Are We Digging ‘Dave’ Season 2?

The Water Cooler Gang returns to FX’s Dave – one of their favorite shows – to assess its second season.

FX’s Dave emerged as one of our favorite series of 2020. Starring Lil Dicky (a.k.a. Dave Burd), Dave tells the story of an unlikely rapper using social media to break into the music industry. He’s white. He’s Jewish. He has hypospadias (look it up). The first season became a charming and offbeat look into making it, but how does its recently released second season hold up? We assess Dave season two halfway through its run.

Plus, we dive into the cancellation of HBO’s Lovecraft Country and potential reasons for it.

Be sure to check out Awards Daily TV on Friday for Team ADTV’s list of Emmy predictions in the major races! And next week, on Emmy nomination night, Team ADTV will gather together to record reactions.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

 

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Music from https://filmmusic.io
“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

One of Our Favs: If We Had an Emmy Ballot

This is one of our very favorite podcasts, “If We Had an Emmy Ballot,” where the Cooler Gang “votes” for the 2021 Emmys.

It’s time for our annual “If We Had an Emmy Ballot” podcast! We love this podcast because we are awards nerds who love to pretend we’re members of the Television Academy. Perhaps we’ve lost you by now. If you’re still here, then join us as we reveal who each of us would vote for if we indeed had an Emmy ballot.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

 

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Music from https://filmmusic.io
“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Podcast: Producer Joel Chiodi on How ‘Equal’ Helps Us to Look Forward By Looking Back

HBO Max’s Equal is a very special documentary series. As we celebrate Pride this month, we are constantly reminded that the pathway to true equality is a neverending road. Marriage Equality was only passed in the last ten years and our transgender family continues to face violence and discrimination. Joel Chiodi was eager to tell a history lesson in a new and exciting way.

Instead of having a dry, talking heads history lesson about where gay people came from, Chiodi and his team made the decision to cast actors in small recreations of famous queer people. Some people think the gay rights movement only started at Stonewall but that is a great disservice to people like Dale Jennings, Del Martin, and Phyllis Lyon and those icons are played by familiar faces in Cheyenne Jackson, Heather Matarazzo, and Shannon Purser, respectively. The stories of these people are very compelling, and seeing performers you already love helps lure you even more.

There is some shocking footage still in the series like when you see confusing medical procedures being done or men being dragged out of gay bars simply for being there. “There is an immediacy to it. When you see the footage of people having shock treatments, it’s an emotional moment,” Chiodi said.

Every year, we have a series or a film to remind us how to be proud to be queer and live our lives in a singular way. But Equal goes one step further. Do not hide your anger or your rage because the brave men and women in the 1950s did not silence themselves.

Equal is available to stream on HBO Max.

 

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Music from https://filmmusic.io
“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

 

Annie Murphy, ‘Kevin,’ and Jean Smart’s Incredible Work Ethic

We regroup on AMC’s new show Kevin Can F*** Himself, starring Emmy-winner Annie Murphy. Plus, we marvel at Jean Smart’s incredible work ethic.

AMC debuted its new series Kevin Can F*** Himself this weekend after a preview run on AMC+. Now that the Water Cooler Gang all caught up to it, we talk about the series. Emmy-winner Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek) stars as Allison, the wife of the titular Kevin. She travels between two worlds: a sitcom treatment of her marriage and a harsher reality where she faces life’s disappointments. We cover Murphy’s first non-Schitt’s performance plus the craft elements of the series.

But first, we briefly talk about two recent revelations regarding Emmy front runner Jean Smart’s incredible Hacks work ethic.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

 

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Music from https://filmmusic.io
“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Podcast: Jessie Buckley and Josh O’Connor on the Timelessness of Shakespeare and Filming ‘Romeo & Juliet’ During a Pandemic

“I bloody miss you,” is the first thing Josh O’Connor says to his Romeo & Juliet co-star, Jessie Buckley. The in-demand actors lovingly reconnect as only good friends can before our conversation begins about their work on the stage/screen hybrid performance of Shakespeare’s classic. We have seen so many versions of Romeo & Juliet, so why another one? When you have such passionate chemistry like O’Connor and Buckley share, it’s obvious.

PBS’ newest iteration of the doomed lovers was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic in just 17 days and it’s a compelling mashup of stage performance and film. It opens with actors walking into a space to rehearse a Shakespeare play, but that artifice falls away by the time the romantic tragedy concludes. It’s almost as if we witness the rehearsal, tech, and live performances in a matter of 90 minutes.

O’Connor and Buckley excitedly talk about the intimacy and immediacy of theater–something they had to work around in a completely new way with the pandemic protocols in place. They took full advantage of the day when negative tests results came back as if it might be the last time they get to work on the material. When you watch a live performance of theater, the reaction you project back to the audience is immediate. It’s palpable. The pandemic almost took that away completely, but Buckley and O’Connor make a familiar story feel so alive and vital.

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Music from https://filmmusic.io
“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Are We Dancing in the Aisles for ‘Heights?’

The Water Cooler Gang gathers around the cooler to chat about this weekend’s big movie release, the musical In the Heights.

One of the most hyped films of the year dropped this weekend. And it’s a musical. I mean, it’s been a strange year, but when one of the most anticipated films of the year is an old-fashioned musical, then something’s up. John M. Chu’s In the Heights stars Anthony Ramos in the adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical. We review the film and talk about the recent box office news. Did its availability on HBO Max eat into the box office total? Or were there other factors at play? Plus, what will the awards trajectory look like considering it holds some of the best reviews of any film so far this year.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

 

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Music from https://filmmusic.io
“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Is ‘Lisey’s Story’ One Worth Telling?

The Water Cooler Gang looks at Stephen King’s adaptation of his own novel Lisey’s Story, starring Julianne Moore and directed by Pablo Larrain.

AppleTV Plus kicks off the 2022 Emmy season with the first major series of the year: Lisey’s Story. Written by Stephen King based on his novel of the same name, Lisey’s Story stars Julianne Moore as Lisey, the wife of a murdered author (Clive Owen). As she navigates her own lingering trauma, she remains tormented by a mysterious group who intend to obtain her husband’s unfinished projects at any cost. She also contends with a sister (Joan Allen) whose mania may have something to do with her husband’s untimely death. Does the Pablo Larrain-directed series start the 2022 Emmy season with gusto or with a whimper? Will any of it resonate enough with Television Academy members to sustain a year-long Emmy campaign?

Plus, the BAFTA TV Awards were handed out this weekend. Presumed 2021 Emmy front runner The Crown went home empty-handed. Is this a sign of trouble for the Netflix series? Find out why we think not.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

 

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Music from https://filmmusic.io
“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

‘Mare of Easttown’ Is Our New Emmy Frontrunner.

Jalal Haddad joins the Water Cooler Gang to discuss the Mare of Easttown series (season?) finale. Plus, a quick check-in on the Friends Reunion.

HBO’s Mare of Easttown wrapped its run last night and broke HBO Max in the process. The Kate Winslet-led limited series more than stuck its landing. In doing so, it reminded us that the most important aspect of any project is its devotion to its characters. Mare doubled-down in delivering characters we cared about deeply, and we think that will ultimately carry it home come Emmy time. To discuss the finale and its Emmy chances, Jalal Haddad joins the Water Cooler gang.

We also quickly chat about the Friends Reunion, things we liked about it, and why so many on the internet seem to hate it.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

 

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Music from https://filmmusic.io
“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Is ‘Underground Railroad’ Our New Emmy Frontrunner?

Barry Jenkins’s The Underground Railroad stormed onto the Emmy front this weekend. The Amazon Prime limited series boasts some of the best reviews of the year. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, the series features dreamlike visuals, stellar performances, and some of the most harrowing scenes you’ll see this year. A massive Emmy haul seems assurred, but will that translate into actual wins? Megan, Joey, and Clarence are joined by Awards Daily TV’s Shadan Larki to dive into The Underground Railroad and orient it within the Emmy landscape.

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

 

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Music from https://filmmusic.io
“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Golden Globes, New Comedy Talk with JWalk

We are joined by Jordan Walker – better known as TV Talk with JWalk – to discuss the recent news about the 2022 Golden Globes. We also dive into three new comedy series: Rutherford Falls and Girls5eva on Peacock and Chad on TBS.

Also, apologies for the audio issues encountered during this podcast!

We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.

Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts!

 

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Music from https://filmmusic.io
“Cheery Monday” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)