The Good. The Bad. The Basic.

Joining us for this episode are our very special guests, Sara and S.E. of the Bitches on Comics podcast! The last time Sara and S.E. were guests here on GBB, we were discussing Lost Girl, so of course, they were the first people to come to mind when discussing the contemporary Sapphic delight that is the topic of our current episode, the Syfy original, Wynonna Earp Based on the comic book miniseri...

Today, we’re discussing the FX original, Legion! Based on the Marvel comics series, Legion is about a young man who’s battled schizophrenia his entire life, only to learn that he is a mutant, and that his “mental illness” is really just his mind's way of coping with his vast power. Legion took a bold and daring move, at the height of the MCU, but did this gamble pay off, or did the series bite off...

We’re debuting this 13th season with one of the most popular, critically-acclaimed superhero dramas of recent memory: Heroes! Heroes tells the myriad stories of seemingly ordinary people who learn that they have supernatural abilities, and how those abilities impact their lives, for the better and for the worse. Some become villains, some become opportunists, and others become heroes. So what did...

Today, we’re discussing the Netflix original series, Dear White People! Based on the satirical dark comedy film of the same name, Dear White People uses the fictional Ivy League of Winchester University to explore race relations among the student body and America at large. With each episode focusing on the personal life and inner world of a different character, Dear White People attempts to explor...

Today, we’re discussing the BET college drama, The Quad! The Quad chronicles the growth and growing responsibilities of a newly-elected president at a financially struggling university. Dr. Eva Fletcher, the first female president of GAMU, must manage her students, her faculty, and her not-so-stable love life, all while trying to manage a healthy relationship with her rebellious daughter. This was...

Today, we’re discussing NBC’s college sitcom, A Different World! A spin-off of the critically-acclaimed Cosby Show, this series began by following the Cosby’s second-eldest daughter, the aimless Denise Huxtable, as she started her journey of higher education at Hillman College, a fictitious amalgam of Spelman and Morehouse Colleges. This sitcom chronicling the HBCU experience was much-needed and h...

Today, we’re discussing Global and E!’s short-lived college drama, The Best Years! The Best Years is a Canadian series set in the U.S. which follows a young woman’s journey into womanhood when she is awarded a scholarship to an Ivy League university after having spent the past 10 years in foster care. Our protagonist, Samantha Best, doesn’t really have any family when she arrives at college, but s...

Today, we’re discussing The WB’s hit college drama, Felicity! Felicity is a series in which the title character scraps all of her plans for college in order to chase her high school crush across the country. We follow the adventures of our heroine in love, academia, and adjusting to life in a new city with new, adult responsibilities. Felicity was one of the most iconic shows of its era, so how do...

Today, we’re discussing the hit ABC Family college comedy-drama, Greek! Greek follows a group of young adults at university who are a part of fraternities or sororities, otherwise known as Greek life. This series observes the college experience from a lens that’s often seen on the periphery of the college experience rather than the forefront, and chronicles the characters’ various highs and lows d...

Today, we’re discussing the back half of Syfy’s fantasy series, The Magicians! Based on the popular new adult fantasy book trilogy, this series follows the struggles, danger, adventure, and growth of a group of friends at Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy, as well as their magical friends. The Magicians wasn’t perfect, but it left an indelible impression and quickly became a pop culture p...

Today, we’re discussing the first half of Syfy’s fantasy series, The Magicians! Based on the popular new adult fantasy book trilogy, this series follows the exploits of our protagonist after he is granted admission into Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy, an exclusive, and secret, university for magicians. Often referenced as an aged-up Harry Potter for adults, The Magicians gives us magic...

We’re debuting this 12th season, Off to College!, with one of the most popular, critically-acclaimed sitcoms of this millennium: Community! Community follows an unlikely group of friends who meet upon attending Greendale Community College, and chronicles their personal antics, burgeoning camaraderie, and their wildly inappropriate relationship with their dean. What is it about this mildly over-the...

Today, we’re concluding our Spies & Lies season with a discussion on the back half of ABC’s action- spy thriller, Alias! Alias tried to mix the political, the theological, and the mythological, but this risk was...questionable, to say the lead. Our protagonist, Sydney Bristow tries to juggle the relationships with her father, her handler, and her work, and doesn’t always succeed? So why do we thin...

Today, we’re discussing the first half of ABC’s action- spy thriller, Alias! One of ABC’s most critically-acclaimed dramas, Alias follows Sydney Bristow, a CIA agent working as a double agent for SD-6, a counter-government agency. Sydney must handle the stressors of her job while keeping her friends in the dark, navigating a romance with a co-worker, and handling the tense relationship between her...

Today, we’re discussing the back half of NBC’s comedy-action spy series, Chuck! Chuck goes from a Nerd Herd member at Buy More to the CIA and NSA’s most valuable asset after opening an email from his college roommate. The series follows an ordinary guy after he’s pulled into the dangerous world of espionage, with impeccable comedic timing. So what do we think made this series so enjoyable? Stay tu...

Today, we’re discussing the first half of NBC’s comedy-action spy series, Chuck! Chuck follows the escapades of the title character after some of the nation’s greatest spy secrets are embedded into his brain and he is subsequently used on top-secret missions by the CIA and the NSA. So what was it about this tech genius turned international man of mystery that made audiences love Chuck so much? Sta...

Today, we’ll be discussing NBC’s spy-drama, Undercovers! This series worked from the unique premise of a husband and wife catering duo who had a colourful past as CIA agents, and are called out of retirement to take on the big jobs that no one else is qualified for. Filled with intrigue, international jet-setting and crime-fighting, and ulterior motives, Undercovers was certainly very different fr...

Today, we’ll be discussing The CW’s action-spy thriller, Nikita! Based on the critically acclaimed spy-drama from director Luc Besson, this series about a young woman recruited into a secret government agency was the fourth adaptation of the source material and had some very big shoes to fill. Nikita takes a different approach, beginning where its predecessors ended, with Nikita managing to get aw...

Today, we’re discussing the back half of FX’s magnetic spy thriller, The Americans! The Americans is about undercover KGB agents posing as travel agents, and how their dangerous lives become more complicated as their daughter gets older, an FBI agent moves in across the street, and they experience myriad crises of consciousness about the nature of their work. The Americans gave us a very balanced...

Today, we’re debuting our highly-anticipated 11th season: Spies & Lies! During the course of this season, Alex and I will be discussing all the riveting series which featured a hearty dose of intrigue, espionage, and international warfare! We’re premiering GBB’s 11th season with none other than one of the most critically-acclaimed spy thrillers of all time: The Americans! The Americans is not just...

Today, we’ll be discussing the back half of one of the most groundbreaking Black sitcoms: Girlfriends! Girlfriends took us through the highs and lows of a group of four very different Black women, and chronicled their searches for love, purpose, career, and family. So what do we think made this series so iconic? Stay tuned!

Today, we’ll be discussing one of the most beloved modern Black sitcoms of all time: Girlfriends! This series follows four Black women as they navigate careers, romance, and most importantly, their relationships with themselves, and one another. Girlfriends was a refreshingly insightful, loving, and honest portrayal of what it means to be a Black woman in America, and approached the issue from fou...

Today, we’ll be discussing America’s second-most popular teenage girl detective: Veronica Mars! This series follows a whip-smart highschooler from the elite, fictional town of Neptune, California, who solves the various mysteries in the lives of her classmates, even as she struggles with a few mysteries from her own past. So what do we think made Veronica Mars so intriguing? Stay tuned!

Today, we’ll be discussing the back half of one of the most truly groundbreaking and provocative series in television history, The L Word! This American-Canadian drama follows a group of lesbian friends living in Los Angeles, and chronicled all of their high and lows during their quests for love. How did The L Word manage to avoid so many heteronormative tropes, and what made this series an instan...

Today, we’ll be discussing one of the most truly groundbreaking and provocative series in television history, The L Word! This American-Canadian drama follows a group of lesbian friends living in Los Angeles, and all the lovers they keep and exes they lose along the way. The L Word was the first series to ever star an entire principle cast of queer women, and center lesbian and bisexual women's ex...