It’s the last week of 2018, which means it’s time for our annual mega-countdown of the best and most memorable TV of the year. Noel and Kate talk through their picks for the year’s best TV performances, characters, music, writing, sequences, seasons, moments, and much more. Listen to what our picks are, then reach out with your favorites from this year, as we bid a fond farewell to the year that was, and head into 2019.
2018 is winding down, which means the List-ening is once again upon us. This week on the podcast, Noel and Kate talk through their top 20 TV series of 2018, looking at the very best TV of the year. From reality and anime to documentary comedy and chilling drama, there was plenty on offer, and the highlights of the year ran the gamut. Tune in for our thoughts on our favorites, then reach out with your picks.
Another week, another set of finales. With so many shows wrapping up, and more to come next week, Noel and Kate focus on TV movies and finales this episode, bidding a fond farewell (at least for the summer) to at least one returning favorite and a not-so-fond see-ya-later to at least one other. We kick things off with the week in TV, including the season finale of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the series finale of The Middle, Tig Notaro’s new Netflix special, Tig Notaro: Happy to Be Here, the concluding chapters of PBS’ Little Women, and the season finales of Agents of SHIELD and The Flash. Afterwards, we dive into the chilly depths of the Arctic with the first season of AMC’s newly-revealed-as-an-anthology series The Terror. Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts on The Terror, the continuing finale-palooza, and any picks for TV we aren’t talking about, but should be.
The TV Gods give and the TV Gods taketh away. That’s right, it’s time for upfronts, which means the networks are in the midst of announcing their renewals and cancelations for the coming year. Fortunately, after we recorded, they reconsidered one of the hardest hits of the recent announcements, with NBC picking up Brooklyn Nine-Nine for a sixth season. However, that’s only the start of the conversation this week, with lots of shows delivering compelling, emotional, and fun episodes. First up, Noel and Kate dive in with the comedies and reality, including the (series?) finale of Atlanta, the finale of Mom, The Last OG, a dramatic Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and RuPaul’s Drag Race. Then we move over to drama and genre, including the premieres of Vida and Sweetbitter, super tense episodes of The Americans and Killing Eve, character-redefining episodes of Timeless and Agents of SHIELD, and an alternatingly beautiful, sad, and shocking Steven Universe two-parter. Afterward, we round out the podcast by spotlighting the interesting and funny documentary series Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas, currently flying under the radar on HBO on Friday evenings.
TV may not have quite reached last week’s tremendous highs, but there was still plenty of interesting and fun programming to dig into. First up this episode, we look at some of the week’s comedy and reality, including HBO’s Andre the Giant documentary, fun episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Superstore, and a memorable ball on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Then we head over to drama and genre, looking at the premieres of Killing Eve, Lost in Space, and The Expanse, the return of Steven Universe, and the climactic, cuddly finale of Legends of Tomorrow. Afterwards, we dive in with a season spotlight on the second season of Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, which more than lives up to its title.
TV showed. up. this week, with terrific episodes that ran the gamut from laugh out loud funny to terrifying to awe-inspiring. First, Noel and Kate talk through the week’s TV, starting with comedy and reality, including the premiere of The Last O.G., a Homicide-inspired Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a chilling standalone Atlanta, and a thoughtful and fun RuPaul’s Drag Race. Then we move over to genre and drama, including the premieres and returns of The Crossing, Legion, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and The Americans, a hilariously (and aptly) titled Legends of Tomorrow, and a compelling Black Lightning. Afterward, friend of the show Allison Shoemaker of The A.V. Club, Consequence of Sound, RogerEbert.com, and more podcasts than you can shake a stick at, joins us to dive deep with NBC’s latest, and definitely greatest, live musical, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.
As 2017 starts to wind down, we take a moment this week to reflect on holiday episodes of yore, looking back at holiday episodes of M*A*S*H, Seinfeld, Futurama, and Veronica Mars in our latest installment of our Holiday Omnibus segment. Before that, though, we have plenty of TV to discuss, as series head into the holiday season with fall finales galore. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin bowed out for 2017 with strong episodes, Bob’s Burgers celebrates the season in traditionally entertaining fashion, Outlander closes its third season and begins a new chapter in a new continent, The Exorcist heads towards its second season finale, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine gives Rosa her due and brings Gina back into the fold. Do our Holiday Omnibus selections live up to our memories of them? Which are better left off the Christmas (and Festivus, and X-Mas) viewing schedules? And will we ever tire of Bob’s Burgers holiday episodes? All of this and more as The Televerse closes out its weekly coverage for 2017, and heads into The 2017 (Best Of) Listening.
We’re heading into the end of the calendar year, and with The 2017 List-ening looming, it’s the perfect time to revisit one of the year’s most fascinating and puzzling entries, the return of Twin Peaks. Joining Kate to break down the alternately confusing and compelling season is friend of the show Emily L. Stephens of The A.V. Club. Before we dive into the strange world of Frost and Lynch, however, there’s a very full week of TV to discuss. First Noel and Kate look at the comedies, including the holiday returns of Psych and Superstore, the finale of Broad City, and the epic 99th episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. After a brief dip into reality to discuss the premiere of Top Chef, it’s time for the week’s genre episodes. Noel only lasted about 10 minutes into the Happy! premiere, and we chat about why. Then there’s the premiere of Agents of SHIELD, a dramatic return on Outlander, and the fall finales of Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, and Arrow. Which series are getting their silliness quotient right and which could stand to be a bit less precious? Which returns have us the most jazzed, and which show doesn’t seem to realize it’s retreading ground powerfully trod earlier this year in cinemas? Take a listen, then reach out with your thoughts on the week’s TV.
Despite the holiday last week and the looming holiday season ahead, it’s this week that gives us our lightest TV load in quite a while. We kick things off with our week in TV, including the first season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Drunk History’s Christmas Special, a check-in on The Rundown with Robin Thede, and fun episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Broad City, Outlander, and Marvel’s Runaways. Afterwards, we head over to the spotlight section and welcome back friend of the show Dr. Elizabeth Bridges, co-author and editor of Nazisploitation!: The Nazi Image in Low-Brow Cinema and Culture, to break down the four-part CW crossover extravaganza, Crisis on Earth-X.
It’s a week of highs and lows this episode, with interesting finales and memorably powerful episodes alongside truly ridiculous ones. First up, Noel and Kate talk through the week’s comedy: a revealing Jane the Virgin, the first of hopefully many wedding-themed Brooklyn Nine-Nines, a classic issue-oriented black-ish, and the intense culmination of Rebecca’s journey so far on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Then we look at the week’s genre and drama offerings: the finales of Star Trek: Discovery and Queen Sugar, another intense The Exorcist and emotional Supergirl, and some of the season’s least thrilling installments of Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow. Afterward, we head to the DVD Shelf to dive in with the second season of Lady Dynamite. How does Maria fare in her latest round of adventures? Are season two’s time jumps as engaging and effective as season one’s? And what will happen when Maria is presented the Most Sacred Lady Blazer? All of this and more as Noel and Kate break down the colorful, at times confusing, and always compelling Lady Dynamite.
