‘I Love LA’ Feels Like a Textbook HBO Comedy. Plus, ‘The Lowdown’ Finale.

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Watch – ‘I Love LA’ Feels Like a Textbook HBO Comedy. Plus, ‘The Lowdown’ Finale.

Hosts: Chris Ryan (A) and Andy Greenwald (B)
Podcast: The Watch (The Ringer)
Date: November 5, 2025

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Overview

In this episode, Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald reunite in London to deliver their insights and takes on two major TV topics: the series premiere of HBO’s “I Love LA” and the season finale of “The Lowdown.” Woven through are their signature observations on cultural differences, the joys and pitfalls of Los Angeles living, and the importance of authentically drawn characters in television. The discussion is funny, full of affectionate ribbing, and brimming with the duo's love of pop culture.

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London Dispatch: Marmite, BBC Deep Cuts, and Cultural Observations

[00:06–08:02]

• Chris and Andy are recording from Spotify’s London studios, reflecting on the city’s odd warmth and unique living conditions (the non-existent AC, the tiny window openings).
• Andy shares his first experience with Marmite, guided by his UK colleagues:

  “I was served two very different Slices of Marmite toast and a room full of extremely polite English people watched me eat them.” (Andy, 04:26)

• Chris raves about a Radiance screening of Night of the Juggler and his love for physical media.
• TV recommendations from across the pond:
  • Andy’s obsessions include Canal Boat Diaries (watching a guy in a skinny boat and curry-making adventures) and Michael Portillo’s travel documentaries.
  • Chris explores BBC’s Film Club, noting its pre-fame cast crossovers.
• Notable moment: Andy’s fascination with British TV comfort-watch ethos:

  “There’s one channel that just plays The Simpsons all the time... six channels that play Strictly Come Dancing...” (07:00)

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Main Segment 1: HBO’s “I Love LA” – First Impressions

[08:04–24:12]

What Is “I Love LA,” and Who is Rachel Sennett?

[08:04–10:51]

• Andy lays out Rachel Sennett's rapid ascent:
  • Social media origins, breakout roles in Shiva Baby and the A24 universe.
  • The show: Sennett's semi-autobiographical comedy about a New Yorker moving to LA to make it in talent management, described as an “Entourage” for the influencer age.
• Chris on the ensemble:
  • Sennett stars as Maya; Jordan Firstman and True Whitaker play friends; Leighton Meester plays Maya’s boss; Maya’s boyfriend is played by Josh Hutcherson.

Setting the Scene

[10:51–13:21]

• The pilot centers on Maya’s birthday and workplace aspirations, highlighting friend dynamics and influencer culture. Adessa Azion’s character Tallulah—a hurricane influencer from Maya’s past—returns, setting up the season’s main friendship arc.

Tone, Style, and Stand-Out Qualities

[13:22–19:39]

• Andy praises the show’s “confidence,” both in setup and character chemistry:

  “The pilot hits you with confidence. It begins with Earthquake sex, which is a pretty good starting point for what the show is going to be...” (Andy, 13:24)

• Both hosts celebrate classic “group of friends” comedies and the believable LA rhythms:

  “It understands something I feel is profound about Los Angeles... Nothing really works there. It's kind of not a functioning place.” (Andy, 15:13)

• Observations about LA life ring true (waiting in lines, the inertia of city life, visitor enthusiasm vs. local malaise).
• In-jokes about LA bagels and locations; Andy and Chris debate credentials of trendy spots (Courage vs. Maury’s).
• Andy’s homesickness adds personal investment to the show’s themes.

Does the Show Feel “Of the Moment”?

[19:40–24:12]

• Andy notes the show’s skillful depiction of influencer drama and evolving city culture.
• Generational language gap: Chris and Andy joke about youth-speak in the show, comparing it to Platonic and their own comfort with “what’s up, bitch” banter.
• Quote:

  “Life’s better when there’s an HBO show like this.” (Chris, 18:40)

Verdict

• Both hosts warmly recommend “I Love LA,” appreciating its specificity, characters, and lightness.

  “Thumbs up from Siskel and Siskel here...” (Chris, 23:24)

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Main Segment 2: “The Lowdown” Season (Series?) Finale

[25:13–36:29]

Finale Reactions

[25:13–26:05]

• Chris found the finale “deeply emotionally satisfying,” with standout acting, particularly from Kyle MacLachlan:

  “In most shows would either be a villain or a useful idiot... and instead... got to be every part of who that character was.” (Chris, 26:04)

• The show’s refusal to reduce characters to villains or heroes is highlighted as a strength.

Character Depths & Storytelling

[26:28–29:17]

• Scenes with Kyle MacLachlan and Keith David show nuanced takes on ambition, regret, and morality.
• The finale wove together separate mysteries (skinheads, religious groups, land-grab conspiracies) into a coherent, satisfying conclusion. Chris compares it to James Ellroy novels where plot reveals happen in atmospheric, sometimes oblique ways.

Emotional Impact & Themes

[28:50–33:36]

• Andy is especially moved by the show’s “portraits of community.”
• The wedding at the end serves as a powerful metaphor for letting go and finding peace, especially in the father-daughter dynamic.

  “...as a hashtag girl, dad, like, that was... gnarly and affecting, and I was glad there was space for it in the show.” (Andy, 28:52)

• The show’s optimistic belief in people’s capacity for change and grace is celebrated.
• Journalism as dramatic engine—depicting the meaningful, patient work of writing and truth-telling, rather than over-the-top action.

Looking Ahead

[34:12–36:29]

• Both hosts hope for more, imagining how the show could evolve:
  • Season 2 as a lean, noir detective story
  • “The Lowdown” as both a canvas for creator Sterlin Harjo’s vision and a platform for underappreciated actors.
• Praise for the show’s ability to take narrative detours—side stories (Marty’s romantic subplot; Dinklage’s episode) are seen as rare, satisfying investments in TV.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “I've become very, very obsessed with the Michael Portillo phenomenon.” (Andy, 07:05)
• “The pilot hits you with confidence. It begins with Earthquake sex, which is a pretty good starting point for what the show is going to be and gets you right in the mood.” (Andy, 13:24)
• “Nothing really works there. It's kind of not a functioning place.” (Andy, 15:13)
• “Life's better when there's an HBO show like this.” (Chris, 18:40)
• “You seem like a nice guy. But like, we won’t be having a second date.” (Andy paraphrasing Tisha Campbell’s character, 35:43)
• “This is a show that believes deeply in the power of change, of being seen... It believes in evolution, not in a Darwinist sense, but in terms of who you are...” (Andy, 32:03)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:06–08:02 – London recap, Marmite adventure, British TV digressions
• 08:04–24:12 – “I Love LA” review: show setup, praise, and cultural dissections
• 25:13–36:29 – “The Lowdown” finale: thematic analysis, character studies, hopes for renewal

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Tone & Final Thoughts

Chris and Andy are in peak form: conversational, analytical, and self-deprecating—with a balance between nostalgia and a sharp eye for current TV. They treat both “I Love LA” and “The Lowdown” as necessary parts of the TV landscape: one light, the other deeply rooted, both essential for a healthy media diet.

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Next Episode Teaser:
They’ll return soon with a special on Vince Gilligan’s “Pluribus.”

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Summary by Podcast Summarizer AI – November 2025

Transcript

[A]

I need support staff to clear the room.

[B]

Stand up and walk now.

[A]

Hello and welcome to the Watch. My name is Chris Ryan. I am an [e-mail] and joining me in the studio in London, it's Andy Greenwald.

[B]

I feel like you're joining me in.

[A]

London, but not in the studio. Like, you know, this is. This is new turf for you. What's going on? We're here at Spotify in London. We are in London to watch Transatlantic.

[B]

This is a tradition unlike any other, where you and I fly internationally and do a podcast the morning after a Wave election.

[A]

I detect a smile on your face.

[B]

Listen, this is a lot more comfortable than it was literally this day a year ago.

[A]

I personally wanted an island of feral cats on Manhattan just to see what would happen. But I'll take a blue Wave. Greenwald, it's great to see you. Not a lot of news today in terms of television world, but we've got two shows we're going to talk about today. I love la, the new show from Rachel Sennet and the Lowdown season finale. Yeah, hopefully season. I don't want it to be series finale. I want more of that. Any London observations, just like cultural observations.

[B]

First of all, how are you feeling about these deep seats they have here in Spotify uk?

[A]

I'm feeling very comfortable both in the studio, but also in the city. I love this place so much. Last night, by the way, just as before, I forget, I haven't mentioned in a long time. You can email [e-mail] can they also.

[B]

Email us at thewatchpotify.co.uk.com I actually don't think that works. Okay, don't do that.

[A]

They'll probably bounce back.

[B]

Don't do that.

[A]

You can also follow us on Instagram at thewatchpod on Instagram and you can watch us on YouTube at the Ringer Dash TV channel but also on Spotify where you're hopefully listening to us. And I've had a great time so far. It's oddly warm here. It's hard to dress, but last night I went to a really fun screening of an 80s cult early like you know, late 70s, early 80s cult movie called Night of the Juggler, which is never been screened in London probably, but is it's just like an all time like Lost classic of the post French Connection post dirty hairy wave of grimy fun city movies. And it's with James Brolin and Cliff Gorman and it was put on by Radiance, which is the DVD label that I'm Obsessed with over here, the physical media label and Transmission, which is like their sub label. So it was really cool.

[B]

Did they put this on for you? Because they were like, no, it was happening anyway.

[A]

But I was like, that is very convenient that I'm going to really work out. So that was really cool. So shout out to Paul and shout out to everybody at Radiance. That was awesome to see. That's coming out, I believe, in December so people can check it out.

[B]

I feel like my time has been a little more genteel. A lot of commuting. Yeah, I, you know, people say like the, the, the coldest winter they've ever had is summer in San Francisco. I think the hottest summer I've ever had is November on the London Underground.

[A]

Do you have AC where you're staying?

[B]

Uh, no. Well, there's no, it's, I've never stayed in this, I've been in this flat for a very long time now and also last year and it's perfectly nice. Um, I've never been here when it's actually been warm.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And I have noted that the windows open maybe three quarters of an inch and there is no ac. And I do wonder what it would.

[A]

Be like when the, when the global warming hits.

[B]

I do feel like that's worrisome. My most English experience thus far this week was yesterday at work. We were. What's the word? Working. And you know, just to keep the mood light, I was like, hell, fellows, you know what I think I'm ready for? I've been here for what, four or five weeks now. I think I'm ready to do Marmite. I'm ready. Really, I'm ready to do Marmite. And I was like, honestly, I'm not that scared of it. Like, I like a, I like a yeasty taste, you know, I like a strong ferment. You know, I'm, you know, I'm a day one miso boy. So I was like, I, I think I can do this. And this was greeted positively. But it also brought work to a screeching halt as our showrunner insisted that she be the one to prepare my first Marmite toast.

[A]

Go on, butter.

[B]

Yes. And then there was a little bit of a debate and her assistant has a different strategy. Her strategy is also to toast bread and apply butter, but then to empty most of the Marmite container onto it. Oh, wow. So I was like, my friends, my.

[A]

Colleagues, ladies on door number two.

[B]

Yeah, let's do half and half.

[A]

Oh, okay. Yeah.

[B]

And so I, I, I was served two very different Slices of Marmite toast and a room full of extremely polite English people watched me eat them.

[A]

Maybe that's why you think it's so hot today, because there's just yeast pouring.

[B]

Out of my pores. It was. Yeah.

[A]

When do you think Marmite's gonna hit the LA beauty conscious scene?

[B]

You don't want to know how I felt about it.

[A]

Yeah. Tell me, which one do you prefer?

[B]

They're both pretty good.

[A]

Okay. No, I mean, I felt like I've never tasted it.

[B]

Really? Just.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You don't think it's in the bloodline through your dad? Like there's some.

[A]

I don't think he liked it. He was like, kind of sadly, like Americanized by the end, especially in his tastes. Oh, we certainly like Bud Light.

[B]

So that is different. Yeah. I was like, what else do we do here on this toast? Like, this is good. What else can we do? And they're like, cheese, cheese. And I was like, oh, okay. Anything else? And they were like, absolutely not. Oh, 100. No. But they're very excited about Nigella Lawson's Marmite pasta recipe.

[A]

I was gonna ask you if you had any British cultural recommendations, but I bet, like you're Marmite pasta.

[B]

There you go. That's pretty much it.

[A]

I've been using the BBC, the fact that I am in England and the. The fact that I. So you can watch BBC a little bit more. So I checked out Film Club, which is Amy Lou woods show. Oh, cool. Which features a pre fame Owen Cooper from adolescence in a role. And Sarah Jones is in it. It's charming.

[B]

Yeah, that's cool. I mostly just wait for the night a week when Canal Boat Diaries is on.

[A]

Wait, what about your boy who goes to Porto?

[B]

Okay, so my two spirit animals here. And I imagine if anyone who worked here, who is producing us today, these wonderful people, I hope they're not watching this because I feel like they may.

[A]

I think that it's important that they do.

[B]

Okay, so basically I have in my flat, I have, I guess, basic cable. And there's like one channel that just plays the Simpsons all the time. There's one channel that just plays MasterChef Australia all the time. And there's six channels that play Strictly Come Dancing. The best channel is the one that plays Top of the Pops 98. And it's just Top of the Pops performances from 98. But the two shows in the heaviest rotation are the aforementioned Canal Boat Diaries in which a guy goes on a skinny boat around London and he reaches a place where there's a lock and he can't get through. And he's like, oh, it's going to be a bit of a bother, isn't it? And then he's like. And then it cuts because there's no cameraman. He's just drone shotting it and like selfieing. And then, and then he's like, luckily the local lox volunteer has agreed to help me and is raising the lock. And there's just some guy in a hat going. And then he goes on. And then every so often he stops at a market to buy incredibly spicy ingredients to make a curry, which I think he uses to just blow out his tiny boat. Like. It's just that. That's, that's the real engine of the show. But the other thing is, and I feel like we should have an expert on this is just. I've become very, very obsessed with the Michael Portillo phenomenon.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And he is a very, very fancy Dan older man now wearing bright colors, who travels the world off in Portugal, often different parts of Portugal, and is always just going up.

[A]

He probably lives there for tax purposes.

[B]

But he's just always going up to dudes named, like, Rodrigo who live in wheat mills and have, like, birthed all of their children there. And he's just like, what do you do, Rodrigo? Rodrigo just stares at him. Oh, could I have a whack at that? And I was watching and I was like, oh, this guy's awesome. This guy just likes to travel. And then I googled him and he's just like a deeply conservative former mp. Yeah. Who is. Well, I'm not going to. You know what? Libel laws are different here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But I was his personal life section of his. Wikipedia surprised me.

[A]

Is it wikipedia.co.uk or.com? because it can be different sometimes.

[B]

So anyway, I think I'm going a bit native.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Or insane.

[A]

Well, then let's talk about your homeland.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

Not your original Homeland, but your adopted one, Los Angeles. The great. The great Southland. Rachel Sennett has come along and made. Well, it's a, it's, it's definitely a show of its moment. And it's a show probably of like the last couple of years. I think TV always has that issue where what you're writing about and sort of this is cutting edge vocabulary, slang trends, what have you in 2023 may not be right. What happens in 2025. But I feel like she did a pretty good job with this. I love LA is I saw Allison Herman and Variety compared this, I thought smartly, to how to make it in America, an Entourage more than a sitcom. And that actually I was like, oh, okay. Like, I kind of like, I watched some episodes already and I watched this. We're going to talk about this premiere that just happened on Sunday. But I think initially I was just like, but is it, is this funny enough? You know. Right.

[B]

Are you Michael Portillo?

[A]

Pardon me, Rachel. Whack at that.

[B]

Is that mutton?

[A]

Yeah, delicious. Rachel Senate, who's obviously, she was one of the stars of Shiva Baby.

[B]

Will you explain Rachel Sennett to me because I have remained relatively clean.

[A]

She emerged somewhat out of vine and out of like, Internet fame doing short videos on her social media and very quickly kind of took the A24 up down, if you know what I'm saying.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

She very quickly became something of a sensation within indie film world.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

By doing Shiva Baby and Bodies, Bodies, Bodies and Bottoms.

[B]

Right. And there's kind of a, there's kind of like a click of like some of the people who are part of this group of young creatives like Mahala, who we love in industry, seems to be part of this world to a degree. Like Chase, we wonders who's amazing on studio is. Am I, am I, I'm not just, I'm not just grouping people together because they're women under 30.

[A]

No, I, I don't know. I mean, like, I, you know.

[B]

Deborah.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. So this show stars Senate. It was created by Senate for a long time. It was called Untitled Rachel Sennett Project, which, you know, up until like fairly recently it was called that. And it's essentially about a New Yorker who comes to Los Angeles to make it as a talent manager and make it in the entertainment industry broadly. I think it's actually, at least in terms of it anthropologically, like, interesting to view as why people come to Los Angeles over the decades, why they come now and why they come now. She's moved to New York. She has a couple of friends. Most notably, I think is English teachers. Jordan Firstman, who is placed, Charlie, always in the show and Forest Whitaker's daughter. Daughter is also. Oh, I believe Leah Whitaker is true.

[B]

True Whitaker.

[A]

True Whitaker, sorry, is, is also in, in. In her friend group in the series and she has a boyfriend played by Josh Hutcherson, who has a normal type job as a teacher.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But everybody else is kind of broadly working in and around and on the outskirts of what stands in for the entertainment industry now, which used to be TV and movies, but now and you know, encompasses social media and brand deals for, you know, and working and influencing and obviously all this other stuff, does it include podcasting? There is a sort of a little bit of like a tongue in cheek podcast joke in this first episode as the characters walk the Silver Lake reservoir.

[B]

It's what we deserve.

[A]

So the first episode is really, really decent pilot setup. Which is. It's her birthday. It's Maya, the Rachel Sennett character. It's her birthday weekend. She's trying to get a promotion from Leighton Meester. Leighton Meester or Leighton. Okay.

[B]

Leighton Meester, who is phenomenal as kind of a generation of.

[A]

Because she's also in Nobody Wants Us this year.

[B]

Which. Which was renewed. Congratulations to our buddy Tim Simons.

[A]

Congratulations to Hitmaker.

[B]

Yet another one, Another one, another banger. I think Layton Meester is so good on the show as Maya's boss, who is.

[A]

I swear to God, I went through like a two or three year period where people were like, it's Leighton, actually.

[B]

Oh, maybe it is.

[A]

I don't. I don't think it is.

[B]

You know what, let's just focus on that.

[A]

Anyway, she runs. What was. What's her job?

[B]

What is.

[A]

What is.

[B]

She's an assistant at a management company.

[A]

But managing what?

[B]

I don't know. Podcasters. I'm open.

[A]

Like, I think influencers or I think brands.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

But I can't tell. Or maybe I missed that line in the dialog. Anyway, she works there. She's hoping for a promotion. That doesn't come. She's bummed out. And who comes into her life but her past in the form of Tallulah, a big influencer, played by Adessa Azion, who you might remember from better things.

[B]

She's Pamela Adlin's daughter.

[A]

Yes. And she kind of is like this hurricane comes into her life. They've had a falling out in the past. Rachel said its character Maya tried to block her on social media. Stuff like that. There's a kind of crazy night out and then a birthday dinner. We get to the end of it and we find that they've kind of made amends and now they're going to take on LA together, manager and client once again to conquer the city. So what did you broadly think of this first episode?

[B]

I enjoyed it. I really did. And we should also shout out that there's a really strong team behind the scenes. Lorene Scafaria, who only one person ever makes television.

[A]

You should know that by now.

[B]

You only one person makes toast. Lorenzofaria, who's a great director, who worked on Succession most recently and is now like, has reached like the. The trusted HBO club. She's on the show, I think as the directing, producer, or producing director. I mean, old buddy Max Silvestri, who's a great comedian who just launched his own podcast with Gabe Leadman and Jenny Slate. He's an EP on the show. Emma Barry. And, you know, I think what you want in a show that purports to offer a slice of a very specific life is you want confidence. And the pilot hits you with confidence. It begins with Earthquake sex, which is a pretty good starting point for what the show is going to be and gets you right in the mood. Apparently Maya in the mood as well. I have to say my first. Here are the two planks of my affection for the show thus far. I'm curious if you had a similar reaction. One plank is I like shows about groups of friends in situations. There was a show I remember from the 90s that had a similar kind of setup. I think it was called Friends. Yeah, that is a reliable chestnut. And it feels good. And once this group of people got gets together on camera, I think in the pilot, as you said, it's at the Silver Lake Reservoir. I was just enjoying the banter because these people knew each. They know each other. The performers clearly are comfortable with each other, and the work was done to give them each a distinctive voice. Jordan Firstman, Charlie's. This character of Charlie does not seem on first blush to be that different from the character he wonderfully plays. An English teacher, sure. But I love that character and I'm happy to see him. So I was comfortable already. The other thing that I really did appreciate, and maybe this is some degree of homesickness, is it understands something I feel is profound about Los Angeles. Or maybe the observation isn't profound, but the truth is profound, which is that nothing really works there. It's kind of not a functioning place.

[A]

Yeah, it's a lot of lines. It's a lot of humiliation. Yeah.

[B]

There is a waiting for bagels.

[A]

Waiting to get into tenants of the trees.

[B]

Exactly. Like we, um. There's a moment in the pilot when Tallulah's like, it's your birthday. Let's go to the beach. And they're immediately all like, oh, my God, that would be such a whole thing.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And that is true. The driving, the lines, that just. Is it really worth it? If I could just stay Home is baked into the place.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And there is also something very specific about visitors or new transplants that is very sweet because I remember being this person, like all the years when Grantlin was going and I still lived in New York, and I would come out and visit people. I just. I was just driving Santa Monica, like, straight to the ocean and back just for the hell of it. I was like, why would I not? Because you have the energy and the novelty of driving. And I couldn't understand why no one wanted to leave a 10 minute radius. Yeah. And that went away so fast. That went away so fast.

[A]

So I was having a conversation with someone last night who was talking about how it's, you know, the Los Angeles, like kind of effusive positivity is. Throws off. You know, if you're from the east coast or if you're from. From Europe, you might be a little bit blinkered by, like, how positive everybody is. And they're like, you know, even if you're just going into a store and somebody. It's like, you just have a great day. Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I was like, well, lucky, luckily you can go days without speaking to anyone in Los Angeles because you're just.

[B]

Always in your car 100 million percent. And just like the inflexibility of things, you know, and. And the fact that like in the pilot, Charlie, Charlie has expended his daily allotment of energy waiting in line for earmuffs. Overrated bagels, you know, Come on.

[A]

Hey, I don't stand in that line. Not that I cut the line. I just. Generally speaking, I go to Morris.

[B]

Yeah. It's a. Yeah. Because Maury's are bagels.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Courage is delicious bread. That is nice. It's nice for a treat.

[A]

When you go there, they always count on you.

[B]

And because Courage is having a very like. But it's very media moment because it's all over. Nobody wants this too. And I think Courage bagels is a fine destination and everybody should have it at least once. Sure. But what I look for, if I may, in a bagel is both delicious flavor, but also usability. Freezability. Yeah. Purge bagels freeze. I like to have some. And if you want a cheffy bagel that freezes well, mustards open up. And Culver City, which feels like 8,000 miles away from where we are right now, Culver City. Well, they were.

[A]

It better be like a pile of drugs at the end of that. There's no way I'm doing that.

[B]

I'm just letting people know, you know who I'm letting know? The Tallulahs who listen to our podcast, who are willing to take influencer photos. But yeah, just like that. These, that these little supposedly compostable styrofoam containers are somehow like Status symbols and you've checked a box and then that's your day. I really, I really, really like that. And of course, you know, unsurprisingly, because the show is made by young people who live there. Like there is just a, you could play bingo with locations that, that track. I mean there's, there's Din Tai Fung reference. I think Capri Club shows up in the second episode. Just like a day to day life.

[A]

Somebody's listening to us in St. Louis and just being like, I hope you guys go fucking fall into the Thames.

[B]

For what it's worth, there's a Dinh Tai Fung here in London.

[A]

There is. It's international chain and an egg slut.

[B]

And five guys and everything'. No, but just a city with a day to day life set to the rhythm of people shaking salads at their desks.

[A]

Yeah. I think honestly, life's better when there's an HBO show like this.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I don't mean to make things too complicated. It's just I've always enjoyed a 30 minute comedy slice of life, like you said, about a group of friends somewhere.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I will watch every episode of this. I laugh, you know, like, yeah, for sure.

[B]

I'm not going to spoil anything. But one, one takeaway from the second episode that would just be a little note for me that I'm curious is that the end of the second episode introduces some stakes basically, in a way that I was like, this show is so confident.

[A]

It hasn't aired yet, right?

[B]

No. Okay. But the show is so confident in its situation that it doesn't really need this, particularly because the stakes are to do with influencer drama, which I think is right down there with like Dick Cheney's obituary. In terms of things that I'm interested in engaging with right now, I've been.

[A]

Loving some Dick Cheney obits.

[B]

Have you? Yeah. You know what I respect about the guy?

[A]

Because everybody, first of all, you can tell some of them were written like nine years ago.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

So they're just like what, the master of the Senate kind of like stuff. And then it's just like some guy had to come in and do like a later period rewrite as like this guy loves democracy, history changed and he was just like, huh. So a late breaking turn towards the Democratic Party, but war crimes.

[B]

Like one of the things that I really respect about him is that, you know, as we learn from both history, living through it, and the film Vice, Yeah. This man had many opportunities to check out over the last 40 years. Five heart attacks got it. Respected heart transplant. But what he couldn't live to see is a democratic socialist elected mayor of New York. He was just like Sam Elliott at the end of.

[A]

Of 1883.

[B]

Just like that. I. I've seen enough. I respect it.

[A]

So Sam Elliott definitely moved out of New York City.

[B]

Him and Deborah Messing were like, this is relieving. We're done. The other thing that I. Tell me how you feel about this. I don't know if this makes me old or in the correct demographic, but the way that Maya, Rachel Sennett's character, and Tallulah talk to each other, I was like, why are they talking like that? What's familiar to me about that? And then I remember that I recently powered through the back half of Platonic Season 2, the show that I just genuinely love. Loved the show. I really hope they make more of it and make it forever.

[A]

I think it's on Apple, so they will.

[B]

They probably will. They probably don't even know they've greenlit it for five seasons. Late in the season of Platonic, the great Aidy Bryant shows up playing a character named Cabo Cary. And Cabo Cary talks to Rose Byrne's character the way these young people talk to each other. But it's a bit. You know, she's just like, what's up, bitch? Hey, mama. We're getting espresso teenies. And I. I can't, like. I guess that version of it where AD Bryant, who is more RP Making fun of it, speaks to me. So it was a little bracing to be around people who are actually just speaking this way.

[A]

Yeah, I think I've. I've. I've more or less internalized it. You know what I mean? It doesn't sound like a foreign language so much to me anymore. I don't.

[B]

Well, first of all, you keep it 100 always, like, in these streets. 10 into the trees every weekend, straight. That's you.

[A]

I'm always at the reservoir.

[B]

That's your east side of Los Angeles posted up. We've talked about this before. Like, not in any. Any way. Celebrities in the world. No, except near Sunset Junction, where you are the fucking. No, you are. You are the Big Lebowski. No, you are the king. You. The amount of times that you are recognized or hailed as you cross the street, whatever is. Is considerable and worthy, you know, deserving.

[A]

I appreciate. Yeah. Anybody who wants to say hi.

[B]

So do you think if you walked past on the reservoir, this group of people would. Any of them.

[A]

They've never heard of podcasts. Definitely not.

[B]

But what? Isn't Kaya putting us on TikTok now or aren't we, like, we going viral, baby?

[A]

I think within the Alice and Oliver fan community we do, but not really beyond that. I don't think we're permeating.

[B]

You are the Oliver fan community.

[A]

Sub tiers of Charlie XCX pop, like hyper pop theme.

[B]

Should we do the the four non blondes meme? Just the two of us. What's that? See, like, see that we're doing the.

[A]

Now what is the 49 bonds mean?

[B]

Well, there's like the mashup of, of, you know, what's up.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And the, the rap verse. And it's like the two people back to back and the camera spins and one's lip syncing Linda Perry part and.

[A]

One never seen this. It's always really hard when, like, if you're describing a meme, somebody's just like, what do you mean?

[B]

You seem interested, though. Let me describe a couple more memes for you. I think. I think it's gonna be good for us.

[A]

All right. Okay.

[B]

No memes.

[A]

We' this a little bit compressed today. We're both warm, warm, warm. Thumbs up from Siskel and Siskel here about.

[B]

I think that you summed it up very well that HBO should have shows like this.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And they're good at cultivating shows like this.

[A]

It's funny. It almost anecdotally, without looking at the data, feels like they crank out more prestige mysteries than what is the group of Friends hanging out comedy that we have on. I suppose you could say, like, gemstones. And the Danny McBride universe has sort of taken that lane for a little while. But I still maintain that the backbone of this show is when we used to have Game of Thrones and Veep and Girls on the same night.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

And I would like to get back to them.

[B]

I mean, listen, Abigail Spanberger's leading, leading the charge. Return to normalcy.

[A]

I wondered who was gonna make a spam burger reference first. It would be really funny.

[B]

It was always going to be me.

[A]

But I was, I was kind of thinking like, what if we just made this day all about spam Burger? Like, no, no mention with Montana.

[B]

One of my favorite things to wake up to, it is, you know, last year was a sobering instance in this, but it is pretty good to just wake up to stuff having happened. Yeah. Two years in a row. Red October ends abruptly. And I'm like, guess I gotta go get coffee. Like, it's, it's. It's fine. Right. And one of the nice and like reassuring things that the world marches onward was waking up to like the first headline of being like the Democrats have won every major race in America, including like the board of utility directors in Georgia. And then the like that some Georgia.

[A]

Utility board goes straight social.

[B]

And then. But then below that it says news analysis for Democrats. One positive flicker in a never ending nightmare of suffering with questions to come. Yeah, thank you. Great lady. Thank you for really setting my expectations this morning.

[A]

I want to make sure we have time to talk about the lowdown. I want to leave with love here. Oh, because I think that there was a little bit with the Walter Mosley penultimate episode last week. I was like, oh, this felt like a little choppy. And like, you know, you'd pointed out it was a little shorter than most of the other run times and that penultimate episodes can either there's really like a wide variance of their success rate because it can either be like the thing that everybody remembers or it can be something that's basically a bridge to the finale. This finale was deeply emotionally satisfying.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

And I thought quite beautifully acted and really gave several characters a chance to round out and be complete in this like last inning. And I especially wanted to shout out your boy Kyle McLaughlin.

[B]

He was so good in this episode.

[A]

Who I think in most shows would either be a villain or a useful idiot.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

And instead is something different. Not hero. But was it got to be every part of who that character was.

[B]

He was the 15th paragraph in the Dick Cheney obituary.

[A]

Yeah. I don't know.

[B]

A surprising turn. A surprising turn late in life Spanberger.

[A]

The scenes that he has with Keith David with Marty. The scenes that he has, especially when he has to read and be read. Lee's article about his brother and the last few scenes of him handling Tom McCarthy giving a speech. Those things you just got to see the totality of a person rather than just an evil villain. There's a world, there's a version of this show that's still excellent where there are just half a dozen characters who are just straight up bad and as bad as demons.

[B]

Bad as bad can be.

[A]

And I thought it was interesting to watch Sterling Harjo and his team make a show where even characters like Tracy Letts Frank character is still pleading his sort of like, I didn't mean to kill this guy.

[B]

You know, throughout there's a humanity. They were rattled by events or they were caught up in events. They were swept up in opportunity or ambition.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And can't get past their own morality at the end. Which was really compelling.

[A]

What did you think of the finale?

[B]

I think that you're right to frame it that way. I thought Kyle, who, you know, I like very much personally, but just like on camera so much as well. I've said this throughout the course of the season, but one of the great things that auteurs and TV can do is just see into actors and see the best versions of them, see what they've been itching to do, see the muscles that haven't been stretched in a while and give them a chance. So Keith David being drunk on bovine birthing pills was not something I had on my bingo card, but he seemed to enjoy the hell out of it. Kyle MacLachlan in that scene, not being asked to play the extremes that often. He. I mean, I think he likes doing.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

Whether it's on, you know, podcasts, TikTok videos or lynchier stuff or Showgirls or whatever. Like playing just kind of a complicated guy I thought was really, really strong. And to your point, about, like, the things that ultimately I love in television shows are finely drawn, deeply specific, deeply emotional portraits of community and the business of the show. Returning to the street that the bookstore is on and the interactions between everyone. The season building towards this wedding where Lee basically not gives his blessing, but.

[A]

Lets go of his past a little bit.

[B]

Yeah. And is at peace with who his daughter is. The scene when Francis reads. I don't know if it's like a poetry slam or what the context for that was, but, like, as a hashtag girl, dad, like, that was. That's gnarly and affecting, and I was glad there was space for it in the show. So I'm in the tank. I love it. I think in terms of resolving a mystery, it was a little bit woolier than I think it.

[A]

It resembled a lot of my favorite mystery novels.

[B]

Yeah. Where it's just like, oh, it's over now.

[A]

Yeah. Or there's a data dump at a certain point.

[B]

Sure was. Yeah.

[A]

And, you know, Lee figures everything out. A little bit of it happening off screen or a little bit of the, like, kind of connective tissue of it, I think is. Is a little. A little obscured from the viewer. But I. You know, you can see that Lee would do the work as he puts together this final article for Heartland Press. But, yeah, I mean, like in a James Elroy novel, often you will. The protagonist will come across the lone witness who's been living in a cabin somewhere in Big Bear, and the guy's like, here's how the Black Dahlia murder happened. You Know, or whatever, you know, missed that book. I feel like in Big Nowhere that Happens or White Jazz. And I thought this book kind of. Or this show kind of mirrored that, you know, so just briefly, like, I'll just kind of touch on some of the. The sort of plot. It ties a knot on the whole land grab conspiracy plot that took over the last several episodes. Interesting how this show was maybe two or three different mysteries that kind of led into one another. So I think in the beginning it's this, the Skinheads, and it's Dale's death and what Donald might have had to do with it. And then the sort of ethno nationalist, religious and evangelical group kind of emerges and the 46, which is sort of Frank and Trip's power broker group, and you sort of start to get like a deeper and deeper conspiracy. And Sterling, really expertly, I thought, like, at various points where you think, okay, this guy Alan is going to be the villain and he gets killed, and then you're like, okay, going along. And now I think this guy Tracy Letts is going to be the villain. But it's not really him. It's this larger, like, ex con religious group who are probably like the bigger big or bad. So I thought that was all neat. Obviously they bring Graham Green in for, I believe, his last performance, and he's quite wonderful and plays a pivotal character in the show. And by the end of it, you know, pretty much everybody is placed not at rest, you know, But I think what would be a satisfying conclusion if they don't do more lowdown.

[B]

Yeah, I think. I think the show was at its weakest, or this episode was at its weakest during the long scene when Lee and Betty Jo, like, talk about what they've done and what they haven't done.

[A]

I like that you didn't like that.

[B]

I like the actors, but it was a very, very long scene of exposition and sort of position setting about where they were and how they felt about each other and who was at fault here. I think one of the things that I like about Sterlin as a filmmaker and as an artist, and this was true in Reservation Dogs as well, is that he's a big fucking softie. And I mean that as a compliment. Like, this is a show that believes deeply in the power of change, of being seen being known even after your passing. It believes in evolution, not in a Darwinist sense, but in terms of who you are and what you stand for. Kyle MacLachlan's character being still a Republican candidate for governor who frankly goes pretty woke in a cool way and is like, I don't need this group. I just need to build a different base for my candidacy. And I have a different framing for my love of this place. Which to again, to the show's credit and to Sterlin's credit, it's not. He lives there, so he understands that there are people who have different competing visions of why they love the place that they live. And I appreciated that complexity and I appreciated the turn towards grace throughout. I think it is very, very hard to make journalism dramatically compelling. So the shots of him drinking coffee and writing an article that was going to change stuff is they, you know, I think was the best it could be.

[A]

But better that than. Than a fake, you know, because the penultimate episode ends with Lee brandishing a gun.

[B]

This isn't right.

[A]

A church full of people to try and citizens arrest.

[B]

His pen is mightier. Yeah.

[A]

And it's nice that they don't need to have this end in a hail of bullets.

[B]

No. And it's also nice certainly for our perspective on the world that truth story can win out. We don't know anything about the future of the show. Right. But I loved it and I loved it both for the story that it told and where it went, but also just as a really exciting canvas for this artist and his very impressive group of friends, colleagues and collaborators to play. And I think a second season. Should we get one could be potentially incredibly exciting.

[A]

Oh I. I mean I think he left to be said that like this was the omatic and it was written is coming next because to use an. Didn't really know seem to notice what I was saying.

[B]

No, I'm. I'm. I'm just curious where you're going next.

[A]

You pump, you throw everything you've got into the first season. And I. I think that there is an element of like Sterling wanted to say everything he could about being a dad and everything he could about Tulsa and every. Every kind of optimistic dream he has about a better Tulsa.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And like even that block that he built up with Sweet Emily's in the record store and the bookstore is making.

[B]

Players great dream block.

[A]

But the next season could be like someone hire hires Lee to find their missing wife and like it's just like kind of a lean, mean noir. Noir or league go on the road and go somewhere else.

[B]

Do you in this version of it is season three Uchiwale.

[A]

I guess so. Yeah.

[B]

I mean is that I am. I think it's later. This is the Bravehearts record.

[A]

Yeah, that's right.

[B]

It gets. Gets kind of dodgy after.

[A]

But then lost tapes. Yeah, season five would be sick.

[B]

Yeah. A throwback to season 11.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I think at that point. What a great show.

[A]

Just wanted. Yeah. Just wanted to say that it's very rare to see TV shows that take the time to have plot lines to give so much time to say something that we didn't even comment on after it happened, which was Marty's day long date with Odette, played by Tisha Campbell.

[B]

Beautiful episode.

[A]

And all it ends with is Tisha Campbell's character saying, you don't really ask questions. Like, you don't seem that interested in me. You know, you really seem more fascinated by your boss and invested in your work. You seem like a nice guy. But like, we'll be having a second date. And I think it subtly changes Marty and sends him in this direction of where he's like, I am going to work with Lee and I am going to try and figure out what's going on here. But ultimately, like, that's like a bunch of real estate to put a TV show to stake a TV in a TV show for a character who's not going to come back for a romantic.

[B]

Well, Dinklage episode was like that as well.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. So to have these little short stories within the novel, I thought was. Was quite lovely and I really hope they get to do more of it.

[B]

I have nothing to add to that. I completely agree.

[A]

Let's wrap up there for this episode.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

We're going to be back in 48 hours, as far as, you know, listener, because we're going to be back with a special episode talking about the first two episodes of Pluribus, which is the new show from Vince Gilligan on Apple tv. The first two episodes air, I believe on Friday morning. I.

[B]

Or we have no way of knowing. Yeah, we do have a way of knowing. It will the seventh, which is. Which is Friday.

[A]

And so you'll be able to listen to that Vince Gilligan episode as soon as you're done those first two episodes. He also joins me on the show to talk. I talked to him a couple weeks ago and we're gonna run that interview on Friday. So thank you for listening. And we will be back in just a couple of. To chat about Pluribus.

[B]

Enjoy your canal boats, Maranskis.