TV Break: August 2023 - Heartstopper’s S2 Swoons; Special Ops: Lioness Lowers The Bar; AMPTP Refuses to Return To Table w/ WGA, SAG-AFTRA; & AEW Collision Continues to Impress

Welcome to TV Break, where Pop Break’s Podcasts Editor Alex Marcus is joined by editor-in-chief Bill Bodkin, and TV Columnist Josh Sarnecky to talk about the happenings in television. Here’s the format of the show: The Best Thing I Saw on TV Last Month – Alex, Bill, & Josh talk about a show/episode/event they liked from the last month including MAX’s Harley Quinn, Hulu’s Futurama & Reservation Dogs, FX’s What We Do In The Shadows, HBO’s How To with John Wilson, AppleTV+’s The Afterparty, Netflix’s Heartstopper, Disney Plus’s Bluey, TNT’s AEW Collision, & Crunchyroll’s The Master Cat Is Depressed Again + Reborn As A Vending Machine Now I Wonder The Dungeon. News Break – Alex, Bill, and Josh break down the latest on the WGA & SAG-AFTRA strikes and the AMPTP’s intransigence, including a breakdown of ⁠the recent WGA/AMPTP meeting and how it all fell apart⁠. If you would like to support the Hollywood community who are enduring a financial hardship with no end in site thanks to the studio’s refusal to negotiate, please donate to the ⁠Entertainment Community Fund⁠. Streaming Wars – Alex, Bill, & Josh pick a streamer they think “won the month” based on new shows airing/upcoming shows announced etc. Bill returned from his Parisian vacation with nothing but raves for Netflix thanks to their 5.2 million new subs this quarter, their well received series Quarterback & Heartstopper, and their upcoming One Piece live action remake. He also has some mixed feelings about ⁠Suits’s recent success on the streamer⁠. Meanwhile, Josh makes the case for Hulu after The Bear’s second season takes a victory lap, they debut hit shows such as Justified: City of Primeval, What We Do In The Shadows, Futurama, and Reservation Dog, and they air the long awaited Bleach: One Thousand Years Blood War. Finally, Alex surprises by handing the victory to Peacock, thanks to debuting hit films like Super Mario Bros & Asteroid City, airing English Premier League Soccer & the Women’s World Cup Spanish language telecast, gaining traction with their WWE content, and adding 2 million more subs. New Series Spotlight – Alex, Bill, & Josh review Paramount Plus’s ⁠Special Ops: Lioness⁠, Taylor Sheridan’s newest star studded series, this time starring Zoe Saldana, Morgan Freedman & Nicole Kidman, in addition to Laysla De Oliviera, LaMonica Garrett, among others. The series follows Saldana’s character as she grapples with the recent loss of an asset in the field.