The Toy Department

The Toy Department

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The Toy Department episodes

  • The Toy Department – Episode 454

    In Episode 454, Madden and Kolsky poo-poo Derek’s birthday before hustling through:

    • The latest from Top Chef: Carolinas (1:45) where there was too much mayo for one of our hosts and too much heat for some of the chefs…
    • Netflix’s new action show Man on Fire (19:50) and all the things it gets right…
    • HBO’s new drama Half Man (21:15), from the creator of the highly-acclaimed Baby Reindeer, and how it’s very well done but relentlessly traumatic…
    • Apple TV+’s new show Widow’s Bay (34:10) and whether it can truly be called a mystery or whether it’s a comedy or what the heck is generally happening here…
    • NBA Playoff thoughts (43:10) after a wild first round and a big upset at the start of the second round…
    • Homework for next week (1:08:35), including: the next episode of Top Chef, GARY (Hulu’s surprise drop from The Bear universe), BBC’s Lord of the Flies adaptation on Netflix, and the new Noah Kahan documentary Out of Body (also on Netflix), plus—of course—more playoff hoops…
      • 1 hr 12 min
    • The Toy Department – Episode 453

      In Episode 453, Madden and Kolsky react to another missed show countdown before diving right into:

      • The long-awaited and pretty weird Restaurant Wars episode of Top Chef: Carolinas (1:15) and the outlook for the remainder of the season…
      • Netflix’s new series This Is A Gardening Show (24:05), which is DEFINITELY a gardening show, but also a Zach Galifianakis show, and rather delightful if you’re into that sort of thing…
      • The new Sandler Family comedy Roommates (29:00) and how it’s a pretty good version of a particular type of Netflix fodder…
      • Glen Powell’s The Running Man (35:15) and how it’s a little more self-serious than our hosts would hope, particularly from director Edgar Wright…
      • A few sports thoughts (46:20) as the NBA rolls along through the first round of playoff action…
      • Homework for next week (56:30), including: the next episode of Top Chef, the new HBO show Half Man from the creator of Baby Reindeer, the new Apple TV+ show Widow’s Bay, Netflix’s new Man on Fire series, and much more playoff basketball…
        • 59 min
      • The Toy Department – Episode 452

        In Episode 452, Madden and Kolsky are HAVING A WEIRD DAY, independently and also together, complete with technological difficulties as they attempt to fully attend to:

        • The most recent episode of Top Chef (1:05), featuring weird departures and weirder returns and the weirdest quickfire challenge…
        • The return of the Netflix series Beef (23:30) for its second season, and what distinguishes the anthology-style series from its first go-round…
        • Apple TV+’s new Elle Fanning vehicle Margo’s Got Money Troubles (28:15), its somewhat unexpected delights, and how Apple seems to be doing much of its best work in the complicated comedy zone…
        • Sports thoughts—on Chelsea and Arsenal competing in Premier League misery (34:35) and a so-far-so-good first round of NBA Playoff action (42:25)…
        • Homework for next week (47:00), including: the next episode of Top Chef, the new Netflix series This Is A Gardening Show (with Zach Galifianakis), the new movie Roommates (also on Netflix), Glen Powell’s The Running Man on Amazon Prime, and much more playoff basketball…
          • 50 min
        • The Toy Department – Episode 451

          In Episode 451, Madden and Kolsky are up late for a special after-dark edition, so don’t worry if everyone sounds a little punchy as they chat about:

          • The latest from Top Chef (2:45) where a BIG BBQ challenge brought out the best in the chefs and there’s a hanging mystery heading into next week…
          • The Netflix doc UNTOLD: The Death and Life of Lamar Odom (24:10) which has a fascinating subject but doesn’t entirely come together as a documentary…
          • The new Jonah Hill-directed movie Outcome (32:15) on Apple TV+, where the camp is high, the ambitions are relatively low, and one of our hosts is very annoyed…
          • Netflix’s new Dan Levy comedy Big Mistakes (41:50) and how the frantic nature of the whole thing makes it tough to enjoy…
          • A hard pass on talking soccer (47:30), but a few thoughts on the NBA as we head into the playoffs…
          • Homework for next week (53:35), including: the next episode of Top Chef, the Apple TV+ series Margo’s Got Money Troubles, the return of Netflix’s show Beef (as an anthology series) and a WHOLE LOT of playoff basketball…
            • 56 min
          • The Toy Department – Episode 450

            In Episode 450, Madden and Kolsky return from an extended, travel-filled layoff to get into:

            • The last few episodes of Top Chef: Carolinas (3:25) and how the group is seemingly not living up to its own standards over that time…
            • Apple TV+’s new sexy psychological drama Imperfect Women (26:35) and the sudden plethora of sexy psychological dramas on streaming services…
            • The third season of Lisa Kudrow’s HBO series The Comeback (37:45) and how it’s mostly more of the same (other than a clever little AI storyline) but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing…
            • The return of Amazon Prime’s “Jury Duty” with Company Retreat (41:35) and how it’s quite funny even if it can’t quite reach the hilarity of the original season…
            • A few thoughts on the NBA (44:50) as we head into the postseason…
            • Homework for next week (57:55), including: the next episode of Top Chef, AMC’s new show The Audacity, the new Dan Levy comedy Big Mistakes on Netflix, and UNTOLD: The Death and Life of Lamar Odom (also on Netflix)…

              • 1 hr 2 min
            • The Toy Department – Episode 449

              In Episode 449, Madden and Kolsky have a brief and unfortunate conversation about Arsenal’s star-in-the-making Max Dowman before putting soccer away to discuss:

              • The second episode of Top Chef: Carolinas (2:15), with a very high level of cooking all around and an emerging favorite, plus a few thoughts on Padma’s new show America’s Culinary Cup…
              • HBO’s new Bill Lawrence/Steve Carrell show Rooster (31:10) and its charming combination of comedy and drama…
              • Netflix’s new horny dramedy Vladimir (35:25) and the now-incredibly-overused trick of showing us a potential endpoint in the first ten minutes of a series…
              • Nicole Kidman’s new Amazon show Scarpetta (43:05) and the weird middle ground it finds between police procedural and family drama…
              • The ABA docu-series Soul Power (50:50), the wild and crazy ’70s times in basketball’s upstart league and where the show may have missed some things…
              • Homework for THREE weeks from now, April 8 (1:04:05), including: the next few episodes of Top Chef, Apple TV+’s Imperfect Women, Jury Duty Presents Company Retreat and the third season of Lisa Kudrow’s HBO series The Comeback…
                • 1 hr 9 min
              • The Toy Department – Episode 448

                In Episode 448, Madden and Kolsky are arriving on Wednesdays for the foreseeable future, as they respond to:

                • The premiere of a new season of Top Chef (1:50), this one in the Carolinas and off to a rip-roaring start with a very dramatic elimination challenge…
                • The final Best Picture nominee on the list, Hamnet (30:25), complete with Kolsky’s predictable distaste for the film and some general Oscar talk…
                • The new HBO show DTF St. Louis (48:50) and how it’s got all the pieces of a good show, but at least one of our hosts is struggling with all the misery on television…
                • Homework for next week (1:03:30), including: the next episode of Top Chef, the ABA docu-series Soul Power on Amazon Prime Video, HBO’s new Steve Carrell/Bill Lawrence show Rooster, the Netflix series Vladimir, and Nicole Kidman’s new show Scarpetta (also on Prime Video)…
                  • 1 hr 6 min
                • The Toy Department – Episode 447

                  In Episode 447, Madden and Kolsky address an upcoming pod schedule change before wading through:

                  • The Oscar-nominated film Marty Supreme (2:20) and all of its great acting performances, plus Kolsky’s discomfort with the Safdie style…
                  • The Oscar-nominated performance of Rose Byrne (13:00) in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, and the distinctly not-oscar-worthy nature of the film itself…
                  • A sort of combined discussion about two network sitcoms (22:00): the Tracy Morgan/Daniel Radcliffe vehicle The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, and the reboot of Scrubs from pod favorite Bill Lawrence & Co…
                  • A few thoughts on Chelsea FC and premier league football (32:15), because the hosts can’t help themselves…
                  • Homework for WEDNESDAY of next week (39:05), including: the premier of the new season of Top Chef, Hamnet (the final Oscar nominee for the pod), and the new HBO show DTF St. Louis…
                    • 43 min
                  • The Toy Department – Episode 446

                    In Episode 446, Madden and Kolsky briefly discuss Derek’s homework apology before (angrily) diving right into:

                    • The widely acclaimed Best Picture nominee The Secret Agent (1:10) and how neither of our hosts can figure out why that acclaim exists…
                    • Richard Linklater’s new film Blue Moon (12:45), which was abjectly hated by one of our hosts and marginally appreciated for its good qualities by the other…
                    • Ethan Coen’s 2025 film Honey Don’t (21:10) and how it simply doesn’t rise to the standard of the work he’s done with his brother…
                    • The new Netflix series How to Get to Heaven from Belfast (31:05) and how Northern Irish murder mystery capers apparently appeal more to one host than the other…
                    • Homework for next week (37:30), including: the Oscar-nominated films Marty Supreme and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, the Tracy Morgan show The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins on NBC/Peacock, and the Scrubs reboot on ABC/Hulu…
                      • 46 min
                    • The Toy Department – Episode 445

                      In Episode 445, Madden and Kolsky briefly address the results of the Toy Department Derby (if it can be so called) before moving into:

                      • Kolsky’s dad’s recommendation, the Bert Kreischer show Free Bert on Netflix (4:15), which neither of our hosts disliked, per se, but nobody here can exactly recommend…
                      • This week’s Oscar film Sentimental Value (11:25) and how Madden and Kolsky’s differing expectations may have contributed to their differing experiences with the film…
                      • The good-time action flick The Wrecking Crew (24:25) and the value of having some fun at the movies…
                      • The return of Shrinking (33:05), the emotional journey that makes it one of the best shows out right now, and the work of creator/showrunner Bill Lawrence…
                      • Some sports thoughts (40:00) with the Super Bowl on deck and the NBA’s trade deadline just passed…
                      • Homework for TWO weeks from now (53:10), including: the Richard Linklater film Blue Moon (with Oscar-nominated Ethan Hawke), the Best Picture-nominated Brazilian film The Secret Agent, the new-to-Netflix Ethan Coen movie Honey Don’t, and the new Netflix series How To Get To Heaven From Belfast…
                        • 1 hr 1 min

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