Well, we all have a face that we hide away forever, and we take them out and show ourselves when everyone has gone -- even Billy Joel, who has decided to take his out for Billy Joel: And So It Goes, a two-part HBO docu-series about his life and work. Should he have kept it to himself (it's his life)? Daniel Blau Rogge returns to talk about it. Around The Dial takes us through S02 of Digman!, The Comeback, and Billionaire Boys' Club. Dan presents the Hacks episode "The Roast Of Deborah Vance" for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to Game Time, in which we're listening…to celebrity Frasier callers. Say Goodbye To Hollywood and hello to a new episode!

👤 Dan Blau Rogge

Announcement: 🍎 EHG Apple Podcast Subscription

Lead Topic: 🎹 Billy Joel: And So It Goes

Around The Dial: 🪏 Digman!

Around The Dial: 🥊 The Comeback

Around The Dial: 💰 Billionaire Boys' Club

The Canon: 🎤 Hacks S03.E03: The Roast Of Deborah Vance

Winner & Loser: 👩🏼‍❤️‍👨🏻 High-Concept Dating Shows

Winner & Loser: 🙂 Happy Face

Game Time: 📻 Notable Residents of Seattle

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🦋 Daniel Blau Rogge on Bluesky

🪏 Tara's Digman! S02 review at Cracked

🛍️ EHG 336, including our discussion of Shangri-La Plaza

🪨 Dan on the Glass Houses ranking episode of Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs

💁🏻‍♂️ Listen To Sassy 141, featuring Dan

🤦🏻‍♂️ Listen To Sassy 142, also featuring Dan

👨🏻‍💻 Dan's website

🍪 Adopt A (PBS) Station

📷 Photo: Courtesy of Art Maillett / Sony Music Archives / HBO

Lena Dunham is back with Netflix romcom Too Much -- and so is Maris Kreizman, to discuss Dunham's return to the discourse, whether we can separate the creator from the show, and what the panelists who didn't care for it still think it did really well. We went Around The Dial with American Horror Stories's third season, Veronica Mars's FIRST season, and Ballard, and Tara hoped we'd come to praise AND bury "the Giamatti episode" of Black Mirror for the Canon. Richard Gadd won, Today's Craig Melvin lost (while letting Rick Springfield also win), and getting "home free" proved a challenge in a tagline-based Game Time. Throw a nightie on your favorite pet and join us!

👤 Maris Kreizman

Lead Topic: 💂🏻 Too Much

Around The Dial: 😱 American Horror Stories

Around The Dial: 🕵🏻‍♀️ Veronica Mars

Around The Dial: 🅱️ Ballard

The Canon: 🪞 Black Mirror S07.E05: Eulogy

Winner & Loser: 🦌 Richard Gadd

Winner & Loser: 🥱 Craig Melvin

Game Time: 👉 Tag, You're It

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📇 Maris Kreizman's website

🧨 An excerpt from Maris's new book, I Want To Burn This Place Down, at Rolling Stone

🦋 Maris on Bluesky

🪞 Extra Hot Great 558 on Black Mirror S07

🇬🇧 Tara's review of Too Much

👐 Kerr County Flood Relief Fund

✍🏻 ProPublica's local reporting network

📷 Photo: Ana Blumenkron / Netflix

In the grand tradition of our drafts for Law & Order and the Star Trek franchise, we're using this special episode to draft teams of staff, patients, loved ones, and inanimate shows from ER -- and who better to join us than Laura Hampton, a PA known to us from our Discord as an ER superfan who recently completed a full rewatch of the entire series? No one, which is why she's here picking a team AND organized the draft with the correct number of each category of character for us to choose from. Now we're going to need YOU to vote for which team reigns supreme! Laura also presents Doug saving Ben from a flooding storm drain in "Hell And High Water" for induction into the Hero category of the Tiny Canon. Finally, we close with an on-theme game about body parts in the names of TV shows and actors. Get listening, STAT!

👤 Laura Hampton

Lead Topic: 🏥 ER Draft

Tiny Canon: 🌊 ER S02.E07: Hell and High Water

Game Time: 🫁 The Body Keeps The Score

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🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site

🩻 Final ER draft picks from Laura, Tara and Sarah

📊 Poll: Best ER Lineup

📊 Poll: Hospital You'd Most Want To Be A Patient At

💵 Donate to the National Network of Abortion Funds

💉 Your Local Epidemiologist on Substack

📚 LibraryFinder

We are off this week but present you with this EHG Club unlock of EEHG 343: Should You Sign On To With Love, Meghan?

It's clear the former Meghan Markle wants to do something significant with her British-royal influence; it's also clear her new Netflix homekeeping show, With Love, Meghan, isn't that. Stephanie Early Green is back to talk about why it's so dull, what might have helped, and how Martha Stewart succeeded where Meghan Sussex fails. Ask EHG wondered who would replace Noel Fielding on GBBO and which characters we'd want on our bar-trivia teams, and then Tara pitched a lyrical SNL sketch for the Tiny Canon. And after we listed our Not Quite Winners and Losers of the week, Sarah's Extra Credit polled the panel on important princesses of television. Throw on a $300 linen apron and join us!

👤 Stephanie Green

15s Of Fame: 🤬 The Good Swear

Lead Topic: 🕯️ With Love, Meghan

Ask EHG: 🎂 Replacing Noel Fielding

Tiny Canon: 🏀 Saturday Night Live S38.E18: Vince Vaughn

Winner & Loser: 🃏 Poker Face

Winner & Loser: 🏈 Tracy Morgan

Winner & Loser: 🍄 The Last Of Us

Winner & Loser: 🏢 Keegan-Michael Key

Winner & Loser: 💜 Prince's estate

Winner & Loser: ⛹️‍♂️ Running Point

Winner & Loser: 📉 The Recruit

Winner & Loser: 🎥 Arrested Development

Winner & Loser: 🥀 Bachelor co-EPs Michael Margolis and Keely Booth

Extra Credit: 🫅 Important TV Princesses

Mini: 👑 The Royal Them

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🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site

💚 More from Stephanie Early Green at her website

📖 Vanity Fair's Harry 'n' Meghan cover story

🤨 “Meghan Markle Pioneers New Frontiers in Unrelatability” by Kathryn VanArendonk at Vulture

🗣️ “The Meghan Interview” at People

📷 Photo: Netflix

Like a lot of family-owned businesses, Havenport, North Carolina's Buckley Fishery is having a rough go of it lately. If they can't make their nut and pay all their employees on fish alone, maybe...smuggling cocaine will make up the shortfall? What could go wrong?! Jessica Morgan returns to talk about the ways Kevin Williamson's new show crosses over with the one we know him for best (Dawson's Creek), and the ways it doesn't but that we WISH it would. Around The Dial takes us through Season 3 of The Gilded Age, The Valley, and Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy. Sarah pitches the Law & Order episode "Empire" -- aka "The Julia Roberts One" -- for induction into The Canon. Then, after identifying the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a game that's naming names -- lots of them. Grab a serving of fresh oysters and join us!

👤 Jessica Morgan

Announcement: 🏦 EHG Mutual Aid Vault

Lead Topic: 🌊 The Waterfront

Around The Dial: 👒 The Gilded Age

Around The Dial: 😎 The Valley

Around The Dial: 🏟️ Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy

The Canon: ⚖️ Law & Order S09.E20: Empire

Winner & Loser: ⭐️ Five-Star Weekend

Winner & Loser: 😱 Ryan Murphy

Game Time: 🪞 Same Name Game

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🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site

🦋 Jessica Morgan on Bluesky

🔥 Extra Hot Great Club

🏦 Contact Sarah about making a deposit to or withdrawal from the Extra Hot Great Mutual Aid Vault at [email protected]

🔫 "Kevin Williamson Reveals How His Dad's Sordid Past Inspired New Crime Drama 'The Waterfront': 'He Paid The Price'" at the New York Post

🤰🏻 "'Adults' Takes A Strong Stance On Abortion: Everyone Deserves Access, Including Jerks" at Cracked

🌴 Again With This's Membership Campaign

👗 Go Fug Yourself

🍹 The Drinks With Broads Newsletter

📚 Save On True-Crime Paperbacks at Exhibit B. Books

📷 Photo: Dana Hawley / Netflix

And that truth is: none of us thinks you should bother, including returning guest Will Leitch, who agrees that We Were Liars moves too slowly; shows AND tells too fart-sniffily; wastes the talents of an impressive cast, including Mamie Gummer and David Morse; and is based on a property whose author sounds fake. We went Around The Dial with the very real The Chicken Sisters, Untold, and The Mortician before Tara's Canon pitch reunited us with Party Down's third-season premiere. General Hospital won, Doctor Odyssey (maybe??) lost, and Dan Cassino got us all a volume discount on long-running shows in Game Time. Cannonball verrrrrry sloooowwwly into our all-new episode now!

👤 Will Leitch

Lead Topic: 🤥 We Were Liars

Around The Dial: 🐔 The Chicken Sisters

Around The Dial: 🏟️ Untold

Around The Dial: 🪦 The Mortician

Around The Dial: 👺 The Devil's Plan

The Canon: 🎉 Party Down S03.E01: Kyle Bradway Is Nitromancer

Winner & Loser: 🏥 General Hospital

Winner & Loser: 🚢 Doctor Odyssey

Game Time: 📺 Intermittent FASTing

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🎶 Will Leitch on the Rick Astley/popularity conundrum

🏙️ Will at NYMag

📰 Will at WaPo

📚 Buy Will's books

🎉 EHG 448 on the return of Party Down

😝 Tara runs down the best non-Daily Show comedic performances by TDS cast on Cracked

💀 Sarah reviews The Mortician

📖 Exhibit B.'s paperback sale

📷 Photo: Amazon Content Services LLC

Summer is upon us, but what are we going to watch? Robert Krut joins us to help make our traditional lists of what we're into; what we should be into but aren't; what NO ONE should be into; and what's fine for others but not for us. Dave pitches the South Side episode "Treat Yourself" for induction into The Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, we close out with a Game Time that's pure poetry. Find a spot directly in front of a fan and join us!

👤 Robert Krut

Announcement: 🏦 EHG Mutual Aid Vault

Lead Topic: 🏖️ 2025 Summer TV Preview

The Canon: 🦝 South Side S02.E01: Treat Yourself

Winner & Loser: 👨‍🍳 Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach

Winner & Loser: 🩰 Étoile

Game Time: ☘️ There Once Was A Man From TV

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🪶 Robert Krut's website

🌴 The Again With This Club campaign

✊ CHIRLA / Coalition For Humane Immigrant Rights

🙊 Sarah's review of Ask Not at Best Evidence

🏦 How to reach Sarah for Mutual Aid Vault withdrawals

🥮 EEHG 323, including Dave's "Treat Yourself" pitch for the Anger Tiny Canon

🎙️ Tara's interview with Bashir Salahuddin at Cracked

David T.'s beautiful son Taylor S. Cole is back to discuss Dept. Q, a Scottish take on a Nordic-noir book series that has the good sense not to mess with star Matthew Goode's face. Chemistry in trope-y scenes, why Scandi crime stories often have a submarine, whether the mystery needed so many episodes to solve -- we're talking about all of that AND recommending actually Nordic Nordic-noir TV if you liked Dept. Q. Then we're going Around The Dial with Mountainhead, The Rehearsal, and The Last Of Us S01 before seeing whether Taylor can do his entire The Studio Canon pitch before we lose the light. True-crime actors won, late night lost some more, and three was the magic number for one of us in Game Time. Throw on a nubbly sweater and join us!

👤 Taylor Cole

Announcement: 📈 Club Campaign

Announcement: 🎧 Incoming Apple Podcast Changes

Lead Topic: 🛗 Dept. Q

Around The Dial: 🏔️ Mountainhead

Around The Dial: 👨‍✈️ The Rehearsal

Around The Dial: 🍄 The Last Of Us

The Canon: 🎥 The Studio S01.E02: The Oner

Winner & Loser: 🪙 Anthony Boyle and Julia Garner

Winner & Loser: 🌙 Late-night prestige

Game Time: 3️⃣

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🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site

🎞️ Hear more Taylor S. Cole at the G&T Podcast

🐝 Taylor's also headed to the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast

🪞 And the Demi Myself and I podcast

🐸 AND the Muppeturgy podcast

⛰️ Tara's Mountainhead review and ATX Festival coverage at Cracked

😻 Support Bookstore Cats

🔥 The Extra Hot Great Patreon

📷 Photo: Netflix

Matt Wolf (The Stroll) got unprecedented access to Paul Reubens, generally better known as his alter ego, Pee-wee Herman; Will Hines joins us to talk about what resulted from their 40 hours of interviews. Around The Dial takes us through Big Mouth's eighth and final season; The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox, and Magic & Bird: A Courtship Of Rivals. Sean makes his pitch for the "Long, Long Time" episode of The Last Of Us to be inducted into The Canon. Then, after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time that really knows the score. Put on your reddest bow tie and join us!

👤 Will Hines

Lead Topic: 🚲 Pee-wee As Himself

Around The Dial: 👄 Big Mouth

Around The Dial: ⚾️ The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox

Around The Dial: 🏀 Magic & Bird: A Courtship Of Rivals

The Canon: 🍄 The Last Of Us S01.E03: Long, Long Time

Winner & Loser: 📣 Taran Killam

Winner & Loser: 🤬 Charles Barkley

Game Time: 🎶 Stay Tuned

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📸 Will Hines on Instagram

🫦 Tara's review of Big Mouth S08 at Cracked

🗣️ Tara's interview with Big Mouth co-creators Jennifer Flackett, Andrew Goldberg, and Mark Levin, at Cracked

🪲 The Screw It, We're Just Gonna Talk About The Beatles podcast

👤 Will Hines's website

🔎 Best Evidence

📷 Photo: Dennis Keeley/HBO

Vulture's Kathryn VanArendonk is back to talk about Apple TV+'s Murderbot, and whether the books do a better job of exploring questions of gender and essential humanity without Alexander Skarsgard's Ken-doll crotch confusing matters. Should YOU give it a watch? We went Around The Dial with Overcompensating, Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives, and Leverage: Redemption's third season before Anne offered another variation on the Utahn theme with a Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City Canon Presentation. Kelli Giddish won, Tom Hardy lost, and we all tried to survive the process of Venn-diagramming premiere and finale casting in Game Time. Hack into your governor modules and join us!

👤 Kathryn VanArendonk

Lead Topic: 🤖 Murderbot

Around The Dial: 🏋️‍♀️ Overcompensating

Around The Dial: ⏳ Kids Right Now Shows

Around The Dial: 🎭 The Rehearsal

Around The Dial: 🤫 The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives

Around The Dial: 🥷 Leverage: Redemption

The Canon: 🧂 The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City S04.E16: Mysteries, Revealed?

Winner & Loser: ⚖️ Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Winner & Loser: 🦴 Tom Hardy

Game Time: 🛟 Survivor Round II

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🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site

🦤 Kathryn VanArendonk at Vulture

🦋 Kathryn on Bluesky

🌮 The ATX Festival

🤖 Kathryn's Murderbot review at Vulture

🏋️‍♀️ Tara's Overcompensating review at Cracked

🏦 Contact Buntsy about the EHG Mutual Aid Vault

📷 Photo: Apple

🔥 EHG Club Perk Links & How-To

💬 Get On Our Community Discord