

Extra Hot Great: This Week In TV
Extra Hot Great: This Week In TV
Join Tara Ariano, Sarah D. Bunting, David T. Cole and their valued guests each week for discussion of what's new on TV plus our hall of fame roundtable segment called The Canon, listen as we appoint Winners and Losers Of The Week and of course our ultra competitive TV trivia quiz: Game Time.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 10, 2025 โข 1h 28min
592: Mullendash III
In what has become one of our most diabolical annual traditions, we're playing Mullendash again. This year, our guest contestants are: Stephen Falk, with whom the game was initially developed back in the 2000s, and Mullendash newcomers David J. Roth and Jeff Drake. Who can most craft the most convincing Mullenian punchlines? Who can divine the true Mullen from the counterfeits? All is revealed in our latest episode.
GUESTS
๐ค Stephen Falk
๐ค Jeff Drake
๐ค David J. Roth
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐ง Mullendash
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NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
๐ฌ The first Mullendash episode from 2023
๐ซฅ The second Mullendash episode from 2024
๐ Defector
๐คฌ The 9 Chickweed Rage podcast
๐ธ Stephen Falk on Instagram
๐ซต You're The Worst on Hulu

Dec 3, 2025 โข 56min
591: 2025 Guest Thought Experiments
Once again again, we made some of our Valued Guests stick around after their tapings and muse about TV in our version of a What If? Find out where their imaginations took them in this very special yearly EHG tradition!
GUESTS
๐ค Sarah Baker
๐ค Omar Gallaga
๐ค Daniel DโAddario
๐ค Kari Race
๐ค Krystal Farmer
๐ค Stephanie Green
๐ค Adam Grosswirth
๐ค Brandi Brown
๐ค Taylor Cole
๐ค Robert Krut
๐ค Jessica Morgan
๐ค Adam Sternbergh
๐ค Mark Blankenship
๐ค Eve Batey
๐ค David Bunting
๐ค Nick Rheinwald-Jones
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐ง Guest Thought Experiments
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NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
๐คจ 2024 Guest Thought Experiments
๐ง 2023 Guest Thought Experiments
๐ค 2022 Guest Thought Experiments

Nov 26, 2025 โข 1h 2min
590: Did Our Latest Meal At The Bear Give Us Gas?
We are off this week for EHG Prime but present you with this EHG Club unlock of EEHG 360: Did Our Latest Meal At The Bear Give Us Gas?
The Bear is back for its fourth season on (sigh) FX on Hulu. Was it a fully satisfying banquet, or did it repeat? We'll tell you everything. Ask EHG requires us to consider such matters as the post-Quibi shows that should have been Quibis, and the best food to eat in your car. Tara pitches Pace Picante's early 90s "New York City?!" spot for the Commercial division of the Tiny Canon. Then we crown the Not Quite Winners and Losers of the week before closing out on an Extra Credit power-ranking the hosts of Family Feud. Grab a napkin and tuck in!
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐ป The Bear
Ask EHG: ๐ Smell You Later
Tiny Canon: ๐
Winner & Loser: โฝ๏ธ Twenty-Twelve
Winner & Loser: ๐ค Untitled McConaughey / Harrelson Comedy
Winner & Loser: ๐ฌ๏ธ Dark Winds
Winner & Loser: ๐ต๐ปโโ๏ธ Sherlock
Winner & Loser: ๐ You're Cordially Invited
Winner & Loser: ๐คทโโ๏ธ Jameela Jamil
KRTMATIWOTVLM: ๐ก Little House On The Prairie S04.E11: Meet Me At The Fair
Extra Credit: ๐๐ปโโ๏ธ Power Ranking The Hosts Of Family Feud
Mini: ๐ธ๐ช Lost In Ikea (Apr 2018)
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NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
๐ "How Much Must O'Brien Suffer?" at Reddit
๐ฅซ Pace Picante "New York City!"
๐ท Photo: FX

Nov 19, 2025 โข 1h 8min
589: Did We Find The Beauty In The Beast In Me?
A Manhattan real estate scion is believed to have killed his first wife in The Beast In Me, the new entirely fictional Netflix thriller series that is NOT about Robert Durst. Durst you watch it? Stephanie Early Green returns to talk about it. Around The Dial takes us through How Are You? It's Alan (Partridge), the latest from Steve Coogan; S19 of Married At First Sight; and JFK: What The Doctors Saw. Stephanie pitches the "Dinner Party" episode of The Office for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, we close on a Beastly Game Time. Quit plotting out the jogging path you want to build and listen!
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐๐ปโโ๏ธ The Beast In Me
Around The Dial: ๐ง How Are You? It's Alan (Partridge)
Around The Dial: ๐ฐโโ๏ธ Married At First Sight
Around The Dial: ๐ฉป JFK: What The Doctors Saw
The Canon: ๐ท The Office (US) S04.E13: Dinner Party
Winner & Loser: ๐โโ๏ธ The Boys From Brazil
Winner & Loser: ๐คซ The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives
Game Time: ๐ฆ The Beasts In Me, Me Being TV
SUPPORT THE SHOW
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๐ง Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads!
๐๏ธ Shop our merch store!
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
๐ข Stephanie's website
โ๐ป Daniel Fienberg's review of The Beast In Me at The Hollywood Reporter
๐ค Street Forum ATX on Open Collective
๐ฅ The Zapruder film episode of Good Night America on Wikipedia
๐ Kennedy materials (and all other #majorcase) 20% off at Exhibit B. Books
๐ท Photo: Netflix

Nov 12, 2025 โข 1h 5min
588: Are We Of One Mind About Pluribus?
Vince Gilligan returns to the prestige airwaves with Pluribus, an apocalyptic Rhea Seehorn vehicle that's getting uniformly great reviews -- and Jeff Drake returns to the podcast to talk about why WE aren't all on the same page with its world-building, self-consciously beautiful shot compositions, and more (though we all DO agree that Seehorn is the President of Acting). We went Around The Dial with Stumble, The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, and Who Hired The Hitman? before Jeff went nuts with a Canon pitch from The Dick Van Dyke Show. All's Fair won, Kim Kardashian's bar-exam support team lost, and we reeled in the years with a historical-TV Game Time. Polish off that rosรฉ and join us!
GUESTS
๐ค Jeff Drake
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐ก Pluribus
Around The Dial: ๐ฉผ Stumble
Around The Dial: ๐ The Zen Diaries Of Garry Shandling
Around The Dial: ๐ซ Who Hired The Hitman?
The Canon: ๐ฅ The Dick Van Dyke Show S02.E20: It May Look Like a Walnut
Winner & Loser: โ๏ธ All's Fair
Winner & Loser: ๐ฉ Kim Kardashian
Game Time: ๐
Which Came First?
SUPPORT THE SHOW
๐ฅ Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more!
๐ง Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads!
๐๏ธ Shop our merch store!
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
๐ฆ Jeff Drake on Bluesky
๐ง Jeff's podcast about "9 Chickweed Lane"
๐ Paul F. Tompkins on the Taskmaster podcast
๐ค Get those Would You Rather? prompts to Tara
๐ต Sarah's Who Hired The Hitman? review
๐ฟ Get (or give) some assistance with pet expenses at Pet Help Finder
๐ท Photo: Apple

Nov 5, 2025 โข 1h 13min
587: Did We Love I Love LA?
Bottoms star and co-writer Rachel Sennott has created a new sitcom star vehicle, I Love L.A., for HBO, all about the world of Zoomer influencers. How much could we take? L.A.'s own Nick Rheinwald-Jones joins us to talk about it. Around The Dial takes us through Nobody Wants This S02, Wayward, Aileen: Queen Of The Serial Killers, and Down Cemetery Road. Dave pitched "Those Old Scientists" from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a new season of Game Time, kicking off with a Cassino special. Grab your limited-edition Chipotle bowl and listen!
GUESTS
๐ค Nick Rheinwald-Jones
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐คณ I Love LA
Around The Dial: ๐ Nobody Wants This
Around The Dial: ๐บ๏ธ Wayward
Around The Dial: ๐ต Aileen: Queen Of The Serial Killers
The Canon: โณ Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S02.E07: Those Old Scientists
Winner & Loser: ๐ Dave Foley
Winner & Loser: ๐ธ Ridiculousness
Game Time: ๐ต๐ป Odd Age Out
SUPPORT THE SHOW
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๐ง Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads!
๐๏ธ Shop our merch store!
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
๐ฆ Nick Rheinwald-Jones on Bluesky
๐
๐ฝโโ๏ธ The bad Nobody Wants This thinkpiece
๐ฎ Donate to Street Forum ATX
๐ฅจ The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank
๐ Sarah's review of Aileen: Queen Of The Serial Killers at Best Evidence
๐ Find a Little Free Pantry near you
๐ฌ Yo, Is This Racist? on Apple Podcasts
๐ท Photo: Kenny Laubbacher / HBO

Oct 29, 2025 โข 1h 23min
586: Clowning Around With It: Welcome To Derry
TV returns to the King-verse with HBO's It: Welcome To Derry, a prequel (or side...show?) of sorts for various characters from Stephen King's It -- and Josh Gondelman also returns to accept our apologies before talking about doing gory bits, using your best actors wisely, and the different kinds of tension. We're going Around The Dial with the nineteenth seasons of Married At First Sight and Taskmaster, plus Nightmares & Dreamscapes and The Lowdown, and Tara hopes we have Great News about her Canon pitch. The Pitt wins, various Nobody Wants This actors lose, and we're filling our pillowcases with points in a candy-based Non-Regulation Game Time. Grab a jar of pickles and join us!
GUESTS
๐ค Josh Gondelman
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐คก It: Welcome To Derry
Around The Dial: ๐ Married At First Sight
Around The Dial: ๐ค The Lowdown
Around The Dial: ๐ Taskmaster
Around The Dial: ๐ด Nightmares & Dreamscapes
The Canon: ๐ฐ Great News S02.E05: Night Of The Living Screen
Winner & Loser: ๐ณ๏ธ The Pitt
Winner & Loser: ๐ Nobody Wants This
Game Time: ๐ซ Trick Or Treat Williams
SUPPORT THE SHOW
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๐ง Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads!
๐๏ธ Shop our merch store!
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
๐ Josh Gondelman's comedy special, Positive Reinforcement
๐ Josh's newsletter, That's Marvelous!
๐ฅฑ Nightmares & Dreamscapes E05
๐งญ The text of "The Road Virus Heads North"
๐ฅ The Extra Hot Great Club page
๐ Hurricane Melissa resource and donation links
๐ท Photo: Brooke Palmer / HBO

Oct 22, 2025 โข 1h 2min
585: Did Boston Blue Knock Our Sox Off?
Blue Bloods is dead, but its spirit lives on (along with however many actors don't have anything better to do) in Boston Blue, CBS's new Beantown-set spinoff. How authentic is it to the Boston a Bostonian would know? Boston's own Margaret H. Willison returns to talk about it. Around The Dial takes us through Downey Wrote That, The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Love Is Blind, and Task. Never Not Mike pitches the Mad Men episode "The Suitcase" for induction into The Canon -- because no, it wasn't in there already, and we were surprised about that too. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time that only has a little bit to say. Park yourself at the Green Monster and join us!
GUESTS
๐ค Margaret H. Willison
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐ฆ Boston Blue
Around The Dial: โ๐ป Downey Wrote That
Around The Dial: ๐ The Good Wife
Around The Dial: ๐จโ๐ฆฏ Love Is Blind
Around The Dial: ๐ฉ๏ธ Task
The Canon: ๐งณ Mad Men S04.E07: The Suitcase
Winner & Loser: ๐๏ธ Michael Fassbender
Winner & Loser: ๐ท Rockmond Dunbar
Game Time: ๐ถ Get Margaret There
SUPPORT THE SHOW
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๐ง Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads!
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NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
๐ธ Margaret H. Willison on Instagram
๐ฆ Margaret on Bluesky
๐ด Again With Again With This
โ๏ธ EEHG 372 [in which we talked about Task]
๐ต๐ปโโ๏ธ Best Evidence
๐ Game Time answers: Streaming, Westeros, Neilsen, Pivot, Showrunner, Dharma, Crossover, Wednesday, Chyron, Maggie
๐ท Photo: John Medland / CBS

Oct 15, 2025 โข 1h 26min
584: Breaking Down The Chair Company
Tim Robinson is back with The Chair Company, a cringe-com with a mystery (or is it??) at its center, and Variety's Alison Herman is also back to talk about it: the little self-flagellating moments the show gets right, whether it's the Tim Robinson property for people who usually don't enjoy Tim Robinson, and why Robinson is like David Lynch. We went Around The Dial with 9-1-1s old and new, Devil In Disguise: John Wayne Gacy, and The Alabama Solution, and Tara busted out her see! cret! skill! at Canon pitching for a first-season episode of Platonic. Julio Torres won, Yellowjackets lost, and the panel tried to hit IMDb episode-count bulls-eyes in the second half of the 30 Under 30 Game Time. Leave that deviled-egg remnant right where it is and come join us!
GUESTS
๐ค Alison Herman
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐ช The Chair Company
Around The Dial: ๐งโ๐ 9-1-1: Nashville
Around The Dial: ๐ 9-1-1
Around The Dial: ๐คก Devil In Disguise
Around The Dial: ๐ฎโ๐จ The Alabama Solution
The Canon: ๐๏ธ Platonic S01.E05: My Wife's Boyfriend
Winner & Loser: ๐ท Julio Torres
Winner & Loser: ๐ Yellowjackets
Game Time: โฌ๏ธ 30 Under 30 Part 2
SUPPORT THE SHOW
๐ฅ Join the EHG Club for bonus episodes, no ads, community Discord and more!
๐ง Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads!
๐๏ธ Shop our merch store!
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
โ๏ธ Alison Herman at Variety
๐บ Alison's review of The Chair Company for Variety
๐ Sarah's review of The Alabama Solution at Best Evidence
๐ Exhibit B. Books
๐ Tara's interview with Platonic's Luke Macfarlane
๐ค Alison's review of Platonic S01
๐ท Photo: Sarah Shatz / HBO

Oct 8, 2025 โข 1h 13min
583: Having A Grave Discussion About Monster: The Ed Gein Story
The fourth season of Monster, Netflix's true crime anthology, concerns itself with Wisconsin serial killer (or was he? (he probably was)) Ed Gein, played by former Queer As Folk cutie Charlie Hunnam. Did it get under our skin? Richard Lawson returns to talk about it. Around The Dial takes us through Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, Only Connect, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Richard presents the Season 2 finale of The Traitors Australia for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time about the shows select actors did for up to but NOT more than 30 episodes. Take a break from wood chopping and join us!
GUESTS
๐ค Richard Lawson
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐ช Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Around The Dial: โ๏ธ Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent
Around The Dial: ๐ Only Connect
Around The Dial: ๐ Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
The Canon: ๐ช The Traitors (AU) S02.E09
Winner & Loser: ๐
ฑ๏ธ Ballard
Winner & Loser: ๐ด Beverly Hills, 90210
Game Time: โฌ๏ธ 30 Under 30: Part 1
SUPPORT THE SHOW
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๐ง Subscribe to EHG on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes and no ads!
๐๏ธ Shop our merch store!
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
๐ฆ Richard Lawson on Bluesky
โ๐ป Sarah's review of Monster: The Ed Gein Story at Best Evidence
๐๐ป Richard's profile page (including his Monster: The Ed Gein Story review) at The Guardian
๐ The Listen To Sassy Club
๐น The Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs ranking of the tracks on Billy Joel's The Stranger, with Dan Rogge
๐ท Photo: Netflix


