The Ringer Guide to Holiday Bingeing | 'The Watch' x 'Prestige TV' Crossover

The Ringer TV YouTube channel is here! And to celebrate, we're bringing the 'Watch' and 'Prestige TV' crews together. Chris Ryan, Joanna Robinson, and Rob Mahoney come bearing gifts: a holiday binge guide to get you through the season! Subscribe to the Ringer TV YouTube channel here for full episodes of 'The Prestige TV Podcast' and 'The Watch' and a lot more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:08Chris Ryan?

  Hello, how's it going? I'm Chris Ryan, this is Joanna Robinson, this is Rob Mahoney. Collectively, we co-host The Watch and the Prestige TV Podcast. You're gonna start being able to see all that stuff here on this YouTube channel. So, thanks so much for watching. And we thought we'd get kicked off on this channel with a little bit of a holiday television stocking stuffer. Non-denominational?

• 0:30Speaker 01

  Non-denominational.

• 0:31Chris Ryan?

  Joe, Rob and I are gonna be recommending shows to watch over this holiday break coming up, so that if you have two days, or 10 days, or two weeks with your family, or your loved ones, or all on your own, you may be looking for something to watch. You may be looking for things to watch in different situations, with different groups of people, with different tastes. We're gonna try and help you out. Leave comments if you have questions about, oh, what about a situation like stepfather, angry gamer, stepbrother, it's 10pm, we wanna laugh, but we wanna fight. If that is something you need help with, we can try and jump in there.

• 1:05Speaker 01

  Is it Fallout?

• 1:06Speaker 02

  I think it might be.

• 1:08Chris Ryan?

  It might be. Alright, so we're gonna break this down into categories. We have a few. We're gonna start with "for the whole family."

• 1:13Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:13Chris Ryan?

  I throw that in air quotes, because "family" can mean anything, Joe.

• 1:16Speaker 01

  Right, you could be talking about any number of age ranges, but I decided to go like kid-friendly, but maybe the adults would enjoy it too.

• 1:22Chris Ryan?

  Yes, interestingly enough, I have a different definition of this.

• 1:25Speaker 01

  Okay, great. So, and not to go to House of Arpild right away, but I am rolling with Skeleton Crew, which is the new Star Wars show on Disney+. Most of these that I picked are not currently airing, but this is one that I've been surprised to hear how many people really are digging this. I thought like only kids would like it, but adults really seem to be enjoying it as well. It's, if you don't know what Skeleton Crew is, it is Jude Law as a pirate, space pirate, and then a bunch of kids who are also Star Wars fans, they're like, they love a Jedi, and they're lost in space, so it's like Flight of the Navigator, ET, they're going hardcore Amblin, entertainment vibes, kids on bikes, but they're space bikes, and Jude Law is a pirate, and I think that's

• 2:10Speaker 01

  Really all you need to know to enjoy yourself. The Skeleton Crew.

• 2:13Chris Ryan?

  Do you think it's for the young at heart? Will the adults like it as well, you think?

• 2:16Speaker 01

  That's what I'm saying. I've been hearing from a lot of adults that they really, really like it. I thought it was just gonna be, I was like, it's fine that some Star Wars is just for kids. I think that is totally okay. And that's what I thought this was gonna be. But a lot of adults, and not just my co-host, Malley Rubin, are enjoying this. So I was like, all right, Skeleton Crew.

• 2:33Speaker 02

  On a zero to 10 scale of Pluck.

• 2:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 2:35Speaker 02

  You know, 10 being like, I Goonies, uh, young Leia on Obi-Wan, like, where are we on the range?

• 2:41Speaker 01

  This is a great question. Van Lathan, uh, enemy to Pluck, loves this show.

• 2:46Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 2:46Speaker 01

  Van loves this show. Uh, we're not in Leia territory.

• 2:50Speaker 02

  That's good.

• 2:50Speaker 01

  But.

• 2:50Speaker 02

  Really a relief to hear.

• 2:52Speaker 01

  The, the important element is Jude Law.

• 2:55Speaker 02

  He brings the whole family together.

• 2:56Speaker 01

  Jude Law is just like counterbalancing the Pluck in a really important way. Uh, so that's my pick.

• 3:01Chris Ryan?

  Rob, what about you for, for the whole family?

• 3:04Speaker 02

  So you two are, are TV scholars. I, I went with another contemporary pick, something that came to me this year. And I, I also took a different definition of family. For me, the concern is not, how do I appeal to the kids? It's how do I appeal to the next generations above me?

• 3:17Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 3:18Speaker 02

  What is, what is the mom and dad and me show all at once? I went a little off the beaten path with a cooking show. Are you familiar with Culinary Class Wars?

• 3:29Chris Ryan?

  Is that a new, new show from Karl Marx?

• 3:32Speaker 02

  It's not from Karl Marx.

• 3:33Speaker 01

  Rob, is this a real thing that exists?

• 3:34Speaker 02

  This is a real show that exists.

• 3:36Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 3:36Speaker 02

  Coming out of Korea, which look, there's, it's a complicated situation, Korea, in Korea politically right now. But they have cracked the reality and competition TV code.

• 3:45Chris Ryan?

  We should mention that we are shooting this on December 3rd.

• 3:48Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:48Chris Ryan?

  So.

• 3:49Speaker 02

  Just to put it out there, uh, take your classic cooking competition show format. Here in America, we're like, let's put 15 people in a kitchen, in a house, they're living together, competing great. The geniuses in Korea are like, what if we made it 100 competitors? And more importantly, what if 50 of those competitors are celebrity chefs, Michelin chefs? And the other 50 are just up and comers who are trying to prove themselves.

• 4:12Chris Ryan?

  Okay. So this is like Squid Game, but with cooking.

• 4:15Speaker 02

  Less death.

• 4:15Chris Ryan?

  Yeah.

• 4:16Speaker 02

  But otherwise, yes.

• 4:17Speaker 01

  I really thought you were gonna say, what if half of those people were hovering over? A pit of spikes. At any moment, the floor could give away.

• 4:24Chris Ryan?

  But it feels that way.

• 4:25Speaker 02

  And I think ultimately, like, in the first episode, half the pool is eliminated. Like, these are the stakes that we're dealing with. And ultimately, this is my pitch for this show. There is a cooking challenge.

• 4:34Speaker 01

  Half the pool is eliminated over a pit of spikes? Or just sort of like sent home?

• 4:37Speaker 02

  I'm not here to spoil that for you.

• 4:38Speaker 01

  Okay, great.

• 4:39Speaker 02

  There is a cooking challenge in the later episodes of the show that is so good, and I have never seen anything like it. I don't even want to tell you what it is, because the sensation of seeing it for the first time is that exhilarating.

• 4:49Chris Ryan?

  Yeah, okay.

• 4:50Speaker 01

  Can I ask you for a potential, um, political spoiler?

• 4:54Speaker 02

  I'm scared to say yes, but yes.

• 4:56Speaker 01

  Are, how are the home chefs doing? How are the home chefs doing? Like?

• 4:59Speaker 02

  They're crushing it.

• 5:00Speaker 01

  Okay, great.

• 5:01Speaker 02

  Yeah, and so well represented in the show.

• 5:03Chris Ryan?

  Are the Michelin star chefs sore losers? Are they like, I didn't pay this much money to go to, to go to some sort of French culinary school and come back and get my ass kicked?

• 5:11Speaker 02

  Some exactly so.

• 5:12Chris Ryan?

  Oh, my god.

• 5:13Speaker 02

  Yeah, some, some with dignity and grace, some are sore losers.

• 5:16Speaker 01

  The Sorbonne hates this show.

• 5:17Speaker 02

  They, they absolutely do. And I think, look, it is the kind of show that if you throw it on, there will be skeptics in the room. What is, what is culinary class wars? What am I get, what in Karl Marx am I getting into? By the end of the first episode, you will be in. You will be hooked. It is an instant, instant reaction.

• 5:33Speaker 01

  Where can I find this?

• 5:34Speaker 02

  On Netflix.

• 5:35Speaker 01

  On Netflix.

• 5:35Chris Ryan?

  On Netflix, okay. For my For the Whole Family pick, I feel like often what happens is that we over-index for the young, you know?

• 5:44Speaker 01

  I think this is fair.

• 5:45Chris Ryan?

  I feel like it's often like, well, I don't want anything to be too edgy, you don't want anything to be too violent. That's fine if they're like, younger than eight, right? But when they get to nine, 10.

• 5:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 5:57Speaker 02

  Time to grow up.

• 5:58Chris Ryan?

  They kind of want to watch Die Hard.

• 5:59Speaker 02

  Put some zins in their hands and send them on their way.

• 6:02Chris Ryan?

  And the closest thing I can get to Die Hard is Hijack. So For the Whole Family is a show that I literally have not met anyone who doesn't like Hijack.

• 6:10Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 6:10Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 6:11Chris Ryan?

  It is honestly the unifying television show of last year. Idris Elba's Apple show about.

• 6:18Chris Ryan?

  A plane getting hijacked that he is on.

• 6:20Speaker 02

  Shocker.

• 6:21Chris Ryan?

  He is somehow connected to the situation.

• 6:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 6:23Chris Ryan?

  On the ground. There's a kid. There are families in hijack. You know what I mean? Now, is it violent?

• 6:29Speaker 01

  There's multiple kids on that flight. Yeah, yeah.

• 6:32Chris Ryan?

  It's a little violent.

• 6:33Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 6:34Speaker 01

  But no more violent than your standard Die Hard. So, you know.

• 6:37Chris Ryan?

  I just think that this was one of those things where it's like in a fractured, very niche, very sub-sub-subgenre world. It's hard to find shows that grandpa, grandma, wife, kids, husband, everybody, the dog are gonna be into.

• 6:53Speaker 01

  Dogs love it, Rosalba.

• 6:54Chris Ryan?

  And I just feel like this has been one of the shows. It's also a pretty easy watch. It's only like six episodes.

• 6:59Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's short.

• 6:59Chris Ryan?

  And it has that kind of 24 Jack Bauer thrilling cliffhanger-y play the next episode thing. So you're done with the meal, whatever it is. It's seven o'clock, eight o'clock. You're like, oh, you know what? Don't want to go to bed. The Christmas lights are up. Let's fire up hijack. There's a lot of other stuff out there, but I thought that this would be a good one for the family.

• 7:20Speaker 02

  Crowd pleaser.

• 7:21Speaker 01

  That is a great one. It's very like 90s action film.

• 7:24Chris Ryan?

  Right?

• 7:24Speaker 02

  Also, to speak for the eight-year-olds, the time in your life where you get to push the boundary of what you're allowed to watch is in this holiday. Like, you don't want to be, I just want to be part of the family.

• 7:33Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 7:34Speaker 02

  You're just trying to get yourself in the room to watch something that's a little age inappropriate for you, even if it's about airplane safety.

• 7:40Chris Ryan?

  I was thinking about recommending Black Doves just because it's got so much Christmas cheer.

• 7:44Speaker 01

  Did you find another category to put Black Doves into?

• 7:46Chris Ryan?

  And Black Doves had too many headshots. So there's just like.

• 7:49Speaker 01

  There's a lot of blood spatter in the first episode of Black Doves.

• 7:53Chris Ryan?

  Too much blood in Netflix's Black Doves.

• 7:55Speaker 01

  But it is Chris Ryan's new favorite show.

• 7:56Chris Ryan?

  Yeah.

• 7:56Speaker 01

  Is it on your top 10 list of 2024?

• 7:58Chris Ryan?

  It might be. I haven't decided yet. All right. So Joe, next category.

• 8:01Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:02Chris Ryan?

  Your personal escape. I'm very interested in your definition of this and also what your answer is.

• 8:06Speaker 01

  Well, this is Rob's category. So Rob, how do you, how are you defining personal escape?

• 8:10Speaker 02

  So my personal definition is, you know, the holidays are a stressful time for a lot of people. You're there hosting a bunch of people. Maybe you're not hosting a lot of people and that's a source of anguish for you, or you're visiting and it's just like kind of a lot all day. It's the end of the day.

• 8:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:23Speaker 02

  You finally have some time for yourself, whatever that means to you and whatever you need in that moment. What's a show you can turn to?

• 8:31Speaker 01

  Love this for me. I tried so hard not to have too many UK shows on here because Chris and I have a problem in that regard. But I couldn't resist myself here. Black Books, one of my favorite TV shows of all time, which is about a very crusty bookshop owner and the people who work with him. Dylan Moran, a great Irish comedian in the lead role there. That's on Prime. Black Books, and it's like three seasons, short UK seasons. And it's just like, just pure, like, as someone who used to work in bookstores, as someone who always wanted to be this crusty about unreasonable customers, as someone who loves, you know, Irish, British humor, I love this

• 9:15Speaker 01

  show. And it came out around the time of The Office and the IT Crowd, and it just never broke as big in the US as some of those did. So in case people missed Black Books, again, it's on Amazon Prime, so I really recommend it.

• 9:29Chris Ryan?

  Was Dylan Moran also working in the bookshop in Notting Hill? Is he, where is he? Has he ever like-

• 9:34Speaker 01

  He's like one of the friend group.

• 9:35Chris Ryan?

  Oh, he's in the friend group, that's right.

• 9:37Speaker 02

  Great friend group, though.

• 9:38Chris Ryan?

  I love this idea. I cannot possibly imagine you being an edgy retail person. Like, I feel like you are so nice. Like, it's hard to imagine going in and be like, man, that lady by the counter just told me to go screw myself.

• 9:53Speaker 01

  No, I wouldn't. But that's who I, but that's like, that's inside of me.

• 9:57Chris Ryan?

  Okay.

• 9:57Speaker 01

  But it would never, it would never come out.

• 9:59Chris Ryan?

  Okay.

• 9:59Speaker 01

  There is a, there is a moment in Black Books while on the clock that he, he demands his, his sort of clerk to bring him his ice lolly, and it's just a bottle of wine that he, that is frozen, that he cracks the glass off of and just like licks the frozen, like, bottle of wine. And that's what we're dealing with here in Black Books. And it's just, yeah. But like-

• 10:21Speaker 02

  It sounds, you know, when you said bookshop as a, as a comfort recommendation, I'm thinking like straight cozy core, like this is a perfect winter recommendation.

• 10:28Speaker 01

  No, this is like everything you've ever wanted to say to someone who was annoyed you.

• 10:32Speaker 02

  High Fidelity, but bookstore.

• 10:34Chris Ryan?

  What if you, what if your bookstore didn't need to make money?

• 10:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 10:37Speaker 02

  Well, I think we're finding that out in real time, unfortunately. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

• 10:42Speaker 01

  But yeah, the whole like, get your patchouli stink out of my store moment from High Fidelity, that's this entire sort of series.

• 10:48Chris Ryan?

  For my personal escape, at the end of the night, maybe five milligrams of melatonin later, maybe a glass of red wine, whatever. It's an activity, not a show. It's spelunking around Tubi.

• 11:04Speaker 01

  What are you, are you pure Tubi or are you ever freebie?

• 11:07Chris Ryan?

  No, it's Tubi.

• 11:08Speaker 01

  It's Tubi or it's nothing.

• 11:08Chris Ryan?

  Specifically just like lying down.

• 11:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:11Chris Ryan?

  Laptop open.

• 11:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:13Chris Ryan?

  And just sort of seeing what spaghetti westerns they have and seeing what 80s TV I've never heard of. And then all of a sudden, you're pretty tired and you haven't watched anything.

• 11:20Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:21Chris Ryan?

  But it's kind of like channel flipping.

• 11:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:24Chris Ryan?

  On your laptop.

• 11:25Speaker 02

  Yeah. How much are you bouncing around versus committing to one western?

• 11:28Chris Ryan?

  Obscene amount.

• 11:29Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 11:30Chris Ryan?

  Like watching five minutes of something, be like, oh, yeah, I'm gonna try something else. Yeah. And so my to watch list on Tubi is so much longer than my watched list on Tubi. But it's a really fun activity and it's kind of like, it almost gives you this sensation of like cable in the 90s with like public access and like weird channels that you're like, why do I have this channel? But it hasn't been taken over by Big Pharma. Like you're really in like having this weird nostalgic feeling of surfing around.

• 12:03Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 12:03Chris Ryan?

  Without having to choose everything. You know what I mean? Cause like part of the sensation that we have now is everything's curated. You have your list of things that you have to watch. But this is like, huh, is this surfer also a sheriff?

• 12:17Speaker 01

  I mean.

• 12:19Speaker 01

  Lorenz Alomis, what are you up to now? No, that's amazing. No, but I think that, yeah, this is, this is what we talk about when we lament like bookstores going away or record shops going. I kind of think you did.

• 12:32Speaker 01

  Or record shops going away or radio stores going away is like the, the joy of the discovery, not the like sort of planned curated playlists is right in front of you. And I know we're like curating playlists for people right now. That's exactly what we're doing, but I love that you are doing it.

• 12:44Chris Ryan?

  Now, yeah, you also, you do this on YouTube sometimes. People get inebriated to do this, but I think it does help a little bit.

• 12:50Speaker 01

  It wouldn't hurt. You do this on YouTube though, sometimes too, right?

• 12:53Chris Ryan?

  Absolutely. That'll come up later.

• 12:54Speaker 01

  Spelunker.

• 12:55Speaker 02

  Oh, those are dangerous rabbit holes, but I do think there's a weird psychological relief of this isn't on my watch list, as you're saying. I had no plans to watch this. I didn't even know what it was until five minutes ago.

• 13:05Chris Ryan?

  Yeah.

• 13:06Speaker 01

  Nobody needs my, ever needs my opinion on this. Why I've started sometimes watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. No one, no one, no one needs my opinion on Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.

• 13:16Speaker 02

  Disagree. You put it out in the world. Dr. Quinn Rewatch Podcast coming soon. We're looking for it.

• 13:20Chris Ryan?

  Rob, what's your personal escape?

• 13:21Speaker 02

  I went with one that kind of caught me by surprise this year, which was I really loved X-Men 97 so much more than I thought I would. And for me, when I go home for the holidays or really anytime I'm in my parents' house, I regress into a younger version of myself, into a little gremlin. And what better way to channel your inner gremlin than going up to your room slamming the door and watching cartoons? And it's also like the perfect balance of substantial enough that you want to know what happens, but not so heavy that it's ever going to bother you. What does?

• 13:49Speaker 01

  Okay. Earlier you were speaking on behalf of eight year olds. Were you a gremlin child? Like, were you a scamp?

• 13:55Chris Ryan?

  Were we all?

• 13:56Speaker 01

  Are you?

• 13:56Speaker 02

  Is there a, is there a non-gremlin child? Yeah, I have an older brother.

• 13:59Chris Ryan?

  Okay.

• 13:59Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:00Chris Ryan?

  Did, did he, did he like terrorize you and that's why you were like, I want to go upstairs and watch?

• 14:06Speaker 01

  It's my time with Gambit.

• 14:07Speaker 02

  I would say mild to medium in the range of sibling torment. But I think there is just something about being in any kind of family space, especially if you have siblings, where you fall back into those dynamics.

• 14:18Chris Ryan?

  Yeah.

• 14:18Speaker 02

  And so this one for me, like again, a show that you probably grew up watching, if you are of a certain age, that was reintroduced to you this year. And maybe you could show your kids if that's of interest to you, or maybe it's just for you.

• 14:28Chris Ryan?

  Yeah.

• 14:29Speaker 01

  Rob, can I persuade you now or perhaps in the future to give us a rendition of the X-Men animated theme song? Is that something you can do on command?

• 14:37Speaker 02

  Only for money.

• 14:40Speaker 02

  I mean, anyone, I think, again, of a certain age.

• 14:42Chris Ryan?

  If we were just straight streaming, like Twitch streaming, like I'd love to see the coins going.

• 14:47Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's what I want. I just want the validation of the coins at the bank in order to do the full thing.

• 14:52Speaker 01

  Well, if you comment enough coins in the comment section of this YouTube channel, maybe we get the full.

• 14:57Speaker 02

  I might write lyrics to it if you really want to. Like, we can, we can do that.

• 15:00Chris Ryan?

  So we've kind of started with something that you could do collectively. We went to something that's your own personal escape. Now I think we're going to move into a place where your brain is not really functioning at all, which is your background watch.

• 15:12Speaker 01

  Right. And this is different from you and Ebreid and clicking around on Tubi.

• 15:16Speaker 02

  That's active present tense viewing.

• 15:18Chris Ryan?

  Requires a lot of like, you know, participation.

• 15:20Speaker 01

  Find motor skills.

• 15:21Chris Ryan?

  This is turn this on.

• 15:22Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 15:23Chris Ryan?

  Leave the room, come back in, leave the room, come back in. This is, it's on in the background while you're cooking.

• 15:28Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 15:28Chris Ryan?

  Whatever it is. So Joe, what's your background watch?

• 15:31Speaker 01

  And I do want to, I do want to acknowledge that Rob called this category the Yule log, which I think is like a great. Um, it is hard for me to do that with anything with a plot because I get sucked in. So when I do this, I go to YouTube and I pick, once again, uh, my love and affection for the UK. Uh, I pick a British panel show. So would you lie to me is one that I watch a lot.

• 15:52Chris Ryan?

  Nevermind the Buzzcocks.

• 15:53Speaker 01

  Nevermind the Buzzcocks or, uh, uh, Taskmaster, which is like a little bit more involved in your classic panel show, but that one is just like.

• 16:00Speaker 02

  You can't be walking in and out for Taskmaster.

• 16:01Speaker 01

  Well, I watch, I re-watch old seasons of Taskmaster, ones I've seen before. So you can just like come back in and you're like, they're doing what with a potato?

• 16:07Speaker 02

  I know.

• 16:08Speaker 01

  So, um.

• 16:09Speaker 02

  These crazy kids in their watermelons.

• 16:10Speaker 01

  Taskmaster, I think is one of the best things that has ever existed. And I think if, uh, yeah, you probably should not watch it the first time in the background, but I just sort of like, or I'll put on a playlist. Speaking of your sort of like spelunking around, a playlist of like the best Taskmaster tasks or something like that.

• 16:25Chris Ryan?

  Oh, that's great.

• 16:26Speaker 01

  Or like, would you lie to me clip shows or big fat quiz of the year, which comes out at the end of the year is one of my very favorite sort of things to re-watch. I'll re-watch old seasons of, so yeah.

• 16:36Speaker 02

  I think this is a great pick. I mean, this is tapping into that same like YouTube algorithm surfing, like.

• 16:40Chris Ryan?

  Yes.

• 16:41Speaker 02

  I am constantly fed these panel shows because they are so clickable and watchable and just so perfect to throw on for a couple of minutes.

• 16:47Chris Ryan?

  I would, this wasn't on my list, but I would say anytime you find yourself in a Graham Norton.

• 16:52Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 16:52Chris Ryan?

  Rabbit hole where you're just like watching Ryan Gosling appearances and just like, this guy's really funny.

• 16:57Speaker 01

  You're like, what did Olivia Colman say now?

• 17:01Chris Ryan?

  My background watch, I have two. I cheated. So for the YouTube, to your point, Rob, I have a channel I like to go to called Go Four by Four, which is essentially hours and hours of a guy camping in a really kitted out Jeep in the Australian outback.

• 17:17Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 17:17Speaker 01

  What?

• 17:18Chris Ryan?

  And it's ASMR. It's like him cooking, starting a fire, hanging out with his dog, chopping wood, doing whatever. And he's got like three 4K cameras that are set up around his campground. And it's just like two hours of, and you'll walk in and be like, oh my God, it's raining. And then you walk out and it's like, oh, now it's stopped raining. He's walking with his dog. And it's just like, it's, it's honestly mesmerizing.

• 17:40Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 17:40Chris Ryan?

  So that's obviously the YouTube one for a narrative show.

• 17:45Speaker 02

  I have questions.

• 17:46Chris Ryan?

  Okay, let's go.

• 17:48Speaker 02

  Uh, first, do you have any desire to do this style of camping yourself?

• 17:51Chris Ryan?

  None, can't even drive stick.

• 17:52Speaker 02

  Do you consider yourself handy in any way? Like, could you start a fire?

• 17:56Chris Ryan?

  No.

• 17:56Speaker 02

  If I, if I gave you the correct implements to do it?

• 17:58Chris Ryan?

  If you gave me lighter fluid and a lighter?

• 18:00Speaker 02

  No, but like, Flint and Steel vibes.

• 18:01Speaker 01

  Do you feel like you've learned some things from watching this guy do this?

• 18:03Chris Ryan?

  Uh, no, but there, it's kind of like, I like watching him have a dog. I don't want a dog kind of thing. Like, it's like,

• 18:09Speaker 01

  You're a cat asshole.

• 18:10Chris Ryan?

  Everything about it is very, very calming and pleasing and centering, but I don't want to be doing any of it.

• 18:17Speaker 01

  It is calming and pleasing and centering is also like, like macho.

• 18:21Chris Ryan?

  Yeah, but I like, I like lots of process driven.

• 18:25Speaker 01

  Not that this is a guy and his dog.

• 18:26Chris Ryan?

  No, but it's not like Taylor Sheridan. It's like, it's like a guy who's just camping.

• 18:31Speaker 02

  It's called, it's called the wild.

• 18:32Chris Ryan?

  It's not coded in any way.

• 18:35Chris Ryan?

  He's not also like watching lions.

• 18:37Speaker 01

  I don't think so, but like, I, like, I don't know. Sometimes I, like, I watch highly feminized things sometimes as a sort of like, that's nice over there. I don't want to do that, but like, that's interesting. Like, that level of baking or, sorry, Rob, I know you're a baker.

• 18:50Chris Ryan?

  People really like watching.

• 18:51Speaker 02

  It's coming back in a second.

• 18:52Chris Ryan?

  Process oriented stuff in general. But yeah, that's interesting. I didn't really think of it as like masculine. But another one that I can't really decide how it's coded is, um, I love having Copenhagen Cowboy on in the background. This is Nicholas Wending Refn's 2023, 22 Netflix series about, um, a strange woman who is upsetting the Copenhagen Underground, the, the mafia, uh, in, in Copenhagen. And it is the neon fever dream.

• 19:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 19:23Chris Ryan?

  Synth score, everything. I have no idea what really happens in this show. I don't want to spoil it for anybody. It's still on Netflix. It's one of the last, like, let's just give Nicholas Wending Refn a blank check, man. That's cool.

• 19:36Speaker 02

  Uh, shows.

• 19:37Speaker 01

  He's like the kind of guy who's gonna bring eyeballs in. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 19:40Chris Ryan?

  It brought my eyeballs and the three people I made watch it. But as vibes, because of the visuals and the music.

• 19:47Speaker 02

  Completely.

• 19:47Chris Ryan?

  Awesome to have on in the background.

• 19:49Speaker 02

  Also, one that if we're talking about drifting in and out of the room, you would walk in and be like, what the fuck did I miss?

• 19:54Chris Ryan?

  You would say, what the fuck did I miss?

• 19:55Speaker 02

  Oh, completely.

• 19:56Speaker 01

  If you were watching it the whole time.

• 19:57Speaker 02

  That's why it's the perfect sensation. I think, I think it's a great pick for exactly that reason.

• 20:01Speaker 01

  Yeah, the drive score is like one of my all time, do you want to not feel anything and everything all at once?

• 20:07Chris Ryan?

  Yes.

• 20:07Speaker 01

  Put it on.

• 20:08Speaker 02

  That's the exact zone. I also picked something about feeling everything and nothing. And you guys set me up perfectly. A lot of buzzwords going around. For one, being located on the proper side of the pond via Joe. You mentioned the baking. When I think about a Yule log show, I'm thinking about what I want when I'm icing cookies, when I'm baking a cake. So let's just get super literal with it and go the Great British Baking Show on Netflix, a classic for a reason. But if you drifted out over time, I have to say, we've really nailed down the host pairing now. Noel Fielding, always like, one of the best parts of the show. Alison Hammond has joined him lately. And we, we've shaken up some pretty crucial things. Uh, gone our Mexican week, the woeful Mexican week, and the most cursed pronunciation of guacamole I have ever heard in my entire life.

• 20:53Speaker 02

  We've replaced it with, you know, the, the warm spices of autumn week. We've got the ketchup seventies week. It really works for me. Uh, and I think it's a perfect kind of background show because it doesn't, the process is nice. If you want to sit down and watch it, but it's also a great results only show. If you just want to kind of drift in and out, zoom ahead to the end, see what happens.

• 21:11Chris Ryan?

  You know what I don't understand is they have, and this is, you know, we've, we've really hit how, how important British culture is. I think it's okay. They can hear some constructive criticism.

• 21:20Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 21:20Chris Ryan?

  They come up with different words for all sorts of stuff. Why can't they just come up with something new for guacamole? Cause they can't say it.

• 21:25Speaker 01

  Cause they can't say it.

• 21:26Chris Ryan?

  So like, why not call it like Cotto spread, you know, or something like.

• 21:32Speaker 02

  Can I ask an earnest question that was raised by this episode? Uh, have avocados made it over there?

• 21:37Chris Ryan?

  I honestly don't. When I've had avocados over there, I'm just like, this is a, this is a like, honestly a crime against God in nature.

• 21:44Speaker 02

  This ain't it.

• 21:45Speaker 01

  They're like avonés. Um, uh, Rob.

• 21:49Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 21:50Speaker 01

  I have a question for you because I have sort of dropped off on, um, the Great British Baking Show, uh, or Bake Off as they call it across the pond. Um. Where are we on the level of taking Paul seriously? Cause I feel like

• 22:02Speaker 02

  Oh, post.

• 22:03Speaker 01

  We swung perilously too far into the coveted handshake. And I was like, no, the point of the show is to make fun of Paul Hollywood. And I feel like Allison being there would be helpful for that.

• 22:13Speaker 02

  Completely. One, they've scaled back the handshakes.

• 22:15Speaker 01

  Great.

• 22:16Speaker 02

  The, the power creep of the handshake was too strong. They proliferated out of

• 22:20Chris Ryan?

  That's where they lost me.

• 22:22Speaker 01

  It was, it was like a, oh, that'll, that'll do peg from Paul Hollywood. It was the handshake.

• 22:28Speaker 02

  Look, who among us is not above a little pat on the head once in a while? Like, I get the appeal.

• 22:32Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:33Speaker 02

  But they've scaled it back. And most importantly, literally every one of the show makes fun of Paul now. So we're, we are in a perfect place.

• 22:38Speaker 01

  I'm back.

• 22:38Speaker 02

  The universe is in balance.

• 22:39Speaker 01

  Okay, great.

• 22:41Chris Ryan?

  Okay, so we've gotten background watch. Let's talk a little bit about counter programming.

• 22:45Speaker 01

  This is your category.

• 22:46Chris Ryan?

  Well, sometimes you want something that's affirming of what you're experiencing, or even just the climate you're in or whatever. And sometimes you want to just truly escape. Right? So this would be something that is like set in a different place, different climate, different planet, what have you. It could, it's flexible, but what's your counter programming idea?

• 23:07Speaker 01

  It's pretty basic bitch, but I feel like is important thing for all generations to watch and is the television show Lost.

• 23:15Speaker 02

  Have you done a podcast about this previously?

• 23:17Speaker 01

  It doesn't matter, but it's set on an, it's filmed in Hawaii. So if you want like tropical island vibes, you're watching Lost. If you want, there's something spooky, oogie, weird going on, you're watching Lost. If you want spoiler, time travel, you're watching Lost. So I didn't, you know, I thought about doing Doctor Who for this or something like that. But like basically you're saying, I don't want to be here.

• 23:34Chris Ryan?

  Yes.

• 23:35Speaker 01

  I want to be somewhere else.

• 23:36Chris Ryan?

  Yeah.

• 23:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, get lost.

• 23:38Chris Ryan?

  Okay. I love that. I am going to just jump right on the back of that with a show that would not exist were not for Lost. This is called The Wilds. It was on Amazon a few years ago, did two seasons, got canceled. The first season is excellent. It's basically

• 23:53Speaker 01

  Second season also exists.

• 23:54Chris Ryan?

  Yeah, the second season is also exists, but probably deviated from what made the first season great. The first season is basically about a group of young women who are on a like wellness retreat or going to like, kind of like a camp for like Juvenile delinquents, sort of. And they are in a plane crash onto an island and they need to survive. So it's got a little bit of the Lord of the Flies, Lost thing. There are lots of twists like Lost, but it's beautiful scenery, really fun performances, very twisty plot. And because it's not six seasons, really by the end of the first season, you're like, got it. You know what I mean? Like, I think I understand. And this is one of those lost to the streaming avalanche of show 400 shows a year.

• 24:39Speaker 01

  And it dropped right around the same time as Yellowjackets. And I feel like Yellowjackets just ate its lunch.

• 24:42Chris Ryan?

  So it's if you like Yellowjackets or if you want Yellowjackets, but less cannibalism.

• 24:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 24:49Chris Ryan?

  Wild.

• 24:49Speaker 01

  Just a smidge less cannibalism.

• 24:52Chris Ryan?

  And it's exotic and warm climate and, you know, yeah. So I thought that would be a fun one to highlight.

• 24:59Speaker 02

  I'm gonna keep it a little exotic, but twisted up, which is Netflix's Ripley. Makes me feel like I'm in a different universe a lot of the times. Like you're transported to the Amalfi Coast. Great, love it. We love this for everybody. What if we made it perverse and weird and made you uncomfortable all the time while you're there and shot it in the most gorgeous black and white you're gonna see on television? Like, I just did not know what to expect from Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley. You've probably seen The Talented Mr. Ripley, you've maybe read the books. I think this interpretation is so different and so alienating and makes me so uncomfortable to watch that it is transportive. Maybe not in the way that you always want, but you were going to feel anywhere but here.

• 25:38Chris Ryan?

  I definitely always want it. It's my favorite show of 2024 by far.

• 25:41Speaker 01

  I love that Chris is like, let's pick an escapist show. And we were all like, beautiful ocean vistas, but make it terrifying. Make it really uncomfortable.

• 25:49Speaker 02

  That's our speed.

• 25:50Speaker 01

  Yeah, there you go.

• 25:51Chris Ryan?

  Okay, so one of the phenomenons of the last few years is that we have so many shows that the even the idea of binging is kind of hard for people. I think at least especially if you're a very active TV watcher, because you're always starting new stuff, you're always trying to find like, what's the cool new show I should be watching? What's everybody talking about? And it kind of killed, I think, the behavior of maybe what was like six years ago where it was like, ooh, I found a new show that I like, I'm gonna binge it over. The weekend or whatever. Now, part of the problem is a lot of shows don't finish or a lot of shows are too many seasons. So it's hard to get them like it's hard to throw your arms around them. So we were thinking, what's a doable binge for your holiday break?

• 26:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 26:31Chris Ryan?

  Something you can start and finish, something that will be either you get caught up to date on something that's still running or completely do. So Joe, what's your doable binge for the holidays?

• 26:40Speaker 01

  I'm thrilled you asked me. Um, and even though the show is not American and is not British, so let's all celebrate. Nor was lost. Uh, this is on Paramount, home of, uh, all of your favorite shows, Chris.

• 26:51Chris Ryan?

  Can I guess?

• 26:51Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 26:52Chris Ryan?

  Colin from accounts.

• 26:52Speaker 01

  It is Colin from accounts.

• 26:56Speaker 01

  The second season of which has dropped on Paramount and Colin from accounts, if you've never seen his delightful Australian show. And it's about a pair of strangers who are brought together, uh, over a dog who sort of is, gets in an accident and is injured sort of in front of them. And though they don't, it's okay, Rob.

• 27:13Chris Ryan?

  How injured are we talking?

• 27:16Speaker 01

  But the dog is living a really happy life.

• 27:18Chris Ryan?

  Are you sure?

• 27:19Speaker 01

  How sure are you?

• 27:20Chris Ryan?

  Yes.

• 27:20Speaker 01

  Yeah. The dog, like, the dog is, uh, hampered by what has happened to him, but is now, uh, has two loving co-owners essentially. And they don't know each other. They're like.

• 27:32Chris Ryan?

  Largely for comic relief.

• 27:33Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. And but like it is doted on. So like is definitely living a better life, uh, than it was when it did not have anyone doting on it.

• 27:41Chris Ryan?

  I'll accept this.

• 27:42Speaker 01

  And, uh, it just brings these two, like an older man and a younger woman together romantically, but also just like in friendship and their friendship groups and all that sort of stuff. And it's just like a really fun, uh, funny show. So, yeah.

• 27:54Chris Ryan?

  That's awesome.

• 27:55Speaker 01

  Two seasons, eight episodes each, I think. So it's like, you know, a half hour.

• 28:00Chris Ryan?

  They're half hours. So yeah, that's a pretty easy. Yeah, it's a weekend. Uh, this would be a long weekend watch, but you could do it. My pick for doable binge is Blue Lights, which is on BritBox and you can get that on Amazon. It's very grim. It's about young police officers in Belfast, a contemporary show. It has such good bones, like, so it basically does humor, heart, tragedy, but also serialized storytelling, but also episodic.

• 28:28Chris Ryan?

  Storytelling and it just, there's just literally, it's like pound for pound, a perfect show for what it's trying to do.

• 28:36Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 28:36Chris Ryan?

  And to see these cops sort of like interacting with what is still a very divided city. And also like a very different style of policing, but then there's also like, there's a military aspect to it. There's an underworld like crime aspect to it. There's these people's love lives and family lives and diets are all part of it. But it's just like six episodes, each season, two seasons. So you can probably do that if you really got into it in a week about.

• 29:04Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 29:04Chris Ryan?

  And it's really, really great.

• 29:06Speaker 01

  Something I love about that show is that's like, that's one of those classic UK shows where it's like, all of the actors are actors you recognize from being bit parts and other things. And this is the kind of show that's going to give them a main role to chew on. And it's really good.

• 29:17Speaker 02

  I have another one that it may strain the definition of what you can start and finish during the break, unless your break is a little longer.

• 29:24Speaker 01

  Unless you're a gremlin child who's been sent, who's hiding out in your room.

• 29:27Speaker 02

  Who's to say, but this is a great one for visiting with family because I guarantee you, whoever you're going to stay with has Apple TV plus, as all parents do. You should catch up on Slow Horses, which we talked about in Prestige this season. And the sheer number of people who reached out to me as we were covering it in my life to say, I was not on the show. We just blurred through the first three seasons to catch up. It is so easily digestible. Like, I think the combination of the, like the propulsion of the plot, six episode seasons, reasonable runtimes, Gary Oldman through and through, just keeping things light and breezy. It's a perfect binge show.

• 30:00Chris Ryan?

  Yeah, it's the, it's the starter pack for people who have not watched UK TV before. Like when someone I know just recently had a kid and was like, we're basically like awake all the time. And we need something to watch. I was just like, Slow Horses is now the first thing I recommend to anyone asking anything. Like it can kind of satisfy so many different.

• 30:22Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:22Chris Ryan?

  People in so many different ways. And because they're so digestible. And you can kind of be like, oh my God, I watched three seasons of a TV show in like two weeks. It's so, it feels, it gives you a real sense of accomplishment.

• 30:33Speaker 01

  Part of it also is you're just sort of like, I just want to hear the Mick Jagger theme song again. Another, give me another.

• 30:38Speaker 02

  And as far as the entryway into British TV goes, like, uh, the regional accents are accessible. You know, it's a gateway into what can be a very elaborate and bewildering, uh, and often subtitled world in my experience.

• 30:50Chris Ryan?

  Joe, what's your New Year's resolution? So this could be taken a bunch of different ways. It could be like, what did you, what do you want to improve? What do you, what did you miss that you want to make up for? So what's your New Year's resolution for this one?

• 31:01Speaker 01

  Well, in terms of process and approach, I have nothing to improve upon. I'm perfection. No, I'm just kidding. I have a lot to work on.

• 31:07Speaker 02

  She has wisdom, she has grace.

• 31:09Speaker 01

  I have a lot to work on.

• 31:10Chris Ryan?

  She does not watch Landman.

• 31:13Speaker 01

  There's two things. One, a show that I am going to make it my mission to try to get everyone to watch. And also a classic show that I have never seen that I would like to commit here and now to watching this year. Rob, what is that show?

• 31:25Speaker 02

  The Sopranos? Have you heard of it?

• 31:27Speaker 01

  I will be watching The Sopranos in 2025.

• 31:30Chris Ryan?

  Are you like me where you've like seen The Sopranos, but not watched it one to the end?

• 31:34Speaker 01

  I'll tell you this, we're recording this on a day where the New York Times Connections category was related to Sopranos and I aced it quickly. Like I am aware of The Sopranos. I know.

• 31:42Speaker 02

  Flex, why don't you?

• 31:44Speaker 01

  It was the yellow, calm down. But like, it was, it's, I'm, I'm really aware of it. I have seen at least one episode. Um, I just never, I just never did it.

• 31:56Chris Ryan?

  Yeah.

• 31:56Speaker 01

  And I need to do it.

• 31:57Chris Ryan?

  I never did it either. It came on at a time where I think I was like not staying home to watch TV. And then for whatever reason, I just never went one to the end. I don't think anybody is going to be happy about this, but I, maybe I'll join you in this resolution.

• 32:13Speaker 02

  I, I also have not seen The Sopranos.

• 32:15Speaker 01

  Are you kidding me, Rob?

• 32:17Speaker 02

  Are we allowed to be on this channel?

• 32:19Speaker 01

  This is such a safe space right now.

• 32:20Chris Ryan?

  Cut to like color bars and like we're never going to be back on.

• 32:23Speaker 02

  Just block this part out.

• 32:24Chris Ryan?

  I feel like that's the thing is that like, this is strange because like if you, when people around the office talk about it, I know what they're talking about.

• 32:31Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 32:31Chris Ryan?

  And I don't mean like, I kind of know. I mean, like, I'm like, oh yeah, I've seen that episode or that scene or whatever. But it's so strange. I just have never been like, I'm doing a top to bottom rewatch of the show.

• 32:42Speaker 02

  It does feel like an overwhelming kind of undertaking to just start fresh at, I am old and washed, to start a new show that I know is going to be.

• 32:49Speaker 01

  But you speak for eight year olds and year old and washed, Rob?

• 32:51Speaker 02

  I speak for everybody. I am the common man and common boy. But I think the undertaking of what you're getting into in terms of episode. And how how intense and emotional the arcs are gonna be. It feels like a lot to just be like, okay, it's Wednesday. I'm gonna start The Sopranos.

• 33:07Speaker 01

  Guys, this is the beauty of live television. I think we've all resolved to watch The Sopranos in 2025. What else will possibly be going on in 2025 to take our attention? My other part of my resolution is it is my goal to get everyone I care about and people I've never met to watch Interview with the Vampire, because I genuinely think it's one of the best shows currently on.

• 33:24Chris Ryan?

  Guess what?

• 33:25Speaker 01

  And

• 33:25Chris Ryan?

  That's my New Year's resolution.

• 33:26Speaker 01

  Is it?

• 33:27Chris Ryan?

  Yeah, look at that.

• 33:28Speaker 01

  Yeah, because you watched the premiere, right?

• 33:29Chris Ryan?

  I did. And I was like, that's cool.

• 33:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 33:32Chris Ryan?

  There's the my two New Year's resolutions were to watch Interview with the Vampire.

• 33:35Speaker 01

  Really?

• 33:36Chris Ryan?

  And to catch up on Pacheco.

• 33:37Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 33:38Chris Ryan?

  Which I just didn't watch the second season.

• 33:39Speaker 01

  Great.

• 33:40Chris Ryan?

  And it was because it came out, I think during like a particularly heavy time. And I was like, I'll just save it for later. So those are my my two.

• 33:47Speaker 02

  I'm along the same lines, which is I spent literal years Googling, when does My Brilliant Friend season four drop?

• 33:54Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 33:55Speaker 02

  And now it is here.

• 33:56Chris Ryan?

  Dude, what's wrong with us?

• 33:57Speaker 01

  What is wrong with us?

• 33:58Speaker 02

  I can't take it. And so my resolution is I want to get emotionally ready to the point where I know the season is going to probably rip me apart. And I want to get ready to the point where I can actually sit down and watch it.

• 34:10Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 34:11Speaker 02

  If you haven't watched My Brilliant Friend, I literally can't recommend it highly enough. As far as like big personal relationship epics go, like it's one of the best friendships ever put on the page. As far as some people will tell you, I wouldn't because I haven't read the books and will not read novels. But on screen.

• 34:26Chris Ryan?

  Wait, wait, wait. So you don't read Ferrante, but you're you're a big.

• 34:30Speaker 02

  I'm a Ferrante head by association.

• 34:31Speaker 01

  He doesn't read fiction.

• 34:33Speaker 02

  Don't read fiction.

• 34:33Chris Ryan?

  Really?

• 34:34Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 34:35Speaker 02

  I'm here in the real world, Chris. I'm on the front lines.

• 34:39Speaker 01

  We've we have processed this. We have gone through this.

• 34:41Chris Ryan?

  Should we even have jobs? Like, we're like, I only read novels or watch The Sopranos.

• 34:47Speaker 02

  Well, luckily, this isn't a novel recommendation show. I can recommend to you My Brilliant Friend.

• 34:51Speaker 01

  Don't worry.

• 34:52Speaker 02

  The TV product on Max.

• 34:55Speaker 01

  Don't worry, we know our way around YouTube. So that was that's what really matters.

• 34:58Chris Ryan?

  I can't. But I don't watch The Sopranos. Please listen to my TV podcast. Please listen to my TV podcast. It's called The Watch. It's on Spotify or wherever you get podcasts. You should also listen to Joe and Rob on the Prestige TV podcast. We have a very, very, very busy season coming up, but we're gonna try our best to make YouTube only content for you guys. Some videos. I'm gonna try and do one about all the Taylor Sheridan shows and what they mean to me.

• 35:24Speaker 01

  Are you gonna do it from Deshawn Fantasy's solo?

• 35:26Chris Ryan?

  No, it starts right now.

• 35:30Chris Ryan?

  No, we're gonna do a lot of different content for the YouTube channel.

• 35:33Speaker 01

  We're gonna livestream all of us watching every single episode of The Sopranos.

• 35:35Chris Ryan?

  That's right.

• 35:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 35:36Chris Ryan?

  That's right. So like, subscribe, share with your friends, and listen to our pods on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Chris, this is Joe, this is Rob. We'll talk to you soon.

• 35:44Speaker 01

  Happy holidays.

• 35:45Chris Ryan?

  Cheers.