Indiewire's Very Good Tv Podcast

The third season of Tina Fey and Robert Carlock's complicated dark comedy made some important choices for its characters — but how did they affect the show? Liz and Ben dig in.

Liz and Ben are joined by their colleagues Steve Greene and Hanh Nguyen to discuss some of the conversations they've been lucky enough to have with the people making great TV today. Surprisingly, "The Leftovers" comes up.

The Netflix series adaptation of Justin Simien's 2014 indie favorite has set a new bar for what film-to-TV transfers should look like. What are the factors which make the series so compelling? Liz and Ben have the deets.

We're in a rich age of television... But we're maybe getting a little burned out on the fact that the messaging around all these shows is that "in a time like this, these shows are more important than ever." Is that actually true? Liz and Ben discuss.

Emotions run high as Liz and Ben discuss the announcement that there'll be more "X-Files" in the next year. (God help us all.)

With the "Girls" finale and the premiere of the final season of "The Leftovers," last night HBO was rich with change. What makes these particular endings and beginnings stand out?

With so much great new TV out there in the world, why on earth do we go back and rewatch old favorites so much? There are obvious reasons and not-so-obvious, as Ben and Liz come to understand in this week's podcast.

What's it like to study television like "Broad City" and "The Prisoner" in an academic environment? That's a question no one except IndieWire interns/special guests Maya, Michael and Juan can answer (at least on this podcast).

We've got just about six months to go before the Emmy Awards, and we haven't even SEEN half the shows in contention for this year's big prize. That's not going to stop us from making some wild guesses at what might happen come this summer, though! (Guess what? "The Leftovers" comes up.)

Kudos to the promotions department at one of our favorite premium cable networks, who have been trying some innovative new techniques when it comes to spreading the word about shows like "Game of Thrones" and "The Leftovers." Ben and Liz discuss the implication of what those choices mean both for journalists and for audiences.

A major shakeup on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" leads to Ben and Liz wondering not only how the show might proceed for future seasons, but reflecting on how the impact of past character departures for other shows.

It's the hot new craze sweeping broadcast television — but why? Liz and Ben consider the past, the present and the future to figure it out.

After watching the latest episode of "Girls," Liz and Ben dig into the power of on-screen male nudity. Shockingly, "The Leftovers" comes up.

Ben and Liz celebrate one hundred episodes of podcasting with some cake, some rapping, and some special guests talking about the only thing that really matters these days: Great television.

At this point, we've gotten used to so many big shows premiering on Sunday nights that we've taken it for granted. But why is it such a popular night for programming? Liz and Ben dig in.

The tradition of the post-Super Bowl episode is one that goes back decades, but which episodes stick out in our memory? And was 24: LEGACY Fox's best use of the time slot?

We try to give you all the info you might want about upcoming TV shows — but how much do you really NEED in order to know if you want to watch something? Liz and Ben dig into it.

HBO's latest bold experiment in storytelling is maybe one of the weirdest shows on television — by design. But does that weirdness (and the memes which revolve around it) help or hurt the show's perception in our eyes? Liz and Ben are joined by special guest Hanh Nguyen to discuss.

We're still busy getting the scoop on the best TV of 2017, a year which has brought us David Lynch answering our questions IN PERSON and Tom Hardy being one rad dude. And it's all revealed plenty of what to look forward to in the months to come.

Liz and Ben, along with a whole bunch of other TV critics, are currently in Pasadena attending the TCA Winter Press Tour, aka "the death march with cocktails." Thus, with a drink in hand, they dish on what it's like to learn all about the next great shows directly from the creators and stars.