Hot Takes & Deep Dives

Jess is joined by television writer, producer and director Page Hurwitz, exec. producer of Emmy-nominated Netflix comedy specials starring Tiffany Haddish, Fortune Feimster and Michelle Buteau. Hurwitz discusses discovering and casting those women (plus Amy Schumer) on Last Comic Standing. Hurwitz also chats about her experience as the EP and showrunner for Rosie O’Donnell’s Oprah OWN talk show an...

Jess is joined by Tabatha Coffey, the Australian hairstylist, salon owner and badass star of Shear Genius and Tabatha Takes Over. Tabatha reminisces about her audition for the Shear Genius hairstyling competition show, which she lost, but scored her own spin-off. We chat about the early days of Bravo which made stars out of entrepreneurs (Rachel Zoe, Jeff Lewis, Jackie Warner) and how the network...

Jess is joined by contrarian king Jacques Peterson (live from Sydney, Australia) to finally let loose on our Big Shot with Bethenny journeys. We discuss behind the scenes of casting & production, the winner and which network would have made more sense. We also touch on Ellen DeGeneres and The View before moving on to RHOBH & RHONY.  [ 2:30 - Big Shot w/ Bethenny ] [ 32:25 - Ellen & The View ] [ 38...

Jess is joined by the man who has written more words about the Housewives than anyone — Vulture’s Brian Moylan — now publishing a book on how the sausage gets made (to quote Bethenny). We break the sh*t down, including: the “call to end all calls” that happened after RHONY’s Cartagena Boat Ride From Hell, why Andy Cohen is the RuPaul of Housewives, the difference between each production company’s...

Jess is joined by Sexy Unique Podcast’s Lara Marie Schoenhals (@larzmarie) to unpack our feelings re: the forthcoming Sex and the City revival titled “And Just Like That.” Lara Marie Schoenhals also hosts the podcast “Saving SATC 3,” in which she improvs a final installment of the franchise in each episode. Together, Jess and Lara share their SATC origin stories, process Kim Cattrall, brainstorm s...

Jess is joined by Ben Rimalower, career theatre writer/director known to RHONY fans as Countess Luann’s long-suffering cabaret director. Ben shares stories of producing audiobooks for both Bethenny AND Teresa Giudice, filming RHONJ/RHONY, Halloween afterparties with Bethenny & Luann and his reaction to Bethenny’s “Life is Not a Cabaret” monologue. Ben also discusses his one man shows: “Patti Issue...

Jess is joined by fashion designer, performer and quintessential New Yorker — Isaac Mizrahi! Jess and Isaac break the sh*t down, including: Isaac’s wild nights with Madonna and Sandra Bernhard, his talk show which featured Rosie O’Donnell getting that infamous haircut, how fashion shows and red carpets have changed, how he secured his West Village combination apartment without going broke, ‘90s di...

Jess is joined by American Idol judge and legendary songwriter Kara DioGuardi to reflect on her incredible contributions to pop music throughout the 2000s. We go deep on the stories behind writing iconic songs including Kylie Minogue's "Spinning Around," Pink’s “Sober,” Christina Aguilera’s “Ain’t No Other Man,” Kelly Clarkson’s “Walk Away,” Britney’s Blackout album, and co-writing the bulk of Ash...

Jess welcomes the one true queen of Summer House — Lindsay Hubbard! We go deep on everything, including Summer House’s entry into the canon via Vanderpump Rules, a listening tour of the Hamptons, Lindsay’s family history, and whether she identifies more as a PR publicist guru vs. reality star these days. We also discuss Lindsay’s Sun/Moon/Rising signs, an off-camera crazy dating story, fans (inclu...

Jess is joined by friend of the show and our hometown hero in Beverly Hills, host of #NoFilter, Zack Peter! Together, Zack and Jess react to the freshly dropped Real Housewives of Beverly Hills trailer and compare our expectations to the upcoming RHONY season. We also discuss how Zack became an actual plot point on the season premiere of Summer House and we rank which recent Housewives arrest/inve...

Wow, NYC Prep, wow! We are joined by husband to the pod, Ryan Bailey, for Jess’ virgin viewing (and Ryan’s hundredth) of Bravo’s one-season wonder, NYC Prep. Together, we explore the psychological depths of our fave Manhattan wannabe socialites: PC, Sebastian, Jessie, Camille, Kelli & Taylor. We catch up with where are they now, why NYC Prep was canceled and declare this the very best of the one-s...

Jess welcomes Mohammed Bilal — the musician, poet and voice of reason on the groundbreaking third season of The Real World: San Francisco. Back in 1994, while Friends and Reality Bites were depicting Gen X as lazy slackers across TV and film, The Real World: San Francisco cast its most racially diverse group of housemates who were trying to change the world (well, except Puck). Mohammed describes...

Jess welcomes back former LA prosecutor Emily D. Baker, Esq to understand the parallels between the Britney Spears and Tom Girardi conservatorships. We dig into: recent Britney court hearings & documents, risks of ending her conservatorship, question if the people in the conservatorship are corrupt, and a lot more. We then explore updates in the Tom Girardi / Erika Jayne forced bankruptcy/criminal...

Jess is joined by fellow Long Islander ROSIE O’DONNELL for the kiki of our dreams. Rosie discusses the inception of The Rosie O’Donnell Show, the infamous episode where Whitney Houston no-showed, her experiences with Britney and reaction to the Framing Britney documentary, being in the studio as Madonna recorded “This Used to Be My Playground” for A League of Their Own, why Barbara Walters disappo...

Jess is joined by iconic Survivor castaway Jerri Manthey, known for her three season arc (spanning 15 years) appearing on The Australian Outback (season 2), All Stars and Heroes vs. Villains. Dubbed “The Black Widow” due to her love-hate relationship with Colby Donaldson, Jerri goes deep about the publicity surrounding The Australian Outback which turned the cast into overnight celebrities (appear...

Jess welcomes Housewives Empath Jamie Stein back to the pod, this time to dissect the unconscious fears and desires of the Summer House cast. Jamie goes deep on the personal journeys and interpersonal relationships of Carl Radke, Kyle Cooke, Lindsay Hubbard and Hannah Berner. We then transition to The Real World: New York and review the landmark reunion series. Jess previously interviewed Jamie ab...

Jess is joined by friend of the show Kate Casey for some predictions on Housewives All Stars (aka Mash-Up) and what to watch this week (Real World New York) + (It's a Sin, HBOMax). Kate also shares a story about the Housewife interview she never aired and why she no longer cares to interview Bethenny or Andy Cohen. Finally, Kate explains why we should get into the new Clubhouse app. Follow @jessxn...

We finally get to bask in the glory of a deep dive on Logo’s gay bachelor show, Finding Prince Charming. We are joined by TWO of our fave suitors: Brandon Kneefel and Justin Roisom. We go behind the scenes of casting and production, Brandon and Justin’s reaction to the rentboy controversy surrounding their “prince” Robert Sepulveda, Jr., before we blow the lid off the damn thing half way through....

Jess is joined by the one... the only... the woman who definitely made her gay: Gina Gershon. Gina Gershon is a certified Gay Icon from her back-to-back iconic roles as Crystal Connors in Showgirls and Corky in Bound. We chat about everything --- Bound, Showgirls, NYC vs. LA in the 90s, high school w/ Lenny Kravitz, appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm as the Hassidic dry cleaner + her impressions...

Jess is joined by Tony Trius and Stefan Mreczko, hosts of MLVC - The Madonna Podcast - for the deep dive of your dreams. Together, we pour through each of Madonna’s albums and reveal our fave “deep cuts” from each. We also discuss our favorite live tour performances and which “single” is criminally under-appreciated. The taste WILL. JUMP. OUT.  Follow @mlvcpodcast, @jessxnyc, @hottakesdeepdives

Jess welcomes back @PetShopBoy aka “B” to review the four-hour Wendy Williams extravaganza on Lifetime. We also discuss Ramona Singer’s jaunts to St. Barth and Mar-a-lago while Sonja Morgan is home recovering from COVID. Finally, we put PetShopBoy to the test with “But Now We Said It: Unpopular Opinions” where he gives his unpopular takes on each Housewives franchise.  Follow @petshopboy, @jessxny...

Jess is joined by her high school classmate: actress, singer, performer Jackie Tohn! Jackie Tohn moved to LA at 18 to pursue her Hollywood dreams after growing up on Long Island and appearing on “The Sopranos” and "The Nanny” (as a young Fran Drescher). Jackie reminisces about her experiences on those shows, plus her stints on "American Idol,” Bravo’s "Platinum Hit" and her big break as “Melrose"...

Jess is joined by stand-up comedian and winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 8, Bob the Drag Queen! Bob tells stories about actress Kathy Nagimy calling RuPaul directly to recommend him, why Whoopi Goldberg is his #1 influence, the story behind the “Bob” drag name and his reign in New York City nightlife headlining at Barracuda. We also discuss why he won’t appear on “Watch What Happens Live” as a...

Jess is joined by friend of the pod and The People’s Couch fave Emerson Collins for an epic re-watch of Bravo's one-season wonder Princesses: Long Island. We discuss: cast favorites and most hated, show highlights, why the show was canceled and where they are now. Jess also sheds light on the truths displayed in the series, having grown up a fellow Long Island Jew.  Follow @emersoncollins, @jessxn...

Jess is joined by New Jersey’s own Anthony Lario to gauge our reactions to the RHONJ trailer which dropped today. We also discuss the psychology surrounding the whistleblower Instagram account @GaysOverCovid, what Anthony has learned from working for Housewives like Dorinda, Braunwyn and Margaret Josephs + Anthony’s new podcast “Sh*tShow.”  Follow @anthonylario, @jessxnyc, @hottakesdeepdives