The Televerse (mp3)

TV is finally slowing down, just a little, but there’s still a lot to discuss this week on the podcast, including one of the more long-awaited debut seasons in recent TV history. First up, Noel and Kate talk through their week in TV, kicking things off with the comedies, including Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Miracle Workers: Dark Ages, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Superstore. Then we move over to drama and genre, including Briarpatch, Doctor Who, Star Trek: Picard, Black Lightning, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Afterward, we head to the spotlight section to dive in with the first season of Netflix’s Locke & Key, which finally debuted after a decade-long production journey. Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts on Locke & Key and the long-awaited TV adaptations you’re hoping for.Season Spotlight: Locke & Key Season 1 (1:03:34)Our Week in ComedyFull Frontal with Samantha Bee (7:09)Miracle Workers: Dark Ages (12:41)Brooklyn Nine-Nine (15:04)Superstore (20:00)Our Week in Drama and GenreBriar

The premieres and finales just keep rolling, and this week on the podcast, we’re diving in with a big one. The Good Place wrapped up its four season run last week, and this episode, Noel and Kate give it its due, spotlighting the finale with a lengthy chat before looking back on the final season and the series as a whole. Before that, though, there’s a full week of TV to discuss. We kick things off with the comedies and some reality, including the Brooklyn Nine-Nine double premiere, Fresh Off the Boat, Schitt’s Creek, and a few thoughts from Kate on the Superbowl LIV Halftime Show. Then we move over to drama and genre and look at the premieres of Briarpatch and The Sinner, Stumptown, Doctor Who, The Flash, and a delightfully musical DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts on The Good Place, the Superbowl, and anything else catching your TV fancy.DVD Shelf: The Good Place (1:16:06)Our Week in Comedy and Reality Brooklyn Nine-Nine premiere (10:25) Fresh Off the Boat (17:16) Sc

January has traditionally been a quiet time for TV, with many shows on hiatus and few dramatic premieres and TV events. Not so any more, and this week in particular was massive. Just one of the big finales this week was Arrow, which among other things, transformed superhero TV and The CW as a whole. Of course we had to spotlight it, and we’re excited to welcome back friend of the show Allison Shoemaker (The A.V. Club, Podlander Drunkcast, Debating Doctor Who, Hall of Faces, and more) to dive in with us, looking at the finale, the final season, and the series as a whole. Before that, though, there’s a whole lot more TV to discuss. We kick things off with the comedies, including the Miracle Workers: Dark Ages premiere, Fresh Off the Boat, and a few spoiler-free thoughts on The Good Place finale. Then we move over to genre, catching up with Star Trek: Picard, some spoiler-free talk about the Evil finale, and closer looks at the Emergence finale, Supergirl, and a monumental Doctor Who.DVD Shelf: Arrow with A

Crisis has come and gone and one of 2020’s most anticipated new series is here! There’s lots of TV to discuss this episode and Noel and Kate dive in right away with the premiere of Awkwafina’s new comedy, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens. Then, after a quick look at Schitt’s Creek and Stumptown, it’s all genre. Kate reflects on Doctor Who’s adventure with Nikola Tesla and the nostalgia bomb that is the premiere of Star Trek: Picard, and then Noel joins back in to check in with all of Arrowverse series’ post-Crisis resets: Arrow’s backdoor pilot for “Green Arrow & the Canaries,” the season premiere of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, a surprisingly unaffected Black Lightning, the unsurprisingly massively affected Supergirl, and a game-changing Batwoman. Afterward, it’s time for our season spotlight, and we’re excited to dive in with season two of Netflix’s Sex Education. Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts on these shows and more!Season Spotlight: Sex Education Season 2 (1:19:10)Our Week in TV Awkwafina

After a long delay, Televerse favorite Zumbo’s Just Desserts is back for season two on Netflix. Does the new season recapture the whimsical magic of season one? Are this batch of dessert makers up to snuff, and can Adriano Zumbo best his ridiculous season one tests? Noel and Kate dive in and give their thoughts on this much-anticipated season two. Before that, though, there’s a full week of TV to discuss. We kick things off with a preview of Armando Iannucci’s new comedy, Avenue 5, and a little The Unicorn talk, then Kate attempts to steer clear of spoilers as she shares her thoughts on The Good Place, Doctor Who, Emergence, and Evil, before Noel joins back in with Stumptown and the final two installments of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow episodes. Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts on Zumbo, Crisis, and more!Season Spotlight: Zumbo’s Just Desserts Season 2 (1:04:57)Our Week in TV Avenue 5 preview (10:09) The Unicorn (14:14) Kate’s Spoiler-Free Roundup  &n

As Kate is a newly-minted #Lucifan, you just know she had to invite back podcaster, author, and all-around smart lady LaToya Ferguson to talk all things Lucifer seasons one through four (or at least, as much as we could without getting into spoilers), and hopefully convince some listeners to check it out. Before that, though, Noel and Kate have a full week of TV to discuss. We start with the comedies—the Schitt’s Creek and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! premieres, as well as The Good Place—before moving on to drama—the Dare Me premiere and Stumptown—and we round out the week with genre—Evil, Doctor Who, and Infinity Train Book Two: Cracked Reflection. Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts on the week’s TV, Lucifer, and more!Season(s) Spotlight: Lucifer Seasons 1–4 with LaToya Ferguson (1:02:03)Our Week in TV Schitt’s Creek premiere (7:45) Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! premiere (12:26) The Good Place (16:30) Dare Me premiere (21:40) Stumptown (26:01) Evil (30:16) Doctor Who (36:14) Infinity Train Boo

2020 is here, bringing a whole slew of new TV series as well as plenty of returning favorites. That means it’s time for Noel and Kate’s yearly winter TV preview, talking through the next several months’ upcoming scripted series. From utterly confounding to intriguing and overdue, there’s a lot of TV headed our way, and fortunately at least some of it looks promising. Before we dive in with our preview, though, we have three weeks of TV to catch up with. We kick things off with comedy, including John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch, Fresh Off the Boat, Carole & Tuesday Part 2, and Infinity Train, then move over to genre, including the Doctor Who premiere, Kate’s catch-up with Lucifer, the Watchmen finale, Steven Universe Future, and the finale of The Mandalorian. Take a listen, then reach out with your picks for the returning and debuting series you’re most interested in.Winter 2020 TV Preview (1:38:38)Our Week in Comedy John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch (10:56) Fresh Off the Boat (19:57) Carole &

2019 is winding down, so it’s time for the Televerse’s annual Smorgasborgy, our massive Best of the Year roundup of the highlights, lowlights, and most memorable moments of the year’s TV. Noel and Kate go through their picks for each of the categories below, as well as a few digressions along the way. Take a listen, then reach out with your picks!Spoiler Warning: Noel and Kate have a wide-ranging, spoiler-filled discussion about the year’s TV, and that means spoilers for many of the biggest shows of the year, including Game of Thrones, Watchmen, Steven Universe, Veronica Mars, and more. If you're worried about being spoiled for these or any other series from this year, this may not be the episode for you.Performance Awards (3:13)Best Performance, Lead; Best Performance, Supporting; Best Voice Acting; Best Reality Personality; Most Novel Casting; Best Ensemble; Most Underrated Ensemble; Best Cameo; Best Guest Appearance; 6th Man AwardCharacter Awards (10:00)Best New Character; Best Villain; Best/Worst Parents;

The end of the year is upon us, and that of course means it’s time for the start of the 2019 List-ening. The last two episodes of each year are our opportunity to highlight our favorite moments, episodes, and much more of 2019, and we kick things off as always with our Top 20 TV Series of the year. Noel and Kate have some overlap, but this year features our most divergent lists yet. Take a listen, then reach out with your picks for the best TV series of 2019.Noel’s Top 20–16 (13:33)    Brooklyn Nine-Nine    What We Do in the Shadows    The Last O.G.    The Promised Neverland    Queen SugarKate’s Top 20–16 (15:25)    Late Night with Seth Meyers    The Last O.G.    Brooklyn Nine-Nine    Speechless    Tie: Lorena, Surviving R. Kelly, and Leaving NeverlandNoel’s Top 15–11 (20:57)    I’m Sorry 

Technical difficulties plagued the podcast this week, but with TV this interesting, we had to power through. The audio quality of this episode is not what we’d like, but we’re working to resolve the issue for next week. Thank you for your patience. This week on the podcast, we kick things off with a very full week in TV. First up is the premiere of Steven Universe Future, then Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and catch-ups with His Dark Materials, Emergence, and Stumptown. Then we get in the tunnel with Watchmen, before heading to The CW for Black Lightning and the first three parts of the Arrowverse mega-crossover, Crisis on Infinite Earths (Supergirl, Batwoman, and The Flash). Afterward, it’s time for the spotlight section and this week, we slow things down with the delightfully tranquil second season of Making It. Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts on the week’s TV, as well as your picks for your favorite TV series and moments of 2019.Season Spotlight: Making It Season 2 (1:15:42)Our Week in TV

Thanksgiving has come and gone, which means the holiday baking season has officially begun. What better way to celebrate than with a new, holiday-themed season of one of the Televerse competitive baking favs, Sugar Rush? First, however, Noel and Kate kick things off with their week in TV, including a Who Wants to be a Millionaire?-themed Fresh Off the Boat, a catch-up with The Mandalorian, a thin, but fun Black Lightning, varying amounts of Crisis prep on Batwoman, Supergirl, The Flash, and Arrow, and a twist-filled Watchmen. Then we head over to the spotlight section and dive in with the aforementioned Sugar Rush Christmas. Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts!Season Spotlight: Sugar Rush Christmas (1:15:45)Our Week in TV Fresh Off the Boat (7:24) The Mandalorian (14:30) Black Lightning (31:10) Batwoman (39:08) Supergirl (43:58) The Flash (47:38) Arrow (51:16) Watchmen (1:01:18)Music Featured:  “Life on Mars” by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

The holidays are officially here, bringing busy schedules and TV hiatuses. That means it’s time for Noel and Kate’s promised discussion of the best TV of 2010–2019. We list off our 50–80 favorites of the past decade, including a delightful moment of podcast cohost hivemind, and talk TV trends and what we anticipate for the decade to come. Before that, though, we may not have watched much this holiday week, but we had plenty to say about the shows we did make time for: The Good Place, Evil, Watchmen, The Flash, and Arrow. Take a listen, then reach out with your picks for the best, and your favorite, TV of the past 10 years.Spotlight Segment: Best TV of 2010–2019 (1:02:03)Our Week in TV The Good Place (10:02) Evil (17:35) Watchmen (29:56) The Flash (47:48) Arrow (52:13)Music Featured:  “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” by Eartha Kitt; Too Many Cooks Theme song

It’s been a very political week here in the United States, so what a happy coincidence that The Crown returned for season three this week as well. Noel and Kate give their thoughts on the new cast and how the show is tackling the challenges of adapting such high-profile events and figures as they break down the season in the spotlight section. Before that, though, there’s plenty of TV to discuss in Our Week in TV. They kick things off with comedy, including Chiijohn and the Last Week Tonight with John Oliver finale, another strong Chihayafuru, and the fall finale of The Good Place. Then Kate has some non-spoilery thoughts on the Drag Race UK finale and Noel sings the praises of the character specificity on Emergence. Next it’s over to superhero TV, with thoughts on Lena’s heel turn on Supergirl and another blast from the past on Arrow, before wrapping up the week with the Looking Glass-centric episode of Watchmen. Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts on The Crown, the week’s TV, and more.Season Sp

After not connecting with its earlier installments, is Noel finally on-board with She-Ra and the Princesses of Power? The series is back for season four, the third season released this year, and Noel and Kate have plenty of thoughts in this week’s spotlight section of the podcast. Before that, though, there’s a lot of TV to cover from the past week. We kick things off with comedy and reality, including Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, the Rick and Morty premiere, Chihayafuru, The Final Table, Drag Race UK, and The Good Place. Then we move over to the genre offerings and talk The Mandalorian before catching up with Evil, Supergirl, and Black Lightning. Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts on this, and the rest of the week’s TV.Season Spotlight: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 4 (1:20:48)Our Week in Comedy and Reality Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (9:35) Rick and Morty premiere (19:45) Chihayafuru (22:18) The Final Table (28:06) Drag Race UK (35:10) The Good Place (36:30)Our Week i

Daylight Saving Time has come, bringing with it even more interesting TV to discuss. Noel and Kate kick things off as always with their week in TV, starting with the comedies, including Seth Meyer’s new Netflix standup special, Seth Meyers: Lobby Baby, the premiere of Apple+’s Dickinson, gripping new Chihayafuru episodes, a dark Superstore, and a surprising The Good Place. Next up is reality, including catching up with the first season of Netflix’s Zumbo’s Just Desserts and The Great British Bake Off’s series 10 finale. Then we move over to genre, with plenty to say about the latest installments of Batwoman, The Flash, and Arrow, plus a big twist on Emergence and one hell of a character introduction on Watchmen. Afterward, we head to the season spotlight section, diving in with the latest mini-season of Queer Eye, their four-episode trip to Japan, Queer Eye: We’re in Japan!. Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts on these and more.Season Spotlight: Queer Eye: We’re in Japan! (1:52:59)Our Week in Com

Spooky season is officially over, but at least we got a few more Halloween-themed episodes this week, giving Noel and Kate plenty of festive TV to discuss on the podcast. We kick things off with Our Week in TV, starting with reality and comedy, including The Good Place, Superstore, Perfect Harmony, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and The Great British Bake Off. Then we move over to drama and genre, including Stumptown, Watchmen, Supergirl, The Flash, and Arrow. Next we head to the spotlight section, where we dive in with the much-loved 2019 animated comedy Tuca & Bertie. Does Tuca & Bertie live up to the hype? Are the Arrowverse shows maintaining their strong early-season energy? And how do The Good Place and Superstore stack up, as we approach the half-way point of the former’s final season? Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts.Spotlight: Tuca & Bertie (1:23:12)Our Week in Comedy and Reality The Good Place (30:11) Superstore (37:10) Perfect Harmony (40:33) It’s Always Sunny in Phil

It’s a week of long-awaited premieres, as well as a few surprises, giving us plenty to discuss on the podcast. First up, we dive in with our Week in TV. We start with the genre series, including the Watchmen premiere, a promising Batwoman, a Hong Kong-centered Arrow, and the return of Chihayafuru. Over in reality and comedy, Kate catches up with RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in time for the Snatch Game and both Noel and Kate talk The Good Place. Then we head to the spotlight section and look at the David Chang’s latest Netflix travelogue series, the four-episode Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. Spotlight: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (53:00)Our Week in TV Watchmen premiere (8:53) Batwoman (23:09) Arrow (32:39) Chihayafuru premiere (36:31) RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (40:47) The Good Place (45:34)Music Featured:  Mozart Piano Concerto no. 21, Andante, performed by Jeno Jandó and the Concentus Hungaricus, conducted by András Ligeti

The fall TV season rolls on, and while there was a high profile Netflix drop this past week—the Breaking Bad follow-up movie El Camino—we won’t be talking about it this week on the podcast. Instead, we’re diving in with a Netflix release we’re far more interested in: Season five of Schitt’s Creek. Is Kate still over the moon for David and Patrick? Now that he’s caught up with the entire show, is Noel onboard the hype train, or does he still think the show’s stans should temper their praise? Before that, though, there’s a full week of TV to discuss. First we look at the genre offerings, including the Arrow premiere, the hard-reboot Charmed premiere, and The Flash. Then we move over to comedy, checking in with Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Good Place, and The Unicorn, and we round out the week with another lengthy Bake Off chat, looking at both “Festival Week” and the quarter-final, “Pastry Week”. Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts on the week’s TV, Schitt’s Creek, and your picks for the

The second wave of fall premieres is here, with the return of most of The CW’s lineup, giving us even more to talk about this week on the podcast. We kick things off as always with Our Week in TV, starting with comedy and reality, including Fresh Off the Boat, black-ish, Superstore, The Good Place, and The Great British Bake Off. Then we move over to genre and drama, and dive in with the premieres of Batwoman, Supergirl, The Flash, and Black Lightning. Afterward, it’s time for the spotlight section, and this episode we explore the twisting first season of Netflix’s German genre thriller, Dark. Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts on the week’s TV and more.Season Spotlight: Dark Season 1 (1:05:19)Our Week in Comedy and Reality Fresh Off the Boat (10:21) black-ish (15:03) Superstore (18:52) The Good Place (22:49) The Great British Bake Off (29:48)Our Week in Genre and Drama Batwoman premiere (39:03) Supergirl premiere (47:02) The Flash premiere (54:46) Black Lightning premiere (57:49)Music Featured:

We survived (the first) fall premiere week, but new TV just keeps coming. We kick things off as always with Our Week in TV. First up are a few more premieres—Fresh Off the Boat, Bob’s Burgers, and SNL—then we catch up with Derry Girls and talk The Good Place and Superstore. Kate has a highly specific rant brewing about Perfect Harmony, and Noel continues his The Terror: Infamy catchup, plus there’s plenty to say about Evil and The Great British Bake Off’s controversial “Roaring ’20s Week”. Afterward, we head to the spotlight section and dive in with Amazon Prime’s introspective animated limited series, Undone. Which premiering and returning series are you sticking with? Which Netflix series should we catch up with next? And are you hoping for more Undone, or should it end at that sunrise? Take a listen for our thoughts, then reach out with your own.Spotlight Section: Undone (1:22:44)Our Week in TV Fresh Off the Boat premiere (17:34) Bob’s Burgers premiere (20:44) SNL premiere (24:19) Derry Girls (31:38) The G