One week out from Christmas, we're bringing you a special all about the holidays. Will festive episodes of The Twilight Zone and Frasier take their place in our TV Hall of Fame? Will a famous failure of a Veronica Mars episode land in our Hall of Shame? Fa la la la la la la la listen and find out! TOPICS The Canon: π The Twilight Zone S01.E12: What You Need The Nonac: πΌ Veronica Mars S02.E10: One Angry Veronica The Canon: π€Άπ» Frasier S06.E10: Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz SUPPORT THE SHOW οΏ½...
Dec 18, 2024β’51 minβ’Ep. 541
It had been far too long since we played Mullendash, one of our favorite games, so we reached out to our network and gathered three people who write jokes for a living: standup comic Brandi Brown; comic and former Desus & Mero head writer Josh Gondelman; and former Last Week Tonight writer Jill Twiss. How good were they at writing bad punchlines that could pass for Jim Mullen's, thus fooling their fellow players? Listen and find out! GUESTS π€ Josh Gondelman π€ Brandi Brown π€ Jill Twiss TOP...
Dec 11, 2024β’1 hr 34 minβ’Ep. 540
Once again, we made some of our Valued Guests stick around after their tapings and muse about TV in our version of a What If? Find out where their imaginations took them in this very special yearly EHG tradition! GUESTS π€ Alan Sepinwall π€ Brandi Brown π€ Caroline Lefloch π€ Sarah Baker π€ Alison Herman π€ Adam Grosswirth π€ Taylor Cole π€ Omar Gallaga π€ Krystal Farmer π€ Dan Cassino π€ David Wiebe π€ Eve Batey π€ Monty Ashley π€ Andy Dehnart π€ Alex Collins π€ Daniel MacEachern π€ Kari Race οΏ½...
Dec 04, 2024β’51 minβ’Ep. 539
One of the oldest and most venerated game show formats is Password , dating back to well before all your co-hosts were alive. On an entirely unrelated note, for this special episode, we're playing a game called Personal Authorization Code! We've invited our friends Sarah Baker, Robert Krut, Jeff Drake, and Wendy Molyneux to play; since all of them live on the west coast and had to record in the middle of the night, our beloved Joe Reid sat in for Sarah as Tara's partner. Who can do the most with...
Nov 27, 2024β’55 minβ’Ep. 538
Prestige series Dune: Prophecy travels more than ten thousand years into the past to see what put in motion the Dune -iverse events we already knew about. Guest Phil Maciak took the time-machine trip with us to discuss whether the series is only for fans of the existing IP; what the series might have focused on instead of administrative wrangling; and why the club always looks annoying regardless of timeline. We went Around The Dial with A Man On The Inside , Junior Taskmaster , Say Nothing , an...
Nov 20, 2024β’1 hr 13 minβ’Ep. 537
Superstore creator Justin Spitzer has teamed up with Eric Ledgin for a new sitcom set at an Oregon hospital. Is it goofier than the subject matter demands? Stephanie Early Green returns to talk about it. Around The Dial takes us through Married At First Sight , Anatomy Of Lies , Sister Wives , Cruel Doubt , and The Penguin . Stephanie pitches the 10th episode of Australia's Instant Hotel 's first season for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, we close up wit...
Nov 13, 2024β’1 hr 29 minβ’Ep. 536
We thought a far-out distraction from current events was the way to go this week -- so we went to a fictional White House with accidental president Mike Brady, via 2002 TV movie The Brady Bunch In The White House . Should you take the tour -- or is this second-generation photocopy of an already-mediocre nostalgia brand not a candidate for your attention? We went Around The Dial with the new season of Abbott Elementary , the Criterion Closet series, and Mad Men before Ari wove together a Canon ca...
Nov 06, 2024β’1 hr 26 minβ’Ep. 535
Prime Video's new unscripted show invites product creators to pitch supposed experts from the business world for the chance to get their wares featured in the Buy It Now store; reality TV expert Andy Dehnart returns to discuss what is essentially " Shark Tank, But Crappier ." Around The Dial takes us through Somebody Somewhere 's final season, The Summit , Four In A Bed , and Raiders Of The Lost Art . Andy pitches the Dating Around episode "Guru" for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming ...
Oct 30, 2024β’1 hr 15 minβ’Ep. 534
Author, filmmaker, and Listen To Sassy co-host Pam Ribon is back to help us figure out what Hysteria! is trying to do: satirize the satanic panic and witch hunts of a bygone era? invoke Stranger Things and the Church Lady? We're not even sure what genre we should call it, never mind whether you should watch it, but maybe our discussion will help you decide. We went Around The Dial with What We Do In The Shadows , The Change , and Woman Of The Hour before trying to sneak an undercover 21 Jump Str...
Oct 23, 2024β’1 hr 29 minβ’Ep. 533
Rolling Stone 's chief TV critic Alan Sepinwall is back to talk about Apple TV's latest prestige limited series -- starring Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline, directed and written by Alfonso CuarΓ³n, and maaaaybe a little too fond of its own shot compositions. Is the hinted-at conclusion worth sticking around for -- or are we mostly seeing it through for Kline's cardigan acting? Next, we went Around The Dial with Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage , Happy's Place , Shrinking , and the Platonic (no...
Oct 16, 2024β’1 hr 11 minβ’Ep. 532
Three British talents from the worlds of TV comedy (Jon Brown, Armando Iannucci) and film (Sam Mendes) have come together for The Franchise , a look behind the scenes at the making of a fictional superhero movie. Does it shoot up, up, and away into the stratosphere? Devindra Hardawar returns to discuss. Around The Dial takes us to 9-1-1: Lone Star , 9-1-1 (talk about running the gamut), and the second season of Interview With The Vampire . The otherwise absent Sarah makes her pitch for inducting...
Oct 09, 2024β’1 hr 1 minβ’Ep. 531
ABC's new cruise-ship medical procedural features Dawson's Creek's former Pacey Witter as a hotshot surgeon who sets sail in search of work-life balance; Jessica Morgan returns to discuss whether everything's shipshape. Around The Dial takes us through the Real Housewives of New York, Salt Lake City, AND Orange County before ending on the 30 for 30 episode "My American Son." Anne pitches the 30 Rock episode "Queen Of Jordan" for induction into the Nonac. Then, after naming the week's Winner and ...
Oct 02, 2024β’1 hr 40 minβ’Ep. 530
None of us necessarily expected to recommend a comics-IP property featuring Colin Farrell under pounds of prosthetic make-up -- but we all liked it, including returning guest Richard Lawson. We talked about how it surprised us, the small feature-film stories it seemed to contain, whether it should have let the real Farrell shine through, and who's the season MVP (spoiler: Cristin Milioti). Then we went Around The Dial with the new Matlock , Alex vs. America , and Ryan Murphy's take on the brothe...
Sep 25, 2024β’1 hr 7 minβ’Ep. 529
An ex- Lost writer brings a French crime show to America with Kaitlin Olson as the extraordinarily intelligent cleaner who becomes the LAPD's newest consultant; we tell you whether it's the rare network show that deserves an hour of your life each week. Around The Dial takes us through the second-season premiere of Tulsa King , HBO's new doc David Chase & The Sopranos , and The Sniffer . Mlle. Caroline takes another run at getting a Psych into The Canon with "Last Night Gus" (and we also sal...
Sep 18, 2024β’58 minβ’Ep. 528
Writer and critic Sonia Saraiya is back to bid summer adieu with a discussion of Netflix's The Perfect Couple , a six-part murder mystery among the rich and unbearable that's aiming for Revenge and Succession vibes -- but does it work? The panel has mixed feelings...except about the beautiful locations, and the star wattage of Meghann Fahy. After we rinsed off the sand, we went Around The Dial with Adam Sandler's latest special, the first season of BoJack Horseman , and The Challenge , and Julie...
Sep 11, 2024β’1 hr 32 minβ’Ep. 527
We are off this week due to holiday travel but present you with this EHG Club unlock. EEHG 294: Discussing A Scorching Burn Notice Susanna invited us to check out the Burn Notice episode "Bad Breaks," and we were thrilled! Find out why that was the episode Susanna picked and exactly what two BN veterans and one new arrival thought about it. Ask EHG has us pondering our hypothetical Family Feud garb, the avatars we use on our various streaming platforms, and more. Then we each name our Not Quite ...
Sep 04, 2024β’1 hr 23 minβ’Ep. 526
As August continues letting us down in the TV premiere department, we take a look back -- waaaaaaaaay back, to 1974, when Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis slapped his name on a TV movie version of Dracula written by Richard " I Am Legend " Matheson and starring Jack "One-Armed Pushups" Palance. Since we've previously subjected Nick Rheinwald-Jones to other Dracula adaptations, it falls to him to return and discuss it with us. Around The Dial spins around to Emily In Paris , Mastermind , the comed...
Aug 28, 2024β’1 hr 28 minβ’Ep. 525
The USA Network is apparently making original shows...that should be streaming shows, like The Anonymous , which throws The Traitors , Big Brother , and a number of other alliance-based reality shows into a blender. Kari Race is back to discuss whether it's a concoction worth drinking, given all the AI dad jokes, dead air, and inappropriate cliffhangers in the first three episodes. Then we went Around The Dial with Taskmaster NZ , Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee , and Homicide: LOTS . Mr....
Aug 21, 2024β’1 hr 17 minβ’Ep. 524
Florida transplant Al Lowe Huff is back to talk about Bad Monkey , the Apple TV adaptation of Carl Hiassen's Sunshine State-noir book, and the ways it lets Vince Vaughn's...Vince Vaughn-ing find the apex of its expression. We also discussed the show's great casting, realtor shade, meta voice-overs, and unwelcome references to True Detective before we went Around The Dial with Couples Therapy , My Life Is Murder , and the fifth season of Justified . Hallie had one more thing for us to consider in...
Aug 14, 2024β’1 hr 59 minβ’Ep. 523
Autumn is nearly upon us again, but all we care about is TV. That's why we've invited back Alexandra Collins and Daniel MacEachern to look at the calendar of forthcoming premieres and make our picks in the categories of Shows We're Into; Shows We Should Be Into But Aren't; the all-new "Happy For You" category for shows we don't care about but don't begrudge others enjoying; and Shows No One Should Be Into. Tara pitches the 9-1-1-: Lone Star episode "Everyone And Their Brother" for induction into...
Aug 07, 2024β’1 hr 50 minβ’Ep. 522
The Decameron has come to Netflix in the form of a limited series from Teenage Bounty Hunters creator Kathleen Jordan. How has the centuries-old material change in the adaptation? Kathryn VanArendonk returns to talk about it. Around The Dial takes us to Futurama 's latest season, My Lady Jane , and ShΕgun . Kathryn makes the case for inducting the Bluey episode "Camping" into the Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time that's "sticks of TNT"! Put down the on...
Jul 31, 2024β’1 hr 27 minβ’Ep. 521
Monty Ashley returned not just to EHG but to the distant past, as the panel contemplated Peacock's ancient- Succession drama, Those About To Die . The CGI is pretty ancient too, but did any of the storylines make us want to keep watching? Did Sarah D. "Horse Girl" Bunting care about the stables subplot? And how much chariot-racing is too much? Then we neck-acted our way Around The Dial with Cobra Kai , The Boys , and the soothing Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories before clambering into a Dumpster fo...
Jul 24, 2024β’1 hr 24 minβ’Ep. 520
Terror At London Bridge is a 1985 TV movie in which David Hasselhoff plays Don, a detective arrived in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, just in time for Jack The Ripper to come back to life and start killing people there, and since July 17 is his birthday, there's no better time to talk about it! Sadly, a last-minute scheduling change forced Sarah to excuse herself, but our guest Eve Batey is here to speak on behalf of everyone who can, like Don, truthfully say that true crime is one of their passions...
Jul 17, 2024β’1 hr 13 minβ’Ep. 519
We are off this week but bring you a recent episode from our Club spinoff podcast Extra Extra Hot Great . From EEHG 292: Should You Shield Yourself From Fallout? Even big Walt Goggins fans might not enjoy a series that takes his nose and overuses midcentury needle drops -- but most of the panel thinks you should stick with Fallout , the new post-nuclear-bomb dystopia from Prime based on a videogame. It's different from Silo in good ways, and wit plus world-building plus thoughtful casting goes a...
Jul 10, 2024β’51 minβ’Ep. 518
Another Canada Day is on the books, but before you pack away your miniature Canadian flags, there's one more celebration we all need to get through: Canadian Thunderdome! We've each chosen 9 Canadian people or characters from TV, and we're tossing them into the Thunderdome to see which of these traditionally mild-mannered, polite figures has what it takes to win multiple fights to the death! Grab a few butter tarts and join us! TOPICS Lead Topic: 𦫠Canada Thunderdome SUPPORT THE SHOW π₯ Join th...
Jul 03, 2024β’1 hr 24 minβ’Ep. 517
The Orphan Black franchise returns to TV with Orphan Black: Echoes , and our own Joe Reid returns to talk about the sequel starring Krysten Ritter, Reed Diamond, and a whole assload of strawberry Jell-O. Is the new iteration a pale (pink) imitation of the original? Might it benefit from streaming the whole thing at once? And do its connections to the parent show only point up its weaknesses? Later, we went Around The Dial with (often justly) forgotten sitcoms of the '90s plus The Morning Show an...
Jun 26, 2024β’1 hr 39 minβ’Ep. 516
The Boys has returned for its fourth (and, as we just learned last week, penultimate) season; Andrew Cunningham joins us to discuss whether it's hammering too hard with its takes on current events and political personages. Around The Dial takes us through RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars , the series finale of Star Trek: Discovery , The Simpsons , Brats , and Hotel Cocaine . Sarah pitches the ER episode "Love's Labor Lost" for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser,...
Jun 19, 2024β’1 hr 24 minβ’Ep. 515
We're thrilled comedian Josh Gondelman could come back to talk about Fantasmas , the latest show from Los Espookys 's Julio Torres, which is as hard to describe as it was for us to resist. We talked about everything from fully realized re-imaginings of Alf , to comedy that doesn't have to prove it's smarter than you, to begging the universe to let Torres make American Vandal Seasons 3 through 85. Maybe the show's not for everyone, but it's okay with that, which is part of its charm. Later, we we...
Jun 12, 2024β’1 hr 26 minβ’Ep. 514
FX/Hulu has taken the scandal surrounding L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling after his assistant, V. Stiviano, recorded him being racist out loud (a recording that then leaked to TMZ) and turned it into a scripted true-life drama; former L.A. resident and current basketball (not Clippers) fan David Wiebe returns to talk about it. Around The Dial takes us through some early critique of Taskmaster Australia S02, and some soul-searching about what makes Below Deck Mediterranean so addictive. Tara ...
Jun 05, 2024β’46 minβ’Ep. 513
Grab a fruity cocktail; we're back to let you know which new and returning summer shows you should stay inside for (plus a few you can skip), plus a very special "We're Happy For You" list from Dave. Later, we take a dip at Rutherford Falls with a listener Canon submission; declare a Winner (casting) and Loser (cancellation) for the week, and time-machine it back to 2001 for a 19 Questions Game Time. Take the plunge and listen now! TOPICS Lead Topic: ποΈ Summer 2024 TV Preview The Canon: π§ Ruth...
May 29, 2024β’1 hr 12 minβ’Ep. 512
