romantic comedy – The Toy Department

The Toy Department – Episode 401

In Episode 401, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s work-cation and his exclusive property on Haven’t-Seen-Harry-Potter Island before locking in on:

The latest from The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (7:00) including the rapid demise of Era 1 and whether or not strategy dictates finishing them off or shifting focus…
Netflix’s enthralling WWE docu-series Mr. McMahon (29:15) and how to reckon with the broader cultural impact of professional wrestling…
The ripped-from-Kolsky’s-heart rom-com Nobody Wants This (43:10) and how Netflix has constructed a show that’s hard to imagine not loving…
The film Killer Heat on Amazon Prime Video (48:00) and the comfort of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s face and propensity for voice-over…
A few random sports thoughts (52:25) as Kolsky eulogizes his baseball fandom…
Homework for next week (57:45), including: another episode of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, the Pitt/Clooney movie Wolfs on Apple TV+, the Mark Duplass show Penelope on Netflix, the documentary Will & Harper (also on Netflix) and the new HBO comedy The Franchise…

In Episode 331, Madden and Kolsky do a quick debrief on their long time apart before shifting into gear to discuss:

The latest from The Challenge: Ride or Dies (1:40) where we seem to be past the halfway point of TJ’s Final and there are LOTS of incidents and accidents to discuss…
A quick check-in on The Last of Us (33:40) to acknowledge the excellence of Episode 3…
Peacock’s new Natasha Lyonne vehicle Poker Face (35:10) and how her charm carries the viewer to an awful lot of fun…
Hulu’s superpower show Extraordinary (38:45) and how it really is extraordinarily enjoyable, with excellent writing and some delightful young unknown performers…
Apple TV+’s Bill Lawrence/Jason Segel joint Shrinking (44:05) and how the combination of its two creators makes for an oddly enjoyable cocktail, plus — Harrison Ford…
The Netflix rom-com You People (51:30) and how there’s not much Rom and Eddy Murphy is largely wasted but it’s not so terrible in the end…
A few thoughts on the upcoming Super Bowl LVII (1:00:55) and the recently passed NBA Trade Deadline (1:05:10)…
Homework for next week (1:16:25), including: four movies — TÁR (streaming on Peacock), Wakanda Forever (streaming on Disney+), Meet Me in the Bathroom (streaming on Showtime and Paramount+) and Somebody I Used to Know (streaming on Amazon)… and OF COURSE the last episode (we think) of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…

In Episode 330, Madden and Kolsky do a LITTLE bit of housekeeping before jumping right into:

The fact that Derek failed to complete his homework when he forgot about Treason (1:40) which is a nice little spy drama/thriller that Kolsky can still tell us a bit about…
The most recent episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies (5:40), including thoughts on elimination selection strategy, some great Burns of the Week and a preview of what looks to be a GRUELING final…
The new horror/satire/comedy film The Menu (39:55) and how it is carried along by a group of excellent acting performances…
The Billy Eichner/Judd Apatow-created rom com Bros (45:50) and how both hosts thought it hit all the Romantic Comedy pleasure spots…
Homework for TWO WEEKS from now (52:15), including: the new Netflix comedy You People, the new Peacock show Poker Face, Apple TV+’s new show Shrinking, Hulu’s British superpower show Extaordinary and OF COURSE the final of The Challenge: Ride or Dies…
A few quick thoughts on this weekend’s NFL Conference Championship games (56:35)…

In Episode 296, Madden and Kolsky discuss Derek’s hangover and potential parody songs about it before getting their act together to talk about:

The completely watchable but generally unimpressive Moonshot (2:50), a middle-of-the-road-to-the-moon romantic comedy that’s nothing special but not awful, though it does threaten to pigeonhole Lana Condor into a remarkably small niche…
The utterly awful Netflix movie The Bubble (9:20) and just how bafflingly bad it is, particularly given the often funny and definitely talented people involved…
The new Disney+ entry to the MCU — Moon Knight (16:40) and how it definitely leaves a lot of unanswered questions through two episodes, led by Oscar Isaac’s madcap performance as the central character…
This week’s episode of Top Chef: Houston (30:20), the new leaderboard, the remarkably high level of competition and a very cool challenge honoring trailblazing women from Texas…
Homework for TWO Fridays from now (51:10), including: more Top Chef: Houston, along with the return of Better Call Saul, the new Apple TV+ series Roar, the new season of Netflix’s Natasha Lyonne vehicle Russian Doll, Hulu’s second season of Woke (starring Lamorne Morris) and the new HBO Max joint Tokyo Vice…

In Episode 169, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky once again threaten their plans for a short podcast with the broadcaster jinx, before speeding through:

HBO’s Deadwood movie (1:30) and how it ties a nice bow on one of the great under-appreciated TV series of all time, plus some discussion of Vulture’s all-time HBO show rankings…
The Elton John biopic Rocketman (10:20) and how it succeeds in many ways despite apparently fitting into categories neither host particularly enjoys…
The Amazon series Good Omens (21:45) and how it feels like the writers and creators failed to flesh out their elevator pitch…
The Netflix show How To Sell Drugs Online Fast (25:15) and how it turns out to be of German origin but not entirely terrible…
Netflix’s new rom-com Always Be My Maybe (28:45) and how charming it is despite being rather rote…
A wrap on the second season of Killing Eve (37:45) and whether the show still has the promise of its first season…
Some quick NBA thoughts (44:10) in the middle of a compelling, if slow-moving, Finals series…
Homework for next week (50:30), when there may or may not be a podcast, including: the new season of Black Mirror on Netflix, the return of Big Little Lies on HBO, AMC’s new vampire series NOS4A2 and the conclusion of Billions …