The Pop Break

Welcome to Blerd Watchers! ThePopBreak.com's monthly podcast about TV shows with a Blerdy twist! Come hang out with Courtney & Marshall, two married Blerds, as they navigate all the dopeness on TV and share insights and opinions on the monthly show topics!

Marshall and Courtney return for the April 2026 Blerd Watchers episode, reacting to trailers and updates including HBO Max’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone series teaser (Christmas 2026), a misfire fan trailer for Mindy Kaling’s Hulu series Not Suitable for Work, Disney+’s Punisher: One Last Kill, and the new Mortal Kombat trailer featuring Karl Urban as Johnny Cage. 

In news, they cover Jeff Daniels and Renee Rapp joining The Morning Show season 5, Rick and Morty season 9’s May 24 premiere, K-Pop Demon Hunters 2, an Apothecary Diaries movie (Dec 2026), Wonder Man season 2 renewal, Reacher season 4 wrapping, Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 (June 25) and My Hero Academia’s epilogue (May 2), Animorphs in development at Disney+ with Ryan Coogler, Marvel Zombies season 2, and Lena Headey joining Wednesday season 3. 

If that wasn’t enough in this jam packed spring episode, they also provide some check ins on ongoing seasons of Invincible, The Boys, Shrinking, Cross, and Frieren, before taking a rare trip to the movies to see Project Hail Mary starring Ryan Gosling. Was Courtney entertained? Stay tuned to find out!

Welcome to “Not Couple Goals” where co-hosts Allie Nelson and Tyler McCarthy do a deep dive into a different ridiculous romantic thriller from the vantage point of their long-term relationship.

Allie, a TV writer/producer and actress, has an affinity for romantic thrillers, the more salacious the better. Tyler, an entertainment reporter and critic, often finds himself drawn in despite his better judgment. Join them as they explore all the ways it’s possible to love too hard… like WAY too hard.

In this episode, Allie and Tyler take on the box office darling, “The Housemaid” starring Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar. For once, one of them read the book, so they get into every difference, every inner monologue the movie missed as well as how Hollywood’s beauty standard of women led to some pretty dumb changes. Was Sydney Sweeney’s apathetic acting enough to rescue this adaptation? Listen and find out. 

Special thanks to Mallory Johns for the introduction music.

Please don’t forget to follow our hosts on Twitter @ANelRetentive & @TylerMcCarthy and Instagram @ANelRetentive and to check out Tyler’s writing at USA Insider and Allie’s at Parade and Business Insider!

Welcome to TV Break, where Pop Break’s Podcasts Editor Alex Marcus is joined by editor-in-chief Bill Bodkin, and TV Columnist Josh Sarnecky to talk about the happenings in television.

This month Alex is off working to get Suits: LA back on the air, so Pop Break's TV Editor Avani Goswami is joining Bill and Josh this month,

Here’s the format of the show:

The Best Thing I Saw on TV Last Month  – Avani, Bill, & Josh talk about a show/episode/event they liked from the last month including CBS' Survivor 50, Netflix's Age of Attraction, One Piece Season 2, and Frieren Season 2, Prime Video's Spring Fever, and Disney Plus' Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.

Newsbreak – This month, they are discussing the news of Disney pulling out of its deal with OpenAI after their generative AI Sora App was shuddered. They discuss the use of AI in entertainment, Disney's future with generative AI, and more.

Streaming Wars – Avani, Bill, & Josh each selected their top streamer of the month. Avani and Bill agree on HBO MAX as it was home to March Madness, Oscar winners One Battle After Another, Sinners, and Weapons, AEW's weekly and PPV successes on the platform, the return of Euphoria, and more. Josh with the perennial favorite, Netflix due to Bridgerton, One Piece Season 2, MLB Opening Day, XO Kitty's return, Love is Blind, Age of Attraction, and Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. 

New Series Spotlight  – This month Avani, Bill, and Josh return to the mind of Bill Lawrence for his new HBO series, Rooster. The series stars Steve Carrell as Greg “Rooster” Russo, an author who begins working at the liberal arts college where his daughter Katie (Charly Clive) is a professor in the midst of a personal crisis following the revelation that her husband and fellow on campus professor Archie (Phil Dunster) is having an affair with a graduate student (Lauren Tsai) who is half his age and pregnant with their love child. The series also stars Danielle Deadwyler, Annie Mumolo, and John C. McGinley in supporting roles.

Your reality TV besties have arrived! Michelle Chapman and Mostly Nitpicking’s DJ Chapman are dishing on all the drama, delusion, and occasionally genuine emotion from your favorite dating and competition shows. Love is Blind? Covered. RuPaul's Drag Race? Absolutely. The entire Bachelor franchise and whatever Netflix dropped this week? Honey, they watched it so you don't have to — but honestly, you should watch it too.

This week, Michelle and DJ are back to talk about the shocking elimination of Jane Don't from Ru Paul's Drag Race. They give their opinions on the potential controversial elimination and what it means for them regarding the rest of the season of the show.

This year, The Pop Break is excited to bring you some very special programming during those extra long weeks when your favorite Pop Break podcasters are taking a rest. Pop Break staffer and host of the Media/Lit Podcast Randy Allain is your master of ceremonies as we take some creative journeys down the corridors of popular culture. 

To kick things off, we’ve invited four teams of Pop Break All Stars to deconstruct the streaming landscape and reconfigure the fallen pieces into four dream streaming services. Editor-In-Chief Bill Bodkin joins forces with his “Socially Distanced” cohost Amanda Rivas, Allie Nelson and Tyler McCarthy of “Not Couple Goals” bring their unique humor to the table, "Anniversary Brothers” Aaron and Josh Sarnecky turn their brotherly love toward victory, and Kris Ingersoll joins Randy, his multi-podcast partner-in-crime, on Team “Media/Lit.”

It’s an IP-grabbing free-for-all as the panelists work to attract a broad and diverse audience while keeping their competitors at bay. They even find time to pitch some creative new IP crossovers.

Please join us for a wild ride through the worlds of television and film.

There’s arguably no superhero in existence that has been reimagined, redefined, or reinterpreted more than Batman.  No matter how many times he’s been rebooted, audiences are always willing to come back to Gotham City’s greatest defender.  With so much Bat content out there, there’s plenty to dissect, analyze, and of course, rank!  This podcast is dedicated to a surgical evaluation of Batman’s history, with a focus on ranking several topics in the world of Batman, among other classic Bat themes and characters.

Join hosts Daniel Cohen, Pop Break’s former Film Editor, and Kris Ingersoll, co-host of the Media/Lit podcast, as they bring on several guests every month to share their passion for the one and only Dark Knight.  From Adam West to Robert Pattinson, no bat stone will be left unturned.  Bottom-line: If you’re a Batman fan, this is required listening.

In our continuing yearlong theme for the Eras of Batman, we enter one of the most popular eras of them all…

THE ANIMATED SERIES

As the animated series is so beloved, we couldn’t just do a run of the mill retrospective – we had to go big.  

We’re doing an Animated Series draft.

Joining Kris and Daniel on this venture are all Draft alumni, including Editor-in-Chief of the Pop Break, Bill Bodkin.  Rounding out the draft participants, we have both hosts of the Anniversary Brothers Podcast, Aaron and Josh Sarnecky, and making his return, a draft regular on the Batman by the Numbers Podcast, the co-host of Media/Lit with Kris, Randy Allain!

All the details and categories are explained in the podcast, but simply put, we’re drafting episodes.

If the animated series is your favorite corner of Batman lore, this is the episode you’ve been waiting for. 

There’s never a dull moment in the world of anime and Pop Break is diving right into the action! Join anime enthusiasts Amanda Rivas and Josh Sarnecky as they geek out monthly with dedicated experts and special guests on exciting anime news, trending anime in TV and/or movies, and anime recommendations spanning different genres that everyone should be watching. If you are a lifelong anime lover or taking the initial leap into the genre that has something for everyone, this is the podcast for you!

There’s never a dull moment in the world of anime and Pop Break is diving right into the action! Join anime enthusiasts Amanda Rivas and Josh Sarnecky as they geek out monthly with dedicated experts and special guests on exciting anime news, trending anime in TV and/or movies, and anime recommendations spanning different genres that everyone should be watching. If you are a lifelong anime lover or taking the initial leap into the genre that has something for everyone, this is the podcast for you!

Join us as we are entering our unhinged anime era for the first time in 2026. Josh and Amanda call upon The Elder Emo and The Flamingo King Branden Vice to join them in the chaos. 

Our enthusiasts take a stroll through the anime content minds to discuss favorite series they’ve been watching recently, including Josh’s recommendations of Hell’s Paradise - Season 2, Jujutsu Kaisen - Season 3 and Frieren - Season 2; Amanda’s recommendation of The Holy Grail of Eris; and Branden’s recommendation of Jack of All Trades. All recommendations are found on Crunchyroll. 

In Anime News, they share their thoughts on the announcement of a live-action adaptation of Samurai Champloo being in the works and Viz Media’s announcement that the Chainsaw Man manga is potentially ending.

In their feature review section, our enthusiasts discuss the premiere episode of Rooster Fighter on Adult Swim. They discuss what worked, Rooster Fighter’s panels at NYCC and C2E2, Keiji as a protagonist, and more. 

Join us next month as we dive into the Elbaph arc of One Piece. 

Hello and welcome to Bill vs the MCU! Each month your hosts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Pop Break Podcasting Director Alex Marcus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Pop Break Editor in Chief Bill Bodkin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ are taking another step into the wider Marvel Multiverse as the MCU dives deeper into their Multiverse Saga.

Bill & Alex spent all of 2022 rewatching the first four phases of the MCU, and, in the years since, they have covered the first four seasons of Agents of SHIELD, the entire Netflix Defenders Saga, Fox’s X-Men,  Fantastic Four, and Daredevil films, the Blade trilogy, a few Punisher films, Ang Lee’s Hulk, and, most recently, Marvel’s Modern Animation line up of shows.

This month, Alex & Bill deep dive on two of the greatest comic book movies ever committed to film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. But before that, they give their instant reaction to the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer that finally dropped this week!

Come back next month for part four of Podding the Spider-Verse with reviews of Venom (2018) and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), both available to stream on Disney Plus and Venom: The Last Dance (2024), now streaming on Netflix!

Welcome back to another episode of our podcast all about the ABC reality series The Bachelor and its many spin-offs.

ThePopBreak.com's Michelle Chapman, who has been recapping all things Bachelor for The Pop Break for years, and co-host DJ Chapman, of Mostly Nitpicking, are back from hiatus…sort of!

Queue the sirens, Michelle and DJ are here for an emergency pod to discuss the CANCELLATION of the upcoming season of The Bachelorette. They discuss the disturbing video featuring Taylor Frankie Paul’s 2023 altercation with ex-boyfriend Dakota. They wrap up with what this means for the future of the franchise and if ABC can recover from this scandal.

If you have thoughts or suggestions for what you’d like Michelle and DJ to cover during the offseason or opinion about all things Bachelor & Bachelorette, be sure to reach out via twitter @Roses&Rejections!

Welcome back to another episode of our podcast all about the ABC reality series The Bachelor and its many spin-offs.

ThePopBreak.com's Michelle Chapman, who has been recapping all things Bachelor for The Pop Break for years, and co-host DJ Chapman, of Mostly Nitpicking, are back from hiatus…sort of!

This week DJ returns for one final time with Nando of NandoVMovies to discuss the Love is Blind S10 Reunion. They give their thoughts on the best moments and some of the more underwhelming moments. DJ briefly speaks to Netflix's new show Age of Attraction and whether or not it's worth a watch.

If you have thoughts or suggestions for what you’d like Michelle and DJ to cover during the offseason or opinion about all things Bachelor & Bachelorette, be sure to reach out via twitter @Roses&Rejections!