One of the biggest booms in the podcasting industry has been the sizable uptick in television rewatch shows. The concept of doing a podcast that covered a beloved series, episode by episode, was not started by the team behind The West Wing, but it was certainly popularized by it. And now, it seems like there is a podcast for every television show.
However, it can take a lot to sort through that plethora. In reality, only a few of those shows are truly great and the best ones do tend to feature cast and crew who worked on the show and can provide insight and stories that have not been heard before. That's how a television rewatch podcast can truly be set apart from the crowd.
The Darkest Timeline
Technically, the podcast hosted by Joel McHale and Ken Jeong, Community. It was more about whatever McHale and Jeong felt like discussing or showed them having several reunions with other Greendale Community College mates.
However, there was still plenty to learn about Community by listening and, in that sense, it was a highly edifying look into the entire scope of the show (even if it didn't consider every episode in complete depth). It still remains a re-up for the cult comedy of the 2010s and every Human Being would benefit from checking it out.
I Am All In
The newest podcast on the list, Gilmore Girls. Yes, the Gilmore Guys podcast has pretty thoroughly covered the iconic Amy Sherman-Palladino show, but it's still been interesting to hear from voices of the show so far in the new series' run.
Not to mention, Patterson has roped in some of the stars of Stars Hollow to rewatch Gilmore Girls with him so far, including Sean Gunn and Yanic Truesdale. A reunion with Lauren Graham will be hotly anticipated.
The West Wing Weekly
The West Wing Weekly was not only one of the first rewatch podcasts to achieve notoriety, but it is also one of the only ones to have wrapped it's run so far. In early 2020, Joshua Malina and Hrishikesh Hirway successfully covered every episode of The West Wing and have since concluded their pod.
They have popped up again in feeds on occasion (like when they promoted the staged production of a West Wing episode), but the entire archive is there to listen to for any Bartlet istration devotee.
Bonanas For Bonanza
It was only a matter of time before the rewatch format was satirized. Leave it to Earwolf and the team of Dalton Wilcox (Andy Daly), Mutt Taylor (Matt Gourley), and Amy Sleeverson (Maria Bamford), who have been sporadically tackling the behemoth that is the classic western, Bonanza.
Episodes of Bonanas for Bonanza have been few and far between, but whenever they re-up, hilarity is sure to ensue. It's easily forgiven, though, as Bonanza was over four hundred episodes long. And it's hard to imagine too many people in the main podcast age demographics revisiting a western that began in 1959.
Way Down In The Hole
From The Ringer, The Wire (often considered one of the best dramas ever made).
In classic Ringer fashion, though, Hill and Lathan did not just recap episodes twice a week. They also threw out superlatives, evaluated the installments through academic lenses, and brought a much-needed sense of camaraderie to the format of covering a challenging program. It's worth listening to as a companion piece when conducting one's own rewatch of The Wire.
Project Mindy
Another more recent podcast on the list is The Mindy Project, Mindy Kaling's Fox-Hulu hybrid rom-com series that was built around her comedic persona. Each episode has been an insightful look into all the lovely aspects of The Mindy Project, from costuming to representation and beyond.
One of the best parts about Project Mindy? Because of that inverse title, it would make perfect sense to consider all of the work done by Mindy Kaling. Maybe it can even become a Never Have I Ever rewatch show one day!
Talking Sopranos
Every week, former cast , Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa, break down an episode of The Sopranos at a length that typically more than doubles the length of the episode they rewatched.
That's how much quality conversation and incisive commentary is provided on Talking Sopranos. The chemistry between Imperioli and Schirripa is unmatched and they obviously have the pull to talk to anyone on the show, including series creator David Chase, who can be notoriously cagey when discussing the program.
Bryce And Ren And Cory In The House
Sometimes a rewatch podcast needs to zig when everyone else is zagging. Many of the shows mentioned so far have been quite popular, but Cory in the House is not a series that one would immediately think of when considering which shows would have a rewatch podcast associated with them.
Enter Bryce and Ren and Cory in the House. Hosts Bryce and Ren have examined the Disney Channel sitcom staple more deeply than perhaps anyone else ever dared to. While they're nearing the end of the short-lived Cory in the House run, there's no telling who will be knocking at that 1600 Penn door next.
Fake Doctors, Real Friends
There are two major angles a podcast can take when beginning a rewatch endeavor and those angles are embodied by the top two choices on the list. In the case of Scrubs in depth at all.
That's the vibe cultivated by Zach Braff and Donald Faison. As Star Wars or Netflix documentaries than the actual episodes. But it's great fun to hear them (as well as Joelle and Danl) discuss whatever is on their mind before talking to a call-in guest or a beloved Scrubs alum, like Bill Lawrence.
Office Ladies
The other major angle is the one embraced by The Office does have its own fair share of tangents and eccentric topics. But for the most part, those are quickly curbed and it's cleanly produced, organized, well-researched, and sticks to tighter run times.
Both angles are great, it's just quite clear that Fischer and Kinsey have staunchly embraced the medium. They dive into episode commentaries, they reach out to every crew member they can think of, and Kinsey can often uncover her shooting scripts and era-specific diaries. The highlight of Office Ladies so far is when they managed to get voicemails from every actor with a prominent role in one of the most iconic episodes, "Dinner Party."