The Watch (The Ringer)

Episode: ‘Wonder Man’ Co-Creator on the Show’s Origins, Near Cancellation, and the Status of the ‘Community’ Movie. Plus, ‘The Pitt’ S2E8.
Hosts: Chris Ryan & Andy Greenwald
Guest: Andrew Guest (Co-creator, Wonder Man)
Release Date: February 27, 2026

Overview

In this episode, Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald begin with a deep dive into the current TV industry shake-ups (notably, the Paramount-Warner Bros-Netflix saga) before reviewing S2E8 of The Pitt. They then host Andrew Guest—co-creator of Marvel’s Wonder Man and a writer on Community—for an illuminating conversation on crafting Wonder Man in today’s Marvel ecosystem, the project’s near-cancellation, and a candid update on the Community movie.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Industry News: Warner Bros–Paramount–Netflix Bidding War

• Media Consolidation & Frustration (05:04)
  • Chris and Andy riff on the “love triangle” among Warner, Paramount, and Netflix, lamenting endless corporate maneuvering.
  • Andy: "The story is despicable. The entire thing is gross, loathsome, and awful. And I wish it would all go away." (06:11)
• Sarcastic takes on Tech & Antitrust (07:08–09:20)
  • The hosts mock the political and regulatory distractions behind the merger.
  • Chris: “The whole idea that Netflix...was the extinction level event, and now it’s the only thing that will save us from state-run media.” (08:54)
  • Andy, sarcastically to Republican AGs: “You are really looking out for your constituents. And we at Amazon Prime’s half of The Watch appreciate it.” (09:20)

Review: The Pitt Season 2, Episode 8

Recapping the Approach

• Structural Shifts and Time (12:17–14:27)
  • This season experiments with pacing, focusing deeply on just two patient cases, moving away from the show’s signature “one hour in the shift” structure.
  • Chris: “I really love this show. This show is one of the most, like, empathetic depictions of human beings. Everybody is given dignity in their own way.” (11:46)
  • Hosts note how changing to “analog” charting post-cyberattack heightens tension and error risk.
• Messing with Temporal Structure
  • Andy: “…there have been moments this season where they’ve asked what time it is and a character says it’s 12:30, but it doesn’t line up with the episode length…maybe they’re playing with multiple 12:30s in different rooms.” (13:37)

Character and Plot Highlights

• Dr. Alhashimi's Contradictory Role (15:22–17:37)
  • Moves from brief humanization back to “tech champion” delivering cringey lines. Her aggressive treatment of a patient with vision loss sparks debate.
  • Andy, playfully: “Our IT department has been given 24 hours to bolster our cyber defenses. Now follow me back to Cybertron.” (15:22)
• Analog System & Medical Mishaps
  • Chaos and comic relief as old-school methods clash with the modern ER’s needs; the return to paperwork, bell clangs, and human memory as “hard drive.”
  • Generative AI previously caused a near-disastrous misdiagnosis; the analog era may bring its own risks.

Case Studies and Thematic Depth

• Ethics of Risky Treatments
  • Chris, asked about a dangerous treatment: “Would I do it if it’s, like, a 5% death chance but otherwise could restore my vision? Yeah... But not everyone would. I think I might be getting towards vision [over hearing].” (18:29–18:53)
  • Andy, on patient’s choice: “The speed with which she is like, give me the magic pill is wild.” (19:30)
• Dignity Amid Terminal Illness (22:20–23:47)
  • Roxy, the terminal cancer patient, gets an emotional sendoff as the ER becomes her interim hospice.
  • Andy: “Built to the thing of, like, can we give her more pain meds? …If in so doing there’s a negative effect, so be it. In some cases, death could be the best outcome. And that’s almost tossed off at the end of the episode. But that’s quite heavy.”
• Artful Misdirection and Maturity
  • The show’s ability to dwell on “benign” outcomes as misdirection for possibly catastrophic medical errors.
  • Chris: “One of the underplayed cards so far in the series is youthful fuckups—it is a teaching hospital.” (24:45)

Memorable/Comic Moments

• Chip Kelly & Sports/Indie Rock References (20:36–22:07)
  • Extended riff on whether ex-football coach Chip Kelly could help with new analog charting—stereolab references fly.
  • Andy: “Welcome, brothers—to all the other 40-something men wearing sports hats and band shirts!” (22:07)
• Grotesque and Absurd Medical Cases
  • Allergic reactions that mimic plague: “Apparently it’s an allergic reaction to cutting limes in the sun. That’s a pretty common place to cut limes.” (25:27–25:49)
• Photographic Memory, Real or Not?
  • Joking about whether such a thing could put them out of a job as podcasters.
  • Chris: “I assure you, we are going to be out of our job.” (29:20)

Performance and Character Praise

• Show’s Core Message
  • Andy: “In the same way The Wire was about systemic rot… this show is about human dignity.” (29:36–30:45)
• Acting Shoutouts
  • Dana’s (Katherine Lanassa) major arc, bathing the body of a rape victim and emotionally supporting others, is highlighted as awards-worthy. (32:36–32:52)
  • Andy, on Dana & Robbie’s evolving partnership: “It ends with Robbie and Dana next to each other, partners in the opposite of crime, saying, how are we gonna get through this mess?" (33:58)

Feature Interview: Andrew Guest (Wonder Man Co-Creator)

How Wonder Man Got Started

• From Hawkeye to Wonder Man
  • Andrew: “I had worked with Marvel once before on Hawkeye… [which] was representative of a more traditional Marvel experience.” (37:52)
  • Outlines being brought in late on Hawkeye to salvage a troubled project, reflecting Marvel’s “fix it as we go” approach. (38:14–39:17)
• Genesis of Wonder Man
  • Destin Daniel Cretton (co-creator) jokes about a show with Trevor Slattery (“Sir Ben” Kingsley) during Shang Chi filming; two internal Marvel projects merged and Andrew was approached as writer. (40:24–41:05)
  • Marvel had only a loose concept: “They weren’t sure if [Simon Williams] had superpowers… what was his deal?” (41:32)

Shaping the Show’s Tone and Characters

• Defining Simon Williams
  • Inspired by “difficult,” ambitious actors—someone who’d aspire to be Daniel Day-Lewis, not a superhero (43:14).
  • Andrew: “If you gave that—and superpowers—they’re not putting on a cape. They want to win an Oscar. And that’s when it clicked on who Simon was.” (44:06)
• Trevor Slattery / Sir Ben Kingsley’s Involvement
  • Andrew’s daunting first meeting: “He’s had a lot of first meetings… he’s met so many of us dummies… he wanted to know what Ben Kingsley had figured out about [his] backstory, and I wanted that in the show.” (45:13–45:53)

Marvel’s Evolving Approach & Production Struggles

• Marvel Letting the Show Be Weird
  • Despite skepticism, Marvel encouraged the “different” tone, never demanded more action/exposition, even after mixed test screenings. (49:45–51:00)
  • Andrew: “They weren’t saying, can this not be Pacoima?… Even when we tested [and] it didn’t test all that great … they said, ‘We have to market this differently.’” (51:00)
• Production Delays and Survival
  • Shot half the show before strikes halted production, with project at risk multiple times as Marvel/Disney restructured their strategy.
  • Andrew: “We survived by the skin of our teeth several moments where we almost didn’t survive. …We shot exactly half of this project. Oh, God… not a great place to be, and they stuck with it.” (51:46–53:33)
  • Final product delayed, finally airing in 2026 after a year of uncertainty.
• No MCU Crossovers or "Homework"
  • Show was always intended to stand alone. Andrew: “From conception, we were never a part of a larger storytelling… there was an understanding that maybe projects could exist separately.” (54:19)

Highlights & Memorable Moments

• Casting Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon
  • Needed an actor good at acting both well and poorly (for in-show acting); Cretton recommends Yahya after seeing his stage work. (47:23–48:56)
• Specificity and Joy in Storytelling
  • Andy: “There’s a level of specificity in the show that is so refreshing … and it’s also a signal to me as an audience member that people care.” (49:09)
  • Chamoy episode cited as a favorite.
• Dream Sequence and Playful Tone
  • The show avoids “The Boys”-style darkness, even when referencing dark superhero tropes.
  • Andrew: “I wasn’t really interested in taking it to a dark place and no one was pushing that.” (57:50)
• The Ending and Possibilities for More
  • Series ends in a big spot—doesn’t explicitly preclude more if it’s popular.
  • Andrew, teasingly: “There might be energy and movement towards making more.” (59:19)

Quick Status Check: Community Movie

• Almost happened post-strikes, but actor scheduling conflicts put it on pause.
  • Andrew: “We had a line producer, we had a script … and one of our actors’ projects sort of came in conflict.” (60:26)
  • Emphasizes desire to have the full cast together for the right chemistry: “We don’t want to do an Arrested Development Netflix season where we’re shooting some people totally apart.” (61:12)

On Comedy Writers and Marvel

• Reflects on the Russo Brothers bringing ensemble comedy skills to superhero movies.
  • Andy: “More comedy writers doing superhero shows!” (62:04)
  • The “Harmon–Feige connection”—many Community alums have written for the MCU.

Notable Quotes & Moments (with timestamps)

• Andy, on mega-mergers: “The story is despicable. The entire thing is gross, loathsome, and awful. And I wish it would all go away.” (06:11)
• Chris, on industry fear: “Up until six months ago, Netflix was the extinction level event… now it’s the only thing that will save us from state-run media.” (08:54)
• Andy, meta-praising The Pitt: “This show is about human dignity… That is a tough logline.” (30:45)
• Chris, on risky patient care: “I could still podcast. I could hear you, brother… you can film me if I’m blind; but I can’t hear you if I’m deaf.” (18:53–19:12)
• Andrew Guest, on defining Simon Williams: “…they’re not putting on a cape and flying around. They want to be Daniel Day-Lewis. They want to win an Oscar.” (44:06)
• Andrew, on working with Sir Ben Kingsley: “He’s not particularly nice in his first meeting… he’s met so many of us dummies…” (45:13)
• Andrew, on Wonder Man’s tone: “They [Marvel] weren’t saying… there needs to be more action. Even when we tested the first two episodes, and it didn’t test all that great… [they said] we have to market this differently.” (51:00)
• Andrew, on Marvel’s project purges: “We survived by the skin of our teeth several moments where we almost didn’t survive.... We shot exactly half of this project. Oh God.” (53:09)
• Andrew, on MCU homework/crossovers: “From conception, we were never a part of a larger storytelling…maybe projects could exist separately.” (54:19)
• On Community movie status: “We had a line producer, we had a script… and one of our actors’ projects sort of came in conflict.” (60:26)
• Andy, on the influence of comedy on superhero films: “I think all of this is an argument for more comedy writers doing superhero shows.” (62:04)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Industry News/Bidding War Commentary: 04:29–10:59
• The Pitt S2E8 Recap & Discussion: 11:46–35:34
• Interview: Andrew Guest on Wonder Man 36:29–63:59
• Community Movie Update: 60:26–61:58
• Wrapping Up/Meta Reflection: 62:04–64:05

Tone and Style

• Conversational, irreverent, and candid—hosts riff with in-jokes, metaphors, and sports/music references (“Welcome, brothers, to all the other 40-something men…”)
• Guest Andrew Guest is open and surprisingly frank about Marvel’s internal processes, the difficulty of production, and the unique freedom and risk in making a show like Wonder Man.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode blends hard-nosed industry critique with warm, empathetic TV analysis and an unusually transparent window into the process of modern Marvel TV-making. Highlights include Andy and Chris’s signature banter, a granular breakdown of The Pitt’s distinctive approach, and Andrew Guest’s illuminating, funny, and occasionally anxious account of what it takes to make—and save—a unique superhero comedy in 2026.

End of Summary