Forty-two years after Paul Schrader's American Gigolo pioneered the sex-worker neo-noir micro-genre, Showtime's limited series of the same name is trying it again -- and returning guest Sarah Baker joins us to talk about tone problems; weird directing choices; pervasive misogyny that's even more tiresome than usual; MVP Rosie O'Donnell; and whether Jon Bernthal should have gotten better writing to work with. We went Around The Dial with Monarch, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Animal Kingdom, Cobra Kai, Severance, Big Brother, and Rings Of Power before Baker screwed up her courage and asked the Canon to PEN15's first-season episode, "Dance." Lee Jung-jae won, Dick Wolf lost (while John Oliver won), and a non-regulation Game Time about TV sex work was NOT considered especially heinous. Slow that disco standard way down for extra poignancy; it's an all-new Extra Hot Great.

GUESTS

👤 Sarah Baker

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 🕺 American Gigolo

Around The Dial: 👑 Monarch

Around The Dial: 💼 The Dick Van Dyke Show

Around The Dial: 👒 The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Around The Dial: 🐷 Animal Kingdom

Around The Dial: 🐍 Cobra Kai

I Am Not A Crackpot: 🍕 Cobra Kai Locations

Around The Dial: 💍 The Rings Of Power

The Canon: 🍆 PEN15 S01.E10: Dance

Winner & Loser: 👍 Lee Jung-jae

Winner & Loser: 👎 Dick Wolf

Game Time: ☎️ Call Them

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 424 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

🎙 Tara's Rosie O'Donnell interview at Vanity Fair

👀 Watch Sarah Baker in The Kominsky Method on Netflix

🎞 Kominsky's third-season trailer

🧭 The Great North on Hulu

🌳 Central Park on AppleTV+

🪫 Tara's Mark Proksch interview at VF

❌ Tara's Decider piece about current primetime soaps, ALL of which ended up getting cancelled

🤰 Tara's The Handmaid's Tale S05 review at VF

🎶 The #LilithFair40 season finale on MASTAS

💄 Listen To Sassy

📷 Photo: Warrick Page / Showtime

It's the first week of September -- traditionally the time when students go back to school (and if your district is one of those cess pools that call kids back in early August: get yourself on the school board and FIX IT). So in recognition of the moment, we've chosen 27 TV educators to face each other in the Thunderdome and, per usual, fight to the death. Do magic users and telepaths have an advantage over literal murderers? Listen and find out which one ends up triumphantly covered in the blood of all their foes, and is probably coming up with a very important lesson all about it.

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 🧑‍🏫 TV Teacher Thunderdome

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 423 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

After co-creating The Americans, where have Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg gone next? Back to FX...on Hulu, with the psychological thriller The Patient, and first-time guest Patrick Monahan is joining us to talk about it! Around The Dial takes us through Star Trek: Lower Decks, For All Mankind, Industry and Mike. Tara pitches the Regular Show episode "That's My Television!" for induction into the Canon. Then it's on to the week's Winner and Loser, and the eleventh (can you even believe it) round of Tube Tunes. Get on the couch or chair -- whatever makes you feel most comfortable -- and listen!

GUESTS

👤 Patrick Monahan

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 🔗 The Patient

Around The Dial: 🚂 Star Trek: Lower Decks

Around The Dial: 🌙 For All Mankind

Around The Dial: 🏦 Industry

Around The Dial: 🥊 Mike

The Canon: 🦝 Regular Show S04.E18: That’s My Television

Winner & Loser: 👍 Dads getting hit in the nuts

Winner & Loser: 👎 NBC

Game Time: 📻 Tube Tunes XI

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 422 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

🐦 Patrick Monahan on Twitter

🤒 Alan Sepinwall's review of The Patient at RollingStone.com (subscription required)

⚾️ Tara's essay on A League Of Their Own at Defector

🐝 Tara on the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast, discussing A Walk On The Moon

🤹‍♀️ Tara moderating the "Dangerous Women" panel at the 2022 ATX TV Festival

🥧 The What A Time To Be Alive! podcast

🧛🏻‍♂️ The Not You, Guillermo podcast

📸 Patty on Instagram

🥊 Sarah's review of Mike at the Best Evidence newsletter

☠️ Sarah discussing I Just Killed My Dad on the Crime Seen podcast

📸 Photo: Frank Ockenfells / FX

Our resident (reluctant) GoT expert Jeff Drake is back to talk about HBO's ponderous, poorly wigged prequel to Game Of Thrones, House Of The Dragon -- who it's for, why it's so murkily lit, when it's going to get out of the administrative world-building weeds and get interesting, and which actors are making us long for the upcoming time jump. After that, we jumped into Around The Dial with She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, Bluey's third season, and Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist, and Erica challenged us to drop Jeff "the Dude" Bridges into existing shows. The gang slipped and slid towards the Canon in a twelfth-season It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia pitch; Paul Rudd won, and arranged TV marriages lost; and Game Time had us contemplating the shows that just keep draggin' on. The old gods have spoken: listen to the latest Extra Hot Great!

GUESTS

👤 Jeff Drake

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 🐲 House Of The Dragon

Around The Dial: ⚖️ She-Hulk: Attorney At Law

Around The Dial: 🐶 Bluey

Around The Dial: 🦈 Zig & Sharko

Around The Dial: 🫥 Untold

Extra Credit: 🌉 An Infinite Number Of Bridges

The Canon: 🔔 It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia S12.E02: The Gang Goes To A Water Park

Winner & Loser: 👍 Only Murders In The Building

Winner & Loser: 👎 Love Is Blind

Game Time: 👴🏼 House Of The Draggin'

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 421 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

🦆 Jeff Drake's show Central Park

🤬 Jeff's podcast 9 Chickweed Rage is now up!

🚓 The Hot Fuzz gif

🤢 "Inside Hollywood's Visual Effects Crisis" at Defector

🎙 Tara's interview with Stefani Robinson at Vanity Fair

👑 The top 50 King Of Queens episodes at Vulture

📚 15% off selected items at Exhibit B. Books

📷 Photo: Ollie Upton / HBO

Beloved baseball movie in which there is no crying A League Of Their Own is the latest film to get a series reboot -- with a bunch of twists -- on Amazon Prime. We talked to Yahoo! Sports's Liz Roscher about the casting, the bifurcated stories, whether the baseball holds up, what happened to the Rockford Peaches' manager (and to Candy Bar Guy #1), and all that 2022 dialogue rattling around 1943. Is it a homer, or a whiff? We also went Around The Dial with Never Have I Ever, Drag Race's international entries, the Better Call Saul series finale, and a This Fool follow-up before Liz tasked herself with getting a Series 7 ep of Taskmaster into the Canon. The state of New Jersey was a winner, the surveillance state was a loser, and we rolled ourselves a nice fat Game Time about S04.E20s. Should you put that mustard on a hot dog, or your face? Only one way to find out -- with an all-new Extra Hot Great.

GUESTS

👤 Liz Roscher

TOPICS

Lead Topic: ⚾️ A League Of Their Own

Around The Dial: 🙅🏽‍♀️ Never Have I Ever

Around The Dial: 🏁 International Drag Race

Around The Dial: 🤳 Better Call Saul

Around The Dial: 😜 This Fool

The Canon: 💌 Taskmaster S07.E04 Ollie

Winner & Loser: 👍 Weird NJ

Winner & Loser: 👎 Wanda Sykes

Game Time: 🗓 Watch TV Every Day

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 420 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

🏒 Liz Roscher at Yahoo! Sports

🐦 Liz on Twitter

🔔 The Good Phight podcast

🙅🏽‍♀️ Tara's Poorna Jagannathan interview at Vanity Fair

🗣 Tara's Seth Meyers interview at VF

🌴 Again With This podcast

🐧 The raven t-shirt on Threadless

📷 Photo: Nicola Goode / Amazon

Netflix is the latest platform to turn a Neil Gaiman property into a series with The Sandman. How does this one go? First-time guest Ilan Muskat is here to talk about it! Around The Dial takes us through Season 3 of Harley Quinn; Season 2 of Girls5Eva; the TV movie Helter Skelter; and the ILM doc Light & Magic. Keira cashes in her Extra Credit to make us turn unexpected TV properties into videogames. Then after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time that hits some real lows and highs. Stay wide awake and listen!

GUESTS

👤 Ilan Muskat

TOPICS

Lead Topic: ✨ The Sandman

Around The Dial: 🦇 Harley Quinn

Around The Dial: 🎶 Girls5Eva

Around The Dial: 😳 Helter Skelter

Around The Dial: 🚀 Light & Magic

Extra Credit: 🕹 TV games

Winner & Loser: 👍 Jeremy Allen White

Winner & Loser: 👎 HBO Max subscribers

Game Time: 🔫 Nonac Hunting

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 419 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

🐦 Ilan Muskat on Twitter

🪶 Tara's Reservation Dogs S02 review at VanityFair.com

🤕 The Captive by Fiona King Foster at Bookshop.org

😇 Scoundrel by Sarah Weinman at Exhibit B. Books

👂 "The Weird, Analog Delights Of Foley Sound Effects" at NewYorker.com

📰 The Best Evidence newsletter

🏰 The Team Fortress 2 character intro videos on YouTube

📷 Photo: Netflix

Sex & The City creator Darren Star has teamed up with Modern Family alumnus Jeffrey Richman to create Uncoupled, a NEW show about dating in New York, but from the perspective of a fortysomething gay man who's just been dumped HARD after 17 years. Should you make room for it on your schedule? Malcolm Venable returns to talk about it! Around The Dial takes us through Surface, Hulu's forthcoming This Fool, Young & Pregnant, and The Ipcress File. Sean makes the case for inducting the Underground episode "Minty" into the Canon. Then after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a smash-and-grab of a Game Time. Take a break from swiping through the apps and join us!

GUESTS

👤 Malcolm Venable

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 💔 Uncoupled

Around The Dial: 🏊‍♀️ Surface

Around The Dial: 😜 This Fool

Around The Dial: 🤰 Teen Mom: Young & Pregnant

Around The Dial: 🕵️‍♂️ The Ipcress File

The Canon: 🔦 Underground S02.E06: Minty

Winner & Loser: 👍 Breaking Bad

Winner & Loser: 👎 Peacock

Game Time: 🧠 Breaking In

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 418 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

🐦 Malcolm Venable on Twitter

⭐️ Tara's interview with Darren Star at GQ.com

😬 "Netflix Show Uncoupled Cuts A Latina Housekeeper Character That Was Criticized As Offensive" at CNN.com

🗣 Tara's interview with Surface star Oliver Jackson-Cohen at GQ.com

🎶 Mark & Sarah Talk About Songs on Patreon

📷 Photo: Netflix

Wretched real estate, Retta, and rocks indoors -- The Ugliest House In America is back, and so is Alison Herman, as we debate which of the houses "in paradise" is the most hideous, talk Sarah through money-pit PTSD, and wonder if we haven't finally found a show that actually belonged on Quibi. Then we went Around The Dial with a Hider In My House follow-up, Rap Sh!t, and Black Bird before Tara tried to stock the Canon aisles with a fourth-season Superstore. Teachers won, cops lost, and Number 5 was alive for a Nielsens Game Time. Take a break from gluing flannel to your bedroom wall and listen to an all-new Extra Hot Great.

GUESTS

👤 Alison Herman

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 🏚 The Ugliest House In America

Around The Dial: 👀 Hider In My House

Around The Dial: 💩 Rap Shit

Around The Dial: 🐧 Black Bird

The Canon: 🏆 Superstore S04.E06: Maternity Leave

Winner & Loser: 👍 Abbott Elementary

Winner & Loser: 👎 On Patrol: Live

Game Time: 🧠 Keeping Up With The Nielsens

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 417 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

🐦 Alison Herman on Twitter

🥊 Alison at The Ringer

💩 Alison's Rap Sh!t review

☠️ Alison on Criticism Is Dead

🧎‍♀️ Justice for Retta's new knees

🏚 Richard Lawson on the HGTVCU and real-estate inequality

🎞 Join the movie-trivia-for-abortions event

🛋 Tara on overdue Friends apologies at VF

📚 Get 15 percent off hardcovers at Exhibit B. Books through 7/31

Did you know that the crime of secretly living in someone else's house happens so much it has A NAME? It's called "phrogging," and it's the subject of Lifetime's new true crime show, Phrogging: Hider In My House, which we're discussing with returning guest (and house-hider survivor) Robert Krut! Around The Dial takes us through 101 Places To Party Before You Die; a new season of Married At First Sight; the Emmy-snubbed Somebody Somewhere and Reservation Dogs; D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?!; This Is Going To Hurt; Downton Abbey: A New Era; Obi-Wan Kenobi; Ms. Marvel; Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. For her Extra Credit topic, Erica challenges us to fix bad TV series endings by switching them out with OTHER bad TV series endings. Bobby presents What We Do In The Shadows's "The Casino" for Canon induction. Then after naming the week's Winner and Loser, it's on to a Game Time that really sings. Don't listen to that mysterious footstep-ish sound in the attic, which is probably nothing (or is it) -- listen to us!

GUESTS

👤 Robert Krut

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 👀 Phrogging: Hider In My House

Around The Dial: 🥳 101 Places To Party Before You Die

Around The Dial: 👰‍♀️ Married At First Sight

Around The Dial: 📍 Somebody Somewhere

Around The Dial: 🪶 Reservation Dogs

Around The Dial: 🎒 D.B. Cooper Where Are You

Around The Dial: 💉 This Is Going To Hurt

Around The Dial: 🏰 Downton Abbey

Around The Dial: 🏜 Obi-Wan Kenobi

Around The Dial: 🦸🏽‍♀️ Ms. Marvel

Around The Dial: 🪐 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Extra Credit: 🤑 Two Wrongs Do Make A Right

The Canon: 🏆 What We Do In The Shadows S03.E04: The Casino

Winner & Loser: 👍 The Powerpuff Girls

Winner & Loser: 👎 Desus & Mero

Game Time: 🧠 Gratuitous Karaoke Moments

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 416 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

🐦 Robert Krut on Twitter

🏠 EHG 342: "The Stinky Teenagers Who Live In Secret Places In Your House"

🏝 Tara's review of FBoy Island S02 at VanityFair.com

💄 The Listen To Sassy Club on Patreon

👻 Bobby's new book of poetry, Watch Me Trick Ghosts

🕵️ Bobby's guest appearance in History's Greatest Mysteries

💻 Bobby's website

✈️ Sarah's review of D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?! at Best Evidence

👩‍🎤 The Lilith Fair 40 on Mark And Sarah Talk About Songs

🧛🏻‍♂️ Tara's review of What We Do In The Shadows S04 at VanityFair.com

We asked our Patreon supporters to suggest TV episodes we should be forced to watch, and boy, did they come through. From their many picks, we've gone with Breakout Kings's Season 2 premiere "An Unjust Death"; "Basic Lupine Urology," Community's take on Law & Order; and a Buck Rogers episode that features both frenetic youth dancing and Jerry Orbach. Join us, won't you?

TOPICS

Lead Topic: 👑 Breakout Kings S02.E01: An Unjust Death

Lead Topic: ✳️ Community S03.E17: Basic Lupine Urology

Lead Topic: 🚀 Buck Rogers In The 25th Century S01.E21: Space Rockers

NOTES

🗒 Full episode notes can be found on the episode 415 page on ExtraHotGreat.com

👑 Breakout Kings S02.E01: An Unjust Death on Hulu

✳️ Community S03.E17: Basic Lupine Urology on Hulu

🚀 Buck Rogers In The 25th Century S01.E21: Space Rockers on NBC.com