This reunion is crossposted from Downstream episode 43. Tim Goodman drops by to discuss his decision to be a TV writer at the very end of the Peak TV era, the challenges of TV criticism, and his return to writing about TV on his own terms via his Substack. Tim Goodman and Jason SnellVon The Incomparable

“Counterpart” revisited, CNN+ as seen through the lens of an escaping prisoner, Apple TV+’s surprise success, the mess that is the current streaming landscape, and Tim shares a book idea with substack readers. Plus, letters from listeners! Tim Goodman and Jason Snell Show Notes & Links Tim's Substack Justin Marks on "Counterpart" season 3 (which ne…

“Station Eleven,” “The Afterparty,” Stephen Colbert, TV marriages, “The A Word,” and the moment when Tim’s partner said, “Yeah, I’m never gonna watch that.” Plus: your letters! Tim Goodman and Jason SnellVon The Incomparable

The past is present: Tim's interview with Stephen Colbert from the City Arts and Lectures series, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco.

Tim finds “Utopia”—twice. Jason gets confused by “NCIS: Hawaii.” We ponder series hiding away on services like STARZ and EPIX. It’s Peacock’s time to shine (not just the Olympics, but “Vigil”!). PBS, please take my money. Tim bounces off of “Raised By Wolves.” And at the end of the episode The Box Set takes on episode one of “Station Eleven” and ep…

It’s been 612 pandemic-fueled days. But we’ve taken the tarp off the TV Talk Machine, replaced a few parts, and are ready to kick it into gear. Tim spent the last two years writing TV scripts! He’s going to keep doing that, and write a book, and also has launched a newsletter on Substack so he can write about television again. And… did we mention t…

Tim and Jason return to close the book on Volume 4 of the TV Talk Machine chronicles. (You can find the previous three volumes at theincomparable.com/tvtm/about.) We’ll be back in this feed, probably soon, with something that’s more of us talking about stuff, but a lot less about things that are TV related. But before we go, Tim describes the exper…

This week Tim has a new refrigerator and is watching comfort food like “Peaky Blinders.” Comcast stealth-launches Peacock. Bad things happen at Tim’s former employer. Jason watched “Home Before Dark” and “Devs.” And “What We Do In The Shadows” is back! Tim Goodman and Jason Snell Show Notes & Links Michael Taylor's "Hollywood Juicer" blog Resoundin…

Tim just got home after several weeks away for complicated reasons. We’re back to fill your ears with talk about TV, music, life, and more. We hope it helps. We’ll read your letters and play your audio files if you send them in. Tweet at @tvtm or email podcast at tvtalkmachine dot com. Tim Goodman and Jason Snell Show Notes & Links Mentioned: “Tige…

This week your teacher has given you a break—we’re giving you another week to watch “What We Do In The Shadows.” Instead, we keep it tight and bright as Tim joins the rest of us in these Times of Confusion by not even realizing what TV shows are debuting. After some brief Death Cab For Cutie banter, we shift it into gear and discuss Actual TV News,…

This podcast is like your friend who left a longtime job, got some new tattoos, and is showing a renewed interest in yoga. It’s a new life. Tim launched his new Resounding blog, which leads us to discuss why we love women singers. Speaking of learning and growing and pop music, Jason’s seen “High Fidelity” and does a real-estate check on “Zoey’s Ex…

We’re back! Tim is retired, rested, and ready. And he’s got two new music-based projects to announce—neither of which is his secret job, sorry. Jason has some TV news and reports back on finishing a couple of series. We also read some of your letters and start a brand-new segment where Tim gives both Jason and the listeners a TV viewing assignment!…

One last time before the end of the year, we’re back! Jason uses computer technology to construct a best-of-the-decade list for Tim. We’re probably forgetting something. We also discuss “Watchmen” a little bit, so if you want to not be spoiled at all about it, you can skip ahead to minute 20 and you’ll miss the whole thing. Tim Goodman and Jason Sn…

Tim’s done with being a TV critic and is trying to be all positive, but he put in nearly 11 months of work and Jason’s demanding a list! So Tim and Jason both present their lists of their favorite shows of 2019. Plus we answer your letters. Tim Goodman and Jason Snell Sponsors Mack Weldon: Smart underwear for smart guys. Get 20% off your first orde…

Happy Thanksgiving! The Machine’s gas tank is now full of gravy. This week we’re reading your letters, Jason mentions a couple of shows he’s watching, and Tim encourages you not to overspend on streaming services if you’re cord cutting. Listeners have theories about Tim’s undisclosed employer! And Jason tries several techniques to convince Tim to m…

Having been safely “offboarded” from The Hollywood Reporter, Tim discusses his final review, which is a negative review of “Dublin Murders.” Jason watches a bunch of TV shows, while Tim has spent a couple of weeks going to sleep early and not watching television. It’s a new era for the TV Talk Machine, as we roll into parts unknown. Tim Goodman and…

Did anything happen this week? Oh, yes, Tim announced that he’s leaving The Hollywood Reporter and “retiring” as a TV critic! We discuss Tim’s feelings about moving on from the TV critic racket and try to figure out what form the TV Talk Machine will take in the future. (Hint: There are a bunch of year- and decade-end lists coming up, and Tim doesn…

Tim reviews Amazon’s “Jack Ryan”, Apple’s “For All Mankind”, Showtime’s “Back to Life”, and is in the midst of watching Netflix’s surprising second season of “The End of the Fxxxing World.” Plus Apple TV+ launches, HBO Max clarifies, we talk Bay Area blackouts, and we read your letters and tweets! It’s a podcast about television, remember? Tim Good…

This week we’ve got Tim’s reviews of Australian drama in “The Cry”, two Paul Rudds are better than one in “Living With Yourself”, a not-so-Bourne “Treadstone”, and the final season of HBO’s “Silicon Valley.” Plus, Jason watches “Watchmen” and “Letterkenny,” the Netflix bot gets sassy, and political debates are super boring. Tim Goodman and Jason Sn…

Tim’s seen most of HBO’s “Watchmen” but never read the comics. Jason owns multiple copies of the comics. Who will have the harder time parsing Damon Lindelof’s unlikely new series, which follows the world of the comics into the present day? We discuss the difficulties of laying down new story ground while also making inside references for the fans.…

We’re back from our excursions to the Pacific Northwest and ready for action. Tim reviews “Modern Love”, “Raising Dion”, and “Godfather of Harlem,” and then Tim and Jason break down the high stakes for the final season of “Mr. Robot.” Speaking of robots, we take an interesting phone call… after which we answer your letters and tweets. Tim Goodman a…

It’s fall TV premiere season, but unlike the days of the old TV Guide Fall TV Preview, we’re not feeling it. Still, we’ve got some Emmys reaction, Tim’s reviews of “Stumptown”, “Cake”, and “Bless the Harts”, a pitch for a reconsideration of “This Way Up”, and Jason keeps mentioning a CBS show that will inevitably disappoint him. Tim’s off to VIFF n…

This week Tim reviews the second season of “Succession” and Netflix’s new one-room-four-countries series “Criminal.” Plus NBC embraces its inner peacock, the rebooting of every show ever made continues, and we make a gongoozler in the +44 reconsider everything he knows about reality.Von The Incomparable

Tight and bright? Forget it. This episode is as big and deadly as an Australian rooster. Apple names its price and launch date! Tim wraps up his big cord-cutting series! Tim reviews “Mr Inbetween” season 2, “Mrs. Fletcher”, “The Victim”, and Ken Burns’s new music documentary! Listeners ask if Tim is loved enough! Plus: Gongoozling!…

Tight and bright this week! Tim details his cord-cutting experience, we answer questions from around the globe, and the Netflix algorithm shifts to weekly (with a big asterisk).Von The Incomparable

Australia’s favourite weekend podcast is back, as we discuss Apple’s forthcoming event, drop bears, endings, procedurals, the Slow Binge(TM), Disney’s inevitable dominance, Apple’s content standards, and the strange robot that runs Netflix and doesn’t understand humans.Von The Incomparable

This is a jam-packed, shockingly professional episode of the TVTM, as we knuckle down on a Friday afternoon to give you what you want: a television-themed podcast. We discuss the endings of “Catastrophe” and “Patriot”, Tim’s sometimes-contentious relationship with TV executives and the nature of criticism, Tim’s adventures in cord cutting, Bill Wal…

As summer slowly fades out, Tim ponders the new shows of the season. Also, is Netflix in need of a strategy shift? Should it be signing the “Game of Thrones” creators to a big development deal? Why did CBS and Viacom come back together, and why did they split apart in the first place?! We answers your letters, including a question about when “Terri…

Tim’s in Big Sur on vacation this week, but Jason has captured his astral form and forces him to talk about bad TV shows like “Another Life” and “Four Weddings and a Funeral” as punishment. But it’s not all bad: Tim tries to convince his friends to watch “Years and Years”, and they all seem to have resisted the call, so now it’s time for him to con…

Tim’s back from the Death March With Cocktails! We discuss the soon-to-be-famous “lost episode” of the TVTM, Jason re-reads some of your letters, and Tim does a download on Amazon, Netflix, Starz, and other cable and streaming services after seeing them in L.A. Also, we have bad news: “Sad Spies” is dead.…

No matter what day it is, Emmy nominations came out this week, as well as calamitous Netflix subscription numbers. We tackle that and some other streaming news, and then Tim reviews “Pennyworth” and “Frankenstein’s Monster’s Monster, Frankenstein.” Tim’s about to run off to summer press tour, but don’t worry, we still saved time for your questions!…

This week Tim reviews “Shangri-La”, Showtime’s music docuseries about Rick Rubin, which he loved. Then we branch off of a check-the-box letter from Listener Joe to discuss Warner Media’s big move in streaming, HBO Max. And we save some time for your calls and letters, including a Columbo Vote, a new app, the majesty of a foreign accent, and Jason c…

This week we reveal the winner of last week’s draft, as voted on by TVTM listeners. And then we break down Tim’s many choices for TV shows you should watch now that we’re in the summer slowdown. Jason also gets some good news from HBO, we realize we forgot to name the streaming services we drafted, and Tim contemplates becoming a cord cutter.…

This week we’re both on vacation, so we’ve pre-recorded this episode in which we perform the first-ever TV Talk Machine fantasy draft! Tim and Jason are going to pick five new shows from the past year that they’ll use to populate their brand-new scrappy underdog streaming services. Which one would you subscribe to? Let us know!…

This week Tim reviews “Legion” season 3 on FX and the BBC/HBO coproduction “Years and Years”, Tim goes over some of his biggest Emmy pleas, we discuss the positive word of mouth around “Chernobyl”, and we answer a whole bunch of your letters and tweets!Von The Incomparable

Tim reviews “City on a Hill” and “Das Boot”, and then we discuss his story about just how brutally hard it is to find (and keep) an audience today. Plus we send love to your fathers, including our favorite parental TV moments.Von The Incomparable

In this very unusual Friday edition of TVTM, Tim reviews HBO’s “Euphoria” and the latest batch of “Black Mirror” episodes on Netflix. We also read your tweets and letters, including an audio question about the importance of opening title sequences.Von The Incomparable

It’s the end of the world! And Amazon’s “Good Omens” really delivers. Tim reviews Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s miniseries epic, along with “Perpetual Grace LTD” from the original Sad Spy himself, Steven Conrad. Then we answer your emails, including the job of a critic to ignore the social-media zeitgeist.…

We spend the first 27 minutes of this week’s episode talking about the “Game of Thrones” finale, why we liked it, and why the knives were out for it all over the internet. Twenty-seven minutes. We warned you. Warm up your fast-forward fingers if you don’t care. Then we move on to reviews of “Name of the Rose” and “What/If”, and answer a few of your…

You’ve got that right, this is Thursday and we’re energetic and refreshed! Tim reviews “Fleabag” season 2, “Line of Duty” season 5, and we discuss the ending of “Veep” and the impending end of “Game of Thrones.” Plus Disney buys out Comcast and takes full control of Hulu, and Tim goes down his 14 top TV comedies right now.…

This week Tim watches “Fosse/Verdon” and George Clooney’s new Hulu miniseries adaptation of “Catch-22.” Then we dive into talk about cord cutting, because the time has come for everyone with decent Internet access to plan their departure from traditional TV and embrace the stream.Von The Incomparable

The impossible task “Game of Thrones” faces in trying to please its entire audience, “Barry” finds a balance, “Chernobyl” dodges the Boris and Natasha accents, HBO at the center of Warner Media’s streaming plans, and favorite TV catchphrases.Von The Incomparable

This week we discuss the return of “Game of Thrones”, how the clock is ticking for WarnerMedia’s entry into the streaming wars, and answer your letters!Von The Incomparable

Disney announced the release date (November) and price ($6.99) for its new streaming service this week, and it’s set the bar awfully high (or low) for competing services. What does this mean for Netflix and Amazon? What about Apple? Why is ABC not even mentioned among Disney’s brands? Also Tim has some praise for goofy absurdism on TV and we get a …

This week Tim has praise for “Killing Eve” season 2, condemnation for “The Twilight Zone”, and lots of love for “Game of Thrones” as an all-time classic drama and “Veep” as a classic comedy. Plus, lots of letters from the +44, guv’nor!Von The Incomparable

This week Tim says hello to the final season of “Veep”, Jason laments the existence of live studio audiences, and we ponder the streaming service that Apple announced in Cupertino this week. Also, a listener takes a victory lap and Netflix cancels a show we’ve never heard of.Von The Incomparable

Apple’s video service announcement looms next week, and Tim and Jason turn the topic over one final time in the absence of any real evidence. Also, do British shows like “Sex Education” handle teen sex better than American shows? And we read a few of your letters, as is our tradition.Von The Incomparable

It’s a double-sized mid-week episode of the TVTM! Jason turns the tables on Tim by writing about Apple’s forthcoming TV service and the necessity of non-Netflix services to create distinctive brands. Tim reviews a whole bunch of new shows, including the return of “Catastrophe”, the new UK drama “Manhunt”, the unfortunate comedy “Turn Up Charlie”, a…

HBO’s chief executive exits, leading us to speculate about the fate of HBO and Warner Media’s future streaming efforts; congressional testimony returns with more unadaptable drama; Pamela Adlon’s “Better Things” returns as strong as ever; and we play two audio messages and answer a few of your letters, too.…

This week Tim and Jason lament the passing of “Counterpart”, Tim lashes out at “Umbrella Academy”, we blow through a bunch of Tim’s articles from the past two weeks, and save time for your letters and two (two!) voice messages. Most importantly, the TV Talk Machine theme makes a surprise appearance in a TV promo.…