Welcome to the 238th episode of TV’s Top 5, The Hollywood Reporter’s TV podcast. Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives, and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as the case may be).
This week’s episode features BFF of the 5, Alan Sepinwall, joining us to discuss his oral history book on The O.C. as Dan and I make sense of the wave of final season and cancellation announcements as well as provide the ultimate guide on what to watch over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, a programming note: Dan and I will be off for Turkey Day. Our next episode arrives Dec. 1. Happy holidays!
Here’s how this week’s episode plays out:
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1. Headlines
Matlock, Pappa’s House, 911: Lone Star, Jon Hamm and Shawn Ryan, Spartacus, and Rob Lowe lead the week in headlines.
2. Final Season Alert!
CBS’ Young Sheldon and Paramount+ drama SEAL Team will both end their respective runs after seven seasons apiece. This segment explores the future of The Big Bang Theory franchise and what’s next for David Boreanaz.
3. Cancellations
No, it’s not just you: more shows are being cancelled now as the Peak TV bubble has burst. Shadow and Bone and its spinoff, Glamorous and three animated shows as well as Freeform’s Praise Petey and two ABC shows all got the ax in the past week — and more are coming. This segment explores the why behind the wave of bad news.
4. The O.C. at 20
Sepinwall joins us to discuss his upcoming book, Welcome to The O.C.: The Oral History, and share the inside stories behind the former Fox hit including why Misha Barton was written off and much more. Celebrate Chrismukkah early before the book comes out Nov. 28 with this fun and insightful interview with one of our favorite guests.
5. Critic’s Corner
As usual, we end with Dan’s thoughts on this week’s new and returning series. In this episode, he weighs in on the first half of the final season of Netflix’s The Crown and the streamer’s animated Scott Pilgrim, FX/Hulu’s A Murder at the End of the World, Apple’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and FX’s Fargo.
Hear it all now on TV’s Top 5. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to never miss an episode. (Reviews welcome!) You can also email us with any topics or Mailbag questions you’d like addressed in future episodes at [email protected].
