TV Avalanche

0:00 - 6:00 Alan's big news 6:00 - 59:10 The Americans (SPOILERS) 59:10 - 1:13:30 Listener Mail 1:13:30 - 1:25:10 Trust the Process 1:25:10 - 1:30:47 Alan and Brian say goodbye

0:00 - 29:45 Westworld 29:45 - 1:05:55 Justified 1:05:55 - 1:10:14 Listener Mail (Lost)

Alan and Brian use the return of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as an excuse to draft their favorite current TV theme songs, discuss ABC's twee talking dog comedy Downward Dog, figure out how excited they are about the return of Twin Peaks, then spoil the heck out of the latest episodes of Better Call Saul and The Leftovers. 00:00-05:11 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt returns 05:12-14:48 TV theme song draft 14:49-21:15 Downward Dog 21:16-33:17 Brian hates Twin Peaks?!?! 33:18-45:15 Better Call Saul: "Chicanery" spoilers 45:16-01:01:20 The Leftovers: "It's a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World" spoilers

Alan and Brian are still so thrown by the news that Senator Elizabeth Warren is a huge fan of Ballers that they nearly let this week's show get derailed by it, focusing just long enough to review the return of Master of None to Netflix, the debut of Amazon's I Love Dick. After that, Brian tries to get Alan to guess whether a pilot he describes is real or invented, before the guys do spoilers on road trip episodes of Fargo and The Leftovers, which in turn leads to a debate about Carrie Coon characters as travel companions. 00:00-04:54 Introduction/Elizabeth Warren loves Ballers 04:55-13:20 Master of None season 2 13:21-19:32 I Love Dick 19:33-26:30 Is This A Real Pilot? 26:31-38:05 Fargo: "The Law of Non-Contradiction" spoilers 38:06-53:08 The Leftovers: 'G'Day Melbourne" spoilers 53:09-58:02 Which Carrie Coon Character Would You Rather Travel With?

It's the first day of May, which means Alan and Brian survived the busiest month in Peak TV history. And as the sheer number of premieres slows down, that means it's finally time to dip back into the mailbag and answer many of your questions on important subjects like Mike Ehrmantraut vs. Chris Brody, and Character Actress Margo Martindale vs. Character Actress Ann Dowd. From there, Brian quizzes Alan on the latest season of Billions, the guys try to figure out whether it's time to hit the panic button about this season of The Americans, and then they go Down Under to talk about doings on The Leftovers. The rundown: 00:00-01:49 Introduction 01:50-30:02 Super-sized TV Avalanche mailbag 30:03-40:47 Billions quiz 40:48-54:51 Should we worry about The Americans? 54:52-01:06:11 The Leftovers: "Crazy Whitefella Thinking" spoilers

Alan and Brian discuss a pair of exciting new dramas — one heavy, one bloody but fun — and check in on the return of a hilarious romantic comedy before diving deep into spoilers for recent episodes of Better Call Saul and The Leftovers. 00:00-01:50 Introduction 01:51-12:14 The Handmaid's Tale 12:15-16:56 Catastrophe season 3 16:57-26:15 American Gods 26:16-48:35 Better Call Saul: "Witness" & "Sunk Cost" spoilers 48:36-01:09:11 The Leftovers: "Don't Be Ridiculous" spoilers

The peakiest month of Peak TV continues with the returns of two more shows Alan and Brian love in Fargo and Better Call Saul. Then the guys trade off on reviews of shows they didn't both have time to watch, before moving into heavy spoilers for the premieres of Better Call Saul and The Leftovers. And, because Alan's rage at all things Phil Jackson is never too far from the surface, there's another NBA segment at the end! 00:00-01:08 Introduction 01:09-08:18 Fargo season 3 08:19-16:24 Silicon Valley season 4 16:25-22:17 Bosch season 3 22:18-25:21 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 25:22-31:57 Girlboss 31:58-43:13 Better Call Saul premiere spoilers 43:14-57:40 The Leftovers premiere spoilers 57:41-01:10:26 Sports Avalanche: Knicks vs. Sixers

Alan and Brian dive deeper into The Busiest Prestige TV Month Ever with new seasons of The Leftovers and Veep. Then they try to figure out the ideal character combinations on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Brian performs his alt-lyrics to the show's theme song. From there, the guys wonder if the latest New Girl season finale should be its series finale and try to find a new hangout comedy for Brian to enjoy, and we conclude with heavy spoilers for last week's The Americans. 00:00-01:55 Introduction 01:56-19:44 The Leftovers 19:45-29:26 Veep 29:27-43:16 Brooklyn Nine-Nine ideal partnerships 43:17-58:38 Should New Girl be over? And in search of a new hangout comedy 58:39-01:14:55 The Americans: Lotus 1-2-3 spoilers

TV Avalanche begins the crazy television month of April by talking about a returning show Alan and Brian both love, a new show they've both fallen for, and three shows Brian hasn't seen, before cleaning up some old business by talking about the surprise season three premiere of Rick & Morty and the finales of both Review and Legion. 00:00-01:42 Introduction 01:43-16:26 Better Call Saul 16:27-23:54 Brockmire 23:55-27:07 Prison Break 27:08-32:01 iZombie 32:02-35:17 The Son 35:18-42:56 Rick & Morty April Fool's Day surprise 42:57-52:01 Review finale spoilers 52:02-01:01:27 Legion finale spoilers

In their eighth episode, and the first with a proper podcast feed, Alan and Brian try to make sense of an absurdly busy April in prestige TV, each drafting five of their favorite new and returning shows. Then they review Netflix's teen drama 13 Reasons Why, and answer mail about Amazon's pilot season, what the end of Cinemax's The Knick might mean for Peak TV as a whole, and shows that might have benefited from shorter seasons. 00:00-03:08 Introduction and announcing our podcast feed 03:09-38:08 April TV preview & draft 38:09-47:30 13 Reasons Why 47:58-57:26 Listener mail: Amazon's new pilot season 57:27-01:02:20 Listener mail: Cinemax getting out of prestige TV business 01:02:21-01:07:44 Listener mail: Shows that needed shorter seasons

Alan and Brian open this week's show desperately searching for anything positive to say about Netflix's Iron Fist before pivoting into more intentionally comic territory with NBC's Trial & Error and the final season of Review. After that, they answer some of your questions. 00:50-14:28 Iron Fist 14:29-23:30 Trial & Error 23:31-33:17 Review 33:18-38:18 Listener mail: 30 bad screeners vs. eating 30 pancakes 38:19-45:05 Listener mail: Annoying characters on great shows, redux 45:06-57:19: In defense of the episode, again

It's a stressful episode of TV Avalanche, but in a good way, as Alan and Brian review two great dramas that are nerve-wracking to get through. After that, they use the Netflix comedy Love as an excuse to pivot into a larger discussion of why so much good TV today is so stressful, then answer listener questions. 00:44-09:20 The Americans season five 09:21-17:25 American Crime season three 17:26-25:57 Love season two/Stressful TV 25:58-34:45 Legion just did the weirdest episode ever 34:50-37:44 Listener mail: Other weird episodes of TV 37:45-41:11 Listener mail: Annoying characters on great shows

What was intended to be a brief Academy Awards discussion instead turns into a play-by-play of the stunning Best Picture screw-up, which in turn leads Alan and Brian to list Emmy moments they wish had gotten the Warren Beatty treatment. Then it's new show time (and time travel show time), with reviews of Chicago Justice, Feud: Bette and Joan, Making History, Time After Time, then back to the Oscars as they try to smell if The Rock is cooking up a hosting gig anytime soon. 00:00-11:30 The Most Dramatic Oscars Ever 11:31-14:45 Emmy moments that need to be Beatty'ed 14:46-16:09 Podcast announcements 16:10-23:45 Chicago Justice 23:50-34:16 Feud: Bette and Joan 34:17-39:36 Making History (plus Timeless) 39:37-46:21 Time After Time (plus Timeless) 46:22-50:00 Listener mail: Should The Rock host the Oscars?

Alan and Brian review Amazon's darkly comic spy drama Patriot and ABC's gay rights miniseries When We Rise, then answer listener questions on BoJack Horseman, annoying heroes who aren't supposed to be, and bad shows we love — the last of which gives Brian an excuse to hit Alan with a Pope Quiz on all things Young Pope. 01:00-10:30 Patriot 10:31-19:38 When We Rise 19:40-24:20 Mailbag: Why do critics love BoJack? 24:21-27:39 Mailbag: Unintentionally annoying heroes 27:40-32:43 Mailbag: Bad shows we love 32:44-44:23 The Young Pope: Pope Quiz

Alan and Brian have a LOT to review this week, including The Good Wife spin-off The Good Fight, HBO's all-star miniseries Big Little Lies with Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, Pete Holmes and Judd Apatow's HBO comedy Crashing, followed by the returns of Billions and Bates Motel. And they close things out with a pair of Philly-centric discussions, first on how It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia remains shockingly great in its 12th season, then on which of the hosts' favorite basketball teams has the better chance of escaping their dire current circumstances: Brian's Philadelphia 76ers, or Alan's New York Knicks. There are no winners here, except maybe the listener. 01:16-11:08 The Good Fight 11:09-19:42 Big Little Lies 19:43-24:40 Crashing 24:41-31:01 Billions 31:02-34:23 Bates Motel 34:24-45:15 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 45:16-59:59 Trust the Process: Knicks vs. Sixers