‘Pluribus’ Episode 6 and ‘The Chair Company’ Season 1 Finale

5 Dec 2025 · 57 min · 26 chapters

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In short

The Watch (Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald) covers two things: Pluribus (episode 6) and The Chair Company (Season 1 finale). They discuss Cold War/spy TV news, streaming-industry headlines (Netflix ordering a Las Vegas-casino series; DiCaprio’s Heat 2 involvement; Saudi/Universal vs Warner bids), and then focus on the shows.

Guests

Chris Ryan (editor at TheRinger.com) and Andy Greenwald (from Westgate/Eastgate Casino; co-host).

Pluribus

Carol discovers a giant locker/freezer under a tarp at an agricultural goods facility; episode 6 immediately continues with her bursting out and filming. Key claim: the show subverts “prestige cliffhanger” expectations by turning the horror into a different moral framing—one person’s dystopia is another’s utopia.

Notable examples

Diabate reenacts Casino Royale in the Westgate and lives in a harem; Carol’s bodily-autonomy relief; the show’s “vlogger” approach; the final Paraguay scene where a “mother” appears and the son rejects her (“my mother was a bitch”).

The Chair Company

They praise Tim Robinson’s stretched-out joke rhythms and the finale’s escalating weirdness (wedding opening, drunken songwriter, child shooting, telekinetic woman revenge, baby-mask boyfriend, and “heart” plotline). Key claim: it’s Twin Peaks-like in horror-in-the-banal and commits to the bit rather than resolving.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

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Upcoming Year-End Review

1:26 to 2:31

Discussion of the upcoming year-end spectacular and best TV shows.

“You know, as I've said to you before, my colleague with whom I commute from my job here often says that when the trains go awry, it's Putin's fault.”

Political Update from the UK

2:31 to 3:10

Andy shares insights on UK politics and the Chancellor's tax issues.

“Where does Rachel Reeves fall on your top 10 list?”

Entertainment News: Spy Genre

3:10 to 5:00

Exciting casting news in the George Smiley universe and its implications.

“This is the boots on the ground reporting that our podcast has lacked and I'm here to bring it.”

Impact on the Industry

5:00 to 5:56

Hosts reflect on their influence in the entertainment industry.

“We have never had it better in so many ways in our life.”

New Series Announcements

5:56 to 7:20

Discussion of upcoming shows and their nostalgic ties to previous series.

“I do want to talk about your spy question.”

Warner Brothers Acquisition Talks

7:20 to 13:19

Insights into the Warner Brothers acquisition situation and potential bidders.

“pulled our slaps, if you will, do you know what I mean?”

Observations from the UK

13:19 to 14:00

Andy shares his experience in the UK and thoughts on local TV shows.

“I do think one of the more interesting paths would be if somehow the universal bid wins out because the universal bid is very, very explicitly like we don't want half of this business.”

Cable Channels and Industry News

14:00 to 14:41

Discussion on cable channels, streaming services, and legal implications.

“And what they were going to split was the basic cable channels from the more profitable studio and HBO.”

TV Preferences and Year-End Lists

14:43 to 16:44

Hosts share their favorite shows and prepare for year-end top 10 lists.

“Any other news, like talk of the town type observations you've got from the UK while you're over there?”

Revisiting Series and Character Development

16:45 to 18:04

Discussion on a specific show's development and character challenges.

“I'm going to hit you with it, but it's going to be real high on my list.”
Show all 26 chapters

Chair Company and Viewing Experience

18:05 to 19:42

Reflections on binge-watching 'Chair Company' and its unique style.

“It's currently airing on NBC, I think, which is interesting.”

Landman and Commitment to Content

19:43 to 20:27

Hosts discuss the commitment to watching content for understanding.

“I know that you talked about Landman already this week with Mallory.”

Analysis of Chair Company Finale

20:28 to 25:04

In-depth analysis of the finale of 'Chair Company' and its comedic elements.

“And so I feel like I need to turn it into content.”

Future of Chair Company and HBO's Direction

25:05 to 28:01

Speculation on the future of 'Chair Company' and HBO's evolving strategy.

“That would have been better if you had done a fun documentary about Jeffrey Epstein that I just watched.”

Anticipation for Season Two

28:01 to 29:10

Discussion about characters and plot elements transitioning to the second season.

“Or are we going to stay in this kind of world of anonymous, benign office drones and Ron kind of getting obsessed with something for five minutes?”

Anticipation for Season Two

30:10 to 31:58

Discussion about characters and plot elements transitioning to the second season.

“Bursting with flavor, perfectly seasoned with that indulgent taste that usually means planning your whole day around it.”

Discussion on 'Pluribus'

32:06 to 33:23

In-depth analysis of 'Pluribus' and its recent episodes.

“Okay, let's talk about a show that I'm fairly confident will be on both of our 10 best lists at this point, Pluribus, which we haven't really had a chance to discuss in...”

Character Reactions and Expectations

33:23 to 34:08

Analysis of character reactions and the show's subversion of expectations.

Dystopia vs. Utopia

34:08 to 36:22

Exploration of themes relating to dystopia and individual experiences.

“back or, or, or turns everything on its head.”

Character Analysis of Carol

36:22 to 42:00

Detailed discussion on Carol's character, performance, and development.

Character Analysis of Carol and Her Journey

42:00 to 46:00

Explore the depth of Carol's character through her struggles and reactions.

“Her reaction when the Westgate billboard flashes that they understand and hear her and they won't be doing stem cell research on her without consent.”

Thematic and Visual Elements of the Show

46:00 to 48:20

Discuss the show's aesthetic choices and its commentary on human experiences.

“fucking exquisite uh like they obviously have been getting so dialed over the last 15 years with how they want to shoot things in the Gilligan world and how they're going to look.”

Comparative Analysis with Other Shows

48:20 to 53:10

Analyze how 'Pluribus' stands out compared to other contemporary series.

“What if this is a story that doesn't require heroes?”

The Intricacies of the Show's Narrative

53:10 to 56:00

Delve into the narrative intricacies and character interactions in 'Pluribus'.

“But I got to respect how elegant it is because of how he did this.”

Exploring Compelling Elements of the Show

56:00 to 57:09

Discussing the engaging aspects of the show amidst its flaws.

“hope to God, I never, ever, ever encounter.”

Monty's Financial Crisis and the Serengeti Metaphor

57:10 to 57:38

Analyzing Monty's actions in a financial crisis through a metaphor.

“I know, but I'm like, That's just how they do in the Serengeti, brother.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

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1:01I need support staff to clear the room.

1:05Andy Greenwald:Stand up and walk now. Hello and welcome to The Watch. My name is Chris Ryan. I am an editor at TheRinger.com and joining me on the other line from the Westgate Casino, it's Andy Greenwald. I'm actually on the Eastgate Casino. I'm far to the east of you, my brother. You finally went home to Mother Russia? I mean, it's on the table. You know, as I've said to you before, my colleague with whom I commute from my job here often says that when the trains go awry, it's Putin's fault. And let me tell you, the great game has never been played like it was played today. You're catching me on a real heater.

1:45Today, Andy, we're going to talk pluribus and we're going to talk about the chair company, but I'm really glad you brought up Putin because I have another bit of news for you at the top, which is Cold War related. before we do that though is it back on spot of the cold war it's never it's never been over that's i have been sleeper selling this whole time before we get started though uh the watch at spotify.com to email us uh rare dash tv uh is a channel on youtube where you can watch us you can also watch us on spotify where i hope you listen to us and you can hit us up on instagram at the watch pod underscore andy and i are still remote for this week and next week but we'll be back in person And after that, when we'll be doing our end of the year spectacular, including our best of the year TV shows, best TV shows of the year.

2:30And I would imagine our best episode of TV for the year.

2:34Andy Greenwald:Where does Rachel Reeves fall on your top 10 list? The Chancellor Exchequer of England? And what is she doing wrong? She did stamp... People aren't happy. Stamp tax? They're not happy. She was basically like, it's going to be cool. Read my lips, no new taxes. and then someone leaked her draft budget that was like lots of taxes. And it's really interesting because people don't love it. Is that like the headline? It was a strikethrough. And it was like, no bad ideas in a brainstorm. What if more taxes? And let me tell you, they're not happy about it here. I'm sorry to hear that. This is the boots on the ground reporting that our podcast has lacked and I'm here to bring it.

3:15Well, Andy, what if I told you I had some entertainment news that might cheer up our British listeners and really any listeners who are affectionate about the military industrial complex and espionage.

3:28Andy Greenwald:Say less. Let's go. We've got some casting news in the George Smiley expanded universe that, you know, we talked about a little bit when Matthew McFadden got announced as the next George Smiley in John Le Carre's son's efforts to take his novels and fully take them to streaming television and blow out the whole world of that. The first series is going to be Legacy of Spies, and it's going to be on BBC and MGM+. It will adapt The Spy Who Came In From the Cold along with the 2017 novel Legacy of Spies, which is sort of a prequel sequel to Spy as well as got some Tinker Tailor in there. McFadden obviously is playing George Smiley, but they have cast the role of Alec Lemus with Charlie Hunnam.

4:17Andy Greenwald:Okay. A little bit beefy. Cast the role of Jen's fielder, who is the sort of East German counterpart to these guys, as Daniel Brühl. Love it. And only announcements on the behind-the-scenes side, you know, Stephen Cornwell, who's David Cornwell, which was John LeCariot was David Cornwell's pen name. Stephen Cornwell is co-writing the series with Clarissa Ingram, but I did notice that Graham Yost, who we folks will know from justified from silo from the screenplay for speed lots of movies and television over the last 30 years um is working as an executive producer on this series so i'm very excited i hope this works out i was thinking today about how we've never had it better there's so many spy shows on the air like really there's very little time of a calendar year where we don't have a cool espionage show on.

5:15Andy Greenwald:We have never had it better in so many ways in our life. I mean, train commutes aside, we've never had it better. No, it's true that the spy genre, like a few years ago, felt a little fallow. Do you think we had anything to do with this resurgence? Would you like to get your flowers? Would you like to do a lap? No, I mean, there are times where I feel like we've had an impact on decisions to renew series or maybe there's a little bit of uptake on a series. I think we can take credit for some of those things. Obviously, I know you dine out on Leftovers Season 2 taking a huge creative leap because of your criticism.

5:56Andy Greenwald:I do not. Okay, sidebar. I do want to talk about your spy question. Honestly, it's coming up on January, which is shocking, which will mean 14 years deep in this game. Okay. What do you think we can point to tangibly as things that have happened because of us in the industry? I will give you two and one of them involves the word industry. And that's it. Okay. I think that unquestionably, we are credited with the absolutely infuriating opening to The Leftover Season 2. Proud of that. I do not take any credit for the creative resurgence of the show. second I believe that we played a small part in industry getting renewed for season two I feel like that is canonical beyond that what can we really point to do you know I give you an example a great example if people go back to the archives they'll hear us often talk about our love for Colin Farrell but our exhaustion at seeing how good looking he is and I think Casey Bloys and the folks at HBO Warner Brothers listened and they were like, let's get this guy in the penguin suit.

7:02Let's get this guy, just make him a disgusting brother. And good. You know, I'm happy to help Colin Farrell. You can't be so charming and so good looking.

7:13Andy Greenwald:Do you think that there would have been a, the slap expanded universe if we had just pulled our punches a little bit, pulled our slaps, if you will, do you know what I mean? Like, do you think that we made a little, little too much of that thus ending because it's not just the slap i do feel like that there was a small cottage industry 10 years ago of entertainment spawned by uncomfortable collisions between adult hands and children's faces on playgrounds i feel like that that was a genre of play and everyone's like oh it's quite thought-provoking you know it wasn't just the slap i feel like there was a play on broadway around that point maybe i'm maybe i'm mistaking things but i feel like now if the slap has been out, it would have to have much more of a true crime bent.

7:54You know, it's like the kid gets slapped and then the father of the kid who gets slapped goes on a killing spree in a suburban town where nobody expected something like that to happen.

8:03Andy Greenwald:No, no. Or that like the origins of the original slap was like a Lovecraftian like Sthulu kind of like deep dive. Do you know what I mean? Like there's something to, I wish, I don't know. I'm starting to feel maybe I'm just reaching that stage of life it's a little autumnal like i want to know like what we did like other than had a good time with each other like yeah i mean that's the only thing that matters the le carré shit like you should just tell people that you got night manager renewed that you were like there is another night that needs to get i wanted night manager i i night manager is longer a longer break than stranger things you know uh i guess i'm just waiting for that loki schedule to clear up yeah i don't think it's the same because i think tom hiddleston has remained roughly the same size.

8:45Andy Greenwald:So I feel like there's not any night surprises. Anyway, back to your point. Very exciting. Le Carre Expanded Universe is fantastic. I do feel like that you could probably, if you took all of the actors in roughly our generational cohort, you could basically, you could create like a little desk and they could approach the desk and you could say McMurtry or Le Carre. And then you would just like hand them a ticket and then they would just agree. They would agree. You get Streets of Laredo. You can get yeses. You can get to yes very quickly if you do the things that you and I and people who are like us like.

9:21Andy Greenwald:So great. It's good for our podcast. I don't really have a lot of other headlines for you. Just before we started recording, it was announced that Brian Koppelman and David Levine sold a straight-to-series order to Netflix, basically making a show about a Las Vegas casino and that Martin Scorsese will be involved, presumably, as an executive producer. I think this will be cool. They haven't made a series since Billions. I'm a big fan of Koppelman and Levine's writing as well as Brian personally and David personally in the times that I've met them. I will say it's very funny when a streaming show basically has the same conceit as an old TNT or network show like Las Vegas.

10:07Yeah, exactly. And this is just, you know, if they make Boardwalk Empire, but set in contemporary times, I'll be pretty fired up. If they make any part of the history of Las Vegas, I think it would be very interesting. I'm not sure if contemporary Vegas, you know, really fascinates me as much as 70s or 60s Vegas.

10:27Andy Greenwald:Contemporary, present day Boardwalk Empire was Jersey Shore. That's true. You have to be careful what you wish for. So this is confirmed present-day Vegas? It hasn't been. It didn't get confirmed that, but that was the implication. It seems to be about a casino president who's fighting off, putting out fires left and right. But I don't know what, like, is it vacancy rates of hotels post-COVID? No, no, no. Here's the thing. Here's my pitch. It's all about a loosely fictionalized version of the independent journalist John Ralston, who every four years gets libs super living out about where the union vote is trending in the state.

11:09Andy Greenwald:Yeah. That would be gold for us. I love how you said gets libs super living out. Look at the man in the mirror, brother. I'm wearing all blue today, baby. We only lost the Tennessee district by nine. Let's go. Vibes are elite. Did you donate to that lady's campaign? No, but I did delete a number of emails. So I did feel involved. Do you know what I mean? Somehow they've still got the digits after all this time. So we have that. DiCaprio did an interview with Deadline and did confirm his participation in Heat 2. Kind of. I'm fairly certain that stands as a confirmation. No confirmation on which role he's playing, whether it's Chris Chihurlis or Neil McCauley.

11:55so we continue to wander around in the darkness on that one

11:59Andy Greenwald:Can I ask you for an update? Because you're, again, you're boots on the ground in Tinseltown, like you're reporting on the industry It's true, it's true Chrissy Supreme over here Any movement on the various Saudi wealth funds and how much they're going to pony up for David Ellison to buy Warner Brothers, like where is that shaken out? Really can't say, man I mean, I was potting with Sean yesterday and he was getting getting texts being like, it looks like this, it looks like that. But you know, was he really? Yeah. I mean, I feel like it's actually now it's being talked about within the industry pretty, pretty openly about like the different bids and the different permutations.

12:37Did you, have you decided who you're rooting for? I know you need a passion point for your, you know, any story you have to have a rooting interest of fandom.

12:47Andy Greenwald:Well, look, I mean, you guys know that like there's there's conflicts of interest in the Olivia Nizzi sense. And then there's conflicts of interest like your boy. You know what I mean? Like I'm out here in England working for Warner Brothers. I have something with Universal. My parents have Comcast Xfinity. And frankly, I refuse to cancel my mom's Xfinity service. And frankly, I am really on the wrong side of a lot of Saudi wealth funds. So I'm not the right person to ask about this right now. That said, I do find the entire thing so distasteful. I don't know if that's just me like holding my nose about like contemporary capitalism, but I find the whole thing so gross that I kind of feel like the most, the more interesting path, you know, our buddy, Shiel Kapadia always says he's not an Eagles fan.

13:36Andy Greenwald:He's team content. I do think one of the more interesting paths would be if somehow the universal bid wins out because the universal bid is very, very explicitly like we don't want half of this business. Yeah, we want everything. We want the studio and basically, not to reiterate for people who are worried about this stuff. It's Eduardo from the social networks coming for everything. No, it's the opposite. It's the opposite, saying that the current version of Warner Brothers Discovery was going to split and now they've decided to sell. And what they were going to split was the basic cable channels from the more profitable studio and HBO.

14:09Andy Greenwald:And the universal bid is we want the better half of that split. We don't want the cable channels, right? We just want the streaming service in the studio. Cable channels to worry about, yeah. And so then the other thing is that it's possible that our very straight and narrow Justice Department would not like that, which might tie it up in the courts. And if there's one thing that these last few months have proven is that the courts are really respected. So it could be interesting. It could be interesting. Okay, well, we'll keep our eye on that developing situation. Any other news, like talk of the town type observations you've got from the UK while you're over there?

14:51Andy Greenwald:No, I'm totally useless. I did turn on the television in hopes of seeing one of my two favorite shows. My first favorite show, as you know, is Canal Boat Diaries. uh it was not on my second favorite show is um when jamie oliver does anything except from november 10th through january 3rd it's just episodes of jamie's one pot christmas sure and he just says the word courgette over and over again yeah no that's every episode but this time it's like festive courgette for the festive season so that's uninteresting to me um i did find an episode of great british baking show which was so niche it was a holiday special from 2021 in which the cast of the series it's a sin oh yeah we love that show but it turned on and i was like is this a show that we liked on the watch are these actors from a show we liked on the watch or is it just england couldn't tell you know what i wanted to ask you about because it's a sin reminds me that we i think we both had that on our top 10 uh the year it came out for this last 10, 10, 15 days before we do our top 10 of the year, do you feel like there's any one series that jumps out that you're like, I really do want to get a couple of hours in on that before I do my list?

16:08I'm doing that.

16:09Andy Greenwald:I wasn't going to tell you because I was going to, because we're definitely, again, people know this, we're doing our top 10s, I guess in a week and a half, probably right, two weeks from. And it's a little chalk. Like I think you and I will likely have... Six or seven are like non-negotiables. Absolutely. More so, and I was comparing it to last year, when last year when I threw three body problems on there for LOLs. Like there's no space for that this year. Like a show that I love, that we have talked about on this podcast will not make my list this year, which is a sign of good health, I think, for the industry.

16:42Andy Greenwald:But there's a show in particular that I have, I ran it back and I want to surprise, I'm going to hit you with it, but it's going to be real high on my list. You ran it back like we have talked about it, but you revisited? We didn't finish it. We didn't finish it. And I'm all the way back in. And I can't wait to talk about it. But I've also done other research projects on the plane. Like, it's like, this is a perfect time to watch the paper. And ready for my review? Sure. It's fine. That's my review. I have very, very good will towards it. But I do find it interesting that this is the third series, separated by a decade, of course, in the sort of the Greg Daniels mockumentary family tree.

17:24Andy Greenwald:And for all the good things about it, especially casting and stuff, and all the things that they've learned from making The Office and Parks and Rec, the main character modulation problem is still such a thing. Because I'm now eight episodes into the 10 episode first season, and they do not know what to do with Donald Gleeson's character, Ned. Like, do not know what to do with him. in the same way that Michael Scott was really tough to nail in the beginning. And the same reason why the first six episodes of Parks and Rec are generally almost considered non-canon because Leslie was kind of annoying to people.

17:58Andy Greenwald:So I do find that interesting that they haven't been able to figure it out. The track record suggests that they will figure it out, but I found that interesting. It's currently airing on NBC, I think, which is interesting. I wonder how it's doing on terrestrial television and whether that's something that's helping it or giving it a little bit of a second life. And the second season, I don't think, is that far away. do you think the saudis are sweating it they're like oh they've got they've got the paper making that's gonna help the universal bid um for me i think i've been going trying to go to some of the more far-flown streaming services that we don't often discuss the work from so uh yeah checking out cooper rave's helen harper on movie as well as joe wright's uh mussolini son of the century on movie um which is literally think you're making this stuff up i know i mean joe wright I did a series about Mussolini on a movie.

18:48Andy Greenwald:Which side did he fall on that question? Well, we'll have to wait for our best of the year to find out. And also just checking out some of the BritBox stuff, which is ironic since you're in England, but watching the new season of Blue Lights. I really could have used a little bit of Mussolini on my commute from Watford today. I've got to be honest with you. Feel free to cut that. Just a little bit. He famously was pretty good with rail transit, okay? Okay. um dealer's choice today andy i am i can't wait to talk to you about pluribus but i also you know i would be remiss if we didn't discuss the end of chair company and i was discussing with kai before you signed on yeah that i had a late breaking chair company yeah i found that uh storing up several episodes and then watching them successively helped me feel like I was in the rhythm of the show a little bit more.

19:42Andy Greenwald:Okay. I'm glad you did that. Can I just also just lay down a marker? I know that you talked about Landman already this week with Mallory. I did. I know... With Bill Simmons, yeah. Did you? Well, that was last week, yeah. Who had a spicier take on Roadhead between the two of them? It shouldn't surprise you to know that it was Mallory. It does not. Here's what I think. And I know that us talking about Landman Weekly is potentially controversial with some of our listeners. I don't think it's as controversial as it is for me who has agreed to watch Landman. Who's trying to turn Tennessee blue. Yeah.

20:20Andy Greenwald:I'm trying to understand the other side, trying to get Afton over the finish line. The point is, I put in the hour to watch this episode. And so I feel like I need to turn it into content. It's not transactional, man. You can just watch TV because you love it. Chris, I didn't want to bring this up, but I understand that you spent three and a half hours watching an Avatar film yesterday, and I still can't get you to fucking watch a Miyazaki movie. So all I'm saying is, all I'm saying is some people are out here. Yeah, doing the work. Trying to do the work. So we can save it for the end. I think you set us up nicely with a little chair company.

21:00Andy Greenwald:so why don't why don't why don't why don't you explain to me more how you set the mood set the tone as your friends in shorzy would say uh in order to get yourself back into it you're not watching shorzy are you no i would save it for a viral moment in person if i was i let go of the string on chair company which you know nobody needs my like recovery uh documentary here with chair with the show it's beloved it's very popular for what it is it's been renewed tim robinson obviously is kind of a unique and um inimitable voice in comedy right now and i think it just took me a little while to adjust to those jokes being stretched out over the course of a 30 minute episode rather than in the more um the more sort of in the fractions of it i think you should leave and um when you let go you know when you put the blast shield down on the roller coaster.

21:56You're just like this little kid shooting this old guy in the hotel lobby is really funny, man.

22:03Andy Greenwald:See, I'm interested in you saying this because you ruined my dad's life and he pulls out a 3D printed gun. See, but what's interesting about this, this is why I love your brain here and you're zagging because I actually, when watching the finale, and I love the show, Kai made me internet famous for loving the show and I respect him for it. Yes. I thought that the opening of this episode, and this is a season in which our main character, Ron, has been planning his daughter's wedding. And then we open at a wedding of people we've never seen before. And then a drunken man being told that he should become a professional songwriter.

22:41Andy Greenwald:And then the man who encourages said drunken man gets shot by a child. I was like, I kind of see Chris's point. This may be a bridge too far. I thought that may have bumped you because it was just more and more and more and more. Well, no, because it is kind of like the, I hate talking about comedy in this way because it just sounds so mechanical. But when you're describing a comedy show, aside from just listing the jokes that made you laugh, it's hard not to sound a little bit schematic with it. But I think that it's the Will Ferrell, Austin Powers joke where he gets thrown into the fiery pit, but he just keeps going like, please, please somebody help me.

Read the full transcript

23:19And it's like funny.

23:20Andy Greenwald:I'm very badly burnt. that it's not funny, that it's really funny, that it's not as funny, and that it is hilarious. And that's kind of how I feel about some of the rhythms of this show, where it's like, there'll be five minutes where I'm like, what the fuck am I watching? And then he'll just do one thing. He'll react to Barb in one way, or make a face, and I'm IRL LOLing. Here's the thing that I might even suggest to you, and we've talked around versions of this. what if the show isn't really totally a comedy oh this is what i think i was worried about earlier in the season where i was like i think they think that this is like like well this is like twin peaks the return or something i mean you you brought that up i think it's the best comp i think that this is the closest television has ever gotten to having the spirit of twin peaks just full stop i think because of the comedy i think because of the extremity of the oddness I think because of the underlying sense of horror in the banal.

24:19Andy Greenwald:Like it just, and in just in terms of a absolutely unwavering aesthetic vision that Tim Robinson has with Zach Kanin, Aaron Trimberg, who's directed a bunch of the episodes clearly in on it as well. Like the degree to which they, like in the scene in this finale, when everyone at the, not the chair company, at Ron's company, they're sitting around the table talking about what to do about Ron. It's so fucking funny, dude. and Lou Diamond Phillips is just getting more and more pressed. It could have really hurt him. It's eight absolutely weird randos who are not necessarily, quote unquote, and I say this with love and respect, traditionally good actors, but they're not bad.

24:59Andy Greenwald:And then there's also Jim Downey from Jeff Epstein with the Island fame, by the way. Fun documentary on Jim Downey on Peacock right now that I watched. That would have been better if you had done a fun documentary about Jeffrey Epstein that I just watched. you know but i heard joe wright has a has an epstein series coming on movie and you don't really know which side of the island he's landing on um and lou diamond phillips and it's just just watching aesthetically what they have done with this casting with this tone with this rhythm is there's such commitment to the bit and like i would i would love to talk to those guys for example but i don't know if you noticed they did no press they went on seth myers together but Otherwise they're like, look, this is what we, this is what we do.

25:42Andy Greenwald:It's like, it's like underdogs winning an NBA game and just pounding their chest and leaving the court. Like we really do this. Yeah. Um, I, I don't know. I, I just definitely, I loved every second of it. I was glad it got the early renewal because there was no resolution whatsoever. Uh, there is very weird. It's like, I don't even know. Are we, are we still talking about the chairs? now we're talking about a telekinetic woman in his office and her boyfriend who wears a baby mask uh-huh at their old high school yeah yeah and it's revenge for something ron like some basically like unremarkable thing that ron did when they were in high school where he spit a gummy bear up into the air and it landed in her cleavage and and mike uh is a troubled if sympathetic man dude the mic thing killed me the mic trying to get with the daughter like the girl who has his heart or is it the heart he has the heart of a man who died and he showed up at the girl's wedding so that her father's heart could hug her and he hit on the mother and then he hit on her and he was like the heart doesn't count i i love it i love the commitment to the bit so much and i just think that like we're on a different kind of ride i think and i don't think i don't know if anyone who's not watched the show is listening to us rave about it but i'll say if there's even a percentage of you who are like it'll be like when detroiters hits netflix we'll just catch up with it and it's a funny hang or even i think you should leave it's just a collection of really good jokes or or even friendship which i loved um which is an extended bit they're doing something that is so completely different.

27:28Andy Greenwald:They are not trying to stretch those bits into a show to see if it works. They're making a show that they are fully committed to. I wonder whether the second season... So another show that I think might show up in some people's 10 best lists, I don't know if anybody on this podcast, but the rehearsal season two, which had this central premise was still the same, but was about a completely different thing. I wonder if that's where this show goes. Will Ron just get into something else? Or are we going to stay in this kind of world of anonymous, benign office drones and Ron kind of getting obsessed with something for five minutes?

28:15How much of what's in the first season, like the dog, the carvery, how much is transporting over to the second season?

28:22Andy Greenwald:What about Asher with the face mask? is seth gonna get into risdy it's expensive it's expensive when is wendy's gonna introduce its carvery concept for ham like there are a lot of pressing questions but like i don't think it's hyperbole to say that the hbo that we love that will soon be relocating to riyadh is historically been at its best when it's been in the business of hey we are finding you at the right time when you are ready to grow with us. And whether it was like, you know, a David Simon on the drama side or a Danny McBride. A Brian Ben-Ben on the comedy side. Yeah. You might want to call a couple of those plays back, but I'm just saying like, we're investing in you and you go and run with it.

29:07Andy Greenwald:This is one of those. It really is. I love the show. This episode is brought to you by the Active Cash Credit Card from Wells Fargo. That's a mouthful, but that's because it packs a lot in. Earn unlimited 2 % cash rewards on purchases with it, big or small. So whether it's buying tickets to the game or grabbing a coffee, it earns unlimited 2 % cash rewards on purchases. Say it with me. The Active Cash credit card from Wells Fargo. Be a 2 %er. Learn more at wellsfargo.com forward slash active cash. Terms apply. This summer, FanDuel is the best place to bet on goals. Including equalizers, volors, headers.

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30:13Well, Boris Head just did that. Bursting with flavor, perfectly seasoned with that indulgent taste that usually means planning your whole day around it. Presenting the Friar's Turkey Breast only from Boar's Head. Backyard tradition now available behind the counter. Visit your local deli today. Discover the craftsmanship behind every bite. Boar's Head, committed to craft since 1905. Are you looking for support in your weight management journey? ZepBound Terzepatide may be able to help. ZepBound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with obesity or some adults with overweight who also have weight-related medical problems to lose excess body weight and keep the weight off.

30:57ZepBound is approved as a 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 milligram injection. ZepBound contains terzepatide and should not be used with other terzepatide-containing products or any GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines. It is not known if ZepBound is safe and effective for use in children. Don't share needles or pens or reuse needles. Don't take if allergic to it. Or if you or someone in your family had medullary thyroid cancer, or if you've had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. Stop ZipBound and call your doctor if you have severe stomach pain or a serious allergic reaction.

31:34Severe side effects may include inflamed pancreas or gallbladder problems. Tell your doctor if you experience vision changes before scheduled procedures with anesthesia. if you're nursing, pregnant, plan to be, or taking birth control pills. Taking ZepBound with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and worsen kidney problems. Talk to your doctor. Call 1-800-545-5979 or visit zepbounds.lily.com. Okay, let's talk about a show that I'm fairly confident will be on both of our 10 best lists at this point, Pluribus, which we haven't really had a chance to discuss in...

32:14I think we missed the previous episode. So the last time that we talked about it, was it Carol Please? Was that what that episode was called?

32:21Andy Greenwald:That's right. We didn't talk about the fact that the voicemail box is Patrick Fabian, who played Howard on Better Call Saul. And it was a nice little Easter egg for fans, as well as for Ray Sehorne. The other Easter egg that I didn't know from that episode was that the woman who says, may we save her life about Xosha at the end of the episode apparently is the real life emt who saved bob odenkirk's life on the set better call saul yeah oh that's so funny i just watched maron do a video about like not do a video but he was clipped when he was on a talk show talking about like talking to odenkirk right after his heart attack odenkirk sending joke texting jokes in the hospital yeah um let's talk broadly about where this show's at and then we can get into the specifics of this episode that just aired um and also like the previous one, which are kind of tied together because it's Carol's discovery.

33:12Andy Greenwald:First of all, I love the show. I am completely dialed in. I think these past two weeks have been among the best episodes of the season so far. And in fact, it really hasn't been a dip. What I particularly loved, and we can sort of zero in on this before we get into any bigger details, but I love the way when you're watching a show made by one of the masters of the form in Vince Gilligan, but also just a master of tempo and expectation that the end of the previous episode, which is really like a hard cut from a gasp of horror or fear or discovery, there is the anticipation, right? And you were texting me about this, that, oh, next week is quote unquote, the big one, that the way that we engage with these prestige shows with limited season lengths, eight to 10 episodes is that inevitably there will be quote unquote, the one that explains things or flashes back or, or, or turns everything on its head.

34:10Andy Greenwald:And it was all set up to be that. And what I loved about this episode, this week's episode is that it gave us that it was a legitimately horrifying discovery. Um, you completely understood Carol's reaction in the immediate term. And then also in the longer term, I'm just immediately driving with this information to Mr. Diabate and in, the casino. And then it does what this show does, which is subvert our expectations, which is turn down the temperature, which is to cause us to consider things from a perspective we haven't, knowing that we are A, students of prestige television and how it works, but also B, students of dystopia, right?

34:51Andy Greenwald:That there has to be a horrific twist in order for her quest to feel heroic or in order for us to have something to root for. And it wasn't. It was John Cena being like, look, we know it's a little bit gross, but we don't have any other, we don't have any better ideas. I thought everything that we eat people, we should just say. Sure. Yeah. I mean, I think everything that happens in six is like one of the more perfect executions of a fake cliffhanger that I've ever seen. So often what will happen, especially in the era of binge streaming, when you have, you want people to stay engaged with the season is that you throw something in there.

35:26and this has been the same as it ever was since we've started potting, that you throw something in there in the last 10 minutes of an episode so that people click next episode on their streaming service. And Pluribus is not too good for that behavior. They put things at the end of episodes that are certainly like, I cannot wait till next week. At the end of five, Carol discovers this giant locker, this giant freezer in an agricultural goods facility and she looks underneath a tarp and we are left to wonder for a full week what could possibly be under that tarp? Is it an alien carcass? Is it Helen?

36:03Andy Greenwald:Is it all of her books? What is it? Where were you with it? I think the most obvious... I think I was like, is it aliens? I really was like, is there a being that is running this kind of thing? That's just where my sci-fi brain took me. Or like not to step on... Well, there was another show that we liked a lot this year, sci-fi that might end up on our list in which there is a discovery that the people we see might be replicants basically that like maybe everyone is on ice and that the others are recreations of them something along those lines the fact that the next episode the sixth episode picks up right afterwards so we're not gonna pretend like we're not gonna do a flashback we're not gonna do somewhere else in the world like it's really carol bursting out of this uh the door of this freezer and then going right back in to film it and then this whole um mid-season gambit they've adopted of carol as a vlogger i think is ingenious because it's obviously like learned behavior from youtube without explicit explicitly referencing youtube and the internet but we get to kind of come to grips with it and the funny thing was is that when she did the reveal and as like she i was like i wonder what this is going to be because i can't really think of what i would myself be scandalized by at this point in carol's journey and she reveals that it's human body parts and i noted the uh care and cleanliness with which they are restoring these people and and their remains and i think what the show is asking and what the show is sort of somewhat about is that one person's dystopia is another person's utopia.

37:44Especially this past episode with Diabate reenacting Casino Royale in the Westgate and living in a harem of women and really obviously having the time of his life, whereas Carol is at this kind of end of a rope state of loneliness and despair and alienation. And what Carol thinks is this gotcha moment is in fact like this guy's like yeah i i find it troubling but they they do have a pretty good explanation for it you know and the the show is kind of about how what i think what we used to think of as these sort of like universally agreed upon occurrences like what would happen if there was an alien invasion what would happen if you know there was an outbreak of a virus in this world and we all had to deal with it what happened in the last couple of years is i think we've shattered this idea of a collective response.

38:42We've shattered this idea of a collective experience. And this show is very slyly showing us how that happens, even without the distortion of social media and the internet. It's like, well, I don't know. I'm actually enjoying myself in this experience. So it's not my obsession to reverse this.

39:01Andy Greenwald:I think that's really brilliantly observed. I feel like one of the great, um, communal fictions of like post-World War II culture has been like, we are just one crisis away from a rallying cry. Like we could do this again. We can roll up our sleeves and make Rosie the Riveter posters and defeat evil again. And it's like, yeah, if we had to make jeans in this country, we could do it. No problem. Independence day would happen if given the right, uh, spark, I guess in that case, the destruction of the major cities and Bill Pullman elected president, we could take care of this stuff. I could get behind that.

39:36Andy Greenwald:One of the many things that the last few years have proven to us is that none of these, these are all complete fictions that like we are always going to be ourselves and our worst selves. And maybe sometimes we stumble towards some shared moment of enlightenment, but increasingly that's harder and harder to come by. We all know people or maybe even parts of ourselves that didn't mind aspects of the pandemic. Like there are parts of that, that, that ring true that are so well represented in the show. I think the other thing that is so compelling about this past episode in particular was that Diabate isn't just, he's not written as a, um, hedonistic Lothario who is taking advantage, who is only taking advantage of a situation because let's be clear.

40:21Andy Greenwald:He is a hundred percent taking advantage of a situation, but the, the underlying text of it that we see when she spends more time with him is that he does seem to understand the rules of the game he's chosen to play. Like he talks to them. He also has sex with many of them, but he also listens to their point of view and treats them as a collective, um, which is relatively advanced, I would say, you know, much more so than a hastily written version of that character ever would be. A couple other points I wanted to make about these last two episodes, specifically six, is the old Aristotle chestnut actionist character.

41:03And the idea, you know, obviously Gilligan has always been obsessed with process, has been delighted in showing the minute movements of a character as they put post-its on a wall or make meth or whatever it is that they're doing. But I don't know that I've ever seen him tie character to behavior in a more successful way than he is with Carol. Because we have to talk about this seahorn performance. I was talking with Kai before we started the show. He was like, I cannot believe how much of this show is just her. On her, yeah. Yeah, and is on her. And I'm starting to be mesmerized by the littlest things that this person is doing on screen.

41:45You know, how she exits her house, how she packs, how she waits for that phone message to be over. The look in her eyes when she finds out that the other survivors have been meeting on Zoom without her. Her reaction when the Westgate billboard flashes that they understand and hear her and they won't be doing stem cell research on her without consent. you don't need any flashbacks with carol because you kind of understand everything about her from her movements and her actions and from like the little just you know it's been interesting to go along this journey with her about her substance abuse issues and like her invoking heroin when she drinks how she drinks like what happens to her when she drinks but everything that they're doing with her is such a master class in in in writing in that way i think and in performing i

42:41Andy Greenwald:It's beautifully said. I think that like the point you make about the voice message, like one of the luxuries that being Vince fucking Gilligan buys you is that you see her calling again and you're like, well, they're not going to play the message again. Right. Yeah. But he's like, no, we're not going to cut away from it. And one of the reasons he, you don't cut away from it is because he can tell Apple what he wants to do with the show. But the other reason you don't cut away from it is because of the actor you have reacting to it. And one thing that I am glad, I'm glad I have an opportunity to circle back to that we didn't mention two weeks ago, is that when she does the, when Carol tests the sodium pentothal on herself, it is a masterclass in comedic acting that we have not seen her do, I think, since Ray Sehorne's glory days on the sitcom Whitney, which is when I first became aware of her talents.

43:32Andy Greenwald:She's super fucking funny. And again, it's just, she has a camera on herself, but we just have a camera on her.

43:42Andy Greenwald:What do you, where are you, tell me about your feelings about Paraguay and that journey because now these stories are clearly headed towards an intersection. Well, so that's a really good example of the A-B test of it's okay when Ray C. Horn does it but when another performer, it's not even about the performer. Let me rephrase what I'm saying although I don't cut this but I just mean you sit there watching him go through these dials And there is a little bit more of like an urgency of like, yes, but you will hit something that you can't explain or that will be like a radio signal, even though we don't understand what that radio signal is going to be.

44:16I felt fine about it. What I'm really marveling at is did they shoot in Paraguay? Is this Albuquerque? But, you know, with tile, like, are they shooting on plates? Like how do what are they doing? Like, where are they shooting the show? And I want to get to that in a second. But the final moments of episode six. and this guy I think that's his mother has been bringing him the food the entire time but maybe he couldn't quite see that it was her or maybe he didn't know that it was her but his mother comes out of the shadows in Paraguay and tries to stop him before he drives off in his car that I do not think is going to make it to New Mexico

44:56Andy Greenwald:it seems unlikely although he does have some maps she's just like what can we do for you just tell us can we answer any questions Yes. And his reaction is, you're not my mother. My mother was a bitch. And that, first of all, like on a character spectrum, locates him right next to Carol. These are two very hurt people. and the skepticism that he has about this project that he's seeing, this idea of a collective, peaceful, harmonious society of people who are operating under one consciousness, even if they can represent themselves as loved ones or whoever, Carol doesn't have the benefit of having Helen showing up at her door.

45:44Who knows what her reaction would be if Helen was there. but this is the example of like maybe be careful what you wish for because he's just like my mother was meaner you know like this isn't the same it's wrong this is yeah this is wrong and i thought that those closing minutes were just sublime you know and also let's just say this show looks fucking exquisite uh like they obviously have been getting so dialed over the last 15 years with how they want to shoot things in the Gilligan world and how they're going to look. And he's got in-house directors and talent that he recruits to do these things with him.

46:20But this show uses its budget in such a wise way where the sets that they build or the locations that they choose to film in, they let their actors fully explore. And so they feel huge. Like maybe they got to shoot at Westgate, I don't know, or a different casino or however they did that. but it felt like they could have gone into one of a hundred rooms in that casino that I felt like we could have followed that guy all over, uh, whatever city he's in in Paraguay. And it's just like, it's such an incredible use of like money for the point of creativity rather than just like, well, we'll, we'll just make some huge set piece soon.

47:00Andy Greenwald:I also just continue to be in awe. And I think we're going to talk about this in the year end episode as well, inevitably, but like what he's choosing to show us and the vessel that he's chosen, to deliver his thoughts and observations and story within. You mentioned the Leftovers. We were joking about the Leftovers at the top of the show and how, as Damon Lindelof says it, and he said it to us, the change between season one, which has its fans, shout out Mina Kimes, like people love season one. But Damon says that the difference to him between season one and season two is that he remembered that people sometimes laugh at funerals.

47:36Andy Greenwald:Sure. And that there is a different way to react to even extreme situations that can be both surprising, but also ring emotionally true in our human experience. And so much of the more expensive television of the last few years and decades has been about, well, what would be the most human way to react when your family is burned alive by a dragon or whatever the case may be? And it's generally because of the necessities of plot or the limits of some creative imaginations. I'm not trying to do a drive-by. I just mean, it's hard to make this shit. It's often the most expected reactions, often done exquisitely.

48:15Andy Greenwald:And what I love about this scenario is what you were saying. It keeps surprising us. Like, what if there are the people who are the wrong people to be the heroes of a story? What if this is a story that doesn't require heroes? What if, and I'm thinking back to Jeff Hiller, Emmy award winner, Jeff Hiller's cameo a couple of weeks, two weeks ago, when he's saying what Helen thought about her books, or he's saying what he thinks, what they think about all books or all art, or is Carol as good a writer as Shakespeare? And I'm like, yeah, this is the internet. Yeah. The internet is hateful and mean and et cetera, but it is also responsible for this, I think, pretty toxic flattening of criticism and understanding and appreciation of art.

49:00Andy Greenwald:And we're saying this during like wrapped week when everybody's being told like, good job. You listen to the same thing as everybody else. It's like, that's also part of our culture. And it's, it, it's easy to pillory something for all the more obvious negative characteristics of it. But I love that the show is also willing to look at the potentially positive things and look at them a little bit sideways and to continue to be like, maybe as you said, as you said a moment ago, like maybe the end of the world, isn't the worst thing for some people. okay then what what do we do then i thought that the um the diabade scenes uh were excellent uses excellent executions of what in a sloppier set of hands might be exposition dumps he's privy to information that she's not it's obvious that he's getting this information because he's simply more adept at talking to the others or the them uh the they and uh so it didn't feel like somehow he was like a scientist all of a sudden he was just like yeah i just asked you know they're not happy about this information but it is the case um carol's relief that she would retain bodily autonomy was interesting to me there's an element of physicality there's performance i'm very curious about i mean i i'm watching this show uh so delighted i'm not getting ahead of myself to try and figure out like where it's going or what it's doing it feels very organic like it does feel like we're obviously on the path to these two characters meeting uh at some point these two people who are are are the only two who are against what's happening in the world but i like how moral and philosophical it is um and the idea that we can't do anything unless you give us their permission?

50:46You give us your permission.

50:47Andy Greenwald:I really like how anti-Reddit it is. Now, I personally am not anti-Reddit. I'm learning a lot about London food and also trains when I log on these days. So that's great for me. Oh, you mean like anti-fan theory? Yes. What I mean is the questions here are very simple and the answers are also so far relatively simple. Not saying that a great joining of human consciousness is not complicated, what I mean is oh my god they're eating people well yes here's why what else could they do and then we move on from there we're eating people because we can't harm anything yes and and and try and find fault with that and I just think that it is such a rare let's talk about this more in your end and you're if you if you believe this already about us you're right that like sometimes we are rooting for and getting maybe overly excited about things that speak to a larger trend or anti-trend in an industry that we care about and that we cover.

51:45Andy Greenwald:But this show feels organically built from questions about character, about emotion, and about humanity, and about our moment. And I am going to do a drive-by now. It is not a fair one. And I don't, Kai, don't clip this the wrong way. But compare the elegance of this show so far to Severance, which is another Apple show that has its partisans, that is complicated, that is asking big questions, that is beautifully shot. It's using an element of science fiction as metaphor for contemporary dislocation. And all I mean is just think about the development process and what it's become. I'm not even going to argue the collective use feelings about Pluribus season one versus Severin season two because they have their merits.

52:32Andy Greenwald:And I'm not even interested in a one-to-one A-B comparison here. What I mean is Severance was a brilliant spec script that was retrofitted into a three, four, five season spanning Odyssey driven by an aesthetic madman in Ben Stiller. And there's a lot of labor. And we've talked about in episodes that we've liked and didn't like about the actual storytelling labor to get to a place where Mark and Heli running mean something, both in terms of the season and in terms of the series going forward. And look, no one can walk into the streamers and be like, I want to do this and get it greenlit like Vince Gilligan can at this point.

53:14Andy Greenwald:But I got to respect how elegant it is because of how he did this. He's had a long-term partner with Sony, right? He has decades of experience across multiple eras of television at this point. He tells stories and now is partially, I think, if not fully responsible for the visual as well as the written side of what we're seeing on screen. And I think has the right instincts in that he bet big on Ray Sehorne that she could be what Bob Odenkirk was in the early seasons of Better Call Saul. Bob Odenkirk has talked about it. He's like, I had no days off. I shot every day. I was in every scene of Better Call Saul except for the episode I directed.

54:08And Ray Sehorne is essentially doing that here. She is creating a probably pretty indelible television character right in front of our eyes. It's really cool. It's really cool that I think that you can go through a year of television and we'll talk about this, but Like you can have things that are good for what they are or nice executions of previously experienced material. And, oh, they did a nice little twist on that. Or I didn't, this was way better than it had any business being. This is, this is different. This makes me feel like there's still a lot we can do with this medium.

54:45Andy Greenwald:I think you said it brilliantly. That said, Landman 203. No, we don't, we can, we can circle back next week. I actually did have. I just want to, did you like Andy Garcia's finally getting to? Yeah. Also, I really, you know what I really respected? They made him Cuban. They let him be Cuban, which is, which is true to Andy Garcia's life. And I think that was nice in heritage. I have, I do have a nice thing to say that maybe is a segue to what you were saying, which is that when the show does things that are maybe to a, you know, 4D chess player, like Taylor shared and kind of obvious and basic, like have many of your cast members share a scene together and a balance screen at the same time.

55:27Yeah, for sure.

55:28Andy Greenwald:I'm like, there's a reason why TV shows do that. It works. It's charming. It's interesting. It's moving things forward. But second, the other thing that I have to say, and I mean this with no snark, when the show commits itself to showing us the process and peril of work in a field that I have absolutely no knowledge of. Chemical spill is gripping. it was the pit-esque. This show is not as good as the pit, but in the sense of here are people who are trained to do something, reacting to something that, hope to God, I never, ever, ever encounter. I found that incredibly compelling and gripping. And you can't have a chemical spill every week, although I can't ever tell him what to do.

56:09Andy Greenwald:It did remind me that there's still just like, there's stuff here that is of interest. You just have to wade through so much shit to get to it half the time. I agree with you that there is a procedural show about just Tommy fixing stuff every week that I would still watch. It doesn't even need all of the family soap operatics, Cooper inheriting things, whatever trip the Michelle Randolph character is on. I would just be there for the Tommy fixes a well this week somehow. Great. With Boss. I like Boss. The extra stuff is the extra stuff. And sometimes it hits and sometimes it misses. You famously are much more liquid than I am.

56:51Andy Greenwald:So maybe you can answer this better than I can. But like, if you are over leveraged, like Monty was, on a scale of like one to 10, in terms of just like fiduciary savvy, how smart is it to walk into a public place, break a beer bottle over the head of your financial advisor and say, where's my money? It's all gone. Well, Tom, it's not Tommy's money. It's Cammie's money. You know, like he's like... I know, but I'm like, That's just how they do in the Serengeti, brother. That's how they solve problems. For me, if I'm Monty, I just start to lose track of the shell corpse. Do you think that's what David Ellison is doing in Riyadh right now?

57:30Is he in Riyadh?

57:31Andy Greenwald:At the Cattlemen's Club? I just, he's shaking down Saudi wealth. I don't know. Where's my money? It was great to see you. I gotta find out what happens in season two of The Chair Company. I'll let you go, let you dry off. Thanks to Kai for recording us today. We'll put this up on Friday, and then we'll be back on Monday to discuss, I'm sure, more Landman, whatever Thames boat shows. Yeah, Thames Talk. Thanks to everybody for listening. We'll talk to you soon.

From the publisher

Chris and Andy talk about the news that Charlie Hunnam and Daniel Brühl are joining Matthew Macfadyen in ‘Legacy of Spies,’ an upcoming MGM+ series based on John Le Carré’s George Smiley spy novels (2:18). Along the way, they check in on the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war (11:02). Later, they discuss ‘The Chair Company’ Season 1 finale (20:17) and ‘Pluribus’ Episode 6 (28:15).

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Hosts: Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald

Producers: Kaya McMullen and Kai Grady
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‘Pluribus’ Episode 6 and ‘The Chair Company’ Season 1 FinaleThe Watch · 57 min
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