It's Monday, which means it's time for another episode of the TV Is Good podcast, where Kathryn VanArendonk and I look at notable television shows from the present and the past. In this week's episode, Kathryn and I get into the notion of weird spinoffs that make no logical sense when you compare them to their parent series. We start off by looking at HBO Max's dismal sci-fi Big Bang Theory offshoot Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, which it will shock you to learn we did not enjoy.
Alan Sepinwall
From there, we go on a tour through some memorably unusual spinoffs from TV's past, including The Brady Bunch Variety Hour and Mrs. Columbo, aka Kate Columbo, aka Kate the Detective, aka Kate Loves a Mystery. The latter title was featured in one of the great TV episode newspaper ads of all time:
And for a bonus third segment, Kathryn and I talked through our feelings about The Vampire Lestat season finale, with spoilers.
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For next week's episode, we'll be pairing a discussion of Hulu's new crime thriller Furious (look for my written review tomorrow), created by Liz Meriwether, with the very different show that put Meriwether on the TV map: New Girl. Specifically, we'll be focusing on what many fans consider the show's best episode, "Cooler," from Season Two. It's streaming on Hulu and Peacock, if you want to take a look.
Our Patreon subscribers have picked the subject of next week's August Patreon episode: "Axis Mundi," the Season Two premiere of The Leftovers. Subscribe at Patreon.com/TVIsGoodPod.
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To quote the hosts of every show you listen to, please remember to subscribe, rate/like, and review, because the algorithm uses that data to decide what shows to promote to people who don't already know about them. Please help us beat the algorithm at its own game. You can also write to the two of us specifically at tvisgoodpod@gmail.com.
