TV Literate

Hello everyone! We are back with more Plathville this week and it's kind of heavy! We chat about Kim's responsibility towards her children and Barry's weird smirk (again), and we get our hackles up about Max, but Micah living his best life with his ho phase is keeping us from being too sad. Come hang out with us!

This week, Megan and Gillian talk about the first chunk of Welcome to Plathville, Season 4. We get into Kim's dance crisis, Barry's weird reactions, and declare ourself officially an anti-Max podcast. Come hang out with us!

We finally get to see the long awaited wedding! It's only been wedding planning episodes for half the season, and it's as unplanned as ever. Bridesmaid dress issues, unwritten love songs, and performance anxiety are all on the menu. Come hang out with us!

This week Megan and Gillian are in the home stretch of season 8 of Bringing Up Bates. We talk about wedding planning, sexy lacquered pianos, and how we have never before heard that the Bates family doesn't do dancing at weddings.

This week, Gillian and Megan are back with the Bates. This chunk of episodes is chock full of happenings: puppies, babies, weddings that haven't been planned yet somehow are happening in 90 days, and more! Come hang out with us and we promise we won't make you listen to Lawson's music. 

We're back with the Bates family this week! There are weddings, babies, and thrift store shopping, as per usual, and Chad gets volunteered to make elaborate wedding stages, headboards, and about 70 other projects. Come hang out with us!

Hello everyone! We are back, with a bit of a short episode so we can get caught up on all the trashy tv news and discussion. We'll be back next week with Bringing Up Bates and a more regular episode. Come hang out with us!

This week, we get further into Season 8 of Bringing Up Bates, and we get back to the easy breezy types of episodes: baby showers, wedding prep, and bad greige dresses. We get a brand new inappropriate Lawson song, a closed interstate due to an accident, and Tori actually liking a party someone threw for her. Come hang out with us!

This week we start Season 8 of Bringing Up Bates, where there are more weddings, more proposals, more babies and more super awkward moments. We get into wedding planning, dress shopping woes and wins, and lighthouses. Come hang out with us!

This week we wrap up Season 7 of Bringing Up Bates. We get Kelton's proposal, Erin and Carlin's harebrained projects, and lots of little newborn babies. We get real deep into IBLP teachings and the terrible Bates influence this week, as well. Come hang out with us!     CW: We do briefly talk about child abuse with regards to Whitney's upbringing, no graphic details, just overview discussion [minutes: 49:00 - 56:00]

Hello everyone! This week Megan and Gillian are just about wrapping up season 7 of Bringing Up Bates. We still don't know why they've been cancelled, but we do know that they keep trying to curse us. We chat about Erin's labor, the Bates church tear-down, and which of the Bates' daughters' husbands are okay people. Come hang out with us!

This week we have more technical difficulties due to the Bates curse, but we continue on through Season 7 of Bringing Up Bates. We talk about babies (as always), courting (as per usual) and everyone's moving to Nashville. Come hang out with us!

Hello everyone! This week we are *still* in Bringing Up Bates Season 7! But we discuss the cancellation of the show this episode, as well as talk about Tori's honeymoon, the family trip to Myrtle Beach (which is in Horry County, hehe), and Lawson and Nathan being jerks, as per usual. Come hang out with us!

Hello everyone! We're back! We apologize for the accidental hiatus, but unfortunately Megan got COVID on New Years' Eve and we've just been focusing on making sure she is well. We have a fun episode for y'all, we cover the lead up to Tori and Bobby's wedding and then the event itself, and it's chock full of bad decisions and Bates shenanigans. We recorded this literally *as* Erin was giving birth to her next baby and right before the cancellation of Bringing Up Bates was announced. We hope we will learn why soon and we'll be sure to put it in a future episode. Come hang out with us!

Megan and Gillian are still deep in season 7 of Bringing Up Bates and this week we get into a weird bro-only lake Jesus retreat, wedding dress shopping with the meanest sisters, and Tori finally got her Ring (and maybe a husband, too). Come hang out with us!

This week, Megan and Gillian get back into Bringing Up Bates, working through Season 7 which is an incredibly long season because everyone's getting married, pregnant, courted, broken up with, who knows! Josie turns 18, Bobby becomes a happy camper, and we still can't tell Bobby, Evan and Kelton apart. Come hang out with us! Content warnings: discussion of infertility, mention of Josh Duggar

Warning: This week we are discussing the Josh Duggar trial in detail. While we do our best to avoid any description of CSAM, there are some details that have to be mentioned to give the full story. So, please, if this trial has any chance of being triggering for you, we will see you our next episode.  In this episode, we discuss the trial chronologically and add in the interesting facts and points that we heard while watching the trial in real time. We hope this is a thorough, and damning, summary of Josh Duggar's horrible crimes, and that it helps anyone who wasn't glued to local Arkansas news channels know the facts of the case.

Megan and Gillian tie up loose ends this week and finish the final 3 episodes of this season of Welcome to Plathville. The older Plath children are about to break free, Olivia goes to talk to Kim and Barry, and Ethan seems to have gotten through his sneaky rage cycle to actually figure out what *he* wants to do. Come hang out with us!

After a full week of construction and chainsaws at both Megan and Gillian's houses, we're finally back with the final episode of season 6 of Bringing Up Bates. We try to tell Bobby and Evan apart, hope the Bates don't move to West Virginia and generally cringe at the Big Talks the boys have to have in order to date Gil's teenage daughters. Come hang out with us!

This week Megan and Gillian continue onwards through season 6 of Bringing Up Bates. We get some good Chad and Erin content, some cringe Lawson acting and a lot of weird Bates behaviors. Come hang out with us! Www.ko-fi.com/tvliterate

This week, Megan and Gillian get back into the lighthearted, anxiety-ridden world of the Bates. We watch them clean out ~the shed~, go to cooking classes and awkwardly pry into Tori and Bobby's courtship. Somehow, all of the Bates get out of these episodes without any broken bones, which is honestly impressive. Come hang out with us!

This week Megan and Gillian continue talking about Welcome to Plathville season 3. Last week's episodes were *full* bummers, but this week we find a glimmer of hope and rekindle our outrage at Kim's behavior towards her children. Come hang out with us!

This week, Megan and Gillian get back into Welcome to Plathville, and it still sucks! Everyone in this show deserves to be happy except Kim and Barry, and we get into the nitty gritty, depressing details of woe that season 3 has served us. Come hang out with us (and maybe cry a little too)!

This week Megan and Gillian watched the 4 part docuseries LuLaRich. We discuss the serious parts of the predatory nature of MLMs, pyramid schemes and direct sales, while also taking the time to laugh at the Stidhams seemingly perjuring themselves on camera. Come hang out with us! Ko-Fi link (since Gillian seemingly cannot say it right!): www.ko-fi.com/tvliterate

This week, Megan and Gillian are catching up on Welcome to Plathville for Season Three. It's more of a bummer than previous Plath family shows, but it's really showing the truth of abusive parenting and the fallout of leaving a familial cult, and it's important to talk about that! Come hang out with us!

Hello everyone! This week Megan and Gillian finish up season 5 of Bringing Up Bates. We get to see Lawson perform (badly), a basketball court get finished (finally) and Alyssa has her baby (secretly). Come hang out with us! 

This week Megan and Gillian cover more of the Bates season 5! This chunk of episodes started out with some truly cringe courtship and ended up with a reminder that small kids need to be taught fire safety. And don't think we forgot to dish about the ARK encounter, complete with the screams of the sinners outside, drowning. Come hang out with us!

Hello everyone! This week Megan and Gillian get back into the Bates family. We are perturbed by purity rings, entertained by the forbidden thing called "dance", and ready for a surprise visit from Miss Dingus. Come hang out with us!

This week, Megan and Gillian watched the Love is Blind reunion show, After the Altar. We get very verklempt about how terrible Damian is, how immature Amber and Matt are, and how much of a bummer Giannina's plot line is. Come hang out with us!

Megan and Gillian are finishing up Bringing Up Bates Season 4 this week, after a week of sewer issues messing up recording! Two babies are born, buddies are mudding, and Warden does death defying stunts that make us concerned for his safety. Come hang out with us!

This week Megan and Gillian watch the Bates Family clean their house, have a couple baby birthday parties, and announce pregnancies. Bringing Up Bates season 4 is jam packed with very mundane things becoming very complicated (because everything is complicated in a family of 21). Like us and want to give us a buck? We're on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/tvliterate  

This week Megan and Gillian get into season 4 of Bringing Up Bates. The episode titles from the first 6 episodes are some of the worst we've heard yet, and there is a whole lot of cringe in this season so far in general. Come hang out with us!   We also just started a new page where you guys can give us a buck if you like our show: http://www.ko-fi.com/tvliterate Thank you for all of your support! You all are the best and we love hearing from you on Instagram and all over the internet.

This week Megan and Gillian finally finish up Season 3 of Bringing up Bates! We did not mean to abandon y'all last week, Gillian had leg surgery along with like 1000 other things going wrong, so we ended up with like 15 minutes of an episode and decided to re-record! This week we take on Bradley's birthday and the weird manipulation by withholding love and affection and gifts from your own children until they get married and have children of their own. We also dunk on Lawson, as per usual. Come hang out with us!

Megan and Gillian continue their journey with Bringing Up Bates Season 3 this week. We feel bad about bike riding bullying, Brandon and Michael's decor being thoroughly insulted, and the boys preparing for the Insurrection. Come hang out with us!

This week Megan and Gillian get deep into the thick of Michaela's wedding and honeymoon. We get thoroughly grossed out about how sex repressed these people are, lose our minds about some really bad dresses, and get mad at Gil and Kelly for treating their daughters like chattel. Come hang out with us!

Hello everyone! We're back this week with Bringing up Bates Season 2, Episode 8 to 14. There's so much packed into these few episodes, including cute babies, Lawson waterboarding himself accidentally, and a trip to Dollywood planned by the seat of their pants. Come hang out with us!

This week, Megan and Gillian dive into the second season of Bringing Up Bates! We cover the first 7 episodes, which somehow includes two baby showers, one birth, one engagement and house hunting??? Come hang out with us!

Hello everyone! This week Megan and Gillian finish up The Circle on Netflix. Obviously, if you don't know who won, there will be spoilers, so finish that binge watch then come hang out with us! We laugh, we cry, we are amazed that this game has gotten better since Season 1 by leaps and bounds. 

Hello everyone! This week Megan and Gillian get back to The Circle Season 2, which includes highlights such as: Why does Mitchell just say "Cheese...I love that"? How has Chloe never used a dustpan before? Who is gonna figure out who all of the catfishes are?? Come hang out!

TW: Josh Duggar, Child Abuse, CSA, etc. Please skip this episode if any of the Josh Duggar news around the internet is triggering for you. We discuss the charges and Josh's previous wrongdoings at length, and we do not want to cause anyone any mental duress. We will be back next week with our Regularly Scheduled episode about The Circle. Stay safe and take care of yourselves!     If you are in crisis, please reach out to someone listed below for support:  If you’re in the United States, the National Sexual Assault Hotline is available day or night at 1–800–656–HOPE (4673), or via online chat. If you're in the United Kingdom: National Association for People Abused In Childhood - 0808 801 0331 Rape Crisis (Women Only) - 0808 802 9999 (England and Wales) or 0808 801 0302 (Scotland) Survivors UK (Men Only) - 02035983898 If you’re experiencing crisis in Canada and are over the age of 30 you can call 1-833-456-4566 (24/7) or text 45645 (between 4PM-12AM EDT) If you are in crisis and aged 5-29 you are able to text Kids Help Phone by doing the following: text CONNECT to 686868. Or call 1-800-668-6868 at any time for either. If you are First Nations, Inuit or Métis you can contact Hope for Wellness Help Line 1-855-242-3310. Services are immediately available in English or French but on request in Ojibway, Cree and Inuktitut

This week, Megan and Gillian watched the first four episodes of The Circle season 2 on Netflix. We return to our original love of trashy reality tv contestants in lieu of fundamentalists this week. Are you Team Savannah or Team Terilisha? 

Megan and Gillian finish up season 1 of Bringing Up Bates, and we finally get to see all the gross conservative, fundamentalist bull that they peddle. Weird purity dates with mom and dad, babies being born, and bad vibes all around. Come hang out with us!

Our first episode of Bringing Up Bates binge watching! Megan and Gillian are pleasantly surprised by this family - still believe hateful shit, but they at least seem to like and know each other. Parents be parenting, even if they do call it "child training". Come hang out with us!

Megan and Gillian are starting on Bringing Up Bates next week, by popular demand, but this week, we work out our feelings about fundamentalist religion and COVID discussing the weird Counting On Easter special. Join us in this time warp where we watch a 2 day old baby born February 19th, celebrate Easter....this coming weekend? Who knows, TLC did us dirty.

Megan and Gillian reach the end of the Counting On road with the last half of Season 11. But, a new season starts next week! While we wait for a few episodes to build up, what’s the next trashy series we should cover? Bringing up Bates, Jersey Shore, Sister Wives? Let us know at tvliterate@gmail.com or on any of our socials!

Megan and Gillian are still talking babies this week for Counting On Season 11. We have quick labors and 40 hour labors, all while the Duggars are making us labor to understand their weird decisions. Come hang out with us!

This week, we finish up Season 10 of Counting On. There are way too many pregnancies to keep track, with 4 babies due in November in the family, it's gonna be the baby-pocalypse. We get through a birth, a death, a photoshoot and a marriage retreat where the Duggar couples make some nests for the sake of their relationships. Come hang out with us!

This week we continue Counting On season ten, and dunking on the Duggars. We chat about the hate for Felicity, the unpreparedness of the Duggars (as usual), and we figure out which of the Duggars would make it in Los Angeles. Come hang out with us!

Hello everyone! We are back this week finishing up Season 9 of Counting On. We talk pregnancy, planes, preparedness and planning (or lack thereof). John David gets married, the Abbie gown is created and we all get really, really uncomfortable for their first kiss. Come hang out with us!

This week, Megan and Gillian return to Tontitown for season 9 of Counting On. This week we get into planes, planes, planes and planes. Wait, I mean we talk about John David and Abbie,  Jinger Spicy, and the Worst American Bake Off. Come hang out with us!

This week, Megan and Gillian dive into the Netflix reality show Bling Empire, the spiritual successor to Crazy Rich Asians. We experience some mind boggling wealth and completely avoidable interpersonal drama, then we skip lightly through some deep-seated intergenerational trauma and completely understandable anxieties about being an adoptee. It's weird, it's enthralling, it's ridiculous. Come hang out with us!