It’s our Spring Streaming Spectacular featuring our favorite show of the year-so-far: FX’s Shogun (streaming on Hulu!). We’ll share our thoughts before digging into spoilers, plus:
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Netflix rescued the 30 Rock-infused Peacock comedy Girls5Eva and it’s a comeback we can get behind… even if we’re worried no one is watching. The show has more jokes in a single song than an entire season of Emmy-winning comedy The Bear but, like so many Peacock comedies, has struggled to find an audience. We’ll give you plenty of reasons to binge the 22 episodes now streaming on Netflix…
But first!
All that and a jam-packed edition of America’s Favorite Game Show: Renewed or Canceled?!
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🚨 Light Spoilers (But No Big Ones for Season 3) 🚨
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TV is back and so are we! After a half-season delay (due to last year’s strikes) CBS and ABC are back with their hit sitcoms Ghosts and Abbott Elementary. Despite the extended hiatus both shows are entering their third seasons with a ton of momentum and a stacked (and growing) ensemble. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a brand new viewer: We’ll tell you what you need to know to dive into two of our favorite comedies.
Plus: Jon Stewart is back on The Daily Show and bringing in the highest ratings the show has seen since… Jon Stewart was on The Daily Show (go figure!). We’ll share some hot takes on the evolution of late night and the show’s precarious future.
But it’s not all laughs in Hollywood: Pilot season has all but vanished, with spring sitcom production down over 90% from a decade ago. Can comedy survive the industry’s historical contraction? We’ll debate the future of funny as we catch up on a lighting round of streaming news! ⚡️
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🚨 Light Spoilers (starting at 43:22) 🚨
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🚨 Light Spoilers (starting at 56:20) 🚨
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Hihi, this week we’re going undercover with Donald Glover and Maya Erskine on their new Amazon Prime Video original Mr. & Mrs. Smith. It’s inspired by the 2005 blockbuster Brangelina action rom-com, but this new darkly comedic martial thriller has more in common with FX’s The Americans than the title suggests…
…and speaking of FX: Peak TV prognosticator (and veteran FX chief) John Landgraf is back with his annual tally of scripted originals and an ominous prediction. With the number of new series in decline, is the era of Peak TV is truly over? (He’s only predicted it twice before, so this time might be for real!)
But first!
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🚨 Spoiler Alert: First 2 Episodes (starting at 20:35) 🚨
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We’re closing the case on our Cozy (and/or Spooky) Winter Mysteries Tour with this winter’s buzziest, prestige-iest detective show: HBO’s True Detective: Night Country. Premiering a decade after the original season— with a whole new creator and showrunner— it’s a show that poses the question “So, like, what is a True Detective, man?” [Insert your best McConaughey voice here.]
But first! Will cartoon villain David Zaslav ruthlessly murder Coyote vs. ACME… again?! Can Taylor Swift save Disney+? Can hastily retooling a Moana streaming series as Moana 2 save Disney’s holiday box office? Can anyone explain what Bob Iger is talking about?? And whoops! They made a Sports Hulu!
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🚨 Spoiler Alert: First 2 Episodes (starting at 36:38) 🚨
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It’s week two of our Cozy Winter Mysteries Tour and we’re headed to the south of France for vintage cars, red wine, and a whole lotta Clive Owen (literally) in Monsieur Spade.
But first! The Marvels hits Disney+ just as new questions plague the future of the MCU’s streaming plans (RIP our beloved She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law) and we try to unravel Max’s decision to give arch-rival Netflix the keys to Carrie Bradshaw’s kingdom.
All that plus a thrilling installment of BUNDLE WATCH. It’s an episode of Streamageddon you can’t afford to miss!
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🚨 Spoiler Alert: First Episode (starting at 31:16) 🚨
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The streamers have decreed: Winter is time for cozy mysteries and hard-boiled detective hijinks! We’re investigating this intriguing trend, starting with a review of Hulu’s new series Death and Other Details, starring Mandy Patinkin and a slew of beautiful people who will make you go “I think I know them from something!”
But first!
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🚨 Spoiler Alert: First 3 Episodes (starting at 35:32) 🚨
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Whoops, we accidentally predicted the future too well in our last episode! So we’re back to catch up on the doom and gloom at Paramount+, the mass hysteria surrounding Amazon Prime Video’s turn to ads, and more news from the past month.
Then we’ll make the case for why Marvel’s new “Spotlight” series Echo breathes new life into their struggling TV formula… if you can make it through the first 25 minutes of franchise-mandated flashbacks.
Plus it’s a new year, so it’s time to get your streaming house in order. We’ll help you budget with the return of our awards-pending advice segment Add/Keep/Cancel.
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🚨 Light Spoilers: First 3 Episodes (starting at 42:35) 🚨
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It’s our Second Annual Streaming Superlatives Spectacular! Featuring your favorite yearbook-inspired awards plus a host of new categories generated by the true star of 2023: ChatGPT.
Plus we predict which streaming service won’t survive the new year (spoiler alert: the headlines already indicate we might be right!).
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The holidays are here but we’re cursed with more streaming news for you!
Plus we review the first two episodes of Nathan Fielder’s The Curse. (You might not want to listen to that part with the kids…)
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🚨 Spoiler Alert: First 2 Episodes (starting at 11:52) 🚨
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