Screen Babble podcast: Extraordinary, the 2023 Oscar nominations, and The Masked Singer - episode 10

Screen Babble is your essential guide to everything on television, from the mainstream to the marginal. NationalWorld’s podcast producer Kelly Crichton, news and trends expert Steven Ross, and critic Alex Moreland discuss what is – and what isn’t – worth watching.

As ever, we begin by discussing what we’ve been watching lately. Steven’s been taking advantage of a Paramount+ free trial to check out Top Gun: Maverick and some of the recent South Park specials, while Kelly has finished The White Lotus (which she enjoyed) and The Rig (which she didn’t). Alex, meanwhile, has been watching Channel 4’s new cult comedy Everyone Else Burns, and is continuing to work his way through Happy Valley – will he be completely caught up in time for the big finale? We also debated the merits of Kelly’s new obsession The Masked Singer, and whether or not the celebrities are really there through the whole competition.

Next, Alex takes a closer look at the new Disney+ comedy Extraordinary, a typical flatshare sitcom set in a completely atypical world. It’s smart and funny, completely counter to what you’d imagine when someone says “Disney+ superhero sitcom”, and features a real star making turn from lead actor Máiréad Tyers – definitely one to check out as soon as you can.

Steven brings us Back to the Future with a look to the actual future, for a change – this week, we’re talking Oscars. Who will win? Who will lose? What were the surprise nominations – and what shouldn’t have made the list? And, most importantly, where can you find a close statistical analysis of the average runtime of this year’s Best Picture nominees?

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for Steven’s Weekend Watch Mini-Babble, previewing all the best TV to watch over the next few days.

Listen to Screen Babble #10 here…

Screen Babble: how to follow the show

• Screen Babble is available to download on all podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify
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• Do you have a TV question you’d like the Screen Babble team to answer on a future episode, or a recommendation of your own? Send it to [email protected] or [email protected]