Decoding TV

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what’s going on in the world of TV, then dive into the latest episodes of  Alien: Earth  and  Peacemaker . In the future where all media is consolidated, will movies just be called disneys like they were in  Cloud Atlas?  Why do we think David Zaslav hasn’t begun his war against password-sharing yet? And...

Watch this conversation on YouTube. In this bonus episode of Decoding TV, David chats with Christie Bosch (AKA @ thatdocumentarygirl ) about the new Netflix documentary Unknown Number: The High School Catfish . What was our overall reaction to the movie? How did we feel the film handle its subjects? And what details did the documentary leave out? Listen to hear us discuss these questions and more....

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what’s going on in the world of TV, then dive into the latest episodes of Alien: Earth and Peacemaker . Did The Rehearsal actually make a difference in airline safety? Is it possible to make sense of HBO’s rebranding? And why is Tom Rothman the last person who should be talking about studio execs? Listen to hear us discuss all t...

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what’s going on in the world of TV, then dive into the latest episodes of Alien: Earth and Peacemaker . Homework for next week: Alien: Earth Episode 5 (Hulu/FX) Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 3 (HBO) Shownotes: 03:05 - TV News Duffer Brothers Deal at Paramount Streaming Access News: Amazon, NBCU Make Peacock Available Via Prime Vid...

In this Decoding TV bonus episode, David and Patrick discuss the season 2 premiere of  Peacemaker , “The Ties that Grind.” The first season of  Peacemaker  emerged in a totally different era of the DCU. This new season straddles the line between them. How well does it pull this off? How do the themes of the episode mirror what’s going on in the DCU? And do we think you should watch&...

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what’s going on in the world of TV, then dive into the third episode of  Alien: Earth . What do we think of MSNBC’s rebrand to MS Now? Is it a bad sign that Ben Stiller won’t be directing season 3 of  Severance ? Can YouTubers like Mark Rober successfully make the move to Netflix? And how is  Alien: Earth  sh...

Watch the video version of this podcast. This podcast contains SPOILERS for  The Rehearsal  Season 2 on HBO. The Rehearsal  Season 2 chronicles Nathan Fielder’s attempts to understand why aviation accidents happen. According to Fielder, one major factor is that pilots are unwilling to communicate candidly with each other, especially when they disagree or have bad news to deliver. To...

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Matt Goldberg discuss what we think of the Alien franchise is at this point in popular culture. Then, we review and recap the first two episodes of Alien: Earth on FX/Hulu. What did we think of the bold new premise for the show? Does it look like they spent $250 million to bring this to life? (Yes). What did we make of the fact that the show sp...

In this bonus episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David Chen and Sarah Marrs discuss  Untamed’s  first season on Netflix. What did we think of how this show handled its central mystery? Were we captivated by any of the characters’ side plots? How did the show take advantage of its unique setting? And where do we think the second season of  Untamed  should be set ?  Listen...

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what’s going on in the world of TV, then dive into the first few episodes of  Twisted Metal  Season 2   on Peacock. What did we think of  South Park’s  provocative season 27 premiere? How excited are we for the possibility of a  Wolfenstein  TV show? And what do we make of the details about Vin...

n this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what’s going on in the world of TV, then dive into the first five episodes of Smoke on Apple TV+. Was the cancellation of the Late Show financially motivated or were political considerations involved? Are the price hikes at Peacock reasonable or out of control? And what do we think about how The Last of Us might wrap up? Listen t...

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what’s going on in the world of TV, then dive into the fourth season of  The Bear . What is behind the President’s hatred of Rosie O’Donnell? Is  Squid Game: The Challenge  as abominable as it sounds? What were the biggest streaming shows in the first half of 2025? And did  The Bear  season 4 improve upo...

In this bonus episode, David and  Myles McNutt from the Episodic Medium  newsletter discuss the 2025 Emmy nominations ( you can watch our live broadcast on YouTube here). Which shows came away with some of the biggest nominations? Why do the “Guest Actor” categories continue to be a travesty? What were the biggest snubs? And was this overall a shameful year for the Emmys or did we experi...

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what’s going on in the world of TV, then dive into the final season of  Squid Game . How is  Squid Game  Season 3 performing on Netflix? What did we make of the fact that Neil Druckmann has left  The Last of Us ? What’s going on with the creators of  South Park  and Paramount/Skydance? And are we ex...

In this bonus episode,  Dan Gvozden  joins the podcast to review and discuss the final three episodes of  Ironheart  on Disney+: Episode 4 - Bad Magic Episode 5 - Karma’s a Glitch Episode 6 - The Past is the Past How did the show handle the arc of Riri Williams? What did we make of that big cameo at the end? And what do we think is coming next for the MCU? Listen to hear us dis...

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what’s going on in the world of TV, then dive into the first three episodes of Ironheart on Disney+. Does the Showtime name still have any meaning in our current streaming environment? Did Andor season 2 get more viewers than season 1? And why did The Last of Us season 2 have fewer viewers? Listen to us discuss all these questio...

In this bonus episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David Chen and Sarah Marrs discuss Dept. Q's first season on Netflix. What did we think of how this show handled its central mystery? Did any of the subplots work well for us? What about the red herrings? Was Matthew Goode, well, any good as the lead? How excited are we for the prospect of a second season of Dept. Q? Listen to hear us discuss all t...

In this bonus episode, David chats with director Dan Trachtenberg about how Predator: Killer of Killers (now streaming on Hulu) came together. Dan discusses why they chose the time periods they did, the challenges of putting together an anthology film based around the Predator in different time periods, and what his favorite action moments are from the film. Homework for next episode: Dept Q (Netf...

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss the differences between the  Invincible  and  Game of Thrones  videogames (and why the former will probably be way more successful), muse on the plight of Warner Bros Discovery, and lament the loss of press freedom in the American media. Then, it’s time to dive into Dan Trachtenberg’s latest  Predator&nb...

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss  Succession  creator Jesse Armstrong’s latest HBO original,  Mountainhead . Does it do a good job of satirizing the billionaire tech class? Will Nic Pizzolatto ever write a  True Detective  episode again? And why do we feel sympathy for the new kids cast as the main  Harry Potter  characters? L...

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick are joined by  Christian Spicer  to dive into the latest episodes of  The Last of Us  and  The Rehearsal. Why was  The Last of Us  season finale such a disappointment? What were some of the most memorable moments? What two narrative crimes did the episode commit? And why was  The Rehearsal  s...

In this bonus episode, David and Patrick discuss some follow-ups to their podcast series about Andor season 2 . Why did Tony Gilroy feel the need to delineate the true nature of Kleya and Luthen’s relationship? What about Mon Mothma’s relationship with her husband and daughter? And what do we think of the possibility of Jyn Erso and Leia cameos in Andor season 2? Listen to hear us discuss all thes...

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick dive into the latest episodes of  The Last of Us  and  The Rehearsal. Is Max’s rebrand back to HBO Max one of the worst instances of corporate brand destruction ever? Are we excited about the new  Alien: Earth  series launching this summer? And why does David hate the marketing for James Gunn’s  Superman&nb...

In this bonus episode of Decoding TV, David and Patrick Willems discuss the final three episodes of  Andor  Season 2: Ep 10 - Make It Stop Ep 11 - Who Else Knows? Ep 12 - Jedha, Kyber, Erso What did we think of how this show connected to the events of  Rogue One ? Were we happy with how the show wrapped up the stories of characters like Bix and Luthen? What are our closing thought o...

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick dive into the latest episodes of  The Last of Us  and  The Rehearsal. It feels like there’s not gonna be enough time to tell a complete story in this season of  The Last of Us . Where does episode 5 leave our characters? Is there any possibility the  Harry Potter  PR tour is going to turn around? Are we exc...