The Water Cooler Gang gathers around the water cooler to dish their official 2018 Emmy predictions for Thursday’s nominations announcement. Plus, HBO’s Sharp Objects.

This is the week we’ve all been anxiously anticipating. Thursday, July 12, marks the announcement of the 70th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. We’ve talked about the potential nominees for several months now. We’ve speculated on whether or not Game of Thrones would continue to dominate. Would Westworld’s divisive second season continue to deliver Emmy nods? Will NBC’s Will & Grace reboot fall back into good graces with the Television Academy? And what about those high-profile comedy upstarts like Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel or Netflix’s GLOW? It’s time the Water Cooler Podcast gang of Joey, Megan and Clarence put their money where their collective mouths are. We’re covering our official 2018 Emmy predictions for the nomination round in this week’s podcast.Before that, we briefly talk about HBO’s Sharp Objects after last night’s premiere.We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week.On the podcast, Clarence reveals his selection to kick off Our Favorite Movies, Volume 5. It’s a doozy. Be sure to listen to find out what he selected… and why.Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on iTunes!

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The Water Cooler Podcast Book Club returns with Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects. Plus, what the hell is going on with Scarlett Johansson and Best of 2018 TV at the halfway point.

It’s been over a year since the Water Cooler Podcast kicked off our Book Club segment with Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale ahead of the premiere of Hulu’s Emmy-winning series. It’s about time to do another. So with that, this week we’re following up with the long-delayed second entry in our book club: Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects. With the HBO limited series premiering this weekend, we take a look at Flynn’s debut novel. If you haven’t read the book, then do yourself a favor and pick it up. It’s a quick read. Then, come back and join the conversation! The Book Club section starts around an hour into the podcast.

In TV Tidbits, Joey dives into another Scarlett Johansson casting controversy. This time, she’s set to play a transgender male in Rub and Tug. We discuss the problems at stake with the announcement and with Johansson’s reported response. Then, we’ve reached the middle point of 2018, so we each reveal our top five favorite TV shows of 2018.

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

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

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Megan gives her Our Favorite Movies Volume 4 pick, There’s Something About Mary. We talk about the greatest moments of this comedy classic and discuss if this would fly today.

This week, we’re wrapping up Volume 4 of the Our Favorite Movies series with Megan’s pick, the 1998 comedy There’s Something About Mary. We dive into this modern Farrelly Brothers classic and see how it has aged. Plus, much of the humor is incredibly un-PC, so we discuss whether or not this film could be made today. More specifically, we talk a lot about the Warren character, played by W. Earl Brown.

In the return of TV Tidbits, we talk about the recent controversial episode of The Handmaid’s Tale. We dig into spoilers, so watch for this section if you haven’t seen episode 10. Plus, we’ve seen GLOW Season 2. Does it avoid the sophomore slump (spoiler free)? Finally, the Television Critics Association unveiled their nominations in the middle of the Television Academy’s nominations voting window. We talk about the history of the TCA Awards, whether or not they have any correlation to the Emmys, and what, if anything, they could influence in the 2018 voting cycle.

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

Don’t forget that next week’s podcast, dropping Tuesday, July 3, marks the return of the Water Cooler Podcast Book Club. We’re reading Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects, and we hope you are too.

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

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Kyle MacLachlan joins the Water Cooler to talk about his phenomenal work as three (plus?) characters in Showtime’s Twin Peaks return.

David Lynch’s return to his beloved Twin Peaks surprised millions of viewers. Where many were anticipating a rehash of the original’s gothic soap opera feeling, Lynch delivered an avant garde mediation on everything from family to parenting to aging to evil itself. Many, including myself, loved the breathless anticipation of each of its 18 episodes. Shot as one giant film, Twin Peaks Season 3 delivered 18 hours of unbridled film-making joy. At the center of this televised cinematic extravaganza was one of Lynch’s most consistent collaborators: Kyle MacLachlan.

MacLachlan’s much discussed (and much delayed) return as Agent Cooper serves as one of the many threads of the third season. One could argue that Twin Peaks largely becomes a documentation of one man’s quest to save a girl. Cooper trying to save Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). Along the way, Cooper falls, causing his persona to eventually split into three entities (perhaps more). Each persona gives MacLachlan an actor’s dream, the chance to play as broad a spectrum as any actor on film or television. There’s the Cooper we know and love. There’s the terrifying “Mr. C,” the embodiment of pure, cold, calculating evil. And then there’s Dougie Jones.

What exactly does one say about Dougie Jones?

Here, as Kyle MacLachlan joins me at the Water Cooler, I discover that there’s actually quite a lot to say about Dougie Jones. Deceptively simple on the surface, MacLachlan dives into the process of becoming a simple-minded vessel. He also talks about the visceral thrills of playing pure evil and of acting against long-time friend Laura Dern. We also talk about what the future holds for Twin Peaks (spoiler alert: he knows as much as you do). There’s so much more at the core of Kyle MacLachlan’s highly skilled and fascinating work on Twin Peaks than coffee and cherry pie.

MacLachlan touches the soul throughout Season 3 in unexpected and delightful ways. He’s frankly never been better.

The competition for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie feels incredibly stiff this year. Several high-profile actors give great performances this year. Still, none trip the acting Richter scale quite as significantly as Kyle MacLachlan’s in Twin Peaks. How often does one get to return and re-interpret in dramatic and exciting ways a classic television icon?

Kyle MacLachlan does just that. Brilliantly.

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Television Academy, please consider Kyle MacLachlan for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Showtime’s Twin Peaks.

The Water Cooler Gang is joined by two very special guests from Awards Daily TV as they discuss the current trends and gossip in 2018 Emmy campaigning.

We’re in the midst of the 2018 Emmy nominating round, so we’ve invited Jazz Tangcay and Jalal Haddad of Awards Daily TV to join us at the Water Cooler. We pepper them with questions about what’s going on in LA this time of year. Who’s throwing the biggest parties? What’s the gossip on the street? Who’s ahead based on casual conversations? Are there any surprise nominations waiting in the wings? Plus, with the #MeToo movement still fresh on everyone’s minds, what effect will that have on nomination day? Finally, we have a brief conversation about the upcoming RuPaul’s Drag Race season finale.

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

Don’t forget that our July 2nd podcast marks the latest Water Cooler Book Club entry with Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects, soon to be an HBO limited series starring Amy Adams.

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

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The Cooler Gang returns to a favorite topic: our annual If We Had an Emmy Ballot podcast. Megan, Joey, and Clarence each list their votes in major categories if they were voting members of the Television Academy.

Today – Monday, June 11, marks the opening of the 2018 Emmy nomination voting window. That brings us to one of our very favorite podcasts of the year: If We Had an Emmy Ballot. We’re going around the Water Cooler and pretending that we are members of the Television Academy. We’re making choices in the performance and series races for Drama, Comedy, and Limited Series consideration. Of course, we hope you’ll play along on in the post below and list your choices!

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

Don’t forget that our July 2nd podcast marks the latest Water Cooler Book Club entry with Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects.

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

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The Cooler Gang gathers around the Water Cooler to highlight some of their favorite 2018 Emmy long shots. Plus, we catch up on Kimmy Schmidt, Samantha Bee, and more!

One week from today, June 11, marks the opening of the 2018 Emmy nomination round voting window. So, this week at the Water Cooler, we’re suggesting a listing of 2018 Emmy long shots. These are series, performances, or crafts that we think are very much on the bubble of Emmy consideration. We’re highlighting these contenders to give them an extra boost as the Television Academy starts marking their ballots. Sure, Game of Thrones and its talented actors are nearly sure things, but what about Mindhunter or Killing Eve? Have a listen as we recommend our favorite Emmy long shots to Emmy voters.

In TV Tidbits, we pick up last week’s Roseanne conversation with more bad behavior. Samantha Bee famously called Ivanka Trump a dirty name but emerged from the scandal relatively unscathed (minus a sponsor or two). Is this a case of a double standard? Should TBS have taken a similarly strict and swift approach as ABC did with Roseanne? Then, in the movie world, two high-profile trailers were released to much twittering: Suspiria and Widows. We’ll talk about the merits of each trailer. Finally, we give a quick TV roundup of some recent new content including Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Patrick Melrose, and Ryan Murphy’s Pose.

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

Don’t forget that our July 2nd podcast marks the latest Water Cooler Book Club entry with Sharp Objects.

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

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The Cooler Gang reviews the latest entry in the Our Favorite Movies series. Joey’s Volume 4 pick is Ang Lee’s 1997 film The Ice Storm. Plus, we cover all the news over Roseanne and Arrested Development.

This week’s main event is Joey’s Volume 4 entry of the Our Favorite Movies series: Ang Lee’s 1997 The Ice Storm. Based on the novel by Rick Moody, The Ice Storm has a bevy of great actors being miserable yet sexually active in 1973. We’ll talk about why this is one of Joey’s favorite movies and what the film is trying to say about the family unit. Then, we’ll talk about why Oscar politely declined his invitation to Lee’s key party.

TV tidbits ends up a fascinating entry this week. First up, Arrested Development is back, and along with it co-star Jeffrey Tambor. But not so fast folks! Jessica Walter has a lot to say about her male co-stars and their treatment of her. We’ll talk about what she had to say and whether or not that impacts any tentative Emmy credibility Season 5 has. Then, in the main event, ABC today announced that Roseanne, the smash hit revival, would be cancelled in light of some heinous tweets from its star. We’ll deep-dive into this maelstrom and see what, if any, Emmy credibility can be savaged of the acclaimed reboot. In some quick topics, Andrew Lincoln is leaving The Walking Dead, and we’ll talk about Solo: A Star Wars Storyand why it didn’t do so well at the box office this weekend. If you count $100 million+ not doing so well.

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

Plus, we announce another entry in our Water Cooler Podcast Book Club series. Be sure to listen and find out what novel we’re going to cover on our first podcast of July!

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