Extra Hot Great: This Week In TV

After falling in love playing spouses in Madam Secretary, Tim Daly and Téa Leoni are co-stars again in Newlyweds, a multi-cam sitcom on NBC co-created by Jamie Lee Curtis (who also plays Daly’s character’s obnoxious ex-wife); we tell you whether it made us want to run off to Vegas and marry it, or run off to Norway, where it presumably does not air. Around The Dial clicks through S03 of Nobody Wants This and Netflix’s Tyson. Tara pitches the Girls episode “Flo” for induction into The Canon. Then, after crowning the week’s Winner and Loser, we close up with a Non-Regulation Game Time that’s NOT TV: it’s HBO. Settle in to your ex-husband’s hot tub and listen!

TOPICS
Announcement: 📢 Club Update, Stickers
Lead Topic: 💍 Newlyweds
Around The Dial: 🫷 Nobody Wants This
Around The Dial: 🥊 Tyson
The Canon: 👧🏼 Girls S03.E09: Flo
Winner & Loser: 🙆‍♀️ Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Winner & Loser: 💵 Two And A Half Men
Game Time: 🚰 HBO Fixtures

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NOTES
🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
🌴 The Again With This Club
🫆 The Best Evidence newsletter
📷 NBC

Did we need a Friday The 13th prequel? Probably not — and Dan Rogge returns to analyze why we may not need this particular prequel. Is the ratio of squishy kills to meditations on grief incorrect? Did it need fewer episodes and more murderous bears? Is it for fans of the franchise, or very much not for them? We went Around The Dial with a “Squid Jaws” update, the 9-1-1s, Matchbox: The Movie: The Car, and The Good Wife before Dave programmed a Canon pitch for Look Around You‘s episode on computers. Scott Bakula (bluh) won, Mary CAROLE McDonnell lost, and we gave theme songs a spin in Game Time. Take a break from woodland-charcuterie prep and have a listen.

GUESTS
👤 Dan Blau Rogge

TOPICS
Lead Topic: ⛺️ Crystal Lake
Around The Dial: 🦑 Below
Around The Dial: 👩‍🚒 9-1-1
Around The Dial: 🎸 9-1-1: Nashville
Around The Dial: 🚙 Matchbox: The Movie
Around The Dial: 👩🏻 The Good Wife
The Canon: ⌨️ Look Around You S02.E05: Computers
Winner & Loser: 🎭 Scott Bakula
Winner & Loser: 🚓 Mary Carole McDonnell
Game Time: 📻 TV On The Radio

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NOTES
🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
💛 "How To Watch E!'s The Golden Life" (from, among others, Dan Rogge) at E News
🔥 EHG 636 and its Good Wife Canon pitch
🚽 The "Diarrhea Dan" gameplay walkthrough on YouTube
🎨 "Paint Chip People"
📚 Mystery sale at Exhibit B. Books!
📷 Photo: Peacock

The Kings are back on network TV with Cupertino, which basically transplants the signature qualities of the Good Wife-verse to Silicon Valley — and Margaret H. Willison is back to talk about whether that’s a good choice, the cameos we’re looking forward to, and how the show can loop other storylines into a tech-forward plot brief. We went Around The Dial with Below, Love Is Blind‘s Boston season, GBBO‘s audience episode, and Kill. Bury. Print., and Margaret hoped we’d crown an episode of the original King show, The Good Wife, for the Canon. Nicolas Cage won, Kelly Clarkson lost, and we tried to guess which hosts had the most (acting experience) in Game Time. Build yourself a hallway to the EHG conference room and join us!

GUESTS
👤 Margaret H. Willison

TOPICS
Lead Topic: 💻 Cupertino
Around The Dial: 🦑 Below
Around The Dial: 🧑‍🦯 Love Is Blind
Around The Dial: 😉 Southern Charm
Around The Dial: 🪦 Kill. Bury. Print.
Around The Dial: 🥮 The Great British Bake Off
The Canon: 🎸 The Good Wife S05.E11: Goliath & David
Winner & Loser: 🦅 Nicolas Cage
Winner & Loser: 🐤 Kelly Clarkson
Game Time: 🎙️ The Host With The Most

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NOTES
🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
📰 Sign up for Margaret H. Willison's newsletter
👩🏻‍💻 Check Tara's author page at GQ for her review of The Social Reckoning
🪶 Jackson McHenry's "Jack Lowden: Why Are You Darcy?" piece for Vulture
🔪 Sarah's review of Kill. Bury. Print at Best Evidence
🫆 The Crime Seen podcast
📷 Elizabeth Fisher / CBS

The newest co-production from HBO and Sky finds a tech billionaire and a “Hollywood actress” battling over the end of their marriage, abetted by teams of high-priced lawyers; with Sarah out for the day, both Richard Lawson and Katey Rich return to discuss the fictional dissolution. Around The Dial takes us through The Great British Bake Off S17, Taskmaster S22, Kill Jackie, and Mile End Kicks. Katey pitches the S04 finale of The Traitors (US) for induction into The Canon. Then, after we name the week’s Winner and Loser, we close up with a Non-Regulation Game Time for which we really have to thank the Academy. No need for you to put down a retainer — just join us!

GUESTS
👤 Richard Lawson
👤 Katey Rich

TOPICS
Lead Topic: 💔 War
Around The Dial: 🎂 The Great British Bake Off
Around The Dial: 💌 Taskmaster
Around The Dial: 💀 Kill Jackie
Around The Dial: 🦵 Mile End Kicks
The Canon: 🗡️ The Traitors S04.E11: Leap Of Faith
Winner & Loser: 🦜 Lanterns
Winner & Loser: 🤖 Kelly Clarkson
Game Time: 🏆 Winner Winner TV Dinner

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NOTES
🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
🦋 Richard Lawson on Bluesky
🦋 Katey Rich on Bluesky
💔 Richard’s review of War (2026) at Premiere Party
🎊 The Premiere Party newsletter
🎞️ The Critical Darlings podcast on Apple
🍿 The Ankler
🎧 The Prestige Junkie podcast
🥊 The Fighting In The War Room podcast
📷 Justin Downing / Sky / HBO

CLUB-ONLY NOTES
🔥 EHG Club Perk Links & How-To
💬 Get On Our Community Discord

We were counting on The Hollywood Reporter’s chief television critic Dan Fienberg to help us diagnose the issues with the thirteenth season of American Horror Story, and luckily he came through in a discussion that covered excessive fan service, when the “ew” and the “…huh” don’t balance each other, and the sin of wasting John Waters. We went Around The Dial with the new A Different World, My Brilliant Career, and American Hostage before Seth served up a Canon pitch for Hannibal‘s second-season finale. Mary Poppins won, Brandi Glanville lost, and we didn’t wait ’til the middle of the night to step on a Lego-based Game Time. Grab a handful of swabs and have a listen!

GUESTS
👤 Daniel Fienberg

TOPICS
Announcement: 🔥 Club Stickers!
Lead Topic: 🇺🇸 American Horror Story
Around The Dial: 🌎 A Different World
Around The Dial: 🧟‍♀️ Women In Horror TV
Around The Dial: 👔 My Brilliant Career
Around The Dial: 😓 American Hostage
The Canon: 🍱 Hannibal S02.E13: Mizumono
Winner & Loser: ☂️ Mary Poppins
Winner & Loser: 💥 Brandi Glanville
Game Time: 🧱 Lego My Game Time

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NOTES
🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
📊 EHG Club Sticker Poll
📰 Subscribe to Dan's THR newsletter, Now See This
🦋 Dan Fienberg on Bluesky
🤩 And at The Hollywood Reporter...
🔫 ...including his review of American Hostage
🇺🇸 Sarah's review of American Hostage for Best Evidence
🔥 Extra Hot Great Club
🏦 Ask Sarah about the Mutual Aid Vault
🪓 Angie Han's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story review at The Hollywood Reporter
🌴 Again With Again With This
📷 Photo: Eric Liebowitz / FX

CLUB-ONLY NOTES
🔥 EHG Club Perk Links & How-To
💬 Get On Our Community Discord

We’re thrilled Santiago Melli-Huber could return to discuss the inter-agency copaganda — and, to be fair, the realistic sibling interactions — of Line Of Fire, a puzzle-box-ish network procedural full of cop tropes, unrealistic travel times, and actors we had trouble reconciling with relatively likable characters. We went Around The Dial with Best Of The Best, Dropout content, and Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story before Sarah bellied up to the Canon with a pitch for Drunk History. The Savant won, Taylor Frankie Paul lost, and Game Time was so on-brand with its acting-through-the-generations concept that it took nearly a generation to complete. Pocket an origami swan and join us for an all-new Extra Hot Great!

GUESTS
👤 Santiago Melli-Huber

TOPICS
Lead Topic: 🔫 Line Of Fire
Around The Dial: 🕺 Best Of The Best
Around The Dial: 👵🏻 Matlock (2024)
Around The Dial: 🍚 Game Changer
Around The Dial: 🪓 Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story
The Canon: 🥴 Drunk History S05.E07: Drunk Mystery
Winner & Loser: 🪦 The Savant
Winner & Loser: 🤦‍♀️ Taylor Frankie Paul
Game Time: 🍼 Return Of The TV Nepo Babies

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NOTES
🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
📱 Ridiculous large iPhone text
🦋 Follow Santiago Melli-Huber on Bluesky
🎙️ Mari Cohn and Dolly Parton Tribute Night at The Edge
💄 The Listen To Sassy Club
🪓 Sarah's Monster: Lizzie review at Best Evidence
🏦 Make a withdrawal from (or deposit in!) the EHG Mutual Aid Vault
📷 Photo: Spencer Pazer / NBC

The great Josh Gondelman returns to discuss the not-so-great High Value Target: The Hunt For Saddam, a tiresome limited series on TNT starring Joel Kinnaman as a CIA analyst/non-credible nerd and Tom Berenger as his crusty veteran dad. We’re talking about who it’s for (crusty veteran dads, lbr), why you wouldn’t just read John Nixon’s book, and whether other series have unpacked this era’s baggage more efficiently. We went Around The Dial with Coin From Accounts, Reggie Dinkins, and OJ Unseen before Dave wondered if the first-thought ring recharging on Lanterns is Worse Than Jazz?, and we contemplated a meta game-changer episode of Game Game Changer for the Canon. Point Break won, Entourage lost, and we sharpened our No. 2 pencils for an analogy-forward Game Time from Seth. We’re not in Kansas anymore either — it’s an all-new EHG!

GUESTS
👤 Josh Gondelman

TOPICS
Lead Topic: 🎯 High Value Target: The Hunt For Saddam
Around The Dial: 🦮 Colin From Accounts
Around The Dial: 🏈 The Fall And Rise Of Reggie Dinkins
Around The Dial: 🍊 OJ Unseen: Exploitation Of Evil
Is This Worse Than Jazz?: 💍 The Lantern From Lanterns
The Canon: 🏰 Game Changer S07.E11: Samalamadingdong
Winner & Loser: 🏄‍♂️ Point Break
Winner & Loser: 😡 Entourage creator Doug Ellin
Lead Topic: 🧠 All About The D

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NOTES
🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
🗓️ More from Josh Gondelman, including his tour schedule
📰 Josh's newsletter, That's Marvelous
🕵🏻‍♂️ "Not My Job: We Quiz A Retired CIA Analyst On Briefs (The Underwear)" from Wait Wait Don't Tell Me
🌴 Again With This Club
🍊 Sarah's review of OJ Unseen at Best Evidence
📷 Photo: TNT

CLUB-ONLY NOTES
🔥 EHG Club Perk Links & How-To
💬 Get On Our Community Discord

We are off this week for Labor Day but present an episode from inside the Club vault. AppleTV’s newest dramedy pairs The Heat screenwriter Katie Dippold with Matthew Rhys as the beleaguered mayor of a dying island town; we tell you whether you should book your stay at the creepy local inn. Ask EHG invites us to share, among other things, which current show desperately needs a zombie apocalypse and the words we find aesthetically pleasing. Sarah pitches Omar Little’s first rendition of “The Farmer In The Dell” from The Wire for the Tiny Whistling Canon. We name the week’s Not Quite Winners And Losers. Finally, we end on our picks for the Sky Mall gifts our favorite TV characters most need to receive. Settle in to your table at The Salty Whale and join us!

TOPICS
Announcement: 📢 Ask & Answer Ask EHG Without Discord
Lead Topic: 🧙‍♀️ Widow's Bay
Ask EHG: 🇨🇦 Canadian Gladiators
Tiny Canon: 😗 The Wire S01.E05: The Pager
Winner & Loser: 👶 Nick Offerman
Winner & Loser: ✍️ Friends writers
Winner & Loser: 🩳 Michael Beach
Winner & Loser: 🐻‍❄️ Lost producers
Winner & Loser: 👦🏻 Adolescence
Winner & Loser: 😤 Aimee Lou Wood
Extra Credit: ✈️ SkyMalled
Mini: 😚 Whistling (Oct 2011)

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NOTES
🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
🎺 "What's Jazz Doing In A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms?" on YouTube
😙 "Omar Comin'" on YouTube
🙊 "Lost Actor Harold Perrineau Says Former Co-Star Still Won't Talk To Him" at IGN [subscription required]
✈️ SkyMall
📷 Photo: Apple

Labor Day is nearly here, and with it the unofficial start of fall. With dozens of new shows premiering or returning, which are we actually planning to watch…and planning even harder to avoid? Eve Batey returns so that we can all share our picks and P.U.s. Eve presents the Widow’s Bay episode “Your Baggage” for induction into The Canon. Then, after we name the week’s Winner and Loser, we close with a Ted-y bear of a Non-Regulation Game Time. Take a break from burning your dead leaves to listen!

GUESTS
👤 Eve Batey

TOPICS
Lead Topic: 🍂 Fall TV Preview
The Canon: ⛽️ Widow's Bay S01.E08: Your Baggage
Winner & Loser: ⚖️ Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Winner & Loser: 📡 CNN
Game Time: 🔪 Ted Like Me

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NOTES
🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
🦋 Eve Batey on Bluesky
‼️ “The Cozy-Looking Sweaters In ‘Reds,’ Ranked” at Defector
📰 The Vanity Fair Daily newsletter
🌁 Eve’s piece on Under Story at the San Francisco Chronicle [subscription required]
👶 Sarah’s review of Baby Doe at Best Evidence [subscription required]
🖼️ “CNN Apologizes For Mistakenly Airing Photo Of Dolly Parton Impersonator In Report On Late Singer” at Variety

Five-part Swedish serial-killer cop show Blood Sacrifice just hit Netflix, and Sarah Baker is back to talk about scratching the Scandi-noir itch, mapping overseas procedurals onto B-B-B-B-Bosch, and what uniquely Swedish crimes a second season could incorporate. We went Around The Dial with My Brilliant Career, Big Brother, This Is A Gardening Show, and a Djokovic djokumentary on Prime Video before Tara very truthfully pitched Would I Lie To You? for another Canon spot. Line Of Fire won; Lost, um, you know; and we had to dive deep into our NCISknowledge for Game Time. Throw a couple cans of sparkling wine in the Volvo and join us!

GUESTS
👤 Sarah Baker

TOPICS
Lead Topic: 🩸 Blood Sacrifice
Around The Dial: 👷🏻‍♀️ My Brilliant Career
Around The Dial: 👁️ Big Brother
Around The Dial: 👨‍🌾 This Is A Gardening Show
Around The Dial: 🎾 Novak Djokovic: The Wolf In Winter
The Canon: 🤥 Would I Lie To You S19.E05
Winner & Loser: 🔫 Line Of Fire
Winner & Loser: 🐻‍❄️ Lost
Game Time: ⚓️ Navally

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NOTES
🗒 Full episode notes can be found on this episode's page on our site
🍔 Listen to Sarah Baker on Bob's Burgers
💝 And keep an eye out for Loves Company
🏦 Contact Sarah about the EHG Mutual Aid Vault
📷 Photo: Netflix / Jörgen Johansson