Welcome to the 171st episode of TV’s Top 5, The Hollywood Reporter’s TV podcast.
Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as the case may be).
This week, Dan and I dedicate the entire episode — save for the Critic’s Corner segment, of course — to answering listener questions as part of our semi-regular Mailbag.
Here’s how the episode plays out:
1. Headlines
We’ve reached the post-upfronts lull portion of the TV calendar so the news cycle was relatively slow this week. The biggest headline came last Friday with the news of four key cast departures from Saturday Night Live. Plus Jodie Foster is headed to HBO and more of Heartstopper.
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2. Mailbag, part 1
In the first part of our Mailbag episode, we examine the state of abortion on television (looking at you, Young Sheldon), what brands are emerging out of the streaming wars, which shows may have been lost in the May Emmy deadline crunch and what’s next for Keri Russell, Josh Holloway and Jennifer Garner.
3. Mailbag, part 2
The second part of our Mailbag edition looks at the state of Bad Robot on television amid news that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has been unhappy with the lack of delivery from the company’s $250 million deal with Bad Robot and discuss some other questionable nine-figure overall deals.
4. Mailbag, part 3
The third Mailbag segment this week sees Dan exploring reality TV staples including the most recent seasons of Survivor, Top Chef and more.
5. Critic’s Corner
As usual, we wrap with Dan’s look at what to watch (or skip) this weekend. This week, he weighs in on Netflix’s Stranger Things, FX/Hulu’s Pistol and rant about the absurdity of Lucasfilm’s short-sighted strategy of keeping Obi-Wan Kenobi from critics and press. (The strategy, it’s worth noting, means Dan can’t review the show this week and we couldn’t have the showrunner on because we need to see episodes before we book our guests.)
Hear it all now on TV’s Top 5. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to never miss an episode. (Reviews welcome!) You can also email us with any topics or Mailbag questions you’d like addressed in future episodes at TVsTop5@THR.com.
