes, CBS has turned west -- way west -- to bring Thomas Magnum to a new generation. Did it work? We invited Stephen J. Skelton and Todd Robert Anderson, co-hosts of the Film Pigs podcast and die-hard fans of the original, to dissect 2018's Magnum P.I. (KEEP YOUR COMMA, GRANDPA). Around The Dial takes us through New Amsterdam (no relation to the one from ten years ago), Netflix's Maniac , The Good Place , and Family Ties . We then go back ...
Sep 26, 2018•2 hr 4 min•Ep. 220
BoJack Horseman dropped another season last weekend -- along with practically every other streaming show, but this simultaneously hilarious, dirty, and dark animated dramedy is the one we chose to discuss, along with the correct amount of Todd; background hilarity; and spot-on guest casting. We went Around The Dial with Forever , The First , Deutschland 83 and 86 , the newest American Horror Story , and a years-in-the-making verdict on whether Dave hated Troy: Fall Of A City , and Adam hoped to ...
Sep 19, 2018•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 219
Jim Carrey and Michel Gondry have re-teamed, for the first time since Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, on Kidding , the story of a children's TV host dealing with grief; Rolling Stone's Chief TV critic Alan Sepinwall returns to talk about it (and not as if he's talking to a bunch of four-year-olds). Around The Dial brings us to Lifetime's stalker thriller You ; Season 2 of American Vandal ; and The Forger's Masterclass . Alan presents the ER episode "Exodus" for submission into the Canon. ...
Sep 12, 2018•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 218
Tom Clancy's foxy CIA nerd is back in John Krasinski form for Amazon's new series, and first-time guests and ATX Festival poohbahs Cait and Emily joined us to talk about its problematic politics, whether the TV-scape needs another Homeland , why Krasinski chose THIS project, and Timothy Hutton's new corporate-douche casting lane. We went Around The Dial with Ozark , Anne With An E , The Big Family Cooking Showdown , Halt & Catch Fire , The Purge , and Paradise PD before taking a ferry to Gay...
Sep 05, 2018•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 217
Matt Groening and a passel of ex- Futurama writers have brought Netflix a new animated sitcom set in a fantastical world with elves and personal demons and the like, but did we find Disenchantment enchanting? Omar Gallaga returns to join our discussion! Around The Dial clicks on Netflix's new teen romcom feature film To All The Boys I've Loved Before ; Jerry Seinfeld's automotive chat show Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee , and Bravo's Below Deck -iverse. Omar makes the case for Detroiters 's "H...
Aug 29, 2018•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 216
Better Call Saul came back for its fourth season a few weeks ago, and Will Leitch came back to discuss what's transpired so far: the deliberate pace, the subplots we don't care as much about (sorry, Nacho), the forecast for Mesa Verde's plans for market domination, and what we think becomes of Kim...and of course the provenance of That Letter. We went Around The Dial with Marching Orders , Sharp Objects , Conan 's transition away from music and the death throes (?) of late-night, and Babylon Ber...
Aug 22, 2018•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 215
AMC's newest drama is Lodge 49 , the story of a dirtbag ex-surfer mysteriously drawn to a Long Beach fraternal order; does it deserve its Better Call Saul lead-in? Surf fiction fan Adam Sternbergh returns to talk about it! Around The Dial takes us through Insecure , Babylon Berlin , and HBO's Ben Bradlee doc Newspaperman . Adam makes the case for us to induct Killing Eve 's series premiere into the Canon, and then it's up, up and away to a comic book-themed Game Time. Put on your signet ring and...
Aug 15, 2018•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 214
What's not to love about a crafting competition show hosted by Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman? Wellll, Linda Holmes and the regulars could think of a few things, but our nitpicks stem almost entirely from liking the show and wanting it to be its best, punniest self. We talk host bits, judging inconsistencies, the comparison of apples to macrame, and there's even Sarah's obligatory semi-annual reference to Work Of Art . We go Around The Dial with Queer Eye , Kids Baking Championship , The Bletchle...
Aug 01, 2018•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 213
Hulu's latest original series, Castle Rock , is inspired by the works of Stephen King -- but is the resulting series Stephen Kingdom Hearts? Deadspin editor, Dave And Jeb Aren't Mean co-host, and spouse of a Maine native David Roth makes his début to talk about it! Around The Dial spins to Seven Year Switch , Bosch , Last Chance U , and a vintage ad from Stephen King's past. David makes a pitch for us to induct the Law & Order: SVU episode "Wildlife" into The Canon, and then after naming the...
Jul 25, 2018•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 212
