Extra Hot Great

Prime Video's new unscripted show invites product creators to pitch supposed experts from the business world for the chance to get their wares featured in the Buy It Now store; reality TV expert Andy Dehnart returns to discuss what is essentially "Shark Tank, But Crappier." Around The Dial takes us through Somebody Somewhere's final season, The Summit, Four In A Bed, and Raiders Of The Lost Art. Andy pitches the Dating Around episode "Guru" for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time with a lot of love to give. Put down that goop that lets you wash your face without water, and join us! GUESTS

Author, filmmaker, and Listen To Sassy co-host Pam Ribon is back to help us figure out what Hysteria! is trying to do: satirize the satanic panic and witch hunts of a bygone era? invoke Stranger Things and the Church Lady? We're not even sure what genre we should call it, never mind whether you should watch it, but maybe our discussion will help you decide. We went Around The Dial with What We Do In The Shadows, The Change, and Woman Of The Hour before trying to sneak an undercover 21 Jump Street episode into the Ca-- er, the Pamon. Slow Horses won, car chases lost, and we got bogged down in minutiae with rightwood's IMDb-forward Game Time. Take a break from that pentagram copy-edit and check it out! GUESTS

Rolling Stone's chief TV critic Alan Sepinwall is back to talk about Apple TV's latest prestige limited series -- starring Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline, directed and written by Alfonso Cuarón, and maaaaybe a little too fond of its own shot compositions. Is the hinted-at conclusion worth sticking around for -- or are we mostly seeing it through for Kline's cardigan acting? Next, we went Around The Dial with Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, Happy's Place, Shrinking, and the Platonic (not) ideal of "this should have been a feature" docuserieses, before Tara nominated a third-season Harley Quinn episode for the Canon. An Office reboot won, Succession lost, and a new scoring wrinkle scared the hell out of us in Game Time. Throw your drawers out the train window and have a listen! GUESTS

Three British talents from the worlds of TV comedy (Jon Brown, Armando Iannucci) and film (Sam Mendes) have come together for The Franchise, a look behind the scenes at the making of a fictional superhero movie. Does it shoot up, up, and away into the stratosphere? Devindra Hardawar returns to discuss. Around The Dial takes us to 9-1-1: Lone Star, 9-1-1 (talk about running the gamut), and the second season of Interview With The Vampire. The otherwise absent Sarah makes her pitch for inducting the Frasier episode "The Ski Lodge" into The Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, we close with a Non-Regulation Game Time that might not be entirely super, but is at least somewhat duper. Hide out in your trailer and listen! GUESTS

ABC's new cruise-ship medical procedural features Dawson's Creek's former Pacey Witter as a hotshot surgeon who sets sail in search of work-life balance; Jessica Morgan returns to discuss whether everything's shipshape. Around The Dial takes us through the Real Housewives of New York, Salt Lake City, AND Orange County before ending on the 30 for 30 episode "My American Son." Anne pitches the 30 Rock episode "Queen Of Jordan" for induction into the Nonac. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time that's really taking its (game) time. Put on your life vest and join us! GUESTS

None of us necessarily expected to recommend a comics-IP property featuring Colin Farrell under pounds of prosthetic make-up -- but we all liked it, including returning guest Richard Lawson. We talked about how it surprised us, the small feature-film stories it seemed to contain, whether it should have let the real Farrell shine through, and who's the season MVP (spoiler: Cristin Milioti). Then we went Around The Dial with the new Matlock, Alex vs. America, and Ryan Murphy's take on the brothers Menendez before Richard battled at least five Cynthia Nixon performances to get a Law & Order: SVU episode into the Canon. Friends won, Cold Case lost ("....AAeeeEnNNNGhhHHHHH!"), and Erica introduced us to a hard-fought Game Time. Waddle on over to your podcast app and have a listen! GUESTS

An ex-Lost writer brings a French crime show to America with Kaitlin Olson as the extraordinarily intelligent cleaner who becomes the LAPD's newest consultant; we tell you whether it's the rare network show that deserves an hour of your life each week. Around The Dial takes us through the second-season premiere of Tulsa King, HBO's new doc David Chase & The Sopranos, and The Sniffer. Mlle. Caroline takes another run at getting a Psych into The Canon with "Last Night Gus" (and we also salute JMak, a Patreon supporter who added it to our Forcening pool). Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, we drive Metallicar right into a Non-Regulation Game Time. Unlike a church, you can face whatever direction you want as you listen! TOPICS Lead Topic:

Writer and critic Sonia Saraiya is back to bid summer adieu with a discussion of Netflix's The Perfect Couple, a six-part murder mystery among the rich and unbearable that's aiming for Revenge and Succession vibes -- but does it work? The panel has mixed feelings...except about the beautiful locations, and the star wattage of Meghann Fahy. After we rinsed off the sand, we went Around The Dial with Adam Sandler's latest special, the first season of BoJack Horseman, and The Challenge, and Julie hoped a great first date would lead to something Canon-ical with her pitch for Looking. Lee Daniels won, Bosch: Legacy (and Sarah's years-long runner) lost, and we tried to figure out who the IMDb considered most likely to succeed in Game Time. Take a break from chipping balls into the bay and have a listen! GUESTS

We are off this week due to holiday travel but present you with this EHG Club unlock. EEHG 294: Discussing A Scorching Burn Notice Susanna invited us to check out the Burn Notice episode "Bad Breaks," and we were thrilled! Find out why that was the episode Susanna picked and exactly what two BN veterans and one new arrival thought about it. Ask EHG has us pondering our hypothetical Family Feud garb, the avatars we use on our various streaming platforms, and more. Then we each name our Not Quite Winners And Losers Of The Week, and close things up with another round of Now You Know Your ABCTVs. Put down your yogurt and join us! TOPICS Lead Topic:

As August continues letting us down in the TV premiere department, we take a look back -- waaaaaaaaay back, to 1974, when Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis slapped his name on a TV movie version of Dracula written by Richard "I Am Legend" Matheson and starring Jack "One-Armed Pushups" Palance. Since we've previously subjected Nick Rheinwald-Jones to other Dracula adaptations, it falls to him to return and discuss it with us. Around The Dial spins around to Emily In Paris, Mastermind, the comedy specials of James Acaster, We Are Lady Parts, and Everwood. Nick makes his pitch for the S03 finale of The Bear to be inducted into The Canon. Finally, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, we end on a Game Time that comes to us in triplicate. Wash your neck and join us! GUESTS

The USA Network is apparently making original shows...that should be streaming shows, like The Anonymous, which throws The Traitors, Big Brother, and a number of other alliance-based reality shows into a blender. Kari Race is back to discuss whether it's a concoction worth drinking, given all the AI dad jokes, dead air, and inappropriate cliffhangers in the first three episodes. Then we went Around The Dial with Taskmaster NZ, Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee, and Homicide: LOTS. Mr. Throwback won (a timeslot), Teresa Giudice lost (again), and Tube Tunes got stuck in our heads again during Non-Regulation Game Time. Take a break from screaming at a pizza slice and have a listen! GUESTS

Florida transplant Al Lowe Huff is back to talk about Bad Monkey, the Apple TV adaptation of Carl Hiassen's Sunshine State-noir book, and the ways it lets Vince Vaughn's...Vince Vaughn-ing find the apex of its expression. We also discussed the show's great casting, realtor shade, meta voice-overs, and unwelcome references to True Detective before we went Around The Dial with Couples Therapy, My Life Is Murder, and the fifth season of Justified. Hallie had one more thing for us to consider in a Nonac pitch for a 1990s zombie Columbo, before The Gilded Age won and a Red Sock lost. Finally, we wedged in a sequel to a Trivial Pursuit-based Game Time, so load up your battered vintage cooler with an armload of popsicles and join us! GUESTS

Autumn is nearly upon us again, but all we care about is TV. That's why we've invited back Alexandra Collins and Daniel MacEachern to look at the calendar of forthcoming premieres and make our picks in the categories of Shows We're Into; Shows We Should Be Into But Aren't; the all-new "Happy For You" category for shows we don't care about but don't begrudge others enjoying; and Shows No One Should Be Into. Tara pitches the 9-1-1-: Lone Star episode "Everyone And Their Brother" for induction into the Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time that's gonna get itself, gonna get itself, gonna get itself connected. Wrap a scarf or five around your neck and join us! GUESTS

The Decameron has come to Netflix in the form of a limited series from Teenage Bounty Hunters creator Kathleen Jordan. How has the centuries-old material change in the adaptation? Kathryn VanArendonk returns to talk about it. Around The Dial takes us to Futurama's latest season, My Lady Jane, and Shōgun. Kathryn makes the case for inducting the Bluey episode "Camping" into the Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time that's "sticks of TNT"! Put down the onion you're using to dissipate pestilence miasma and listen! GUESTS

Monty Ashley returned not just to EHG but to the distant past, as the panel contemplated Peacock's ancient-Succession drama, Those About To Die. The CGI is pretty ancient too, but did any of the storylines make us want to keep watching? Did Sarah D. "Horse Girl" Bunting care about the stables subplot? And how much chariot-racing is too much? Then we neck-acted our way Around The Dial with Cobra Kai, The Boys, and the soothing Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories before clambering into a Dumpster for Monty's The Chris Gethard Show Canon submission. And finally, it was time to swear at-- er, IN a TV-president Game Time from Dan Cassino. Oscar-winners, grenades, and avant-garde casting choices around RFK Sr. in this all-new Extra Hot Great. GUESTS

Terror At London Bridge is a 1985 TV movie in which David Hasselhoff plays Don, a detective arrived in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, just in time for Jack The Ripper to come back to life and start killing people there, and since July 17 is his birthday, there's no better time to talk about it! Sadly, a last-minute scheduling change forced Sarah to excuse herself, but our guest Eve Batey is here to speak on behalf of everyone who can, like Don, truthfully say that true crime is one of their passions. Around The Dial takes us to a detailed discussion of Prime Video's Sausage Party: Foodtopia and the final season of Evil. Our friend Dan Cassino makes the case for X-Men '97's "Remember It" to be inducted into the Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner(s) and Loser, it's on to a Game Time that doesn't have much to say for itself. Grab your cape and scalpel-- Actually, don't do that; just listen! GUESTS

We are off this week but bring you a recent episode from our Club spinoff podcast Extra Extra Hot Great. From EEHG 292: Should You Shield Yourself From Fallout? Even big Walt Goggins fans might not enjoy a series that takes his nose and overuses midcentury needle drops -- but most of the panel thinks you should stick with Fallout, the new post-nuclear-bomb dystopia from Prime based on a videogame. It's different from Silo in good ways, and wit plus world-building plus thoughtful casting goes a long way. Your Ask EHG questions led us to contemplate a live-action Muppet Show, a Sports Night reboot, Warriors gangs, and crossover pairs of TV friends; we named our Not Quite Winners and Losers; and the calendar's cruelest month saw US cruelly pitting characters named April against each other in a micro-Thunderdome. Radiation poisoning and Garthe Knight...just another day in the vault at Extra Extra Hot Great! TOPICS Lead Topic: ☢️ Fallout Ask EHG:

Another Canada Day is on the books, but before you pack away your miniature Canadian flags, there's one more celebration we all need to get through: Canadian Thunderdome! We've each chosen 9 Canadian people or characters from TV, and we're tossing them into the Thunderdome to see which of these traditionally mild-mannered, polite figures has what it takes to win multiple fights to the death! Grab a few butter tarts and join us! TOPICS Lead Topic:

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 the parent show only point up its weaknesses? Later, we went Around The Dial with (often justly) forgotten sitcoms of the '90s plus The Morning Show and a minor-league 30 For 30, before Hannah schemed to win the lion's share of a place in the Canon for a first-season The Traitors (US). Trebek won, arranged marriage lost, and we pulled some strings to play a nepo-forward Game Time. Get comfy on a living-room soundstage and listen! GUESTS

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, and Hotel Cocaine. Sarah pitches the ER episode "Love's Labor Lost" for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time that takes us around the world in a day. Find us on Voughtify and listen! GUESTS