We’re back closer to our regular format this week, though the loss of TV icon Mary Tyler Moore has prompted us to forego the DVD Shelf in favor of a discussion of some of her work and her legacy. First up, however, Noel and Kate dive in with the fantastic finale of The Good Place and intriguing finale of Sweet/Vicious, followed by some reality catchups and a few thoughts on Jane the Virgin and the pesky Santa Ana winds of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Afterward, we head over to the drama and genre offerings, including the premiere of Riverdale, the return of The CW’s superhero lineup, and a full week of Adventure Time. Rounding out the podcast this week is our aforementioned tribute to Mary Tyler Moore and her feminist trailblazing, precise and potent comedy chops, and infectiously warm spirit.

Friend of the show Cooper S. Beckett has designed a shirt that says, “I stand with Nasty Women”, with 75% of the proceeds going to Planned Parenthood. It’s available here.

Remembering Mary Tyler Moore (1:54:30)

Our Week in Comedy and Reality
The Good Place finale (25:32)
Sweet/Vicious finale (37:02)
Terrace House: Aloha State (46:34)
Top Chef (55:32)
Jane the Virgin (59:17)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (1:04:48)

Our Week in Drama and Genre
Riverdale premiere (1:19:01)
Supergirl (1:24:28)
The Flash (1:30:25)
Legends of Tomorrow (1:35:14)
Arrow (1:37:28)
Adventure Time (1:41:38)

Music Featured: “You’re My Best Friend (And I Know I’m Not Yours)” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; “Slipping Away” by Tanlines

Kate spent much of this week getting ready to get her feminism on at the D.C. Woman’s March, so for this episode, we tried something a bit different: A manageable show list. First, Noel dives in with his recent reality viewing, Frontline and Terrace House. Afterward, we move on to the comedies, with Kate singing the praises of Billy on the Street, Noel breaking down Speechless and Fresh Off the Boat, and both giving their thoughts on a near-breakthrough Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Then we round out the podcast by talking through our final thoughts on our 2016 TV resolutions and deciding on what their resolutions for 2017 should be.

2017 TV Resolutions (1:01:09)

Our Week in TV
Frontline, “Divided States of America” (13:47)
Terrace House (23:02)
Billy on the Street (29:13)
Speechless (37:33)
Fresh Off the Boat (42:40)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (47:56)

Music Featured: “Remember That We Suffered” and “We’ll Never Have Problems Again” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

January is well underway and in TV, that means it’s premiere time once again. Noel and Kate turn their attentions back to weekly TV offerings and talk through a slew of comedies, including the fantastic new one Day at a Time, the premieres of The Mick, It’s Always Sunny…, and Man Seeking Woman, and fun installments of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Sweet/Vicious, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. We also dive in with a trio of recent socially-minded episodes from ABC’s comedy lineup: Fresh Off the Boat’s citizenship-centered “How to Be an American”, black-ish’s take on post-2016 election malaise, “Lemons”, and Speechless’ trope-busting “H-e-r-Hero”.

After comedy, it’s time for genre, drama, and reality, including Netflix’s new A Series of Unfortunate Events, HBO’s Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds documentary Bright Lights, the return of Match Game, and more. Rounding out the podcast this week is our preview of TV premieres to look for in January, February, and March. With #PeakTV showing no sign of slowing down, there’s a lot to take in, so reach out and let us know which upcoming series you think we should check out.

Kate commissioned a Harry Potter-themed T-shirt design from artist Tyler Feder celebrating “The Order of The Pantsuit”. Check it out at Kate’s Spreadshop! All proceeds from sales will be donated quarterly to the ACLU.

2017 Midseason Preview (1:53:45)

Our Week in Comedy
One Day at a Time Season 1 (14:44)
The Mick premiere (27:38)
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiere (29:04)
Man Seeking Woman premiere (31:44)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (33:53)
Fresh Off the Boat (39:48)
black-ish (45:06)
Speechless (55:07)
Sweet/Vicious (59:48)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (1:05:29)

Our Week in Drama, Genre, and Reality
A Series of Unfortunate Events Season 1 (1:16:32)
Steven Universe (1:27:42)
Bright Lights (1:31:11)
Star premiere (1:33:41)
Match Game premiere (1:36:53)
Terrace House (1:40:35)
Elementary (1:47:36)

Music Featured: “What Are the Rules?” from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia; “Who’s The New Guy?” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; A Series of Unfortunate Events Theme song

It’s our final week celebrating 2016 TV, here at The Televerse. Noel and Kate continue to spotlight their favorite heroes and villains, most gut-busting and tear-jerking moments, and more with part two of the Smorgasborgy. This episode, we give out our awards for the year’s best characters, best sequences, most memorable moments, and most impressive seasons and otherwise notable series, as well as our grab bag of miscellaneous awards. Once again, please share your thoughts on the year’s TV, and your picks for our final round of categories, in the comments below, and come back next week for our 2017 midseason TV preview.  

Character Awards (1:29)
Best New Characters
Best and Worst Villains
Best and Worst Parents
Best Kids
Best On-Screen Death
Badass Award
Character We Want To See More Of
Actor We Want To See More Of

Sequence Awards (27:23)
Best Action Setpiece
Best Stunts
Best Standalone Fight Scene
Best Dream Sequence

Moment Awards (42:29)
Trippiest Scene
Best WTF Moment
Biggest Gutpunch
Dusty, Dusty Him Sad Award
Most Triumphant Moment
Best Twist or Reveal (Non-finale)
Most Traumatic Moment
Schadenfreude Award
Best Extraneous Sex or Nudity
Best Shipping
Most and Least Chemistry
Oxygen Award
Most Ridiculous Moment
Best and Worst Fan Interaction
La-La-La Award (No spoilers!)
La-La-La Award for TV Event that We’re Head-Canoning Away

Season and Series Awards (1:20:29)
Most Spectacular Season Slow Burn
Most Spectacular Season Burn-out
Best and Worst Season-Long Mystery or Finale Payoff
Best New Comedy (non-Top 20)
Best New Drama (non-Top 20)
Most Improved Series
Biggest Season-to-Season Drop
Most Underrated and Overrated Series
Srsly Guys, Why Aren’t You Watching…
Srsly, Why Aren’t We Watching…
The Ann Veal Award (Her?)
Homework Award
Ringer Award
Gone, but Not Forgotten

Misc. Awards (1:51:07)
Best Surprise
Worst Disappointment
Best Discovery
Spotlight of Shame
Breakthrough Performance
Breakthrough Series
Best Overall Network
It Shoulda Worked
It Shouldn’t’ve Worked
It’s Not Me, It’s You: Trope, Series, and Other
Anchor Award
Life Vest Award
Show That Will Make The Leap in 2017

Music Featured: “Whatcha Gonna Do (It’s Up to You)” from Agent Carter; “F*ck you, European Union” from Last Week Tonight; “We Tapped That Ass” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; “Edelweiss,” as performed by Victor Garber on Legends of Tomorrow; “Where or When” as performed by Jesse L. Martin on The Flash; “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as performed by Michael Emerson on Person of Interest; “There But For the Grace of God” as performed by the cast of The Get Down; “Robot Cowboy” from Adventure Time; “Off With His Shirt” from Galavant; “Fare Thee Well (Dink’s Song)” as performed by Rob Benedict on Supernatural