Desperate Housewives episode eighteen, “Children Will Listen,” shows the darkest side of Carlos Solis we’ve seen yet in the series. “Children Will Listen,” Desperate Housewives’ eighteenth episode, brings some of the darkest scenes / themes in the first season. Yes, darker than Mary Alice Young’s suicide. We’re talking about the Solis’s deeply trou…

The Contending sits down with Emmy nominee Rob Tokarz to chat about HBO MAX’s Hacks production design, including Deborah Vance’s late show set. Rob Tokarz received an Emmy nomination last year for his HBO MAX’s Hacks production design on season three. He returns with season four to carry Deborah Vance (Emmy winner Jean Smart) into her long-coveted …

This week’s Desperate Housewives episode, “There Won’t Be Trumpets,” offers an exploration of heroes, saviors, and really expensive funerals. Desperate Housewives episode seventeen, “There Won’t Be Trumpets,” puts aside the first season central Mary Alice mystery in favor of slices of suburban drama for our housewives. It isn’t the best episode of …

Joey, Megan, and Clarence are joined by The Contending contributor Mark Johnson for their 2025 Summer Movie Preview. The Contending correspondent Mark Johnson joins the Water Cooler for our 2025 Summer Movie Preview. With Mark’s personal Top Ten list posted, we break down the 2025 Summer Movie Season week by week. Some weekends are an embarrassment…

There actually are no caftans on Wisteria Lane, but this week’s Desperate Housewives episode looks at what happens when Maisy Gibbons blows it all up. The sweet peace (ha!) of Wisteria Lane becomes disrupted with the screams and protestations of Maisy Gibbons (Sharon Lawrence) as Desperate Housewives episode sixteen, “The Ladies Who Lunch,” opens. …

Megan McLachlan welcomes Grits & Gab to a very special Contending podcast to talk about four high-profile true crime Emmy contenders in the Documentary and Nonfiction Series category. Looking at the 2025 Emmy Documentary Series contenders, there are a handful of true crime docuseries that are in contention for a nomination. Grits & Grab joined Mega…

This week’s Desperate Housewives episode may be titled “Impossible,” but sex is very possibly on the forefront of everyone’s mind. “Impossible” isn’t perhaps the best title of Desperate Housewives‘ fifteenth episode (we take that on during the podcast). Instead, the theme of this week’s outing is very definitely sex in varied incarnations. Take Bre…

After diving into Netflix’s The Four Seasons, Joey and Megan face off in Clarence’s Name That John Williams Tune pop quiz. Tina Fey, Lang Fisher, and Tracey Wigfield revisit writer/director/star Alan Alda’s 1981 The Four Seasons. This time, the four seasons are split across an 8-episode comedy series starring Fey, Colman Domingo, Will Forte, Steve …

The Contending’s Clarence Moye sits down with Laurent Bouzereau, the director of Music By John Williams, to talk about the life and influence of the iconic and beloved composer. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Star Wars. Jaws. These films — among many, many others — helped define the language of cinema for an entire generation. These films are populated w…

A romantic Valentine’s date at between Mike and Susan ends as only their dates can in “Love Is In the Air.” “Love Is In the Air,” Desperate Housewives‘ fourteen / Valentine’s Day episode, considers that love may indeed be in the air, but it’s definitely not everywhere you look around Wisteria Lane. Take Mike and Susan for example. He’s given her se…

In case you have been living under a rock, you have heard of the sensation known as Sinners. People love it! People are seeing it over and over! People are predicting Sinners for Oscars already! On this week’s pod, Megan and Joey talk about what they love about Ryan Coogler’s box office smash before talking its […] The post Podcast: Basking in Box …

Unwelcome gangsters. A studio dispute. Rehearsing a one-er in the backyard. Director Richard Zelniker, executive producer Brodrick Haygood, and producer Callie Nguyen Zelniker discuss the making of The Vortex movie starring Billy Gardell. “I’ve been threatening to write a book about the making of this film,” says Richard Zelniker, co-writer and dir…

This week’s podcast is an Emmy Lead Actress breakdown for contenders across Comedy, Drama, and Limited Series races. We’re approaching the end of the 2025 Emmy eligibility window. We’ve previously discussed Drama Series, Comedy Series, and Limited Series contenders, so it’s time to focus on performances. This week, we’re looking at the 2025 Emmy Le…

Paul Young spins several stories about “Dana,” Mary Alice, and Zach as he tries to throw Susan off his trail in “Your Fault.” “Your Fault,” Desperate Housewives‘ thirteenth episode, kicks things off with a great Stephen Sondheim song title reference (cribbed from Into the Woods). There’s a lot of “fault” going around Wisteria Lane, but the title [……

We look at the contentious Comedy Series Emmy race where any number of series could fill the final few nominee slots. We’ve broken down the Drama Series 2025 Emmy race. We looked at the weaker Limited Series Emmy field. Now, it’s time for Comedy Series. Much like Drama, Comedy boasts five near-guaranteed contenders: Hacks, The Bear, Abbott Elementa…

We break down the season finale of HBO’s The White Lotus: what worked, who were our MVPs, and how Emmy will embrace it. You had your theories. We had our theories. Now, with The White Lotus wrapped for season three, it’s time to break down the episode and the season itself. Joey, Megan, and Clarence offer […] The post ‘The White Lotus:’ If You Like…

Susan makes a confession to Edie in “Every Day A Little Death” and ends up with a whole lot of Martha Huber all over her. Episode twelve begins with the gruesome discovery of Martha Huber’s corpse, which may or may not be smiling. Check out the episode’s intro for an explanation of that one. That […] The post “Every Day A Little Death:” Ashes To As…

Aside from a handful of locks, this year’s limited series race feels rather limited. We break down potential contenders for the final slots. When we broke down Emmy’s 2025 drama series race, we ran into something of an embarrassment of riches when trying to fill the final category slots. Not so with the 2025 Emmy […] The post 2025 Emmys: What To Ma…

“Move On” shows Desperate Housewives’ Teri Hatcher in peak form as Susan expresses suppressed rage against ex-husband Karl. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Teri Hatcher’s finest Desperate Housewives moments! In episode eleven, “Move On,” Hatcher’s Susan confronts both her ex-husband Karl AND years of pent-up female rage. And she does it via a fair…

We come a long way, baby. Joey, Megan, and Clarence celebrate their 500th episode of their 10+ year podcast partnership. On December 8, 2014, Joey, Megan, and Clarence joined Awards Daily TV’s Craig Kennedy to kick start the Water Cooler Podcast. We’ve had a few iterations along the way (and a shift to a new […] The post And We Have Talked 500 Mile…