House of R — The 2026 Winter Mailbag

Podcast: House of R by The Ringer
Hosts: Mallory Rubin & Joanna Robinson
Date: March 4, 2026

Episode Overview

This special mailbag episode sees Mallory Rubin and Joanna Robinson dive into listener questions submitted by the "bad babies" (their loving audience nickname). The questions range from recent genre TV phenomena and future book releases to underappreciated sci-fi/fantasy, pop culture adaptations, and their own upcoming plans. The hosts maintain their characteristic warmth, playful banter, deep fandom knowledge, and enthusiasm for all things speculative fiction and nerd culture.

Main Segments

1. The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Sir Arlan Theory

[06:36–11:52]

• Fan Theory Discussed: Is Ser Arlan of Pennytree not a true knight, which would explain why he never knighted Dunk and reflect a thematic parallel seen later?
• Joanna's Take: Thinks the thematic parallel is "interesting" but holds to it loosely:

  “Thematically, that parallel is interesting to me… But I do think thematically that parallel as a shared tie between Arlan and Dunk would be interesting.” (07:55)

• Mallory's Response: Dislikes the theory, feeling it “dilutes Dunk's story”:

  “To me, it dilutes Dunk's story to be like, it's just a copy-paste of what happened with Ser Arlan.” (10:01)

• Consensus: Both see it as plausible, but prefer Dunk’s journey as unique.

2. Thrones Updates & Adaptation Rumors

[12:20–16:29]

• Hot News: Development of a Thrones movie by Bo Willimon (creator of House of Cards, Andor).
• Speculation:
  • Possible "Aegon’s Conquest" adaptation, though both hosts want more palace intrigue and even propose a Blackfyre Rebellion approach.
• Memorable Quote:

  “What if we just stayed right here for a minute and did Blackfyre 13 years before Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?” – Joanna (14:39)

• Both agree the show’s continued critical/commercial success could justify exploring this in film form.

3. Book Recs and Discussion: What the Bad Babies Are Reading

[16:40–32:12]

a) The Will of the Many (James Islington)

• Joanna joined a “side book club” for this, found it "conceptually riveting," with surprise twists and a rich magic system, though gives the main character a mild "Mary Sue" ding.
• Mallory notes the sequel is good but less successful due to less focus on side characters.
• Both highlight that their recommendations have spurred a listener reading trend.

b) The Everlasting (A. Harrow)

• Mallory: “One of the best books I’ve read in a really, really long time. Time travel, dragons, villainous queens… so Thrones-coded.” (25:23)

c) Katabasis (RF Kuang)

• Both hosts praise it as a dark academia, mythologically rich adventure through hell, with a particularly “complicated portrait” at its heart:

  “Layers of exploration and questing, the different aspects of hell that we journey into with our characters. I just thought I could have read 4,000 pages of that stuff.” – Joanna (26:50)

d) Upcoming Books (2026 & Beyond)

• Joanna: Shouts out new George Saunders, “The Correspondent” (Virginia Evans), “Orbital” (Samantha Harvey), and possible Acotar (Sarah J. Maas) releases.
• Mallory: Excited for Leigh Bardugo’s “Deadbeat” (third Alex Stern book), Robert Jackson Bennett’s mystery-fantasy series, Emily St. John Mandel’s “Exit Party,” Fonda Lee’s “Last Contract of Isako,” plus book adaptations like “Project Hail Mary.”
• Notable quote:

  “It’s about to be time to break the whiteboards back out.” – Joanna on new Acotar (36:10)

4. Underrated TV & Movie Recommendations

[44:57–56:12]

• Prompt: Listeners ask for unsung, underhyped gems.
• Mallory’s Picks:
  • Ashes to Ashes (UK time travel/cop show), The Magicians, Legion, early Penny Dreadful, The Green Knight (film), The Fall (Tarsem Singh, film), Dead Like Me, Star Trek: Voyager (esp. Seven of Nine arc).
  • Celebrates performances: “Jeri Ryan was hired to be the tits and ass on that show – but she's so good that they then gave her the best storyline…” (51:07)
• Joanna’s Picks:
  • Fringe (Anna Torv, John Noble, Joshua Jackson): “It fit both aspects of the prompt… Anna Torv in Fringe as Olivia is just such… a great father-son relationship, slow burn romance, unapologetically weird.” (52:39)
  • Dark (German, Netflix, time travel masterpiece): “One of the most fully realized…” (55:54)
• Both Hosts:
  • Love for Dead Like Me and Legion.
  • Co-sign Black Sails (esp. writing and Toby Stevens).

5. Survivor 50 Winner Picks & White Lotus Crossover

[57:17–68:06]

• Prompt: Predict the Survivor 50 winner and which contestant should get a cameo on White Lotus.
• Mike White is back on Survivor; Mal and Jo analyze who his tribe members are and who might get a cameo, landing on Cirie as the cameo pick.
• Joanna’s Hope:

  “My dearest hope is that it is Christian [Hubicki]… one of the great injustices in the history of Survivor.” (65:18)

• Connor for Genevieve as a strong new-era player.
• Banter on edit reading, storytelling, and how unpredictability is sky-high this season.

6. Pride and Prejudice Netflix Adaptation

[68:20–72:57]

• Casting Opinions: Jack Lowden as Mr. Darcy (“leave my boy alone!”) and Emma Corrin as Lizzie.
• Joanna: Unbothered by Darcy’s hair color debate, argues Jack Lowden “has exactly what Darcy needs.”
• Mallory: Favors the miniseries for ensemble depth, notes Olivia Colman is an instant win as Mrs. Bennet.
• Both: Express open curiosity, hope for great things (“Let Olivia Colman cook!”), express skepticism after Dakota Johnson’s “Persuasion.”

7. Interview with the Vampire — Season 3 & Vampire Lestat

[72:58–77:51]

• Will cover every episode, even with House of the Dragon overlap.
• Both are excited for teasers, the original music, and narrative structure blending dream/hallucination/flashback ("oozing in and out of reality").
• Mallory jokes:

  “That track [Long Face] has 483,000 plays, I believe 480,000 of them are me.” (74:55)

8. Project Hail Mary vs. Doctor Who & “Roommate” Hypothetical

[77:51–81:22]

• If stranded in space, would you choose The Doctor or Rocky (from Hail Mary) as your companion?
• Joanna:

  “To me, with love and respect to the Doctor, this is the easiest question… Rocky is an icon. It would be the honor and privilege of my existence.” (79:42)

• Mallory: Jokingly says she’d “shove Rocky out the airlock” to travel with the Tenth Doctor.

9. Traders (Reality TV) Explainer

[81:30–92:25]

• Mallory recaps the most recent season for Joanna, focusing on strategy, social alliances, and the notorious Rob Maura dynamic ("the best man should win" but painful to watch).
• Recommends franchise to fans of Survivor & strategic reality competition.

10. Marvel’s Wonder Man — A Missed Deep-Dive

[93:11–102:23]

• Both hosts loved the new Wonder Man show: praised for humor, emotional resonance, performances (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ben Kingsley, Joey Pantoliano), and Hollywood satire.
• Regret not being able to do a full pod due to scheduling, call it “the best thing Marvel has done in years."
• Joanna:

  “Sensational needle drop, vibrant and charming… a breath of fresh air.” (94:54)

• Both wish for more MCU projects with this tone and accessibility.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Banter

• “You need to remember your vows… the hedge knight’s way is the true way.” – Mallory on Dunk’s legacy, [10:01]
• “There’s a wolf pal, which is just, you know, extremely my shit.” – Joanna, on Will of the Many, [23:28]
• “Just watch a second of anything Jack Lowden has ever done and you’ll feel better.” – Joanna, on the new Mr. Darcy, [69:23]
• “I think seeing movies together… seeing the like absolute astonishing orders that you put in at the concession stand.” – Mallory, on moving to LA, [108:28]
• "Project Hail Mary, House of the Dragon, Vampire Lestat, Rings of Power… what more could you ask for?" – Mallory, closing hype, [112:39]

Fun Personal Segment: LA Move

[104:06–108:03]

• Discuss excitement about both living in LA and being able to do in-person podcasts, screenings, “Martini Mondays,” and bookshop crawls.
• Mallory describes searching for the city’s best dirty martini, "I have a spreadsheet," invites listener recs.
• Both anticipate more joint content and fun social plans with fellow Ringer hosts.

Recommendations & Wrap-Up

• Books: Will of the Many, The Everlasting, Katabasis, Deadbeat, Last Contract of Isako, Exit Party
• Shows: Fringe, Dark, Black Sails, Penny Dreadful, Ashes to Ashes, Magicians, Legion, Star Trek: Voyager
• Films: The Green Knight, The Fall
• Reality TV: Survivor 50, Traders (US & UK)
• Adaptations Anticipated: Vampire Lestat, Project Hail Mary, Deadbeat, Wonder Man S2 (hopes)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 06:36 — Knight of the Seven Kingdoms/Ser Arlan Theory
• 12:20 — Thrones Movie Adaptation Speculation
• 16:40 — Bad Babies Book Recs (Will of the Many, Everlasting, Katabasis)
• 44:57 — Underrated Show/Film Recs
• 57:17 — Survivor 50 Picks & White Lotus Crossover
• 68:20 — Pride & Prejudice Netflix Adaptation
• 72:58 — Vampire Lestat S3 Discussion
• 77:51 — Project Hail Mary vs. Doctor Who Hypo
• 81:30 — Traders Recap
• 93:11 — Marvel’s Wonder Man Mini-Review
• 104:06 — LA Move/Personal Excitement

Closing

Mallory and Joanna affirm how much they're looking forward to a packed 2026 of genre storytelling, adaptations, and new adventures—both as podcasters and as friends in the same city at last.

Key takeaway: “This is, like, so our year!” – Mallory, [112:12]

Stay tuned every week for deep dives, recommendations, and all things nerd spectacular on House of R!