A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in March 2022, our panel of Pearson-loving resident Couch Potatoes – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Kristen (L), Spencer, Emily (S), Kristin (T), and Jared (one of the prior panelists temporarily departed the panel for lives behind the podcast) – reconvenes around the CPU! Water Cooler, cheering “Big Three!” all the while, to discuss Season 5 of the critically-acclaimed and widely popular NBC family drama This Is Us. As always, if you have not watched any of This Is Us, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “This Is Us” is a romantic family drama series that currently airs on NBC, winter to spring Tuesdays at 9:00 PM.
What: Created by Dan Fogelman, the series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different time frames and stars an ensemble cast featuring Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, Jon Huertas, Eris Baker, Faithe Herman, Lyric Ross, and Asante Blackk in Season 5.
When: Season 5 aired on NBC from October 27, 2020, to May 25, 2021, with a total of eighteen episodes.
SYNOPSIS
This Is Us follows the lives of siblings Kevin (Hartley), Kate (Metz), and Randall (Brown, known as the “Big Three”), and their parents Jack (Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Pearson (Moore). It takes place mainly in the present and uses flashbacks to show the family’s past. Kevin and Kate are the two surviving members from a triplet pregnancy, born six weeks premature on Jack’s 36th birthday in 1980; their brother Kyle is stillborn. Believing they were meant to have three children, Jack and Rebecca, who are white, decide to adopt Randall (Brown), an African American child born the day before and brought to the same hospital after his biological father William Hill abandoned him at a fire station. Jack dies when his children are 17, and Rebecca later marries Jack’s best friend Miguel (Huertas). Randall becomes a successful finance professional and marries college classmate Beth (Watson); they raise two daughters (Tess, played by Eris Baker, and Annie, played by Faithe Herman). Kevin becomes a successful actor while struggling to be taken seriously. After lacking direction for much of her life, Kate meets Toby (Sullivan).
Most episodes feature a storyline taking place in the present (contemporaneous with airing) and a storyline taking place at a set time in the past, but some episodes are set in one time period or use multiple flashback time periods. Flashbacks often focus on Jack and Rebecca in and around 1980, both before and after their babies’ birth, or on the family when the Big Three are children or adolescents (and played by two sets of younger actors); these scenes usually take place in Pittsburgh, where the Big Three and their parents are born and raised. As adults, Kate lives in Los Angeles, Randall and his family are in New Jersey but relocate to Philadelphia in Season 4, and Kevin relocates from Los Angeles to New York City and back again.
Where: The action follows the core family members – two parents, three children, and their eventual spouses – who are originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but who later move and spread, particularly in the present/future timelines, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles, California; and New York City, New York.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the Season 1 podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
In 2021, we launched our This Is Us panel, caught up quickly on the first four seasons, and now continue this series as a Water Cooler entry. You can listen to our first four episodes in this series below; the second, third, and fourth episodes are still part of our audio feeds at Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, and Amazon Music:
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Panelists Kristen L, Spencer, Emily, Kristin T, and Jared triumphantly reconvene with moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie (one of our previous panelists temporarily departed the panel due to lives behind the podcast) Around the Water Cooler after almost one year’s hiatus to pick up where our This Is Us series left off in 2021 when we last discussed the family Pearson and those who love them. In tonight’s episode, CPU! continues forward-looking Water Cooler coverage of This Is Us with ourpenultimate Season 5 recap and review, in which our panel remarks upon the success or lack thereof of this gripping and layered family drama, and in so doing, ruminates in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and, in the case of this panel, the music of this acclaimed program. In this chapter, our panel reflects upon and recaps our continued learning about the Pearson family in several different eras of the family’s story and in pieces and parts, providing clues to a larger mystery around how the family survives hardship while remaining centered and grounded in the face of life’s greatest challenges. The enthusiasm from our panel remains truly palpable, as this series has become one of the highest-rated shows (by review of our panelists) that we have covered on the podcast.
This episode was recorded in March 2022, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the fifth season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, and on Amazon Music to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our Call the Midwife panel returns to the CPU! Water Cooler to continue our Catching Up Series reacting, two seasons at a time, to the popular BBC/PBS period drama by discussing Series 3 and 4 in Episode 2 of our Series. Stay tuned!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
1) Who does Kevin end up with in the future? Is it Sophie (guest: Alexandra Breckinridge)? Is it Cassidy (guest: Jennifer Morrison)? Or, is it someone entirely new? Will we get a chance to meet her in any sort of meaty or flushed-out way with the limited amount of airtime real estate left in this final season?
2) Why do Kate and Toby officially end their marriage since it is clear from the fifth season finale that Kate marries Phillip, the teacher she comes to assist at the music school for the blind? How does that love affair even come to be?
3) Are the producers/network really considering making a movie of any type and/or with an alternate storyline in mind, exploring what might have happened had Jack survived the fire?
4) Will Rebecca see Jack as she inevitably passes away in the future/flash-forwards as a result of the progression of her Alzheimer’s Disease, either as an actual vision of him or by mistaking, the vigilantly watching and patiently waiting, Nicky (guest: Griffin Dunne) for Jack as he sits by her bedside?
5) What happens with the farmhouse inherited by Randall and Beth from Randall’s birth mother Laurel, who survived long past what was understood to be her death, so we learn in Season 5?
6) Will the show reexplore some of the side stories they have seeded, such as the depiction of the inventor of email?
7) Will we see adult Nicky and Franny, Kevin and Madison’s children, in the future?
8) Will we see a big family reunion far into the future, following Rebecca’s death and focusing on the children of Kevin, Kate, and Randall?
9) Who will inherit Rebecca’s crescent moon necklace?
10) What happens to Miguel? Does he die before Rebecca? Or, does Rebecca “release” him from marriage with her, so that he will not have to witness her Alzheimer’s-influenced decline?
11) Where are Miguel’s kids from his first marriage? Will we see them at any point in Season 6?
12) What sort of Kate will we see in the end? A happier one? A thinner one?
13) What happens to Tess, Annie, Deja, and Malik in the future?
14) Will we see Kevin, Kate, and/or Randall’s grandchildren? Will the show invest in a Six Feet Under type of projection or time jump in any of the final episodes?
15) What will Nicky do in this not-too-distant future?
16) What happens to Toby in the end?
PARTING SHOTS
This Is Us continues to be wholeheartedly and boisterously recommended by our CPU! panel to “almost anyone” who enjoys watching television – full stop – but particularly to those who enjoy family dramas like Parenthood, Brothers & Sisters, and The Council of Dads and to those with some years of life experience behind them that would make some of the more difficult parts of this series, in terms of the challenges that the characters face, resonate more fully on an emotional level with would-be watchers. Our panel believes that this show will appeal most to people who appreciate some reality in their fiction, as opposed to pure fantasy, because the creator and writers have infused their story with an undercurrent of wisdom and a concentrated sense of genuineness that renders the show a fulfilling and emotional viewing experience that keeps one wanting more, as the story is told non-linearly, with meted out clues and parallelisms connecting well-meaning, three-dimensional characters with whom it quickly becomes easy to identify. The panelists universally describe This Is Us as well-written, well-performed, and well-directed, with expertly plotted, interweaving storylines that both tease the mind and fill the heart and are executed by earnest and genuine performers who breathe a comfortable vitality into smart, relatable, and emotionally complex characters. Our panel notes that a decision to watch this NBC drama should be one made with a firm commitment, a preparation for an investment that requires full concentration for the watch without the “second screen experience” and other distractions, as there are glimpses and hints of story revelations in early seasons that ultimately play out masterfully in later seasons. The panel further praised the casting, lauding the seamless ensemble of this drama and its effortless cast chemistry. In the end, the panelists unanimously enjoy this series, Season 5 as much as the seasons preceding it, and enthusiastically recommend it to any would-be viewer who would be enticed by it to start, without hesitation; in fact, our supersized panel proved all too eager to continue watching Season 6, which we will discuss following the airing of the (gulp) series finale later this year, at which point we will also Look Back at the whole darn show. Stay tuned!
LOOKING AHEAD
NBC renewed This Is Us for three additional seasons, including a sixth season, at the same time that the show received its fourth season renewal (May 2019). In May 2021, it was announced that Season 6 would be the show’s final season, which premiered on January 4, 2022. Our panel will visit This Is Us one final time to discuss Season 6 following the airing of the series finale on May 24, 2022; we will Look Back at the entire show in that same episode. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, Patreon, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding This Is Us as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in August and September 2021, our panel of regal CPU! faithful – moderator Krista, Spencer, Samantha, Kristin (T), Todd, and Chief Couch Potato Kylie – (re)convenes around the CPU! Water Cooler to discuss Season 4 of lush Netflix biopic The Crown. As always, if you have not watched any of The Crown, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS (history be darned)! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “The Crown” is a historical drama and web/streaming series available to Netflix subscribers exclusively, as it is Netflix-produced original content.
What: “The Crown,” created and principally written by Peter Morgan, is a biographical story about the reign of Her Royal Majesty (HRM) Queen Elizabeth II.
SYNOPSIS
The Crown traces the life of Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman, in Season 4) from her wedding in 1947 to Prince Philip (Tobias Menzies, in Season 4) through to the present day.
When: Season 4 was released to the Netflix streaming library on November 15, 2020, with a total of 10 episodes.
Where: The action is set primarily in the United Kingdom, England, and London, where the Queen and the Royal Family by and large reside.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the podcast episode covering Season 1 via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
If you haven’t listened to CPU!’s The Crown coverage, which we’ve been discussing since its auspicious beginnings, listen via the embedded links below:
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Our regal The Crown panelists – moderator Krista; Spencer; his wife, Kristin T; Samantha; Todd; and me, your Chief Couch Potato – (re)convene “Around the Water Cooler” tonight to talk about the most recent season of this lush biopic, specifically Season 4. In so doing, we ruminate in-depth upon the production values, performances, and general historical accuracy of this show about a living monarch, with some slightly more negative reactions following the viewing of this season but continually engaged suspensions of disbelief, particularly in light of the mesmerizing performances of Emma Corrin as a young Princess Diana and Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher. Thus, in tonight’s episode, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 4 of The Crown, covering the years of 1979 to 1990, and featuring the election of Thatcher as the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as well as Diana’s fateful introduction to her future husband, Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor), and the fictionalized account of their marriage behind the fairy tale curtain so often painted in the press during the height of the “me” decade, the eighties.
This episode was recorded in August and in September 2021, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the fourth season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, and on Amazon Music to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our“Breaking Better Series” panel returns to the Water Cooler to continue Catching Up on the Breaking Bad universe-affiliated prequel spinoff and (somewhat new) Moderator Kyle’s favorite show, Better Call Saul, by discussing Seasons 3 and 4 of the acclaimed series. Stay tuned!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
Old Questions
1) Emma Corrin (Pennyworth) has been tapped to play Princess Diana. How much of “England’s Rose” will we see in Season 4?
ANSWER: As it turns out, quite a bit – she is in almost every episode if not every episode, a fact that surprised our panel. Listen to tonight’s podcast episode for detailed reactions.
2) Will Dame Helen Mirren make any kind of appearance at any point, since she has already played Queen Elizabeth II in other Peter Morgan vehicles?
ANSWER: Not so far.
3) Will Season 4 cover the war in the Falklands? How much of Margaret Thatcher’s (Anderson) prime ministry will we witness, and who will the show cast to play US President Ronald Reagan and President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev during the 1980s Cold War, presuming that we see the significant portions of Thatcher’s tenure as Prime Minister in the next season?
ANSWER: Season 4 focuses entirely upon Thatcher’s career as Prime Minister, including an episode dealing with her response to the war in the Falklands.No one was cast as Reagan or Gorbachev; neither of these figures was featured in any significant way, except by mention and profile. The action, instead, was focused entirely on the “behind closed doors” interactions of Thatcher with the Queen and with other members of the British government.
4) Will we see or be introduced to older versions of Princes Andrew and Edward, since we met young adult versions of Prince Charles and Princess Anne in Season 3?
ANSWER: We do see older versions of the younger princes.
5) Why is the Queen Mother Elizabeth (Marion Bailey) so plotting and cruel-seeming in this series compared to what was perceived to be her real-life persona?
ANSWER: This question is still without an answer.
6) What new events in British history will those of us across the pond be exposed to via the retelling and dramatizations of the House of Windsor in Season 4 to which we haven’t already been exposed by mainstream media? The panelists find themselves surprised each season by the information we learn that we did not previously know.
ANSWER:The panelists particularly discussed (SPOILER) the death of Lord Mountbatten (Charles Dance), aka “Dickie,” who was murdered by a faction of the Irish Republican Army or IRA in or around 1979. The panelists were also impressed by the depth of information provided about Thatcher’s decisions related to the Falklands and apartheid in South Africa, as some of our younger panelists were not as familiar with Britain’s involvement in these areas. Beyond that, the biggest surprise for the entire panel rested in how much the show focused upon the emergence of Diana as a member of the Royal Family, from her clandestine introduction to Charles to her unhappy marriage to him, which was fraught with and by affairs on both sides, her apparent eating disorder, and other unhealthy behaviors representative of their near-constant desire to annul and/or to divorce in the face of the institution of the Crown.
New Questions
1. Will there be a time jump to start Season 5, now featuring Imelda Staunton in the role of Queen Elizabeth II? Will there be a time jump as the fifth season progresses?
2. How quickly will the show arrive at the dissolution of Charles and Diana’s marriage and, subsequently, Diana’s untimely death?
3. What social issues could possibly be the focus of the show beyond the tabloid fodder of the Royals’ various scandals and relationships in the nineties?
4. Will we see the death of Princess Margaret in the next season? Will we see the death of the Queen Mum?
5. Will there be any focus upon the marriage and/or ensuing divorce of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson aka “Fergie,” the Duchess of York?
6. Will we see Princess Anne and Prince Edward marry their respective spouses?
7. How much of Prime Minister Tony Blair and his international relations to the American government (specifically President Bill Clinton) will the show depict?
PARTING SHOTS
The Crown continues to be recommended by all current members of our CPU! panel to so-called Anglophiles; to fans of British/English history; to general history buffs; to fans of creator Peter Morgan; and to followers of the Royals. The panelists universally agree that the production values remain notably expensive but predominantly worth the money, given the painstakingly remarkable recreations employed in costumes, art direction, and cinematography and, further, in light of the choice to use original popular music throughout the series (licensing rights must be astronomically costly, moderator Krista surmises). The panelists also proffer, by and large, that Season 4 is the least appreciated or least favored of the available seasons so far, owing largely to the surprisingly large amount of story devoted to the introduction of Princess Diana and her entrance into the Royal Family. The panelists continue to praise Olivia Colman’s performance as the Queen; Tobias Menzies’ portrayal of Prince Philip, recalling how his casting represented a vast improvement over Matt Smith’s Seasons 1 and 2 performances (cool bow-tie-wearing Eleventh Doctor though he was); and they especially laud Gillian Anderson as Thatcher and Emma Corrin as Diana, believing their depictions to be so expert and so complete that total suspension of disbelief in their embodiment of these larger-than-life figures from the real world, whose mythos has only expanded since each of their deaths, was achieved. The panelists noted that the pacing and overall direction of Season 4 maintained its high quality in transition from Season 3, even as the writers returned to placing a higher emphasis upon employing potentially salacious details in order not only to expand and pad the history behind the story but to render the overall story a bit spicier than the actual history while, alternatively, spending thoughtful amounts of narrative real estate on lesser-known events that humanized the individual members of the royal family – and Prime Minister Thatcher – rather than glorified or vilified them, depending upon the event in question. In any event, the panelists, with some minor reluctance related to the sad and/or heavy events watched in Season 4, which all of the panelists remember due to being alive during the relative era, and particularly given the lush production values and continued excellence in execution of the overall viewing experience in the fourth season, were universally enticed if not altogether eager to continue watching additional seasons, especially the upcoming Season 5.
LOOKING AHEAD
Netflix renewed The Crown for fifth AND sixth seasons, with the fifth season expected to release in November 2022, though no tentative premiere date has yet been announced. In the meantime, CPU! will next reconvene our The Crown panel some time following the release of the fifth season. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding The Crown as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in April 2021, our supersized panel of Pearson-loving resident Couch Potatoes – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Kristen (L), Spencer, Eddy, Emily (S), Kristin (T), and Jared – reconvenes around the CPU! Water Cooler, cheering “Big Three!” all the while, to discuss Season 4 of the critically-acclaimed and widely popular NBC family drama This Is Us, in this, Episode Four of our four-part “Catching Up on This Is Us” Series. As always, if you have not watched any of This Is Us, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “This Is Us” is a romantic family drama series that airs on NBC, though it is currently on hiatus.
What: Created by Dan Fogelman, the series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different time frames and stars an ensemble cast featuring Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, Jon Huertas, Eris Baker, Faithe Herman, Lyric Ross, as well as Asante Blackk and Griffin Dunne in Season 4.
When: Season 4 aired on NBC from September 24, 2019, to March 24, 2020, with a total of eighteen episodes.
SYNOPSIS
This Is Us follows the lives of siblings Kevin (Hartley), Kate (Metz), and Randall (Brown, known as the “Big Three”), and their parents Jack (Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Pearson (Moore). It takes place mainly in the present and uses flashbacks to show the family’s past. Kevin and Kate are the two surviving members from a triplet pregnancy, born six weeks premature on Jack’s 36th birthday in 1980; their brother Kyle is stillborn. Believing they were meant to have three children, Jack and Rebecca, who are white, decide to adopt Randall (Brown), an African American child born the day before and brought to the same hospital after his biological father William Hill abandoned him at a fire station. Jack dies when his children are 17, and Rebecca later marries Jack’s best friend Miguel (Huertas). Randall becomes a successful finance professional and marries college classmate Beth (Watson); they raise two daughters (Tess, played by Eris Baker, and Annie, played by Faithe Herman). Kevin becomes a successful actor while struggling to be taken seriously. After lacking direction much of her life, Kate meets Toby (Sullivan).
Most episodes feature a storyline taking place in the present (contemporaneous with airing) and a storyline taking place at a set time in the past, but some episodes are set in one time period or use multiple flashback time periods. Flashbacks often focus on Jack and Rebecca in and around 1980, both before and after their babies’ birth, or on the family when the Big Three are children or adolescents (and played by two sets of younger actors); these scenes usually take place in Pittsburgh, where the Big Three and their parents are born and raised. As adults, Kate lives in Los Angeles, Randall and his family are in New Jersey but relocate to Philadelphia in Season 4, and Kevin relocates from Los Angeles to New York City and back again.
Where: The action follows the core family members – two parents, three children, and their eventual spouses – who are originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but who later move and spread, particularly in the present/future timelines, to Alpine, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles, California; and New York City, New York.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the Season 1 podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
This is Episode Four of our “Catching Up on This Is Us” Series. You can listen to Episodes One, Two, and Three here and at our audio feeds (Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, and Amazon Music):
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Frequent CPU! contributors and panelists often suggest shows for CPU! to cover in our podcast episodes – loyal listeners should have picked up on this particular trend by now. As the podcast has been underway for several years now, many of our long-yearning Couch Potatoes and This Is Us devotees called repeatedly for a This Is Us panel and subsequently encouraged meticulous season-by-season coverage of the whole shebang. Thus, herein we offer our Season 4 recap and review of This Is Us, in which our panel – consisting of Kristen L, Spencer, Emily, Eddy, Kristin T, and Jared – remarks upon the success or lack thereof of this gripping and layered family drama, and in so doing, ruminates in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and, in the case of this panel, the music of this acclaimed program.
As such, tonight’s episode is the fourth and final episode of a four-episode series in which CPU! gets caught up on this show, which premiered on NBC in 2016; our panel will convert to one of our regular Water Cooler panels to discuss Season 5 later this year. In this chapter, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 4 of This Is Us, in which we continue learning about the Pearson family in several different eras of the family’s story and in pieces and parts, providing clues to a larger mystery around how the family survives hardship while remaining centered and grounded in the face of life’s greatest challenges. The enthusiasm from our panel remains palpable, as this series has become one of the highest rated shows (by review of our panelists) that we have covered on the podcast.
This episode was recorded in April 2021, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the fourth season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our Altered Carbon panel triumphantly (or, perhaps, defeatedly) returns to the Water Cooler in the first of a two-part panel-ending series, in which the panelists recap what has now become the series’ final season, Season 2, in light of Netflix’s late-2020 cancellation of the high-concept science fiction drama. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
This Is Us continues to be wholeheartedly and boisterously recommended by our CPU! panel to “almost anyone” who enjoys watching television – full stop – but particularly to those who enjoy family dramas like Parenthood, Brothers & Sisters, and The Council of Dads and to those with some years of life experience behind them that would make some of the more difficult parts of this series, in terms of the challenges that the characters face, resonate more fully on an emotional level with would-be watchers. Our panel believes that this show will appeal most to people who appreciate some reality in their fiction, as opposed to pure fantasy, because the creator and writers have infused their story with an undercurrent of wisdom and a concentrated sense of genuineness that renders the show a fulfilling and emotional viewing experience that keeps one wanting more, as the story is told non-linearly, with meted out clues and parallelisms connecting well-meaning, three-dimensional characters with whom it quickly becomes easy to identify. The panelists universally describe This Is Us as well-written, well performed, and well directed, with expertly plotted, interweaving storylines that both tease the mind and fill the heart and are executed by earnest and genuine performers who breathe a comfortable vitality into smart, relatable, and emotionally complex characters. Our panel notes that a decision to watch this NBC drama should be one made with a firm commitment, a preparation for an investment that requires full concentration for the watch without the “second screen experience” and other distractions, as there are glimpses and hints of story revelations in early seasons that ultimately play out masterfully in later seasons. The panel further praised the casting, lauding the seamless ensemble of this drama and its effortless cast chemistry. In the end, the panelists unanimously enjoy this series and enthusiastically recommend it to any would-be viewer who would be enticed by it to start, without hesitation; in fact, our supersized panel proved all too eager to continue watching – or to re-watch – Season 5, which we will discuss in one of our standard “Water Cooler” formatted episodes later this year. Stay tuned!
LOOKING AHEAD
NBC renewed This Is Us for three additional seasons, including a sixth season, at the same time that the show received its fourth season renewal (May 2019). In May 2021, however, it was announced that Season 6 would be the show’s final season; a Season 6 premiere date has not yet been announced, and there is some speculation that This Is Us is not expected to return until 2022. Our panel will react to the announcement regarding Season 6 being the final season when they recap and review Season 5; in fact, CPU! will next visit This Is Us to discuss Season 5 “Around the Water Cooler” later this year. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, Patreon, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding This Is Us as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in February 2021, our supersized panel of Pearson-loving resident Couch Potatoes – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Kristen (L), Spencer, Eddy, Emily (S), Kristin (T), and Jared – reconvenes around the CPU! Water Cooler, cheering “Big Three!” all the while, to discuss Season 3 of the critically-acclaimed and widely popular NBC family drama This Is Us, in this, Episode Three of our four-part “Catching Up on This Is Us” Series. As always, if you have not watched any of This Is Us, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “This Is Us” is a romantic family drama series that currently airs on NBC, fall to spring Tuesdays at 9:00 PM.
What: Created by Dan Fogelman, the series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different time frames and stars an ensemble cast featuring Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, Jon Huertas, Eris Baker, Faithe Herman, as well as Melanie Liburd and Lyric Ross in Season 3.
When: Season 3 aired on NBC from September 25, 2018, to April 2, 2019, with a total of eighteen episodes.
SYNOPSIS
This Is Us follows the lives of siblings Kevin (Hartley), Kate (Metz), and Randall (Brown, known as the “Big Three”), and their parents Jack (Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Pearson (Moore). It takes place mainly in the present and uses flashbacks to show the family’s past. Kevin and Kate are the two surviving members from a triplet pregnancy, born six weeks premature on Jack’s 36th birthday in 1980; their brother Kyle is stillborn. Believing they were meant to have three children, Jack and Rebecca, who are white, decide to adopt Randall, an African American child born the day before and brought to the same hospital after his biological father William Hill (Jones) abandoned him at a fire station. Jack dies when his children are 17, and Rebecca later marries Jack’s best friend Miguel (Huertas). Randall becomes a successful finance professional and marries college classmate Beth (Watson); they raise two daughters (Tess, played by Eris Baker, and Annie, played by Faithe Herman). Kevin becomes a successful actor while struggling to be taken seriously. After lacking direction much of her life, Kate meets Toby (Sullivan).
Most episodes feature a storyline taking place in the present (contemporaneous with airing) and a storyline taking place at a set time in the past, but some episodes are set in one time period or use multiple flashback time periods. Flashbacks often focus on Jack and Rebecca in and around 1980, both before and after their babies’ birth, or on the family when the Big Three are children or adolescents (and played by two sets of younger actors); these scenes usually take place in Pittsburgh, where the Big Three and their parents are born and raised. As adults, Kate lives in Los Angeles, Randall and his family are in New Jersey, and Kevin relocates from Los Angeles to New York City and back again.
Where: The action follows the core family members – two parents, three children, and their eventual spouses – who are originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but who later move and spread, particularly in the present/future timelines, to Alpine, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles, California; and New York City, New York.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the Season 1 podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
This is Episode Three of our “Catching Up on This Is Us” Series. You can listen to Episodes One and Two here and at our audio feeds (Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, and Amazon Music):
Season 1
Season 2
Frequent CPU! contributors and panelists often suggest shows for CPU! to cover in our podcast episodes – loyal listeners should have picked up on this particular trend by now. As the podcast has been underway for several years now, many of our long-yearning Couch Potatoes and This Is Us devotees called repeatedly for a This Is Us panel and subsequently encouraged meticulous season-by-season coverage of the whole shebang. Thus, herein we offer our Season 3 recap and review of This Is Us, in which our panel – consisting of Kristen L, Spencer, Emily, Eddy, Kristin T, and Jared – remarks upon the success or lack thereof of this gripping and layered family drama, and in so doing, ruminates in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and, in the case of this panel, the music of this acclaimed program..
As such, tonight’s episode is the third episode of a four-episode series in which CPU! gets caught up on this show, which premiered on NBC in 2016. In this chapter, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 3 of This Is Us, in which we continue learning about the Pearson family in several different eras of the family’s story and in pieces and parts, providing clues to a larger mystery around how the family survives hardship while remaining centered and grounded in the face of life’s greatest challenges. The enthusiasm from our panel remains palpable, as this series has become one of the highest rated shows (by review of our panelists) that we have covered on the podcast.
This episode was recorded in February 2021, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the third season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our “Star Trek 50+ Series” returns to the Water Cooler to continue their mega-sized Retrospective Series covering all shows under the Star Trek franchise banner. Next week’s episode will talk the penultimate Season 6 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
This Is Us continues to be wholeheartedly and boisterously recommended by our CPU! panel to “almost anyone” who enjoys watching television – full stop – but particularly to those who enjoy family dramas like Parenthood, Brothers & Sisters, and The Council of Dads and to those with some years of life experience behind them that would make some of the more difficult parts of this series, in terms of the challenges that the characters face, resonate more fully on an emotional level with would-be watchers. Our panel believes that this show will appeal most to people who appreciate some reality in their fiction, as opposed to pure fantasy, because the creator and writers have infused their story with an undercurrent of wisdom and a concentrated sense of genuineness that renders the show a fulfilling and emotional viewing experience that keeps one wanting more, as the story is told non-linearly, with meted out clues and parallelisms connecting well-meaning, three-dimensional characters with whom it quickly becomes easy to identify. The panelists universally describe This Is Us as well-written, well performed, and well directed, with expertly plotted, interweaving storylines that both tease the mind and fill the heart and are executed by earnest and genuine performers who breathe a comfortable vitality into smart, relatable, and emotionally complex characters. Our panel notes that a decision to watch this NBC drama should be one made with a firm commitment, a preparation for an investment that requires full concentration for the watch without the “second screen experience” and other distractions, as there are glimpses and hints of story revelations in early seasons that ultimately play out masterfully in later seasons. The panel further praised the casting, lauding the seamless ensemble of this drama and its effortless cast chemistry. In the end, the panelists unanimously enjoy this series and enthusiastically recommend it to any would-be viewer who would be enticed by it to start, without hesitation; in fact, our supersized panel proved all too eager to continue watching – or to re-watch – Season 4, which we will discuss in Episode Four of our “Catching Up” Series next month!
LOOKING AHEAD
NBC renewed This Is Us for three additional seasons, including a sixth season, at the same time that the show received its fourth season renewal (May 2019); Season 5 is currently airing, and a Season 6 premiere date has not yet been announced. It was widely reported as of today’s publication, however, that Season 6 would be the series’ final season, to which our panel will react when they recap and review Season 5 later this year. CPU! will next visit This Is Us for Episode Four of this “Catching Up” Series in June 2021, during which our panel will focus upon Season 4. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, Patreon, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding This Is Us as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in November 2020, our supersized panel of Pearson-loving resident Couch Potatoes – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Kristen (L), Spencer, Eddy, Emily (S), Kristin (T), and Jared – reconvenes around the CPU! Water Cooler, cheering “Big Three!” all the while, to discuss Season 2 of the critically-acclaimed and widely popular NBC family drama This Is Us, in this, Episode Two of our four-part “Catching Up on This Is Us” Series. As always, if you have not watched any of This Is Us, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “This Is Us” is a romantic family drama series that currently airs on NBC, fall to spring Tuesdays at 9:00 PM.
What: Created by Dan Fogelman, the series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different time frames and stars an ensemble cast featuring Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, Jon Huertas, Eris Baker, Faithe Herman, as well as Alexandra Breckenridge and Ron Cephas Jones in Season 2.
When: Season 2 aired on NBC from September 26, 2017, to March 13, 2018, with a total of eighteen episodes.
SYNOPSIS
This Is Us follows the lives of siblings Kevin (Hartley), Kate (Metz), and Randall (Brown, known as the “Big Three”), and their parents Jack (Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Pearson (Moore). It takes place mainly in the present and uses flashbacks to show the family’s past. Kevin and Kate are the two surviving members from a triplet pregnancy, born six weeks premature on Jack’s 36th birthday in 1980; their brother Kyle is stillborn. Believing they were meant to have three children, Jack and Rebecca, who are white, decide to adopt Randall, an African American child born the day before and brought to the same hospital after his biological father William Hill (Jones) abandoned him at a fire station. Jack dies when his children are 17, and Rebecca later marries Jack’s best friend Miguel (Huertas). Randall becomes a successful finance professional and marries college classmate Beth (Watson); they raise two daughters (Tess, played by Eris Baker, and Annie, played by Faithe Herman). Kevin becomes a successful actor while struggling to be taken seriously. After lacking direction much of her life, Kate meets Toby (Sullivan).
Most episodes feature a storyline taking place in the present (contemporaneous with airing) and a storyline taking place at a set time in the past, but some episodes are set in one time period or use multiple flashback time periods. Flashbacks often focus on Jack and Rebecca in and around 1980, both before and after their babies’ birth, or on the family when the Big Three are children or adolescents (and played by two sets of younger actors); these scenes usually take place in Pittsburgh, where the Big Three and their parents are born and raised. As adults, Kate lives in Los Angeles, Randall and his family are in New Jersey, and Kevin relocates from Los Angeles to New York City and back again.
Where: The action follows the core family members – two parents, three children, and their eventual spouses – who are originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but who later move and spread, particularly in the present/future timelines, to Alpine, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles, California; and New York City, New York.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the Season 1 podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
This is Episode Two of our “Catching Up on This Is Us” Series. You can listen to Episode One here and at our audio feeds (Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, and Amazon Music):
Season 1
Frequent CPU! contributors and panelists often suggest shows for CPU! to cover in our podcast episodes – loyal listeners should have picked up on this particular trend by now. As the podcast has been underway for several years now, many of our long-yearning Couch Potatoes and This Is Us devotees called repeatedly for a This Is Us panel and subsequently encouraged meticulous season-by-season coverage of the whole shebang. Thus, herein we offer our Season 2 recap and review of This Is Us, in which our recently formed panel – consisting of Kristen L, Spencer, Emily, Eddy, Kristin T, and Jared – remarks upon the success or lack thereof of this gripping and layered family drama, and in so doing, ruminates in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and, in the case of this panel, the music of this acclaimed program..
As such, tonight’s episode is the second episode of a four-episode series in which CPU! gets caught up on this show, which premiered on NBC in 2016. In this chapter, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 2 of This Is Us, in which we continue learning about the Pearson family in several different eras of the family’s story and in pieces and parts, providing clues to a larger mystery around how the family survives hardship while remaining centered and grounded in the face of life’s greatest challenges. The enthusiasm from our panel remains palpable, as this series has become one of the highest rated shows (by review of our panelists) that we have covered on the podcast.
This episode was recorded in November 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the second season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next week, our Outlander panel re-gathers at the CPU! Water Cooler to continue a five-part Catching-Up series with Episode Three, in which we discuss the third season of the wildly romantic historical Starz drama. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
This Is Us continues to be wholeheartedly and boisterously recommended by our CPU! panel to “almost anyone” who enjoys watching television – full stop – but particularly to those who enjoy family dramas like Parenthood, Brothers & Sisters, and The Council of Dads and to those with some years of life experience behind them that would make some of the more difficult parts of this series, in terms of the challenges that the characters face, resonate more fully on an emotional level with would-be watchers. Our panel believes that this show will appeal most to people who appreciate some reality in their fiction, as opposed to pure fantasy, because the creator and writers have infused their story with an undercurrent of wisdom and a concentrated sense of genuineness that renders the show a fulfilling and emotional viewing experience that keeps one wanting more, as the story is told non-linearly, with meted out clues and parallelisms connecting well-meaning, three-dimensional characters with whom it quickly becomes easy to identify. The panelists universally describe This Is Us as well-written, well performed, and well directed, with expertly plotted, interweaving storylines that both tease the mind and fill the heart and are executed by earnest and genuine performers who breathe a comfortable vitality into smart, relatable, and emotionally complex characters. Our panel notes that a decision to watch this NBC drama should be one made with a firm commitment, a preparation for an investment that requires full concentration for the watch without the “second screen experience” and other distractions, as there are glimpses and hints of story revelations in early seasons that ultimately play out masterfully in later seasons (these become subjects of this and future episodes in our “Catching Up” Series). The panel further praised the casting, lauding the seamless ensemble of this drama and its effortless cast chemistry. In the end, the panelists unanimously enjoy this series and enthusiastically recommend it to any would-be viewer who would be enticed by it to start, without hesitation; in fact, our supersized panel proved all too eager to continue watching – or to re-watch – Season 3, which we will discuss in Episode Three of our “Catching Up” Series next month!
LOOKING AHEAD
NBC renewed This Is Us for three additional seasons, including a sixth season, at the same time that the show received its fourth season renewal (May 2019); Season 5 is currently airing, and a Season 6 premiere date has not yet been announced. CPU! will next visit This Is Us for Episode Three of this “Catching Up” Series in May 2021, during which our This Is Us panel will focus upon Season 3. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, Patreon, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding This Is Us as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in August 2020, our supersized panel of Pearson-loving resident Couch Potatoes – moderator Chief Couch Potato Kylie, Kristen (L), Spencer, Eddy, Emily (S), Kristin (T), and Jared – convenes for the first time around the CPU! Water Cooler, cheering “Big Three!” all the while, to discuss Season 1 of the critically-acclaimed and widely popular NBC family drama This Is Us, in this, Episode One of our four-part “Catching Up on This Is Us” Series. As always, if you have not watched any of This Is Us, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), or our Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/couchpotatoesunite. Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “This Is Us” is a romantic family drama series that currently airs on NBC, fall to spring Tuesdays at 9:00 PM.
What: Created by Dan Fogelman, the series follows the lives and families of two parents and their three children in several different time frames and stars an ensemble cast featuring Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Justin Hartley, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, and Ron Cephas Jones in Season 1.
When: Season 1 aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to March 14, 2017, with a total of eighteen episodes.
Where: The action follows the core family members – two parents, three children, and their eventual spouses – who are originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but who later move and spread, particularly in the present/future timelines, to Alpine, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles, California; and New York City, New York.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the podcast episode via the link below!
How – as in How Was It?
The pilot/premiere rating scale:
***** – I HAVE TO WATCH EVERYTHING. HOLY SMOKES!
**** – Well, it certainly seems intriguing. I’m going to keep watching, but I see possible pitfalls in the premise.
*** – I will give it six episodes and see what happens. There are things I like, and things I don’t. We’ll see which “things” are allowed to flourish.
** – I will give it three episodes. Chances are, I’m mainly bored, but there is some intrigue or fascination that could hold it together. No matter how unlikely.
* – Pass on this one, guys. It’s a snoozer/not funny/not interesting/not my cup of tea… there are too many options to waste time on this one.
This Is Us = 4.8, by average of the podcast panel.
SYNOPSIS
This Is Us follows the lives of siblings Kevin (Hartley), Kate (Metz), and Randall (Brown, known as the “Big Three”), and their parents Jack (Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Pearson (Moore). It takes place mainly in the present and uses flashbacks to show the family’s past. Kevin and Kate are the two surviving members from a triplet pregnancy, born six weeks premature on Jack’s 36th birthday in 1980; their brother Kyle is stillborn. Believing they were meant to have three children, Jack and Rebecca, who are white, decide to adopt Randall, an African American child born the day before and brought to the same hospital after his biological father William Hill (Jones) abandoned him at a fire station. Jack dies when his children are 17, and Rebecca later marries Jack’s best friend Miguel. Randall becomes a successful finance professional and marries college classmate Beth (Watson); they raise two daughters (Tess and Annie). Kevin becomes a successful actor while struggling to be taken seriously. After lacking direction much of her life, Kate meets Toby (Sullivan).
Most episodes feature a storyline taking place in the present (contemporaneous with airing) and a storyline taking place at a set time in the past, but some episodes are set in one time period or use multiple flashback time periods. Flashbacks often focus on Jack and Rebecca in and around 1980, both before and after their babies’ birth, or on the family when the Big Three are children or adolescents (and played by two sets of younger actors); these scenes usually take place in Pittsburgh, where the Big Three and their parents are born and raised. As adults, Kate lives in Los Angeles, Randall and his family are in New Jersey, and Kevin relocates from Los Angeles to New York City and back again.
THOUGHTS
Frequent CPU! contributors and panelists often suggest shows for CPU! to cover in our podcast episodes – loyal listeners should have picked up on this particular trend by now. As the podcast has been underway for several years now, many of our long-yearning Couch Potatoes and This Is Us devotees called repeatedly for a This Is Us panel and subsequently encouraged meticulous season-by-season coverage of the whole complex, multi-layered shebang. Thus, herein we offer our Season 1 recap and review of This Is Us, in which our new panel remarks upon the success or lack thereof of the series. The panel convening at the Water Cooler tonight includes requesting CPU! panelists Kristen (L), our most involved panelist and one of our moderating team; Spencer, our fifth most involved panelist (this week) and one of our moderating team; Eddy, who is currently active on our American Horror Story Series panel but who has appeared on several past panels; Emily (S), who is currently active on our American Horror Story Series and Riverdale panels but who has appeared on several past panels; Kristin (T), who is currently active on our The Crown panel; and Jared, who is currently active on our Full/er House Series panel. Our newly constituted panel of “Big Three”/Pearson supporting Couch Potatoes, therefore, gathered “Around the Water Cooler” to take a “First Look” at this gripping and layered family drama, and in so doing, to ruminate in-depth upon the production values, performances, writing, and, in the case of this panel, the music of this acclaimed program.
As such, tonight’s episode is the first episode of a four-episode series in which CPU! gets caught up on this show, which premiered on NBC in 2016. In this chapter, our panel reflects upon and recaps Season 1 of This Is Us, in which we are introduced to the Pearson family in several different eras of the family’s story and in pieces and parts, providing clues to a larger mystery around how the family survives hardship while remaining centered and grounded in the face of life’s greatest challenges. The enthusiasm from our panel is palpable – this series is one of the highest rated shows (by review of our panelists) that we have covered on the podcast.
This episode was recorded in August 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the first season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, on iHeartRadio, on Amazon Music, and now on Patreon(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our “Star Trek 50+ Series” returns to the Water Cooler to continue their mega-sized Retrospective Series covering all shows under the Star Trek franchise banner. Next week’s episode will talk Season 5 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Stay tuned!
RECOMMENDATION
This Is Us is recommended by our latest CPU! panel to “almost anyone” who enjoys watching television – full stop – but particularly to those who enjoy family dramas like Parenthood, Brothers & Sisters, and The Council of Dads and to those with some years of life experience. Our panel believes that this show will resonate most with people who appreciate some reality in their fiction, as opposed to pure fantasy, because the creator and writers have infused their story with an undercurrent of wisdom and a concentrated sense of genuineness that renders the show a fulfilling and emotional viewing experience that keeps one wanting more, as the story is told non-linearly, with meted out clues and parallelisms connecting well-meaning, three-dimensional characters with whom it quickly becomes easy to identify. The panelists universally describe This Is Us as well-written, well performed, and well directed, with expertly plotted, interweaving storylines that both tease the mind and fill the heart and are executed by earnest and genuine performers who breathe a comfortable vitality into smart, relatable, and emotionally complex characters. Our panel notes that a decision to watch this NBC drama should be one made with a firm commitment, a preparation for an investment that requires full concentration for the watch without the “second screen experience” and other distractions, as there are glimpses and hints of story revelations in early seasons that ultimately play out masterfully in later seasons (these become subjects of future episodes in our “Catching Up” Series). The panel further praised the casting, lauding the seamless ensemble of this drama and its effortless cast chemistry. In the end, the panelists unanimously enjoy this series and enthusiastically recommend it to any would-be viewer who would be enticed by it to start, without hesitation; in fact, our supersized panel proved all too eager to continue watching – or to re-watch – Season 2, which we will discuss in Episode Two of our “Catching Up” Series next month!
THE FUTURE OF THE SHOW
NBC renewed This Is Us for three additional seasons, including a sixth season, at the same time that the show received its fourth season renewal (May 2019); Season 5 is currently airing, and a Season 6 premiere date has not yet been announced. CPU! will next visit This Is Us for Episode Two of this “Catching Up” Series in April 2021, during which our This Is Us panel will focus upon Season 2. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Castbox, Amazon Music, Patreon, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding This Is Us as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded LIVE via Zoom on FACEBOOK in September 2020, our enthusiastically reunited Downton Abbey panel – moderator Kylie, Kristen (L), Krista, Stacey, Spencer, and Kristin (T) – reconvenes Around the (Virtual and Quarantined) Water Cooler for a special live-streamed CPU! reunion special in which we review and recap the big screen reunion of the cast of a small screen CPU! favorite, Downton Abbey. If you have not watched any of the Downton Abbey film or the original six seasons of the Downton Abbey series, be aware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
PS: This audio episode has only been *lightly edited* to streamline for time and sound quality; since the episode was live, (most of) our bugaboos were left in tact. There’s nothing like spontaneity, after all, and the show must go on!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “Downton Abbey,” a feature film reunion of the Downton Abbey television series cast.
What: “Downton Abbey,” a historical drama written by Julian Fellowes, creator and writer of the television series of the same name, and directed by Michael Engler.
SYNOPSIS
The film continues the story from the series, with much of the original cast returning. In the film, the King and Queen of England pay a visit to the Crawley family’s English country house, the abbey of the series and film’s name, in the Yorkshire countryside. As the Royal staff descend upon Downton, an assassin has also arrived; he attempts to kill the monarch. The family and servants are pitted against the royal entourage, including the Queen’s lady-in-waiting (Imelda Staunton), who has fallen out with the Crawleys, especially with the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith), over an inheritance issue.
When: The movie was released for nationwide distribution in the United States on September 20, 2019.
Where: The show is set Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, in the year 1927.
Why: CPU! had a Downton Abbey panel that covered the television series, and they proved eager to host a reunion of their own. So, we took a break from watching television and decided to go to the cinema!
Our Downton Abbey panel of fans and enthusiasts of varying degrees – Kristen (L), Krista, Stacey, Spencer and Kristin T. – proved more than a little excited to reunite, after four years since this specific panel gathered to talk about the lush and sweeping historical drama underlying Downton Abbey, when they learned that the cast and production team were themselves reuniting to create a feature film continuing where the Downton series left off. Though events of 2020, including some trials and tribulations affecting lives behind the podcast, not to mention the onset of a little thing like a global pandemic, delayed our discussion, our panel was quite prompt about going to the local multiplex together to watch Downton as a group. Speaking of said pandemic, and as time went on, it became apparent that Downton proved to be a perfect topic for one of our (sort of) live-streamed podcast episodes. Thus, our panelists donned their best 1920s-inspired apparel and/or sported their most Downton-influenced Zoom backgrounds and found their way back to the CPU! Water Cooler, in a real time way, in this, our semi-quarantined, pandemic-driven epoch.
Though we were beset by some of the usual technical difficulties that come with broadcasting Zoom (and converting the resulting sound file), there were, at least, no echoes this time as the panel happily broke down the opulent finery and the less fine, even disappointing, elements of the Downton Abbey reunion film. Without so much as a beat signifying the elapse of four years, our panelists eagerly delved deep once more, reminiscing about what we loved and what we did not like as much from Downton’s original six seasons while considering whether the ensuing film adequately and satisfyingly lived up to the series’ legacy. The panelists’ individual reactions to that final consideration are decidedly mixed. Some of our panelists felt that the film confirmed and brought to bear everything that our panelists previously adored about the show with the kind of short-term elation that something like found money in an old coat pocket can inspire, while other panelists craved more substance from what was tantamount to a buffet of sometimes abruptly sampled tidbits of the characters we so loved and held dear; these panelists believed that the film never left their bellies, hearts, and minds as full as when the series bowed in 2015. Of course, we dissect those individual reactions in more detail in tonight’s episode.
This podcast episode was recorded LIVE on Facebook on September 10, 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as we cover major plot points of the Downton Abbey film and, to some extent, the original series. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, and on iHeartRadio(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! This Thursday, a new panel convenes Around the Water Cooler to take a First Look while Looking Back (hey, sometimes we’re complicated around here) at the first two seasons of cable network USA’s recently ended, gritty thriller Mr. Robot, in the first part of a three-part (not a two-part, despite what is said in the recording) Retrospective dissecting how this unusual show effectively hacked the hearts and minds of the new panel’s constituents. This upcoming three-parter’s parts will publish consecutively and will feature guest panelists from fellow podcast Mr. Rewatch, which devoted its topical discussions to analysis of each episode of the series. Stay tuned – you won’t want to miss these very in-depth and thought-provoking chats!
RECOMMENDATION
Our Downton Abbey panel cautiously, even tepidly, recommends the reunion film almost exclusively to fans of the original Downton Abbey television series, as our panelists felt strongly that the film would be unlikely to serve as a proper introduction to the world of Downton to someone attempting to enter said world for the first time. In fact, the panelists collectively agreed that unless an uninitiated viewer proved particularly curious about the historical accuracy of the beautiful costumes and/or art direction, or was a devotee of Dame Maggie Smith, the film cannot exist effectively as a standalone chapter. Much of the storytelling steered toward being primarily fan service and, therefore, would only appeal to viewers previously knowledgeable of Downton, as the film included some running bits from and paid off character arcs seeded in the original six seasons of the series. As it is, some of the panelists stated clearly that they felt that the movie somewhat watered down the legacy of Downton, even as other panelists praised the film for its ability to juggle a large main cast of characters over the space of two hours or so of running length while providing at least a substantive glimpse into the lives of those beloved characters after the passing of four years since we last watched them.
Did you watch the DowntonAbbey film? Let us know in the comments, and tell us what you thought of it! In addition, though our Downton coverage is again, for the time being, done, don’t be surprised if it makes an appearance or two in coming discussions, from time to time (like it did tonight!). For now, our Downton Abbey panel and I once more bid you all adieu…until the next time?
THE MUSIC OF “DOWNTON ABBEY”
In tonight’s episode, the panelists all described how much they love the Downton Abbey theme and score, of which all six of us were viscerally reminded when the opening credits of the reunion film rolled. To celebrate the chills-inducing beauty of this classic theme, we link below the referenced suite underlying the theme of the series, which is used again in the film. If, like panelist Stacey, you would like to make it your new ringtone, we only hope that linking it here has made that task easier.
A new podcast episode of Couch Potatoes Unite!, which is based on a blog of the same name hosted at our website: couchpotatoesunite.wordpress.com. In this episode, recorded in May 2020, our panel of regal CPU! faithful – moderator Krista, Spencer, Samantha, Kristin (T), Chief CP Kylie, and new panelist (to panel and to podcast) Todd – (re)convenes around the CPU! Water Cooler to discuss Season 3 of lush Netflix biopic The Crown. As always, if you have not watched any of The Crown, be aware that there are, most definitely, MAJOR SPOILERS (history be darned)! Tell us what you think, and/or if there are other shows you’re interested in CPU! covering, below; email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com; or check out our Guestbook at the website, our Facebook page, our Twitter (@cpupodcast), or our Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite). Until next time, until next episode…buh bye!
Executive Producer/Chief Couch Potato: Kylie C. Piette Associate Producers: Krista Pennington and Selene Rezmer
Editor: Kylie C. Piette Logo: Rebecca Wallace Marketing Graphic Artist: Krista Pennington
Theme Song: Written by: Sarah Milbratz Singers: Sarah Milbratz, Amy McDaniel, Kels Rezmer Keyboard: Kels Rezmer Bass: Ian McDonough Guitar: Christian Somerville Engineer/Production: Kyle Aspinall/Christian Somerville
Who: “The Crown” is a historical drama and web/streaming series available to Netflix subscribers exclusively, as it is Netflix produced original content.
What: “The Crown,” created and principally written by Peter Morgan, is a biographical story about the reign of Her Royal Majesty (HRM) Queen Elizabeth II.
SYNOPSIS
The Crown traces the life of Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman, in Season 3) from her wedding in 1947 to Prince Philip (Tobias Menzies, in Season 3) through to the present day.
When: Season 3 was released to the Netflix streaming library on November 17, 2019, with a total of 10 episodes.
Where: The action is set primarily in the United Kingdom, England, and in London, where the Queen and the Royal Family by and large reside.
Why: To find out why individual podcast panelists started watching this show, listen to the podcast episode covering Season 1 via the link below!
How – as in How Was It? – THOUGHTS
If you haven’t listened to CPU!’s The Crown coverage, which we’ve been discussing since its auspicious beginnings, listen via the embedded links below:
Season 1
Season 2
As you might recall, by popular request, though notably by established CPU! panelists and viewers, The Crown became a new show panel at the CPU! Water Cooler! last year. Our regal The Crown panelists – moderator Krista; Spencer; his wife, Kristin T; Samantha; and me, your Chief CP; as well as a panelist new to both the panel and the podcast – (re)convened “Around the Water Cooler” to talk about the most recent season of this lush biopic, including the anthology-driven cast changes in the leading roles for Season 3. In so doing, we ruminate in-depth upon the production values, performances, and general historical accuracy of this show about a living monarch, with some overall improved reactions as well as, on the whole, better engaged suspensions of disbelief.
In tonight’s episode, our panel reflects on and recaps Season 3 of The Crown, covering 1964 to 1977, beginning with Harold Wilson’s (Jason Watkins) election as Prime Minister and ending with Queen Elizabeth II’s (Colman) Silver Jubilee. This season also depicts Edward Heath’s (Michael Maloney) time as Prime Minister and introduces Camilla Shand (Emerald Fennell).
This episode was recorded in May 2020, and there are, without question, MAJOR SPOILERS, as the panelists cover key plot points of the third season. Listen at your own risk, and let us know what you think by commenting below!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@cpupodcast), Instagram (@couchpotatoesunite), Pinterest (@cpupodcast), or email us at couchpotatoesunitepodcast@gmail.com – or subscribe to this blog, the YouTube channel, our Apple/iTunes channel, our Stitcher Radio channel , find us on Google Play, on Spotify, on Castbox, and on iHeartRadio(!) to keep track of brand new episodes. In the meantime, let us know what you think! Comment or review us in any of the above forums – we’d love your feedback!
Remember, new episodes and blog posts are published weekly! Next Wednesday, our Game of Thrones panel finally returns to the Water Cooler, one of two final triumphant times, with a spirited review of the long-running fantasy series’ controversial eighth and final season. In addition, LIVE and on Facebook that same night, our Associate Producer Krista will be facilitating TV Trivia with CPU! to raise money for charity. Stay tuned!
Questions, Impressions, and Future Considerations
Old Questions
1) What will we see in Season 3? The panel predicts more Princess Margaret (Vanessa Kirby, in Seasons 1 and 2; Helena Bonham-Carter, in Seasons 3 and 4) than ever before as well as depictions of how the House of Windsor deals with the fallout of her life’s choices.
ANSWER: We see, among other elements, the tenures of Prime Ministers Wilson and Heath, the tragedy at Aberfan, the United States moon landing, Prince Philip’s (Menzies) struggle with his position and his spirituality, Princess Margaret’s (Carter) struggle with her position and her marriage, Prince Charles’ (Josh O’Connor) struggle with his position and his sense of contentment, and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. On the whole, we are probably entreated to equivalent amounts of time with Princess Margaret, though we do get to experience some of the family’s reaction to her life choices. Listen to tonight’s podcast episodes for details.
2) Will we get to see HRM the Queen being more matronly to her four children in Season 3, as they will presumably be older and less reliant on nannies and nursemaids?
ANSWER: We hardly see HRM the Queen interact with any of her children except Prince Charles and Princess Anne (Erin Doherty), though the interactions are quite remarkable. Listen to tonight’s podcast episode for details.
3) The Queen will now be played by Olivia Colman (Broadchurch), and Prince Philip will be played by Tobias Menzies (Outlander). Will we as the viewers be able to suspend our disbelief, having watched Claire Foy and Matt Smith in those roles, respectively, for the first two seasons?
ANSWER: The unanimous consensus of the panelists’ opinions is resoundingly “YES!” All panelists highly praised the transition to and performances of Colman and Menzies in their respective roles in tonight’s discussion.
4) Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) has been tapped to play Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. How much of the Iron Lady will we see in Season 3?
ANSWER: None. She will likely appear in Season 4, as Thatcher was elected after 1977.
5) Will the viewers watch televised depictions of further shrinking of the Commonwealth, as more nations asserted independence from The Crown?
ANSWER: The issues surrounding the truncation of the Commonwealth are not focal subjects of Season 3.
New Questions
1) Emma Corrin (Pennyworth) has been tapped to play Princess Diana. How much of “England’s Rose” will we see in Season 4?
2) Will Dame Helen Mirren make any kind of appearance at any point, since she has already played Queen Elizabeth II in other Peter Morgan vehicles?
3) Will Season 4 cover the war in the Falklands? How much of Margaret Thatcher’s prime ministry will we witness, and who will the show cast to play US President Ronald Reagan and President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev during the 1980s Cold War, presuming that we see the significant portions of Thatcher’s tenure as Prime Minister in the next season?
4) Will we see or be introduced to older versions of Princes Andrew and Edward, since we met young adult versions of Prince Charles and Princess Anne in Season 3?
5) Why is the Queen Mother Elizabeth (Marion Bailey) so plotting and cruel-seeming in this series compared to what was perceived to be her real-life persona?
6) What new events in British history will those of us across the pond be exposed to via the retelling and dramatizations of the House of Windsor in Season 4 to which we haven’t already been exposed by mainstream media? The panelists find themselves surprised each season by information we learn that we did not previously know.
PARTING SHOTS
The Crown continues to be recommended by all current members of our CPU! panel to so-called Anglophiles; to fans of British/English history; to general history buffs; to fans of creator Peter Morgan; and to followers of the Royals. The panelists universally agree that the production values are notably expensive but predominantly worth the money, given the painstakingly remarkable recreations employed in costumes, art direction, and cinematography. The panelists also proffer, by and large, that Season 3 is the best of the available seasons so far, or is at least as good as the first two seasons, since the panelists moreover agree that Colman wonderfully transitioned the characterizations of Queen Elizabeth II from Claire Foy’s expert depiction to her own, and that Tobias Menzies’ portrayal of Prince Philip vastly improved over Matt Smith’s Seasons 1 and 2 performances (cool bow-tie-wearing Eleventh Doctor though he was). In contrast, the panelists struggled somewhat with the change from Vanessa Kirby to Helena Bonham Carter in the Princess Margaret role, noting that the two actresses brought two noticeably different energies to the character portrayal, differences that cannot be fully explained, seemingly, by details of the real-life biographical evolution and turbulence surrounding the actual Margaret in her middle aged years. The panelists further expressed that the pacing in the third season (or series if you’re British) markedly rallied, in light of the fact that there was less emphasis on potentially salacious details relied upon by the writers in order to render the overall story a bit spicier than actual history while, alternatively, spending thoughtful amounts of story real estate on lesser known events that humanized the individual members of the royal family rather than glorified or vilified them, depending upon the event in question. In any event, the panelists, particularly given the lush production values and praiseworthy refinements in the third season, were universally enticed if not altogether eager to continue watching additional seasons, especially the upcoming Season 4.
LOOKING AHEAD
Netflix renewed The Crown for fourth, fifth, AND sixth seasons, with the fourth season expected to release late in 2020, though no tentative premiere date has yet been announced and will likely be delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the meantime, CPU! will next reconvene our The Crown panel some time following the release of the fourth season. Like, follow, and/or subscribe to the website, Apple Podcasts/iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, Castbox, iHeartRadio, or our social media accounts to stay abreast of new episodes regarding The Crown as well as new episodes for all of our podcast panels! And, if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Thank you!
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