Go back

‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Finale, ‘Top Chef’ S23E6, and ‘Bandi’

1h 15m 31s

‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Finale, ‘Top Chef’ S23E6, and ‘Bandi’

The discussion centers on recent developments in television, from new international series to major shifts in production logistics. A standout is *Bandy*, a crime drama on Netflix created by Eric Rochant and his daughter, set in Martinique and following a large family grappling with trauma and drug trade dynamics. Though the pilot shows promise in its setting and character depth, it lacks narrative surprise or energy, and relies on familiar tropes from shows like *Peaky Blinders*. The show is commended for its authentic, immersive world-building and natural use of technology, such as cell phones, which avoids artificial storytelling. The conversation also highlights broader industry trends, including the growing trend of filming in Europe or other global locations for cost and authenticity, despite budgetary concerns. The *White Lotus* season 4 is announced to take place during the Cannes Film Festival, with filming at two properties, offering a fresh, culturally grounded narrative. The panel reflects on the challenges of sustaining the television industry amid rising costs and creative fatigue, noting a shift from high-stakes, fast-paced pilots to more grounded, character-driven storytelling. While some series, like *Bandy*, are still in early stages, the discussion underscores a growing appetite for international and culturally rich content. Additionally, the conversation touches on how TV shows are balancing audience expectations with creative integrity, noting that shows like *The Pit* carefully avoid over-reliance on chaos or shock, instead focusing on internal emotional arcs and realistic human struggles. Overall, the episode promotes a balanced view: excitement about new content, but also a critical awareness of narrative fatigue and economic pressures shaping the industry.

Transcription

14947 Words, 77766 Characters

English
(chirping) (bell ringing) - I need support staff to clear the room. - Stand up and walk now. - Hello and welcome to the watch. My name is Chris Ryan. I am an editor at TheRinger.com and joining me in the studio. Now his day shift has ended. It's Indigree Waltz! - How are you? - Good brother, it's been a minute. - You're back? - I am back, yeah. I was in San Francisco. I was in Denver. I've seen the West. - Yeah, what do you think? - We're all doing great. - Whoa, this is breaking news. - Socially, economically, everything is solid. - Yeah, good air travel, I think it was good. - You know, honestly, it wasn't that bad. They're keeping it together everywhere. Denver airport did not see any illuminati there. It's supposedly the headquarters. - Were you doing your research for Paradise Season 3? - I was. - I was. - Did you see the horse? - The horse. - The demon horse that's out of the airport? - No, that's the thing is like none of this, all I noted about the Denver airport is, I think it could be closer to Denver. Because in between Denver and the airport, it's just like a lot of Costco's. I didn't see much that was like, "Well, we can't have a plane land here." - Right. - But yeah, other than that, Denver lovely place. - This is your note. (laughing) - Go, you go to the CEO of Costco and tell him you have to move his five outletters. - I don't think the Costco has been there for like 120 years. You know what I mean? I can seem like a pretty new bill. - You don't think it's a landmark? - No. - It's wonderful to see you. I haven't seen you in a while. - I know, I've changed. How have you changed? - You're gonna find out over the course of this hour. - I have some news and stuff for you, like from the television and entertainment world, but I wanted to just kind of fill you out. - You say what we're gonna do, we're gonna do. - Hey, we're gonna do the pit finale, obviously. Welcome to where that happens. And also we're gonna talk about Top Chef. We're also gonna talk about an out-of-know-where appearance of a new series from Eric Rochant who is responsible for one of our favorite TV shows of all time. - Yes. - Le Bureau. - The Bureau. The French spy drama. He has a new show on Netflix. I had no fair warning, no heads up. Just saw it that it was trending on Netflix that it was in the top 10 that I checked our email inbox. There were a couple of like, dude, is there a new show from Eric Rochant? I did a little bit of digging into this. It's an interesting story, but we can get to that. - Tom Bandy. - It's called Bandy. It's on Netflix. And we should also say at the top, we are going to cover two buzzed about new series on Monday. - Which are Margot's Got Money Problems. - And Buff, the French Adaptation of Beef. - Can I tell you, beef's getting grilled. - That sounds delicious. - The critics do not like beef. - Really? - Yeah. - It was aged too long. - I mean, there's some diversity of opinion, but and that's what this country's all about. - You learn that in your travels of the West. - But it's largely being disliked, being panned. - Wow. - Huh. - How do you feel about that? - Do you still take critical consensus as like a directional for you? - No, I do that with NFL draft coverage, but I do not do that. - I was going to ask you about this. - We could say that for after, don't you want? - No, no, no, no, no. We could say, okay, let's say for after. - I have a lot of draft thoughts. - My big television headline, obviously, "Cinemacon" this week. So there's a lot of movie news. I had mixed feelings about "Cinemacon". I'm very happy that Sean and Amanda are there. I'm honestly a little bit jealous. - Yeah. - I don't know if I'd want to be in Vegas for four days, but it is cool that they get to see stuff. On the other hand, I don't know if I want to digest movies that like, here's a sneak seven minutes of the Odyssey, see you in three months. - Well, there's also, is there any world in which you are shown the first 10 minutes of apparently the saving private Ryan Esk opening of "Dune 3" and you're like, kind of mid. Like, it's designed to make people insane. - Look at that feeling. Now I'll see it. Okay, you guys got me, you know? So I think out of my feeling of inadequacy of not being there, I'm also like, it's not for me. I wouldn't do it anyway. If they, even if they invited me. - I invented them. - But there's obviously a bunch of stuff coming out of it. "Dune 3", the Odyssey screen, some stuff. Sounds like it went very well. I saw that the Thomas Crown affair, some footage from that was played, that Michael B. Jordan remake of that. - Starring your maxima, Adrian, or Yona. - Which is not maxima. - I think it's Wonder Woman. - It sounds like it's gonna be Wonder Woman. - Van is gonna comment being like, get off my corner again. But I'm pretty sure. - I was thinking, I have to go to New York soon. - You are just a man. - And I was thinking of seeing Gene Gray, AKA C-D-C. - Yes. - In Romeo and Juliet. - I thought she was in London. I think that's in London. - I thought it was in Broadway. - Well, we'll find out when I show up at that really reasonably priced theater. And it's like one ticket for Romeo and Juliet, please. - Maybe you could watch it. You know, they have that thing in some cities where they have like the camera that's on it in another city. - Oh yeah. - Maybe they could do that for the West. - But for like really expensive Broadway tickets. - You just, if you just peer into it, you could watch Paddington the Musical. - Yes. - Somewhere at St. Petersburg. - London to watch Bernthal on Doug Day. - Mine prove it. - I have one or two TV oriented news bits for you, but did you want to say anything about the sin macon news? - Do you have any advance, again, based on nothing that we've seen, but that apparently they did screen a trailer or some footage of Tom Cruise's return to capital A. - Finally advanced knowledge about it is what Sean tweeted. - Right. - Yeah. - Is this the, is this like the second screen experience where you want people to go to Twitter? - No, I just, like Sean's tweet, kind of said it all. It was like, it seems like Tom Cruise is playing Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner, in a movie directed by Michael Bay. And I was like, well, that's gonna take me a couple of weeks to process. - To kind of parse. - Yeah, exactly. - Okay, there was that. And then so I think there's like that. And then what was the other one? Oh, for me, personally, the most exciting news is that Garrett Evans, who did the raid movies, is directing a remake of a cult as my passport, which is a Japanese Yakuza crime film. And. - Have you seen that film? - No, Sean said that it looked like John Wu meets a, like, set into Trey. - I feel like you're gonna be first in line. - I'm excited for that. - I also have some breaking news. - Yeah. - Sadie Sink is currently starring at the Harold Pinter Theater on the West End in London. - Okay. - So I'd like to, I just wonder would you like to revise your earlier comment in which you said, and I'm just paraphrasing. I have to be in New York soon to see Sadie Sink. - So I do have to be in New York soon, period. And while I'm there, I just didn't say, while I'm there, I thought I would check in. My initial idea, we had talked about going to see Dog Day. - Yeah. - I wanna see Giant, too. - You know what, I'm not a Dog Guy. Everybody's like, and then Giant opens. And I'm just not a role Dog Guy. - I don't think, I don't wanna brush your bubble here. - You know what's not. - It's a movie about a raging anti-Semite, so I don't think you should be like, big Dog Guy, can't wait to see how his legacy has been protected on stage. - But I just mean like, getting under the hood there is not in the top 100 things I want to take. - Do you not see Hamlet because you're not a big Danish monarchy guy? - Come on, bro, that's not the same thing. - It's not the same thing. - But like, yo, this is as good as Hamlet. - But I think that there's a part of you that's worried that there's gonna be a chocolate factory on stage or a couple Oompa Loompas telling you half the story. - That crossed my mind. - I know. There's no giant reach. - Play, is it Lithgow? - Lithgow. My colleague. - Your boy. (laughing) - Yeah, that guy has a lot of energy. - Yeah. - I would just say that if I had spent nine months filming a massive television show, I'd take a rest. - Yeah. - And I'm a lot younger than him. - And our friend, I a cash, isn't it? - That's really good. - I don't know why we're doing theater advertising before we talk about that. - I know, I was just, I just really feel like there's a little more meat on the bone of these. You announcing to your wife and colleagues that you must travel to New York to see Sadie Sink make her Shakespeare debut. - Look, man, I'm just trying to figure out where you're at. So I'm throwing a lot of stuff up at the wall. - You're liking where you're finding me. - Hey, they announced what's happening on the White Lotus this next season. And I just thought I'd mention to you season four, we'll take place during the Cannes Film Festival. - Love it. - I think they're gonna do some shooting there. That was some of the words, which is coming up in a couple of weeks. - Yeah. - They're shooting the currently in production. I believe it did start production. And it is going to be the first season of White Lotus that takes place at two White Lotus properties. - Oh. - So there you go. - The White Lotus high. - One in San Trope and one at the Quassette in Cannes. Have you ever been to the South Fred's? - Yes, I have. Thank you for asking. - What was your take? - And what year was it when you were there? - My take? - Yeah. - I got that. - A model for Americans. - Well, I don't know. - There's a ceiling on how much White Lotus like I can talk about. - Now that Orbanism has fallen, the real model for how our society should live is Provence. Okay. That's my take. - I had this fight. - It's very, very beautiful and huge as a cold. - Were you in East where you in Cannes? Where were you? - I was not in Cannes. - Were you doing work for the British government? Why are you entering? - I can't say. - We were. - No, you fly Denise and then you're a little traveling along the coast. - I fly Denise. I take a train. - Wow. - Yeah. - Well, okay Joe Biden, how was that for you? - Do you think it would be funny if like we just, all JD Vads did for the rest of his term was go to different places in the world and fuck things up by like trying to like do the opposite? - I think I hope he, I mean, funny is doing a lot of work there. - No, I don't mean wars and stuff. I mean like the Cannes Film Festival. I mean like came up on stage and did a talk and he's like, here's the reason why. - And as Vice President of the Cannes jury, he gives the Palm Door to Fokker and Law. - Yeah, exactly. - I love that. I also love that. So this is not really in our bailiwick, but I do love the fact that that Mrs. Kirk had to bail out a T.P. I'm more polite than you out of a turning point event. And her backup plan was the vice president of the United States. Yes. So good. So good. We are doing great. I think it's a beautiful place. I think it's a great, great location for the show and also a kind of a cool idea to tie it more firmly to something other than people's, you know, bettering themselves vacation. Do you think there will be any studio-esque cameos? I did wonder about that. We are definitely in a golden age of shows, suddenly all seeming to have the budget to just do a week or two in Europe. Yeah. Well, isn't that because it's cheaper to shoot there than it is to shoot in Europe? Here's a genuine. Just be of angels here. It is, but here's a genuine production question. Like, I don't think that the studio decamped to Venice for six weeks because it was cheaper. I think they did it because they win Emmys and it's Apple and they have a blank check. But I am hearing more and more of shows that just like do a little splinter unit and not like a splinter unit into, you know, San Bernardino or something, like actually they go to London to shoot the London scenes. And I don't understand how that is in any way saving money. I think it's just spending money in flashing cash, which is, all right. There's been a lot of really interesting stuff on the trades this week about like, I think a lot of the producers who are at sentiment kind of been asked about like, are you going to do anything to save Los Angeles? And I don't know why I'm thinking about this much because maybe it has something to do with like this whole arc late protest that turned into a potential lawsuit that, you know, is now kind of everybody is throwing their hands up and it's just been like, looks like that's just going to, that landmark to cinema will just stand. If that was Nithia's whole platform, she would win. But there's also been a lot of talk about because I think some of the networks are in pilot season weirdly. Yeah. Yeah. Like, are you going to shoot this here? Are you going to shoot this in LA? Will you use the studios and a lot of non-committal? Like, well, we need a federal tax break and we need and so, you know, rebates on above the line talent. And I just don't know what happened to the game I loved, you know? Like, I don't know how, are you saying like they fucked this up so much that they're like, well, we can't make it unless you guys pay for Johnny Gallicchi to like be in the show, you know. That's the name, right? Yeah. Was that, is this like, this is just kind of a recycled NBA take that's too international for you now? No, it's, but it's like, I don't know why scrubs is rebooting the reboot of scrubs shoots in Vancouver. Like, it does also wild pronunciation there. You're still in Vancouver? Usually. Yeah. I like that. Vancouver. I think you're thinking of Van. Yeah. I think he's living right in your head. Does it really? Yeah. That's, that's pretty wild to me, because I would feel like something like a, because the only thing anyone's spending money on obviously is what they believe to be safe bets. Procedureals. Procedureals and reboots of sitcoms and things. And I'm not saying that, that Zach Raff was like turning down other offers to do this show, but I am saying that generally when people are asked to come back to fill, to fill a role that only they can play, they have enough cloud to say I would like a commute that doesn't involve a border crossing. Yeah. There's also just not that big of a shortage of studio space in Hollywood right now. Yeah. And we, and we are hearing like from, you know, anecdotally, from people that like, people who are working on the lots, you can hear the wind rattling around and you can do all the same thing. Yeah. Johnny Carson's ghost. No, that's Johnny Gleikey. That's the case. Like, this will be perfect. Um. So anyway, that's cool. I, I, I hope White Lotus doesn't do the thing that everyone is doing again. Like, it, it runs through this town, like a virus every few years, which is like, uh, I will, I will entertain with a withering satire of the industry I am in. I think like we're good on that for the most part. That's true, man. So I hope that the White Lotus doesn't go too far in that direction. But great cast. Great setting. It'll be fine. Uh, am I quite, I wonder how being unsurvivor will affect, you know, his, his production this year? You'd have to weigh in on that. Well, he was, he's no longer on it, you know, uh, on the season. I didn't know. And, but he is jacked. Did I tell you that? You sent me a image. Yeah. I was like, how do he do this? To be clear, it's not weird. Chris has sent me pictures of Mike White each side for years. It's more of like an on tracking tracking. Yeah. It's not by lacking, Mike White. We cannot become Mike White, but we can recreate his torso and aggregate. Oh, Christ, uh, I have a question for you. Okay. Now you jump in at any point, if you feel like I'm, if you like who take his in different directions. If, look me in the eye, take, take a sip of coffee and then, and I'm going to ask the group here as well. Okay. Yeah. Are you going to read Lena Dunham's memoir? No. Famesick. I'm not. Have you been intrigued by it? Intrigue mean voraciously consume all content outside of reading. So why not read the memoir? Because you feel like you can get, it's like reading literary criticism where you get both. I get it. I get the theories about it. That is a deep kicking and screaming reference and I respected it. Oh, is it? Yeah. Well, no, it's more like I am not that interested, but I am also a human. Yeah. It's that kind of thing. Where are you with it? I wasn't. And then I was like, I kind of would like to read about the making of girls. Yeah. It's a very specific moment in TV history. Also, just want to hear about Jemima Kirk and Zosha Mammoth living together, uh, and that apparently not going well. I, uh, obviously have read a lot of the, the aggregated stuff about driver and about the, the making of the show. I don't know how much post girls lean and don't know my need, like, well, in terms of like our memoir, how much of the memoir is dedicated to directing the pilot of industry during the pandemic? But that's the problem. It's like, I got a control F industry, but then it'll probably be a lot of stuff about industries. Other industries. Yeah. Cool. Shipping. I'm like, ah, I've got to read this now. Damn it. Kaya. Yeah. Where are you, Kaya? Oh, I'm, I'm on the wait list at my library. I'm, I'm ready to go. So will you give us a report? Sure. I was doing the audio book while she drives around. Did Lena read her own audio book? I think so. It would be amazing. It would be funny if Jimmy McCurk read it. She was like, wait, that's me, me. That's your Jimmy McCurk invitation from Vancouver. It's Jimmy McCurk. Uh, Jimmy McCurk, I thought the, I thought her interview with David Marcazi in the times this weekend was fascinating. And I, it does sound like for as much as, it, it sounds like she's in a, in a healthier place, and certainly the perspective that she's bringing to this is on par with the kind of savage, self-surgery that she's done for much of her career. There was something in the way that she was talking about what she felt she had to do and what fame did to her and what being an artist has done to her and what it continues to do that did make me feel on a human level because this is someone that I've met and spoken to and liked a lot that maybe sometimes you should do something else or just direct or something like there, there is this constant. We never do, do we? No, look at us. We're on camera. But, but, but I, I found that I'm directing this. You're doing great. I did find the like the, it just felt, some of it felt really rough and, and that is interesting to her to continue to mine. But I, I felt empathy more than lured interest, I guess, if I'm going to be serious about it when I read it. Where are you reading? Instead. When am I reading instead? Yeah. I've got a great book, man. I'm, I'm, it's over there. I'm reading this book called "Lives of the Saints by Nancy Lemon." Okay. It's awesome. Is it new? No, it's her first book from the '80s, but she has a new book out also from New York Review of Books called Oyster Diaries and she's, it's one of those things where like Jeff Dyer writes the intro and it's like eventually the long arm of time returns masterpieces to print. I'm like, yeah, let's go. So, M-Y-R-B, are you going exclusive M-Y-R-B right now after Avengers? I'm negotiating with them. I would like to get an exclusive look. I have never more desperately begged for a brand endorsement, like I would wear that on my uniform. And they are. Is it Rwanda for the Sixers? They are. Yes. And they are uninterested in that, this kind of sponsorship right now. I don't know why. But that's a great book. Why would you, why would they not be interested in you? You talk about M-Y-R-B more than you talk about like, because I think you know what they're, right? You know what I think their point is? And I don't know this because I've never spoken to the great men and women of M-Y-R-B. Yeah. The younger view of books if we haven't said it. I don't think they need to pay me because look at me. Oh, yeah. That's the problem. I'm giving it away out here. This is the problem with influencing. Yes. You have to withhold your influence until you're paid for. And you know me, I'm very generous with my influence. Well, one thing that I feel like we can take like the smallest amount of credit for influencing is the fact that the bureau has got like a degree of domestic. I mean, look, I'm not saying that we were ever like the dudes who brought the bureau across the pond and were like, sirs, what we discovered. That was our predecessors at the AMC network. That's right. Are we ready to announce? Or not? Yeah. But the bureau obviously, Eric was shot in spy drama from a few years ago, it's celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025, I believe. It did, yeah. And still just an absolute diamond of a television show that I think about all the time is currently being remade in English language as the agency on Paramount Plus, which is a sign of a great source material where I'm enjoying watching the show again in English. Absolutely. I can't wait for the second season. I think it will improve on the first. And he's got a new show on Netflix. Now I had initially started this as this is the problem with Netflix. They don't tell us about these things like where, where was the trailer, where was the drum beat from the critically acclaimed creator of the bureau? did a little bit of reading into this, although it was hard to come by. And it does seem like Rashant has had, he's got a production company called Maui. And over the last couple of years has shepherded or kind of co-created or co-executive produced or whatever, several shows, some of which like there's one that's on Disney Plus, I believe, and that this is not like the first thing he has done since the bureau went off the air or anything. - Just to interject, like I do think the reason we're talking about him is because it's for the same reason we talked about Pluripus in the sense that like when people who've created truly great art within this medium that we cover, do the next thing, it's worth our attention. - Absolutely, and then, so like I said, I got an email in our inbox about Bandy, I saw that it was the number seven and now number eight show and Netflix, I was sort of surprised that I hadn't heard about what it was. Doing a little bit of research into, it's created by Rashant and his daughter. - Yeah, Capucine. - Capucine. And it is, in his own words, self-consciously, an effort on his part to make something in the top boy Peaky Blinders Netflix genre. - Yeah. - You know, of sprawling crime drama, intergenerational one family moving through, like a cityscape. So obviously top boy set in London, Peaky Blinders set in Birmingham. This is set in Martinique and is about the LaFlure family. It's rather a large family in Martinique. - 11 kids raging from like six or seven to early 20s. - Who are grappling with a family tragedy and deciding where to go with the family in terms of the legitimacy of like their family business. There's like a central kid played. There's a central kid named Killian, I believe. - Kiki. - Kiki, whose, his like street name is Melored and he is getting into the drug business and finding out about like the international drug trade out of Martinique. I watched the first episode last night. You checked it out this morning. What'd you think? - Yeah, I, first of all, making a TV show with your daughter. Come on. Goals. That's so sweet. So I've already all the way in. - What if you were like, I don't like this kind of nepotism and I won't even watch the show. - What if I was like that? Do you want me to do the rest of the show in character? - No, but like if it was his son, would you be like, God, I'm not so, not so into this. I did just feel my whole self go cold, just completely lost interest. I found, well, big picture, I think incredibly exciting anytime Netflix's budget and cameras go to a place that we don't spend a lot of time. - Absolutely. - And so the show looks beautiful. It's in Martinique, a place that I would like to spend more time in and it is taking us in back streets and homes and bars and just bringing a place to life in the way that international crime fiction can do and international crime television can do that I found really, really exciting. I think they've managed to find some really exciting charismatic actors, at least even through just one episode. - Many non-professional actors. - Yeah, and I am intrigued. I would say that for people who are hearing all of our raves about it, I would reset expectations just to say that one of the things about Libero that was really, really remarkable over time is Reshance. Again, not unlike, this is the one thing that I would compare to Vince Gilligan, very, very interested in minutia and bureaucracy and process. And so the show is very A to B to C to D about introducing huge swath of characters in a place we've never been. And a lot of the potential is ahead. So it really does a yeoman-like job of setting the groundwork for something that it could be interesting. And, but I'll say that like I didn't find this episode to be like, I didn't feel energized and exhilarated at the end of it. There's not a lot of wit or surprise or verve. What there is is a lot of solid story building and a lot of promising leads and a canvas that I would like to see. - In the first episode, if you watch a lot of like criminal underworld TV or even a fair amount, like a lot of very familiar meets, you know, a lot of like one brother who was going one direction and another brother who's going another, there's like the sort of mysterious drug lord who takes smaller under his wing. There is a lot of just basically like mechanics that you would be familiar with. If you've watched power, if you've watched a top boy or whatever it is, I think that the thing that jumped out at me wasn't really, and this isn't really a critique 'cause I think it's a really interesting gambit. But I do think that working with a lot of non-professional actors puts the show in a little bit of a disadvantage if it's also going to be a little bit cliche in its story. Now that being said, like if you watch the first episode of the bureau, you might say like this is a lot like a lot of spy shows I've seen before and obviously a change. So I'm going to keep checking out episodes of Bandy, but yeah, it was a little bit of a let down in so much as I had five minutes of knowing it existed before I checked it out and then was like, oh, okay, maybe this isn't like on the level of the bureau yet or whatever. Maybe that's not the intention. - It also is a show, you know, the other thing that we might be responding to slightly, I think everything we've said about it is probably that's the top line headline and is valid. But I do think that we are still, despite our interest in international shows, we are increasingly unused to seeing pilots that don't have to make the case for themselves within the first 50 minutes. This is an episode of television that was clearly written knowing that we're going to be seven more and potentially 20 to 30 to 40 more due to his stature or due to his confidence. I mean, it's not, it hasn't been renewed, but I'm, but then what pilots are required to do these days in this country, in this industry is set off the entire sky full of fireworks, like the pits. - Yes. - Had to do. - Yeah, the paradise had to do. - And yes, and then it leaves everyone who's making the show being like, well, now what's the series? Because I burned it all in the first 56 minutes. This show does not burn it all in the first 56 minutes and I respect that. - I was gonna mention that there is still talk that he is going to return to the world of espionage in a 2025 interview. I read with Rashant, he was talking about a show called Secret World, I believe, that he was working on, which was going to be about agents from five different countries. But he spoke very eloquently in this interview about how the paradigm of spy fiction and spy stories as essentially shifted and is changing almost faster than a TV show can capture. And that essentially, if you went back six months and were like, what's the state of AI last October in October versus today, it would be so different. And even the global stage and the changes that have happened in the Middle East, it would be very difficult to document that or to reflect that in a TV show. So I think he's maybe not struggling with it, but is adjusting to it. - I mean, it was interesting. I think now five, six years ago, he had a pilot called the Chinese room that was going to be a return to the spy world that didn't get made for whatever reason. - That was a peacock. - I think that, I'm not sure if he was ever set up at peacock, but I know it was being passed around people around. - But the script was sort of around, yeah. - And one of the reasons he was doing it is because, you know, you could see in each season of Libero, he was like, the aperture kept getting wider as he was both realizing and engaging with shifting tides in the world. And the antagonists kept changing and who is actually behind it, who is ascendant in the world. And he hadn't really dealt with China's role in global espionage, so he was going to write a show about it. - The choice of the show is to interconnect like Russia and Syria and Iran, yeah. - So I hope we hear more from him. I think that to that point, and more from him in the spy space, but to that point, this is a subtle detail, but one thing that I appreciated in the bandy pilot is that the fact that all characters have cell phones is a part of the story in a way that doesn't feel intrusive. - No. - Time and time again, you will see pilots, or probably movies too, where the writers are like, I yearn for a world where characters weren't constantly on their phones. Thus, I will create it on screen, except for the time my one character has to call the other character, and so you feel that artificiality. Sometimes it can be fine and you don't notice it, but it's important I think to notice when it's done relatively casually and normally and easily. - It feels very baked into the world. This episode is brought to you by Amazon Prime. Ever have a plan come together out of nowhere and realize you're missing something, like a last minute beach day, a spontaneous hike, or an outdoor movie night you didn't plan for, that's when Prime's same day delivery has your back, getting you exactly what you need, fast and reliably so you can actually join the moment instead of watching from the sidelines. Same day delivery, it's on Prime, visit amazon.com/prime to find millions of items delivered fast, available in select areas, terms apply. That's it for our news. The Madison has been renewed for a third season. I thought I'd mention that to you. - Congratulations on your lobbying work behind the scenes on that. - Yes, Kay Street really came through for me. Let's get to the pit finale. - I think we should. It's a pretty big show. - One of the reasons why I wasn't tripping over myself to get to it is I loved it, but it also felt a bit like it was reiterating some of the stuff that had been saying over the last three weeks rather than breaking any new ground. Probably for the best. I don't know that ending on a cliffhanger or I don't know how many more fireworks this show could have. - Literally. - Let's start with Robbie's darkness, [BLANK_AUDIO] been obviously a growing concern over the course of the whole season, but especially in the last couple of weeks with his conversations with Dana, especially with Duke. And in this episode with Abbott concerning whether or not he is considering taking his own life. What the purpose of this quote unquote spirit quest is going to be his helmetless trip to the Dakotas. I thought this was in an interesting place to start with this would just be did you know or feel like he changed, he moved the goalposts a little bit and what he was saying is to Duke previous week he had said everything in the hospital makes sense to me. It's everything outside of the hospital that I can't deal with. Then to Abbott, he was like every time somebody dies in this hospital, piece of myself for piece of my soul dies tears. So what was your read on that if you noticed it and and we're where you at with where Robbie ends. He also says and I thought this was worth noting too, he says that you know every good thing he's ever done for the world is in the hospital. I thought well broadly speaking, I really love the finale and I really love engaging with the show both for what's on the screen and what I can't help but kind of try to mind read are the logistics and conversations and decision making and that is happening behind the scenes in terms of what to push forward and what to pull back on and this shows I think pretty active engagement due to its quick turnaround time with its with its audience and knowing what they might expect and what we how they could still surprise us. Broadly speaking, it is a bold gambit to build a season this way that having educated us on one season about the craziest most violent day in the history of the emergency department probably. Condition us for something similar and then kind of have that not really be the case. It's a day from hell for any number of reasons but the long night of the soul is really internal and it's Robbie's dark night of the soul. One of the thing one of the downstream effects of that decision is that as things get quieter and we get closer and more tied to Robbie's head, we start to notice some things good and bad and one of the potentially bad things is that he does have a version of the same conversation two to four times. I couldn't help but notice that. You also couldn't help but notice then that the show kind of asserted the primacy of this character which is not a surprise and actually works for the show. If you if you watch the show under the impression that it is somehow an ensemble piece, I advise you to take a look at the series season posters for season one and two, both of which are pretty much one man's face. But the downstream effects of that are that some characters get nice little buttons on their season and some closure. Some characters get used for shock value, not in a bad way again, but like what's their name checking out early for boundaries and joy checking out early for boundaries or Jesse getting arrested by ice. But then you also get things and you could probably put a pin in this and come back to it. But Dr. Mohan's goodbye essentially being all about Rodney. My one note about that was lovely seen if they had not made a giant public announcement that she was leaving the show. I would not have thought of that as her lasting. Exactly. Ultimately, I really really respect the gambit what they did with the season and I thought they landed it in a way that felt slightly surprising but ultimately right. And the reason I say that is that when we live like in our real lives, even those of us who are anxious and have like prone to catastrophizing thoughts, the worst worst things, the most violent, horrible, hideous things often don't happen. And what you have to deal with is the margins and dealing with what your day-to-day is. The nature of the show means that at least one to ten times per episode, the worst most hideous violent things happen in the margins on the operating table or what have you. So what the show can do then is force Robbie to live with the margins of that. Talk about other people's death and what it's doing to him. Flirt with the idea of driving a motorcycle off a cliff like a buffalo but really be stuck with himself and his best intentions, caring for a baby and his worst intentions, yelling at Dr. Alashimi. So to your point about it being the Robbie show towards the end of the season, I thought that that's why the Alashimi confrontation was better than just reiterating her or further explaining her situation, her condition, which is she has historically had seizures but through treatment has been able to get them under control, but experiences too on this her first day as the senior attending at the ED to take over for Robbie in his absence. The implication for that is that we saw at least one of them on camera with the baby. She had one with Baby Jindo and that she had one when she was looking at the kid who needed to be in the yes and he caught that one and kind of like sharks around the ED until he can get to the bottom of it, but it's her confession to him. It's her showing him her her medical history and he's just like baron as this you and then they have this nice conversation at first, although Robbie is starting to be like it seems like you're trying to talk me into how this is all okay. And at the end of the day, she's like, so we're good. My neurologist said I need to just try this different medication. He's like, we're not good. You can't you can't be in the attending here. If you can't do procedures because you can't always have another attending with you, which is now explains maybe why she was like, I've decided we need to two seniors on staff all the time. During their big fight that they have in that moment, she says like, you're making this all about you. Like you're so like narcissistic essentially. And this is kind of an interesting thing that's happened over the last couple of weeks and I can't help but also bring in a little bit of the outer pit discourse about like I'm ready. Robbie as a good or bad man or boss because I don't really like let that affect how I watch the show at all, but it's the show's right on the line of giving us enough of other people's opinions about Robbie within the world of the show. To have some distance from Robbie as a character while we watch it versus we're just watching this guy and it's like if it's just more guys like Robbie were in charge of the world, we've just all be a better place. And you know, so a couple of people are like you're a dick or you need help or you're a narcissist. But the show is about this guy holding a baby at the end of it and being like, you know what I mean? Like it's about Robbie. So it's like right up against like whose POV are we seeing this guy through? I think it's a really good point to make, but I think the show is more subtle than critics might suggest. Yeah, and I mean, it's certainly not subtle in some ways when it does direct a camera address. But I don't know if you know this. So Robbie says the only things I can control are in this room and that the human stuff is impossible for him. We see it in practice when a pregnant woman arrives in preeclampsia and distress and says, I don't want any medical care. I don't want any medical intervention. Here's what I believe. Here's what I want. And then as soon as she starts seizing, the doctors conductor, you know, which is not presented as like a great outcome. It's an incredibly tense and dramatic scene, but it is an example of so crazy. And we should talk about it. It's just on its own merits, but I'm just saying they, the show knows what it's doing when it gives them a chance for things to get easy for them when it gets hard. And the show is also being its best self, I think when it ends with Robbie holding the baby and telling the baby that the baby he's going to be fine, that everything's okay and that the baby's going to have a lot of love in her life. And I will say this is probably something that that I've said as a parent, I'm sure Eric Rashant has said this to Kapocene, his screenwriting daughter. Yeah. But he doesn't know that. I can't. I've said it to Vijay Edge coming in and he doesn't know that either. You know, I'm just building my son. I think in that case, you're right. I think you have some certainty that it's going to be fine for him. So maybe you're choosing wisely. I just mean that like that, that the illusion of control at the heart of the show is woven more subtly through the episode than I think the View Maxors, who are just like, let's pound this, I might appreciate. The subtle kind of details in Robbie's like, so here's one thing that I thought was really interesting. The sort of action set piece of this episode is an emergency C section where the lives of both the mother and the baby you mentioned, this woman who is wants to do a wild birth and is refused all prenatal care and doesn't want any medicine and is like ultrasounds and Abbott asks her why and she's like women have been giving birth for thousands of years and he's like at a like 30% mortality rate. You know, that's, this is crazy. We have all this stuff for you. She starts seizing. She's pre-eclampsia. At that point, she it becomes full of clumsy. Yeah. I didn't know that. I'm neither did I that that was a transition and all the hitters are in the room. The night shift is rocking out and Robbie is brought in kind of like as the closer Edwin Diaz coming out of the bullpen and I thought it was interesting. No, Durran. You're giving it. You're wearing the fillies hat today but you're still keeping them guessing. You are appealing to all 50 states. He comes in and he sees what's happening and he's obviously been in and out of this room and he kind of has his own seizure. He has his emotional kind of like I fucking can't make the last patient I see before God knows what happens to me is going to be the death of a mother. and or a newborn. And he has like a moment where they're like, bro, like glove up, let's go. And then what they do is essentially the pit version of of the heat bank robbery. I mean, it is the most gripping kind of, you know, stomach turning. If you, you know, it's it's it's among the more visceral things that they've done on this show. It was a masterpiece of technique. It was like, I was like, I forgot to breathe for two and a half minutes. It was just one of them. What was your appgar score? I was blue. Hello. They bring McCain. It's just an incredible scene, dude. I don't know if you were able to watch it. Like, oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, no, I as a girl, dad, see sections are cool. Yeah, it feels like a nine or 12 year old. I'd be like, I can't watch this. But like, it's a nine year old falls in a pool. You're like, no, it's a sliding window. I care about what I care about. Yeah. That's how you feel about rookies. It's into the second year players. I'm interested in G league development guys. That's right. What did you think of the scene? Oh, I was just going to say like that they did not put to find a point on the fact that the very thing that Robbie is sort of saying is happening to Braun, which is you kind of aren't unable to do procedures. Almost happens to him. Yeah. I also just in that moment, I in that moment, when I'm just watching the technical brilliance of the people who make this show executing something on such a high level with the choreography of the actors, the performance of the actors, the lighting, the camera movement, the stuff I usually don't even look at or care about like the how real does this love viscera. Yeah. Truly was unmatched. And I also really liked the way again. It's just these little things that they decided to do, which is the last two episodes we will focus very, very intently on one horrific, potentially bad outcome medical scene per episode last week. It was Langdon resetting the guy's spine. Yeah. And this week it was it was this birth. And look, it's a it's a five-tool player as a show. They're showing you what they can do in miniature as well as what they've done in the past with chaos. So, what do we? Oh, go be lost to patient. The teacher who was really nice. Yeah. Louis died. Yep. That's a pretty good game. Well, there's the someone lost the leg above the knee. But it could have been worse. It could have been worse. Yeah. So yours take on the day was pretty good good game, guys. I for all the adversity that they faced with the digital stuff. It's true. You know, everybody's really tired. They're charting while they're while they're working and stuff. It's true. Well, let's let's talk about the show's relationship with catastrophe because one thing that happens over time in any TV show, even not medical ones, is we just feel so close, so much empathy, so connected to characters that we really just want good outcomes for them and we want them to win and often shows start to service the audience as well. I thought one of the smart things that this episode did and I don't know, I'd be curious to ask if we get the chance to talk to Noah again, how they discuss this in the writers room, how much thought they give to perception. What I mean by that is there were a number of moments in this episode where even I feel like I have a pretty good read on how the show operates, but even I am not immune to being like Dr. Alashimi shouldn't be driving on a roof right now. Oh, yes. This goes back to the old like Don and Sally Draper in a car and being like, please, please don't get an accident. Because back further to Diana Moldauer on L.A. Law as Rosalind, whatever, stepping into an elevator shaft. Like that, like there was an even Mohan being like, well, is that her last scene? She's standing in the ambulance bay and those Ambo drivers get a little while. They clip the edges sometimes. Wondering if that was going to happen whether or not that like the way that that ended left the door open for supraigandesh to come back to the show. Well, I think the doors are always open for characters on the show. It's unlike E.R. thus far helicopters aren't falling on them. You know, like they are just medical professionals in other cities. And the show, which is very smart, can be clever about bringing people in and out for short stays, long stays, callbacks, whatever. So I think that that's always, always in play. Even the season, not really, not ultimately that important for the storyline, but something to note that they might consider again is when the night charge nurse shows up, you know, 10 a.m. as a death doula, right? Or that, or that, you know, people have others like Abbott, people have other jobs. Yeah, they have hobbies. And they can show up as patients as well. The alashimi ending note of her in her car, I thought it was very well done. And I thought that that's a character who has not been given a lot of like room to like kind of stretch out, she's very buttoned up character. Yes. And I even just like watching her like walk out with her headphones in like I was like, this is cool to see this moment with this person. I thought they were setting it up for Robbie finds her, her like water bottle and is going to go like run after her like apologizes to her at the car or maybe she does have an episode and he saves her or whatever. So it was interesting that that was not how it ended. And that's just basically like this woman at a crossroads in her life. As are many of these characters, I was going to mention to you the, well, I want to talk about Langdon Orlando had a bad outcome. What happened to him? He fell off something that was too small, potentially. I'm just kind of flipping about it. This is an interesting development of the second season is that you know, from our Hawaiian death prayer to there's a dead guy in the waiting room and Orlando should have picked a higher place to jump from is like a little bit of a change of tone. A little gallows humor. We talked a little bit about Mohan. I like I said, wouldn't have known that she was leaving unless there had been 50, 500 articles about it. What do you think about the Greek chorusification of Whitaker, Mel, McKay, and Santos? And like basically keeping them around for three episodes after their shift ends to sit at a computer and banter, but having little to no dramatic arc for any of them. Well, other than Mel's sister, I guess there. I mean, I think that's something that I would imagine they are going to try to look at, and they're just finishing the writers room for season three, but that they are looking at and what to do. Like Robbie is the main character of the show, and he shares that distinction a little bit, I guess, with the ED itself. And maybe Dana, there's one B. There's not a lot of a story real estate to go around on the show, and to that point, making the decision that they he's now said publicly, which is a much shorter time jump. So it does sound like they'll be going from July or to winter-ish. Yeah. We'll allow them to pick up these characters more rapidly and thus continue a story. Maybe they've established this season. The attempts to give each one of these smaller characters some individual arc, I think was really hit or miss if we're looking back on the course of the season. I think that Mikae wanting to have a personal life. Great color episode to episode. She's giving a great performance, but I don't think that really landed. Well, they're not going to go out on the date with her. So it's almost like she would have to have left at like eight o'clock and been like, I have a date today. So I can't do it. Yeah. Mel being forced to do a second deposition, just doesn't really hit for me. I mean, not if we're not going to see the deposition. Also, what was the case? What are the states? It's the case from the year before where I think her and LSD is spinal tap. It's from season one. Oh, it is. Okay. So maybe that's my fault that I was like, I can't talk about what I said, but I want to tell you, like, you're a good doctor. So that might come back since LSD is now also being upstream to the day, day shift. Javati, maybe more successful because also that was the most ER in its small moments way. I think the most ER plot line because one of the challenges ER had was like, how will we keep these characters here? And her becoming an emergency mental like emergency psychiatry. So she's going to be on the show now. Obviously, she's going to be on the show, but that locks her in. Yeah. It's like that dude, the pirates just called up and they was like, they played two games, cover Griffin and they're like two games. Like, here's a nine year contract. The Tigers just did that too. It's a great time to be 19 and the MLB. That's so sick. Eight years 150. Did you know that like, when did we start this pod, 2012? Like mid 2013, I went to Bill and I was like, lock me up. Please 10 year deal. He was like, no, bet on yourself. Yeah, look where it got me. Still here waiting for that. Wait for that day. If the rule you followed brought you back to me anyway. Yeah, like the difference, I think with with someone like Whitaker is the Whitaker's role really is mini Robbie. So what Robbie does now kind of reflects on him, how he is being a doctor, how he is showing up. What he's so it's interesting watching the show figure this out. And I genuinely don't again with no actual knowledge of what's going on behind the scenes. I really am exhausted by the assumptions by a rabid fandom that there's some conspiracy plot to get rid of Supriya Ganesh and Dr. Mohan. Like, sometimes characters don't take flight and it's not about the actor. And I'm sure that people involved with the show would never blame her. It's they couldn't find a place for this character, a place for her to go. Yes. I also, I mean, like, I enjoy the character. I enjoy the performance quite a bit. One of my least favorite things about TV shows is when they're just like, and we've also added six more people. And yet we're going to try and make room for the original six, the new six and all the people in the background. I want to talk a little bit about Langdon, who I was a bit surprised, got like the arc that he did the season. I suppose and this is in relationship to the Greek classification of those other characters that I mentioned. Santos, especially, who I think was much more central to the first season and in this season is more like kind of like over it and also making a lot of jokes, but didn't really have like a huge moment other than her confrontation with Langdon, which I thought was quite good. This karaoke erasure will not stand because they, they, they, they chickened out and didn't leave the hospital. I wanted to see them rocking out and singing. You clearly turned off the show too fast. Did they go to karaoke after the fireworks? Yes. Oh, I did. I was, I was, I was testing you there. Yeah. Yeah. How's karaoke? What'd she sing? They sing. You ought to know. Oh, that's good. She and Mel rocking out on stage together. And that's how the season is. That's just a might be. Yeah. Yeah. Marvel movies taught you anything. It's stay tuned through the credits. You get a little stinger. Yeah. It said executive producer and then, and then you heard the music. Oh, come on. Yeah, dude. Yeah. What do you guys want for me? I'm, I'm grinding a lot of tape here, you know? You would have seen conformity gate too if you had just kept it rolling. What's conformity gate? Isn't that the, that's the stranger things episode that came out of the finale? Yes. Well, I saw. I saw it. I saw it. It's one of my large language models. That's what LLM stands for, right? Sure. Type it into Google. I dare you. It's probably something quite, quite obscene. Yeah, they show karaoke. Anyway, Langdon did not get invited. He also took off setting boundaries for himself. Well, actually, he doesn't. He comes back down. Has this fight with Robbie. I will say for a brief split second, I thought that dude was going to have some, some dirty work in his pockets when they're like turning pockets out, it's like, yeah, this guy have a perk. What's going on? Yeah. He did not. He did not. Viewer, he did not. He was clean and sober and he does his drug test. Mm-hmm. Maybe it's a little cocky. Pun intended. Yeah. I mean, he does his drug test. He goes up. He sees that mercilady lost her leg but saved her life. Yep. Goes back downstairs and pops off at Robbie a little bit. He does. He does. I don't know if that's in the steps. I don't know if that's part of the program but he is just like, you know, like, I'm doing the work. I came back, I showed I belong here, but I could have paralyzed that guy. Like, I don't know what kind of teaching methods this is now. And he's like, everybody knows you're on the edge and you need to get help. You need help. I thought that was decent because one thing that you will notice if you watch last three episodes is that Robbie has not made much of a secret of his despair, you know, like he has talked to Duke about it. Dana obviously can see it. Abit can obviously see it if everybody's talking, you know, about this. What did you think of the Langdon arc and what did you think of that moment with him? I've decided to double down on my number one criticism of the show, which is that someone's got a fuck his hair up. I thought I've done some time, I've done some work. I've done some reflection on how I just called that out a few weeks ago and the reaction it got, frankly, in this room, is the least important thing I could possibly care about. And I've decided it does matter. And I hope that the powers that he listened to this note, because this man just worked fifteen hours through, through, through savage back pain, which he's treating with it. And also show up wearing a Pittsburgh penguins hat. Right. Which would have had an effect on the look. I just want to see that he's been through the day that we've seen him be through, that we've seen him go through. Everyone else that, like, a little bit, they look a little bit worse for it. Yeah. It looks amazing. Okay. I am. I genuinely notice. I would say, I'm done. I turned off the episode after that. No. I think that the worst tendencies of the pit are the fact that within the structure that they've created and the way that they have to process time and story, that when the tide goes out and suddenly characters have a brief moment to talk, there's almost too much pressure on that moment to deliver something that feels as natural and humanistic as much of the rest of the show when it's at its normal cadence. That happened last week when Whitaker popped off at Langdon all of a sudden and was it consistent with how he probably was feeling based on what we've seen? Sure. But we've never seen them talk to each other like that and it felt kind of jarring. Yes. I felt similarly about this scene. It was meaningful. It had to happen. It was foreshadowed appropriately when Robbie had realized that he wanted to say something to him before he left and asked Dana where he went. It was better dramatically that it wasn't another learning hug at the end of the season. It gives us somewhere else to go. But also in the flow of the episode, as it was delivered to us, it was another one-on-one scene where someone tells Robbie a version of "You Need Help Man." Yeah. And we've had a couple of those. It was a different tenor. It was a different relationship. Yeah. We've had screaming. We've had take accountability. We've had uranarsisis. We've had you've got to like embrace the darkness like like we've had hugs. And I thought it was actually like on in a total a really amazing portrait of the importance of like talking to people and the importance of like, you know, in some way, I think that this episode or the season has been Robbie's cry for help and he seems like it's been heard a fair amount. I thought the, conversely, I thought the Abbott scene was pretty spectacular. Yeah, man. The two guys blackin' out in that scene. He's incredible. And it's the right level of intensity and guys don't talk about feelings but also some jokes but also. But maybe guys do talk about feelings if they save two lives and like just dump a bunch of pads inside of an empty stomach. I wondered if you were going to ask about that. That's just like, that's the crazy shit with doctrine where like, they'll be like, oh, we have to do all this elaborate. Like, don't do this to the vein and like, move that and like, we're going to do this crazy laser underneath. And then one part of it will be like, shove a ton of gauze into this guy's gut. And let's see if we can stop the bleeding. And that is what they did during the Civil War. Like you guys have to have developed different fucking techniques. Okay. Now, to be fair, they did not have gauze in the Civil War. We're starting pictures anymore. Why are you guys still pumping gauze into people's stomachs? I also thought it's a little. What are they going to get it out? That's what I was going to say. Is this all? No. It's a little bit of a fun game for the friends upstairs. Yeah. A guy is like, fine. My gosh. You texted me 12 minutes ago. What the fuck happened down here? It also wears all my gauze. Yeah. Can I reuse it? Um, I really liked, I liked when Abbott, I liked the Abbott line about, I'm your emergency contact. And I do not want to be contacted. I thought that was a great line. And I just thought the way that they spoke to my emergency contact. Uh-huh. Cool. We'll find out. I guess we're going to find out. I got a motorcycle trip coming out. You're going to cut your brakes and just to see what if you just got a, what if you got a call being like, thank God we've reached you, your Andy's emergency contact, hippo laws prohibit us telling you much, but his entire midsection is bursting with gauze. I'm like, sounds like you guys saved. I was like, you got it. And then you'd be like that George Bush meme, you're like, now watch this drive. We got probably a, it sounds like a six month time jump coming, uh, so it'll be interesting to see whether that is geared both because they want to get some, some autumnal/winter disasters going. But, and I, you know, maybe we can get like a hockey rent kind of situation, whatever. Yeah. Penguins. Uh, but also like that would put Alashimi and Robby on track to be back in if they want to do that. Uh, great season. Do you feel? I loved it. Last thing. I, you know, there's two, two types of discourse that I, well, there's many types of discourse that I don't like. But the purposes of the show, one that I really have no time for is to like give this man all the Emmys now, but the second one I also don't like is this blank spin-off when that said this show is just heaving for a night shifts, but like it is this episode when not only does it let Abbott take center stage, but he is leading his crew in a bespoke chance saying that they are night crawlers. This is my one prediction for season three is in the same way that they did Abbott shows up briefly in the first half of the season and then runs like the last three or four is a much bigger presence. I do wonder if we get like three episodes, four episodes of Abbott now is finishing a shift. Yeah. I think we should, I think it would be great to start the season. Just because Ellis is being brought up to she can go to main cast. And then that would be like, that would be really interesting. If day shifts has to come in and like whatever, what could happen in the morning, like a big tractor trailer accident out there outside of Pittsburgh? I don't think this can happen or will happen for a variety of like specific production-based reasons, but it has definitely at least been floated that if they could get the timing right, they could run the pit all year by alternating use of the set by having a day shift. Could you handle that as a viewer? Yeah. I think it wouldn't really serve anyone other than potentially future owner of the hospital David Ellison, like I don't. I think just in terms of the bastardization of story and attention, it's probably not worth it. But could I handle it? Yeah, I actively, I feel quite sad that that was the finale because I enjoy this job, but I also just enjoy having a show like that to watch. It's, it's unique. It's close to the feeling of one of those monocultural shows that we know and love where I feel like anticipation for the moment that I'm going to turn it on and excitement to talk about it afterwards. And just eagerness to turn it off, apparently, even before it ends. That's my bad. I thought when I got to our Scott Jemmel, it was all, I'm all clear. You just keep, there was a little, with dulcetones of Alanis Morisette. I'm gonna start putting fake, fake stinger podcast moments where I'm just like, after you've left, I'm gonna be like, you should. During the credits, let's do top chef for a few minutes here. Okay. That was the pit finale thumbs up. From the pit hospital to the barbecue pit. That's right. Spoilers for top chef. And I will say, we're gonna get a little bit granular here about top chef as a production. So spoilers also for last chance kitchen. Yeah, we have to, we have to. I begin at the end. Is that okay? Do it, do what you need to do. What happened? What happened there? So Seager loses on the show itself. Yep. You can debate whether or not like his, he was, was he falling on a sword? Was he making some great hero move to like, cook the whole hog himself and stay up all night and cook the toughest part of the, the pig. I don't know enough about pigs to tell you, you know? Like, there was, I thought Lawrence did a great job. There were some good looking dishes, but for the most part, this seemed like a very difficult challenge. Yeah. So a complicated one in so much as it was two teams, a captain, but then there was, you know, Justin's cooking, but with like, Jen's milk bread that everybody seemed to love. Yada, yada, Seager loses. I wouldn't say he lost like entirely gracefully. He seemed a little bit like, see fucking soon dog, you know, to everybody. They go to last chance kitchen and Tom is like, basically like, I can't explain what's going on, but we don't have a challenger for Rhoda. Well, all will be revealed in next week's main episode, he says based so the operating theory seems to be that next week. There's two main, there's two potential outcomes. Yeah, go for it. Jen will have to drop out of the competition before even a quick fire starts. And because of that, and because she's sort of been on warning about like, you have to compete if you're going to be here. 65 game rule. They will pull her from the competition and Seager will automatically go back in. Because he was the last one eliminated. What's the other theory? The other theory is that he threw a hissy fit and said, you guys all suck. I'm out of here. I'm not going to do your funny little after show, which has only ever happened one other time. Oh, really? The guy with the hat who got eliminated first, the season two seasons ago, David, I think, he made like garbage pizza with his business. No offense, but I think his business was literally like, you know, I'm pizza, but with everything on it. No, pizza with like scraps that other restaurants throw. Yeah, yeah, he was like dumpster diving, right? And he didn't go to last chance kitchen. No. Right. Look at your face. You like people who compete. It's incredible. This has really got your blood out. I could see both happening. And I definitely already begin. I mean, people do receive what's known as the villain edit often in reality shows. And I express my displeasure at Seager's attitude towards the children previous week. Yes. For example, I don't think he would like the show Bandy at all, because he's not interested in people who collaborate with adult children. But I also felt like the top chef is as far from the most people's baseline understanding of reality TV as it can get. I think it doesn't really go for soap operatives. Like interpersonal dramas. And it's mostly, especially in the last 15 seasons, just generally uninterested in that. And I think that's to its credit. That said, whether it's the edit or just the guy himself, Seager was incredibly unlikable in the over these last two weeks, I felt his like the way that it was cutting to him. I mean, one fun thing this season, this I am watching it with my kids and like, them's not really yet knowing the rhythms of the show in which they don't understand that if you get the interview where they talk about their family or background, that means they're either winning or losing. Yeah. And you don't know which. Yes. So the way that Seager was like, you know, I've trained with Rodney Scott and I've done all these things with setting him up to lose. But like TV can reveal things even if, you know, it's not necessarily malicious edit. And the he was so tight and so resentful and angry about how things should be done that he was definitely Yeah. Set himself a failure and set up for a potential. I believe his final interview in this episode didn't look like other final interviews have been. Like he seemed to be in a different space that potentially this was done. And that could be either because he bailed or because he had to film that talking headpiece separate from the normal talking headpieces because of whatever had happened. Yeah, I don't know exactly. I'd be curious to know maybe they wouldn't tell us about when they shoot last chance kitchen in relationship to the episodes. I think in times it has been like this person walked out of an elimination and into last chance kitchen. I've also heard that there have been seasons in which they shoot last chance kitchen over a course of like two days closer to the end of production. Interesting. If you want to show like before they go, like it's basically like you win last chance kitchen over the course of two days and go right back into the regular I believe that's right. It catches you up to that point. Right. Everyone who signs up for the show is committed to like a blackout. They have to be there for those four to six weeks. But like theoretically, like not I could have to sit in last chance kitchen for two weeks or something like that. Yeah, we're just in the hotel. Yeah, exactly. The the strangeness in last chance kitchen did create a pretty fun. I mean, I kind of liked the chaos of it because Tom was clearly like, I don't know what's going on. And then the nature of the challenge that they'd come up with was so bizarre and specific and like he made them put duck heads into everything. But I also kind of liked the fact that there were two chefs there who were eliminated and he was just like, just come and try to win money. Yeah, I thought that was cool. I thought it was cool. I thought it just spoke to perhaps a flaw in the engineering of the television show like in the production itself, if like, depending on when they're shooting this and whatever. And like just the fact that you leave an episode of TV and you're like, I don't really understand what happened, but not on a cliffhanger way. More in it like, Tom seems unprepared for what's just happened. Do you have any other big notes from the show itself? Just another great challenge in what's been a good season. I really like that they made them do something incredibly specific and hard. There was no quick fire. It was a whole hog cook all night. People and little nuts stay up all night. I definitely, what do you think is easier? Neither is easy. But do you think it's easier to stay up all night and then plate a delicious hog dish or stay up essentially all night and then deliver a baby and save a mother suffering from a clamsia? - The question is, have you ever done the flight is so early I'm just gonna stay up all night? - No, I can't do that. That's the, I think in any situation I would be like, I'm gonna go get a couple hours of sleep somewhere. - Yeah. - Like my brain needs to shut down for a second. So I would rather personally, just for the memories, do the C-section, you know? - That's not where I thought you were gonna go. - But I could be the God's guy 'cause it seems like that's just like put a bunch of God's in the stomach. - Did you, first of all, you're safe. - Do you use technique to that? - People don't know just about you. (laughing) - Edge can love it under! - You could be like, did you see the video of the kid who's sunk the half-port for 10 grand at the sexist game? - Yes. - And then fucking Maxi and PGK about doing that. - That's you. Even long-time listeners probably don't understand that there was a period about 20 years ago when you had spent a lot of time watching House MD and thus sort of fancied yourself a bit of an amateur medicine man. And anytime anyone was slightly ill or perhaps hung over, your suggestion was a towel of indeterminate temperature? - Yeah, sometimes cold, sometimes hot. - We turned to you at like the wise sage him and be like, Chris, I'm suffering from these ailments and you'd be like, hot towel around the neck. - I don't think that was from House. - You don't think? - I mean, I think I was watching House but I think it was more just like, I need you to rally. You know, like, that's probably true, too. - That's probably true, too. - Speaking of sports. - Yeah. Switch it. I'm wearing Eagle's Green. And that's what I want to talk to you about. - My wardrobe choices. Last night, during the Sixers play in game. - Oh yeah. - First of all, I thought I found you very quiet yesterday and not particularly chatty with me. That's fine. These days happen, but I didn't think that you were like engaging with me. - Do you want to talk about that? - No, that was fine because that's not abnormal. What I didn't like is that when Zach and I were texting about the Sixers incredible performance against the Orlando Magic. The only sporting event that anyone cared about that last night, you were like, you guys are so loyal. - Yeah. - And I was like, don't fucking do that. - No, this is a safe space where we talk about our obsessions and our fandom. And you're like, you guys really like the Sixers. And I was like, are you being held for fucking ransom? Like, what is going on? - I'm kind of, my heart has been bruised too much. I'm kind of in proven mode with them. Like, I kind of-- - It's Wednesday night. What were you doing? Clearly I had a full lay and the fact that it's driving you crazy. You don't know what I did yesterday. That's okay. I was monitoring the situation. I, but I think they had eyes on the game are always such an abuelient, like, gregarious fan. You're just like, guys, because hello, brothers, like, what's Philly's sporting event is happening today? You're like, you guys like this shit, huh? First of all, it was a bit of a brushback pitch because I have definitely sent a disproportionate share of Andrew Painter text slash, do you think we're going to get Kenyan Sadek at 23 texts? And frankly, some crickets, some mock draft content I sent your way, no one responded to. And then it will be like, this won't happen. But what if it did? First of all, it wasn't Barnwell. It was NBC Sports Philadelphia dot com. So click the link. Anyway, this is my journalism. This is why you're like, it's probably bill Barnwell. I love Barnwell, but I was like, I saw that on ESPN dot com and I was like, this is speculated. You didn't even see it. Yeah. You don't even know the fantasy situation that I was sharing with you for no reason on a Tuesday at 3 p.m. Okay. The, the fucking sixers, man. Like, come on, come on. You don't understand. They're, it's Jekyll and Hyde, man. I do understand it every time it's. Jekyll is out there. It's like watching a Bronisaurus, like move across a pasture, and you're just like, this is not fun. But when it's VJ and Maxi and play off P, I know, but you clear, you're still trusting. Here's the thing. I love Dr. Jekyll. I am a patient with Dr. Jekyll. I make appointments to see Dr. Jekyll. And then I'm, well, I'm, while he's examining me, I'm like, you want to hang out sometime? Yeah. I've gotten too close to Dr. Jekyll. Do you know what Dr. Jekyll is like when you get too close to it? Dr. Jekyll, Joel, and being this, no, it's the fucking team because then I'm like, yeah, maybe this team has a chance. Then Paul George is suspended for taking drugs. Yes. And then I'm like, hey, Dr. Jekyll, you're looking good again. And then Dr. Jekyll's like, oh, my appendix is just burst before the playoffs have begun. I don't have the, okay. Okay. I'm battered. I'm old. You know, I don't want you to ever think that when I don't respond to your draft, your deep, deep, deep draft lore, that it's anything about like, it's not that I don't find it interesting. But I guess what I should do is be like, you sure do read a lot. I do. I read a lot of New York Review of Books content, like the great Nancy Lemmon book that I'm reading the Lives of the Saints, New Orleans, the 80s. Come on. You're going to love this book. I also read a lot of draft content. Yeah. I'm very excited about the upcoming NFL draft. I am too hot for you. Before we go to that, I would also say that the reason why I was particularly salty about the about the six years is because I did peek in on our fight and fills. And it's just. Hey, don't you know what they say? Don't even check the standings until game 60. It's all noise. It's no signal. Who says that? The rates and barrels guy at the athletic podcast. Wow. And they were like, don't even worry about it until game 60. It's like, yeah, you could have a disaster season and at game 60, you might not be in it. But yeah, it's all noise. The signal doesn't start till game 60. Okay. Yeah. That's very calm. Yeah. I love that. Do we have a rule about that for television shows because I've never found it? No. I mean, that's the problem with TV is that either I'm not hanging out till game 60. It's too long. Yeah. I honestly, I'll be completely honest as we're doing after dark. I got I got I realized why I don't like reading reviews is that if I get warmed off a show, I'm not really looking forward to the prospect of watching eight hours of beef. If it's not good. Right. But I'll watch anything that's a bad movie. I don't give a shit. Oh, for sure. It's a time thing. Yeah. But it's just like eight hours of like something that doesn't work out and is like kind of not focused. But who knows? Maybe the critics are wrong. And maybe we are the critics that matter. You know, it's possible. Or maybe we are going to turn vegan from it. What's your hot draft take? I can't share it on on on a recording. What? I'll be I will share it. Like then we have to cut it. I'll be completely honest with you. This is sorry. Sorry. And don't we know if anybody beat this. This is going to be great. When that was my draft take. And we didn't we didn't include it in the podcast because Daniel Jeremiah could never thanks to Andy Greenwald. I thought you did a really good job today. Thank you. But I am just just rookie numbers compared to what you've done today. Sarah Kaya Kai. Thank you so much for being here. And thank you so much for witnessing my last pod. If that tape ever gets out. And we'll be back on Monday. Euphoria beef. Margot's got money problems. Big show for us. Yeah. Big show. Big big big show. And we'll talk about since I didn't realize you were so swayed by reviews. How engaged you are with euphoria season three. The reviews? Well, no, you you just were like room reviews are bad. I don't want to watch it. Now you're like it's leavenson time. Big Sam coming through. Nobody has his finger on the pulse of young America more. Yeah, you honestly got a point there. Also, I keep going along for the ride. I love it. Thank you for riding shotgun with me. See you guys on Monday. [BLANK_AUDIO]

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. Chris Ryan and Indigree Waltz discuss recent TV developments, including the launch of a new series by Eric Rochant titled *Bandy* on Netflix.
  2. *Bandy* is a crime drama set in Martinique, created by Rashant and his daughter, focusing on an intergenerational family navigating trauma and drug trade challenges.
  3. The show is praised for its visual authenticity, rich character development, and global storytelling, though early episodes lack narrative surprise or verve.
  4. The episode features a strong emphasis on realism, including non-professional actors and authentic use of cell phones, which enhances immersion without artificiality.
  5. The discussion highlights a broader industry shift toward international productions, with shows increasingly shooting abroad despite rising costs.
  6. A major new development is the *White Lotus* season 4, set during the Cannes Film Festival, with filming at two properties—San Tropez and the Quassette—adding a unique cultural and location-based narrative.
  7. There is growing concern about the industry’s economic and creative sustainability, including studio relocations, pilot season uncertainty, and the impact of inflation and protest movements.
  8. The panel expresses cautious optimism about new series like *Bandy* and *The Bureau* remake, while noting a need for more nuanced storytelling that avoids clichés and over-reliance on shock value.

Summary:

The discussion centers on recent developments in television, from new international series to major shifts in production logistics. A standout is *Bandy*, a crime drama on Netflix created by Eric Rochant and his daughter, set in Martinique and following a large family grappling with trauma and drug trade dynamics. Though the pilot shows promise in its setting and character depth, it lacks narrative surprise or energy, and relies on familiar tropes from shows like *Peaky Blinders*.

The show is commended for its authentic, immersive world-building and natural use of technology, such as cell phones, which avoids artificial storytelling. The conversation also highlights broader industry trends, including the growing trend of filming in Europe or other global locations for cost and authenticity, despite budgetary concerns. The *White Lotus* season 4 is announced to take place during the Cannes Film Festival, with filming at two properties, offering a fresh, culturally grounded narrative.

The panel reflects on the challenges of sustaining the television industry amid rising costs and creative fatigue, noting a shift from high-stakes, fast-paced pilots to more grounded, character-driven storytelling. While some series, like *Bandy*, are still in early stages, the discussion underscores a growing appetite for international and culturally rich content. Additionally, the conversation touches on how TV shows are balancing audience expectations with creative integrity, noting that shows like *The Pit* carefully avoid over-reliance on chaos or shock, instead focusing on internal emotional arcs and realistic human struggles.

Overall, the episode promotes a balanced view: excitement about new content, but also a critical awareness of narrative fatigue and economic pressures shaping the industry.

FAQs

The new Netflix series created by Eric Rochant is called 'Bandy'.

Bandy is set in Martinique and follows the LaFlure family, an 11-member family grappling with a family tragedy and deciding the future of their family business, including their involvement in the drug trade.

Yes, 'Bandy' is a family-centered crime drama that stands out by being set in Martinique and featuring a large, multi-generational family navigating crime and legacy in a new international context, unlike shows like Peaky Blinders set in Birmingham.

Chris Ryan found the first episode visually impressive and well-crafted, praising the show's detailed world-building and strong character introductions, though he noted it lacked immediate energy or surprise.

Unlike 'Peaky Blinders' or 'The Bureau', 'Bandy' is set in a lesser-known location (Martinique), features a large extended family, and explores intergenerational family dynamics within a drug trade context, offering a fresh international perspective.

Yes, 'Bandy' follows a similar style to 'The Bureau' in terms of its intricate storytelling and focus on international espionage or criminal networks, though it shifts to a crime family drama set in Martinique.

Chat with AI

Loading...

Pro features

Go deeper with this episode

Unlock creator-grade tools that turn any transcript into show notes and subtitle files.