Best Supporting Podcast

Few characters on "The Office" have as wild of a character arc as Jan Levinson, Michael Scott's corporate ice queen of a boss turned reluctant lover turned hostess from hell. This week, we revisit Jan in three different episodes of the series, most notably "The Dinner Party," arguably one of the best episodes of television. We also can't help but fawn over Steve Carell, the relationship dynamics b...

Its the debut of the Best Supporting After Show! The Golden Globe nominations are out and we have THOUGHTS. We discuss the unconscionable 'I May Destroy You' shut out, the relief of having Amy and Tina back as hosts, and the disappointment of having to endure another quarantine awards show. In our BSA of the Week segment, Colin gives an enthusiastic endorsement of 'The Tower' and sings the praises...

While two out of three of them are voiced by men, Linda, Louise and Tina Belcher of "Bob's Burgers" are surprisingly nuanced characters worthy of BSA recognition. This week we're discussing three episodes from Seasons 1 - 3, each focusing on one of the Belcher ladies. We queen out on Linda's dinner theater fever, Tina's unpredictable meme humor, Louise's Dianne Wiest qualities, and the impact of J...

Some performances are so good, we break the very thesis of this podcast in order to discuss them! This week we are queening out on truly a quintessential Best Actress, Marion Cotillard as the eternally tragic Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose." We of course give some time and appreciation to Emmanuelle Seigner and Sylvie Testud as the supporting female characters of the movie, but it's hard to not foc...

Hell hath no fury like Mrs. Daigle trying to find out who took the penmanship medal in the campy killer kid classic "The Bad Seed." Eileen Heckart, Nancy Kelly, and Patty McCormack reprise their roles from the original Broadway production, earning all of three of them Oscar nominations, and deservedly so. (Even if Nancy Kelly does take scenery chewing to a new dimension.) Heckart is a quintessenti...

It's hard to talk about "I May Destroy You" without just singing the praises of Michaela Cole for writing, directing and starring in such a brilliant show. But we also get an incredible supporting cast, especially Weruche Opia as Terry and Paapa Essiedu as Kwame. And there are some choice moments with Arrabella's mother that we queen out about as well. Naturally when talking about a show like this...

"Pieces of a Woman" definitely is not an easy movie--anyone talking about this movie is talking about the 25 minute home birth scene--but it features some powerful performances by Vanessa Kirby, Sarah Snook, Molly Parker, Eliza Shlesinger and of course, Ellen Burstyn with that monologue. We have much to say about the rewatchability of this movie, the use of Montreal for Boston, all the ways this i...

Even in the midst of some pretty gloomy times, some things still shined in 2020 and truly were our BSA's of the year--the performances, movies, podcasts and people that stole the show and left us wanting more. This week, we're counting down our 10 favorites, and you won't believe what came in at number 2! Plus: some tangents on Baby New Year, Sex and the City 2, the first seasons of Park & Rec and...

Say what you will about 2020, but it did give us "Lazy Susan," easily one of the funniest movies of the year. Sean Hayes is brilliant in 40% drag playing the sluggish Susan, aimlessly drifting through a life cast by Margo Martindale as her mother, Carrie Aizley as her best friend, Darlene Hunt as her sister-in-law and the indomitable Allison Janney as her rival Velvet. We also have a rare case of...

The Stone family is a tough nut to crack, and Sarah Jessica Parker's Meredith is hitting rock bottom in her attempts to break through in 2005's "The Family Stone," a Christmas movie that isn't as funny as the trailer wants you to think, but is all the better for it. This week, we queen out more on our favorite characters, because the performances are uniformly excellent, but special notice to Dian...

All aboard the SS BSA! "Let Them All Talk" is a boatload of acting choices and improvisational dialogue from Meryl Streep, Dianne "The" Wiest, Lucas Hedges, Gemma Chan, and most notably, an unforgettable Candice Bergen, who practically sails away with the whole movie. While no one goes to a 27, every actor gets a moment to shine, whether it be some hyper-realistic talking through tears, an informe...

Clea Duvall's "Happiest Season" is truly making the yuletide gay this holiday season, and gifting us with an ensemble of great performances. While Mary Holland steals the entire show as twisted sister Jane, Mackenzie Davis's emotional rollercoaster as the controversial Harper and Dan Levy's pitch perfect 11th hour monologue are some of many reasons to be grateful this episode. Plus: the movie was...

Glenn Close's grizzled, bespectacled Mamaw in "Hillbilly Elegy" is giving us past BSA vibes of Melissa Leo, Amy Ryan and Allison Janney, but will this be the performance that finally earns her an Oscar? On a scale of 1 to "Junebug," where does Amy Adams' performance as Bev fall, and does she stand a chance in what's shaping up to be a tight race for Best Actress? To say nothing of the pool lady, w...

You can never go home again, but that doesn't stop us all from trying at the holidays every year. 1995's "Home for the Holidays" is hardly the feel-good Thanksgiving romantic comedy you might expect from the trailer, but is a surprisingly realistic and thought-provoking story that sent us on many tangents this week about our own feelings on holiday traditions, why this year is different and what f...

While 2010's "Easy A" is primarily a scarlet love letter to Emma Stone and her emerging star power, it's Patricia Clarkson and the unfathomably hot Stanley Tucci as her parents who nearly steal the show. To say nothing of Lisa Kudrow as the misguided guidance counselor, "Wings" alum Thomas Haden Church, Amanda Bynes pre-retirement, Penn Badgley post-Gossip Girl, and just the way Stanley Tucci says...

Three years ago, Best Supporting Queens Ann Dowd and Margo Martindale did an epic joint interview with Vulture, and now feels like the perfect time to celebrate it. (We’d perform it if we could.) We discuss their differing energies, why they’re more than “character actresses,” life lessons from Catholic nuns, Ann’s use the word “honey” and her love for Justin Theroux, finding success later in life...

For as ornate and mysterious as "The Shining" is under Stanley Kubrick's unique vision, it also features an incredibly raw and realistic portrayal of human terror by Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance and as Shelley Duvall filming "The Shining." (Including a record-breaking number of takes on that baseball bat scene.) While technically in a leading role, we had to celebrate Duvall's BSA energy this...

"Addams Family Values" has a packed cast, from the subtly shady Anjelica Huston to the Shakespearean heights of Raul Julia and Carol Kane as a goolish Granny, but the true BSA of the movie is Joan Cusack as the graceful, delicate, and homicidal Debbie Jellinsky. To say nothing of Christina Ricci's wise and wicked Wednesday, Christopher Lloyd at a 27 as Fester, and Christine Baranski, period. We di...

In a movie most people know either for its twist ending or Haley Joel Osment whispering, "I see dead people," it can be easy to forget about the pitch perfect Toni Collette in "The Sixth Sense." In her only Oscar nominated performance, Collette plays Cole's mother Lynn, a South Philly mom holding down two jobs with ten fabulous fingernails. We have much to say about the infamous Car Scene, as well...

It has somehow been a whole year since we started queening out on our favorite Best Supporting Actresses, whether it be acclaimed performances by Rita Moreno or Allison Janney or more obscure appearances by Tyne Daly and Carolina Aaron that we just can't stop thinking about. This week, we're looking back on our favorite ladies and episodes of the first year of Best Supporting Podcast, including th...

There’s much to marinate on in “Kissing Jessica Stein,” the 2001 bi-curious gem of a romantic comedy that gave us “sexy ugly,” an early Jon Hamm in a small role (to say nothing of Idina Menzel!), Scott Cohen’s great hair and questionable donut eating, a radical Jackie Hoffman nearly stealing the show as best friend Joan, and strong feelings about Jennifer Westfeldt. But most importantly, we get Th...

It was a Schitty night at the Emmy's earlier this week, with the beloved Canadian cult hit sweeping the comedy category. We were thrilled to see both Catherine O'Hara and Annie Murphy finally get the recognition they deserve, as well as Dan Levy's boundless joy and bewilderment throughout. Then we shift to what will hopefully be a future Emmy winner, Season 2 (part one!) of PEN15. We process the s...

We're veering off of strictly supporting actress talk this week to take a trip down the often awkward, misunderstood and hilarious memory lane of "Pen15," Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle's ode to middle school at the turn of the millennium. We queen out on the fashion, the music, the nuances of children of divorce, fighting with your best friend, our own experiences being friends with all girls, navi...

Nia Vardalos’s one woman show turned multimillion dollar blockbuster “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” has something for everyone: a charming central love story, relatable immigrant family dynamics, culture clashes solved with ouzo and lamb, and a 90 minute runtime. And for us, it includes Lainie Kazan’s party blouse, John Corbett’s gallant patience (and questionable hair length), and of course, Andrea M...

Penny Marshall's feel-great, cry-hard 1992 classic "A League of Their Own" has an all-star lineup of women (and men!) in its ensemble, a home run of a score by Hans Zimmer, and a 7th inning stretch of dancing at the Suds Bucket that could go all the way. This week we're celebrating our favorite performances and moments, including a Hooch family weep fest at the train station, Bitty Shramm's contri...