The Toy Department

By The Toy Department

the home of the Toy Department Podcast... more

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FAQs about The Toy Department:

How many episodes does The Toy Department have?

The podcast currently has 438 episodes available.

The Toy Department episodes:

January 30, 2026The Toy Department -Episode 444
In Episode 444, Madden and Kolsky have a breezy chat about whether or not they’ll have a breezy chat about some not-so-breezy content (does that make sense?) before having an [arguably breezy] chat about:
The Oscar-nominated Train Dreams (1:35) and how it does a lot of things right, even if it ultimately is more of a tone poem than a narrative film…
The distinctly not-a-tone-poem Netflix film The Rip (20:10) and the value of the Damon/Affleck let’s-have-a-good-time-at-the-theater attempt…
Amazon Prime Video’s crime thriller series Steal (28:05) and how it has all the pieces to be a good show but somehow isn’t quite coming together…
The new Marvel series Wonder Man (32:25), the enjoyability of a different sort of show within the context of the broader universe, and Derek’s continued distaste for MCU content…
A few thoughts on the upcoming Toy Department Derby (41:05) and the prospects of Chelsea and Arsenal…
Homework for next week (46:05), including: the third season of Shrinking on Apple TV+, the new Bert Kreischer sitcom Free Bert on Netflix (recommended by Kolsky’s father), the Amazon Prime Video action flick The Wrecking Crew and the Oscar contender Sentimental Value…
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53min
January 23, 2026The Toy Department – Episode 443
In Episode 443, Madden and Kolsky discuss the various challenges presented by the sub-zero temperatures they’re experiencing before launching into:
Netflix’s new dramatic thriller His & Hers (5:30), and how it fails to reach the quality of a lifetime movie despite some heavy hitters in the cast…
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (13:20) and the wisdom of major IP properties telling small, disconnected stories…
The Night Manager (19:20), which came out ten years ago, but is really great and the guys needed to watch Season 1 before they could get to the brand new Season 2…
Peacock’s new Moscow spy series Ponies (23:55), the indelible charm of its leads and the desire for more high-quality shows like this one…
Some thoughts on the Oscar nominations (34:00) and what they say about the state of movies in 2026…
Homework for next week (44:45), including: the Oscar-nominated Train Dreams on Netflix, the new Damon/Affleck movie The Rip (also on Netflix), the Amazon Prime Video show Steal, and the new Marvel series Wonder Man…
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54min
January 16, 2026The Toy Department – Episode 442
In Episode 442, Madden and Kolsky are FINALLY back after a LOOOOONG winter break to bring you the best in pop culture conversation, specifically regarding:
A couple minutes on the Toy Department Derby—Chelsea v Arsenal—that happened shortly before our return (2:30) and how nobody left satisfied…
The HBO documentary It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (6:50) and Kolsky’s bizarre cultural blind spot when it comes to this particular musician…
HBO’s other music documentary from the holidays, Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately (15:15) and how the film was less impactful despite a greater love for the band…
The movie F1 (30:10) and how it is essentially a classic sports film with plenty of good-looking and entertaining actors and also pretty predictable and not particularly memorable…
Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film Bugonia (36:10), how it differs from some of his previous work, and how much both of our hosts enjoyed it…
Dave Chappelle’s new special (43:40) and how he still has his fastball but he’s also still making some frustrating and disappointing choices…
Homework for next week (53:45), including: getting into The Night Manager (ten years late but on time for Season 2, on Amazon Prime Video), Netflix’s thriller series His & Hers, HBO’s latest Game of Thrones spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and the new 70’s spy thriller show PONIES on Peacock…
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57min
December 19, 2025The Toy Department – Episode 441
In Episode 441, Madden and Kolsky are in a REAL time crunch, so after briefly addressing Kolsky’s predictable failure with a specific (Jeff Buckley-sized) portion of the homework, it’s right into:
The 50 Cent-produced Sean Combs: The Reckoning () on Netflix and whether it paints a complete picture of the monster that is Puffy/Diddy/Whatever you wanna call him…
George Clooney’s excellent performance in the Noah Baumbach Netflix film Jay Kelly (13:50) and whether the movie around him stands up to it…
The Darren Aronofsky movie Caught Stealing (20:00) and how it’s quite a departure from his usual fare, in that it’s more just fun than weird or interesting…
The latest Knives Out movie, Wake Up Dead Man (22:30) and how there’s not much to complain about other than the length of it…
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! We don’t have HOMEWORK per se, but We WILL BE BACK in the New Year, some time in mid-January, to talk about a variety of pop culture goodness—likely including the Jeff Buckley and Counting Crows documentaries on HBO, the full season of Pluribus on Apple TV+ and some festive fixtures in the English Premier League…
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31min
December 05, 2025The Toy Department – Episode 440
In Episode 440, Madden and Kolsky have a lot to discuss and very little time, so it’s right into:
The two episodes of TJ’s Final on The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (1:00), wrapping up an excellent 41st season with some high drama…
Netflix’s surprisingly delightful historical drama Death By Lightning (28:35) and the bizarre nature of history and legacy…
The second season of A Man on the Inside (34:50) which picks up right where the lovable first season left off…
The new Netflix thriller The Beast in Me (36:35) and how Claire Danes’ character (along with most of the others, frankly) is pretty unpleasant to be around…
Peacock’s missing child drama All Her Fault (40:15) and how it’s All Just Bad…
The Benedict Cumberbatch/Olivia Coleman rom/hate-com The Roses (45:05) and why one of our hosts liked it more than the other…
A few thoughts on last weekend’s Toy Department Derby (52:10) where Chelsea managed to fight to a draw despite going a man down in the first half…
Homework for TWO weeks from now (1:00:10) including: Noah Baumbach’s new Netflix movie Jay Kelly, the new Darren Aronofsky film Caught Stealing (also on Netflix), Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (yes, it’s on Netflix too), the HBO Music Box documentary It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley and the 50 Cent-produced docu-series Sean Combs: The Reckoning (say it with me—IT’S ON NETFLIX)…
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1h 3min
November 21, 2025The Toy Department – Episode 439
In Episode 439, Madden and Kolsky get started with Derek issuing the dreaded short-show curse before a futile attempt to break it while discussing:
The last pre-final episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (1:15) where Nany’s determination to play the game “honorably” got the best of her, leaving a stacked field for TJ’s Final…
The return of Landman on Paramount+ (22:05) and how it’s one of the most enjoyable and well-written shows available, whatever you might think about its oil politics…
Netflix’s documentary Being Eddie (27:15) and whether the filmmakers managed to get deep enough with the enigmatic and private Eddie Murphy…
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (44:15) and how it utterly failed to reach either of our hosts…
Derek finally watched Sinners! (51:00) He didn’t love it.
Homework for TWO weeks from now [we are off for Thanksgiving, and a HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU] (58:50), including: a final report on The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, Netflix’s Claire Danes show The Beast in Me, Peacock’s missing child drama All Her Fault, the Cumberbatch/Coleman film The Roses (available on Hulu), Netflix’s historical drama Death By Lightning, and the second season of A Man on the Inside…
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1h 2min
November 14, 2025The Toy Department – Episode 438
In Episode 438, Madden and Kolsky get right down to business to avoid Kolsky’s scheduling conflicts:
The last two weeks of action on The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (1:11) where the latest episode featured some delightful high drama, continuing rookie behavior from a vet and a fascinating new elimination… and we are set up for a heck of stretch run!
Tracy Morgan’s new Paramount+ sitcom Crutch (23:25) and how it is really for people who love the old-school, traditional sitcom format (and apparently the show The Neighborhood with Cedric the Entertainer)…
The new HBO Max comedy I Love LA (26:30), Derek’s developing distaste for Rachel Sennott and an interesting comparison to a long-running and beloved show in a different city…
Netflix’s new Colin Farrell film Ballad of a Small Player (30:25) and how our hosts wish the movie was better, because Farrell’s performance is typically awesome…
Vince Gilligan’s new Apple TV+ show Pluribus (35:25) and how Rhea Seehorn should be in everything and we should cherish our television masters while we have them…
A few thoughts on Victor Wembenyama (55:15) and the place of dynasties in sports…
Homework for next week (1:04:05), including: another episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, the Eddie Murphy docu-series Being Eddie on Netflix, the return of Landman on Paramount+ and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (also on Netflix), plus MAYBE season 2 of A Man on the Inside (time permitting) and Sinners (Derek-watching-it permitting)…
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1h 13min
October 31, 2025The Toy Department – Episode 437
In Episode 437, Madden and Kolsky hurry through an intro after Derek applies the dreaded short-show curse, so they can get to:
This week’s action from The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (2:35) and how bizarre it is to see the vets panic over gameplay when the rookies are handling it reasonably well…
The second season of Netflix’s Nobody Wants This (26:20) and how it remains compulsively watchable and driven by excellent characters…
Netflix’s new Kathryn Bigelow film A House of Dynamite (33:05) and how it’s a dynamite mood piece that doesn’t totally come together as a narrative film…
DEREK FINALLY SAW One Battle After Another (41:10) and both our hosts loved it, so that’s the conversation…
Homework for next week (53:10), including: another episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, the new HBO Max comedy I Love LA, Tracy Morgan’s new sitcom Crutch on Paramount+ and the new Netflix movie Ballad of a Small Player…
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55min
October 24, 2025The Toy Department – Episode 436
In Episode 436, Madden and Kolsky must address Derek’s continued truancy at the movie theater before they can get deeper into:
The latest from The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (4:35) where there are increasingly fewer vets (especially on the men’s side) but plenty of threats all over…
The Shane Black film Play Dirty (20:50) and the joys of watching Lakeith Stanfield, plus a spoiler that we forgot to pre-alert, so look alive …
The Hulu documentary Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (26:15) and the importance of the festival, in retrospect, plus Kolsky’s irrational distaste for Sarah McLachlan…
Colin Hanks’ documentary John Candy: I Like Me (36:10) and the relative ambitions of a bio-doc versus an event doc…
The new Naked Gun movie on Paramount+ (43:45) and how Liam Neeson & Co. did well to capture the essence of the franchise but could have provided a few more laughs…
A handful of sports thoughts (48:20) from gambling in the NBA to Arsenal’s spot atop the EPL favorites…
Homework for next week (1:10:00), including: another episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, actually making Derek get to the theater to see One Battle After Another, plus Season 2 of Nobody Wants This and the new Kathryn Bigelow movie A House of Dynamite, both on Netflix…
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1h 14min
October 17, 2025The Toy Department – Episode 435
In Episode 435, Madden and Kolsky return from an extended absence with Derek running on fumes to discuss:
Three weeks of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (4:15) which featured lots of content but maybe not a whole lot of action…
The Chair Company on HBO (26:05) and why both of our hosts are all the way out on Tim Robinson…
Hulu’s football comedy Chad Powers (33:35) and what it looks like when a movie star is in a middling TV comedy…
Netflix’s new period drama House of Guinness (38:05) and whether it will pick up enough to draw one of our hosts in…
Mae Martin’s new Netflix thriller Wayward (43:25) and its extremely chaotic energy…
Derek’s failure (49:30) to watch One Battle After Another…
Homework for next week (51:30), including: another episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, actually getting to talk about One Battle After Another, the new Naked Gun movie on Paramount+, the new Shane Black movie Play Dirty on Amazon Prime Video, the Hulu documentary Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (despite Kolsky’s sexism) and the Colin Hanks-directed documentary John Candy: I Like Me on Amazon Prime Video…
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1h 1min

FAQs about The Toy Department:

How many episodes does The Toy Department have?

The podcast currently has 438 episodes available.