Summer Television Preview

Summary

All Of It: Summer Television Preview Episode Summary

Podcast Information:

• Title: All Of It
• Host: Alison Stewart
• Guest: Katherine Van Arendonk, Vulture TV Critic
• Release Date: July 7, 2025
• Description: All Of It explores the multifaceted world of culture, engaging thinkers, creators, and consumers to delve into the "what" and "why" of their work. This episode focuses on previewing the summer television lineup, offering insights and critiques on the latest and returning TV shows.

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1. Introduction to Summer TV Landscape

Alison Stewart welcomes listeners to the latest season of All Of It, highlighting the influx of new and returning TV shows for the summer of 2025. She introduces Katherine Van Arendonk, a respected TV critic from Vulture, to discuss notable television offerings and trends shaping the season.

Alison Stewart:
"The new season of The Bear just dropped. New episodes of The Gilded Age are now airing Sundays. And this week there's a new series coming out from Girls creator Lena Dunham. Summer TV is back, baby."
[00:32]

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2. Evolving Nature of Summer Television

Katherine Van Arendonk provides a retrospective on how summer TV has transformed over the past decade, particularly influenced by the rise of streaming platforms.

Key Points:

• Pre-Streaming Era: Summer TV was often relegated to reruns and less prominent shows, perceived as the "dregs" of television programming. Networks used this period to experiment with unconventional or reality-based content.

• Impact of Streaming: The advent of streaming services has obliterated traditional seasonality, allowing TV shows to premiere year-round. While this increases content diversity, it concurrently diminishes communal viewing experiences and the anticipation associated with major fall premieres.

Katherine Van Arendonk:
"Streaming has really destroyed a lot of our seasonality in television. TV comes out all year round now. There's no longer that sense of like the fall is here, TV is exciting again."
[01:13]

She laments the loss of shared cultural moments but observes a resurgence of event-driven programming that rekindles communal engagement.

Notable Shows Discussed:

• The Gilded Age
• The Bear
• Love Island USA

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3. In-Depth Show Analyses

a. Ballard – Amazon Prime

Overview: Ballard introduces Maggie Q as Renee Ballard, a cold case LAPD detective navigating complex investigations. The series aims to blend traditional procedural elements with fresh character development.

Katherine Van Arendonk's Insights:

• Character Dynamics: Maggie Q portrays a grounded and competent detective, bringing charisma and depth to the role.

• Genre Familiarity: While adhering to familiar crime procedural tropes, Ballard offers new world-building elements that enrich the narrative.

Quote with Timestamp:
"I think Maggie Q is really charismatic in the role also."
[06:36]

b. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Paramount

Overview: Entering its third season on July 17, Strange New Worlds continues the Star Trek legacy with Captain Christopher Pike, portrayed by Anson Mount. Set before the original series, it captures the vintage essence of the franchise.

Katherine Van Arendonk's Insights:

• Optimistic Vision: The show embodies Star Trek's foundational optimism about humanity's future, offering heartfelt and playful storytelling.

• Ensemble Cast: Emphasizes character relationships and diverse storytelling, maintaining freshness through varying episode tones.

Quote with Timestamp:
"Star Trek is a fundamentally optimistic vision of humanity."
[09:58]

c. Too Much – Netflix

Overview: Created by Lena Dunham, Too Much follows a heartbroken New Yorker moving to London for a fresh start, mirroring Dunham's personal experiences post-breakup. Megan Stalter stars as the protagonist, adding a new dimension to Dunham's narrative style.

Katherine Van Arendonk's Insights:

• Autobiographical Elements: While not directly autobiographical, the show echoes Dunham's life, presenting nuanced reflections on personal growth and relocation.

• Performance Nuance: Megan Stalter balances sincerity and self-deprecation, presenting a character reminiscent of Dunham's iconic Hannah Horvath from Girls.

Quote with Timestamp:
"I'm not sure it's a show I'm still really kind of trying to get my head around."
[13:58]

d. Wednesday – Netflix

Overview: Wednesday returns for its second season on August 6, continuing the story of Wednesday Addams at a school for the supernatural. The season is split into two parts, enhancing suspense and engagement.

Katherine Van Arendonk's Insights:

• Sustaining Popularity: Concerns about maintaining the show's viral success and avoiding the infamous sophomore slump.

• Character and Story Development: Anticipation surrounds the evolution of Wednesday's character and the show's ability to retain its unique appeal.

Quote with Timestamp:
"It is very optimistic. Star Trek is a fundamentally optimistic vision of humanity."
[17:36]

e. Platonic – Apple TV+

Overview: Premiering on August 6, Platonic is a comedy series starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne. It explores the dynamics of lifelong friends reconnecting through social media amidst pivotal life moments.

Katherine Van Arendonk's Insights:

• Creative Dynamics: The second season sees reduced involvement from creator Nick Stoller, raising questions about continuity and creative direction.

• Apple TV+'s Positioning: As Apple strengthens its foothold in the comedy genre, Platonic aligns with Apple's focus on comfortable, relatable storytelling.

Quote with Timestamp:
"I think Platonic really fits well with the Apple sort of vibe."
[20:09]

f. Love Island USA –

Overview: Love Island USA offers an immersive reality TV experience, airing five nights a week. The show remains a cultural phenomenon, especially among younger audiences, despite mixed reviews.

Katherine Van Arendonk's Insights:

• Cultural Impact: The show's intensive schedule fosters a sense of collective viewing, making it a staple summer watch.

• Viewer Engagement: The immersive nature and relatable participants sustain its appeal, despite criticisms of its content.

Quote with Timestamp:
"Love Island, USA happens five nights a week, which is insane. But the thing that this does for you... is total immersion young idiots lives."
[21:38]

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4. Listener Feedback and Reactions

Alison Stewart integrates listener comments, reflecting diverse opinions on current TV shows:

• Positive Sentiments: The Gilded Age is reportedly improving over time, garnering increasing acclaim.
• Mixed to Negative Reactions: The Bear receives lukewarm responses, while Love Island USA is criticized for not appealing beyond a certain demographic.

Example Listener Comments:

• "Is it me or has the show been getting better over time?" – Katherine Van Arendonk: "It's not just you. It's great."
  [17:13–17:15]

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5. Conclusion and Teasers

The episode hints at upcoming discussions, including Katherine's insights on Lena Dunham's Too Much and an exploration of summer reading challenges. Alison Stewart invites listeners to participate by sharing their TV preferences and critiques, fostering a community dialogue around cultural consumption.

Alison Stewart:
"Our number is 212-433-969-2212 wnyc. We'll have more with Vulture TV critic Katherine Van Arendonk."
[10:53]

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Final Thoughts

This episode of All Of It offers a comprehensive overview of the summer 2025 television landscape, blending expert critique with listener engagement. Katherine Van Arendonk's nuanced perspectives provide depth to the discussions, highlighting both enduring franchises and emerging shows navigating the evolving media terrain. The conversation underscores the dynamic nature of television consumption in the streaming era, emphasizing the balance between nostalgia and innovation in captivating contemporary audiences.

Transcript

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

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[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on wnyc.

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

Hi everybody.

[Alison Stewart]

I'm Alison Stewart. The new season of the Bear just dropped. New episodes of the Gilded Age are now airing Sundays. And this week there's a new series coming out from Girls creator Elena Dunham. Summer TV is back, baby. And so is Kathryn Van Arendonk, Vultures TV critic. She's here now to give us some TV suggestions to check out this summer. And yes, we will include Love island usa. Hi Katherine.

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

Hello.

[Alison Stewart]

Before we get to your list, there is so much TV right now, including some big shows returning this season. When you think about summer TV 2025, how does it match up to the past years?

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

I think increasingly what I have felt about summer TV is a return of a moment that I first remember noticing maybe 10, 15 years ago. For a long, long time it felt like summer TV was defined by reruns. In the pre streaming era, summer TV was like the dregs of things that, that you were just stuck with. And then there was this period in the kind of early, early 2000s before streaming really hit where summer TV became this opportunity to try out like big weird events. You would get these kind of eight episode seasons that maybe didn't work and, or were things that a network had decided was like too risky or strange to try in the, in the big fall TV slots and they would get put in the summer and they were these kind of interesting event TV or strange, fun, stupid reality shows. Streaming then has really destroyed a lot of our, our seasonality in television. TV comes out at any all year round. Now there's no longer that sense of like the fall is here, TV is exciting again. And with it there has also been this loss of sense of communal viewing and there's been a loss of the sense of any particular TV show being a big event, a big exciting thing to rally around. And one of the things that I really have appreciated about the TV this summer and, and I think TV will continue to learn lessons from, or I hope will, is that the stuff that is exciting, the stuff that seems to be really grabbing people are the things that have that big kind of event feeling to them. And I'm talking about actually the Gilded Age, which I'm a little bit surprised to say, but the Gilded Age is great this season and people are really excited about tuning in. And I've really kind of gotten on the the camp wavelength of that show, which I'm really appreciative of. There is also, I mean the bear coming out is always like this big moment. It sort of drops all at once and then that's all everyone talks about for a couple days. And then yeah, Love island usa, which is this whole incredibly event driven experience that is just over the summer and has that very stupid, very fun, fully immersive feeling that people I think are looking for.

[Alison Stewart]

For people who want to know more about the Gilded Age. Exactly a week ago we talked to Morgan Spector. It was a great conversation. Check it out on all of it listeners. We want to what new TV are you watching these days? Any shows that have returned for a new season you're enjoying and what is encouraging and what encourages us to check it out, give us a call. 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC or maybe there was a show that you heard was great and then you watched it and it was meh. We want to take your criticism too. Our number is 2124-3396-9221-2433 wnyc. We are talking to Vulture TV critic and friend of the show, Katherine okay, let's get into your list. You have great lists. First you have Ballard out on Amazon prime on July 9, stars Maggie Q as a cold case LAPD detective. Where do we meet Maggie Q's character Renee Ballard when the show begins?

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

So the idea of Ballard, which is created by Michael Connelly, which you will know from Bosh, like everyone who watched Amazon shows and they loved Bosh, all of the dads out there, all of the crime procedural people, you know who you are. Ballard is here to become the next thing that you can really hang on to. And one nice thing about it, one thing I really appreciated is that Maggie Q plays Renee Ballard who is a brand new character now. Yes. Is she like most other detectives that you've ever met in crime fiction? Sure. But that's what that genre is. You're not actually looking for dramatic re reinvention, but it is nice to at least have some new world building. Right. Some new person that you get to meet. So her is is a little bit of a slow horses model where she has been ousted from the main the main thrust of the investigation. She has been shuttle off to the side. She is stuck in Cold cases now because of stuff that has happened in her past. And. But of course she's actually the genius detective and we all know that. And. And so inevitably she then stumbles on the kinds of connections, the suggestions, the clues that other people have not been paying attention to and starts to put all the pieces together. And it's got a big, you know, the sense of the board with the like, what if this is connected to that? And look, yes, of course that is familiar and that is the kind of thing that you will recognize from other shows you have seen before. But I like those shows and I'm always. It's always nice to have one where you can turn it on and be like, all right, somebody knows what they're doing. Somebody understands the genre. I think Maggie Q is really charismatic in the role also.

[Alison Stewart]

So Ballard, I love police procedurals, so I will be there. What is Maggie Q? What does she really bring to the role? Because the lead always has something going on.

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

Yeah, I think one thing that I like about her is, I mean there are a couple different flavors of detective and I mentioned slow horses before that tends to really divide up. Those are spies, but they tend to really divide up among like the ones who really run like idiots who run through the street and that's kind of most of what they do versus the guys who sit in the house and they just kind of put the pieces together. And I think she's just a. She is a more well rounded version of somebody. She's very grounded but also competent, I think in a way that I tend to really like that lane of detective.

[Alison Stewart]

Our next up is a favorite of our producer, Kate Star Trek Strange New World. She's got her hands in the air. The third season is premiering on Paramount July 17th. Where does this pick up in the Star Trek universe?

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

Okay, so the Star Trek universe is more. It is more vast, I would say than the way Star wars has been really centered around a few main characters other than andor which his own whole thing. Star Trek has all of these different captains who sort of relate to each other, pick up at all these different points in the timeline and Star Strange New Worlds. Its central captain, his name is Christopher Pike. He's played by Anson Mount. This actually takes place right before the original Star Trek series with Kirk and Spock.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, that's interesting.

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

Yes. And so it has this kind of lovely vintage feel to knows where all of the aesthetics of this franchise are going. And so it doesn't have to do a lot of anxious reinvention of like what if the costumes are somehow cooler. Again, like it is really comfortably vintage Star Trek to my eye. But the other thing about STR New Worlds that I so, so appreciate, the reason that I am, I think it is the best of the current Star Trek franchise model is that it also feels more like vintage Star Trek. It is very episodic. The episodes switch tone wildly. So you'll have this is like the horror episode one and this is the time travel one and this is the like alien planet one where everyone ends up in weird new identities and then has to swap back. This to me is like what Star Trek, what it really works about it and what distinguishes it from this kind of vast other science fiction blob of prestigeness, which is that there's a playfulness to it, there's a real heart to it. It's an ensemble cast. And you just, you don't know exactly what you're gonna get each episode. But you do also know it's gonna be, it's gonna be the guys I like, they're gonna like each other, they're gonna respect each other. It's just a lovely time. It's the best one to introduce kids to. Also, if you're like, how do I.

[Alison Stewart]

It sounds sort of optimistic in a way.

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

It is very optimistic. Star Trek is a, is a fundamentally optimistic vision of humanity. And that's really nice, I gotta say. Like, it's just a really affirming way to think about stress and to think about the kinds of vastness of human experience and how universal actually all of these things are. And because it is so intent on being an ensemble cast and making room for all these characters, there's a really lovely younger version of Spock and of Uhura. These kind of familiar figures. If you have been a Star Trek person for a long time and, and you just feel like how, how important this is to everyone involved, but also how important it is that they are not treating it like precious glass. They are really having fun with what this, what this franchise is.

[Alison Stewart]

Got a text here that says I've been kind of meh about this season of the Bear. Another one says, my older girls convinced me to watch Love Island. I made it about 20 minutes in and couldn't take it anymore. I think it's for the 20 something generation. What are you watching on TV these days? Any show you've returned to for a new season that you're enjoying? Maybe one you think is kind of, eh, give us a call or text us now at 212-433-969-2212, wnyc. We'll have more with Vulture TV critic Katherine von Arendonk. And we'll talk about Lena Dunham show after the break. This is all of It. You are listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. My guest is Vulture TV critic and friend of the show Katherine Von Arendonk. We're talking about what you can watch this summer with the AC on. Let's talk about Lena Dunham. She's back in tv this time as the creator of a new show on Netflix. It's titled Too Much. It's out on July 10th. Netflix describes the show as, quote, heartbroken New Yorker moves to London hoping for a love story. Lena Dunham herself moved from New York to London after a breakup. Is this her own personal story?

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

Yeah, I think. Look, Lena Dunham is a creator who has always had this really interesting but not one to one relationship autobiographically with her own work. I mean, if you recall 10 years ago, longer the whole narrative of Girls, her big breakthrough TV series was like, this is this young woman, this is this show that is not her. She is not that character. But isn't she? But is she? But how much? And it really became this big sort of maelstorm of discourse about like what a millennial generation is and who she represents within it. And she has really avoided doing a project quite that directly autobiographical since then. And so it is interesting to see Too Much, which is this new, this new project from her which as you say, has a lot of echoes with her life. We as from what we understand from profiles and what she's talked about from what her life has been in the last 10 years. On the other hand, unlike Girls, Dunham does not play the central character of Too Much. That character is played by Megan Stalter as the kind of protagonist character who moves from New York to London to start her career. You may know Stalter from the Max show Hacks. She plays the.

[Alison Stewart]

I'm laughing though, because she's kind of a little bit like Hannah Horvath.

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

She is from Girls.

[Alison Stewart]

It's, I mean, she's a char. Yeah. Continue.

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

Yes, no, she totally is. And, and for me, this is the thing that's most interesting and that I am still kind of trying to wrestle with about Too Much because I having watched it and really I spent a lot of time thinking about Girls. I was, that's actually one of the things that I first did at Vulture was I was the Girls recapper. I was like in the Middle of the discourse. And I. So I have a lot of feelings about sort of this whole universe. And I. One of the things that I'm really still trying to think about with Too much is like, whether that Megan Stalter character, how much it is like Hannah Horvath as a joke and how much it is like that character being taken seriously, and how Stalter's performance is able to kind of flex around the sincerity points versus the self deprecation points. I'm not sure it's a show I'm still really kind of trying to get my head around.

[Alison Stewart]

Lena Denham wrote girls, obviously about four white girls who lived in Brooklyn in the 2010s, and her character Hannah, an aspiring writer, was famous, slash infamous for this line.

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

I don't want to freak you out, but I think that I may be the voice of my generation, or at least a voice of a generation.

[Alison Stewart]

You, as the girls recapper, what do you think about sort of the wave of pieces that have been written about girls in the past, let's say the past year?

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

Yeah, it has been really interesting to watch this renaissance of interest in the show. When I was first writing about it a decade ago, it was famous because it was like, about this moment that was happening right now. It was like, what is this generation right now, these new young people? And now we are in this place where it has become nostalgic. Right? It is. This is looking back at a time before TikTok has eaten people's brains, before algorithms became quite so niche, before politics did what they did over the past decade. And. And it has been very. A little bit unmooring to have this. This sense of the show as, like, nostalgic for this time. That was actually like so much of Girls is about unhappiness, you know, and it feels very different to me from when the same thing happened to Friends, because it did the same thing 100% happened with the show. The sitcom Friends. It became very popular afterwards with a new group of young people. And I'm just. I'm very curious how this new show will hit and how it will kind of fit into or shift people's sense of, like, what girls is doing in the culture right now.

[Alison Stewart]

That one is called Too Much. Our clips are basically everybody's saying, the bear is meh. This one says, the better sister I watched it was okay, but needs better actors. Deli boys is fun summer diversion. Another says, I agree with your comments about the Gilded Age. Is it me or has the show been getting better over time?

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

It's not just you. It's great.

[Alison Stewart]

It is good, right? All right, let's talk about some sophomore efforts. On August 6, the new season of Wednesday is back on Netflix. Starring Jenna Ortega. Wednesday is the daughter in the Addams Family who went to a Harry Potter esque school for kids like her. Where do we find Wednesday in season two?

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

You know, Wednesday. So I have not had screeners for Wednesday yet. I am very excited to see what they do with this new season. And one thing I want to note is that they are splitting the season so half of it will come out. Netflix has been doing this lately. Part of it will come out the beginning of August and then the other half of it will come out in September. And I'm really, I am excited to see what's happening with Wednesday in part because it was one of those Netflix sleeper hits that I think they knew would be appealing but then ballooned into popularity with like a viral dance. And you know, half of the kids in my kids elementary school were dressed as Wednesday the next Halloween. And it really became this, this big cultural thing and, and part of what I'm curious about with Wednesday is will it be able to maintain that level of popularity? There is this real phenomenon with television shows and has been for quite a long time. Like a sophomore slump is real. Second seasons are hard. I think we have seen a little bit of that with Squid Game recently. Like it just, you know, is this huge blow up thing and then there's not as much of the talk about the second season. And I wonder if what will happen with Wednesday is that it is able to avoid some of that because so many of its fans are so young and will be interested in the world of it. I also think Jenna Ortega herself, as a figure who is become very versed in negotiating big media storms and stories about her will help elevate it more sort of in the just general social awareness than sometimes happens with sophomore shows. But also I am rooting for it. I think it is always fun when there is a show that doesn't feel quite exactly like much though I love Ballard look. But one of the great things about Wednesday is that it has its own lane, you know. Yeah, I'm excited.

[Alison Stewart]

We'll see on Apple TV season two of the comedy Platonic. It comes out August 6th. It stars Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne about friends who reconnect via social media at pivotal times in their lives. It's interesting, one of the show's creators, writers and directors, Nick Stoller, he isn't writing very much in the second season. I think one episode or so. Is that good or bad for a second season?

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

Well, you know, it's hard to say. I think I really liked season one of Platonic. I think it has been a little bit of a sleeper. And actually, Apple, Apple tends to be really well known for its dramas. It has a really comfortable lane in comfortable shows, if that makes sense. And, and, and it has really had a hard time finding its footing in the comedy space in the same way, other than Giant, Asterix, Ted Lasso. Right. And, and I think Platonic really fits well with the Apple sort of vibe. It is about adults they are experiencing kind of classic, familiar midlife relationship drama, but it's nothing too out of this world or too stressful. And I am hopeful about Platonic season two. But also sometimes. I mean, Nick Stoller is a busy guy, so it could just be that. But comedy, I think, also has more space for collaboration, collaborative writing. I like shows that are not reliant on a single auteur figure. We'll see. We'll see.

[Alison Stewart]

We've got a lot of votes for dep, Department Q and the Pit. All right, I'm gonna give you 30 seconds for love Island.

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

Okay, here we go.

[Alison Stewart]

Here I go. I really don't like reality tv, but I'm gonna give it to you because you are a friend of the show. Ready?

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

Go. Okay, here we go. So Love Island, USA happens five nights a week, which is insane. Five nights a week, an hour a week. But the thing that this does for you, which almost no TV does now, is total immersion young idiots lives. And you get so much familiarity with, like, who they are, their speech rhythms. It is. The editing is so much more relaxed because it fills all this time. And you have this. It is this brief period where everyone gets together and watches it. It's lovely and it's so fun and weird.

[Alison Stewart]

One. All right, TV critic Katherine Venn. Aaron Dunk, thank you so much for your recommendation. Congratulations.

[Katherine Van Arendonk]

Always a pleasure.

[Alison Stewart]

Coming up, we're gonna check in on how your summer reading challenge is going so far. Stick around. I'm Ira Flato, host of Science Friday. For over 30 years, our team has been reporting high quality news about science, technology and medicine. News you won't get anywhere else. And now that political news is 24 7, our audience is turning to us to know about the really important stuff in their lives. Cancer, climate change, genetic engineering, childhood diseases. Our sponsors know the value of science and health news. For more sponsorship information, visit sponsorship wnyc. Org.