Podcasts about tv book club

This “Extra Sugar” officially calls to order the Sweet Tea & TV Book Club! Grab your copy of “Trying to Get to Heaven: Opinions of a Tennessee Talker” by the one and only Dixie Carter and settle in for a gab-fest. This episode turned out longer than normal, but it turns out these two talkers - one a Georgia Talker and one a South Carolina Talker - also had a lot of opinions. 

Ah, the age-old fun-house version that's not so “fun” - that's what we were facing this season with Ms. Julia Sugarbaker. Her condescension was at an all-time high throughout the season and the runner of the tension between her and Mary Jo wasn't our favorite part of the season. HOWEVER, there were some high points, so let's chat about it. And come back later this week for the second installment of the “Sweet Tea & TV Book Club” - we're talking all things Dixie Carter's 1996 book, “Trying to Get To Heaven: Opinions of a Tennessee Talker.”

Agghhh! It's time! We've got Salina over here reading books. Nikki over here mashin' tomatoes. (It'll all make sense soon, swear.) It's time for the first-ever Sweet Tea & TV Book Club! And what better place to start than Delta Burke's memoir, Delta Style. We're excited to share our overall reactions to the book, chat about the biggest surprises to us, explore key themes, like Delta's illustrious - albeit brief - pageant career, and uncomfortable experiences in Hollywood.  And then come back next week where we'll chat about Bernice's season 6 journey. We may be firing on all cylinders or, maybe our arterial flow problems will kick in and the segment will be as random as Bernice herself. Either way, it's sure to be a good time! 

We're back for another Designing Women season 6 recap! This time, we're talking all things The Terminator. *ahem* We mean, Julia. We'll focus on her major plotlines, funniest moments, and how season 6 shaped her character. As usual, we'll also rate how the character of Julia fares this season - is she up? Down? Still locked in an Italian restaurant with Rusty somewhere?  And come back Thursday for a super-special Extra Sugar - we're introducing our first-ever Sweet Tea & TV Book Club! We're going to chat about Delta Burke's memoir, Delta Style.  Theeeeen, we'll be back next week to chat about our favorite ATL kook, Bernice. 

Have you given Victorian gothic fiction a try? The Fascination by Essie Fox will certainly be a good one to get you started. It is a novel that takes you to the Victorian country fairgrounds, the glamour of the Drury Lane pantomimes, and a museum in London's Oxford Street filled with anatomical wonders. It is a story about belonging and finding your family. In this episode, I talk to Essie about her novel, but also about the craft of writing historical fiction, the very practical challenges of navigating the expectations of sales and marketing, and the research that is part of the creative process.   Essie Fox is a member of the Historical Writers Association, and The Historical Novelists Association. Her novels have been selected for the UK National Book Awards, the Channel 4 TV Book Club, and The Times newspaper's Historical Book Of The Month. Visit Essie's blog for some fascinating images, too! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/michaela-mahlberg/message

This week on Chatzerless, Green Arrow has a darts home game, Natalie Morales wears a cool wig, and Emily gets REAL with her co-workers. We're at the home stretch, folks! Next week is our big Chatzerless finale and end of this phase of Thirteen Under 13 before we delve into something shiny and new.VOTE FOR WHAT WE WATCH AND DISCUSS ON THE NEXT SEASON OF CHATZ: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLgAf96uxBHPHgo4PCWiWQB3e-BcZWpHYQVP-E0cl29FqY4g/viewform?usp=sf_linkMagellan's Substack newsletter: https://notthatmagellan.substack.com/Check out chatzpod.com for all things Chatzpod!TwitterRedditTwitchChatzumsEmail: chatzpod@gmail.comOur main podcast feed art was done by Camilla Franklin, whose work can be found at https://camillafranklin.myportfolio.com/

Sense8 is back with a holiday special to break in the new season! We're still on the run, and the holidays bring both trials AND tribulations for our sensational pals. Allen finds a kinship in the character of Bug, Magellan is a big fan of the dance scenes, and we could all use a bit more actual Christmas content this year.Check out chatzpod.com for all things Chatzpod!TwitterRedditTwitchChatzumsEmail: chatzpod@gmail.comOur main podcast feed art was done by Camilla Franklin, whose work can be found at https://camillafranklin.myportfolio.com/

Amanita is a super sleuth, Lito is feeling all the emotions at once, and Chatz is still enjoying Sense8 this week! The episodes are good, the themes are clear, and we imagine a Sense8 that's just the vibes and hanging out without the big conspiracy stuff.Check out chatzpod.com for all things Chatzpod!TwitterRedditTwitchChatzumsEmail: chatzpod@gmail.comOur main podcast feed art was done by Camilla Franklin, whose work can be found at https://camillafranklin.myportfolio.com/

Sense8 continues to ask the question "How corny is too corny?" this week, and we had a great time discussing the slowly unraveling mythology of the series, its earnest anti-capitalist stint, and of course...what's going on. The song and the...the concept. We discuss what's going on and What's Going On. There you go.As always, we strongly recommend joining us and watching the episodes each week with us! Sense8 is available on Netflix nationwide, and we think you'll enjoy the podcast more with the context of what we are discussing. And we'd love to hear from you too!Check out chatzpod.com for all things Chatzpod!TwitterRedditTwitchChatzumsEmail: chatzpod@gmail.comOur main podcast feed art was done by Camilla Franklin, whose work can be found at https://camillafranklin.myportfolio.com/

Let us return to 2015 for a moment. The world was in a terrifying place, elections were coming in the US, but...guys, gay marriage was legalized in the US by the Supreme Court! It is this earnest light of hope in a terrifying world that Sense8 comes crashing onto Netflix. Does its spiritual message of connectedness and worldly love shine through a corny first pair of episodes? Or does it stay in the realm of forgotten queer media for a reason? Only one way to find out!As always, we strongly recommend joining us and watching the episodes each week with us! Sense8 is available on Netflix nationwide, and we think you'll enjoy the podcast more with the context of what we are discussing. And we'd love to hear from you too!Check out chatzpod.com for all things Chatzpod!TwitterRedditTwitchChatzumsEmail: chatzpod@gmail.comOur main podcast feed art was done by Camilla Franklin, whose work can be found at https://camillafranklin.myportfolio.com/

SPOILER ALERT! This is a REWATCH podcast and we talk about each episode in the context of the whole show. Finish the show, then come back and hang out.Beep and CC preview Streaming Banshees' upcoming rewatch of Netflix kdrama worldwide hit Hometown Cha Cha Cha (starring Shin Min-a and Kim Seon-ho) and Apple TV's award winning Ted Lasso (starring Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham) -- and why these are the stories that brought us hope in the midst of a pandemic.Visit our website at streamingbanshees.com and subscribe to our newsletter so you'll never miss any of our updates. Our website is also the place where you'll find brilliant discussions on many other shows from some awesome and very smart people. There's even a place for you to submit your own posts.Transcripts are also available on our site.Twitter: @TVBansheesIntro music: “Homehouse,” courtesy of Delicates.

This week we continue our final TV Book Club selection, carefully studying and then improbably deciphering the ancient secrets of episodes 2 and 3 of Peacock's Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol.

On this week's episode we begin our TV Book Club on Netflix's Feel Good, a show where extremely charming queer people make exceptionally poor decisions, but first: we answer some questions from our Tumblr ask box. Margaret goes long on the subject of library school, we all discuss the scam of terminal master degree programs (recently documented more thoroughly by Anne Helen Petersen), and then-- the true highlight-- we each share an embarrassing story we've not previously told on the podcast. 

On this week's episode, we kick off our new TV Book Club with Episodes 1 & 2 of Feel Good, but FIRST we introduce a new segment (name TBD) where we tell you how to get the most out of one month with any minor league streaming service. In honor of Ted Lasso's season 2 premiere coming out this Friday (a glorious event to which we devote some time and attention), we've focus our first session on Apple TV+. Come for the earnest advice, but stay for the absolutely harrowing fuck-marry-kill the discussion occasions.

Vox TV Critic Emily VanDerWerff drops by the pod to talk about what it's been like rewatching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for the first time, not only as an adult, but during a global pandemic with her newly minted TV ‘book club.' Together, Emily, Paul, and Tawny discuss DS9's enduring legacy and why it speaks to so many LGBTQ fans, Emily's very first experiences with Trek, and dip into the state of media criticism before leaving listeners with some great recommendations for what to watch next! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode: due to overwhelming demand from either many of you or (more likely) one of you many, many times, we're getting Kathryn's assessment on HBO's newest Murdur Durdur show, otherwise known as Mare of Easttown. And then we commence with installment #1 of our newest TV Book Club on Freeform's dramedy Everything is Gonna Be Okay, the second season of which has recently begun, prompting a profile of Josh Thomas to run in The New Yorker, which was subsequently turned into high-quality audio content with help of Margaret, but which she did not leverage into a close friendship with Josh Thomas--- YET.

Carrying over from our previous Muppet Show discussion, this week we start by discussing: What era-appropriate guests did the classic Muppet Show miss? We then finish our TV Book Club discussion of the Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso (specifically episodes 8, 9, and 10). Do note that this episode was recorded before the trailer for season 2 dropped; it starts on July 23! SHOW NOTES: Muppet Show on Disney+: https://www.disneyplus.com/series/the-muppet-show/Rgks70YwIkSw Ted Lasso on Apple TV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/ted-lasso/umc.cmc.vtoh0mn0xn7t3c643xqonfzy Ted Lasso S2 trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auxeLrtk7tk

In today's episode, we're kicking off (like one would in UNAMERICAN FOOTBALL) our Ted Lasso TV Book Club by discussing its pilot, which improbably succeeds in transforming an abrasively amusing series of NBC sports commercials into an incapacitatingly sweet and charming sitcom. This is the rare show where Margaret has actually watched ahead of our assigned reading so (1) you know it's good and (2) be prepared for her to confuse which things happened in which episodes!  For our Ted Lasso sensitive listener: this one is pretty much all Lasso (although we don't really dig into the show until about three minutes in), but future iterations will have more non-Lasso content for you.

As the title implies, this week is the first part of our TV Book Club series about the Netflix one-season wonder that is Teenage Bounty Hunters. TEENAGE BOUNTY HUNTERS ON NETFLIX: https://www.netflix.com/title/80244296

You guessed it, folks: we're talking about the new Netflix series Bridgerton this week! There are bosoms! They are heaving! There are dicks! They are pumping! There is more specific information about the nuts and bolts of pumping and nutting than you might anticipate! (About which Kathryn recently conducted a fascinating interview.) And, to top it all off, there is also special guest Christina Tucker, AKA our Lady Danbury Thirst Correspondent. In addition to Bridgerton, we are also discussing movie directors being whiny little babies about all their movies being simultaneously released to HBOMax and theaters. ENJOY! And, for next week, you'll want to watch episode one of Teenage Bounty Hunters, our newest TV Book Club pick. 

In this lightly frankensteined episode, we discuss both a piece critical of Never Have I Ever (in a segment recorded last week), episodes 2, 3, and 4 of Never Have I Ever, and the myriad glories contained in what shall from here on out be known as The Lost Tapes (recorded just last night). And, as a bonus, we have a snippet of a song from a band to which Andrew so kindly introduced us last night.  

Thanks to a change in our recording setup last week, the episode we intended to release today (our next TV Book Club installment on episodes 2, 3, and 4 of Never Have I Ever) does not exist. INSTEAD, we are bringing you a rerun of a Golden Oldie: the team recommends their favorite shows for watching with only 80% attention and then, then. Then we dedicate ourselves to dunking on a terrible procedural you probably forgot existed: Deception, where the world's top magician uses his sophisticated understanding of SLEIGHT OF HAND to solve major crimes that inexplicably demand said expertise. We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane and will be back with our regularly scheduled episodes next week.  SHOW NOTES: Sports Night: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165961/ Justified: http://www.fxtv.com.au/justified Elementary: https://www.cbs.com/shows/elementary/ Pitch: https://www.fox.com/pitch/ Timeless: https://www.nbc.com/timeless?nbc=1 New Girl: https://www.fox.com/new-girl/ Terriers: https://tv.avclub.com/terriers-perfect-one-season-run-defied-description-ma-1798246162 Deception: http://abc.go.com/shows/deception

We answer some questions from our vaunted Tumblr ask box, which Margaret swears she won’t get upset about but then she totally does. It leads to a discussion of how important objectivity is to reviews and whether it exists at all (hint: it isn’t and it doesn’t). Then, we talk about the first episode of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, a teen comedy that is definitely narrated by tennis legend John McEnroe. SHOW NOTES: Ask Us Questions On Tumblr, You Cowards: https://atvpodcast.com/ask Never Have I Ever: https://www.netflix.com/title/80179190 John McEnroe Gets Mad, This Is Just One Of The Times When This Happens, Also When Are We Getting A Movie Where Matthew Rhys Plays John McEnroe, I’m Just Saying, No That Shia LeBeouf Movie Doesn’t Count: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ransFQVzf6c&t=4s

This week, we continue our Tuca & Bertie TV Book Club with episodes 3, 4, and 5 of Season 1. In addition we discuss: the cancelled-before-its-time Sweet/Vicious at the behest of one of our $7-a-month Patreon supporters, and Andrew's incredible skill at coming up with perfect dumb podcast names.

Mayes, Dave and Jake come together to discuss the semi problematic release of HBO MAX, some choice selections they plan on checking out that are new to the library, and how it fits into the larger streaming service landscape.

This week we return with another mind-blowing visit to The Twilight Zone, with a special (coincidental) emphasis on stories where women are driven mad by happenstance. Also we have small complaints we just gotta get off our chests ok??? SHOW NOTES: Stumptown: https://abc.com/shows/stumptown The Last Dance: https://www.espn.com/watch/catalog/2806434b-1deb-4c5c-aae0-04b1ab8eebf7/the-last-dance The Bold Type: https://www.hulu.com/series/the-bold-type-45c40273-0742-4324-af23-db4a484b3af3 Vulture’s list of The Twilight Zone episodes: https://www.vulture.com/article/twilight-zone-best-episodes.html

This week, we bring our discussion of Lodge 49's first season to a close, talking over episodes 7, 8, 9 and the complete and utter collapse of capitalist structures they represent. In the process we also touch upon: Bruce Campbell's most famous film role (his cameo at the beginning of the movie Congo, of course), the two types of people you find in corporate training seminars, the questionable efficacy of suicide threats as a debt reduction strategy, and the undeniable elan of flinging a silicone boob push-up at your former manager. We hope you've enjoyed hanging out with Ernie and Dud as much as we have.

Today Brad and I talk about the book "Psycho Cybernetics" and how you can program your mind for full recovery from PTSD. Your mind is like a machine, one that automatically strives to achieve any goal it's fed. The problem here is that most of us feed our minds with negative goals through worry and "worst case scenario" thinking.  PTSD causes most people to spiral down with negative thoughts and images. It's these things that program our mind for failure...we end up optimizing to fail and our negative thinking patterns turn into a self fulfilling prophecy. We teach you simple techniques that you can implement TODAY to start programming your mind for success!   Here's what we're covering: 1 - The self image...how you see yourself 2 - Your built in success (or failure) mechanism 3 - How to program your built in success mechanism with visualization   Resources: You can order a copy of "Psycho Cybernetics" here #ad - https://amzn.to/2BKCiRT   To your recovery! Kayleen   PS Want to learn more about the online PTSD recovery program I run?   Right now I'm running a free training where I show you the only 3 things you need to know to overcome PTSD for good, and at the end I talk about my recovery program "Broken To Unbreakable".   Broken To Unbreakable has helped people all around the world make full recoveries from home. We've helped people in the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Poland, Sweden, and much more.   All you need is an internet connection and a will to win.   If you're interested in learning more about how you can join BTU just click the link below and sign up for one of my free trainings!   Here it is - https://www.overcomingptsd.info/go   Hope to see you there :)

Do you feel like you do everything for your partner, but they don't even appreciate it? This comes from a lack of perspective...let me explain... You and your partner accept love in different ways, and the way you accept and give love may not be the way your partner accepts and gives love. Today Brad and I walk you through a book called "The 5 Love Languages" by Gary Chapman. This book can help you rekindle real deep connection within your relationship...which is something very hard to come by when you're in a PTSD relationship. We also uncover how to use this newfound clarity and understanding to connect with other non-romantic relationships so you can build deep meaningful relationships with others you care about!   Resources: Free PTSD Relationship Case Study On How To Save Your Relationship For Good – https://www.overcomingptsd.info/love At the end of the case study you get the opportunity to schedule a call with me or Brad so we can help you one on one save your relationship. At the end of the case study you get the opportunity to schedule a call with me or Brad so we can help you one on one save your relationship. Order a copy of The 5 Love Languages here: https://amzn.to/2ZduRMd Thanks for listening!Kayleen & Brad

This week we hit all the HOT news about the long-canceled TV show Bones, and then we wrap up our TV Book Club about the first season of HBO's Deadwood (a show that we will, in all probability, revisit).  SHOW NOTES:  Bones! https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/fox-rocked-by-179-million-bones-ruling-lying-cheating-reprehensible-studio-fraud-1190346 Deadwood! https://www.hbo.com/deadwood

It's all Deadwood again this week, as we continue our latest TV Book Club. And stay tuned til the end of the show for a Very Special Announcement. SHOW NOTES: Deadwood: https://www.hbo.com/deadwood Kathryn Loves Deadwood And Has Thought Pretty Hard About It: https://twitter.com/kvanaren/status/1097342752524767234 Malcolm In The Middle for some reason?: https://www.hulu.com/series/malcolm-in-the-middle-ca1ac46e-9883-4125-a6e8-97efce9a2bf5?dl=false

This week it's all-Deadwood all the time. The show really starts coming into its own in these episodes, murdering its best-known historical figure and building out characters and just cussing until there are no more cusses to cuss. SHOW NOTES: Watch Deadwood dangit!! https://www.hbo.com/deadwood

In this week’s episode we SAY that we’re going to keep Kathryn from simply reciting every episode of Deadwood in its entirety, but we don’t do a very good job. Kathryn also makes some more recommendations for loyal listeners. SHOW NOTES CBS’s new… Frankenstein show???? https://ew.com/tv/2019/01/31/cbs-frankenstein-pilot/ Durrells in Corfu: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/shows/the-durrells-in-corfu/ Schitt’s Creek: https://www.netflix.com/title/80036165 Younger: https://www.paramountnetwork.com/shows/younger Acorn TV: https://acorn.tv/ Catastrope: https://www.amazon.com/Catastrophe-Season-1/dp/B00X8UKOUK Deadwood: https://www.hbo.com/deadwood Seth Bullock, Real Boy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Bullock Sol Star, Real Boy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Star Al Swearengen, Real Boy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Swearengen

Welcome to the summer issue of For Your Ears Only listing all of the titles added to the library in the last few months. The main article featured at the beginning of this edition focuses on book news for this summer including highlighting new releases, celebrating the bicentenary of Emily Bronte’s birth, and giving Zoe Ball’s new TV Book Club a mention.

TV Book Club: Anthony Mayes, Eden Liu and Jake Hoye Eden and Jake are mad at Anthony because he didn't do his own homework and watch the Romanoffs. We try to put our finger on what is missing and decide if we're in or out.  The Deuce: Vincent's Vermont Vacation Lori's rising star, Candy fighting misogyny in pursuit of her art, breakups, coverups, well done steak, an introducing The Deuce Death Pool.  Haunting of Hill House teaser: Navigating genre, timelines and family with the Crains. Why it's better than Castle Rock. Looking forward.    Support us on www.patreon.com/countthedings Find us: www.countthedings.com Social: @back2backpod @countthedings

***SPOILER ALERT*** TV Book Club: Anthony Mayes, Jake Hoye, Amin Elhassan, Eden Liu and Anthony Canton III This week: HBO's 'The Deuce' Topics:  Triple Deuce Episode Breakdown Decline of the pimp Worst plot lines Guerrilla Filming of “Red Hot” CC invents POV Gene Goldman’s Closet Frankie levels up Lance Minx doesn’t work like this And much more.  AC's Spotlight on TV: Reboots and Remakes. Why so many?    PATREON CONTENT (Patreon.com/countthedings)   Amazon Prime's 'The Romanoffs' The Romanoffs Questioning the format Impact of locations Origin of the croissant Compelling dynamic between Anushka & Hajar Are we in or out on the show? End...   For the rest of this episode go to Patreon.com/countthedings    

TV Book Club: With Anthony Mayes, Jake Hoye, Anthony Canton III, Jade and special guest Richard Hoye This week the crew breaks down the finale to the AMC series 'Better Call Saul.  ****WARNING SPOILERS****   Support us on www.patreon.com/countthedings Find us: www.countthedings.com Social: @back2backpod @countthedings

TV Book Club: Anthony Mayes, Jake Hoye and Anthony Canton III recap the latest episode of Better Call Saul, 'For Whom the Bell Tings.'  And a discussion on Black Mirror's return and choosing your own adventure concepts.    Produced by: Rob Lopez   Support us on www.patreon.com/countthedings Find us: www.countthedings.com Social: @back2backpod @countthedings

***WARNING SPOILERS*** TV Book Club: Anthony Mayes, Jake Hoye, Anthony Canton III, Eden Liu, Jade and Matt Ruffin In this week's episode the crew dissects the latest episode of Better Call Saul, Ep. 8. (45:00) Then the new Netflix series Maniac.  (1:07) Also AC's Spotlight on Television and whether too much TV is a good thing.  (1:18) And finally what everyone is currently watching.    Support us on www.patreon.com/countthedings Find us: www.countthedings.com Social: @back2backpod @countthedings

Patreon Exclusive: Anthony Mayes, Jake Hoye, Jade and Anthony Canton III Topics:  The Emmy Awards Better Call Saul Ep 8 'Something Stupid' The Deuce (On Patreon) Support us on www.patreon.com/countthedings Find us: www.countthedings.com Social: @back2backpod @countthedings

This week we talk about the EXTREMELY EXCITING NEWS that Patrick Stewart is returning to TV as Jean-Luc Picard in a new Star Trek series, then we wrap up the last three episodes of our TV Book Club on Pamela Adlon's Better Things.  SHOW NOTES The new Trek announcement: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/05/635809156/patrick-stewart-is-reprising-his-role-as-captain-picard-in-new-star-trek-series Better Things: https://www.hulu.com/series/better-things-70d330d1-cb23-403f-b3b6-f8f392c4ce5e  

This week, we dust off our ol' inbox to respond to a lot of comments-not-questions, and then we dive into our new TV Book Club segment on Pamela Adlon's Better Things. SHOW NOTES: Raising Hope: https://variety.com/2014/tv/news/fox-cancels-raising-hope-after-4-seasons-1201128773/ The Rundown with Robin Thede: https://www.bet.com/shows/the-rundown-with-robin-thede.html Better Things: https://www.hulu.com/better-things

This week Andrew suffers through Better Late Than Never, a not-quite-reality show about old men being casually racist in a foreign country. Then, we chat about episodes one and two of Slings and Arrows, our latest TV Book Club.  SHOW NOTES Better Late Than Never, which is truly terrible: https://www.hulu.com/better-late-than-never Slings and Arrows episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4OL2DZLL7k Slings and Arrows episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8ctDIGg_9s

We spend a few moments thinking about our TV resolutions for the new year. For Andrew and Kathryn it's mostly about specific TV they'd like to check out; for Margaret it boils down to "actually watch some TV." We then take a look at the field of new TV to look forward to in the new year, and pick out some of our most anticipated series, including Sharp Objects, Good Girls, and the truly concerning 9-1-1. Finally, we announce our next TV Book Club, Slings & Arrows!

Vulture editor and Kings enthusiast Jackson McHenry joins us this week for a discussion of our favorite one-season TV shows, those poor creative projects that made it to the screen but just couldn't hang. And speaking of, we move on to episodes 7, 8, 9, and 10 of our TV Book Club on NBC's 2009 drama Kings.

This week we kick off with a discussion of the TV costuming that we like, the people who make it happen, and the people who write about it.  We then grant one of Kathryn’s longstanding wishes and start in on our TV Book Club about NBC’s Kings, a weird and fascinating show that never should have existed but somehow, improbably, does.

For a brief maternity leave hiatus, we're doing a lightning-round TV Book Club - the first season of Australian comedy Please Like Me. In our first episode we talk about episodes one and two, and chat about coming out stories, awkwardness, the comic potential of suicide attempts, and Margaret's fear that she's actually Niamh. 

We've got just one thing on our minds this week - Star Trek: The Next Generation. It's our newest TV Book Club, and we'll be watching a series of hand-picked episodes from its seven-year run over the next few weeks to introduce Margaret (and, hopefully, some of you!) to its charms. Sadly, those charms are largely absent from its sprawling, messy pilot. It's a poorly paced, poorly plotted, and incompetently assembled collection of parts that bears just a superficial resemblance to what the show would later become. But! It's important for continuity reasons, and it'll make it all the more fun in a couple weeks when we start getting into the good stuff. 

This week we talk about the recent announcement that The Bachelorette has cast its first black lead, and dissect the weird spoilery timing of that announcement. We consider why this is an important milestone for the franchise, and why it's total nonsense that ABC actually be applauded for it.  We also turn to the end of our Fargo TV book club, discussing the final three episodes of the first season. It's hard not to spend the entire segment just jumping up and down and squealing about how great the show is. 

This week, upcoming remakes of both Will and Grace and Queen Eye For The Straight Guy show us that just because you CAN reboot something doesn't necessarily mean that you SHOULD. Then, we revisit the frigid, murderous Midwest for another installment of our TV Book Club segment on season one of FX's Fargo.

After mentioning HBO's The Young Pope in our episode on notable new TV for winter 2017, we return to discuss the depths and breadths of Andrew's distaste for it. Kathryn attempts to provide some cinematic context for the show; some singing is involved. We then pick up with the second installment in our Fargo book club, discussing episodes two through four. Topics include viscera, the purpose of viscera, pure evil vs pure goodness, and locusts. 

Have you ever noticed that people are rarely cold on TV? We did! Well, some of us did, and Andrew has some (reasonable) questions about whether that's even an interesting thing to notice, much less talk about. Regardless, talk about it we do. We then move onto the inspiration for our cold TV thoughts, the first part of our book club on the FX show Fargo. This week we look at the pilot, and talk about the differences between it and the Coen brothers' film, representations of evil in naturalism, and what it sounds like when you fake an orgasm with a Minnesotan accent. 

In a not-quite-timely seasonal episode, we talk about our favorite Christmas specials and Andrew and Margaret get into a fight about fictional snowmen. Andrew speaks up for the Rankin and Bass classics, and Kathryn hearkens back to a lost Angela Lansbury treasure.  For our final installment of the Cranford TV Book Club, things with Dr Hotbutt get quite complicated, and we talk about the importance of muslin with a fine, close weave. 

This week we kick things off with a discussion of the TBS show Search Party and how great it is and how everyone should watch it. We then move on to the second part in our TV Book Club on Cranford, covering episodes 2 and 3. Cow pajamas and Loch Lomond sing-a-longs are involved. 

For the first segment this week, we look at two recent depictions of abortion on television on Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Although we think they're both important, we talk about the differences in those stories and the few things we wish one show had done differently. As a part of this conversation, we touch on why it's so vital for TV to tell these kinds of stories, and we also discover that Margaret's not entirely sure about the pronunciation of the word "gallant." Our second segment is the kick-off for our newest TV Book Club - the BBC adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford. Margaret and Kathryn are already way in the tank for this show, but we do our best to restrain ourselves in the discussion of the miniseries' first episode. Andrew still has some reservations, which he expresses partly through fanfiction.

This week we kick things off by making three of the next great TV shows using a fun tool of the same name from The Ringer. Then, we wrap up our TV Book Club segment on Veep, something that seemed a lot more fun before we had to confront our present political reality. Speaking of that, this episode was recorded in mid-October when this devastating loss seemed all but impossible. We make jokes to that effect toward the end of the show. They’re hard to listen to now, but we’re leaving them in on the off chance that it helps any of you remember what it was like to feel normal.

We're all about politics this week, both real and fictional. After some chatter about televised debates, we talk about some of our favorite totally-political-but-not-about-politics TV shows. Then, we kick off our newest TV Book Club segment on the first two episodes of the first season of HBO's Veep.

This week it's all about kids, starting with the TV kids who make us roll the eyes and go "ugh, TV kids" the most. Then we wrap up our Stranger Things edition of TV Book Club, talking about everything we liked and a handful of things we wish had been handled differently. Here's looking forward to season two!

For our first segment, we start out with the intention of discussing the currently airing season of Great British Bake-Off as a follow-up to our previous TV Book Club. We do that, but we also stray through several other topics, including Kathryn's TV hookup and Margaret's TV crushes.  Our second segment is the second installment in the Stranger Things TV Book Club, covering episodes 2-5. While we do eventually get to some deeper discussions about the show's influences, its depiction of gender, and the role of Eleven, we have to dig through some conversational quarries to get there. 

For our first segment this week, we pick apart the new teaser for the Netflix revival of Gilmore Girls. Topics include: Amy Schumer's celebrity timeliness, nostalgia, smartphones, teaser editing, and corpse flowers. The bulk of our episode, though, is a look at the first episode of Netflix's Stranger Things, our newest selection for TV Book Club. We talk about its movie influences, its popcorniness, the celebrity persona of Winona Ryder, and Dungeons and Dragons. There is also a moment when Margaret and Kathryn sing Toto, and we'd like to apologize for that. 

Most people know Richard Madeley for his work with his wife, Judy Finnigan on TV and as part of The Richard & Judy Book Club. He is also the best-selling author of four books. He began his writing career with Fathers and Sons, then followed that up with Some Day I'll Find You and The Way You Look Tonight. His new book is called The Night Book, a thriller which is set in the Lake District in the long, hot summer of 1976. I caught up with Richard for a conversation about writing whilst he was on his promotional book tour during July 2016.

Most people know Richard Madeley for his work with his wife, Judy Finnigan on TV and as part of The Richard & Judy Book Club. He is also the best-selling author of four books. He began his writing career with Fathers and Sons, then followed that up with Some Day I’ll Find You and The Way You Look Tonight. His new book is called The Night Book, a thriller which is set in the Lake District in the long, hot summer of 1976. I caught up with Richard for a conversation about writing whilst he was on his promotional book tour during July 2016. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/self-publishing-journeys/message

We revisit several old stomping grounds this week—first it's back to Nashville, which hadn't been revived when we recorded this but has been as we write this. Then, we gush a bit about the latest season of The Americans, which we covered in our last TV Book Club. And finally it's on to our current TV Book Club, the still-charming, pastry-filled world of the Great British Bake-Off.

Kathryn and Margaret attended Vulture's panel on season two of UnREAL, which arrives this month. Then we move on to the next part of our TV Book Club segment on The Great British Bake-Off (or "The Great British Baking Show" to Americans). We are, for better or worse, not quite as nice as the people on the show.

Lots of genre shows have a character who isn't in on the central secret - not because they're dumb, usually, but because of contrivances that serve the plot. We've dubbed this archetype "The Babineaux" in honor of one of our favorite recent examples.  After that, we talk out the next leg of our TV Book Club discussion of FX's The Americans. The tension amps up in this run of episodes, and episode nine in particular begins a steady escalation that will carry us all the way to the finale. Special guest Sophie Brookover joins us this week to help us talk everything out! You can read more of her and Margaret's work in the weekly Two Bossy Dames newsletter, which you can find at www.tinyletter.com/twobossydames. 

This week, Margaret lays out in detail JUST how frustrated she is with "the one piece of the Shondaverse [she] still engage[s] with on a weekly basis," which is just as vitriolic and frustrated as you'd expect. After that, we launch into our next TV Book Club selection, the pilot of FX's The Americans. Spies are more fun than lawyers, at least in this episode. 

This week, Andrew shares with the group his continuing love of Masterchef Junior, which leads to a mini-celebration of that rare animal, the Non-Cynical Competition Reality Show. After that it’s back to the TV Book Club mines for episodes 4-8 of the Freeform (nee ABC Family) one-season wonder Bunheads. Does the show get past its rough opening episodes? So all the teenagers start to feel like fully realized characters? Is “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” originally a They Might Be Giants song? We answer all these questions and more!

To help kick off 2016, we talk about our TV-related resolutions. For Andrew, it's to watch more of the shows Kathryn and Margaret have recommended to him; for Margaret, it's to be more like Andrew. Then we move on to our TV Book Club discussion of the one-season wonder Bunheads, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino of Gilmore Girls fame. It's a rough start to the series - the setup is awkward and the first few episodes are consumed with making it work. But rest assured, it gets better.

This week we have kick things off with a discussion of the comedian-driven sitcom, inspired by Aziz Ansari's Netflix original series Master of None and Louis CK's excellent FX show Louie. You really should watch both of them. After that, we wrap up our TV Book Club series on the first season of Black Mirror, a show that we ultimately didn't like as much as some people do. The last installment, "The Entire History of You," takes an interesting premise and squanders it on a tired old story while asking us to sympathize with a questionable dude in the process. No thanks?

We kick things off this week with a discussion of the Bechdel Test and its strengths and weaknesses as a method of evaluating the kinds of shows we talk about. It's useful sometimes, just not always. Then we launch right into our next installment of TV Book Club, this time about the second episode of Black Mirror. This episode included a more fully realized sci-fi dystopia, but its treatment of its female characters is more than a little problematic. It also kind of borrows its main point from the movie Network.

This week’s show sees the return of Hatewatch Watch, here renamed “Bashville” because of all the hate that Margaret has to aim at ABC’s Nashville. We then move on to the newest installment in our TV Book Club series, the first episode of Black Mirror. It is, how you say, not what we were expecting. Andrew also explains the art of faking an orgasm, which you should be able to use if you ever find yourself in a Black Mirror-esque situation.

Kathryn moderates a debate between Andrew and Margaret about TV's best, primarily non-sexual female friendships—Kathryn must choose between Abby and Ilana from Comedy Central's Broad City or Emma and Maggie from USA's Playing House.  Then, Andrew tells everyone about a gem of a show from former professional wrestler and Minnesota governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura, the show bids a fond farewell to Terriers, and we make our next TV Book Club announcement.

In episode two of Appointment Television, we tackle the art of the TV rewatch. Why do we do it? What do we watch? How do we feel about these shows and these characters the second or third time around? In the second half of the episode we call the first meeting of the TV Book Club - this week, we talk about the pilot of Terriers, a one-season wonder from FX. It's got a bad name, but it's a diamond in the rough among buddy cop shows. We'll be watching episodes two through four for our next show, so you definitely have time to catch up!

Best selling novelist Matt Haig talks about depression. Warm, witty, honest and human, this is a manifesto for staying alive, whatever your demons. Matt Haig writes books for both adults and children, often blending the worlds of domestic reality and outright fantasy, with a quirky twist. The Guardian has described his writing as 'delightfully weird' and the New York Times has called him 'a novelist of great talent' whose writing is 'funny, riveting and heartbreaking'. His novels for adults are The Last Family in England, narrated by a labrador and optioned for film by Brad Pitt; The Dead Fathers Club (2006), an update of Hamlet featuring an 11-year-old boy; The Possession of Mr Cave (2008), about a man obsessed with his daughter's safety, and The Radleys (2010) which won Channel 4's TV Book Club public vote and was shortlisted for a Galaxy National Book Award (UK). The film rights to all his adult novels have been sold. His next adult novel is The Humans (2013). His multi-award winning popular first novel for children, Shadow Forest, was published in 2007 and its sequel, The Runaway Troll, in 2009. His most recent children's novel is To Be A Cat (2012). 5x15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. There are only two rules - no scripts and only 15 minutes each. Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

For a special event for members of New Writing North's book group network, we brought together Matt Haig, a former TV Book Club winner, whose novel The Humans is a funny and moving story of what happens when Professor Andrew Martin, who solves the world’s greatest mathematical riddle, disappears, and Lottie Moggach. Lottie’s debut mystery, Kiss Me First, sees teenager Leila, who lives most of her life via the internet, agreeing to assume the identity of a girl she has never met, and learning a lot about herself in the process. Chaired by Caroline Beck Recorded on Sunday 13 October at Durham Town Hall. For more information about the festival, see http://www.durhambookfestival.com.