Tea & Sympathy Podcast

Uh, guys? We have a problem. We can't get excited about these contestants, about these themes, about these bakes. What's up with Dairy Week? What's up with Roaring 20s Week? And most important...what's up with the wack judging? Melissa and Sarah discuss all this and more in a very frustrating Quick Rise mini-pod episode.

That's right tea-birds, it's Great British Bake Off Series 10 and it's on Netflix a mere THREE DAYS after airing in the UK. This means we can watch in (almost) real time, which means you get MINI-PODS! Tea & Sympathy Quick Rise is a slightly shorter chat about the current episode of Bake Off. This week, we discuss our early faves, the remarkably good results of the signature bake, Paul's tendency to have a crush, and much much more.

This episode is nominally about Derry Girls, but the important takeaway is that we get weekly episodes of GBBO, three days after they premiere in the UK, for 10 entire weeks. If the world feels like a lot right now, just know that this is a tiny, vanilla-extract-scented bright spot for us all. We also talk Escape to the Country and what's coming up next time, plus: GBBO MINI-PODS.

In this episode we discuss the greatest television show in history, Fleabag. Also: Mary Queen of Scots was not a good movie, Melissa is shopping for her Ascot wardrobe, and Sarah breaks protocol to drink coffee.

We're back from hiatus! Melissa discusses the tea traditions of Turkey, and both of us break down UK-sourced sweets and biscuits. We also debate the merits of historical trash like Versailles – a beautiful show that is nonetheless miscast and wildly silly. Sarah's back on her Shetland BS, but next week we'll be talking about Phoebe Waller-Bridge's brilliant Fleabag.

It's an all-John-Le Carré episode this week, featuring The Night Manager and Little Drummer Girl. Along with our usual tea talk (perhaps a Tea & Sympathy Blend coming soon?), we troll Shhhowercap and have some questions for Canada about stickers, hats, and boxed macaroni and cheese.

In lucky episode number 13, Sarah and Melissa discuss British-Irish crime drama The Fall, starring Jamie Dornan as a charismatic serial killer and Gillian Anderson as the world's best-dressed detective. Also: a set-up for the next episode's all-John LeCarré docket, featuring Little Drummer Girl.

We're back! This week, it's all about disasters – in baking and dating. First, a look back at some of the collapsed cakes and biffed bakes that we remember from Bake Off seasons past. Then, a trip Down Under for questionable dating show Back with the Ex. Pro tip: If you're not down for more Bake Off (and really, we question that, but it's a free country...for now) just skip ahead to 37:30 for gluten-free content. Also: Melissa judges a pie contest, Sarah counts the H's in Shhhowercap, and we look ahead to a very exciting episode to come.

Welcome to a short episode, featuring a recording snafu (we edited it out b/c we're professionals), a chat about The IT Crowd, a wander through the marriageable royals of Luxembourg (the world's only remaining grand duchy), and a live tea tasting and review – our first ever! Join us for 30-ish minutes of us trying to get our act together, won't you?

For our tenth episode (and the first of 2019!) we've devoted the conversation to our first great British love (sorry, Richard Madden): The Great British Bake Off. Join us for a non-spoilery discussion of the latest season, our biggest pet peeves (AIR CONDITIONING IN THE TENT IMMEDIATELY!) and what we'll be watching for the next episode.