‘The Pitt’ Is Back! Plus, Our Most Anticipated Shows of the Year.

20:46Andy Greenwald:Let me give you two answers. One, I would love for there to be more Mer. I would love for Kate Winslet to play this part again and for there to be a larger Ingallsverse. I don't really have a problem with that at all. I think that sounds awesome. I think that we would have a lot of fun podcasting about it, discussing it, and also wondering what other Philadelphia set shows might be incorporated. Like, is Tires also in this world? I hope so. See? Yeah. Look how I catered to you. Tires season two was awesome. And it's in the Ingallsverse, potentially. All of that being said, I find this extremely, extremely surprising and a little bit more than a little bit unlikely.

21:29You think Kate's...

21:29Andy Greenwald:I think Kate would like to be doing that. She's just casting. She's like, hey, Brad. I think Mare 2 is more likely than The Regime Season 2. And I think that, but just in the reality of these things, Brad Inglesby, friend of the pod, famously works, he works alone, like Mare. He's kind of a loner. He is not one of the writers and creators, of whom there are many, and this works for people who have multiple projects going. It doesn't seem like it. And making multiple rooms. He doesn't use a room. He writes these shows. He is writing Task Season 2. HBO is invested in Task as an ongoing plank of, as an important ongoing plank of their larger, I don't know if it's going to be year to year, but every 18 months strategy.

22:12Andy Greenwald:So I think it would be very, very surprising if they are investing in Brad and in Task as a show that matters to them. They would foreshorten or just actively cut off the chance of a season three in a timely fashion by telling him now go do this other thing. Right. I don't think it makes sense. It would be cool. It would be cool. Yeah. Look, it was a great show, and I'm open to it coming back. I think that it would probably need to be a different kind of series. Mare, going through her back pages quite literally in terms of her yearbook, but in terms of her childhood experiences, her youth, and her lifelong friends, and what transpires among them.

23:00that story's been told. So whatever the deal is, I think it needs to be something that's a little bit more outward-facing for her. And I'd be curious to see where the character is now, though.

23:10Andy Greenwald:It's also interesting to think about Task as a response to Mare in its creation because Mare was commissioned, written, and filmed and released into a world where big stars coming to TV for event series or miniseries was the norm. Yes. It was released then, it was received into a world where, well, why don't we just run this back? Started to become the norm as well. You should say that in Nicole Kidman's accent. Because that's, she was like, I'll keep doing it. That's what she sounds like? No, it's fucking Paul Hogan. She sounds like, in here, stories matter. She shaved the Byron Bay off that accent, you know what I mean?

23:52Andy Greenwald:She did. She's sort of like international class now. Heartbreak. I think everyone involved with Mare was hoping to go... Hot break feels good in a place like this. That's South African, my bad. Diplomatic immunity in a place like this. It's good. Good stuff. I think that there was a moment when Mare was rocking at the Emmys that everyone involved was like, let's keep this going, but the logistics of it were quite challenging. And Task was designed to be anthology-esque, but I think like the Mark Ruffalo character and his backstory and how he can step forward or step back on a show that is built to welcome in new casts around him every year is just a different, it's just a different scaffolding.

24:40Well, let's be honest. I hope it's not a new cast every year because that would be a high turnover rate for that.

24:44Andy Greenwald:Well, I mean, I just mean that like who's going to be on this year's task force remains TBD. There are clearly players in the wind that could come back or not but from what we've learned so far, Mark Ruffalo is returning. Is returning. And anything else is up in the air. Yes. I wanted to just take your temperature on something, which is one of the favorite shows of our podcast, Industry, is returning this weekend. Sunday night. We're very excited about it. And I noted with interest, everyone else in the world is also very excited about this, which is really good for the show, for all the talented people who work so hard on it, for Mickey Down and Conrad Kay and everybody who bet big on the show.

25:25Andy Greenwald:I just have to say, I don't know how you feel about this, but in reading all of the five stars and Hosannas, I do want to say I have only read like headlines. I have not read. Yeah, no. Mickey and Conrad are screenshotting the five stars as they should. So I'm seeing the response, which is great. I just want to quote disgraced Canadian rapper Aubrey Drake Graham when I say you wasn't with us shooting in the gym. Oh, to all the other critics. I'm just saying. Yeah. Where were you guys? Are you gatekeeping? No. Are you Columbus-ing? no am I sailing towards something and claimed I discovered it no who's the viking who really did discover it no no no one discovered it people were here first that was a test you failed you failed you are not recognizing whose land we are sitting on um I don't I don't know what your question is do I feel weird about the fact that other people like uh industry now like do I feel a little bit like you guys didn't you weren't there in season one right right I mean it was a weird time right didn't that show come out during COVID or like right around it what's 2020 and like I still I think I like season one of industry more than Conrad K and Mickey Down do I think that's fair I think that I still find that to be like this wild punk rock kind of finding our footing situation and very strange and idiosyncratic.

26:56Andy Greenwald:But you also liked the first Modest Mouse record better than the one with Flo Don on it. Yeah. See? Look at your face! I'm just saying. This is activating our indie heads. But I eventually was like yes, everybody should love this. You know what I mean? Is that famously what you were saying when you were partying? Chuck was like you want to watch football tomorrow? And you were like no, I must spread the gospel of Isaac Brock. Interstate 8 is good. It is good. It is better than... But good news for people but bad news is fine too. That was you. We had a lot of fun, Kai. You missed it. It was great stuff.

27:33I had to stop down because I had to do five-factor authentication to get back into my own computer. But let me just say, I did watch the first industry episode and without giving anything away, they're fucking...

27:44Andy Greenwald:Yeah, we're so back. I'm not pouring water on that. It's hibachi time. Let's go. Let's make an onion volcano. You know what I mean? Oh. Got it. Like, it's steaming. You know what I'm saying? Like all classic volcanoes. No, talk about Benihana. No, I get it now. But then you said volcano. And I was like, the people of Pompeii were like, be careful. There's steam emerging. Got a lot of historical references today. Well, I'm trying to take the long view of what's going on in our world. That's true. Industry will obviously be hitting that really hard. Snoring? Gasping during sleep? Feeling fatigued?

28:20Andy Greenwald:Wake up to Zepbound. Ter Zepatide. The first and only FDA-approved prescription medicine for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, and adults with obesity. ZetBound is an injectable prescription medicine that may help adults with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, and obesity to improve their OSA. ZetBound should be used with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. ZetBound is approved as a 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 milligram injection. Z-Bound contains terzepatide and should not be used with other terzepatide-containing products or any GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines.

28:54Andy Greenwald:It is not known if Z-Bound is safe and effective for use in children. Do not share needles or pens or reuse needles. Don't take Z-Bound if allergic to it or if you or someone in your family had medullary thyroid cancer or multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. Tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. Stop Z-Bound and call your doctor if you have severe stomach pain or a serious allergic reaction. Severe side effects may include inflamed pancreas or gallbladder problems. Tell your doctor if you experience vision changes, depression, or suicidal thoughts before scheduled procedures with anesthesia.

29:22Andy Greenwald:If you're nursing, pregnant, plan to be, or taking birth control pills. Taking ZetBound 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 ZetBound.lily.com. Zetbound and its delivery device base in QuickPen are registered trademarks owned or licensed by Eli Lilly and Company, its subsidiaries or affiliates. This episode is brought to you by TaxAct. Like analyzing plot twists, TaxAct guides you step-by-step to make sure you get your maximum refund.

29:55Get tips along the way, add expert assist to talk to tax experts, or let our experts do your taxes for you with expert full service. TaxAct helps you find the deductions and credits you deserve so you can get them over with. Visit taxact.com to learn more. Conditions apply. See taxact.com for details. This episode is brought to you by Brooks. Running connects us to a rush of energy that flows through our world. The cheers of friends that unlock a new gear within us. The intersection of interest that inspires a run crew. The support that gets you over the finish line. Connection is why we move forward and what inspires us to keep going.

30:34Let's run there. Learn more at brooksrunning.com. This episode is brought to you by Spectrum Business. Fast, reliable internet means everything for your business and even this podcast. That's why I trust Spectrum Business. They keep companies of all sizes connected with internet, advanced Wi-Fi, phone, TV, mobile services, plus 24-7 US-based support. Millions of business owners already trust Spectrum Business. So visit spectrum.com slash business to learn more. Restrictions apply. Services not available in all areas. part on Monday. Let's talk about The Pit, which we delayed the release of this episode today to catch the premiere of Pit Season 2.

31:15The Pit Season 2. Pit to its friends, though. You know what I mean? If you've been down as long as us, you can just call it Pit.

31:22Andy Greenwald:We can call it Pit, but our new attending wants to change that. Right. Let's talk a little bit about some new faces, but first let's talk about the old faces. Robbie's back. Langdon's there. He's making amends. I'd like to know a little bit more about that process Dana is trying to quit smoking but she is still working at the hospital she's still working at do you think she should not be allowed because she's still working on quitting smoking you said that in a way that was like despite her personal foibles given the way the pit usually goes I bet by the end of the day she's going to have a couple heaters hell yeah Santos is trying to get promoted Mel seems a little wistful she's worried about Mel practice That's right.

32:03She's worried about malpractice. And Whitaker is trying to teach the new Whitakers. As far as patience, we got a guy with a busted wrist with some cognitive problems. There's a young girl with a lot of bruises. There is an abandoned baby. And a coterie of older people.

32:24Andy Greenwald:You weren't moved by the old lady who eats 12 weed cookies a day? I thought that was cute. And I recognized that actress. But I couldn't find the name. it looked like was it Lois Smith? it might have been actually I think it was if it's Lois Smith she's still acting at 95 she should have all the cookies she wants I'm not sure if that was her it's great to be back it is great to be back I think that the very thing that I thought was very smart about this episode is the only thing that anyone will have to say where it's like huh which is that they took the temperature down last season ended in such a sort of absolutely like viscerally ragged place after a mass casualty event in Pittsburgh where the hospital becomes the main hub of treatment.

33:11And there's now a memorial to that. And there is a memorial to that. So to start, what is it now, I guess?

33:18Andy Greenwald:It's about 10 months later. 10 months later. And to start at a much more calm, much more like, hey, punching in, 7am, there's nothing, it was a quiet night last night, there's nothing big going on, because remember the show started with an outrageous accident, subway accident. Oh, the woman with a debraded. Do you want to talk about that? You seem like you don't. I don't like the term debrading at all. Do you? No, but I live in a household where I'm constantly mocked for not being able to braid hair. Oh. So I know it's not the same thing, but I always think fondly of my children. When I'm watching The Pit Season 1.

33:59Yeah. what did you think of this first episode?

34:01Andy Greenwald:We talked about it at length during season one we talked about it during the brief off season what a gift it was to have A have the show in our lives generally but B have a show that was back to back to the way things used to be and on a yearly schedule and I gotta say my internal clock was off because when I fired up episode 201 I was like seems fast seems sudden to be back here at first I also felt in a real way, and again, I don't mean this necessarily critically, but when the season opened with Dr. Robbie riding a motorcycle helmetless through the streets of Pittsburgh while sort of like an anonymous sludgy all rock song played, I was like, broadcast, we are so back, baby.

34:50Andy Greenwald:And we would be ripping this. Like this was corny as fuck as an opening. Well. It was. I mean, it's a guy riding a motorcycle to work. what do you want? I want him to wear a helmet first of all no I think it's telling us something about his you want Modest Mouse to be playing? yes but like the early shit you had your chance to watch Huda Rivalry with Wolf Parade's revival and you know I had to beg you to do that well I'm capricious you can't tell what I'm going to do okay I'm guessing no I just mean it was it was a reminder of the the the strong I don't mean to use a medical analogy but the strong bones of this show are definitely from a different era.

35:30Andy Greenwald:And the people who are so good at doing this show are also from a different era. Like this is not a show made by young guns trying to change things, nor should it be. But that opening with that song was corny, which was okay for what the show is. Then going back into it, it did take me a few minutes to remember just the unique alchemy of the old with this slightly juiced up prestige pacing and opportunities to tell deeper stories. So it took me a minute is all I'm saying. Once the show kind of, once everyone was reintroduced and everybody found their rhythm again, I was all the way back. And then when the show, when the episode ended on a sort of cliffhanger note of like note passing, I was desperate for more.

36:18Andy Greenwald:And I was curious about that because I wonder if... The Pit was very popular when it started airing last year. It has grown in popularity exponentially. It is an awards favorite. It's going to win this weekend, I think, at the Golden Globes. I don't know the numbers, HBO does, what percentage of The Pit fans watched it initially and how many have binged it since. Sure. And if it's going to take some adjustment for people to slow down again. It definitely took me an adjustment. So in the last few minutes, basically, like you know for guys if you've watched this show and the episode and you're listening to us you know that there is a uh plot point where this is robbie's last day before he goes on a sabbatical to the badlands yeah that sounded like a very cr-coded sabbatical i had i've actually been thinking about how um i'm running out of time to drive across america something i've never done before running out of time because we're not going to be free to move in the country i don't really feel like my body, I'm sure I could do it, but like, I feel like both in terms of like my energy levels and my like physical fitness and like my ability to be in a car for six to 10 days.

37:29I just haven't, I haven't done a significant road trip since high school. That's interesting.

37:33Andy Greenwald:Yeah. I, I, I did drive across the country once about 20 years ago, but that was like free podcast. Did you like it? imagine. I liked the places that I saw and like the connective tissue of like, oh man, it just looks like this for seven hours and then there's Salt Lake City or whatever. But even 20 years ago, I was like, well, we could stop at this subway or we could drive 15 more miles to another subway and get a sandwich. Like I didn't really get. But you didn't have Eater back then. Like you could find the Max and Helens of North Tacoma. No, no, I had, And there was road food and there was chowhound.com.

38:08Andy Greenwald:Oh, I was on the boards, homie. I'm just saying, it was just like, do you want to get Scrapple here or eggs? It was not that thrilling. You're like Buttermilk Channel does it again. That was fucking you, dude. You're like, you mean the restaurant downstairs from your apartment? You're like, can't help if I'm lucky. Proximity is king. No, I liked the places, but the in-between. it wasn't exactly like the road trips of like James Crumley novels that we like to read. Yeah, like Kerouac. You were like, ah, I'm tripping the light fantastic here. Yeah, or like, you know, going into bars called the Slum Gullion and being like, oh, what's the fried chicken fried blank of the day, you know?

38:49Andy Greenwald:It didn't have that same romance. You ever read On the Road? Yes. Really? And I read like Dharma Bums and like all the other ones. Yeah. Yeah. It doesn't seem like it. It doesn't seem like I read that book. You don't seem like the kind of guy who's read On the Road. I seem like the guy who was like, I'm interested, and then read it, and it was like, not for me. Not for me. I'd like to stay off the road. Robbie read on the road. Let me put it that way. Okay. Dr. Robbie is Red Kerouac, and he's on his way to the Badlands to a UNESCO site hangout, and he's got a replacement. The replacement is Dr.

39:23Al-Hashimi, and she's played by...

39:27Andy Greenwald:Seba De Moafi. from the deuce. And she's got some ideas about integrating AI into the ER. Love it. Let's get more letters in there. Getting some efficiencies handled. Upping those patient scores. Changing the name. She's a real big first hundred days person. Because she's shadowing Robbie. She's there before him. She's a disruptor. Calling meetings. And she's implementing all of these new philosophies all these new, you know. She learned about AI from her time at the VA and she wants to bring it to the ER. That's right. And Robbie's like, N-O. Clip that, cowards. Come on. Say your next thing. Let's go.

40:14Just get with your relationship to being clipped. It's just the funniest thing. It's just like this thing that you hate so much. But you clearly want it to happen five times per show. I don't want it to happen.

40:26Andy Greenwald:I want to control it. I want it to happen, not at all. Do you want to sit with Kai after this and go through the footage and be like, clip that. I look amazing there. For hours. Yeah. Like broadcast news. Yeah. Go on. I don't even remember where I was going with this. You were talking about Dr. Al-Hashimi's arrival. This is part of Andy's strategy because I don't want to go for the obvious one. So every time he says clip that, I'm like, all right, I'm not going to clip that. Yeah, exactly. So then it's just you on a podcast and there's somebody who's blissfully still listening to us on audio somewhere.

40:58There's like, why is this show suck now?

41:01Andy Greenwald:That's fine. I'm willing to take that risk.

41:06Andy Greenwald:This is light work for me. Come on. I've completely forgot my point. You had a point about Dr. Al-Hashimi's radical ideas about the first hundred days and how it's being received by the rank and file. She winds up being, you know, so she's mildly frustrating to the folks in the ER because she's got like this new stuff going on. but then they bring her into the fold by putting her square in the middle of this cliffhanger at the end of the episode and i just wanted to ask you your read on that so there's a baby is abandoned in the bathroom of the waiting room uh they bring said child back into the er to do some examinations it's uh her it's john donnie is that the guy the nurse's name no what's the nurse's name i don't No, but it's not that.

41:53There's two nurses. It's the tall guy with the earring.

41:57Andy Greenwald:Love that guy. Yeah, and then the other guy who's also got a newborn. Yeah. And they're like... We'll get their names by episode nine, I promise. This baby seems okay. And then there's like a piece of paper. They get a quick, like it's the initial... Results. Of some scan, I guess. I guess. It's a little bit confusing and she's just like, oh shit. But then it's unexplained, like what's wrong with the baby? why Hashimi's having this reaction more so than her corresponding doctors or her counterparts. And that is the fucking magic of this show. But I agree with you. I wanted to smash the next episode button.

42:36You know what I mean? I did. You did. You did do that? No, I wanted to. And I resisted because we do have screeners, but we're trying to watch it along because I want to create the experience that viewers are having and understand the frustrations and or elation that you would have if you were waiting a week to watch this show. So I don't want to go ahead and find out that baby's a robot. You know, like... In a way, it was... But if the baby was a robot, I bet Al Hashimi would be like, that's dope AI. That's great.

43:01Andy Greenwald:Do you think that she made a fake baby to test it? She made Blade Runner, yeah. She brought... She flooded the ER with replicants? And the challenge is to determine... I think that is Warner IP. Blade Runner. Yeah. I thought you meant that is where everything's going. That would be all right. I think that we're harping on it because in contemporary television, there's a choice to be made. Do you do a super dramatic cliffhanger, which is part of the algorithmic strategy of the more dedicated binge drop streamers like Netflix? Like, that's what you do. If and when you get notes from those places, they are almost entirely about the first few minutes in the last minute.

43:43Yes.

43:45Andy Greenwald:or you see a show like I mean like Task had big moments at the end of the episodes but they are contoured in a way that doesn't I don't I almost don't know how to describe it but they feel more sculpted and more considered so it is not a drop you off it's not you're not dropped off the cliff and you're hanging yeah you are perched on the precipice of something it's a classier kind of cliffhanger this one felt a little bit either or well I wonder whether or not because traditionally that's not how medical procedurals necessarily have worked historically no dr house would be like it's lupus and then they'd all those last five minutes are well we've made it through another crazy day here and instead this is just the beginning so the for as traditional as the pit might be and for as much as it might be playing from sheet music that's 20 30 40 years old at this point i think it actually does have that little bit of that like we want people to stay engaged with this and want to watch the next feel desperate to watch the next episode let's talk about that i think that's an interesting framing for this episode in the show in general which is what's new and what's what's what's tried and true um i definitely i texted you this when i was watching it like i was wondering how many how many how many musical notes are there in the hymn book because it's like okay well um some of these cases feel familiar the new lost lamb nurse as opposed to a resident this season um the new hard ass coming in and shadowing and you know disrupting how robbie likes to do things like these are not this is not reinventing any kind of wheel um but the the creators and showrunners of the show which you know include noah wiley and r scott gemmel and they are very nimble i think in subtle ways like bringing in starting starting in the morning so we can have that little aftertaste of the night shift my guy dr shen the other charge nurse who works with Dana, whose name I'm blanking on as well.

45:41Andy Greenwald:But like you can, you continue to build this larger sense of a world, of a community, of a cast. The other thing that shows, and tell me if I'm wrong, if you remember any big examples of this, but the other thing that I don't really remember House, MD or ER, these shows being able to do would be have recurring patients on the rhythm of like a Louis. Like Louis, it was a memorable character. I think ER did have some stuff like that, if I remember correctly. I can't think of an example, but for the most part, I haven't watched Grey's in a while, but Grey's would typically wrap up, unless it was a special, it's that Jeffrey Dean Morgan guy who's on for six weeks or whatever.

46:26Denny?

46:26Andy Greenwald:He made a big impact. Yeah, but otherwise it would be like... Didn't they get married in heaven or something? I think she marries she has sex with his ghost there you go doesn't she? hell yeah just stare at me until I believe you that's like that's chasing cars right? yeah yeah she has sex with his ghost? yeah and then she has a mental break yeah Kaya was quick to jump in on the question did she have sex with a ghost? well because it's a faith but last week I'm like what's etiquette in the room service menu? I have faith in Shonda Rhimes I don't have faith in Taylor Sheridan. It's fair. I just feel like a double standard.

47:04Yeah. To your point, though, yes. I do think that one of it, the idea of rolling slowly out, like, and this is like, look, I didn't rewatch The Pit season one, but one of the sort of great miracles of that show was the prolonged exposure to the brother and sister who were working through saying goodbye to their older father. You know what I mean?

47:26Andy Greenwald:And not knowing which case will linger and which one won't. Yes. And if you want to do that in one episode of VR, I think you would have a 60 % as effective a feeling at the end of that storyline. If you stretch it across four hours, which is probably like, you know, as far as you can take that without really punishing people, it just hits much harder and it winds up being a much more effective storytelling device. So I still think, I understand what you're saying where you're like, you're getting back into it and you're like, okay, like I'm feeling my way through it, but they've got to lay the groundwork for at episode five when something happens significantly.

48:02Andy Greenwald:Sure. I also think that, I'll say we, but really I'll just say that I need to do this, is recalibrate. This is, for all the things we're saying about how familiar the pit is in its delivery system and the pleasure that it gives us, it is unique because the first season was so thrilling and the experience of watching it was so thrilling. But the charge of the show is we're just going to do it again on a different day. Yes, and I think that that's what you're also responding to is that like, I think they did a really good job of subtle differences in the characters who were returning after 10 months.

48:36Yep. Santos is not as annoying, you know? Like, she's not... No, the banter is kind. It's the kind of banter you would have where she's like, this is my personality, but we've obviously spent more time together, and so I'm not going to absolutely bust your balls. Whitaker is now something of a leader within the ER. Mel is now no longer like maybe perfect every single day and completely focused on the task at hand. She's got things that are distracting her. So I thought it was really nice. It obviously ramps up a level in the last five minutes. And, you know, we're completely sold on this show.

49:13So it's just we're just waiting a week to find out what's going on.

49:16Andy Greenwald:I thought it was interesting that they didn't. They held back the Sean Hattesee card. Dr. Jack Abbott. He won an Emmy for his brief appearance in the show. I think he is main cast second season. So curious about how he'll fit into it. I, I, I, I noted with interest that apparently it is, it is a known medical description that a heart in distress is a quivering bag of worms. I didn't know that. I mean, did you learn from the show or were you? Uh, I have to admit, I watched this show in the morning and over breakfast. Interesting. So you had a quivering bag of worms. Well, I usually don't get queasy at, at that stuff.

49:56Andy Greenwald:Yeah. And I think it's more of a like, maybe a nighttime show for me now that I think about it. Fall asleep thinking about how they were like, move his lungs horizontally to see if his heart... He's like, you'll tear the lung off and he's like, do it slowly. Do it more slowly. But also like they have cut, you know, I'm no, I'm no thoracic surgeon, but they have cut the long way. You know how like when you watch how to properly cook a steak videos and they're all like, be sure to cut, you know, the right way with the grain. I still don't understand what cutting against grain means. Well, they showed you last night.

50:24They're like, you can see the grain. I'm like, I don't see the grain.

50:27Andy Greenwald:Well, they cut against the grain on that man. They went against the grain on that man. Are you supposed to cut with the grain or against the grain? Steak. What are you doing with the steak? I mean, I honestly don't really make steak. It doesn't matter. My point is, they have cut against the grain of this man's body cavity. They have turned his lungs sideways. they have been physically massaging and then electric paddling his heart. At what point? And then they send him upstairs. Can you, the secret episode of The Pit should be the team upstairs being like, what the fuck did you just give us? And what am I supposed to do with this?

51:06Andy Greenwald:That guy's health journey begins now. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? That guy's in shambles. Shambles. Any other notes? I hope that no one ever has to drain my torso. I'm not saying it won't happen, but that doesn't sound good. Yeah, I cannot believe that the guy who is like, this is bleeding so much we can't even suction this is alive. Oh, I don't mean that guy. I mean Louie. Oh, Louie. Yeah, right. Getting tapped. I hate that. I hate that for him, and I hate that. The concept of being tapped, I don't like it. No. You pot all day. You have nothing more to give. Bill taps you all the time. Langdon.

51:50What about him? How are you feeling about him? That's obviously Patrick Ball. Very good actor and sort of a, I believe, a fan fave to some extent in terms of his character. I do believe that there is a road back for people who maybe have those experiences in the ER so I'm sure it's true to life. I thought it was effective to have somebody who was such a hard-charging, smartass the first season be a little bit humbled, but also not being psyched about being humbled. You know? Like, you can tell he's a little bit frustrated that Robbie's not giving him the time of day.

52:32Andy Greenwald:Can I give you my one note about him? Because I think he's clearly a very talented actor. Yeah. And it's a good character arc and the dynamic, the change in dynamic from the way he was with Robbie in season one to this season. Yeah, we're like Butch and Sundance to now we're like, eh. It's good. Yeah. Not sure you should be here. Gotta rough him up a little bit. He's too pretty. No, he's been out of the ER. He's been getting some sun. He's been getting well. He looks the same. He looks great. He looks very clean and handsome and fine. And well-rested, as he did in season one. Right. I'm not saying he should have been long night of the soloing, you know, but...

53:02Andy Greenwald:He had the Penguins hat. He did have the Penguins hat. So do you think... Maybe he spent his entire rehab getting super into Penguins. Is he Columbus-ing hockey because heated rivalry hasn't dropped yet? How do those words work? Oh, that's a really good question. that there is a world. These are both HBO Max properties. Oh, but the Penguins play, the Penguins don't play in Major League Hockey. No. I'm sure there's a Pittsburgh team in Major League Hockey, but I don't know what they're called, and I don't think... Well, first of all, we all know they're the Pittsburgh Puffins. No, it's the New York Admirals.

53:36I mean, they would have cool names.

53:37Andy Greenwald:They would have a... Look, I am not denigrating heated rivalry or its achievement. I'm saying of all the hundred things that Jacob Tierney is the man's name, what he had to do, coming up with plausible wink-wink-we-all-know-what-team-this-is names was not... I'm guessing it wasn't number one on the list. So usually it's just like... Well, I have Jacob Tierney right here. Jacob Tierney is listening in the car with Patrick J. Adams right now being like, this son of a bitch gets it wrong again. I'm just saying the names in alt versions where they don't get the rights are usually like one degree removed.

54:09Andy Greenwald:Yeah, right, right. You know? Okay, I'm just saying... The Philadelphia Falcons. Yeah, Landon got super into the Penguins while he was away. Or maybe his character's always been a big hockey fan. I don't know. You want to comment on it? I'm such a hockey dilettante, you know? No, you're... 20 % of your entertainment now is hockey-based. Stanley Cup playoffs is where I fully check in. Flyers have been hot this year, though. Rick Tockett. Remember him? From the playing days? No, I remember him from the headlines of the articles I didn't read in the Inquirer days. I was too busy reading Jack Kerouac to get into hockey.

54:43Should we run through some shows that we're looking forward to in 2026? Sure. What a fun episode. I think so. Of this pod. Do you think? Yeah. This is how I like to pod. Are we going to air this one? Well, I don't know how much of it, but I organized this list by scraping from a bunch of very useful articles on the internet, including websites like The Playlist, RogerEbert.com, The Trades, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, all of whom have done their most anticipated lists. Here's the thing with TV is the first quarter of this year, maybe the first half of this year is relatively firmly scheduled. But more and more now I am finding scheduling to be fluid when it comes to our streaming networks.

55:24Many of these shows, or several of them at least, were filmed like more than a year ago. It's been really interesting to kind of read about the productions of some of these and find like, oh, like this has been on the shelf for a hot minute. And I don't know whether that signals like a return to full content coffers for some of these places, whether or not people are trying to be more careful about when they drop stuff and building it up.

55:50Andy Greenwald:I mean, I could speak a little bit to it. I think there are a number of reasons why. I think that there is, as with movies, there are examples of TV shows that are in the can and are quote unquote troubled and have a longer post-production process or they may order reshoots or they might not be confident about them and they want to move them out of certain high volume or high attention parts of the season. That's certainly true. The other thing, and I don't know how relevant it is for a bunch of the shows that we're talking about, but also like movies, certain shows and certain genres have incredibly long post-production periods due to vis-effects.

56:27Andy Greenwald:Yep. Like a show that I worked on last fall, which won't be on TV for another year. Yes. And then the third part of it is, I think, you're bang on, which is like the coffers are more full. Yes. And there can be some thought about, or more intention, about where we want to debut things, how we're going to handle the marketing, where we want it to fall in the run-up to awards, or whatever the case may be. And then the last piece being, all of these streamers in their offices have their entire schedules as they want them through the end of 27. Yes. Plus, what they would like to see in 28. Yes. But it gets kind of wonky.

57:11Andy Greenwald:I also... They don't announce... They control when they announce them. I will say too that two of the things that have been most mystifying to me is when shows are chosen to be released. You know, like how they decide that Night of the Seven Kingdoms, Industry, and The Pit will all be on at the same time. Rather than spread out over the first three to four months of the year or whatever it is. and also like how Netflix goes about deciding like what's a June show versus what's a February show just because of the amount of stuff that they're putting out uh Netflix is the streaming service behind the first show I wanted to talk to you about and that is All Centers Bleed which I grabbed uh this morning I did not know that this was planned to be a 26 uh release but this is the uh nine episode adaptation of a writer that you and I both love a lot a crime writer named S.A.

58:04Cosby and this one stars an actor that we're very into Sope Dersu I'm very excited I didn't even I don't know about this yeah and it's the it's All Sinners Bleed is a great noir from Cosby and it's about a character named Titus Crown have you read this one I've not read this one I've read this one this is really cool and he is the first black sheriff in a like a southern small southern town and it comes from Joe Robert Cole who had a lot to do with Black Panther with the first Black Panther movie. So very pumped on that. Don't have a release date for it, but it is Netflix and it's the kind of thing that gets me just like fired up to do this podcast is the prospect of talking about this show.

58:46Andy Greenwald:I think this one is further down the line. This was filming in the fall. So I think if it is 26, it'll be late 26, but it's definitely one to flag because that's very exciting. Yeah. Why don't you grab one off the list that you want to talk about? I want to talk about Criminal, which I think was on your list too. It is an Amazon Prime series and for those interested in, for people who read comics, they're familiar with this, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' long-running anthology series, which has standalone stories. I'm not going to pretend I've read all of them, but I've read the first two, I think.

59:22Andy Greenwald:And Ed Brubaker is just a master of comic writing, but also this is the shit he loves. Like, I think if he was a guest in this podcast, we would have a lot of fun talking about books that we love together. And it's essentially anthology. You could read each of them on their own, but there is a unifying conceit that some of these criminals hang out at the same bar, live in the same city, know each other, have other connections. And what's exciting about the series is not just that Amazon hired Ed Brubaker to adapt it and showrun. They also brought on another low-key watch MVP, author Jordan Harper, who wrote the book Everybody Knows that we flipped out about last year as the co-showrunner.

1:00:05Andy Greenwald:Charlie Hunnam, Richard Jenkins, Audrey Arjona, Ryan Bowden, Anna Fleck, D. Reese directing. This is exciting. It's pretty exciting. Is this tonally, in terms of the comics, would you compare it to Sin City? Would you say it's more like a comic version of Dime Store Jim Thompson kind of stuff? It's noir. Sort of, okay. It's like, it's contemporary, like, urban, you know, I think, I think Sin City is correct, but I think that Ed Brubaker's love of this form is very different than Frank Miller's. Yes. Frank Miller's is very, like, Catholic, like, good and evil. And almost like, mythological level, like, he mythologizes archetypes.

1:00:50Yes. Within, like, noir stories.

1:00:53Andy Greenwald:Ed Brubaker knows a good yarn in a different way. So, I don't know, I don't, I mean, I can't speak to, like, how they adapted it or what they took from, but, I just think it sounds like a cool series we're going to like. I will shout out The Terror, Devil in Silver. Another The Terror. Yeah, so this is going to be on AMC, starring Dan Stevens, Marin Ireland, who's one of my favorite performers, Judith Light, CCH Pounder, and Steven Root. And I think you could make an argument that this is one of the more reliable anthology series of the last, what's it been, 15 years since the first Terror came out?

1:01:28Ten-ish. There's only been a couple of them, so it's not like there's a ton. But this one is set in a psych hospital and is based, it's an adaptation of a Victor Lavelle novel. I'm very excited by this, not only because of the cast, not only because of the setting, and not only because of the pedigree of this series in the first place. Christopher Cantwell, who did...

1:01:50Andy Greenwald:He and his then writing partner did Halt and Catch Fire. Right. He is sort of show running this and Corinne Kusama is directing a bunch of the episodes and she's an incredible horror director, director full stop. So very excited for this. AMC largely in the vampire business right now, but it's cool to see a show like this pop up. Speaking of books we read in high school, do you want to talk about East of Eden? Let's talk about East of Eden. I didn't read that in high school. I read that last year. Did you really? 24, yeah. Good for you. So it's more front of mind for you. I guess, yeah. I mean, I had never read Steinbeck.

1:02:31It was just a blank spot for me. So I decided to...

1:02:35Andy Greenwald:I wrote a lot. Travels with Charlie. I was like, oh, I better discover America. Tortilla Flats. The Interstate 8 of John Steinbeck. Listen, if there's one thing I love doing, it's reading about traveling through the heartland of America. If there's one thing I don't like doing, it's that. It's that. But Zoe Kazan adapted this for Netflix. Friend of the pod, Tracy Letts, is in this, as well as Florence Pugh. Christopher Abbott. Christopher Abbott. The big role, the James Dean role, Caltrask, is played by a newcomer, right? Joseph Zarda. Zarda. Zarda. And I am thrilled that this is happening. I think I'll be curious to see whether or not the expansive nature of Steinbeck's novel, the epic and very biblically tinged story of these two brothers in the Central Valley, translates to some of the Netflix-y, next episode, bingey, I can't wait to hit another one.

1:03:45Now look, they have put up really, really, really, really good shit every year. Adolescence, Ripley, shows that are routinely at the top. East of Eden is a different beast.

1:03:57Andy Greenwald:Yes, and I think that this is what makes this so interesting to me. It's not everything about this feels like such an odd bet. Because I think it's a passion project for Zoe Kazan. It was shopped, it was developed, it was moving around. Was that Apple for a while? It's moved. I don't know if it was Apple, but I know that it moved homes. they shot this over a year ago in New Zealand. Okay. It's a big, big, big swing. And, you know, with something like Netflix, like can they use their platform to be like, we are showing you greatness because we can fund it and we can put it in front of a lot of people?

1:04:33Or are they like, we took a swing

1:04:36Andy Greenwald:and we're not really going to promote it that much and maybe it didn't work well. Or the third version is, you know, is it Netflix-ized? Right. I don't think there's not really I mean there's a couple of gasp moments in East of Eden yeah but I don't know if there's nine of them you know but like probably midway through when Professor X and Magneto play chess one last time yeah Caltrask will return and Cyclops' glasses he's like oh we haven't talked about those I can tell you're getting hyped you're back I'm not you're back yeah I can tell I like that one you are fucking living for the MCU you that's you i think i think they might be fumbling the bag a little bit i think they may like yeah they showed that x-men trailer everyone was like that's sick that's my cyclops yeah and then the next trailer was like the thing meets namor everyone's like that's nice i was familiar with their game anyway it's so confusing how you switch back and forth between what you think and what everyone thinks.

1:05:41That's how you can't pin me down. I know, but you're like, everybody's like Namor. I don't know. It sounds like you have a Namor problem. Wow.

1:05:49Andy Greenwald:You think that's not my Namor? But that is my Cyclops? He's named Namor because no Amor. Remember that? No, I don't. What's that in? World of Wakanda or whatever. Black Panther 2. Okay. I forgot. I know. Yeah. And Ryan Googler's like, I am this generation's true artist. I have made a movie on my own terms and I will win Oscars and I've made so much money and now I shall return to... To Black Panther 3, yeah. All right. But I want to double down on your point about what Netflix's big miniseries strategy is because this year we'll have, it's not just East of Eden from our high school, sorry, my high school curriculum, but also Pride and Prejudice.

1:06:31Andy Greenwald:Yes. Which is... With Emma Corrin, right? With Emma... The cast is wild. This is Dolly Alderton adapted a version of the novel, and it's going to be a miniseries. I'm not clear how many... I'm extremely hyped. I want to talk... Yo, Kaia from the back row. Let me name some names here, and then let's bring Kaia in on this. Because the cast is sick. Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennet, Jack Loudon as Darcy, Olivia Colman as Mrs. Bennet,

1:06:58Andy Greenwald:fan favorite in my house, Lewis Partridge as George Wickham. Hell yeah. But here's the thing... That dude's dating Olivia Rodrigo, right? Well. Not anymore. Fuck. Come on in. Okay, I'm bringing you in in one second. This is big in my house. The thing about this is, so Pride and Prejudice, the 2005 version with Keira Knightley, is my daughter's favorite movie of all time. Okay. Like once a week we're watching this movie. Not me. Once a week she's watching this movie. I have tried to, in my continuing attempts to engage her in things that don't involve Kill a Trev accidentally liking one of our reels, been like, look, there's a new one coming.

1:07:31Andy Greenwald:Isn't that interesting? Yeah. And also, I like these actors. and there's a lot of skepticism in my house because the bar is really high because of the previous movie, but also she doesn't think Jack Loudon is, quote, hot enough. What say you? Tell us about your interest level in this. Are we looking for a TV series? I just love Dolly Alderton. I love all of her books, and so I think this is her first foray into television writing, and so I'm very intrigued, and I love Olivia Colman in all things and Emma Corrin and Jack Loudon he's cute I think we can get him there for Darcy? yeah because he's not supposed because Matthew McFadden isn't like he's a handsome man and a good actor but that's part of that's Darcy it's supposed to be a slow burn yeah it's like the pit season 2 slowly building up I just also want to say I am pro this series and I am pro Dolly Alderton an English writer who I've never read any of her works, but I am now especially a fan because on her Wikipedia page, can I just share with you her personal life?

1:08:38Andy Greenwald:This is a personal life entry of an established and successful British writer. Food is one of her principal interests. She has named spaghetti vangole as her preferred last meal. Wow, really? And is passionate about pickling and vinegar. Do you like spaghetti vangole? Yes. We went out to... am I passionate about it? We went out to our buddy Tyler's birthday dinner. Uh-huh. And that's what I ordered. And you did not like that dish. It was awful. What I don't like doing is ordering. What is your attitude about ordering meals at restaurants that you know have a high variance in quality? I figured we were at a beloved and established Los Angeles Italian restaurant.

1:09:22Trattoria.

1:09:23Andy Greenwald:Nope. Spaghetti house, let's say. and I was like I feel safe here because of the volume like how many people come here that like the classics including like the classic that you got and you got the chicken parm I was like you can get like I'm ordering the same dish that I would get like at the Italian restaurant in Wilkes-Barre PA when I visited my grandparents I felt like I was in the Italian version of Deadwood there was like whatever that protein was there was not very much of it and it felt like I got like the last cut you know what I mean it was tough but I like to at restaurants some people are like don't order the chicken you know that's boring I find chicken actually quite reliable at restaurants and interesting because I think there's so many different preparations for spaghetti vangolet like honestly sometimes I'm just like I'm not rolling the dice tonight with the clams I also don't think and kind of again feel free to jump in here about your girl Dolly Alderson that's a to me when done well it's a perfect dish but I don't know if that's my last meal because you got the shells and you just do you have a last meal?

1:10:24Andy Greenwald:I think I just I probably had it this morning at this rate. I hate the yogurt that Amanda gave us. Did you really? Yeah. No wonder you feel so jacked on protein right now. I am also looking forward to Pride and Prejudice. I'm also looking forward to, you know what I'm going to open a little space in my heart for? Blade Runner 2099. Wow. From Amazon. You're willing to give this a shot? Yeah, you know what? I fucking love Blade Runner. I think I didn't really think about this that much about my relationship to that world. Yeah. But those are two awesome movies. Okay. Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049.

1:10:59I agree. There's been some really interesting animated stuff done around it, I believe. But this is the first real effort to expand the universe on TV. Right. Scott Free is involved, so that means there's some tangential Ridley-Scott relationship. But for me, it's the cast. It's Michelle Yeoh, Hunter Schaefer, and our boy Tom Burke.

1:11:21Andy Greenwald:Tom Burke is... And Tom Burke was like, This show is way more first Blade Runner vibes than 2049. And I'm curious. Tom Burke is low-key British him. That guy's a really good actor. He hasn't really had the part. It's actually spelled T-H-O-M Burke. And the H is for him. And it's not only silent, it's invisible, it's not in there. You know what I mean? I love that for him. I do want to take an opportunity to call maximum bullshit on you, though. because everything you just said is verbatim why you didn't like Alien Earth. You were like, I care about this movie franchise. The movies have been pretty good.

1:11:59Andy Greenwald:This is the first opportunity to expand it on TV and it can go fuck itself. That was more or less what you said. No, I was like, it can go fuck itself because it's fucking around with the chronology and the timeline and it's like, attitudinally, like it's just like... So you are willing to take a gamble on the Blade Runner TV show What are we doing here? because chronologically, it is clear that it is 50 years later. Yeah. So not Sleepless in Seattle 18 months later. A full 50 years, the slate is wiped clean. I don't really care about how things move forward in the Blade Runner reality. I mean, I'm sure we will experience the Blade Runner reality any day now.

1:12:34But the Alien thing was way more about... First of all, I liked some episodes of Alien. But it made me mad as shit that no one really got torn to pieces by Aliens other than red shirts in that show. and then also that they were like oh yeah aliens crash landed on earth way before these other movies like that's not cool

1:13:00Andy Greenwald:I agree with that that's Ridley Scott did that work bro he put David in space looking for them who directed this Blade Runner television show I think it's got a couple of different Helmers a couple of different Helmers I don't know they could mess up the things that you liked about it you know what this is the spice of life is that you and I just sometimes we don't go two thumbs up at the same time. All right. Siskel and Siskel wouldn't have been it's been a good of a show. I'm excited about Beef coming back on Netflix. This one is like now it's become kind of an anthology series. Would they announce April for this?

1:13:33Yeah, and it's Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Charles Melton, and Kaylee Spaney. I'm fucking in. Kaya nodding. Do you see Fickner? Your boy Bill Fickner involved. This is the log on. Song Kong Ho, great Korean actor. It's a young couple witnessing an alarming fight between their boss and his wife triggering chess moves of favors and coercion in the elitist world of a country club and its Korean billionaire owner.

1:13:55Andy Greenwald:That is literally what would have happened if Kaya and Nick had gone to this Spotify party tonight that you told me not to go to. Do you want to talk it out? No, but everyone should know that's what's simmering underneath this podcast. No, let's talk it out. It's fine. We're having a goofy little show here. You want to talk it out? You asked me if I was going about six weeks ago. I'm also eager to watch Beef Season 2 and now we're about to do Beef Season 3. I said, no, I'm not going. And then yesterday, some of my superiors implored me to attend. And I said, who am I to deny them? You listened to the superiors, but not your blood brother here.

1:14:31They cut the checks.

1:14:32Andy Greenwald:That's right. You know what I'm saying? What I didn't appreciate at the time was that this party, and I might not have the specifics correct, I believe Spotify is throwing it to celebrate Golden Globe nominee Kaya. Yes, essentially. Ahead of the awards. so but kaya you know and i wonder when when kaya was like you should come i don't have anybody to talk to with this thing i wonder if that's how all celebrities feel you know do you think do you think chalamet is like guy which somebody would just come up to rafting me about the knicks at the critics choice awards uh well i was just reading about how he met josh safty where they were both at the same like after hours like bluefin tuna serving speakeasy and josh safty went over to him and he went timothy chalamet it was kind of like actually how we met where chalamet and his buddy.

1:15:13Andy Greenwald:We're like, that's cool, man. We're on mushrooms right now. So I feel like he's open to conversation. Yeah. Um, probably right. Uh, a couple more. You want to knock them out or should I, I'll do it. Go for it. Okay. Uh, I am in the same way of hurt me again, like Blade Runner. I want to see what happens with this Cape fear on Apple because I couldn't go there. Uh, Javier Bardem playing Max Katie, uh, Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson as the couple he terrorizes. I don't know how you can improve on the first two iterations of this relatively straightforward story that I don't really know how many different angles there were.

1:15:52And the promise of Cape Fear, not the promise, but the part of the attraction to Cape Fear, is the compression and the nerve-wracking thriller aspect. We doubted that they could do it with Presumed Innocent, and for one hour they made us feel like perhaps they had cracked the code.

1:16:09Andy Greenwald:But Presumed Innocent S2, not on your list, but I'm checking for it. There you go. So I am curious about Cape Fear. That'll be on Apple TV. You obviously are into... But they're claiming for Cape Fear that, and this is Nick Antosca, who is very good at... Channel Zero, a bunch of other shows, yeah. That the inspiration is drawn more from the John D. MacDonald book, The Executioners. Yes. I'm here for more faithful John D. MacDonald adaptations. That is my political platform, and I stand by it. Yeah. I don't know if you could find a more vanilla piece of couples casting than Patrick Wilson and Amy Adams, who I look forward to discovering are longtime watch listeners and whose hearts are breaking right now.

1:16:55But I'm pretty good on...

1:17:01Andy Greenwald:I guarantee they're not listening to us. that is like if because sometimes you could be like okay we'll have like a we'll use some spicy mortadella but we'll put it on white bread to tame things but like this is a mayonnaise sandwich yeah but they've got the mortadella with Javier yeah I guess he's gonna be cooking that's an Italian sausage so you know he's a Spaniard a couple other things just to shout out obviously there's gonna be a bunch of returning big shows among them the one I am the most excited for and I look over to Kaya for verification here is Euphoria season 3 I'm fucking back we're fucking back shot in Vista Vision I think Sharon Stone's in it everybody who's in it is like I don't really know what this show is about and I just know that I shot my parts so that's like Gwyneth Paltrow talking about the Spider-Man movies it kind of is like a Lordy and Sweeney are like yep I'm done like I don't know what the deal is here but it's you know I mean look this show is fucking good when you give Sam Levinson carte blanche do whatever he wants when you give him old cameras What could go wrong?

1:18:03Andy Greenwald:Yeah. Is it like Stranger Things where they're like, these 35-year-old adults are still in high school? No, they've aged them up. There's going to be a time jump. Is there going to be a missing episode, a secret last episode? Sydney Sweeney has an OnlyFans now, I think. In the show? Yeah, in the show. Don't do Bill like that. Come on.

1:18:26You're going to kill her today. Euphoria is coming back. House of the Dragon is coming back.

1:18:31Andy Greenwald:Do you know Presumed Innocent Cast? Do you know that? Brosnahan. It's Brosnahan and Matthew Rhys, the hardest working man in television. Matthew Rhys has like three shows this year. It's incredible. It's wild. But he's ready, by the way, to come back on the pod because up until last week, our guy Matthew Rhys' Instagram and social media presence was still just his boat tour company. Oh, yeah. Movable Feast NY. Yeah. He'd be like, here I am at the premiere and be like, dude, you're not a boat. You're actor Matthew Rhys. Last week, he became Matthew Rhys. I'm proud of him. Good for him, man. He's promoting this shit.

1:18:58Andy Greenwald:He's going to come back on the pod. He is? Oh, you won't be here. I just assume he will. He's a great guy. Anything else? Anything else? Oh, I'm really excited about these two new shows. We mentioned a couple of the returning things. Euphoria and House of the Dragon. Beef's coming back. And the two other new shows that I'm really pumped about. Lanterns. Gotta talk about Lanterns. You talk about Lanterns. Tell me what's coming here. because it's obviously this is a DC. Is it? I don't understand how this works anymore. Is it a DC universe show? It is. I don't know the degree to which it was created as one.

1:19:41Andy Greenwald:But it's been connected. It has been connected. So I, because I think the genesis of this project predates the Gunnaissance. Yes. And it was pitched and greenlit as a very grounded, more, I guess, in the spirit of Penguin. show about Green Lanterns. And in the comic books, one of the more interesting angles on a character that can often be cartoonish is that they are space cops. Who doesn't love cops? Sure. So the pitch for the story, and I think that the thing that drew such an impressive creative troika behind it, it's Chris Mundy off of Ozark, it's Tom King, who is one of the god-tiered genius comic book writers of our time, and our friend Damon Lindelof, was that it was going to take these, galaxy-powered superheroes and put them on Earth investigating a crime.

1:20:33Andy Greenwald:And it's combining two canonical characters, Hal Jordan, played by one of our favorites, one of television's favorites. Kyle Chandler. Kyle Chandler. And Jon Stewart, another canonical Green Lantern, in this case, played by up-and-coming star. Fucking Aaron Pierre, man. Aaron Pierre. Yeah. Also, what's his name? Guy, what's his face? Yeah. Nathan Fillion. Nathan Fillion is wedged in there as another Green Lantern guy Gardner, which he played in the movie. So tonally, very curious how that performance, which was very funny, plays in this universe. But this is an attempt to broaden the tent of James Gunn's DCU.

1:21:15Andy Greenwald:But they were actively saying, like, this is true detective, but with power rings. I'm very excited for that. And the last one I was going to shout out was Scarpetta. Oh. Just because your parents definitely have Patricia Cornwall novels. So many of them. Scarpetta. Weren't they all A is for, B is for. Is that her? I think so. I think so. No, maybe I'm wrong. Scarpetta. Scarpetta. I'm wrong. Is her fictional forensic pathologist. Marry something. God, those are the books that were just lining the radiator. There's also like a bunch of mysteries with cats that my mom had. I remember those. Yeah.

1:21:51The stacks of.

1:21:52Andy Greenwald:None of them. It's a shame our mothers never spoke. None of them are. Because as Philadelphia City School teachers who loved mass market paperbacks. They would have a lot to chat about. And had sons who had jobs they don't understand. I think like they really could have bonded. Well, I'm very happy if you're happy. Are you still doing your radio show? Yeah. Kay Scarpetta is a forensic pathologist and she's going to be played by fucking Nicole Kidman who just can't stop working. Addicted to the grind. Yes. and Liz Sarnoff who worked on Barry and worked on Lost and many great things so I'm excited because of the pedigree because of Nicole Kidman and because I love a I love a forensic pathologist can I throw one out here in fact it would be cool if they had a forensic pathologist on the pit oh well that would be the after show that would be the missing episode where someone comes in and it's like who the fuck moved this guy to the wall why is this shit sideways this guy had a cold come on relax No, I wanted to ask about the show Vladimir, which I've never heard of until I was doing my thimble full of research for this podcast.

1:23:00Andy Greenwald:It's apparently adapted by a book called Vladimir by Julia Mae Jonas. Also hyped for this one. Oh, okay. So maybe you can explain this to us. I'll just say that. The fucking librarian over here. I thought this was like the true story of the birth of Putin. And I was like, I'm going to watch it. And then I looked at the credits and it's Rachel Weisz, Leo Woodall, John Slattery. and it's directed by Berman and Polcini who did The American Pastoral. Speak of it, Kaya. So what is this? I read this book a couple years ago so I might be missing some plot details but essentially it's a man and a wife who are living on a college campus.

1:23:33They're both college professors. The husband gets into a little something with the student. She decides to stay with him and then as sort of like not so much like an act of revenge but kind of like, well, I'm going to get mine. She starts kind of obsessing over another younger professor on the campus. Rachel Weisz of the younger professor.

1:23:57Andy Greenwald:Look, we love campus shenanigans. This seems fun. This seems fun. Sharon Horgan, one of the EPs, my old classmate Miriam Silverman, who I now shout out on this podcast in the cast. She, not to spoil anything, makes a return to Landman this coming weekend. Yes. I got it. I'm glad because I definitely was like way on front being like, look who's joined this show. Yeah. And then a gas leak happened. And I was like, well, I guess that's what's happening. Nope, they brought her back. Great. Yeah. I've been wondering how Ainsley is doing in her studies. We'll find out this weekend. You clearly already found out.

1:24:31Andy Greenwald:I, I'll be honest with you. I, I can, I almost fired up this week's Landman last night. But the thing is my obligation to the listeners of this podcast is so great that I didn't want that many days to elapse. I want the freshness of my takes to be captured. The fresh crude. The sweet crude from the Birmingham. I want to create the absolute worst-case scenario for me this weekend in which I watch the Eagles lose on a last-second fumble or something to the 49ers and then realize, as the light fades in the sky at 3.30 p.m. or whatever it is, that I have to watch Landman. Like, let's really line up the Nightmare Sunday.

1:25:07Andy Greenwald:Oh, God. All right, go Birds. Go Birds? You want to talk about that? No, just go Birds. Okay. Thanks to Kaya. Thanks to Kai. Thanks to Andy. And thanks to the listeners who remembered that we said right before New Year's that we would spend all this week talking about the Pluribus finale. Did we? We did. We sure did. I don't remember 2025. We've turned the page. Yeah. You guys get ready for beef season two, dog. Get ready for our favorite show, Vladimir. Get ready for industry. We'll be back on Monday to talk about industry and Landman. And everybody have a great weekend. Go Birds.

1:25:50This episode is brought to you by Marvel Television's Daredevil Born Again Season 2 now streaming on Disney+. Charlie Cox and Vincent D 'Onofrio are back and Kristen Ritter makes her highly anticipated return as Jessica Jones in an all-new season. As Marefist tightens his grip on New York City, he makes Daredevil as his top target. Matt Murdock fights from the shadows, hoping to bring down Fisk's corrupt empire and reclaim his city. Don't miss Daredevil Born Again Season 2, now streaming only on Disney+.