#96 – The Franchise Suffers from Franchise Fatigue

We’re ringing in the holidays with a festive Show Swap, Christmukkah-style! Join us as we wrap up the year in news, discuss what makes a holiday-themed episode work, share some of our favorites, and then exchange our gifts: Reviews of two classic holiday episodes that combine Christmas and Hanukkah with hilarious results. ——— 🎁 From Dianne: “The Best Christmukkah Ever” 📺 Series: The O.C. 📼 Episode: Season 1, Episode 13 🧭 Where to Watch: Hulu, Max 🗓️ Originally Aired: December 3, 2003 on Fox ⚠️ Extremely Light Spoilers starting at 34:32 ——— 🎁 From Chris: “Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz” 📺 Series: Frasier 📼 Episode: Season 6, Episode 10 🧭 Where to Watch: Hulu, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video 🗓️ Originally Aired: December 17, 1998 on NBC ⚠️ Extremely Light Spoilers starting at 43:47 ——— 🔗 Links: YouTube TV’s monthly cost soars to $82.99 – Chris Welch, The Verge YouTube TV is letting some subscribers hold off that price hike – Wes Davis, The Verge Zaz in Cable Wonderland – William D. Cohan, Puck ‘Sesame Street’ Hits the Market: HBO and Max Opt Not to Renew Deal for New Episodes (Exclusive) – Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery & Fox Officially Lose Latest Move To Kill Venu Sports Streaming Suit From Fubo; Trial Still On For 2025 – Dominic Patten, Deadline Roku snaps up X Games streaming rights – Emma Roth, The Verge ——— Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

For our 100th episode we’re celebrating one of TV’s hardest working genres: The Workplace Comedy. We’ll discuss the classics, debate the mockumentary format, and marvel at the wide range of characters and stories that fit into this surprisingly versatile genre. We’re talking about all our favorites, but in the second half of our conversation we’re going to roll up our sleeves and dive deep into two specific workplace comedies: One is riding off into the sunset with its sixth and final season (FX’s What We Do in the Shadows) and the other is riding high with early buzz and a full season order on NBC (St. Denis Medical). Vampires and doctors? In one genre?! What a world! But first! Follow-up that spans all across the year in news: Paramount, parades, Iger, ESPN, the MAX app, another password sharing crackdown, and yes! A very special 100th Episode Game that we’re calling HBO or NO?! We’ll even answer the burning question of our time: Is The Bear a workplace comedy? ——— 📺 Reviews: St. Denis Medical (Season 1) & What We Do in the Shadows (Season 6) 🧛 What We Do in the Shadows 🧭 Where to Watch: Mondays on FX (Next Day on Hulu) ⏰ Next Episode Airs: Monday, December 16 (Series Finale) 🍂 Seasons: 6 🗓️ Episodes This Season: 11 (61 Total) ⚠️ Light Spoilers for entire series starting at 31:29 🧑‍⚕️ St. Denis Medical 🧭 Where to Watch: Tuesdays on NBC (Next Day on Peacock) ⏰ Next Episode Airs: Tuesday, January 14 🍂 Seasons: 1 🗓️ Episodes This Season: 5 so far (18 ordered) ⚠️ Light Spoilers for first 4 episodes starting at 31:29 ——— 🔗 Links: TV Ratings: Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Hits All-Time High for Second Straight Year – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter Disney Brings Last Piece Of Its Streaming Bundle To Disney+, With ESPN+ Joining Hulu Under The Main Tent – Dade Hayes, Deadline 'Agatha All Along' Hits Nielsen High With Release of Finale – Matt Webb Mitovich, TV Line Streaming Ratings: ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ Hits No. 1 With Season 3 Premiere – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter Streaming Ratings: ‘Agatha All Along’ Hits High With Season Finale – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter Paramount Co-CEO Troika, TV Businesses Eye Consolidation Once Skydance Merger Closes – Anthony D'Alessandro and Jill Goldsmith, Deadline Max Password Sharing Crackdown to Kick Off Next Week, WBD Exec Says – Loree Seitz, The Wrap White Lotus Season 3 to Premiere in February, Euphoria in 2026 – Jennifer Maas, Variety Max is testing always-on HBO channels – Emma Roth, The Verge ——— Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

TV legend Ted Danson has reunited with sitcom icon Mike Schur (The Good Place, Brooklyn 99) to infiltrate our hearts in the delightful new Netflix caper A Man on the Inside. Danson plays a widower who goes undercover at a San Francisco retirement community, but can he solve the mystery of the missing jewels without getting too close to his kooky new neighbors? (Or maybe getting close to them is what he needed all along!) But first! Comcast is saying “so long! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!” to almost every cable channel in their portfolio. What does this mean for the future of NBC and Peacock? And it’s the middle of Black Friday weekend so we’re talking DEALS DEALS DEALS! Get a year of Peacock for $20! Or lock in a deep Disney Bundle discount! Plus some tips for maximizing your streaming savings by rotating email addresses to take advantage of new subscriber offers. ——— 📺 Review: A Man on the Inside 🧭 Where to Watch: Netflix 🗓️ Episodes: 8 (All Episodes Available) 🔄 Renewal Status: TBA 📚 Related Titles: The Good Place 📚 Where to Stream Related Titles: Netflix, Peacock 🤩 Starring: Ted Danson 🧑‍🎨 Created By: Mike Schur ⚠️ Spoiler Warning for first 4 episodes starting at 27:16 ——— 🔗 Links: Comcast Spinoff Will Look to Buy Channels, Expand Into Streaming – Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg Maddow Money – Dylan Byers, Puck Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Draws Largest Audience Ever With More Than 30M Viewers – Katie Campione, Deadline Max, Hulu, and Paramount Plus are all heavily discounted for Black Friday – Sheena Vasani, The Verge Peacock’s Black Friday deal grants a full year of access for $20 – Lawrence Bonk, Engadget Paramount+’s Black Friday Deal Saves Cord Cutters Over 60 Percent off Its Best Streaming Plan – Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter Hulu’s best Black Friday deal is back with $.99 a month for an entire year – Quentyn Kennemer, The Verge Trakt.tv ——— Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

Saturday Night Live is back for its 50th season and we’re celebrating with an All-Time SNL Cast Draft! Join us as we discuss the latest episodes and then draft competing casts of 14 team all-time greats: Who gets Belushi? Who will anchor Weekend Update? And which legendary cast member did ChatGPT completely forget about?! But first, in the news: Yellowstone returns for its final impossible-to-stream season! Paramount+ celebrates a change in fortunes! Netflix purges its interactive specials! And Max takes the crown as king of the Churn and Return generation! ——— 📺 Review: SNL at 50 🧭 Where to Watch: NBC (Saturdays at 11:30 PM ET) and next-day on Peacock 🍂 Seasons: 50 ⏳ Where to Stream Past Seasons: Peacock 🧑‍🎨 Created By: Lorne Michaels ——— 🔗 Links: How to Stream Yellowstone's Season 5B Premiere – Nick Caruso, TV Line ‘Tracker,’ ‘Elsbeth’ Show Strong Multi-Platform Gains for CBS in Early Ratings Returns – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter Paramount Co-CEO Chris McCarthy Feels Good About Paramount+’s Position “To Remain A Standalone” – Dade Hayes, Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline Comcast Says It May Spin Off Cable Networks and Seek a Streaming Partner Amid TV Business Tumult – Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter Netflix is removing nearly all of its interactive titles – Jay Peters, The Verge A New Streaming Customer Emerges: The Subscription Pauser – Sarah Krouse, The Wall Street Journal Dan Bulla Has Earned His SNL Vanity Card - LateNighter – Nick Riccardo, Late Nighter ——— Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

🇺🇸 It’s our Election-Free Election Special! 🇺🇸 You’ve felt your feelings, you’ve cast your vote, now distract yourself from the darkness of November! Join us for a super-sized round of Renewed or Canceled?! and a MEGA show swap of Feel Good Fall Shows that will keep you warm as the nights get longer. ——— 📺 Shows Recommended: Nobody Wants This (Netflix) Resident Alien (Seasons 1-2 on Netflix, 1-3 on Peacock) The Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix) Elsbeth (CBS, Paramount+) Evil (Seasons 1-2 on Netflix, 1-4 on Paramount+) Chicken Shop Date (YouTube) Girls5Eva (Netflix) Blown Away (Netflix) Homicide: Life on the Streets (Peacock) Broad City (Hulu, Paramount+) Kevin Can F— Himself (Netflix, AMC+) Yellowjackets (Season 1 on Netflix, 1-2 on Paramount+ with Showtime) Interview with the Vampire (Season 1 on Netflix, 1-2 on AMC+) Unreal (Netflix) ——— 🔗 Links: Includes spoilers for Renewed or Canceled?! 'Patrick Star Show' Renewed for Seasons 4 & 5 at Nickelodeon – Joe Otterson, Variety 'Rick and Morty' Renewed Through Season 12 at Adult Swim – Ethan Shanfeld, Variety 'Parish' Cancelled at AMC — No Season 2 – Nick Caruso, TV Line ‘Unstable’ Canceled By Netflix After 2 Seasons – Nellie Andreeva, Deadline ‘The Diplomat’ Renewed For Season 3 At Netflix – Katie Campione, Deadline 'Nobody Wants This' Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix – Vlada Gelman, TV Line 'The Serpent Queen' Canceled, Queen Elizabeth Spinoff Coming to Starz – Ethan Shanfeld, Variety 'Velma' Cancelled: No Season 3 For Mindy Kaling Scooby-Doo Show On Max – Andy Swift, TV Line 'Reacher' Renewed for Season 4, Amazon Sets Season 3 Release for 2025 – Ethan Shanfeld, Variety ‘The Night Agent’ Scores Early Season 3 Renewal at Netflix – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter 'Kaos' Canceled After One Season at Netflix – Jordan Moreau, Variety QVC Renews Busy Philipps Talk Show 'Busy This Week' for Season 2 – William Earl, Variety ‘The Rings of Power’ on Verge of Season 3 Renewal by Amazon – James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter 'Who's The Boss' Revival Cancelled — Amazon Cancels Sequel Series – Andy Swift, TV Line That '90s Show Cancelled, No Season 3 (aka Part 4) at Netflix – Ryan Schwartz, TV Line James Graham's BBC Crime Drama 'Sherwood' Renewed For Season 3 – K.J. Yossman, Variety ‘Pretty Little Liars’ Reboot Canceled at Max – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter 'Industry' Renewed for Season 4 at HBO – Joe Otterson, Variety ‘Batwheels’ Renewed For Season 3 At Cartoon Network – Rosy Cordero, Deadline ‘Unprisoned’ Canceled After Second Season, Says Kerry Washington – Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter ‘Chucky’ Canceled After Three Seasons – Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter ‘Orphan Black: Echoes’ Canceled After One Season – Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter Goodbye, ‘Evil’: You Were One Hell of a Wonderfully Weird Show – Alan Sepinwall, rollingstone.com ——— Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

Marvel’s franchise fatigue seems like the perfect target for comedy, but can the new HBO satire The Franchise overcome the baggage of the subject matter? Is it more of a 30 Rock or a Studio 60? But first! Big ratings for our favorite new procedurals, trouble in paradise for the Golden Bachelorette, more scoops on the Abbott/Sunny crossover, and a triumphant quarter at Netflix (featuring surprise Mulaney news!). ——— 📺 Review: The Franchise 🧭 Where to Watch: HBO / Max 🗓️ Episodes This Season: 8 (Sundays at 10 PM ET) 🔄 Renewal Status: TBA 📚 Related Titles: Avenue 5, Veep 📚 Where to Stream Related Titles: Max 🤩 Starring: Himesh Patel, Aya Cash, Bill Magnussen, Jessica Hynes, Lolly Adefope, Richard E. Grant 🧑‍🎨 Created By: Jon Brown, Sam Mendes, Amando Iannucci ⚠️ Spoiler Warning for first 2 episodes starting at 20:00 ——— 🔗 Links: ‘High Potential’ Audience Grows 19% With 8.7 Million Viewers for Episode 3 | Exclusive – Loree Seitz, The Wrap 'The Golden Bachelorette' Ratings on ABC — 'Abbott Elementary' – Matt Webb Mitovich, TV Line 'Abbott Elementary' Producers on 'Sunny' Crossover, Season 4 Stories – Michael Schneider, Variety A great season for Netflix – Lucy Brewster, Morning Brew Netflix Picks Up Weekly Live Variety Talk Show Hosted by John Mulaney – Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter Daniel Craig Slammed Netflix CEO Over ‘Knives Out' Avoiding Theaters: “F*ck Your Model!" – Jordan Ruimy, World of Reel 'The Penguin' Episode 2 Ratings: 1.6 Million Viewers – Selome Hailu, Variety ——— Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

The hottest new shows of the fall TV season are old school (and in some cases: Old people!), with CBS and ABC leading the way: We’ll look at freshmen hits Matlock and High Potential. These network detective procedurals have even more in common than meets the eye… but will you be able to crack the case with us? Plus: Could Agatha All Along usher in a new era of budget-concious Marvel shows? How confusing could the DirecTV/Dish merger get? And what’s the TV crossover of our dreams and how is it actually happening?!? ——— 📺 Review: Matlock 🧭 Where to Watch: CBS and Next-Day on Paramount+ 🗓️ Episodes: 1 (Thursdays at 9 PM ET) 📚 Related Titles: Matlock 🤩 Starring: Kathy Bates ⚠️ Spoiler Warning for first episode starting at 15:15 ——— 📺 Review: High Potential 🧭 Where to Watch: ABC and Next-Day on Hulu 🗓️ Episodes: 3 (Tuesdays at 10 PM ET) 📚 Related Titles: HPI (Original French series) 🤩 Starring: Kaitlin Olson ⚠️ Spoiler Warning for first 2 episodes starting at 33:17 ——— 🔗 Links: Marvel's Brad Winderbaum on 'Reasonable Budget' of 'Agatha All Along' – Joe Otterson, Variety From AOL Time Warner to DirecTV and Dish: 20 years of media mergers – Wes Davis, The Verge Abbott Elementary, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Will Cross Over – Michael Schneider, Variety TV Ratings: CBS’ ‘Matlock’ Makes Solid Opening Argument – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter When Does 'Matlock' Episode 2 Air? — CBS Series Returns October 17 – Matt Webb Mitovich, TV Line Kathy Bates Retiring After 'Matlock': 'This Is My Last Dance' – Claire Franken, TV Line ABC’s ‘High Potential’ Nears 11M Viewers for Second Episode (Exclusive) – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter ——— Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

Spooky Season has arrived and Disney+ is leaning into it with the long-awaited (and repeatedly retitled) WandaVision spin-off Agatha All Along. It’s got a killer cast, but can it shake the Marvel curse? And speaking of Marvel: We’re assembling our own coven… of shows! Join us as we each draft a team of 6 Marvel shows that we hope Kevin Feige resurrects for another season. Which one of us will assemble the Avengers of Avengers-adjacent characters? But first, in the news: Wake up, babe. New bundle dropped! And we begin the bittersweet farewell to satellite TV. ——— 📺 Review: Agatha All Along 🧭 Where to Watch: Disney+ 🗓️ Episodes: 9 (Wednesdays at 9 PM ET) 🔄 Renewal Status: TBA 📚 Related Titles: WandaVision 📚 Where to Stream Related Titles: Disney+ 🤩 Starring: Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza 🧑‍🎨 Created By: Jac Schaeffer ⚠️ Spoiler Warning for first 4 episodes starting at 42:46 ——— 🔗 Links: Charter will offer Peacock for free with some cable subscriptions next year – Wes Davis, The Verge Charter Spectrum Cuts Carriage Deal With NBCUniversal, Adding Peacock to Pay-TV Packages – Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter DirecTV Placed on Credit Watch Negative After Unveiling Deal to Merge With Dish – Erik Hayden, The Hollywood Reporter ‘WandaVision’ Recap: What to Remember for ‘Agatha All Along’ – Andi Ortiz, The Wrap 'Agatha All Along' Ratings: 9.3 Million Views in One Week on Disney+ – Selome Hailu, Variety Agatha All Along Nude Scene Wasn't Scripted Says Kathryn Hahn – Diego Ramos Bechara, Variety Agatha All Along’s practical effects were key to bringing its magic to life – Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge ——— Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

It’s our 2024 Emmy Awards Spectacular! Join us as we review the live show and break down the coronation of FX chief John Landgraf (with one hilarious exception!). ——— 🔗 Links: FX Outduels Bigger Rivals to Collect Huge Emmy Haul – John Koblin, The New York Times Emmys 2024 Voters Finally Decide ‘The Bear’ Is Not a Comedy – Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone TV Ratings: Emmys Jump by 55 Percent, Stop Streak of All-Time Lows – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter Casey Bloys On ‘Hacks’ Surprise Comedy Series Emmy Win & Category Debate; ‘White Lotus’, ‘The Last Of Us’, ‘Euphoria’ & ‘Harry Potter’ Updates – Nellie Andreeva, Deadline ——— Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

FX cleaned up at the 2024 Emmy Awards, but can they keep the winning streak alive? Could the engine behind Hulu’s premium content even be on track to surpass HBO as the de facto home of prestige TV? We’re looking at both sides of that equation with a review of the new FX comedy English Teacher and a deep dive into David Zaslav’s latest swerve with Max (coming soon to a basic cable package near you!). But wait! There’s more: The ABC Presidential Debate brought in big ratings across all the news networks, but did viewers punish CNN for hosting the infamous first debate? Speaking of that Cable News Network: The channel’s new leadership continues to undo the legacy of Zaslav’s first pick, Chris Licht. That means Brian Stelter’s back, baby! The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon becomes the final nail in the coffin for Friday night Late Night, with all the major shows down to 4 new episodes a week. With ratings in a free fall across all the networks what will the future of Late Night look like? (Maybe it’s more of an After Midnight style affair.) ——— 📺 Review: English Teacher 🧭 Where to Watch: FX and Hulu 🗓️ Episodes: 8, Releasing Weekly (Mondays at 10 PM ET) 🤩 Starring: Brian Jordan Alvarez, Stephanie Koenig, Enrico Colantoni, Sean Patton, Langston Kerman 🧑‍🎨 Created By: Brian Jordan Alvarez 🎬 Directed By: Jonathan Krisel, Brian Jordan Alvarez ⚠️ Light Spoilers for first 3 episodes. ——— 🔗 Links: 67.1 Million People Watched Harris and Trump, Outdrawing Last Debate – Michael M. Grynbaum, The New York Times Over 67 Million Viewers Tune In for ABC News Harris-Trump Debate – Nielsen Trump: No more debates with Kamala Harris – Reuters Seth Meyers to Host Primetime ‘Closer Look’ Special After September Presidential Debate – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter How Late Night TV Is Downsizing – Alex Weprin, Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter James Corden Bows Out - LAmag – Brian Stelter, LA Magazine In Major Deal, Max and Discovery+ Will Join Charter Video Bundle as Warners Makes Big Move – Erik Hayden, Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter Max to Grow by 6M Subscribers This Quarter, David Zaslav Says – Erik Hayden, The Hollywood Reporter 'English Teacher' Review, FX School Comedy, Brian Jordan Alvarez – Dave Nemetz, TV Line ——— Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com