Indiewire's Very Good TV Podcast

It's the last episode of Very Good TV Podcast, so Liz and Ben use the occasion to say goodbye... and, of course, talk about series finales. Do not fear — one last time, both "The X-Files" and "The Leftovers" come up.

We don't want to talk about it. Except we do. Liz and Ben will dearly miss HBO's iconoclastic comedy about American politics, for all of its nuances and all of its outrageousness.

It's a Very Good TV Podcast first: An Oscar winner as a special guest! Also, Liz and Ben LEFT THE OFFICE to visit Adam McKay at his home in Los Angeles, where we got into McKay's role behind the scenes on HBO's "Succession." Secrets are revealed! Laughs are enjoyed! Fun is had!

For five seasons, Fox's "Gotham" delivered a twisted take on DC favorites, and Liz and Bn aren't afraid to take a moment and pay tribute to what the show did so very very well.

No spoilers for GAME OF THRONES Season 8, Episode 2 here! Instead, Liz and Ben examine the GOT season premiere, and how serialized storytelling enables episodes of television that don't actually have any story. (Shockingly, both THE X-FILES annnnnnd THE LEFTOVERS come up!)

It's a question Liz and Ben get asked fairly often — "how much TV do you watch? it must be a lot!" — and they've never had a real answer... until now. In this episode, they're joined by special guest Steve Greene to discuss a week spent logging all the TV they watched, and what they learned by doing so.

As Liz and Ben prepare for one of the year's biggest premieres, one question comes up: How is HBO planning to take advantage of GAME OF THRONES' final season, and how are other networks reacting? (Or, in Ben's words, "GAME OF THRONES is ruining television!") Believe it or not, THE LEFTOVERS comes up!

One of TV's most fascinating comedies returns for its second season on HBO... but, um, is it actually a comedy? That's just one facet of the Emmy-winning series that Liz and Ben discuss!

Netflix's bold drama by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij has always defied expectation, but Season 2, as Liz and Ben discuss, is pure uncut crazy. But is that level of craziness sustainable?

When we say we cover very good TV on this podcast, we mean it! Aidy Bryant is a joy in the new Hulu series "Shrill," but what beyond that makes it great? Liz and Ben dig in.

Special! Guest! Time! This week, Liz and Ben are joined by Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair, the creators of "High Maintenance," because it is a great show and you should watch it, and also because the show's journey from web shorts to HBO is a fascinating one.

This podcast gets back to its humble beginnings with an episode all about HBO's iconic detective drama. Not only do Liz and Ben dig into the nuances of the series, but both THE X-FILES annnnd THE LEFTOVERS come up!

Liz and Ben are joined by SPECIAL GUEST Kate Erbland to dig into all of this year's drama surrounding the Academy Awards, especially why there were concerns over this year's Oscars going host-less. (Shockingly, Hugh Jackman comes up!)

This week, with two new eclectic superhero dramas premiering, Liz and Ben dig into why the genre continues to proliferate, and if it's sustainable in the longterm.

The image attached to this week's episode was the first one that popped up when searching for "the future of television," which is what Liz and Ben talked about for this VERY SPECIAL 200th episode of Very Good Television Podcast. (We did it!)

Liz and Ben may not really be rooting for either team during this year's Big Game, but they're fascinated by how the Superb Owl affects the TV landscape, especially when networks like AMC and Amazon use that special Sunday for their own ends.

Maybe it's not such a big deal anymore when a movie star decides to make a limited series for TV, but as Liz and Ben get into, there's something special about TNT's "I Am the Night," largely thanks to the second Captain Kirk himself, Chris Pine. (Look at how many tattoos he has!)

Critics might be divided on "Black Monday," but everyone can agree that Regina Hall rules. Why isn't she the star of the show? There's the obvious answer, but Liz and Ben admit there's some nuance to it in this week's episode.

What's the upcoming Netflix comedy "Russian Doll" about? Ben doesn't know and Liz won't tell you, but they will discuss when it makes sense for a show to keep its premise a secret — and when it doesn't. (You'll be shocked to learn that "The Leftovers" comes up — but not for the reason you might think!)

Before this year's Globes, Liz and Ben did a live fantasy draft, identifying their picks across all the TV categories. Monday morning will reveal who owes who a sandwich, but enjoy listening to their bold picks!

Special guest Steve Greene joins Liz and Ben to chat about the best stuff we all experienced this year — actually perhaps shockingly, THE X-FILES comes up! In the meantime, looking forward to the new year!

The Emmy-winning favorite of Liz and Ben's moms is back, and there's a lot to discuss, from what impresses us about Amy Sherman-Palladino's attention to detail to whether or not they really need to swear so much on the show. All without spoilers!

It's awards season! But the DNA of television can be found in a number of the films under contention for the Golden Globes and Oscars, including THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS and WIDOWS. How does that affect our viewing? Liz and Ben discuss!

When IndieWire did its 50 Best Animated Series of All Time, one thing we noticed was that a lot of these shows haven't gotten the recognition they deserve, beyond the realm of cartoons. Ben and Liz ask: What gives?!

In the name of turkey and stuffing, Liz and Ben debate what's the best kind of TV to watch on the classic American holiday, from football to "Mythbusters" to "Friends" to, yes, surprisingly, "The Leftovers."

Last week it was revealed that a movie set within the world of BREAKING BAD was a likely possibility. But rather than debate whether or not it's a good idea, Liz and Ben dig into why this might have been an inevitability — and what it takes for a franchise to really, truly end.

On a weekend filled with important TV, Liz and Ben choose to focus on... "Saved By the Bell." But really, it's a conversation about how the future of media might affect our present!

Recently, TV has been graced with a number of examples of long takes — single-shot sequences that stretch on for minutes, per the story demands, including "Daredevil," "The Haunting of Hill House," "Kidding" and the upcoming "Homecoming." What makes these technological feats exciting to watch, and when do they prove distracting? Liz and Ben get into the nitty-gritty. (Shockingly, "The X-Files" comes up!)

It's another super-focused episode, as Liz and Ben look into how the shows they've been watching recently reflect our complicated relationship with the truth of today's society. (Believe it or not, "The Leftovers" comes up.)

Vox's Todd VanDerWerff comes by to chat with Liz and Ben about how, with the changes in television over the past 20-something years, the state of scary television has changed with the times. Shockingly, "The X-Files" comes up!

Netflix, Hulu, CBS All Access and more are all desperate for our continuing subscriptions, and they're using their content in unique ways to strategize that. Guess what — Liz and Ben find that interesting!

Last week, Ben watched a lot of "Last Man Standing." Liz watched a lot of "Murphy Brown." Hilarious culture clashes ensue! You could definitely get a sitcom out of it.

IndieWire's Steve Greene joins Liz and Ben with an exciting challenge: Trying to guess how many seasons a wide variety of TV shows, from cable, broadcast, and beyond. You likely be as shocked as they were by just how long some of TV's most iconic series have been airing. Try playing along and seeing if you can do better than Ben!

Ben has been neck-deep in the Emmys game this year, while Liz might need some help remembering who's nominated in each category — yet they both have strong opinions about what's going to happen once Michael Che and Colin Jost stop talking and awards start getting handed out!

Jim Carrey's big return to TV has Liz and Ben once again gazing into the abyss that is their own mortality, but its emphasis on discussing death may keep the Showtime quasi-comedy from connecting with audiences.

There's a LOT going on in the next few months when it comes to TV, and you'd better believe that Liz and Ben are obsessed with what's to come. So many shows come up here! God rest our souls.

Liz and Ben are joined by a special guest — IndieWire's associate TV editor Steve Greene — to dig into why the end of the HBO limited series "Sharp Objects" will stick with us for quite some time, and whether or not a follow-up season would be too crazypants to consider.

SIMPSONS and FUTURAMA fans were likely pretty excited about Matt Groening's third-ever animated series, but it proved to be a bit of a disappointment. But maybe there's a solution for enjoying the first season? Liz and Ben discuss.

Liz and Ben followed up a long few weeks of Comic-Con and TCA coverage by... watching maybe the worst Netflix series of the year so far. (And yes, they both watched every episode.) But what's really so bad about this series? And, despite the reviews, is there a danger of it getting a second season?

Because Liz and Ben are consummate professionals, they'd never confess just how tired they currently are on this humble podcast. Instead, they focus this episode of VGTVP on how they've learned a ton about some upcoming TV, from the new season of IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY to Lifetime's YOU to a bunch of other shows, all thanks to the TCA summer press tour. TV is good! (So is sleep, but that'll come later.)

It's hot outside, so does that make it the right time of year to watch murder mysteries like "Sharp Objects" or "The Sinner"? The answer may be yes, but how does the season affect our enjoyment of these shows? Liz and Ben discuss, live from TCAs!

Hulu sprang the final season of "UnREAL" on unsuspecting subscribers last week, but was it the best strategy for the cult series? And when does that sort of strategy play well for content, those who watch it, and those who release it? Liz and Ben dig in (and wow, surprisingly, THE LEFTOVERS comes up!)

Ben recently had to watch Showtime's newest effort to engage with political comedy — but is Sasha Baron Cohen the voice America needs to be hearing right now?

This week, Liz and Ben address a grave injustice of television history, while also connecting it to issues of the day...But really, the problem is that David Schwimmer never won an Emmy for playing Ross.

"Glow," in its second season, showed us what the show-within-a-show actually looks like. Which made Liz and Ben ponder their own behind-the-scenes process, in a very special episode of VGTVP.

Liz and Ben have been slogging through some pretty bloated series lately, but is there a solution? Or do some shows NEED to run a little longer than others? Surprisingly, "The Leftovers" comes up!

This week, Liz and Ben let the listeners come up with the topics to be discussed, and the result was a wide-ranging discussion of everything from the new Apple original content on the horizon to what shows they'd bring with them to a desert island. (Surprisingly, "The Leftovers" comes up!)

"Sense8" fans got a happy ending this weekend thanks to the premiere of a special series finale episode that wrapped up all the major storylines left dangling by Season 2. But does every show deserve, or even require, that sort of treatment? Liz and Ben discuss. Surprisingly, "The X-Files" comes up.

Faithful listeners of this podcast will know that Liz and Ben don't agree on everything, but "The Americans" unites them. A truly great TV show just ended, and no matter how committed you were to it, the fact remains that the story of Soviet spies faking their way through America deserved serious attention.

There's no denying that revival culture is inescapable today, but while that doesn't mean they're all bad ideas, there has to be a better option for casts and creators who want to work together again... Right? Liz and Ben ponder the question.