Podcast

This week, Joey and Clarence look at the recent announcements by Warner Bros and Disney for their future streaming experiences and ponder the future of film itself.

Warner Brothers recently rocked the entertainment world with a major announcement regarding their 2021 output. All Warner’s titles would premiere in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day. Needless to say, filmmakers did not react well to the news. Then, Disney announced a plethora of major upcoming development both for their streaming platform Disney+ and in theaters. Disney, in particular, seemed intent on reaffirming their commitment to theaters in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, Joey and Clarence take a look at the streaming wars in this week’s podcast. Will the industry change from the Warners announcement? Or will Disney’s intent to balance between theaters and streaming platforms serve as a beacon for other companies? And what will audiences do with all this content?

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

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Music from https://filmmusic.io

“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Jordan joins Megan and Joey to dish the Saved by the Bell reimagining, Murder on Middle Beach, and some Dolly Parton Christmas joy.

Reboots usually suck. That we can all agree on, right? Peacock is the new network on the block, and it’s banking on nostalgia for Tracey Wigfield’s Saved by the Bell reimagining. This new version lets Zack Morris and AC Slater take a backseat for a new batch of high schoolers at Bayside. How does it fair? One thing is for sure: Josie Totah is a bonafide star and she deserves a full awards campaign. But first, we start our podcast with a discussion of HBO’s recently finished Murder on Middle Beach, the emotional 4-part true crime drama from director Madison Hamburg. The director’s mother was brutally murdered in 2010 and he has spent nearly an entire decade devoted to finding the truth. It’s one of the best shows of the year.

But then what about Dolly Parton? We can’t possibly ignore a brand new musical featuring 25 new Dolly songs, can we? No, we can’t. Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square is schmatlzy, cheesy, and has Dolly Parton on a CGI cloud. That’s the Christmas gift that keeps on giving.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Music from https://filmmusic.io

“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

This week, the Water Cooler Gang revisits the twists and turns and circle jerks of HBO’s The Undoing finale. Plus, we dive into David E. Kelley’s other fall project, ABC’s Big Sky.

It’s a David E. Kelley podcast, folks! First up, HBO’s The Undoing wrapped its limited season last night. We talk about the merits of the finale and of the series on the whole. Did we correctly guess the killer? Did the finale leave a bad taste in our mouths? Will it improve or hinder future awards prospects? Who gives the series-best performance? We’ll see if all of our questions were answered as we close the door on The Undoing.

Also, David E. Kelley brought Big Sky to ABC with a very controversial series premiere. We unpack that one and try to figure out where the show goes from there. Is Twin Peaks the prototype here? Can Kelley avoid the same fate as that network classic’s second season? Will audiences stick around long enough to warrant a second season? Can Big Sky bring the network back into the awards race? Find out what we think in this week’s podcast.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Music from https://filmmusic.io

“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

This week, the Water Cooler Gang pulls up around the chessboard, pops a bottle of tranquilizers, and envisions awards placement for Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit.

Netflix recently announced that their new limited series, Scott Frank’s The Queen’s Gambit, now ranks as their biggest limited series to date. With over 62 million households tuning in and good reviews, The Queen’s Gambit must be taken very seriously in the upcoming awards season. We dive into the series and the lead performance by Anya Taylor-Joy. What works? What doesn’t work? How will awards bodies react to the series? Is this just a quarantine-influenced love fest from audiences starved for something new? We discuss all of the above on this week’s Thanksgiving podcast.

But first, we’re diving into two new Hulu films: Happiest Season and Run.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Music from https://filmmusic.io

“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

This week, the Water Cooler Gang goes back to school for Hannah Fidell’s A Teacher, now streaming on FX on Hulu. Does the limited series get a passing grade?

We’re back this week with a look at FX on Hulu’s A Teacher, starring Kate Mara and Nick Robinson. Based on Hannah Fidell’s independent film of the same name, A Teacher explores the relationship and repercussions of a sexual affair between a high school English teacher and one of her students. Does the film receive a passing grade? Or does it need some remedial instruction?

WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Like, we accidentally spoil nearly the whole thing. Sorry. Much love!

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Music from https://filmmusic.io

“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

This week, we return to focus on the biggest awards contenders of the Fall TV season: HBO’s The Undoing and Netflix’s The Crown.

We’re back after a brief mental break leading up to and following the 2020 Presidential Election. Fortunately, it did not rob Megan of her religion. So, as we (and the country) look forward, we look at the two highest-profile television series of the 2020 Fall TV season. HBO’s The Undoing reunites Nicole Kidman with Big Little Lies writer David E. Kelley. Based on the dramatically different novel You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz, The Undoing stars Kidman as a woman whose husband (Hugh Grant) may or may not have killed a young mother. Given their previous working relationship with Big Little Lies, Kidman and Kelley set the bar very high. Does their new series meet our expectations? And, given the pandemic-impacted TV season, what are the awards chances for the limited series?

Joey and Clarence also take a look at the fourth season of Netflix’s The Crown. It gives us the drama between Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) and Princess Diana (Emma Corrin) that we’ve either been dreading or dying for, depending on your perspective. Plus, we’re finally getting the Margaret Thatcher we all truly deserve, courtesy of Gillian Anderson. Oh yes, and Olivia Colman putters around in the background. What did Joey and Clarence think of this new season, and how is it primed to compete at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards in 2021?
We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Music from https://filmmusic.io

“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

It’s Halloween week, and the Water Cooler Podcast offers some tricks and treats for your Halloween pleasure, including Netflix’s Hubie Halloween.

Darkness falls across the land… The midnight hour is close at hand… And the Water Cooler Podcast gang offers up a few new Halloween tricks and treats for your viewing pleasure. We’ll talk about Netflix’s Hubie Halloween and discuss whether or not there’s a little something special in this Adam Sandler vehicle. Then, we chat about Robert Zemeckis’s The Witches, which due to COVID-19 bypassed theaters for HBO Max. We also offer up a handful of upcoming more straightforward horror films in case kiddie fare isn’t your thing. So, Happy Halloween from all of us at the Water Cooler Podcast!

But first, we dive into Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and the upcoming Amazon film Sound of Metal.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Music from https://filmmusic.io

“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Like most audiences, we here at the Water Cooler became quite obsessed with the events of the NXIVM cult discovery. HBO’s 9-part series, The Vow, casts a wide net when exposing the dark side to the self-help group. With perspectives from high-ranking officers and participants, The Vow paints a terrifying portrait of how a man hoodwinked hundreds of people by using their minds and emotions against them.

Some have expressed their frustration with The Vow‘s large number of episodes and meandering pace. Would the series have benefitted from tightening up its story? Are we just scratching the surface when it comes to revealing stories about this shocking institution?

In addition to talking about our thoughts about a second season of The Vow, we do a little fantasy casting. Inspired by Joe Reid’s exercise in trying to cast the inevitable NXIVM film, we offer our own suggestions.

All episodes of The Vow are streaming now on HBO’s platforms.

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Music from https://filmmusic.io

“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

This week, Megan and Joey face off in Clarence’s 2020 Halloween pop culture quiz!

In case you didn’t know, Megan and Joey – two great friends who have known each other since high school – are also incredibly competitive people. Every so often, Clarence likes to pit them against each other in a pop culture trivia contest. This week, we return to the battlefront with Megan and Joey facing off in a Halloween-themed quiz. Who will emerge the winner? Can you beat them at home?

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Music from https://filmmusic.io

“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Kevin Dillon joins Joey and Clarence to discuss the 2020 Tony Nominations, or the One Where Aaron Tveit Was the Only Nominee in Best Actor in a Musical… And May Not Win.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Music from https://filmmusic.io

“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)