Extra Hot Great: This Week In TV

The great Josh Gondelman returns to discuss the not-so-great High Value Target: The Hunt For Saddam , a tiresome limited series on TNT starring Joel Kinnaman as a CIA analyst/non-credible nerd and Tom Berenger as his crusty veteran dad. We’re talking about who it’s for (crusty veteran dads, lbr), why you wouldn’t just read John Nixon’s book, and whether other series have unpacked this era’s baggage more efficiently. We went Around The Dial with Coin From Accounts , Reggie Dinkins , and OJ Unseen before Dave wondered if the first-thought ring recharging on Lanterns is Worse Than Jazz?, and we contemplated a meta game-changer episode of Game Game Changer for the Canon. Point Break won, Entourage lost, and we sharpened our No. 2 pencils for an analogy-forward Game Time from Seth. We’re not in Kansas anymore either — it’s an all-new EHG! GUESTS 👤 Josh Gondelman TOPICS Lead Topic: 🎯 High Value Target: The Hunt For Saddam Around The Dial: 🦮 Colin From Accounts Around The Dial: 🏈 The Fall And Rise Of Reggie Dinkins Around The Dial: 🍊 OJ Unseen: Exploitation Of Evil Is This Worse Than Jazz?: 💍 The Lantern From Lanterns The Canon: 🏰 Game Changer S07.E11: Samalamadingdong Winner & Loser: 🏄‍♂️ Point Break Winner & Loser: 😡 Entourage creator Doug Ellin Lead Topic: 🧠 All About The D SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 🗓️ More from Josh Gondelman, including his tour schedule 📰 Josh's newsletter, That's Marvelous 🕵🏻‍♂️ "Not My Job: We Quiz A Retired CIA Analyst On Briefs (The Underwear)" from Wait Wait Don't Tell Me 🌴 Again With This Club 🍊 Sarah's review of OJ Unseen at Best Evidence 📷 Photo: TNT CLUB-ONLY NOTES 🔥 EHG Club Perk Links & How-To 💬 Get On Our Community Discord

We are off this week for Labor Day but present an episode from inside the Club vault. AppleTV’s newest dramedy pairs The Heat screenwriter Katie Dippold with Matthew Rhys as the beleaguered mayor of a dying island town; we tell you whether you should book your stay at the creepy local inn. Ask EHG invites us to share, among other things, which current show desperately needs a zombie apocalypse and the words we find aesthetically pleasing. Sarah pitches Omar Little’s first rendition of “The Farmer In The Dell” from The Wire for the Tiny Whistling Canon. We name the week’s Not Quite Winners And Losers. Finally, we end on our picks for the Sky Mall gifts our favorite TV characters most need to receive. Settle in to your table at The Salty Whale and join us! TOPICS Announcement: 📢 Ask & Answer Ask EHG Without Discord Lead Topic: 🧙‍♀️ Widow's Bay Ask EHG: 🇨🇦 Canadian Gladiators Tiny Canon: 😗 The Wire S01.E05: The Pager Winner & Loser: 👶 Nick Offerman Winner & Loser: ✍️ Friends writers Winner & Loser: 🩳 Michael Beach Winner & Loser: 🐻‍❄️ Lost producers Winner & Loser: 👦🏻 Adolescence Winner & Loser: 😤 Aimee Lou Wood Extra Credit: ✈️ SkyMalled Mini: 😚 Whistling (Oct 2011) SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 🎺 "What's Jazz Doing In A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms?" on YouTube 😙 "Omar Comin'" on YouTube 🙊 "Lost Actor Harold Perrineau Says Former Co-Star Still Won't Talk To Him" at IGN [subscription required] ✈️ SkyMall 📷 Photo: Apple

Labor Day is nearly here, and with it the unofficial start of fall. With dozens of new shows premiering or returning, which are we actually planning to watch…and planning even harder to avoid? Eve Batey returns so that we can all share our picks and P.U.s. Eve presents the Widow’s Bay episode “Your Baggage” for induction into The Canon. Then, after we name the week’s Winner and Loser, we close with a Ted-y bear of a Non-Regulation Game Time. Take a break from burning your dead leaves to listen! GUESTS 👤 Eve Batey TOPICS Lead Topic: 🍂 Fall TV Preview The Canon: ⛽️ Widow's Bay S01.E08: Your Baggage Winner & Loser: ⚖️ Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Winner & Loser: 📡 CNN Game Time: 🔪 Ted Like Me SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 🦋 Eve Batey on Bluesky ‼️ “The Cozy-Looking Sweaters In ‘Reds,’ Ranked” at Defector 📰 The Vanity Fair Daily newsletter 🌁 Eve’s piece on Under Story at the San Francisco Chronicle [subscription required] 👶 Sarah’s review of Baby Doe at Best Evidence [subscription required] 🖼️ “CNN Apologizes For Mistakenly Airing Photo Of Dolly Parton Impersonator In Report On Late Singer” at Variety

Five-part Swedish serial-killer cop show Blood Sacrifice just hit Netflix, and Sarah Baker is back to talk about scratching the Scandi-noir itch, mapping overseas procedurals onto B-B-B-B-Bosch , and what uniquely Swedish crimes a second season could incorporate. We went Around The Dial with My Brilliant Career , Big Brother , This Is A Gardening Show , and a Djokovic djokumentary on Prime Video before Tara very truthfully pitched Would I Lie To You? for another Canon spot. Line Of Fire won; Lost , um, you know; and we had to dive deep into our NCIS knowledge for Game Time. Throw a couple cans of sparkling wine in the Volvo and join us! GUESTS 👤 Sarah Baker TOPICS Lead Topic: 🩸 Blood Sacrifice Around The Dial: 👷🏻‍♀️ My Brilliant Career Around The Dial: 👁️ Big Brother Around The Dial: 👨‍🌾 This Is A Gardening Show Around The Dial: 🎾 Novak Djokovic: The Wolf In Winter The Canon: 🤥 Would I Lie To You S19.E05 Winner & Loser: 🔫 Line Of Fire Winner & Loser: 🐻‍❄️ Lost Game Time: ⚓️ Navally SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 🍔 Listen to Sarah Baker on Bob's Burgers 💝 And keep an eye out for Loves Company 🏦 Contact Sarah about the EHG Mutual Aid Vault 📷 Photo: Netflix / Jörgen Johansson

HBO’s getting in the superhero game with Lanterns , a take on a DC Comics superhero with theories about aliens, and lore expert Kate Sánchez returns to walk us through why John Stewart is an interesting apprentice, what she’d do with glowing-ring powers, and whether we buy Coach Taylor in this role. We went Around The Dial with The Dink , Hard Knocks , and the return of The Challenge , and our esteemed colleague John Ramos hoped we’d represent an episode of Heartstoppers for the Canon. Only Murders casting won, Dylan Walsh lost, and we waded into the Simpsons – One Piece plot Venn in Game Time. While away that flight to Nebraska with an all-new Extra Hot Great! GUESTS 👤 Kate Sánchez TOPICS Lead Topic: 💍 Lanterns Around The Dial: 🏓 The Dink Around The Dial: 🏈 Hard Knocks Around The Dial: 🤾🏻‍♂️ The Challenge The Canon: 💗 Heartstopper S02.E08: Perfect Winner & Loser: 🏢 Only Murders In The Building Winner & Loser: 🏒 Dylan Walsh Game Time: 🏴‍☠️ One Piece Did It SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 🤨 Kate Sánchez's online community, But Why Tho 🦋 Kate on Bluesky 💪 Tara explains why you should be watching Reacher S04, at GQ 🤳 More on Reacher S04 from us in EEHG 424 📚 The virtual concierge at Exhibit B. Books, Sarah's true-crime bookshop 📷 Photo: HBO

In Anna Pigeon , the USA Network’s new Canadian import, the titular character is a cop whose beat is Glacier National Park. Did it make us want to abandon our TVs for the great outdoors? Famed National Parks Omar Gallaga returns to talk about it. Around The Dial takes us through The Last House , S02 of X-Men ’97 , and Game Day Murders . Omar presents the Primal episode “Plague Of Madness” for induction into the Canon. Then, after we name the week’s Winner and Loser, we get out our credit cards for a Game Time that dares us to shop (TV) ’til we drop. Put on your sunscreen and bug spray and listen! GUESTS 👤 Omar Gallaga TOPICS Lead Topic: 🐦 Anna Pigeon Around The Dial: 🏘️ The Last House Around The Dial: 🎆 X-Men '97 Around The Dial: 🏟️ Game Day Murders The Canon: 🦕 Primal S01.E07: Plague Of Madness Winner & Loser: 🕳️ Stars of The Pitt Winner & Loser: 🦶 Ego Nwodim Game Time: 💸 Shop The Show NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 🦋 Omar on Bluesky 🫥 The Cold Vanish by John Billman on Bookshop 🧗‍♂️ “No Return” (about “alpine divorce”) at The New Yorker 💄 The Listen To Sassy Club 🦸🏻‍♂️ “A Wunderkind Showrunner Was Put In Charge Of Marvel’s X-Men ’97 . Then Something Went Terribly Wrong” at Vanity Fair 👨🏽‍💻 Omar at CNET 🏸 Sarah’s review of Game Day Murders at Best Evidence 🧼 Info on and tickets for The Bathroom Attendant 📷 Photo: Michelle Faye / USA CLUB-ONLY NOTES 🔥 EHG Club Perk Links & How-To 💬 Get On Our Community Discord

Extra Extra Hot Great music-on-TV correspondent Kari Race is back to discuss Sterling Point , in which Manhattan rich kids head to a wifi-free island in Canada to uncover secrets, draw love triangles, and make out with their friends’ moms. The panel was divided on whether it was charming and sweet, or unrealistic and annoying; see if we think it’ll make you smile, or just feel old. We went Around The Dial with Unacceptable , Heartstopper: Forever , and the BBC’s Jared Leto investigation, and Dave asserted that a seventh-season X-Files episode was ass. Task won, Wonder Man lost, and Game Time turned X-Files guest-star deaths into blind items. Grab a handful of illegally stored acorns and join us. GUESTS 👤 Kari Race TOPICS Lead Topic: 👉 Sterling Point Around The Dial: 🫨 Unacceptable Around The Dial: 💕 Heartstopper Around The Dial: 😬 Jared Leto: Hollywood's Dark Secret The Nonac: 🔫 The X-Files S07.E13: First Person Shooter Winner & Loser: 👮🏻‍♂️ Task Winner & Loser: 🤷‍♂️ Wonder Man Game Time: 👽 The Ex-Files SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 🎧 Kari Race's Hey Remember the 80s podcast 🛬 Tara's "Why Can't TV Finales Stick a Landing" piece at GQ 😬 Sarah's review of JL:HDS at Best Evidence ✉️ Mo Ryan's "Jared Leto And Hollywood's Open Secrets" essay at NYT 🧯 Mo Ryan's Burn It Down at Exhibit B. Books 📰 Last week's guest Tim Grierson's profile of Wonder Man star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II for the L.A. Times 📷 Photo: Prime Video

New Girl creator and The Dropout adapter Elizabeth Meriwether is back on TV with Furious , VERY loosely adapted from the 1987 erotic thriller Black Widow . Were we mad about watching it? Tim Grierson returns to join the discussion. Around The Dial takes us through Married At First Sight S20, The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience , and The Westies . Tara pitches the Documentary Now! two-parter “Soldier Of Illusion” for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week’s Winner and Loser, it’s on to a nomenclatural Game Time. Pour some vodka into your water bottle (we don’t judge) and join us! GUESTS 👤 Tim Grierson TOPICS Announcement: 🌡️ New Club Milestones Hit Lead Topic: 💉 Furious Around The Dial: 💍 Married At First Sight Around The Dial: ⚾️ The Lonely Island Presents The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience Around The Dial: 🧭 The Westies The Canon: 🏔️ Documentary Now! S04.E01 & E02: Soldier Of Illusion Winner & Loser: 🚔 On Patrol: Live Winner & Loser: 🗯️ Mary Beth Barone Game Time: 👯‍♂️ Name & Name SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 🦋 Tim Grierson on Bluesky 🌴 Again With This Club 🗣️ The L.A. Times, where Tim’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II interview will be published in August 🎞️ Richard Roeper’s review of The Westies at Roger Ebert 🔥 The EHG FAQ, including information on the Mutual Aid Vault 🤑 “July 27, 1986 commercials” on YouTube, which we’ll be discussing on EEHG this week 🎧 List of Dear Media shows 📷 Photo: Disney

Will Leitch is back for a very sportsy episode, as we contemplate Will Ferrell’s new golf sitcom, The Hawk — as well as when Ferrell got in a rut and how he could get out, why the universe thinks we need TWO golf shows right now, and what the show could have done to avoid wasting talented co-stars (“been a movie instead” is probably the answer). We went Around The Dial with The Five Star Weekend , Breaking Bad , and High Potential before Sarah teed up a first-season Sports Night for Canon consideration. The New Yorker won, Big Bang Theory lost, and we waded into the ever-proliferating recap-podcast water hazard for Game Time. Crank the speakers on your golf cart and have a listen! GUESTS 👤 Will Leitch TOPICS Announcement: 🧑‍💼 Salesperson Draft Results Lead Topic: ⛳️ The Hawk Around The Dial: 🗓️ The Five-Star Weekend Around The Dial: 👨🏻‍🔬 Breaking Bad Around The Dial: 🫆 High Potential The Canon: 🥌 Sports Night S01.E16: Sally Winner & Loser: 🌲 Paige Williams Winner & Loser: 🙄 Jim Parsons Game Time: 🎧 Leave It To The Professionals SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 📕 Get Will Leitch's book, Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride , in paperback 🏌️‍♂️ Talking about Stick in EEHG 357 🤑 The second Commercial Pitchman Draft from EHG 622 💄 Listen To Sassy Club 🧠 Our original discussion of High Potential in EHG 528 📚 Speaking of paperbacks, they're on sale at Exhibit B. Books 📷 Photo: Colleen E. Hayes / Netflix

Little House On The Prairie has been one in a series of historical memoirs and a TV series that premiered in 1974, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more adaptations: Kim Reed, possibly the world’s biggest franchise fan (or at least the biggest in our acquaintance) returns to talk about Netflix’s new version, which has already been renewed for a second season. Around The Dial takes us through The Other Bennet Sister , Big Brother S28, House Of The Dragon , Squatters , and Human Vapor . Tara pitches the Mad About You episode “Bedfellows” for induction into the Canon. Then, after naming the week’s Winner and Loser, it’s on to a Game Time with an extensive bibliography. Grab a peppermint stick and listen! GUESTS 👤 Kim Reed TOPICS Announcement: 🤷‍♀️ Non-Announcement Announcement Lead Topic: 🌾 Little House On The Prairie (2026) Around The Dial: 👒 The Other Bennet Sister Around The Dial: 👁️ Big Brother Around The Dial: 🐲 House Of The Dragon Around The Dial: 🏚️ Squatters Around The Dial: 🧖‍♂️ Human Vapor The Canon: 🏥 Mad About You S02.E03: Bedfellows Winner & Loser: 🫆 Task Winner & Loser: ✈️ Kristin Cavallari Game Time: 📖 Hey! It's That Author! SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 🦋 Kim Reed on Bluesky 🌴 The Again With This Club 🏚️ Sarah on Squatters 🫱🏻‍🫲🏽 Information on the EHG Mutual Aid Vault at our FAQ 📷 Photo: Eric Zachanowich / Netflix

Though it’s never been easier to avoid commercials if that’s what you prefer, some do deserve applause. That’s why we’ve assembled to choose our favorite TV commercial characters in product categories from fast food to hard drinks to drugstores and beyond. We also stay on-theme with a pitch for the Tiny Catchy Commercial Jingle With Punchable Child Canon AND a Non-Regulation Game Time all about the stars who’ve used their celebrity to promote everything from worthy non-profits to hands-free toilet cleaners. We’ll be right back after these messages! TOPICS Lead Topic: 🤑 Commercial Pitchman Draft II Tiny Canon: 🥊 Game Time: 🗯️ Talk Isn't Cheap SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 📊 Vote for your favorite commercial pitch lineup 🔥 Commercial Pitchman Draft in EEHG 098 🐑 "Volkswagen Tiguan - Commercial: Sheep 'Break Free' (2022; 0:30)" on YouTube 😴 "Nathan Lane 1990 NyQuil Commercial" on YouTube 🌴 Again With Again With This 💄 The Listen To Sassy Club 🥣 "Quaker Ready To Serve Oatmeal Commercial 1987 With Timmy" on YouTube

Larra submitted a late-season DS9 about baseball — in which bunting figures heavily! — for this month’s Forcening, so we stepped up to the plate for Worf homers, MLB nepo casting, and practicing strike-three calls. Ask EHG invited us to write our own Drunk History eps and set Emily Gilmore up on dates, and Tara hung a funny hat a Simpsons Tiny Canon pitch; then we named Not Quite 11 tennis episodes and show-title dog names, just in time to go back to school with TV’s most important academic administrators. Raise the roof; raise it — for an all-new episode of EEHG! TOPICS Forcening Pool: ⚾️ Star Trek: Deep Space Nine S07.E04 Take Me Out To The Holosuite Ask EHG: 😤 TV families on Family Feud Tiny Canon: 👒 The Simpsons S04.E07: Marge Gets A Job Not Quite Top 11: 🐕 Show Titles You Can Use As Dog Names With Dave's Permission Not Quite Top 11: 🎾 Tennis Episodes To Send You Into The US Open Finals This Weekend Not Quite Top 11: 🧢 Other Baseball Episodes Extra Credit: 🧑🏽‍🏫 Important TV Principals Mini: 🏈 The Most Electrifying Quiz In Sports Entertainment SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 🥎 Buddy coaching a lesbian softball team on Kids In The Hall 🕊️ How Curb saved a guy from prison 🍎 EEHG 065 on bad TV teachers 📷 Photo: Paramount Television

Who better than EEHG’s Green Screen correspondent Stephanie Early Green to discuss Freeform’s new reality show about the super-rich Snugli set — Million Dollar Nannies . Sarah actually didn’t hate the show in theory, but in practice, we found the premise non-credible, the nannies suspect skills-wise, and the richie clients were the Forbes 400 equivalent of Vrbo text art. We left the mysteries of Daddy Moke behind to go Around The Dial with Sugar ‘s second season, Ludwig , and a From marathon update before Stephanie climbed into the Canon-pitch cockpit with an episode of Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal . Simon Says won, Project Runway lost, and Monty hoped we’d score Alfred E. Neuman points in Game Time. Shred those NDAs and hop in the designer pram for an all-new Extra Hot Great! GUESTS 👤 Stephanie Green TOPICS Lead Topic: 🍾 Million Dollar Nannies Around The Dial: 🍭 Sugar Around The Dial: 🧩 Ludwig Around The Dial: 🚧 From The Canon: ✈️ The Rehearsal S02.E03: Pilot's Code Winner & Loser: 💬 Simon Says Winner & Loser: 👗 Project Runway Game Time: 😜 What, Me Query? SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 💚 More from Stephanie Early Green at her website 🍬 EEHG 291 on Sugar 's first season ⛴️ Tara's burning questions about Widow's Bay S02 for GQ 🛣️ EEHG 415 on From 's series premiere 🛹 Sarah's Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator review at Best Evidence 📷 Photo: Disney CLUB-ONLY NOTES 🔥 EHG Club Perk Links & How-To 💬 Get On Our Community Discord

A whole passel of alt-comedy superstars got together to make a comedy feature for Hulu about the class of 2008 having to redo the last two weeks of their senior year. Should they…maybe not have bothered? Brandi Brown returns to discuss it (and we hope will return again after we made her endure this). Around The Dial takes us through Miss You, Love You ; Office Romance ; a viral video of the cast of The Gilded Age pausing a shoot to celebrate the Knicks winning the NBA championship; Carl The Collector ; and Mad Men . Sarah pitches the Law & Order episode “Everybody’s Favorite Bagman” for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week’s Winner and Loser, we close on a Sorkin-ass Game Time. Put your senior high school yearbook away and listen! GUESTS 👤 Brandi Brown TOPICS Lead Topic: 🎓 Never Change! Around The Dial: 💖 Miss You, Love You Around The Dial: 📌 Office Romance Around The Dial: 🏀 The Gilded Age Around The Dial: 🦝 Carl The Collector Around The Dial: 🥃 Mad Men The Canon: ⚖️ Law & Order S01.E06: Everybody's Favorite Bagman Winner & Loser: 🔫 Stephen Falk Winner & Loser: 🍷 Milania Giudice Game Time: 🍄‍🟫 Sorkin-Ass Names SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 🦋 Brandi Brown on Bluesky 💥 "Widow’s Bay Creator Tells All After Explosive Finale" by Tara at Daily Beast 🏀 The cast of The Gilded Age reacts to the news of the Knicks winning the NBA championship 📆 Brandi's imminent standup dates 📚 The #majorcase sale at Exhibit B. Books 📷 Disney / Brett Roedel

Interview With The Vampire returns with a tonally shifted, maximalist third season — and Caroline Framke also returns to talk about the show’s new POV character, in-universe songcraft, when scenery-chewing works, and how vampires’ greatest trick was convincing the world they don’t exist. We went Around The Dial with Not Suitable For Work , Love Island UK , Gardener’s World , and Michael Jackson: The Verdict , and we wondered Will Dave Hate This? about an upcoming The Littlest Hobo remake; Tara may have had an anxiety dream about her Canon pitch for a fifth-season Hacks episode; and La Brea won (for once), while short-sighted executives lost (as usual). And heaven COULDN’T wait for another iteration of Dan Cassino’s faith-based-TV Game Time. Stage-dive into an all-new Extra Hot Great! GUESTS 👤 Caroline Framke TOPICS Lead Topic: 🎸 Interview With The Vampire Around The Dial: 🤬 Not Suitable For Work Around The Dial: 🏝️ Love Island UK Around The Dial: 🪴 Gardener's World Around The Dial: ✨ Michael Jackson: The Verdict Will Dave Hate This?: 🐶 The Littlest Hobo The Canon: 🍷 Hacks S05.E07: Montecito Winner & Loser: 🕳️ La Brea Winner & Loser: 👯 Brothers & Sisters Game Time: 🙏 Thou Shalt Guess The Title, Book II SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 🎥 Caroline Framke goes behind the scenes with reality-TV producers for Bustle ☘️ Tara's interview with Kate O'Flynn at The Daily Beast 😬 Sarah's Michael Jackson: The Verdict review at Best Evidence 🐕 Maybe Tomorrow by Terry Bush 📷 Photo: Frank W. Ockenfels III / AMC

While the counter-history of For All Mankind was going on, what counter-historical events were occurring in parallel in the U.S.S.R.? The spinoff Star City is here to dramatize it, and new guest Sophie Brookover is here to say whether it’s a “da” or a “net.” Around The Dial takes us to Make That Movie , The Tower , Deli Boys S02, and Instadocs . Wendy pitches the Designing Women episode “How Great Thou Art” for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week’s Winner and Loser, it’s on to a bookish Game Time about big- and small-screen adaptations. Find any of the many listening devices hidden in your home and join us! GUESTS 👤 Sophie Brookover TOPICS Announcement: 🏳️‍🌈 Pride Month Gift Exchange Lead Topic: 🚀 Star City Around The Dial: 🎥 Make That Movie Around The Dial: 🏢 The Tower Around The Dial: 🥪 Deli Boys Around The Dial: 📹 Instadocs The Canon: ⛪️ Designing Women S02.E20: How Great Thou Art Winner & Loser: 👍 Anna Kendrick Winner & Loser: 🦆 Jorge R. Gutierrez Game Time: 📚 Screen Sizes SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 🦋 Sophie Brookover on Bluesky 👯‍♀️ The Two Bossy Dames newsletter 🏳️‍🌈 Pride Month gift exchange information and signup 👀 "Why You Should Be Watching Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed " at GQ 🛎️ Downton Abbey on the Telly Visions podcast 📺 "9 Shows For '80s And '90s PBS And Masterpiece Kids" at Two Bossy Dames 📹 Sarah's Instadocs review at Best Evidence 🕰️ Sarah's Woman Of The Hour review at Best Evidence 🚪 Anthony Bourdain in Narnia at An Archive Of Our Own 📷 Photo: Apple CLUB-ONLY NOTES 🔥 EHG Club Perk Links & How-To 💬 Get On Our Community Discord

The Stranger Things team (among others) is back with a similar “a community of X bands together against a supernatural force” story in The Boroughs , which features an all-star cast (Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, Lester from The Wire ) going up against [ redacted ] AND their own aches and pains. Does the actors’ group chemistry carry the story, or did it need to take one thing off? And have we maybe seen these ideas in other properties like The Descent and Man On The Inside ? If that pairing of references didn’t give you whiplash, come Around The Dial with us for Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed , Animaniacs , The Bear ‘s trip to Gary, IN, and a Drunk Dave recovery report before Dave takes us to a DIFFERENT old-folks home with his Aqua Teen Hunger Force Canon pitch. BAffleck won, Tom Hardy lost, and we all hoped Game Time would tie the whole episode together. Barge on in with a six-pack and some gossip: it’s an all-new Extra Hot Great. GUESTS 👤 Devindra Hardawar TOPICS Announcement: 📢 Club Update Lead Topic: 👴🏻 The Boroughs Around The Dial: 😃 Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed Around The Dial: 🗼 Animaniacs Around The Dial: 🐻 The Bear The Canon: 👨‍🦽‍➡️ Aqua Teen Hunger Force S03.E06: Little Brittle Winner & Loser: ⚾️ Ben Affleck Winner & Loser: 😡 Tom Hardy Game Time: 🔌 Also Also Also Connect SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 📺 Devindra Hardawar talks new TV tech on the Engadget podcast 🔥 The Extra Hot Great Club page 🌃 Tara on The Late Show finale at GQ 💥 Sarah's review of The Crash at Best Evidence 📷 Photo: Netflix

The last of the Emmy-begging shows are nearly behind us, which means it’s time to look ahead to what has historically been TV’s silliest season: summer! Alan Sepinwall and Kathryn VanArendonk, co-hosts of the new podcast TV Is Good , join us to share the shows they’re into; the shows they should be into but aren’t; the shows no one should be into; and the “Good For You!” shows that aren’t for them but have a right to exist. Wendy pitches “Take My Finals, Please” from The Facts Of Life for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week’s Winner and Loser, we close on a Non-Regulation Game Time worth singing about. Close all your blinds against the blazing sun and listen! GUESTS 👤 Alan Sepinwall 👤 Kathryn VanArendonk TOPICS Lead Topic: 🏖️ Summer TV Preview The Canon: 📙 The Facts Of Life S04.E22: Take My Finals, Please Winner & Loser: 🤠 The Lowdown Winner & Loser: 🎙️ AMC Game Time: 🎼 Tube Tunes XVII SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site 🦋 Alan Sepinwall on Bluesky 🦋 Kathryn VanArendonk on Bluesky 🦋 The TV Is Good podcast on Bluesky 📺 The TV Is Good podcast 🔥 EEHG 407 ⛴️ “Why Widow’s Bay Is The Horror Comedy You Should Be Watching” at GQ ☘️ “Breakout Horror Comedy Star [Kate O’Flynn] Is Giving TV’s Best Performance” at The Daily Beast 🪞 Serling: A Journey Into The Twilight Zone With TV's First Visionary at Hachette 📰 The Best Evidence newsletter 🐽 Popular Mechanics at Fandom's Muppet wiki

You hear us play Game Time, but only the bravest few dare attempt it themselves. Laura, Mike, and Rob face off in a trio of Game Times, one written by each co-host. Listen to find out how many winners there are among them! GUESTS 👤 Rob Hartmann 👤 Laura Hampton 👤 Mike Seifert TOPICS Game Time: 📚 Stacks-onomy Of Episodes Game Time: 🔠 One Letter Off Game Time: 🫥 Oh! I Didn't See You There SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site

Two past and future EHG guests and one listener are showcased in this special episode. First, the good: Mlle. Caroline's pitch for the fourth episode of BBC's 1995 Pride & Prejudice , and Dan Cassino deep (sea) dive on Iron Chef 's "Squid Battle." Bringing up the rear is Wendy's Nonac pitch for The Great British Bake Off 's infamous "Mexican Week." Warning: might make you hungry for a giant ham, squid pizza, and "TACK-os." TOPICS The Canon: 🏰 Pride & Prejudice (1995) S01.E04 The Canon: 🦑 Iron Chef S03.E23: Squid Battle The Nonac: 🌮 The Great British Bake Off S13.E04: Mexican Week SUPPORT THE SHOW 🔥 Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more! 🎧 Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads! 🛍️ Shop our merch store! NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site