Welcome to another episode of TV's Top 5, The Hollywood Reporter's TV podcast.
Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the week in TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners and executive guests and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as the case may be).
This week, we continue to come to you remotely — via the wonders of Google Hangout and our incredible producers — as we do our part to keep a social distance in this uncertain time.
This week's five topics are:
1. How broadcast networks are adapting.
Production remains shut down and the pipeline for scripted and unscripted originals only has so much content left in it before the cupboards are bare. This segment looks at the ways in which the broadcast networks are looking to fill their respective scheduling holes.
The segment begins at the 4:29 mark.
2. Saying our farewells.
This week, TV viewers said farewell to ABC's Modern Family and Pop TV's Schitt's Creek. In this segment, Fienberg takes a critical look at how both shows ended and the legacies both leave behind.
Begins at the 13:36 mark.
3. Mailbag!
Given the reduction in the amount of breaking TV news, we're asking our loyal listeners to send us burning questions about the industry to help us fill the void. And you delivered! This segment explores topics including Passover-themed episodes to watch this week, the state of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer update, what "trash talk" looks like among TV critics and more.
Begins at the 22:59 mark.
4. Showrunner Spotlight: Dahvi Waller.
The Mrs. America showrunner stopped by in late February for an in-person interview (remember those?) to discuss her star-studded FX on Hulu limited series. The wide-ranging discussion starts with the pitch process for the series and how it landed at FX (and then moved to the streamer as part of the cable network's dedicated channel), why she opted to tell the story through a conservative lens, how she landed Cate Blanchett and, well, a killer cast and if the series could return for a second season.
The interview begins at the 38:15 mark.
5. Critic's Corner.
As usual, every episode ends with Fienberg offering his thoughts on what to watch (or skip). This week, he weighs in on Mrs. America, HBO's Run, Netflix's Brews Brothers and more.
Tune in starting at the 1:14:21 mark.
Coming next week: Suzanne Heathcote joins us for a Showrunner Spotlight interview about the third season of Killing Eve.
Hear it all now on TV's Top 5. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to never miss an episode. (Reviews welcome!) You can also email Goldberg and Fienberg with any topics or questions you'd like to be addressed in future episodes at TVsTop5@THR.com.
TV's Top 5 is part of THR's roster of podcasts, including Awards Chatter, Scott Feinberg's weekly in-depth (and award-winning) interview show focusing on the most interesting talents of the Oscar and Emmy seasons; genre reporter Josh Wigler's Series Regular; crafts expert Carolyn Giardina's weekly series, Behind the Screen, which explores the top artists and technologies creating film and TV magic; Seth Abramovitch's monthly series, It Happened in Hollywood, which revisits indelible moments from 90 years of THR's entertainment history; and Hollywood Remixed, hosted by Rebecca Ford and Rebecca Sun, which focuses on underrepresented or misrepresented stories and characters in Hollywood. Other podcasts are in the works.
