

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

Mar 11, 2020 โข 1h 28min
293: Politely Sitting Through Amazing Stories
Apple TV+ has brought Amazing Stories, the less-nihilistic take on The Twilight Zone, back for all the '80s kids, though confusingly premiered this anthology series with only one episode. Mark Lisanti joins us to talk about the fishiness of this rollout strategy, and whether "The Cellar" was a compelling enough episode to get anyone back to watch more. Around The Dial takes us through For Life; a roundup of the series premieres on FX (and FX on Hulu): Devs, Breeders, and Dave; Jersey Shore: Family Vacation; and Season 3 of Babylon Berlin. Mark presents the "Hamm On Toast" episode of Toast Of London for induction into The Canon. Then after naming the week's Winner and Loser, we all sit a spell for this week's Game Time. Make yourself a bathtub gin and tonic and join us!
GUESTS
๐ค Mark Lisanti
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐ฒ Amazing Stories
Around The Dial: ๐ For Life
Around The Dial: ๐งโ๐ป Devs
Around The Dial: ๐ฉ Breeders
Around The Dial: ๐คฌ Dave
Around The Dial: ๐ Jersey Shore: Family Vacation
Around The Dial: ๐ฉ๐ช Babylon Berlin
The Canon: ๐ Toast Of London S03.E03: Hamm On Toast
Winner & Loser: ๐ Casting agents for The Brides
Winner & Loser: ๐ RuPaul's Drag Race Sherry Pie
Game Time: ๐ง Letter Flip
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on the episode 293 page on ExtraHotGreat.com
๐ฆ Mark Lisanti on Twitter
๐ฉธ The Blotter Presents
๐ The Clem Fandango supercut

Mar 4, 2020 โข 2h 4min
292: Playing Games With Dispatches From Elsewhere
AMC already had a perfectly good Charlie Kaufman-esque property, but the network went with Dispatches From Elsewhere over Lodge 49 -- and while it's kind of Sarah's dream to fall into an alternate-reality scavenger hunt, first-time guest Dave Chen felt like the show would be more fun to "play" than to watch. Is it too twee? Too slow? Too divorced from the reality of non-celebrities? Or do the excellent cast and the In Search Ofโฆ graphics make it all worthwhile? Then we went Around The Dial with Love Is Blind, The Outsider, Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant, A French Village, and second-rate American TV in East Africa before Dave Cole declared transparent computer screens NOT the wave of the future. Dave Chen tried to give the Canon a bear hug by submitting the first-season finale of Succession for the Canon. Trebek won, disgracios lost (again), and IMDb throuples tested our wits during Game Time. Don't miss this dispatch from your podcast app; it's an all-new Extra Hot Great!
GUESTS
๐ค Dave Chen
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐ฌ Dispatches From Elsewhere
Around The Dial: ๐ Love Is Blind
Around The Dial: ๐ The Outsider
Around The Dial: ๐คฐ Teen Mom: Young & Pregnant
Around The Dial: ๐ซ๐ท A French Village
Around The Dial: ๐ TV in East Africa
I Am Not A Crackpot: ๐คช Transparent Computer Screens
The Canon: ๐ Succession S01.E10: Nobody Is Ever Missing
Winner & Loser: ๐ Alex Trebek
Winner & Loser: ๐ Disgracios
Game Time: ๐ง They Get Around
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on the episode 292 page on ExtraHotGreat.com
๐ฆ Dave Chen on Twitter
๐ง Culturally Relevant with David Chen
๐ค Decoding Westworld
๐ Tara on Party Of Five at Primetimer
โ๏ธ Sarah on The Trials Of Gabriel Fernandez at Primetimer
๐ The Sweet Smell of Succession

Feb 26, 2020 โข 1h 20min
291: Breaking Confidentiality To Talk About Better Call Saul
As Better Call Saul returns for its fifth and almost final season, superfan Will Leitch joins us to check in on Jimmy, Kim, Nacho, Mike, and of course, good old black-and-white Gene. Dave explains why he is not a crackpot to feel infuriated by the current Chili's TV ad campaign. We ponder David Ellis Dickerson's Extra Credit question about which TV shows should go to an all-nude format. Will presents (heh) Party Down's "Steve Guttenberg's Birthday" for induction into The Canon. Then it's on to a Game Time that really sings. Fire up your complimentary burner phone and listen!
GUESTS
๐ค Will Leitch
TOPICS
Lead Topic: โ๏ธ Better Call Saul
I Am Not A Crackpot: ๐คช Chili's ads are maddening
Extra Credit: ๐ค NCIS Oh Calcutta!
The Canon: ๐ Party Down S02.E05: Steve Guttenberg's Birthday
Game Time: ๐ง The Man From Simon & Garfunkel
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on the episode 291 page on ExtraHotGreat.com
๐ฆ Will Leitch on Twitter
๐ฉ Will's newsletter
๐จโ๐ป Will's blog

Feb 19, 2020 โข 37min
290: February Forcenings
To keep you in content while Dave and Tara go on vacation, we're forcening each other to watch TV episodes! Dave forcens Tara to watch what happens when a zombie virus ravages the Smurf village. Tara forcens Sarah to journey to Satellite Beach, FL as its high school re-mounts Annie Get Your Gun on Encore!. And Sarah forcens Dave to tag along with Josh in the series premiere of Netflix's Daybreak. How did each of us take it? Listen and find out!
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐ The Smurfs S01.E27: The Purple Smurf
Lead Topic: ๐ญ Encore! S01.E05: Annie Get Your Gun
Lead Topic: ๐
Daybreak S01.E01: Josh vs. the Apocalypse: Part 1
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on the episode 290 page on ExtraHotGreat.com
๐ฟ The Purple Smurfs
๐ญ Encore!'s 'Annie Get Your Gun'
๐
The series premiere of Daybreak

Feb 11, 2020 โข 1h 14min
289: Building Something Real With Lego Masters
Will Arnett has followed his ex-wife Amy Poehler into the field of highly meta reality show hosting with his gig on Fox's Lego Masters, and American dad (and therefore Lego Master) Jim Durr has returned to discuss the season kickoff! Around The Dial takes us through The CW's Katy Keene; Free Solo on Disney+; a roundup of titles on CBS All Access: Picard, Star Trek: The Animated Series, and Interrogation; and Dave's latest favorite local ad. Dave is also in the hot (ejector) seat in presenting The Prisoner's "Many Happy Returns" for induction into The Canon. Then after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a pun safari in this week's Non-Regulation Game Time. Careful where you step as you join us for the latest episode!
GUESTS
๐ค Jim Durr
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐งฑ Lego Masters
Around The Dial: ๐ง๐ป Katy Keene
Around The Dial: ๐ป Free Solo
Around The Dial: ๐ช Star Trek: Picard
Around The Dial: ๐ Star Trek: The Animated Series
Around The Dial: ๐ฆ Interrogation
Around The Dial: ๐ท Dave's latest local ad obsession
The Canon: ๐ The Prisoner S01.E07: Many Happy Returns
Winner & Loser: ๐ Jerry Harris
Winner & Loser: ๐ Y: The Last Man
Game Time: ๐ง Kenya Believe These Punny TV Titles?
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on the episode 289 page on ExtraHotGreat.com
๐ฆ Jim Durr on Twitter
๐ด Again With This on Patreon
๐ฉธ The Blotter Presents

Feb 5, 2020 โข 1h 34min
288: Should You Gamble On McMillions?
Even though Eve and Sarah D. spend most weekdays thinking about the true crime that's worth your time for their newsletter, they still didn't know much about the Mobbed-up McDonald's Monopoly-game fraud case that's at the center of HBO's McMillions. Will this docuseries join the scam-umentary pantheon alongside The Dropout and The Imposter? Is Doug Mathews the write-in presidential candidate we need now? And why aren't off-camera docu directors ever mic'd properly? After we considered those questions, we went Around The Dial with BoJack Horseman, The Outsider and other HBO Sunday-night offerings, the end of The Good Place, and Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet. Eve screened an episode of Home Movies for the Canon; then Tim Robinson won and Terry Crews lost, before we filled in the blanks -- in pen! -- in a history-making Game Time. Grab a light meter and go undercover for an all-new Extra Hot Great!
GUESTS
๐ค Eve Batey
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐ Mcmillions
Around The Dial: ๐ด Bojack Horseman
Around The Dial: ๐ถ Curb Your Enthusiasm
Around The Dial: ๐ฆ The Outsider
Around The Dial: ๐ The Good Place
Around The Dial: ๐ง๐ปโโ๏ธ Mythic Quest
The Canon: ๐ Home Movies S04.E01: Everyone's Entitled To My Opinion
Winner & Loser: ๐ Tim Robinson
Winner & Loser: ๐ Terry Crews
Game Time: ๐ง TV Crossword
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on the episode 288 page on ExtraHotGreat.com
๐ The Daily Beast post on the case
๐ Margaret Lyons's review for the NYT
โ๏ธ The documentary about the McDonald's hot-coffee lawsuit
๐ Dr. Marcia Chatelain's Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America
๐ Tara on Citations Needed
๐ด Tara's BoJack review for VF
๐ช Sarah on Ted Bundy: Falling For A Killer on Primetimer

Jan 29, 2020 โข 1h 42min
287: Raising A Nice Glass Of Bordeaux To Picard
CBS All Access has chased Star Trek: Discovery with Picard, picking up with everyone's favourite retired Starfleet admiral as he...well, to be honest, he's probably not going to be spending much time tending to his French vineyard. What is he getting up to? Maureen Ryan joins us to talk about it! Around The Dial takes us through The Goop Lab, Shrill, The Expanse, Veronica Mars, and Flack. We discuss whether Doctor Who's "Heaven Sent" should be inducted into The Canon, and then it's on to a Game Time that will leave you starry-eyed. Cozy up with a beloved pit bull and listen!
GUESTS
๐ค Mo Ryan
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐ช Star Trek: Picard
Around The Dial: ๐งซ The Goop Lab
Around The Dial: ๐ฑ Shrill
Around The Dial: ๐ The Expanse
Around The Dial: ๐ต๐ปโโ๏ธ Veronica Mars
Around The Dial: ๐จ Flack
The Canon: ๐ Doctor Who S09.E11: Heaven Sent
Winner & Loser: ๐ Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens
Winner & Loser: ๐ The BBC
Game Time: ๐ง All Stars
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on the episode 287 page on ExtraHotGreat.com
๐ฆ Maureen Ryan on Twitter
๐ฉโ๐ป MoRyan.com
๐ danilo's Twitter thread on "Measure Of A Man"
โ๏ธ Tara's Horny Viewer's Guide to Stumptown at Primetimer
๐ฉธ The Blotter Presents

Jan 22, 2020 โข 1h 26min
286: Visiting Little America
Apple TV+'s Little America premiered last week, and Rolling Stone's chief TV critic Alan Sepinwall returned to talk about the heartwarming, but not treacly, anthology series about "the lives of immigrants in the United States." We talked about the casting, our favorite episodes, and why it reminded Sarah of High Maintenance before going Around The Dial with Avenue 5, 9-1-1: Lone Star, Sex Education, and Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens. Alan tried to get a second-season episode of The Americans' passport stamped at the border of the Canon; then Peacock won (CHUNG CHUNG) and a bunch of dead shows lost before we all got sick with a slash-fiction-based Game Time. Admire the sprinkler system on an all-new Extra Hot Great!
GUESTS
๐ค Alan Sepinwall
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐บ๐ธ Little America
Around The Dial: ๐ฐ Avenue 5
Around The Dial: ๐ 9-1-1: Lone Star
Around The Dial: ๐ Sex Education
Around The Dial: ๐ธ Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens
The Canon: ๐ The Americans S02.E09: Martial Eagle
Winner & Loser: ๐ Peacock
Winner & Loser: ๐ Dead shows
Game Time: ๐ง Slash Fiction
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on the episode 286 page on ExtraHotGreat.com
๐ชจ Alan's review of Little America for Rolling Stone
๐บ๐ธ The Little America creative team talks about there being no politics in Season 2
๐ The Original Little America series at Epic Magazine
๐ Tara on 9-1-1: Lone Star and Medical Police-esque spoof shows for Primetimer
๐ชจ Alan's review of Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens

Jan 15, 2020 โข 1h 20min
285: Making Reservations For Party Of Five
When we decided to cover Freeform's remake of Fox's iconic teen soap Party Of Five, there was one obvious choice of guest: Meredith Smith, recent submitter of a Canon presentation on the original series. After discussing Freeform's devastating take on five new lovable orphans, Around The Dial takes us through Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, Grand Designs, and Cheer. Meredith goes back into the Canon fray with the Murder, She Wrote episode "If It's Thursday, It Must Be Beverly." Then after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time to sink your teeth into. Gather all your siblings and listen!
GUESTS
๐ค Meredith Smith
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐ฝ Party Of Five (2020)
Around The Dial: ๐ง Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
Around The Dial: ๐ก Grand Designs
Around The Dial: ๐ฃ Cheer
The Canon: ๐ช Murder, She Wrote
Winner & Loser: ๐ Saved By The Bell (2020)
Winner & Loser: ๐ Grey's Anatomy
Game Time: ๐ง TV Dinners
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on the episode 285 page on ExtraHotGreat.com
๐ฆ Meredith Smith on Twitter
๐บ Primetimer
๐ง Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs

Jan 8, 2020 โข 1h 31min
284: Sinking Our Teeth Into Dracula
The BBC rolled out Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat's Dracula on New Year's Day; we Yanks endured it over the weekend, and Nick and the panel agree that this grimly joyless take on a careworn narrative needs SOMETHING. A modern-day setting, maybe? Mini bottle eps on every famous personage the Count has eaten? But it just seems like the creators didn't really want to be there...and as a result, we didn't either. Going Around The Dial is more fun, with looks at Dare Me, You, Magic For Humans, Spinning Out, and Dave's tips for pepping up a Frasier rewatch. Then Nick returns us to the cemetery with his Nonac presentation on Buffy's fifth-season premiere. Killing Eve won, Witcher what-about-ers lost, and Steal Meals were flyin' in a very meta Game Time. Stake your claim to 2020's first all-new Extra Hot Great!
GUESTS
๐ค Nick Rheinwald-Jones
TOPICS
Lead Topic: ๐งโโ๏ธ Dracula (2013)
Around The Dial: ๐ Dare Me
Around The Dial: ๐ซต You
Around The Dial: ๐ช Magic For Humans
Around The Dial: ๐ตโ๐ซ Spinning Out
Around The Dial: ๐ป Frasier
The Nonac: ๐คฎ Buffy The Vampire Slayer S05.E01: Buffy vs. Dracula
Winner & Loser: ๐ Killing Eve
Winner & Loser: ๐ The Witcher
Game Time: ๐ง Televisual Pursuit
NOTES
๐ Full episode notes can be found on the episode 284 page on ExtraHotGreat.com
๐งโโ๏ธ Did British viewers stick around after Night 1 of Dracula?
๐ Tara's top 10 eps of the decade on Culturally Relevant
๐ Sarah on why to watch Surviving R Kelly Pt. 2: The Reckoning
๐ญ Nick Rheinwald-Jones's Safehouse '82
๐ Nick's The Pod