‘Wonder Man’ Is the Rare Marvel TV Show That Works. Plus, Does ‘The Pitt’ Need More Conflict?

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Watch

Episode: ‘Wonder Man’ Is the Rare Marvel TV Show That Works. Plus, Does ‘The Pitt’ Need More Conflict?
Date: January 30, 2026
Hosts: Andy Greenwald & Chris Ryan (The Ringer)

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Overview

This episode of The Watch brings Andy and Chris together for an in-depth discussion of two new TV series: Marvel’s “Wonder Man” on Disney+, and the latest episode of the medical drama “The Pitt.” The hosts offer an effusive review of “Wonder Man,” describing it as an unexpected highlight for Marvel television. They then turn a critical yet affectionate eye toward “The Pitt,” examining its current strengths and asking whether it lacks some internal conflict compared to its previous season.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Marvel’s “Wonder Man” – A Surprising Standout

Origins, Showrunners, and Production

• “Wonder Man” is created by Destin Daniel Cretton (“Short Term 12,” “Shang-Chi”) & Andrew Guest (“Community”), both praised as thoughtful, talented creators ([08:23]–[09:36]).
• Production began before the 2023 strike, but the show's vibe captures an earlier, less franchise-driven Marvel era ([10:03]–[10:56]).

Low-Key Marvel Spotlight

• The show is released under the “Marvel Spotlight” banner, meant for more standalone stories not bogged down by MCU connectivity ([12:02]–[12:30]).
• Chris jokes about not even being sure what that branding now means, highlighting Marvel’s shifting internal strategies ([12:22]–[12:26]).

What Makes It Work

• Andy: “This is a wonderful, low-key, universally enjoyable television show, full stop. It's great. I really love the show. And not with the caveat of for a Marvel thing.” ([12:47])
• The hosts stress that “Wonder Man” is clever, warm, character-driven, and largely ignores the MCU’s usual baggage.

Character, Casting, and Tone

• Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars as Simon Williams, an out-of-work actor with latent superpowers ([14:02]–[15:14]).
• Ben Kingsley returns as Trevor Slattery, reprising and deepening his comic-relief role in unexpectedly rich ways:

  “Ben Kingsley is one of the best actors of his generation. He's 82 years young and he's crushing it on this show.” (Andy, [16:59])

• Chris: “I would say it’s closer tonally to like a Sterling Harjo show than it is to a Marvel show.” ([17:06])

Inside Hollywood, Satire, and Groundedness

• The series offers a clever satirical take on the realities of Hollywood, mixing earnest struggles with industry in-jokes without spiraling into farce.
• “It's two people on either end of their careers, kicking around Hollywood, going to auditions, going to matinees of classic films, doing self tapes...” (Chris, [17:12]–[17:26])

Binge Release and Marvel’s Evolving Strategy

• The full season was released at once, which the hosts think helps the show, even if Disney’s promotion has been minimal ([18:33]–[19:15]).
• Andy: “I'm so given the pedigree, I'm not surprised that the show is good, but I am surprised how good it is...” ([19:40])
• The show sidesteps the burdensome MCU “connective tissue,” referencing the larger universe lightly, but never making it central ([22:07]).

Artistic License and Diversity

• Andy notes the show’s attention to character backgrounds (e.g., Simon’s Haitian mother), L.A. specificity, and willingness to take creative detours (e.g., a black-and-white episode about a supporting character) ([23:06]–[23:43]).
• “That stuff matters. It adds to a more cohesive and I think fulfilling viewing experience.” (Andy, [27:18])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Chris: “...this is one of the first shows in a while that I've been like—beyond my professional obligation—freely hit next episode.” ([19:15])
• Andy: “What Andrew and Destin Daniel Cretton have done here is carve out a little room to play that feels tonally consistent.” ([19:40])
• Chris on the show’s restraint: “I was watching something from Marvel and something in this genre that wasn't full of exposition, where the exposition was more about character rather than tesseracts or an object that needed to be found.” ([27:26])
• Both hosts agree: highest possible recommendation for “Wonder Man.” ([31:12])

2. “The Pitt” – Strong Execution, But Is There Enough Conflict?

General Impressions and Tone

• Andy admits: “I'm so happy to watch it. I'm always surprised when it's over and I want more... I don't know if my normal critical faculties are even functioning at this point because I'm enjoying it so much.” ([32:53]–[33:11])
• Chris voices a nuanced critique: he misses the internal ER tensions and the character of Dr. Collins, which brought conflict in Season 1 ([33:50]–[35:09]).

Character Dynamics and Softening Drama

• Most current doctors get along well; major interpersonal or philosophical clashes from last season have lessened.
• Chris: “I think I have a little bit of agreement fatigue. The characters are walking down the hall saying things that I'm like: I agree. The people who are like: I need help. I'm like: you need help.” ([36:20])
• Andy: “Over time, everyone becomes friends... and conflict goes down and we are rewarded, our pleasure centers are rewarded, but sometimes the drama can suffer as a result.” ([38:07])

Specific Storylines & Missed Opportunities

• Chris runs through new and returning characters (Dr. Al Shimi, Ogilvy, Joy, Langdon, Santos, etc.), flagging that none provide much tension or “cut against the grain.”
• Andy agrees, saying they may be missing the chance to complicate Langdon’s arc and overall conflict, though he wonders if more is coming ([38:46]–[41:13]).

Plotlines in This Episode (Approx. [42:00]–[44:53])

• Family with no insurance and daughter starting a GoFundMe
• Eyelash lady (played by Patrick Ball’s real partner)
• Parkour influencers, social media themes
• Bulimia, chronic illness, and misdiagnosed student story
• Joy’s storyline: accidental blood exposure and potential consequences
• Overall, these are “interesting and well-executed, but lack the higher-stakes debates and personal risk of Season 1” (paraphrased content).

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Andy: “The show works better if something is cutting against the grain... Yes, I think that’s a really good point.” ([40:32])
• Chris on the pacing: “I was having a hard time understanding [Santos'] turn... was that sheerly because Al Hashimi had threatened her status?” ([45:01])
• The show continues to be “among the best things on television,” yet opens itself to real-time critique due to its unusual format and ambitions ([49:52]).

Fun Tangents & Meta-Observations

• The hosts riff about LA winters, social media doctors, their own “core temperatures,” and the backstories of supporting characters (notably real-life nurse/musician Ned Brower as Nurse Jesse) ([49:52]–[52:26]).
• Chris: “He definitely seems like he's been in those rooms.” ([53:23])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:19]–[04:47]: Boston trip, L.A. winter jokes, opening banter
• [08:23]–[12:30]: Introduction to “Wonder Man”: creators, origins, MCU context
• [12:47]–[19:40]: Praise for “Wonder Man,” industry context, character focus
• [22:07]–[23:43]: Minimal MCU references, side-episode for a supporting character
• [27:18]–[30:13]: Diversity, intentionality, Marvel/Andor comparisons
• [31:12]: Final, highest recommendation for “Wonder Man”
• [32:49]–[35:09]: Switch to “The Pitt,” Chris’ critique, Season 1 vs. Season 2
• [36:20]–[42:53]: Current episode’s plotlines, missing conflict
• [45:14]–[47:37]: Robbie’s character arc and the nuances of serialized TV drama
• [49:52]–[52:26]: Meta-reflections, Ned Brower/Nurse Jesse’s real-world backstory

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Notable Quotes (with attribution & timestamps)

• Andy Greenwald [12:47]: “This is a wonderful, low-key, universally enjoyable television show, full stop. It’s great. I really love the show. And not with the caveat of for a Marvel thing.”
• Chris Ryan [17:07]: “I would say it’s closer tonally to like a Sterling Harjo show than it is to a Marvel show.”
• Andy Greenwald [19:40]: “What Andrew and Destin Daniel Cretton have done here is carve out a little room to play that feels tonally consistent...”
• Chris Ryan [27:26]: “I was watching something from Marvel and something in this genre that wasn’t full of exposition, where the exposition was more about character rather than tesseracts or an object that needed to be found.”
• Andy Greenwald [33:11]: “I don’t know if my normal critical faculties are even functioning at this point because I’m enjoying it so much.”
• Chris Ryan [36:20]: “I think I have a little bit of agreement fatigue. The characters are walking down the hall saying things that I’m like: I agree. The people who are like: I need help. I’m like: you need help.”
• Andy Greenwald [38:07]: “Over time, everyone becomes friends... and conflict goes down and we are rewarded, our pleasure centers are rewarded, but sometimes the drama can suffer as a result.”

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Conclusion

Andy and Chris deliver an enthusiastic endorsement for “Wonder Man”—calling it one of Marvel’s best TV efforts, notable for its sharp writing, character depth, and refreshing take on the superhero genre. Meanwhile, “The Pitt” remains a favorite, but the hosts observe that its second season may lack the character-driven conflict that made the first season so gripping. The episode features lively, insightful banter and plenty of memorable lines, providing a highly entertaining overview for listeners curious about current TV standouts.

Transcript

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[Chris Ryan]

I need support staff to clear the room.

[Andy Greenwald]

Stand up and walk now.

[Chris Ryan]

Hello and welcome to the Watch. My name is Chris Ryan. I am an [e-mail] and joining me in the studio, fresh off a day player part in American Horror Story, it's Andy Greenwald.

[Andy Greenwald]

Nice. Wonder Man.

[Chris Ryan]

Wonder. Wonderman? Is that how you pronounce it?

[Andy Greenwald]

Well, originally, yes. The Wondermans, like the Epingers, hailed from Germany during a time of transition.

[Chris Ryan]

Okay, Franzen, Andy, great to see you. It's Chaos Menu Thursday. Actually not very chaotic.

[Andy Greenwald]

We're pretty pointed in two TV shows.

[Chris Ryan]

I got to get on a plane and go to Boston. The forecast for Saturday is high of 14, low of 0.

[Andy Greenwald]

It sounds like you lost a bet on the AFC championship game.

[Chris Ryan]

I can't wait.

[Andy Greenwald]

This is good. This is a positive.

[Chris Ryan]

Pressure breaks pipes. Or pressure makes diamonds, right?

[Andy Greenwald]

What does it do to pipes?

[Chris Ryan]

Well, I don't know what it does to podcasters. Yassi and I are going to be in Boston this weekend. We have a live show at the Sinclair on Friday and we're showing Repo man at the Coolidge on Saturday. I think there might be some Coolidge tickets still Available. But if you're in Boston and you get out of the carcass of your tauntaun that you were living in and you want to come see me.

[Andy Greenwald]

Those.

[Chris Ryan]

Are the two places I'll be.

[Andy Greenwald]

Are you prepared to give, like, Are you going to be giving, like, cold weather advice to Yasi? Are you going to, like, talk her through?

[Chris Ryan]

You know, she's only. I, I, I honestly have been. It's been hard because I want to say, like, damn, it's gonna be really cold.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

I hope we can take off on Sunday if it snows again.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

And she's like, you have to talk me down. Should I be bringing, like, a personal radiator to come with me? And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. So.

[Andy Greenwald]

Oh, so you're going to have to act tough even though you're, you are la soft.

[Chris Ryan]

No, I'm not. I'm not la soft. I just spent, like, three weeks on the East Coast. It was like 20 degrees every day. I was getting tired of it.

[Andy Greenwald]

Right.

[Chris Ryan]

But I can handle it. I went to college in Boston.

[Andy Greenwald]

Look, we all went to college in Boston. I'm just saying I've never been colder in my life than I am during. In LA winter.

[Chris Ryan]

Are you serious?

[Andy Greenwald]

Yeah. Because this is one of my greatest takes.

[Chris Ryan]

You're, like, a little chilly in your house when it's 52 degrees.

[Andy Greenwald]

Well, my house is shaded, you know, it doesn't get a lot of direct sunlight. No. Because I'm not asking for sympathy from the nation that is digging out of a historic snowstorm. I'm just saying that on the east coast and in our other favorite place of London, the buildings are made of, like, pieces that they didn't use for Stonehenge.

[Chris Ryan]

Yes.

[Andy Greenwald]

And so it is warm. And all the clothing and all the life is built to behave appropriately.

[Chris Ryan]

Warm your body without straight alcohol.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yes, yes. And everything here is made out of paper mache. And, and the heat doesn't work so good.

[Chris Ryan]

Yes.

[Andy Greenwald]

That's all. I'm just saying it is a, it is a weirder persistent.

[Chris Ryan]

The heat does not work as well here. It's true. And, and it's, it's probably the number one thing going wrong with this country is L. A. Interior heating was a little chilly.

[Andy Greenwald]

So think about me, Andy.

[Chris Ryan]

Today we're talking about the Pit, and we're going to talk about Wonder Man, a new show on Marvel. On Marvel. On Disney from Marvel Studios.

[Andy Greenwald]

What does Tim Robinson say in friendship? There's a new Marvel out. It's supposed to be sick no, it's supposed to be nuts. He says it's supposed to be nuts. And honestly.

[Chris Ryan]

And we're fans of both shows, so I'm excited to talk to you about them.

[Andy Greenwald]

Rip off the Band Aid, tell people that we love things. It's good.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah. We loved Wonder Man. We loved Wonder Man. We're going to be talking about that. I can't think. There was not a lot of news. We've got Sundance. We got Peacock losing some money but gaining some subs. It's funny how that works.

[Andy Greenwald]

Can we cut to the Harper Stern meme? It's an opportunity.

[Chris Ryan]

It is Sharks.

[Andy Greenwald]

That's a different show.

[Chris Ryan]

No, a full shorting of a streamer. Which one would you pick? I know that you're in business with several of them, so you shouldn't really say the answer.

[Andy Greenwald]

Well, in a way, as a subscriber, you also are in business with them.

[Chris Ryan]

I'm a shareholder. Yeah. Yeah. An intellectual show.

[Andy Greenwald]

They're paying some of my salary, so. Thank you. It's really nice of you. I appreciate that. It would be a fun thing that they would never do and should never do. But when we have Mickey and Conrad from industry back on the show, we should just ask them to short major media brands. They have to have a career, so they shouldn't do that. Yes.

[Chris Ryan]

You don't.

[Andy Greenwald]

Did you.

[Chris Ryan]

You have this to fall back on?

[Andy Greenwald]

I just have. This is my. Exactly. This is my little safety blanket.

[Chris Ryan]

It's a cold LA winter.

[Andy Greenwald]

Ooh, I'm so chilly. Well, didn't you see that? Like Sundance. I mean, I don't want to kick it when it's down. I mean, they're leaving Park City, but, like, there is the Sundance Channel and they are rebranding, but their rebrand was that they're algorithm free. Which.

[Chris Ryan]

Does that mean?

[Andy Greenwald]

I don't know.

[Chris Ryan]

The channel on cable.

[Andy Greenwald]

It's like a streaming service. Yes. Yes.

[Chris Ryan]

Oh, they're going to start an app, and it's algorithm free. So it's just an alphabetical list of what they have.

[Andy Greenwald]

Is it like you just go to a restaurant and they just bring you what's in the kitchen?

[Chris Ryan]

Which, by the way, many restaurants is.

[Andy Greenwald]

Charging $250 a person right now.

[Chris Ryan]

I was going to dinner this. I went to dinner this past weekend with our buddy Zach, and he was sending me, like, what do you think about this? And what do you think about that? And he sent me one place that had. It was like, focaccia pork and apples dessert. And I was like, that needs to be one of the great pork and apples that anyone's ever tasted. Because you've just really, you're, you're fucking pot committed to that pork and apples.

[Andy Greenwald]

I want to say, and I, I love Zach and I rely on his level, relative level headedness in our sports.

[Chris Ryan]

Channel and his ball knowledge.

[Andy Greenwald]

But. Yes, but I do think that one of the great things that, that has separated him from us, like generationally and age wise, is that I think he still believes in the possibility of new restaurants.

[Chris Ryan]

Yes.

[Andy Greenwald]

Like, deeply. He, like, has a little list. He's like, I'll check it out. I will find out what's good and what's bad. And I just sit in my unheeded, shady home, your igloo, looking at people, looking at, looking at Renee from Noma, being like, who should I bless with my presence here in Los Angeles? Ah, a bagel store that already has three hour waits. Did you cop a $25 Noma Courage Bagel?

[Chris Ryan]

No, I've got it all in my klarna for my Noma LA pop up.

[Andy Greenwald]

You have it all in your klarna, period.

[Chris Ryan]

I'm paying it at $1 a year for the next 1500 years.

[Andy Greenwald]

I think it'll work out for you.

[Chris Ryan]

Okay, let's talk about the pit first. How about that? Do you want to do that first? You want to do.

[Andy Greenwald]

No, I want to do Wonder man first.

[Chris Ryan]

Okay, let's do Wonder Man First. Yeah. What a delight. First of all, this is a show created by Destin Daniel Cretton, who.

[Andy Greenwald]

And Andrew Guest.

[Chris Ryan]

Yes, and Andrew Guest. I wasn't gonna.

[Andy Greenwald]

No Andrew Guest erasure here. No.

[Chris Ryan]

And Andrew Guest is a kind of a big deal. Like, he's written some of my favorite episodes of Community. He's, he's like a very, very talented writer. And Destin Daniel Cretton, who is somebody that we were both huge fans of when he kind of broke out with short term 12 all those years ago with one of the, like, kind of zaziest, you know, ensembles of young actors that have since gone on to do a bunch of great things. Had like a very interesting career where it was like this indie breakout. Two almost throwback Hollywood dramas. In Glass Castle, it's a Brie Larson movie. And then just Mercy, which is the Michael B. Jordan courtroom drama. And then has kind of since moved into Marvel in house. And now among the, like, most trusted.

[Andy Greenwald]

Pair of hands in Marvel, he did the Shang Chi movie, which was pretty good. And I think then was under some sort of creative overall with Disney.

[Chris Ryan]

I only like the ending of Shang Chi. I thought that was when it really came together.

[Andy Greenwald]

I'm trying to. Which ending after the credits?

[Chris Ryan]

No, all the stuff at the end.

[Andy Greenwald]

Like the big battle, the big dragon battle.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Andy Greenwald]

The cartoon place. Very memorable. But was, as you said, trusted enough to be brought in to be a creative consultant and creator in all of their various spaces, which included making TV shows like this one. And then briefly, he was going to be making an Avengers movie before the great Kang crack up.

[Chris Ryan]

And then he was the Russo return.

[Andy Greenwald]

And then he was demoted to making Spider man movie, which will probably also be the biggest movie of the year. So he's doing great. The genesis of this show is interesting because it is kind of a. We've used this metaphor before, but like the way the light we see in the sky from stars is actually from quite some time ago in a way. You ever think about that? This is a similar echo because.

[Chris Ryan]

And not echo the.

[Andy Greenwald]

No. Although that's good. This show was fully being filmed and in production during up to. Not during the strike. They were not breaking the strike, but leading up to the strike in 2023, when in the pilot of the series they are filming on Figueroa and Highland Park. I'm like, oh, this is before Jenny's ice cream opened. Like, this is a number of years ago.

[Chris Ryan]

But I thought there was. I think the Mendocino Farms is open across the street. Or is it just the building?

[Andy Greenwald]

I think it's just the building. Okay, this is. Now we're really getting into the LA stuff. Although there's a great Mendocino Farms joke in Wonder man, when we had. I don't remember if it was for her book or not, but there was a time when our friend Joanna Robinson was on this podcast and we were talking to her about the state of Marvel and she was even suggesting, and she doesn't just throw stuff out there, that this show was so much so not troubled in terms of its production, but so no longer the direction that the company was facing in that it may be just Scubbard completely. This is clearly not the case. Although you wouldn't necessarily know the quality of the show from the promotion that it's gotten. Disney has dumped all eight episodes in January. With some promotion, but I would say minimal promotion.

[Chris Ryan]

Yes.

[Andy Greenwald]

This is a shame, because this is. This is. It's too. I've seen half the season. I've seen four of the eight episodes. It is too faint praise to say that this is one of the best things Marvel Television has done, because the competition for that is WandaVision and Loki. Basically, yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

I think it's also worth noting that it's part of the Marvel spotlight sub genre or brand that they have, which.

[Andy Greenwald]

They'Ve used on Echo, Werewolf by Night and Echo.

[Chris Ryan]

And Echo.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

But it's supposed to be there. Like is this the one that they're like, you don't have to have watched other Marvel stuff to understand that.

[Andy Greenwald]

Or I think that was the idea.

[Chris Ryan]

Or is it. This is our like, our sort of like Paramount Vantage.

[Andy Greenwald]

The fact that we don't know kind of highlights why this is sort of silly.

[Chris Ryan]

Well, it was created in an era where I think they thought they were going to have a lot more. And so they were gonna be like, this is the way to distinguish some of these shows is that some of them, you're gonna need to know, understand canonical connections. And some of them might just be artistic flourishes or fun one offs.

[Andy Greenwald]

This is a wonderful, low key, universally enjoyable television show, full stop. It's great. I really love the show. And not with the caveat of for a Marvel thing.

[Chris Ryan]

I agree with you.

[Andy Greenwald]

It is made with such thoughtfulness, such care. It is incredibly clever. It is heartwarming and appealing in ways that are not unlike why I'm gonna potentially overpraise this just episode of the Pit. That's just a normal episode of the Pit in the sense that I was like. I love. Call me old fashioned, but when I'm shivering at night in my little house in Los Angeles, I love turning on the space heater and watching my stories where there are characters with relationships that surprise a little bit, but comfort and entertain.

[Chris Ryan]

Two things people always say about you.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yeah, go ahead, go tell me. I can face my crit.

[Chris Ryan]

A strong backbone when it comes to the natural elements.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yes.

[Chris Ryan]

And you're always down to watch more television.

[Andy Greenwald]

I'm telling on myself here, but I gotta be me.

[Chris Ryan]

Put it on your MySpace profile.

[Andy Greenwald]

I update it frequently so the conceit here. And we can put on or off. Or maybe I live with it. My nerd hat to say that Wonder man is a canonical Marvel superhero, a member of the Avengers, the West Coast Avengers.

[Chris Ryan]

But honestly, I'm kind of. This. This woke something up in me where I'm like, hope this guy shows up in some other stuff.

[Andy Greenwald]

Wait, so I want to circle back to that. But just for people to know. In the comics, he's an actor stuntman who gets superpowers. There's some overlap with vision, character and relationship with Scarlet Witch, but generally doesn't really distinguish himself much. As my younger daughter said. Oh, so they're just taking Wonder Woman and putting man on it now. I was like, that's some cutting commentary. Yeah, you should have a podcast. One of the very clever reinventions is the way that Destin, Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest have thought about what might make this character interesting and run straight towards it. So in this, Yahya Abdul Mateen II from Watchmen and Other Things plays Simon Williams, who is a two in his head, serious aspiring actor in Los Angeles who over the course of time we will realize has some sort of powers. But that's not the focus. What we focus on is that he basically can't get an audition or can't get out of his own way and is fired in the first episode from his guest appearance on American Horror Story in a.

[Chris Ryan]

In a fantastic behind the scenes Hollywood moment. And also an example of vertical integration. Because now that everything is Disney, you know, American Horror Story and FX show is being used as a backdrop for a Marvel show. But it's an absolutely fabulous introductory scene of this guy going in to do a day player spot where he's just gonna have one line and then he's supposed to be out. And he basically brings the production to its knees with questions, add ons, background information about his character that's not on the page.

[Andy Greenwald]

And all this stuff playing against. I think that's Ashley Green who is from Twilight. Yeah, it is in terms of like industry satire. It is not as manic and frantic as the studio, but it's not far off in terms of the realities of life here.

[Chris Ryan]

That's a different strata of Hollywood.

[Andy Greenwald]

Correct. Yeah. The other brilliant decision that they made here is bringing back Ben Kingsley who, I mean, I think we are fans of Iron Man 3.

[Chris Ryan]

I'm a huge fan of Iron Man 3.

[Andy Greenwald]

For those who haven't really caught up on the Iron man trilogy, non related to the larger multiverse saga. Kaya, looking at you. Ben Kingsley was cast as the infamous Iron man villain, the Mandarin. But the movie reveals that the Mandarin is just an actor named Trevor hired to play this part by the real villains. And so then this character kicked around to your favorite Shang Chi and then shows up here. Guys, Ben Kingsley is on a 30 minute Disney plus show. Ben Kingsley is one of the best actors of his generation. He's 82 years young and he's crushing it on this show.

[Chris Ryan]

I would say it's closer tonally to like a sterling Harjo show than it is to a Marvel show.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yeah, yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

So when you say 30 minutes, it's not like Ben Kingsley summing it. It's some of the best work he's done.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yes.

[Chris Ryan]

In years. Or at least like one of the best parts he's had in years. A part he's played before but now is like, basically these are two people on either end of their careers kicking around Hollywood, going to auditions, going to.

[Andy Greenwald]

Matinees of classic films, doing self tapes.

[Chris Ryan]

You know, and dealing with the economic and personal struggles that come with being an artist, you know, in 2025 or whenever it is. I really love this show. Before we get too deep into like the mechanics of each episode or whatever, which are all up on Disney, I thought I would just mention that this is just one of the strangest stories behind the scenes stuff that I've seen in a long time. Obviously Disney Marvel has undergone several, both from the Chapek to Iger to leader to come, sense like a bunch of leadership changes. They've also gone through a lot of philosophical changes in terms of how much stuff they're putting on Disney, what they're putting on Disney, what people want. You know, this is definitely a product that seems like it got caught between a couple of different administrations or, or strategies. But from everything I've heard from the like not reporting but like just chatter is that this was always beloved inside the building there.

[Andy Greenwald]

That's good to hear.

[Chris Ryan]

And that everybody was like this is so good. And that this was held until January for a variety of reasons. And I think actually the binge is probably good for it if it's going to be the way it is. I think if people. I thought the pilot was flawless, but I could also see a lot of Marvel heads being like, what's this show?

[Andy Greenwald]

How much of why am I watching Two Men watch Midnight Cowboy? Yes.

[Chris Ryan]

The aperture for its success was rather small then. Sure, if you had been like next week on Wonder man, these guys go to takes restaurants.

[Andy Greenwald]

I mean it's possible, but they do.

[Chris Ryan]

And it's just kind of, you know, so you, you have to give people a little bit of Runway. And frankly this is one of the first shows in a while that I've been like beyond my professional obligation freely hit next episode.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yes.

[Chris Ryan]

To watch the next one. So I think the binge probably works for it as broadly. But I don't know if it does much for its week to week marketing and buildup.

[Andy Greenwald]

But let's get. And I. We probably should have said this at the top but like we haven't spoiled anything particularly yet. We could get into some more details momentarily. But I do think it's worth noting that I'm so given the pedigree, I'm not surprised that the show is good, but I am surprised how good it is and the fact that we've spent the last year correctly praising and or and more recently praising Knight of the Seven Kingdoms for kind of providing not similar blueprints, but successful blueprints for how to exist within a larger franchise and how to stand out and how to differentiate yourself and how to tell a different sort of story underneath a much larger corporate genre IP umbrella. And I think Wonder man deserves to be talked about in the same way. I'm not saying Wonder man is a creative achievement on par with Andor I'm not comparing one to the other, sure. But I'm saying that what, what Andrew and Destin Daniel Cretton have done here is carved out a little room to play that feels tonally consistent. Like there are references to Captain America or Steve Rogers, there's a damage control, as in there's references to the larger Marvel universe, should you care to engage with it. But what's lovely about the show is that there's just room for this to exist within itself. It's not constantly referencing other things. And one of the things that this made me feel in a surprising way was, and I think this is antithetical to what the initial Marvel TV plan was, but maybe should have been all along, which is the old version is we're going to tell stories that deserve to be upstream. And that's why Thunderbolts is a movie harvested from, you know, semi successful plantings on the television farm. I don't what's wonderful about Wonder man is that Ben Kingsley is playing this character who he's played quite broadly and comedically in movies as a person. I mean, still, you know, there's some flourishes, but as a more complicated person with an inner life, the character of Simon Williams, there's no room for that character to exist in a movie like Doomsday necessarily. Nor should there be now, you know, joke's on me when he shows up and he, you know, punches Professor X out of his chair or whatever. But like, this seems like it. This all backs up maybe what you were saying, which is it seems like the, the powers that be understood that they had something good and they left it alone.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, it feels very unfucked with because at least through the three that I've watched, the tone is so remarkably consistent and, and well identified where you're right, the references to the larger superhero world. I counted two of them, three of them and one is a Rogers the Musical billboard in the back of the Disney Fox lot that they're on. And one happens in a basically a little kernel of conversation between Simon and Trevor in a car about whether or not superheroes are allowed to audition for television shows.

[Andy Greenwald]

And you haven't made it to episode four yet, but episode four is a basically contained black and white episode explaining the journey of a character named Demar Doorman Davis.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Andy Greenwald]

He's referenced in three, played by Byron Bowers, who's a very funny comedian with a really, I would say, paradigm shifting guest performance by Josh Gad himself. Nice. It is the kind of like, little filigreed flourish that I can tell you from experience is pitched in every writer's room for every show ever, which is we'll just do a little. We'll take a pause here and we'll do a little fun detour and tell a different story that people are gonna be like, oh, I'm in. And it rarely makes it onto the screen. And if it does, it's rarely as successful. This episode in and of itself is delightful.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Andy Greenwald]

And works.

[Chris Ryan]

The premise of the show is essentially spelled out. Not even the premise of the show, but the intent of the show is spelled out when a celebrated European filmmaker is hired to remake Wonder man, which was a Star Trek 1960s Buck Rogers ish Sci fi show.

[Andy Greenwald]

Right. Or movie. Hard to tell what you're saying, but movie.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah. And he's going to remake it. And it's, you know, this guy. I think it's the guy who played. Who is he in Superman?

[Andy Greenwald]

He is the president of the evil nation who is infringing on. Oh, that's right, People's rights.

[Chris Ryan]

That's right.

[Andy Greenwald]

It's Latko Burech Burich.

[Chris Ryan]

And he plays like a Werner Herzog, Lars Von Trierish kind of filmmaker who's like, you know, superhero movies. These superheroes are here and these stories count. And, like, there's even conversations about Trojan horsing things in. And then so you're having characters in a Trojan horse TV show talking about Trojan horsing things. But I didn't even really sweat that stuff, honestly, because, like, I thought that the character of Simon was three dimensional enough and their relationship felt real enough and each has ulterior motives. We find out a little bit about Ben Kingsley's mission to why he's sort of cozying up to Simon. And a lot of that has to do with a sort of government agency represented by Ari Moyed from Succession, who is fantastic in this as well, everything about this has been note perfect.

[Andy Greenwald]

Great scene between them at Clark Street Diner. Yes, there's a. Of all the things on my bingo card for 2026, I did not expect a reference to Russell Hoban's Turtle Diary or the film version of it in a Marvel television show, but here we are. I do want to just circle back to the Ben Kingsley of it all because it's not bizarre. Because as you said, they're treating him with a lot of respect and giving him a lot of opportunities to do what he can do, which is slip into just jaw dropping, charismatic Shakespearean pomp and circumstance, but then also play light comedy which he seems to be enjoying. He's so good on this show and it's such an unexpected buddy comedy. And yes, there are moments like in the third episode when Simon brings his new friend Trevor home to his mother's birthday party in Pacoima and she's like, I'm so glad you brought a friend. And it's this diminutive 82 year old Englishman.

[Chris Ryan]

We can't make eye catch contact with anyone cause he's actually running a surveillance operation.

[Andy Greenwald]

It is a little sus. Yeah. But at the same time he seems to be having fun and it's a wonderful showcase. And then I think there's the question of the details. Now I'm not necessarily the right person to judge this, but there's an opinion. But there's just a tension in these episodes that I've seen that I feel is not just rare in TV, but certainly rare in superhero TV. And it's not just the little jokes about Deadline.com or Mendocino Farms, because we get those. And I'm not sure if the larger world cares that much. But like when Simon goes home and brings Trevor home in the third episode to his mother's birthday party, it's made very clear his mother is of Haitian descent or from Haiti. And the food that they serve and the community that they capture, someone thought about it. That takes decision making. It takes empowered creatives even just to get the establishing shots of actually Pacoima and the streets of a place that is LA but isn't really LA in the way that people imagine it to be. That stuff matters. It adds to a more cohesive and I think fulfilling viewing experience.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, and I also really like the fact that I was watching something from Marvel and something in this genre that wasn't full of exposition, where the exposition was more about character rather than tesseracts or an object that needed to be found. I mean, Ben Kingsley's mission through these few episodes so far is kind of vague.

[Andy Greenwald]

It's to, like, get information on Simon to potentially.

[Chris Ryan]

Because Arya Moyed's character is under pressure to fill this new prison for superheroes.

[Andy Greenwald]

Because now this is the part. This is the only part that kind of. I bumped on a little bit. Okay. The. The government has overfunded a rogue sort of police like, arm and wants to arrest tons of people to make a big show. Huh. So that was like, whoa, whoa. And they're like, empowering, you know, extra legal tactics and general goonery. That was weird.

[Chris Ryan]

That was strange. Yeah. I don't. I'm trying to think if there was anything else I wanted to mention about it. James Poncel directs the second two episodes after Creden does the first two. It's just. It's just. I really recommend it. I don't want to get too deep into, like, appearances and cameos and developments because maybe we can hit it next week, next Thursday or something to talk about the. The last couple episodes.

[Andy Greenwald]

Is there a part of you in watching these episodes where you were like, I kind of wish he didn't have powers?

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah. But I mean, here's the thing is that I was thinking about this. It's funny you bring up Andor because I think that we say that word a tremendous amount on this podcast. And it's so amusing that Andor has now become not only a touchstone of like, this is everything that we ever wanted from a franchise, but also, did you know that this cost $700 million? You know, which is. I don't know the exact figure, but like, the reporting about what And. Or wound up costing over the course of its two season run is whether it's true or not, I don't care. It's. Every penny was worth it. You can see it on screen.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yep.

[Chris Ryan]

But it is an intimidation tactic to be like, we just don't. We can't make this stuff for less than $300 million. So it's gotta be really popular and it's gotta appeal to the most people possible and it's gotta upstream the cinematic universes off of the small screen because we can't just throw this money away and let you guys make Razzo Rizzo walking around with the.

[Andy Greenwald]

With.

[Chris Ryan]

With the. With Jon Voight, you know, like, which is essentially what this show has been so far. It shot in la, it looks more expensive than it probably is, but this is such a great use of their money and their time and their server space to put up a small, fun character study that I think people will go back to over and over again.

[Andy Greenwald]

And in terms of the. I completely agree with everything you just said and I think in terms of the relationship to superpowers, this takes a page from, you know, currently unused on the big screen or small screen page from the X Men playbook, in which it presents a character who doesn't want any of that. What he wants is something else. And the more traditional Campbellian call to power of the young. We've seen every version of that where Peter Parker accepts the mantle of his great power and responsibility. This guy just wants to be in movies. This guy just loves movies. This guy just wants to be third chair in big picture if nothing else works out. So the fact that the powers that he has are clamped down, tamped down, repressed, unwanted and unpredictable and really, so far through four episodes, have only shown up in terms of his emotional landscape. That really works for me. And it's such a. That's not a new conceit for characters or even for comic books. But it's been a while.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Andy Greenwald]

And it's really welcome.

[Chris Ryan]

Okay, we'll leave it there. Highest recommendation we could possibly give.

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[Andy Greenwald]

Let's go to the pit.

[Chris Ryan]

Okay. Obviously you were very enthusiastic about this episode.

[Andy Greenwald]

I mean, I, I was, I was, I was doing some self reflection. I. I was cold. So I was trying to keep the mind sharp. And I hear, yeah, I was like, has this show entered? I don't know what the zone is, but, like, it's just in a place where I'm so happy to watch it.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Yes.

[Andy Greenwald]

I feel so eager to turn on the new episode. I'm always surprised when it's over and I want more. And so I don't know if my normal critical faculties are even functioning at this point because I'm enjoying it so much. It's so cold. Well, my extremities are not functioning. My faculties, possibly. So it's so expertly done that within every episode I just find a lot to enjoy, which is kind of maybe a normie take, but that's where I'm at with it. But I feel like you. This might make for some good crossfire style, old school confrontational podcasting. I feel like you're itching for a big swing. You're itching for swing.

[Chris Ryan]

Okay, so I've done my own version of self reflection. My note here under the episode is, I guess I missed Dr. Collins. And let me explain why. So Dr. Collins gets mentioned. This is Tracy Ejafor's character from the first season who disappears about three quarters into the season to go home after personal medical emergency and is not present for the mass shooting casualty event that the. The ER is dealing with. That the pit is dealing with. And then is explained now in the. What was this? The fourth episode? Yeah, the fourth episode that she has moved to Portland to. Couldn't be you adopt a kid and be closer to her parents or family? Yeah, she's from there and it sounds like she's still in touch with some people from the hospital, but maybe not Dr. Ravi. And the mention of her made me think about whether or not she had a kind of. The character and the performer had a certain quality that I did not appreciate at the time, which was an authentic tension within the er, which I think, generally speaking, the first season had. But so I went back to the first season. I kind of mapped it the first few four episodes of the first season versus the first four episodes of the second.

[Andy Greenwald]

Did you make like a Kirk Goldsberry?

[Chris Ryan]

I did not do a shot or anything, but I Did note that I was looking through, like, all the people who were in the hospital right now and all the doctors. And you've got Dr. Al Shimi, who has been banging the drum of AI but for the most part, seems like a very competent, if direct, manager and a bit.

[Andy Greenwald]

And I think this is intentionally so duplicative. She's basically just parroting what Robbie says most of the time.

[Chris Ryan]

Sure. And then you've got Ogilvy, who is a student doctor who's annoying, and Joy, who is another student doctor who seems to not want to be a student doctor.

[Andy Greenwald]

Not with Ogilvy. Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

Or just in general is like, oh, great, I'm glad I paid $200,000 to learn how to do this or something. And then all of the patients, especially in this episode, like, are pretty straightforward. Like, I. Yeah, fix them. Not. Not did you would ever be like, don't fix this.

[Andy Greenwald]

It's not exactly Dr. House Mysteries.

[Chris Ryan]

No, it's not even the mystery aspect as much as, like, I was looking back at the first season.

[Andy Greenwald]

Because you weren't moved by Whitaker being like, what if. Heart attack. Not in front.

[Chris Ryan]

I just think I have a little bit of agreement fatigue.

[Andy Greenwald]

Like, this is a great take.

[Chris Ryan]

The characters are walking down the hall saying things that I'm like, I agree. The people who are like, I need help. I'm like, you need help? And I. We can all see what's wrong with you pretty much.

[Andy Greenwald]

And when that narratively runs into. Not against, but runs concurrently with the show's, I think, quite earnest. Quite. I mean, I agree with him. Larger liberal political worldview.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Andy Greenwald]

It's like when they're like, we need health care and we don't have them, which is really important for a TV show to say. But when that's running in concert with everyone else agreeing, you're starting to feel a little. It's a little soft.

[Chris Ryan]

So I think what I realized when I was watching this is that what I was wondering going into this season is how are they going to recreate the stakes of the first season without it being. Without it turning into an episode of 911 where it's just like, you guys will never believe, but aliens are here. You know? And that actually shouldn't have been what I was worried about. What I should have been worried about was how will they recreate the interpersonal tensions among the doctors if they have theoretically been working together for another nine months or whatever it is? And now it's like Santos. She calls him at the end of the episode. But it's pretty much 80. Nicer than she. Yeah.

[Andy Greenwald]

And they live together in the scene is pitched on his perspective, watching her leave, being like, my friend, my colleague is having some personal trauma and is in crisis.

[Chris Ryan]

Yes. And Langdon, who had a kind of cocky swagger which was obviously deflated in the first season, is now like, I'm just working the program and I'm being a good guy.

[Andy Greenwald]

Let's drill down on the Langdon thing. Okay. Because first of all, you're the best at what you do. You have really identified something that I think, despite my absolute simping for the show, I'm simping too.

[Chris Ryan]

I'm just.

[Andy Greenwald]

I agree with you and I think this is a really smart point to make. When we talk about how our Scott Gemmel and Noah Wylie and John Wells and the team behind the show are the cream of the crop in terms of just professionalism and expertise and doing things the old school way, we are talking about something that came up in our industry conversation last week, something that Mickey and Conrad and the people who make that show in their more new school way do not subscribe to, which is that over time, everyone becomes friends. Not just interpersonally, but like the television show friends in the sense that we just can't wait to see the people we like bounce off each other in ways that they historically do. And conflict goes down and we are rewarded, our pleasure centers are rewarded, but sometimes the drama can suffer as a result. We are seeing that already. Not just because you could excuse the fact that they work together and they're used to it and they have their rhythm, as evidenced by the scene in the ambulance bay when they're talking shit about Dr. Al Hashimi and it's like, you shouldn't be doing this in front of an attending. And. And Robbie's like, well, you can say anything with me because we know each other. I totally agree. The one point that I was eager to come in and make is a version of this in regards to Langdon, because Langdon is the opportunity and there's plenty of season to go. He's been back at work for three hours now, four hours now. There is a softness and restorative nature to his off camera arc that feels potentially like a missed opportunity.

[Chris Ryan]

Or perhaps we're just jumping the gun and there's a lot more to come.

[Andy Greenwald]

Exactly.

[Chris Ryan]

We still have not gotten the Landon, Robbie, clear the air thing.

[Andy Greenwald]

But one of the things that I've always found a little bit not confounding, but intriguing, I guess, about the character and the casting is that Patrick Ball is clearly a Very good actor. And he was doing Hamlet here in la. Like, he's pedigreed and talented. He is also kind of on TV anyway, like softly handsome in a way that he looks like a TV actor in this context. Sure. Might be different in other roles in other contexts. And I felt, and I was pleased in the first season when after a few episodes of kind of blandness from the character of being like Robbie's friend, who's also good, there was some darkness and a little bit of a, you know, there was some road for him to travel down. Maybe it's a factor of the show's unique conceit, which is that they jump to a different day that they could, yada yada. The harder part, and we get him back. The show works better if something is cutting against the grain. Yes, I think that's a really good point. And now what's clearly coming to will cut against the grain is the day's gonna go haywire in some way. Yes. But interpersonally it would be good to see that happen as well. And I think that they might, because the other thing I was gonna say is the real estate that they carved out in this episode and maybe the previous episode for character stuff, they do have to be artful in it because they have to front load it. Because once the ambo bay starts filling up, there isn't a lot of space for Robbie to sit with his pal, the hospital psychiatrist, for Dr. McKay to.

[Chris Ryan]

Be like, I'd love to go on a date to an art gallery with this guy, you know, and stuff like that.

[Andy Greenwald]

So we kind of have to front load that. Which in the week to week experience might feel a little bit off. And they do a good job of hiding the ball. No, Patrick. But I think it's an interesting point.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Andy Greenwald]

And is it a casting question? Is it a who you're adding to the ensemble question?

[Chris Ryan]

No, I think it's just sheer numbers. So now it's less time. Joy and ogilvy probably take 3% or 5% of the time we would have spent with Mel Santos and Whitaker.

[Andy Greenwald]

And there's the new nurse, too.

[Chris Ryan]

There's the new nurse. There's. And there feels like there are more patients with like a. But there hasn't been quite the same by this point last season. I think there was the Xanax Fentanyl overdose. There was the Robby and Collins debate about whether to perform an abortion.

[Andy Greenwald]

Right.

[Chris Ryan]

There were a couple of things happening that were like, oh, and the. The brother sister trying to decide whether or not to that was big. Enforce the DNR on their father.

[Andy Greenwald]

Now. Counterpoint. So far this season we've had Michael Nor's exposed.

[Chris Ryan]

Yes. Inc. And also like the. The family with no insurance that the girl is. I'll just go through the. The patients right now. So like the insurance family D. Diabetes. Prideful. Mom doesn't want daughter to find out about the lack of insurance. Daughter overhears docs talking about lack of insurance. Starts gofundme. Eyelash lady, who is apparently also Patrick Ball's partner in real life.

[Andy Greenwald]

That's nice.

[Chris Ryan]

Shout out. And we learn about Dr. J. Dr. Javati's social media, like, alter ego.

[Andy Greenwald]

Would you follow her?

[Chris Ryan]

I try not to get my medical advice from social media.

[Andy Greenwald]

I think that's probably wise. That's probably wise.

[Chris Ryan]

I say that my general practitioner is probably like, it's me, Dr. O.

[Andy Greenwald]

But wouldn't he just. From what you said about him, he would just start like a soccer blog.

[Chris Ryan]

We talk a lot about world football.

[Andy Greenwald]

About the beautiful game.

[Chris Ryan]

Yes. And then we talk a little bit about my body. You know, it's never been better. Eyelash lady. Parkour influencers.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yeah. When you say it like that, it sounds silly.

[Chris Ryan]

That was my. That was my shit this week when. When that guy was like, I'll just pull this out. I was like, that's a big L to take, dog.

[Andy Greenwald]

Just be like, let me help pull this giant shard of glass out of dude's back.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah. The woman suffering from bulimia and Louis, the.

[Andy Greenwald]

With the tooth and the stomach and the yard advice.

[Chris Ryan]

Yes. The student who had an episode. Seems like it's got legs as a storyline because there's also the. What did the security guard do to him? What's going on with him? They're about to do the spinal tap and then the woman who comes back possibly with Mercer.

[Andy Greenwald]

That's bad. Oof. They were not.

[Chris Ryan]

Did they show her in the beginning of the season?

[Andy Greenwald]

I don't remember. I was going to ask you. I didn't remember it. So it's possible that that's because Langdon's.

[Chris Ryan]

Patients have been in triage for the most part. And then we have. I'm like, I really like Joy. Not the emotion, but the character on the show. And she's got blood exposure from puncturing her glove, the glass. And they have to give her a bunch of tests and I'm very much hoping she doesn't get hepatitis or something.

[Andy Greenwald]

I think that's a good wish. Yeah. I think to your other point about lower stakes conflict this season, the am I missing anybody? No. I mean the simmering tension. There's a one or two, but I think the. The simmering tension that is fueling Santos return to, you know, the Bugs Bunny meme of like, lord, forgive me back to go back to the old me is because Dr. Helchimi is. Is stressing the importance of documentation and paperwork.

[Chris Ryan]

Sure.

[Andy Greenwald]

Which feels relatively. I mean, I. Look, these guys are medical professionals behind the show, involved in the show. If they say it's important, I believe them.

[Chris Ryan]

I believe it's important.

[Andy Greenwald]

But.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, but it is. I was having a hard time understanding her turn was that sheerly because Al Hashimi had threatened her status. Threatened her status.

[Andy Greenwald]

And when we met, when we rejoined Santos this season, she's like, I'm going to double major, basically. Right. Can I. You know, one of my favorite parts of the episode was with when the glass extraction happens and the surgeon is there and then they bring out this big syringe and Ogilvy is super fucked up already once he's not fucked up, but he has fucked up. Says, what's that? And the way Robby says, I'm going to try to get the quote right. It's a syringe full of hemostatic fast expanding sponges. That's the moment when I wanted the thick of it writers to join the writers room and be like a fast expanding sponges. You absolute twat. You mentally impaired donut. Like, I just wanted some extra. Yeah. You know, I enjoyed that flex. But the jokes in general are better. Like when he's like, motorcycle trips are zoom therapy. Yes. Come on.

[Chris Ryan]

You thought that was a joke or you thought, yeah, it's all right. And I think that that actually is a good segue to Robbie, which was, you know, a very obviously physician, heal thyself storyline from the first season of him coming in, dealing with the PTSD of COVID dealing with the loss of his mentor during that time period. Feeling very underwater with hospital executives and Gloria and like all that stuff about their patient scores and their efficiency and I think his sabbatical and his helmet thing is worth. Worth watching, worth keeping an eye on as like, how could this kind of develop over the course of the season. But for the most part he seems. It was like, I think I missed him being in a really bad place, you know, And I don't know, I don't want that for a character. But I think it's interesting television when they're like that.

[Andy Greenwald]

But these guys have made lots of seasons of television and when you introduce stakes like they did in the first season to get attention, to make you feel how visceral and minute to minute this circumstance, this workplace can be. You open the show with Robbie talking his colleague down from the roof a little bit, and then you put him in, like, the worst day of his life redux. And then you have to have. Then you have to have that same character anchor this show for 5, 6. I won't say it. Cause my kid. I can hear my kids saying it. Five, six, or eight years, Right?

[Chris Ryan]

Five, six, seven.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yeah, you have to. We're a little over it. You gotta toggle weird.

[Chris Ryan]

Like you.

[Andy Greenwald]

Everyone like me on Earth. Like, when I got back from Potter, my kids are like, do they say 6, 7 in England? I'm like, oh, yes, you've ruined the world. We no longer are in quarantine. They sure do. You have to be careful with the character extremity dial. Because in a movie, a character like Dr. Robbie ends the movie by like, I need to fix myself and drives off on a motorcycle. Or I have recommitted to this as my course of action as a professional.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Andy Greenwald]

But the show is now stuck in a place of credible, emotional, emotionally honest, and relatable people who every day do an impossible thing which exists in the world that is 100% realistic, but it is in terms of nowhere.

[Chris Ryan]

Did I say this show is no longer realistic?

[Andy Greenwald]

No, no, no, no.

[Chris Ryan]

But all I'm saying is, like.

[Andy Greenwald]

But they're navigating something that is not realistic, which is serialized drama.

[Chris Ryan]

Yes.

[Andy Greenwald]

And that is an interesting thing to pay attention to.

[Chris Ryan]

You know, the hospital show that shall not be named, that this show is not based on.

[Andy Greenwald]

Is.

[Chris Ryan]

It would be an interesting experiment to go back and map that show against this show, because I think that this show is trying to do much different things with character and much different things with time.

[Andy Greenwald]

And can I zag and say a different opinion that I feel like hasn't been said enough? Which is, thank God this isn't a reboot of the champion age Chicago Hope, because first of all, Mandy Patinkin is too busy. But second, the character that Noah Wiley played before when he was wearing a medical doctor's coat, was a child of privilege and had a very specific background and arc that is completely different from the way he is able to play Robbie with the freedom of creating an entirely new person without the years of baggage, good and bad, from what he had been. And I think. I think it's really important that the show is trying to do something, and I think now we can give it the credit for being something different. Last note. This may be commonly held knowledge.

[Chris Ryan]

I'll just say just really quickly, like, my. My whole critique comes with the caveat of this is still among the best things on television.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yeah. But I think it's. The show gives us such a unique opportunity to. To question and critique in real time. Because proof of concept, this thing works, this show works. What's interesting, and I think why your point is well taken, is because what they're doing is so specific and so unique that we have a different way into observing their creative process because they are solving for things in real time that other shows don't have to, such as where we put character beats because we are never leaving this hospital, for example. And so sometimes they get away with it when they hide the nutrition. Seinfeld's wife put spinach and brownies. Like, you know about that. This is all parent stuff.

[Chris Ryan]

No, I didn't know about that.

[Andy Greenwald]

Jessica Seinfeld wrote a cookbook where she was like, your kids need vegetables, but they don't have to like them, so make brownies with spinach in them.

[Chris Ryan]

And now their kid is Bari Weiss's, like, lieutenant.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yeah, it's great. You Nepo, baby, stick together. You know, I'm sure that the group chats you guys are on are pretty rich with observations about how to Nobody knows our struggle communicate with audience in the digital era.

[Chris Ryan]

I have to work that much harder to have movie reviews that people take seriously.

[Andy Greenwald]

You do, and you've really. You've done it, by the way.

[Chris Ryan]

Ah, yeah, for sure.

[Andy Greenwald]

I mean, I think it's telling that you haven't done rewatchables Remains of the Day because then it would be a little bit too close to, like, your father's past.

[Chris Ryan]

I wouldn't hold my breath for that one.

[Andy Greenwald]

I've been waiting by the phone. This may be common knowledge, but I only recently learned this because I did feel bad that I didn't know the name of Nurse Jesse, who is stepping a little bit more into the camera, into the spotlight this season. And I was, I'll be honest, like, I was thinking of that character this weekend because it felt Alex Preddy like. Like that this is just a guy who works hours in, you know, a thankless job. And so I was googling him lately. And this is the most shout out to Simon Williams in Wonder man. The most like, LA is a real place sort of story I can imagine. This guy, Ned Brower, who plays Nurse Jessie, moves here to be an actor, gets a little bit work as an actor, gets work As a model, plays music with his friends. Is the drummer for Rooney. Oh, yeah. The pop rock band led by Jason Schwartzman's younger brother, Robert.

[Chris Ryan]

But was Jason Schwartzman ever in that band?

[Andy Greenwald]

He was in Phantom Planet.

[Chris Ryan]

That's right.

[Andy Greenwald]

Okay. Drums for a while, acts for a while, sees the writing on the wall. It's not really. Maybe this isn't the career. Goes to school and becomes a nurse. And he is actually a nurse.

[Chris Ryan]

Yes.

[Andy Greenwald]

And then when the show is being put together, someone because it's, you know, it's a relatively small community, or he sees the audition for.

[Chris Ryan]

Is he like a medical advisor on the show at all?

[Andy Greenwald]

No, but I think that the, the, the, the spirit of the show has been to bring in. To sprinkle in real people. And, you know, I think people who are paying more attention to the show than even we. We watch it. But I think the superfans have probably maintained lists of like, these people are actually nurses. These people are doctors. And yeah, he's married to Sarah Jane Morris, who is on Brothers and Sisters, who made an appearance on the show as well this past season. I just like, I like the artful way the show is doing this, where it's bringing people who are competent in multiple fields. Yes, but I thought it was cool. This guy's actually contributed to the world of nursing and medicine. And you can. I don't think it's an accident that, like, I just. When he's in the background of scenes, I was like, that guy seems like he knows what he's doing. I didn't learn his name, which was on me.

[Chris Ryan]

No, he definitely seems like he's been in those rooms.

[Andy Greenwald]

Nurse Jesse.

[Chris Ryan]

All right, well, we'll be back on Monday to talk about a night of the Seven kingdoms and industry.

[Andy Greenwald]

Will you give me some temperature updates of your core, your extremities?

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, man.

[Andy Greenwald]

I'll try to struggle throughout here.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to seeing by Boston people. Yeah, the Boston winter is something that. I mean, we went for rewatchables last. The last time it was like, cold, but like we were walking around, it was like 30s, 40s, and now it's aughts.

[Andy Greenwald]

Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

So we'll see. Thank you to Kaya and Kai. I gotta catch a plane. We'll talk to you guys on Monday.

[Andy Greenwald]

Safe travels.