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 th…

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, …

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 Tor…

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 t…

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-…

We reached out once again to our Patreon supporters, asking whomst among them had the nerve and pop culture knowledge to participate in a Listener Game Time special. Brian, Lea, and Philip were chosen from our respondents, and face each other in Meredith's game My God, It's Full Of Guest Stars, and Mike's submission, TV CVs. Who vanquishes their fo…

For this special episode, we're contemplating three TV episodes our listeners believe are among TV's very best. Mlle. Caroline has us watching the Poirot episode "Five Little Pigs," featuring way more future Game Of Thrones stars (and offspring of future Game Of Thrones stars) than any of us might expect. Then, Larra sends us to Dropout.tv for the …

Dr. Dan Cassino is back to discuss Netflix's Sandman spinoff (of sorts), Dead Boy Detectives, a ghosty witchy horny procedural. We talked about its Gaiman (and Buffy) DNA, if it's better at being scary or horny, and which tools from the historical "magic on TV" kit it uses best. Later, we went Around The Dial with Hacks, This Old House, and Baby Re…

As a TV host, Conan O'Brien has moved on from a nightly interview and variety show on TBS to a comedy travel show on Max; as the whole season drops, Will Hines joins us to discuss how well it fits into the genre, and what it was like doing sketches during Conan's run of Late Night. Around The Dial takes us through Dinner With The Parents, X-Men '97…

It's yet another expensive-looking and ambitious limited series from Apple TV+ -- this time, Franklin, starring Michael "Gordon Gekko" Douglas as the flatulence-forward inventor of electricity. Is this limited series focused on the wrong thing? Is Franklin as a colonial weirdo better in smaller doses? And why isn't there more farting? Later, we wen…

Tom Ripley, a Talented character we already saw on screen in his namesake movie in 1999, is back, now in a limited series on Netflix; Dan Rogge joins us to discuss how this version compares to Anthony Minghella's film, what we thought of its use of black and white, and how it works to age up the character so he can be played by Andrew Scott. Around…

AMC's latest prestige drama, Parish, features Giancarlo Esposito as a retired wheelman trying to do former associate Skeet Ulrich a favor, and we're thrilled Omar Gallaga is parking it on the panel to talk about the show. Does the show do anything with 2010s crime-show cliches? Who has notes on car-chase credibility? And on a scale of one to ten pl…

Doug Liman has taken Rowdy Herrington's glorious 1989 feature Road House and remade it for Prime Video with Jake Gyllenhaal as a Dalton for the 21st century; Taylor S. Cole joins us to discuss whether it's a hard slap in the face to our memories of the original. Around The Dial takes us through Girls5eva, Lost, Homicide: New York, and Chicken Nugge…

Time was, the Extra Credit segment regularly appeared in the main episode. But with the expansion of the Patreon-exclusive Friday bonus episode, a lot of them snuck over there. We also just fell behind. So we're catching up: in this very special episode, we're addressing not one, not two, but NINE Extra Credit submissions with answers as considered…

Guy Ritchie's 2019 movie has spun off a vaguely related drama series on Netflix; Will Leitch returns to discuss where it ranks in his filmography. Around The Dial takes us through Animal Control, The Curse, and As We Speak: Rap Music On Trial. Sarah makes the case for the Law & Order episode "Trophy" to be inducted into the Canon. Then, after namin…

The Good [X]-verse returns to network television with Elsbeth, a procedural starring Carrie Preston's capital-Q Quirky Elsbeth Tascioni -- and Adam Grosswirth returns to EHG to talk about how the show is trying to have it both ways with the character's historical anti-establishment attitude; whether these creators should have moved this set of show…

James Clavell's doorstop of a novel Shōgun was already adapted as a network miniseries when your three regular panelists were all kids. Now it's getting a cable and streaming take, and you know what that means: beheadings and boobs! Variety TV critic Alison Herman returns to join us in describing everything ELSE that's also going on. Around The Dia…

When we threw a Zoom game night over the holidays for our Patreon supporters (hop down to join them!), Dave decided one was too good to play once. So we invited three of our Patreon supporters who hadn't made it to play it again. Listen to hear Taylor, Lucy, and (Bezoar) Laura try to decipher TV theme songs slowed WAY down; then, Dave hops in for a…

This year, Super Bowl home CBS gambled its coveted post-game time slot on a brand-new action drama called Tracker; David J. Roth joins us for a conversation on, among other things, how it stacks up to the similarly-named Reacher. Around The Dial takes us through The Amazing Race, This Fool, Kings From Queens, and Griselda. Tara pitches the Primo ep…

Mr. And Mrs. Smith is back, in TV form, on Amazon Prime, and Sarah Baker is back, in fine form, to talk about it: whether it improves on the movie, how we feel about leads Donald Glover and Maya Erskine's chemistry, how many Brooklyn landmarks Sarah D. Bunting zoomed in on for confirmation, and what the Phoebe Waller-Bridge iteration of the show mi…

With Masters Of The Air, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg have, once again, teamed up to tell a story of troops in the Second World War; Jeff Drake returns to discuss whether it soars, or never quite leaves the runway. Around The Dial takes us through a midseason Married At First Sight check-in; Season 1 of The Traitors; Bluey; and an Edgar Allan Poe…

We are off this week due to a family emergency but we bring you a couple choice cuts from the EHG Club archive. EEHG 223: Tara Forces Dave To Watch Alice S06.E10: The Wild One Remember the 70s and 80s when our greatest collective fear was that bikers would just grab a waitress from a diner and make her join their gang? EEHG 216: Dave Forces Tara To…

Mon dieu: Dashiell Hammett's legendary P.I. Sam Spade is back on AMC -- and because he's now noiring it up in the south of France, legendary Gallic guest Mademoiselle Caroline is back to talk about it. Is the limited series too long, or not long enough? How well does star Clive Owen contend with the character's, and Humphrey Bogart's, legend? And s…

AppleTV+'s latest very polished drama, Criminal Record, is about race and corruption in London's Metropolitan police force; Brandi Brown takes a break from cozy mysteries to discuss whether this copperganda is worth watching. Around The Dial takes us through Grimsburg, Julia, The Gilded Age (including a Tiny Triumph from Brandi), Break Point, and T…

Some of you might have made a New Year's resolution to watch less bad TV. Couldn't be us: we've decided to face bad TV head-on with this special all-Nonac episode. Sean pitches an infamous Survivor about sexual harassment among players. Erica dares us to watch a Monty Python's Flying Circus that breaks from both standard episode structure and good …