Extra Hot Great: This Week In TV

How did Netflix think it would get away with a stinker like V Wars in the age of peak TV? We ponder that question with returning guest Monty, and we investigate the ingredients in a C-minus Syfy show (which this basically is) and wonder whether the show has, well, enough vampires (spoiler: nope). We go Around The Dial with Servant, Mad About You 2019, Making It, Ex On The Beach, and Toast Of London before rebooting dark characters in sunny-genred shows for an Extra Credit. Monty went over the top (as it were) for his Blackadder series finale Canon submission. Non-fiction cheerleaders won, Baby Yoda lost (sort of), and we seconded a motion for Part 2 of a previous Game Time. Keep hacking -- it's a bloody great new Extra Hot Great. GUESTS 👤 Monty Ashley TOPICS Lead Topic: 🧛 V Wars Around The Dial: 🍽 Servant Around The Dial: 💕 Mad About You Around The Dial: 🔨 Making It Around The Dial: 🌊 Ex On The Beach Around The Dial: 🍞 Toast Of London Extra Credit: 🤑 Shiny De-boot The Canon: 🏆 Blackadder S04.E06: Goodbyeee Winner & Loser: 👍 Cheer Lead Topic: 👎 Disney's failure to figure out the Baby Yoda toy supply chain Game Time: 🧠 Second Second Most Episodes NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 280 page on ExtraHotGreat.com 😖 Ian Somerhalder is kind of a creeper? 🐍 On Blackadder's final scene 🎄 OUR Dave on Dave And Jeb Aren't Mean 🌴 The series finale of Beverly Hills, 90210 on Again With This 🔪 The Blotter Presents 🎨 Yes, Work Of Art actually existed 🐦 Monty Ashley on Twitter

In this episode, we dig in on some of the Canons submitted by you, our beloved listeners! First, we consider Doug Dale's case for Are You The One?'s eighth-season premiere, "Come One, Come All"; Meredith confronts us with the Party Of Five episode "The Intervention"; then Tara pitches Mom's "Spaghetti Sauce And A Dumpster Fire." Which -- if any! -- make it into our TV Hall Of Fame? Join us and find out! TOPICS The Canon: 🏆 Are You The One S08.E01: Come One, Come All The Canon: 🏆 Party Of Five S03.E20: The Intervention The Canon: 🏆 Mom S05.E18: Spaghetti Sauce And A Dumpster Fire NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 279 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

At Extra Hot Great, holiday time means non-regulation episodes -- like a supersized round of Would You Rather? with Blankenship Chair creator Mark Blankenship. The four of us confront identity-crisis-causing brainteasers from each other and you listeners, including terrible live musicals, an eternity with Noah Benson, chyron font battles, Friends-giving episodes, Ken Burns's Raisins, secret Scientologists, Alec Baldwin, theme songs at the dentist, early Law & Order face-offs, and who's going to avenge Buntsy's death onscreen. How would YOU choose in these Would You Rathers -- or COULD you choose? Pepsi-Challenge yourself to find out in Extra Hot Great 278. GUESTS 👤 Mark Blankenship TOPICS Lead Topic: 🤔 Would You Rather: Panel Round Lead Topic: 🤔 Would You Rather: EHG Assist Round NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 278 page on ExtraHotGreat.com 🎶 Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs

The Crown has returned for Season 3 with new actors in all the key roles, and who better to talk about it than semi-professional royal watchers Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan of Go Fug Yourself? Around The Dial takes us through Dollface, All Rise, Evil, and Harlots. Sarah makes the case for American Crime Story S02.E04, titled "House By The Lake," to The Canon. Then it's on to the week's Winner and Loser. Get all your mates from the polo team over to the house and join us! GUESTS 👤 Heather Cocks 👤 Jessica Morgan TOPICS Lead Topic: 👑 The Crown Around The Dial: 🪆 Dollface Around The Dial: ⚖️ All Rise Around The Dial: 😈 Evil Around The Dial: 👠 Harlots The Canon: 🏆 American Crime Story S02.E04: House By The Lake Winner & Loser: 👍 Clive Owen Winner & Loser: 👎 David Hunt NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 277 page on ExtraHotGreat.com 🐦 Heather & Jessica on Twitter 👗 Go Fug Yourself 👸 Heather & Jessica's latest novel, The Royal We

Disney+ finally launched earlier this week, so we thought we'd talk The Mandalorian with Adam Grosswirth. How does the show fit into the Star Wars universe -- and should it bother? Is it hiding Pedro Pascal's light under a mask bushel? And was a certain very cute puppet perhaps pandering to longtime franchise fans? Later, we went Around The Dial with High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Encore, Back To Life, a POV on Bill Nye, and two Dark shows, and Adam hoped his and Eleanor's joint Grey's Anatomy presentation for the Canon wouldn't bomb. A League Of Their Own won, Don Cherry (finally) lost, and we trod the boards in a theatrical Game Time (yes, Sarah "actually got some points"). Don't take your masks off: it's an all-new Extra Hot Great. GUESTS 👤 Adam Grosswirth TOPICS Lead Topic: 👾 The Mandalorian Around The Dial: 🎭 High School Musical: The Musical The Series Around The Dial: 🎭 Encore! Around The Dial: 🛟 Back To Life Around The Dial: 🧪 Bill Nye The Science Guy Around The Dial: 🔮 The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance Around The Dial: 🧱 His Dark Materials The Canon: 🏆 Grey's Anatomy S02.E17: As We Know It Winner & Loser: 👍 A League Of Their Own Lead Topic: 👎 Don Cherry Game Time: 🧠 Jazz Hands NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 276 page on ExtraHotGreat.com 🎬 You Must Remember This 🌴 Again With This 🎶 Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs

Apple TV+ is first to market in this month's battle of the brand-new streaming services, and Slate's TV critic Willa Paskin is joining us to talk about it -- starting with its fanciest new series, The Morning Show, but also touching on See, For All Mankind, and Dickinson. Sarah stars in an abbreviated Around The Dial to talk about the season finale of The Great British Bake Off. Then it's on to a discussion of whether American Vandal S01.E05, "Premature Theories," should be inducted into The Canon. After naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to the return of a Game Time classic. Grab your coffee and Red Bull and listen! GUESTS 👤 Willa Paskin TOPICS Lead Topic: 🌅 The Morning Show Lead Topic: 👁 See Lead Topic: 🌕 For All Mankind Lead Topic: ✍️ Dickinson Around The Dial: 🍰 The Great British Bake Off The Canon: 🏆 American Vandal S01.E05: Premature Theories Winner & Loser: 👍 Julia Garner Winner & Loser: 👎 Gina Torres Game Time: 🧠 The Day After Before And After NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 275 page on ExtraHotGreat.com 🐦 Willa Paskin on Twitter ✍️ Willa on Slate 💍 Willa's podcast, Decoder Ring 🚀 The Season 1 Finale of the Quaid In Full podcast

Mrs. Fletcher gives Kathryn Hahn a star turn as a divorced empty-nester trying to find herself (sexily!), and we're thrilled that star critic Maureen Ryan could return to discuss it with us -- whether we liked it, where it should have ended, and when we can expect this "limited series" to turn into another past-its-sell-by regular series. We went Around The Dial with BoJack Horseman, Lucifer, Netflix cancellation shenanigans, Teen Mom: Young & Pregnant, and Silicon Valley, and then Tara filed a motion to admit a second-season episode of The Good Fight to the Canon. Lizzo won (some more), the Game Of Thrones showrunners lost (for once), and there were no points for second place in a very challenging Game Time. Pack up that minivan: it's an all-new Extra Hot Great. GUESTS 👤 Mo Ryan TOPICS Lead Topic: 👠 Mrs. Fletcher Around The Dial: 🐴 Bojack Horseman Around The Dial: 🥎 Netflix Moneyballing Around The Dial: 😈 Lucifer Around The Dial: 🤰 Teen Mom: Young & Pregnant Around The Dial: 💻 Silicon Valley The Canon: 🏆 The Good Fight S02.E12: Day 485 Winner & Loser: 👍 Lizzo Winner & Loser: 👎 David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Game Time: 🧠 Second-Most Episodes NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 274 page on ExtraHotGreat.com 🌴 Again With This 🚀 The Quaid In Full podcast 🪞 The Through The Looking Glass podcast and more at Mo Ryan's website 🏆 Submit your Canons!

HBO has imported Sky Atlantic's miniseries Catherine The Great -- starring seasoned queen portrayer Helen Mirren -- and first-time guest Karen Geier is Russian (sorry) to join us for a discussion all about it! Around The Dial takes us through Living With Yourself, Modern Love, The Politician, Buzz, Survivor, the latest in Ken Burns, and HBO's highly anticipated take on Watchmen! Karen presents the "Interlude" episode of The Righteous Gemstones for induction into The Canon. Then it's on to the week's Winner and Loser, and a non-regulation Game Time that's the mother you never had and the sister everybody would want...or that's just about guest stars playing characters' relatives on TV. Saddle up your sturdiest steed and join us! GUESTS 👤 Karen Geier TOPICS Lead Topic: 🐴 Catherine The Great Around The Dial: 🫵 Living With Yourself Around The Dial: ❤️ Modern Love Around The Dial: 🗳 The Politician Around The Dial: 🏜 Survivor Around The Dial: 🤠 Ken Burns's Country Music Around The Dial: 🐝 Buzz Around The Dial: ⌚️ Watchmen The Canon: ⛪️ The Righteous Gemstones S01.E05: Interlude Winner & Loser: 👍 Grace & Frankie Jane Fonda and Sam Waterston Winner & Loser: 👎 Gabrielle Carteris Game Time: 🧠 It's All Relative NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 273 page on ExtraHotGreat.com 🐦 Karen Geier on Twitter 👻 The On Belief podcast 👻 On Belief on Patreon 😢 The On Grief podcast 😢 On Grief on Patreon 🎙 KarenGeier.com ❤️ Maureen Ryan's Modern Love review at NYTimes.com 🏝 Again With This 🏝 Again With This on Patreon 🎶 MASTAS on Patreon ⌚️ James Poniewozik's Watchmen review

We're so glad our esteemed colleague and Breaking Bad 101 author Alan Sepinwall could join us to talk about El Camino, the Breaking Bad sequel on Netflix that starts just minutes after the finale ended. Did we think it was necessary and/or satisfying? Were the fan-service elements welcome, or distracting? And which other characters should get their own post-BB films? Later, we went Around The Dial with Dynasty, Riverdale's Luke Perry tribute episode, Lodge 49, Private Lives Of The Windsors, and an objection from Dave to breathy cover-song TV themes (and the ending of Press, kind of), before Alan warmed up a second-season Leftovers episode as his Canon submission. Holey Moley won, a FOX affiliate (and racist sports teams) lost, and we sprang into action (verbs) for Game Time with the season hanging in the balance. An all-new Extra Hot Great: that's church, yo. GUESTS 👤 Alan Sepinwall TOPICS Lead Topic: 🚘 El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie Around The Dial: 🕶 Dynasty (2017) Around The Dial: 🧑‍🦰 Riverdale Around The Dial: 🍺 Lodge 49 Around The Dial: 👑 Private Lives Of The Windsors Around The Dial: 🎞 Get Shorty I Am Not A Crackpot: 🤪 Breathy slowed-down cover songs as TV themes Around The Dial: 🗞 Press The Canon: 🫥 The Leftovers Winner & Loser: 👍 Holey Moley Winner & Loser: 👎 California Fox affiliate using chyron "Braves Scalped?" Game Time: 🧠 The Verb Is The Word NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 272 page on ExtraHotGreat.com 🐦 Alan Sepinwall on Twitter 🌆 The Sweet Smell Of Succession podcast 🎥 Quaid In Full

PBS's Masterpiece has premiered the British miniseries Press, a tale of warring London newspapers, and we've brought a former newspaper reporter, Daniel MacEachern, back to the podcast to talk about it! Around The Dial clicks through Evil, Big Mouth, and Cash Cab, before we each pitch our own Fosse/Verdon-style limited series based on a real person's life (and possibly a specific biography). Danny presents The Grinder's "Grinder v. Grinder" for induction into the Canon. Then we're on to naming the week's Winner and Loser, and finishing up with a Game Time that might sound a little familiar. Put down any newspaper you might be reading and listen to us instead! GUESTS 👤 Daniel MacEachern TOPICS Lead Topic: 📰 Press Around The Dial: 👿 Evil Around The Dial: 👄 Big Mouth Around The Dial: 🚕 Cash Cab Extra Credit: 🤑 Small Screen / Larger Than Life The Canon: 🏆 The Grinder S01.E13: Grinder v. Grinder Winner & Loser: 👍 Rachel Maddow Lead Topic: 👎 Lindsay Lohan Game Time: 🧠 Familiar Situations NOTES 🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 271 page on ExtraHotGreat.com 🐦 Daniel MacEachern on Twitter 🏸 David Roth, Laura Wagner, and Kelsey McKinney's Deadspin report on TheMaven's Sports Illustrated takeover 👄 Big Mouth co-creator Andrew Goldberg apologized for the show's description of pansexuality 🕳 Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs ranks "Live Through This" 🚀 Quaid In Full's episode on Dennis Quaid's Baretta episode 🏞 The Amazonian Expedition That Nearly Killed Theodore Roosevelt