Extra Hot Great

Apple TV+'s Little America premiered last week, and Rolling Stone's chief TV critic Alan Sepinwall returned to talk about the heartwarming, but not treacly, anthology series about "the lives of immigrants in the United States." We talked about the casting, our favorite episodes, and why it reminded Sarah of High Maintenance before going Around The Dial with Avenue 5, 9-1-1: Lone Star, Sex Education, and Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens. Alan tried to get a second-season episode of The Americans' passport stamped at the border of the Canon; then Peacock won (CHUNG CHUNG) and a bunch of dead shows lost before we all got sick with a slash-fiction-based Game Time. Admire the sprinkler system on an all-new Extra Hot Great! GUESTS

When we decided to cover Freeform's remake of Fox's iconic teen soap Party Of Five, there was one obvious choice of guest: Meredith Smith, recent submitter of a Canon presentation on the original series. After discussing Freeform's devastating take on five new lovable orphans, Around The Dial takes us through Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, Grand Designs, and Cheer. Meredith goes back into the Canon fray with the Murder, She Wrote episode "If It's Thursday, It Must Be Beverly." Then after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time to sink your teeth into. Gather all your siblings and listen! GUESTS

The BBC rolled out Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat's Dracula on New Year's Day; we Yanks endured it over the weekend, and Nick and the panel agree that this grimly joyless take on a careworn narrative needs SOMETHING. A modern-day setting, maybe? Mini bottle eps on every famous personage the Count has eaten? But it just seems like the creators didn't really want to be there...and as a result, we didn't either. Going Around The Dial is more fun, with looks at Dare Me, You, Magic For Humans, Spinning Out, and Dave's tips for pepping up a Frasier rewatch. Then Nick returns us to the cemetery with his Nonac presentation on Buffy's fifth-season premiere. Killing Eve won, Witcher what-about-ers lost, and Steal Meals were flyin' in a very meta Game Time. Stake your claim to 2020's first all-new Extra Hot Great! GUESTS

Happy New Year! We're off for the holidays so we've released two of our Patreon episodes from Extra Extra Hot Great! See you next week for a new episode. EEHG 023: The Post-Buffy The Vampire Slayer Power Rankings In the years since BtVS seemed to dominate the cultural conversation -- and our TWoP forums -- some of the main cast have gone on to bigger and better things; others have gone on…Dr. Phil, with disastrous results. In today's Extra Extra Hot Great, we're ranking the top ten cast members listed on the IMDb, plus Joss Whedon, to see who's chosen and who's cancelled based on what they've done since the show ended in 2003. EEHG 028: Measure Twice, Cut Once In an era when there is, by any reasonable assessment, rather a lot of TV, we tend always to be grateful when a new show doesn't give us more than we would care to handle -- when episodes aren't too long; when a season doesn't feel like it's been overstuffed. The reason we appreciate that is because there are so many shows that we like, bu

Merry Christmas! We're off for the holidays so we've released two of our Patreon episodes from Extra Extra Hot Great! EEHG 014: Podcast Like It’s 1999 We're hopping in our time machines to imagine what an EHG main episode might look like…in 1999. It's all sequels and prequels in scripted content these days and hey, we're no different, so: What's the main topic on the podcast in a 1999 episode? What is everyone talking about for Around The Dial? What would we put up for the Canon, and who's Winning and Losing? And how the hell are we going to watch that new episode of Twin Peaks when our VCR crapped out and Netflix is decades away? EEHG 030: EHG 1969 Is Extra Hot Groovy Previously, we imagined what an EHG would have looked like in 1999. Today, we're going back even further — to 1969. It was a big year in the news, and we're probably all well sick of retrospectives on Manson and the moon landing…but what was going on in TV-land in these fractured United States? We'll each propose main topics for a

It's the most wonderful time of the year...if your very favourite thing is oppressively jolly holiday programming! We asked you, our listeners, to help us choose which piece of brand-new 2019 holiday content we would cover this year, and you delivered unto us the Lifetime original movie Mistletoe & Menorahs. Joining us to discuss it in a wild departure from their usual gig discussing the films of the Hallmark network are David J. Roth and Jeb Lund! Around The Dial clicks through FX's new adaptation of A Christmas Carol, Back To Life, the new season of CNBC's The Profit, The Expanse, and the season (and possibly series) finale of HBO's Watchmen. Lauren uses her Extra Credit to make us all benevolent TV dictators and bestow upon us the power to take a show that's Not For Us and make it meet our specific needs. Tara presents for Nonac induction the Beverly Hills, 90210 episode "It's A Totally Happening Life." Then after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time with a curious backstory. Take

How did Netflix think it would get away with a stinker like V Wars in the age of peak TV? We ponder that question with returning guest Monty, and we investigate the ingredients in a C-minus Syfy show (which this basically is) and wonder whether the show has, well, enough vampires (spoiler: nope). We go Around The Dial with Servant, Mad About You 2019, Making It, Ex On The Beach, and Toast Of London before rebooting dark characters in sunny-genred shows for an Extra Credit. Monty went over the top (as it were) for his Blackadder series finale Canon submission. Non-fiction cheerleaders won, Baby Yoda lost (sort of), and we seconded a motion for Part 2 of a previous Game Time. Keep hacking -- it's a bloody great new Extra Hot Great. GUESTS

In this episode, we dig in on some of the Canons submitted by you, our beloved listeners! First, we consider Doug Dale's case for Are You The One?'s eighth-season premiere, "Come One, Come All"; Meredith confronts us with the Party Of Five episode "The Intervention"; then Tara pitches Mom's "Spaghetti Sauce And A Dumpster Fire." Which -- if any! -- make it into our TV Hall Of Fame? Join us and find out! TOPICS The Canon:

At Extra Hot Great, holiday time means non-regulation episodes -- like a supersized round of Would You Rather? with Blankenship Chair creator Mark Blankenship. The four of us confront identity-crisis-causing brainteasers from each other and you listeners, including terrible live musicals, an eternity with Noah Benson, chyron font battles, Friends-giving episodes, Ken Burns's Raisins, secret Scientologists, Alec Baldwin, theme songs at the dentist, early Law & Order face-offs, and who's going to avenge Buntsy's death onscreen. How would YOU choose in these Would You Rathers -- or COULD you choose? Pepsi-Challenge yourself to find out in Extra Hot Great 278. GUESTS

The Crown has returned for Season 3 with new actors in all the key roles, and who better to talk about it than semi-professional royal watchers Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan of Go Fug Yourself? Around The Dial takes us through Dollface, All Rise, Evil, and Harlots. Sarah makes the case for American Crime Story S02.E04, titled "House By The Lake," to The Canon. Then it's on to the week's Winner and Loser. Get all your mates from the polo team over to the house and join us! GUESTS

Disney+ finally launched earlier this week, so we thought we'd talk The Mandalorian with Adam Grosswirth. How does the show fit into the Star Wars universe -- and should it bother? Is it hiding Pedro Pascal's light under a mask bushel? And was a certain very cute puppet perhaps pandering to longtime franchise fans? Later, we went Around The Dial with High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Encore, Back To Life, a POV on Bill Nye, and two Dark shows, and Adam hoped his and Eleanor's joint Grey's Anatomy presentation for the Canon wouldn't bomb. A League Of Their Own won, Don Cherry (finally) lost, and we trod the boards in a theatrical Game Time (yes, Sarah "actually got some points"). Don't take your masks off: it's an all-new Extra Hot Great. GUESTS

Apple TV+ is first to market in this month's battle of the brand-new streaming services, and Slate's TV critic Willa Paskin is joining us to talk about it -- starting with its fanciest new series, The Morning Show, but also touching on See, For All Mankind, and Dickinson. Sarah stars in an abbreviated Around The Dial to talk about the season finale of The Great British Bake Off. Then it's on to a discussion of whether American Vandal S01.E05, "Premature Theories," should be inducted into The Canon. After naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to the return of a Game Time classic. Grab your coffee and Red Bull and listen! GUESTS

Mrs. Fletcher gives Kathryn Hahn a star turn as a divorced empty-nester trying to find herself (sexily!), and we're thrilled that star critic Maureen Ryan could return to discuss it with us -- whether we liked it, where it should have ended, and when we can expect this "limited series" to turn into another past-its-sell-by regular series. We went Around The Dial with BoJack Horseman, Lucifer, Netflix cancellation shenanigans, Teen Mom: Young & Pregnant, and Silicon Valley, and then Tara filed a motion to admit a second-season episode of The Good Fight to the Canon. Lizzo won (some more), the Game Of Thrones showrunners lost (for once), and there were no points for second place in a very challenging Game Time. Pack up that minivan: it's an all-new Extra Hot Great. GUESTS

HBO has imported Sky Atlantic's miniseries Catherine The Great -- starring seasoned queen portrayer Helen Mirren -- and first-time guest Karen Geier is Russian (sorry) to join us for a discussion all about it! Around The Dial takes us through Living With Yourself, Modern Love, The Politician, Buzz, Survivor, the latest in Ken Burns, and HBO's highly anticipated take on Watchmen! Karen presents the "Interlude" episode of The Righteous Gemstones for induction into The Canon. Then it's on to the week's Winner and Loser, and a non-regulation Game Time that's the mother you never had and the sister everybody would want...or that's just about guest stars playing characters' relatives on TV. Saddle up your sturdiest steed and join us! GUESTS

We're so glad our esteemed colleague and Breaking Bad 101 author Alan Sepinwall could join us to talk about El Camino, the Breaking Bad sequel on Netflix that starts just minutes after the finale ended. Did we think it was necessary and/or satisfying? Were the fan-service elements welcome, or distracting? And which other characters should get their own post-BB films? Later, we went Around The Dial with Dynasty, Riverdale's Luke Perry tribute episode, Lodge 49, Private Lives Of The Windsors, and an objection from Dave to breathy cover-song TV themes (and the ending of Press, kind of), before Alan warmed up a second-season Leftovers episode as his Canon submission. Holey Moley won, a FOX affiliate (and racist sports teams) lost, and we sprang into action (verbs) for Game Time with the season hanging in the balance. An all-new Extra Hot Great: that's church, yo. GUESTS

PBS's Masterpiece has premiered the British miniseries Press, a tale of warring London newspapers, and we've brought a former newspaper reporter, Daniel MacEachern, back to the podcast to talk about it! Around The Dial clicks through Evil, Big Mouth, and Cash Cab, before we each pitch our own Fosse/Verdon-style limited series based on a real person's life (and possibly a specific biography). Danny presents The Grinder's "Grinder v. Grinder" for induction into the Canon. Then we're on to naming the week's Winner and Loser, and finishing up with a Game Time that might sound a little familiar. Put down any newspaper you might be reading and listen to us instead! GUESTS

We couldn't decide which headline show to cover for EHG 270, so we set our shot clocks to eight minutes each for three: Survivor's 39th (!) season, with an idolatrous twist; new sitcom Sunnyside, starring Kal Penn as a disgraced city councilman; and semi-charming, SUPER-piloty PI/PTSD drama Stumptown. Will any of us keep watching any of these? Can we, when a couple of them already pulled basement-ish ratings? Later, we went Around The Dial with Bissinger doc Buzz, Perfect Harmony, The Challenge, and Below Deck Med before Kim brought us back to Survivor and fans vs. favorites with her Canon presentation. Moriarty's a winner, Ray Lewis is a loser, and we explored not-that-secret identities in Game Time. Behold the giant wooden busts of your panel: it's an all-new Extra Hot Great. GUESTS

Downton Abbey has been adapted from television series to feature film, and professional movie analysts Joe Reid and Chris Feil of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast are joining us to talk about it! Around The Dial clicks through a trio of CBS sitcom pilots, Unbelievable, 30 For 30's "Rodman: For Better Or Worse," and Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance. Sarah and Tara take a look at Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail's just-announced Battlestar Galactica reboot and ask: Will Dave Hate This? We take on Mary's Muppetational Extra Credit question. Chris and Joe make the case for Project Runway S02.E09, "Flower Power," to be inducted into the Canon. Then, after talking Emmy Winners and Losers, it's on to a Game Time that tests our knowledge of our Boomer relatives' favourite shows. Grab your favourite footman and join us! GUESTS

Reviewers love Undone, Amazon's half-hour rotoscoped drama about time travel and mental illness -- did the panel agree? Should the show be animated, or live-action? Does it need a second season? And is this the San Antonio Kevin recognizes from his youth? We went around the dial with prestige fare like Married At First Sight, Are You The One?, and The Challenge, then Brady Renovation-ed other legendary TV exteriors for an Extra Credit before Tara shared a Tiny Triumph. Then Kevin put a legendary reality-show dinner party from the first season of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills up for the Canon. Norman Lear was a winner, Shane Gillis was a loser (and SNL got a conspiracy theory...and another one), and we tried not to count ourselves out of a very numerical Game Time. Reading (minds) is fundamental on an all-new Extra Hot Great. GUESTS

It's the show Lance Bass never wanted you to see: A Very Brady Renovation, in which a collection of HGTV stars join forces with the surviving cast of The Brady Bunch to make the real-life Studio City home that served as the Brady house in b-roll look exactly like the Brady Bunch set inside. Who better to join us in discussing all the Who-lebrities involved than Who Weekly? co-host Bobby Finger! Around The Dial takes us through Season 3 of The Deuce, Part 3 of Money Heist, Ken Burns's latest PBS documentary series Country Music, and Joe Pera Talks With You. Bobby presents the Enlightened episode "The Weekend" for induction into the Canon; then we name the week's Winner and Loser and move on to a Game Time about TV frogs getting smooched. Grab your sledgehammer and join us! GUESTS