Zanna and Billiam

We restart our cycle once again with Portlandia's Amore! And as any episode recorded on the eve of a week off school is expected to do, it goes off the rails pretty quickly. We get to the major points of the Rachel-Dratch-starring episode, such as Fred and Giuseppina's ship name (Gred? Friuseppina?), but we also warn of the dangers of Portuguese businessmen, maybe accidentally stumble upon secret FBI codes, and talk about the crime family from the fictional Princess Diaries country. And that all happens in the sane part of the episode. Portlandia is probably the least popular of all the shows we cover on this podcast, but we can't stress enough how much we want you to listen to this episode. You don't even have to watch Amore. If you want to skip the boring on-topic bits and get right to the part of the episode that's so crazy and full of in-jokes makes you question why we even recorded it in the first place, head to 42:00 minutes and you'll find references to French reality television, Will falling out of his chair, both of us laughing so hard that there's not that much sound for a full minute, plenty of profanity, a special appearance by both of our fans (like, wind fans. Not people who are fans of us), and us recalling our very first inside joke. Not to be missed.

Join us (and Audrey!) next week for a (hopefully less hectic) episode covering "Debbie" from Brooklyn Nine-Nine! Finally, some justification for our constant mentioning of cocaine.

It's our very first Downton episode(or at least it's Will's), and we've got plenty of strong opinions about O'Brien, Edith, Bates, Marthew (Mary&Matthew), and pretty much every other thing that briefly appears on-screen, including umbrella handles. But first, we kick off with an unusually long cold open featuring two fill-for-time’s and a treasure found inside a book leading to a deep-dive. Then, Susannah tells you some of the things you need to know about Pitman shorthand, and Will briefly pitches an ad for feet. Finally, we shout out @MrAlexanderStar. Who? Exactly. (No, but seriously, listen to the episode to find out.)

Next week, we'll restart our cycle with Portlandia's Amore, the first episode ever that one of us (Susannah) hasn't previously viewed. Should be fun, or at least interesting!

We return to Susannah's sometimes-favorite show SNL with a vaguely recent finale hosted by Paul Rudd! Susannah talks about her father’s “breakthrough” Shakespeare research before getting into the Genovese crime family, while Will is yet again astonished by how little Susannah knows about popular culture(this time, it’s Ant-Man) and starts a Smashing Pumpkins-based feud with Paul Rudd’s daughter. Also, If you are/know Jane Fonda, Jackson Browne, or any of their children, and/or have any information on who said children were kissing in the 80s, please email us at [email protected]. We really have to get to the bottom of this.

Next week, Will's tv-watching tendencies allowing, we'll be covering Downton Abbey's Season One Episode Seven, which will mark the third time Susannah will have to take notes on that episode.

We've headed back to Pawnee with a WONDERFUL episode form Season Four. Audrey joins us as we find various antonyms for 'palpable' (dubious, inferential) and mourn our lack of anyone else to invite to our podcast. Plus, Susannah's got a very special deep-dive that's months in the making, but she can't share it until she remembers the basic plot of "Who Moved my Cheese?" And once she finally does, she reveals that her research might have taken her to some illegal corners of the internet, and we ponder the specifics of the no-fly list.

We return to The Good Place with 'You've Changed, Man', one of the final (and strongest) episodes! We see Good, Bad, and Neutral Janet, as well as Animal Janet (from the Cat and Dog Good Place) and another Janet of unknown purpose. Plus, we tell our broken-glass stories, we discuss the merits of the concept of warm pretzels, Will talks about his admiration for Julia Roberts' niece, and Susannah displays her perpetual love for Downton Abbey.

Audrey joins us again for the episode we promised you two weeks ago, rerecorded somewhat fatiguedly (is that a word? Not going to look it up) but nonetheless enjoyable. We, of course, do discuss every aspect of this landmark Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode, but we also learn about the fingernail equivalent of an accent wall from Audrey, talk about our distaste for various Die Hard films, examine stunt doubles, recall our previous (and dearly departed) recording in which Audrey turned to Reddit to figure out if one could microwave one's weed, and try to figure out if we can buy lemons at a gas station.

We've decided to do a Valentine's episode, even though Valentine's Day is a sham created by card companies to reinforce and exploit gender stereotypes. But whether you're celebrating the birthday of famed suffragette Anna Howard Shaw or taking part on one of the many weird Valentine's traditions mentioned by Liz's coworkers (eating pierogi at the cleaning lady's husband's grave, anyone?), chances are you'll like this hilarious 30 Rock episode featuring Avery's debut, Horatio Sanz as Jenna's ex-stalker, and, of course, Liz repeatedly mistaking various houseplants for Jon Bon Jovi. We want a spinoff rom-com.

It's our first second episode of Portlandia! That's right, we've restarted the cycle, and we're returning to the City of Roses with Will's favorite Portlandia episode, Trailblazers. Susannah likes the episode as well, but as a person with extremely long hair, she's a bit put off by that first sketch. Also, Susannah talks about how she got her ears pierced in the middle of a mall hallway(thankfully, it was not done by Michael Michael Jordan), Will's a bit disappointed Susannah won't let him tell a story from a scrapped cold open, and we gossip a bit about celebrity tattoo removals.

Next week, we'll have our first second episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine with "99", and we're overjoyed to have our friend Audrey join us for it!

We're finally doing an SNL episode, and what an episode indeed! John Mulaney's first stint hosting features tour de force sketches like Diner Lobster, sketches we have an obscure emotional connection to like Real Intros of Reality Hills, wonderfully random cut sketches like Wedding Toast, and two great musical performances by Jack White. Plus, Susannah has some exciting findings to share that she almost forgets, Will has a lot to say about the music, and some other stuff, I don't know, I'm writing this right before lunch and I'm really hungry.

Tune in next week for another Portlandia episode, Trailblazers! Will's very excited.

If you think we're really into mixology, well, you wouldn't be wrong. It's pretty much our favorite thing, at least when it comes to television. And we can all agree that the only thing that could make this exceptional episode of the thoroughly unique sitcom Community better would be Andy Samberg as the mixologist. Sorry, the Mixologist. (Also maybe if it was less depressing.)

Tune in next week for John Mulaney's first SNL hosting gig, an episode with something for everyone.