Tag Archives: Apple TV+

The Toy Department – Episode 445

  By toyAdmin | February 6, 2026 - 11:18 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 445, Madden and Kolsky briefly address the results of the Toy Department Derby (if it can be so called) before moving into:

  • Kolsky’s dad’s recommendation, the Bert Kreischer show Free Bert on Netflix (4:15), which neither of our hosts disliked, per se, but nobody here can exactly recommend…
  • This week’s Oscar film Sentimental Value (11:25) and how Madden and Kolsky’s differing expectations may have contributed to their differing experiences with the film…
  • The good-time action flick The Wrecking Crew (24:25) and the value of having some fun at the movies…
  • The return of Shrinking (33:05), the emotional journey that makes it one of the best shows out right now, and the work of creator/showrunner Bill Lawrence…
  • Some sports thoughts (40:00) with the Super Bowl on deck and the NBA’s trade deadline just passed…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now (53:10), including: the Richard Linklater film Blue Moon (with Oscar-nominated Ethan Hawke), the Best Picture-nominated Brazilian film The Secret Agent, the new-to-Netflix Ethan Coen movie Honey Don’t, and the new Netflix series How To Get To Heaven From Belfast…

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The Toy Department – Episode 438

  By toyAdmin | November 14, 2025 - 1:16 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 438, Madden and Kolsky get right down to business to avoid Kolsky’s scheduling conflicts:

  • The last two weeks of action on The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (1:11) where the latest episode featured some delightful high drama, continuing rookie behavior from a vet and a fascinating new elimination… and we are set up for a heck of stretch run!
  • Tracy Morgan’s new Paramount+ sitcom Crutch (23:25) and how it is really for people who love the old-school, traditional sitcom format (and apparently the show The Neighborhood with Cedric the Entertainer)…
  • The new HBO Max comedy I Love LA (26:30), Derek’s developing distaste for Rachel Sennott and an interesting comparison to a long-running and beloved show in a different city…
  • Netflix’s new Colin Farrell film Ballad of a Small Player (30:25) and how our hosts wish the movie was better, because Farrell’s performance is typically awesome…
  • Vince Gilligan’s new Apple TV+ show Pluribus (35:25) and how Rhea Seehorn should be in everything and we should cherish our television masters while we have them…
  • A few thoughts on Victor Wembenyama (55:15) and the place of dynasties in sports…
  • Homework for next week (1:04:05), including: another episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, the Eddie Murphy docu-series Being Eddie on Netflix, the return of Landman on Paramount+ and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (also on Netflix), plus MAYBE season 2 of A Man on the Inside (time permitting) and Sinners (Derek-watching-it permitting)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 433

  By toyAdmin | September 19, 2025 - 1:04 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 433, Madden and Kolsky literally discuss the weather before they finally get into it with:

  • The latest from The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (3:35) after the demise of the Justice for Leka movement…
  • The new Spike Lee joint Highest 2 Lowest (24:40) and whether Denzel is too old for this sh*t…
  • Prime Video’s new thriller The Girlfriend (35:50) and how (and why) it doesn’t quite rise to the level of must-watch…
  • The return of Gen V (43:20) and further thoughts on The Boys cinematic universe…
  • Homework for next week (we forgot to actually mention it in the episode 😬), including: the next episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, Netflix’s new show Black Rabbit and Sterlin Harjo’s new series The Lowdown on FX…

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The Toy Department – Episode 431

  By toyAdmin | September 5, 2025 - 11:30 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 431, Madden and Kolsky discuss their IRL meet-up between podcasts before getting down to brass tacks on:

  • The last two weeks of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats (7:00) and the thrilling elimination that crowned the most recent episode…
  • The baffling and distinctly not funny comedy The Pickup (22:50) and how exactly we end up making things that make no sense…
  • The disappointing film The Phoenician Scheme (28:40) and whether the career of Wes Anderson has ceased to be a source of interest…
  • The excellent Freaky Tales (34:30) and its love affair with Oakland…
  • A revisiting of Apple TV+’s insane show Smoke (43:05) and how the not-especially-good-but-totally-ridiculous blueprint seems to be working for them…
  • Homework for next week (51:45), including: the next episode of The Challenge: Vets & New Threats, the Office spin-off The Paper, HBO’s new crime drama Task and the Amazon Prime teen band show The Runarounds…

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The Toy Department – Episode 426

  By toyAdmin | July 11, 2025 - 10:57 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 426, Madden and Kolsky spend entirely too long on Kolsky’s new cold brew coffee formula before shaking it off to discuss:

  • The police-procedural-style crime drama Dept. Q on Netflix (4:30) and why one of our hosts loved it and the other turned it off…
  • Apple TV+’s fire-crime-drama Smoke (10:05) and how, again, one of our hosts loved it and the other turned it off…
  • Some love for the newest season of The Bear (18:00) and what it looks like to make essentially perfect television…
  • Some soccer transfer talk (31:20) as the Club World Cup Final against PSG looms for Chelsea…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now (44:00), including: the return of Michael C. Hall in Dexter: Resurrection, the new Charlize Theron action movie The Old Guard 2, Lena Dunham’s new show Too Much on Netflix and the Bosch spinoff Ballard on Amazon Prime Video…

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The Toy Department – Episode 423

  By toyAdmin | June 6, 2025 - 10:54 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 423, Madden and Kolsky make haste with pleasantries and hustle their way through:

  • The penultimate episode of Top Chef: Destination Canada (2:25) where one of Kolsky’s beloved Chicago chefs headed home from Milan…
  • The HBO Max film Mountainhead (7:25) and the Succession team’s take on the tech bro-pocalypse…
  • Hulu’s new 20-somethings-in-the-city sitcom Adults (16:35) and whether our hosts are too old to reasonably evaluate it…
  • Apple TV+’s frivolous new show Stick (23:35) and the ever-confounding question of what Apple TV+ is doing as a studio…
  • A few thoughts on the NBA Finals (29:40) after a remarkable Game 1 upset by Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers…
  • Homework for next week (40:20), including: the final finalé of Top Chef: Destination Canada, the Bong Joon Ho film Mickey 17 on HBO Max, a discussion on Sinners now that Derek can see it at home, and the thriller series The Better Sister on Amazon Prime…

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The Toy Department – Episode 422

  By toyAdmin | May 30, 2025 - 12:35 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 422, Madden and Kolsky have a quick Chelsea FC digression before they dive on in to:

  • A semifinal to remember on Top Chef: Destination Canada (4:05) and how the scenery and cookery combined with emotional moments for a tremendous episode of television…
  • The new Max show Duster (17:50) and how it makes you wonder why we haven’t seen more of Josh Holloway…
  • The disappointing new Guy Ritchie movie Fountain of Youth (22:50) and how it could have come to exist…
  • The enjoyable and well-executed Black Bag (28:40) and how Steven Soderbergh is always good for 90 minutes of quality…
  • Apple TV+’s new comedy Murderbot (33:40) and Alexander Skarsgård’s hilarious turn as an android with a television addiction…
  • Two more really good episodes of Black Mirror (36:35) featuring a tour de force from Paul Giamatti and a satisfying sequel to USS Callister…
  • Homework for next week (49:55), including: the finalé of Top Chef: Destination Canada, the new HBO Max film Mountainhead, the new Apple TV+ show Stick and Hulu’s new 20-something sitcom Adults…

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The Toy Department – Episode 419

  By toyAdmin | April 18, 2025 - 1:19 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 419, Madden and Kolsky are squeezing a taping into a naptime, so it’s right on into:

  • A couple of NBA Playoff thoughts (3:55) as we head into the first weekend of action…
  • The last episode of The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals (16:45), the appropriate winners and some thoughts on the season as a whole…
  • A surprising elimination on Top Chef: Destination Canada (27:00) and the stranglehold that Tristen seems to have on the competition even with the emergence of a new regular high finisher…
  • The new FX/Hulu series Dying for Sex (39:45), the tremendous lead performances and the overall quality of the network’s output…
  • Apple TV+’s latest offering Your Friends and Neighbors (43:20) and the difficulty of a generally detestable protagonist…
  • The HBO/Max sensation The Pitt (51:45) and Noah Wylie’s return to the emergency room…
  • Homework for next week (58:45), including: another episode of Top Chef: Destination Canada, a check-in on the latest season of HBO’s Hacks after four episodes, the first two episodes of Black Mirror’s most recent season and the second season of The Rehearsal…

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The Toy Department – Episode 417

  By toyAdmin | March 28, 2025 - 9:32 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 417, Madden and Kolsky get right down to business because Kolsky has important activities to get to (specifically a 3-year-old’s dance performance):

  • Two weeks of Canadian cooking on Top Chef: Destination Canada (1:20) including some distinctly north-of-the-border challenges and a couple of understated standouts…
  • Two weeks of action on The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals (9:15) including some legends falling and setting the scene for an imminent final…
  • The deeply mediocre Netflix/Russo Brothers film The Electric State (20:00) and what its remarkably bad critical reception says about the state of movie criticism…
  • Seth Rogen’s new Apple TV+ show The Studio (25:55) and how it’s failing to find its footing through two episodes…
  • Netflix’s deeply disturbing and ambitiously shot family drama Adolescence (31:05) and how British TV seems to have settled on a specific model (or two) for its shows…
  • Apple TV+’s crime drama Dope Thief (37:05) and the sheer magnetism of Brian Tyree Henry…
  • Homework for next week (40:35), including: new episodes of The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals & Top Chef: Destination Canada, the SZA/Keke Palmer movie One of Them Days, the Paramount+ series MobLand and the action sequel Den of Thieves 2: Pantera…

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The Toy Department – Episode 414

  By toyAdmin | February 21, 2025 - 11:19 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 414, Madden and Kolsky are pressed for time after missing last week, so it’s some quick pleasantries and right into:

  • Two weeks of action from The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals (1:15), the early leaders in the clubhouse and the unfortunate (for entertainment purposes) elimination of Ashley and Aneesa…
  • Our hosts’ thoughts on all of the SNL 50 content (22:25) from the past weekend…
  • A couple minutes on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (33:30) with Phish nominated for the first time…
  • The Oscar-nominated film The Substance (40:05) and the excellent performances at its core…
  • More spy-show fodder with Netflix’s The Recruit (50:00) and Apple TV+’s Prime Target (54:25) and how one of our hosts found a deeper enjoyment in one of them…
  • The return of White Lotus (57:25) and the excitement we all feel to have it back…
  • A reasonably unproductive discussion about the NBA All-Star fiasco (1:04:30) and the NBA MVP Award, which Derek is already furious about…
  • Homework for two weeks from now (1:18:40), including: two more episodes of The Challenge All-Stars: Rivals and a bunch of Netflix content — the new Olympic basketball doc Court of Gold, new limited series Zero Day and new comedy series Running Point…

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