The Toy Department – Episode 426

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…

The Toy Department – Episode 299

In Episode 299, Madden and Kolsky open with a disturbingly detailed discussion of the horrors of vomiting (sorry about that), before moving on to less disgusting topics, including:

  • The Challenge: All-Stars 3 (3:15), how they seem to have really found the sweet spot for the “Senior Circuit,” and the prospects for what looks to be a highly entertaining and dramatic season…
  • The latest from Top Chef: Houston (26:40), or perhaps we should say Top Chef: Galveston, and how the top three chefs continue to distinguish themselves from the rest…
  • The new Showtime show I Love That For You (42:35) and how it just doesn’t feel like a fully realized television program as much as an SNL skit stretched to 30 minutes…
  • The new Paramount+ offering The Offer (46:15) and how it was a pleasant surprise as a really wonderful and entertaining show…
  • The return of Made for Love on HBO Max (51:30), which feels a lot like a slightly less essential extension of Season 1…
  • Homework for next Friday (58:30), including: more Top Chef: Houston, more of The Challenge: All-Stars 3, new music from Kendrick Lamar and The Smile, the return of Hacks on HBO Max and the end of Ozark on Netflix…