Indiewire's Very Good Tv Podcast

The budgets for TV shows have never been bigger, but are they leading to better shows? The answer isn't yes OR no, as Liz and Ben debate in this week's podcast.

This week, it's question time, as Liz and Ben answer all your most pressing queries, including what TV shows best reflect society, and what TV shows have been the hardest to give up.

Indiewire's TV team spent the last week at Comic-Con and got some sneak peeks of fun shows. (They did not get a lot of sleep.)

A TV show casually references another TV show — no big deal, right? Maybe, maybe not. As Indiewire's Liz and Ben discuss, invoking other pop culture may be an organic story choice, but it also can make your show into an alternate universe — in both good and bad ways.

Call us dreamers, but Indiewire's TV team has its fingers crossed for a few outlier entries in this year's awards race. From "Outlander" to "The Leftovers," at least one of these things could actually maybe happen! Though we'll have to wait and see.

To celebrate the 4th of July, Liz and Ben are joined by Special Projects Editor Steve Greene and Senior Editor Hanh Nguyen for a rousing game of Guess the Quote! We attempt to stump each other with 16 independent and patriotic-themed TV quotes — how many can you guess?

"Penny Dreadful" surprised us with a stealth series finale last week — but is that sort of move one that works? Liz and Ben dig into why they like to know if an ending is coming, and how that sort of move differs from classic cancellation.

It might be your least favorite question, but we at Indiewire want to help you answer it! Because if you answer it the right way, it can lead to some of the most enjoyable TV discussions you'll ever have.

Summer means sun, and fun, and the opportunity to catch up with shows you may have missed! And Indiewire's TV team has a few suggestions for just that situation.

We all watch a lot of TV, but how much of it is appropriate for the under-18 set? With some help from the website commonsensemedia.org, Indiewire looks to understand what might make a show appropriate for kids... and what shows no minors should be watching.

With the release of "Bloodline" Season 2, Indiewire's TV team was inspired to look at how the second season of a show can either make or break it. (Why yes, "The Leftovers" does come up.)

To celebrate the premiere of "Preacher" and upcoming "Feed the Beast," Indiewire's TV team brought in special guest Steve Greene to rank the credit sequences of AMC's great scripted dramas.

A lot of shows got canceled last week — but which ones hurt the most? And which ones were we okay with? Indiewire's TV team breaks it down.

There's an eclectic assortment of shows planned for this summer, and Indiewire's TV team has their own favorite among the new entries.

Indiewire's TV team, perhaps inspired by a certain Marvel film coming out this week, sits down to discuss an age-old question: On our favorite shows, who would win in a fight? (Shockingly, "The Leftovers" comes up.)

HBO's Emmy-winning comedy and drama returned last night but with some big changes behind the scenes. How did they fare? Indiewire's TV team has thoughts. (Surprisingly, "The Leftovers" did not come up.)

Without getting too deep into spoilers, Indiewire's TV team this week digs into the latest season of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," which they both liked... But there might be a few issues.

Amazon's intimate and beautiful relationship story also happens to be quite funny. Is that essential to its success -- and is comedy in general essential to creating honest storytelling?

The story behind the "trial of the century" was as fascinating to us this year as it was when it was actually happening. But what was it that made FX's legal drama so captivating?

With the release of "The Catch," Indiewire's TV looks at the current state of Shonda Rhimes's epic ABC empire, and why they keep watching.