This week on the Water Cooler Podcast, Joey, Megan and Clarence list their most anticipated films and television of 2018.

For our first podcast of 2018, we reveal our most anticipated films and television shows to be released in 2018. Will there be any huge surprises on the TV front like Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale? That went on to win Best Actress and Best Drama at the 2017 Emmys without any fanfare leading into 2017. Is there another surprise in the making? On the film front, now that Oscar Season 2017 officially lives in the books, what new films most excite us?

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!

4:00 – Most Anticipated Films of 2018
36:05 – Most Anticipated TV of 2018
1:02:47 – Flash Forward

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On this week’s podcast, the Cooler gang review one of Megan’s favorite movies, Holiday Inn, as we close out Our Favorite Movies, Volume 2.

This week, we’re keeping the Holiday spirit in the air in the week between Christmas and New Year’s. We’re continuing Volume 2 of our on-going series Our Favorite Movies with Megan’s pick Holiday Inn. This 1942 musical stars the great Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby with classic music by Irving Berlin. Yes, this film gave us the classic song “White Christmas.” Yet, it also includes some alarming period-specific behavior. We’ll discuss that and more as we close out Our Favorite Movies Volume 2.

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!

11:05 – Best Television Shows of 2017
39:03 – Flash Forward

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The Cooler Gang huddles around the Water Cooler to reveal their personal picks in the best television shows of 2017, including our favorite performances.

We’ve come to the end of the 2017 television year, and you know what that means. It’s time for our Best Television Shows of 2017 lists! Joey, Megan, and I each reveal our favorite television from 2017. Will there be any overlap? What do we each think provided the best television of 2017? Plus, we each list our single favorite performance from the year in TV.

Before that, we talk about random topics for 30 minutes. Yup, we really do. Super random.

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!

31:26 – Best Television Shows of 2017
1:33:58 – Flash Forward

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This week, Awards Daily’s Jalal Haddad joins the Cooler Gang to discuss the latest in awards season fashion – the Critics Choice and Golden Globes.

We’ve had two major critics groups weigh in on this year’s best in film and television. This week on the Water Cooler Podcast, we take a look at last week’s Critics Choice nominees and today’s Golden Globes nominations. Who’s in? Who’s out? What do the nominees say about the frontrunners for Oscar nominations? Do the television nominees give any insight into next year’s Emmy nominations? We gather around the Water Cooler to hash all this out with Jalal Haddad.

In TV Tidbits, we talk about Big Little Lies Season 2 and the controversy over the Producer’s Guild of America recasting it as a drama series. Then, AMC’s The Walking Dead made news for the first time as a long-time central character was revealed to have been bitten by a zombie. We talk about the event and what we think truly lies behind the decision. Finally, Joey primes our awards pump with the latest stats in our on-going Fantasy Oscar contest between Clarence, Joey, and Megan.

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!

5:27 – TV Tidbits
26:19 – Critics Choice / Golden Globe Awards
1:15:23 – Flash Forward

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The Cooler gang reviews The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and discuss their place within the awards season.

It’s a hodgepodge of awards chatter at the Water Cooler this week, folks. First up, we’re talking about the first wave of film critics awards. What do they mean for this year’s Oscar contenders? Who’s pulling ahead right now? Who’s falling behind? We also sneak in a conversation about one-time presumed front-runner Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Then, on the TV side of the Cooler, we take a look at Amazon’s new series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Does it follow through on the promise of the acclaimed pilot? We use Mrs. Maisel as a jumping off point to talk about next week’s Golden Globe nominations. Plus, at the midway point of the Emmy season, who leads so far before Spring 2018’s television onslaught.

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!

13:24 – Film Critics Awards
57:43 – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel / Golden Globe TV Preview
1:37:38 – Flash Forward

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In our latest entry in the Our Favorite Movies Volume 2 series, Joey Moser presents one of his personal favorites, the controversial Madonna musical Evita.

This week, Joey prepares to embarrass himself with the huge love that he has for Alan Parker’s Evita. We talk about the movie’s long, troubled production history including its multiple leading ladies. We also debate whether the rock opera holds up after over 20 years. Does Golden Globe-winner Madonna hit a “Rainbow High” as Argentina’s First Lady, Eva Peron? Or did her performance make Megan and Clarence say “Hello and Goodbye?” Or will all of Joey’s Evita references make Megan and Clarence cry not just for Argentina but for Joey to get replaced on this podcast?

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!

17:18 – Evita
1:22:26 – Flash Forward

The Cooler Gang reviews the latest crop of 2017 Amazon Pilots and tackles some Oscar prognostication in advance of December’s big critics awards.

As we’ve done in years past, the Cooler Gang gathers around the water cooler to review the 2017 Amazon pilots. Sometimes, they’re a The Marvelous Mrs. Maizel or Transparent. Sometimes, they’re a Good Girls Revolt or The Interestings. This year’s crop includes the great Glenn Close and comic supporting player Bridgett Everett headlining her own show. We’ll talk about which, if any, of the new shows merit attention. And why does Amazon love to vary the tones of their shows so dramatically?

But first, Thanksgiving marks the last week before film critics start naming their favorite 2017 films and performances. With that in mind, we’re diving into the front-runners with our Oscar tidbits segment. Which films hold the pole position for Best Picture? What performances seem locks and what could surprise? All of this and more as we survey one of the more challenging Oscar races in years. Plus Joey reveals our standings on the elusvie Fantasy Oscar pool.

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!

8:49 – Jeffrey Tambor and Transparent
21:33 – Oscar Tidbits
59:02 – 2017 Amazon Pilots
1:27:14 – Flash Forward

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The Cooler Gang gathers ’round the water cooler to give thanks for the great things in 2017 in our Water Cooler Podcast 2017 Thanksgiving edition.

This week, we’re setting aside all of 2017’s negativity. We’re putting away the sorrow. We’re packing up the depressing thoughts. To replace them, we’re opening up boxes of thanksgiving. So, join us around the Water Cooler for A Water Cooler Podcast 2017 Thanksgiving. We talk about the 2017 events in pop culture that we’re most thankful for: movies, books, music, or, of course, television. What events over the course of a dark year do we fondly remember? What about you our listeners? Surely there are some… Right?

Before opening up to positivity, TV Tidbits once again dips into YET ANOTHER sex scandal. This time, the New York Times revealed Louis C.K.’s sordid past, masturbating in front of five women following a comedy festival in Aspen, Colorado.  We talk about what makes this story different from recent allegations. Then, over the weekend, Girls Trip’s Tiffany Haddish hosted Saturday Night Live. Was it a success and why aren’t there more African-American female hosts? Finally, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend took a dark turn last week. Joey recaps the episode for us.

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!

5:27 – TV Tidbits
30:43 – A Water Cooler Podcast 2017 Thanksgiving
55:38 – Flash Forward

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The Cooler Gang looks at the return of Eleven in Netflix’s Stranger Things 2. Plus, will booting Spacey from House of Cards or Lord of the Rings TV sell?

The Water Cooler Gang revisits Eleven, the Upside Down, and 1980s memorabilia. Yup, we finally review Netflix’s Stranger Things 2. Does the sequel season improve upon the original? What did we like? What could we have done without? And what’s up with Sean Astin? Plus, will the Television Academy continue to respond positively to the sci-fi fantasy series?

TV Tidbits has us again exploring more sex scandal fallout. After last week’s Kevin Spacey bombshell, Netflix tiptoed into an official reaction. Over the weekend, the streaming programmer officially announced that Spacey would be removed from House of Cards. That was before additional news leaked. Did Netflix make the right move? Next, speaking of right moves, Warner Bros TV and the J.R.R. Tolkien estate recently announced pending development of a Lord of the Rings TV series. Is this the right move for the property? How can we avoid Game of Thrones burnout? Finally, I’ll talk about my recent experiences at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival.

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!

3:44 – TV Tidbits
39:24 – Stranger Things 2
1:13:46 – Flash Forward

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The Cooler Gang obsesses over one of Clarence’s favorite films, Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, as they kick off Our Favorite Movies: Volume 2.

This week at the Water Cooler, we kick off Volume 2 of our monthly series Our Favorite Movies. The series started with Clarence’s first pick, Sunset Boulevard. Then, Joey and Megan followed up with their picks Rebecca and Happy-Go-Lucky respectively. We highly encourage you to revisit these episodes if you haven’t heard them already. Now, Clarence kicks off Our Favorite Movies: Volume 2 with Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 classic Vertigo. What makes this film one of Clarence’s personal favorites? How do Megan and Joey react to the much-discussed film? And does its theme of obsessive female domination (and Hitch’s much-discussed controversial treatment of women) resonate differently in the post-Harvey Weinstein world? Plus, who would cast in a Vertigo remake? Yes, it’s a terrible idea, but that never stopped us before…

But first, Megan leads off TV Tidbits with her take on Netflix’s Mindhunter. How did she appraise the overall series after finishing it. Then, Joey gives us the latest on the Kevin Spacey scandal, including unfortunate news for fans of Netflix’s House of Cards.

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

Next week, join us as take a jaunt into the Upside Down with Stranger Things 2. Thanks for listening and thank you, in advance, for subscribing and rating us on iTunes!

7:23 – TV Tidbits
32:40 – Vertigo
1:35:02 – Flash Forward

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