July 2024 Issue#2

The Best TV Episode of the Month

Yes, that’s right. We’re back! Some doubted us, many said we wouldn’t continue, everyone laughed.*

*no one, in fact, laughed and everyone has been really supportive; which has been so nice. Thank you.

To mark this Summer’s TV boom, we all decided to share the best TV episode we watched in June. It could be from literally any show, currently airing or otherwise, viewed for the first time or the hundredth. The only rule? We have to have watched it in June.

Let’s see what your favourite podcasters had to say and hopefully, you get one more recommendation to add to your watchlist.

Priscilla - HOUSE OF THE DRAGON: S02E02 (Rhaenyra the Cruel)

My favourite TV series at the moment is HOUSE OF THE DRAGON. Basic choice? Maybe, but it’s good old-fashioned Prestige TV. The story itself is so fascinating; a woman stopped from reaching her true status due to the sexism in the realm and having to do untold things to claim what’s rightfully hers. It’s the one show I’d suggest everyone should watch!

The second episode of this second season is probably one of the best episodes of TV this year. Not for its huge dramatic moments but simply for the conversation between Rhaenyra and Daemon. It was raw, painful, and delightfully performed; it shows that you don’t need a screaming match to captivate an audience. Emma D’Arcy is a revelation - they and their infinite amount of talent deserve to be everywhere, and Matt Smith is probably the best working British actor around. They were both amazing in this episode.

Ebube - GEN V: S01E01 (God U.)

Let’s face it. Afam and I are covering House of the Dragon right now, so some of you might see it as a bit of a cop-out if I joined Priscilla and named “Rhaenyra the Cruel” as the best TV episode I watched in June. So let’s keep this interesting with a different tribute: “God U”, the series premiere of Prime Video’s GEN V — yes I’m finally watching it.

This first episode did such a thorough job of making me care about its characters while establishing a new corner of a world I already knew. It gave me a real reason to invest in the plot and was so good that I’m practically glad I didn’t watch it when the discourse was hot because now I can’t stop. So much so that it’s been 24 hours and I’m already on Episode 5, my runner-up: “Welcome to the Monster Club”, directed by Clare Kilner who also directed “Rhaenyra the Cruel”. A full circle moment never tied up this perfectly.

All of this was right in time too, as some noteworthy GEN V characters have just popped up on the latest episode of THE BOYS.​

Ebuka - INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: S01E07 (The Thing Lay Still)

My elevator pitch for INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE is that it’s about a centuries-old vampire telling his story to the world. However, as I’ve mentioned several times on the podcast, I’m laughably and almost deliberately terrible at explaining the premise of TV shows.

What I would say though, is that despite being late to the party, I ended up inhaling the entire first season in one day and the finale rocked my world - it was always going to be my entry for June.

I had seen glimpses of this story from the movie adaptation but “glimpses” is the perfect word because the added depth this show gives the story takes it to a whole new level. The acting from Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid is nothing short of incredible (Jacob Anderson is doing some of the most incredible “obvious” acting I have seen this year). My chosen episode, the Season 1 finale, is filled with tension, sows seeds of doubt, and delivers a twist that painfully but poetically left me thirsty for more.

I am ashamed to say how far into Season 2 I already am.

Bankole - HACKS: S03E09 (Bulletproof)

Season 1 of HACKS was one of my Top 10 shows of 2021 and Season 2 was a bit of a mixed bag but still one of the best shows on TV. However, with Season 3, the show has completed a ridiculous quality elevation, the magnitude of which is rarely seen on TV, especially in comedy.

In HACKS, an aging stand-up comic partners with a Gen Z comedy writer, currently in a career freefall due to a bad online joke, to help revitalise her career.

In Season 3, this partnership is the most delightful it’s ever been and the chemistry between the two leads is off the charts. The jokes continue to fly at a rate only rivaled by Tina Fey shows and its finale manages to pay off on emotional and dramatic threads years in the making while somehow turning the show into a completely different beast. Its third season is currently the strongest challenger to THE BEAR’s crown at this September’s EMMYs and if it wins, the success of the finale would be a big reason why.

Ayisha - THE BIG DOOR PRIZE: S02E08 (Our Town)

The BIG DOOR PRIZE, based on the novel by M.O. Walsh, is an Apple TV+ comedy about a town — Deerfield — thrown into disarray when a magical machine lands, promising to reveal one's life potential.

“Our Town," sees Dusty, our male lead, reconsider many of his present decisions and dare himself to embrace the uncomfortable in his future. In this, we witness the complexities of what occurs when a character so set in his current reality is suddenly forced to imagine ‘what if’ and confront the consequences of even daring to envision such possibilities. Alongside this is the use of theatre as a lens to better understand what makes the town they portray so charming and inviting.

The steadfast resilience and playful, but assured, attitude with which Deerfield’s residents approach the chaos, makes you consider that perhaps we shouldn’t build our lives around our worries. It made me examine what it means to live in the present and enjoy the pleasantries of day-to-day life; its humour, successes, and even failures. And that's the effect of THE BIG DOOR PRIZE...

Chinedu - MODERN FAMILY: S10E19 (Yes-Woman)

I love this show because it never fails to make me laugh no matter what mood I am in. On this particular day, I needed a pick-me-up and it predictably delivered. It’s consistently hilarious and the characters are individually crazy while remaining connected as a family in the most unique ways.

The standout episode for me in June was “Yes-Woman”, towards the end of Season 10. It expertly intertwines the characters’ storylines with the show’s usual aplomb and still brings it all to a hilarious climax. It has all the MODERN FAMILY essentials - Jay is his usual semi-toxic self and while being a goofy flirt, Claire’s the dependable villain, Manny has his lack of “masculinity” - all while Luke is dating his mum’s Yoga partner. What’s there not to love?

Jess - DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: S3E07 (Bang)

I recently started watching Desperate Housewives, and I have to say, I’m hooked! From the first two minutes, the show’s drama captivated me and there’s never been a dull episode since. I love how each housewife has such a distinct personality.

This episode stands out as the best I watched in June (and currently my favourite overall) because of its intense transformation of a simple supermarket trip into a gripping, high-stakes ordeal. The episode masterfully builds tension as a seemingly ordinary day spirals into a chaotic hostage situation. The characters are thrust into unexpected confrontations and decisions, revealing deeper layers of their personalities and relationships. The dramatic shift in tone, coupled with strong performances and sharp writing, creates a memorable and impactful episode that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Obiora - THE AMERICANS: S04E08 (The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears)

So as our listeners know, I’m trying to be a spy, which is why I’m aiming to be multilingual while being the Popcorn For Dinner spy/espionage correspondent….or the person in charge of talking and reviewing all spy shows. Same thing? You tell me!

THE AMERICANS is set against the backdrop of the Reagan administration during the Cold War and follows a Soviet spy couple carrying out insane missions while pretending to be an American suburban family.

A brilliant thriller infused with history and politics, plus exquisite performances from a brilliant cast (especially the 2 leads, Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys)? Why the hell wouldn’t you tap in?

How they aim to balance the professional and personal makes this an exciting must-watch!

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Some Other Recommendations From June

​PRESUMED INNOCENT

The latest starry vehicle from Apple TV+ is the courtroom and investigative drama, PRESUMED INNOCENT. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a District Attorney entangled in an affair with a colleague and when that colleague is found gruesomely murdered, he quickly becomes the main (and only) suspect.

The show is created by perhaps the GOAT of TV Courtroom Dramas, David E. Kelley — seriously, his credits include ALLEY McBEAL, BOSTON LEGAL, BIG LITTLE LIES, THE LINCOLN LAWYER, THE UNDOING and so many more — and has a stellar cast of ‘actors whose names you can’t remember but they’ve never been bad in anything you’ve seen them in’.

It’s a remake of a popular 90s Harrison Ford film and based on a book, so we’ll advise our spoiler-phobic readers to google cautiously.

​EVIL​

We’ve brought up this show a few times on the podcast. Now in its final season, EVIL comes from Robert & Michelle King, the brains behind THE GOOD WIFE & THE GOOD FIGHT.

It follows a team consisting of a Catholic seminarian, a forensic psychologist and a technology contractor employed by the Catholic Church to investigate potentially supernatural events. You surely don’t need a longer pitch than that?

Eyo has often decried the current lack of good procedurals (a show where each episode is its own opened and closed story rather than a single story that stretches out throughout a season) and this is one of the last great ones, plus there’s still a bonkers larger story for those looking to scratch that itch.

​MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN​

For the three psychopaths reading this, there’s a prison show in its third season that Bankole, your correspondent, is still thoroughly enjoying.

Let’s paint a picture, in the second episode of this season, the head of the Aryan gang was strangled in the visiting room with his daughter screaming to no avail for help on the other side of the glass. Bankole suggested other scenes we could mention to pitch the show but we’re afraid some of you might be reading this while eating your breakfast so we won’t. Still, please feel free to reach out to him online to discuss the show because he is begging for someone to talk about the show with and none of us is having it.

So, yeah, if you’re apparently as fucked up as Bankole, feel free to check out this show where not one but TWO(!!) babies have been directly put in harm’s way during its run.

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What would make YOUR list for this month? Feel free to let us know on social media or you can email us below.

See you next month!

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