The Toy Department – Episode 305

In Episode 305, Madden and Kolsky begin with some personal sadness before moving on to the beautiful distractions of:

  • A totally unacceptable ending to this week’s episode of The Challenge: All-Stars 3 (3:10) and all the drama that would have made it a great episode if not for that travesty…
  • The new Netflix comedy God’s Favorite Idiot (21:25) and how it charmed both of our hosts and seems like a real keeper…
  • The two spy drama/thrillers The Old Man and Slow Horses (25:35), how they are both good but The Old Man seems to stand above and apart…
  • The 30-minute restaurant drama The Bear (35:00) and how its uniqueness and attention to detail make it a tremendously interesting show…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA Draft (42:45) and the disappointing television coverage thereof…
  • Homework for next Friday (50:05), including: potentially the finalé of The Challenge: All-Stars 3, the new Disney+ film Rise about the Antetokounmpo brothers, the new movie Beavis & Butthead Do the Universe on Paramount+, the return of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building and the new Maya Rudolph show Loot on Apple TV+…

The Toy Department – Episode 273

In Episode 273, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky chat a little about QB depth charts before getting into the weeds with:

  • The Hulu film Vacation Friends (3:15) and how the highly enjoyable cast of John Cena, Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji and Meredith Hagner makes it a highly enjoyable watch…
  • Hulu’s new show Only Murders in the Building (8:55) and how Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez draw viewers in to a hijinks-filled murder mystery story…
  • The Nicole Kidman-led Nine Perfect Strangers on Hulu (14:40) and the incredible cast that holds it up as its central mystery develops…
  • ALL THE LATEST on The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies (25:30) and the tragically stupid strategic decisions of Fessy, plus Burns of the Week and Episode MVP!!!
  • Homework for next Thursday (58:50), including: more of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, plus the new Netflix film Beckett (starring John David Washington) and the new American Crime Story on FX/Hulu (focusing on the impeachment of Bill Clinton)…

The Toy Department – Episode 256

In Episode 256, Madden and Kolsky are feeling fresh and ready to get into:

  • This week’s episode of Top Chef in Portland (1:25), featuring a really tough and incredibly entertaining quickfire challenge, more greatness from Shota and the potential coining of the term “chefsplain”…
  • The new Netflix comedy Thunder Force (32:30) and how Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer elevate an otherwise ordinary superhero parody flick…
  • HBO Max’s new Cristin Milioti show Made for Love (39:45) and how the streaming service continues to do great work in the “this is really clever and funny and interesting” space…
  • Homework for next Tuesday (48:55), including: another episode of Top Chef in Portland, the Disney+ show Big Shot (starring John Stamos) and the new HBO show Mare Of Easttown… and DON’T MISS our coverage of The Challenge: Double Agents AND the first season of The Challenge All Stars on Thursday!!!