Geek Girl Soup – Details, episodes & analysis

ATXtv Day 4 – We Are Leftovers & Mad Men Magic

This was the day. The reason Susan and Cort traveled to Austin: The Leftovers cast reunion panel. Get ready for chills, tears, laughter, and maybe even some “JustinKevin” spiritual energy. Then, they rounded out the evening with the 10th anniversary celebration of Mad Men’s finale—aka  Jon Hamm worship. From mystical on-set experiences to Chipotle firsts, this ep covers it all.

00:00 – Leftovers Day Begins!

Lined up early with the superfans. The anticipation, the crowd, the vibe… all worth it.

03:00 – The Leftovers Cast Panel

Ann Dowd, Amy Brenneman, Carrie Coon, Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta, and Mimi Leder deliver heartwarming stories, behind-the-scenes truths, and long-awaited answers.

35:00 – Mad Men Panel

Jon Hamm, John Slattery, and moderator Noah Hawley dish about casting, smoking 72 fake cigarettes, and why slouching was banned on set.

51:00 – Chipotle Firsts & ATX Fest Wrap-Up

Granola bar survival tips, cotton candy nightcaps, and exhausted reflections from four full days of TV nerdery.

📺 Panels & Shows Mentioned:

• The Leftovers (HBO)
• Mad Men (AMC)

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Original music by Garrett Thompson

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Geek on!

Part 2 – Lost Authors, Leftover Fans & Legendary Voices

Our Day 3 (or Festival Day 2?) brought surprises, voice crushes, elevator chaos, and fangirling in full force. Susan and Cort dive into early screenings (Duster Ep. 4), secret societies in Anne Rice’s universe, and a panel with Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta. Expect TV nerdiness, near-missed seats, and Cort’s personal vendetta against chocolate croissants.

00:00 – Rainy mornings & lazy starts

Skipped morning panels to recover from late-night storms and schedule shuffles.

02:00 – Duster Episode 4 Early Screening

Seventies vibes, FBI twists, Keith David’s velvet voice, and car chases galore.

07:00 – AMC’s Anne Rice Universe Panel

Interview with the Vampire season 3 updates, Talamacus show revelations, and a new rockstar vampire on the rise. Yes, actual rock songs are coming.

24:00 – Showrunners & Authors Panel

Elevator drama, sneaking into packed rooms, and saving seats like champions. Damon & Tom spill tea on The Leftovers, book-to-screen shifts, and Carrie Coon’s game-changing performance.

41:00 – Punch Bowl Burgers & Restaurant Rejections

A Big-Ass Burger and a big-ass letdown when their favorite restaurant becomes VIP-only.

46:30 – Book Club Curveball

Cort and Susan attend an ATXtv “book club” hoping for another Damon & Tom Q&A... only to realize they were never coming. Womp womp.

50:00 – Poolside Nostalgia & Looking Ahead to the Cast Panel

Photos, chills, and predictions for Day 4’s main event: The Leftovers cast reunion.

📺 Panels & Shows Mentioned:

• Duster
• Interview with the Vampire
• The Mayfair Witches
• We Were Liars
• The Leftovers
• The Vampire Diaries
• Lost

Part 2 – Lost Authors, Leftover Fans & Legendary Voices

Our Day 3 (or Festival Day 2?) brought surprises, voice crushes, elevator chaos, and fangirling in full force. Susan and Cort dive into early screenings (Duster Ep. 4), secret societies in Anne Rice’s universe, and a panel with Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta. Expect TV nerdiness, near-missed seats, and Cort’s personal vendetta against chocolate croissants.

00:00 – Rainy mornings & lazy starts

Skipped morning panels to recover from late-night storms and schedule shuffles.

02:00 – Duster Episode 4 Early Screening

Seventies vibes, FBI twists, Keith David’s velvet voice, and car chases galore.

07:00 – AMC’s Anne Rice Universe Panel

Interview with the Vampire season 3 updates, Talamacus show revelations, and a new rockstar vampire on the rise. Yes, actual rock songs are coming.

24:00 – Showrunners & Authors Panel

Elevator drama, sneaking into packed rooms, and saving seats like champions. Damon & Tom spill tea on The Leftovers, book-to-screen shifts, and Carrie Coon’s game-changing performance.

41:00 – Punch Bowl Burgers & Restaurant Rejections

A Big-Ass Burger and a big-ass letdown when their favorite restaurant becomes VIP-only.

46:30 – Book Club Curveball

Cort and Susan attend an ATXtv “book club” hoping for another Damon & Tom Q&A... only to realize they were never coming. Womp womp.

50:00 – Poolside Nostalgia & Looking Ahead to the Cast Panel

Photos, chills, and predictions for Day 4’s main event: The Leftovers cast...

This week on Geek Girl Soup, Susan, Kelly, and Cort dive deep into the Apple TV+ two-part documentary Number One on the Call Sheet. The series honors Black excellence in Hollywood, focusing on the journeys of Black leading men and women who’ve redefined what it means to be at the top. From Eddie Murphy’s early meteoric rise to Angela Bassett’s powerhouse presence, this episode is all about spotlighting the trailblazers who’ve shaped the culture.

We reflect on:

• How representation on screen (and behind it) has changed over the decades
• The painful beauty of Black women’s stories in Hollywood
• What it really means to be number one on the call sheet
• Standout moments from the documentary, including tributes to Chadwick Boseman and the legendary Halle Berry Oscar moment

A few standout quotes:

• “A gun might stop a life, but a gun can’t stop the stories.” – Alfre Woodard
• “I felt safe for the first time on set when all the hair and makeup people were Black.” – Tiffany Haddish

Plus, we touch on Denzel’s modern-day Othello, the tragic legacy of Richard Chamberlain, and our usual buffet of current watches and recommendations!

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Intro + Initial thoughts on Number One on the Call Sheet

00:03:00 — Tangents: Hollywood Black, No Other Land, and real-world headlines

00:07:00  — Broadway buzz: Denzel as Othello, ticket prices, and the theater-to-screen pipeline

00:11:00 — RIP Richard Chamberlain and remembering The Thorn Birds

00:13:00 — What We’re Watching: Ghosts UK, The Residence The Underdoggs

00:23:00 — Cort’s Corner: Beyond the Gates

00:28:00 — The youth are NOT alright: Cringe Gen Z dialogue

00:31:00 — Full deep dive: Number One on the Call Sheet

• Celebrating Black joy, struggle, and trailblazing talent
• The importance of proper hair and makeup for Black actors
• The power of storytelling and legacy

01:08:00 — The Halle Berry Oscar legacy and the pain of tokenism

01:14:00 — Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman, and global Black excellence

01:22:00 — Next week: “Hidden Gems” with Radius, Upgrade, and The Endless

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Original music by Garrett Thompson

Follow us:

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Continue the conversation on Facebook

Listen to Cort's podcast with Brad at PureFandom.com

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Email your questions and comments to GeekGirlSoup@gmail.com

Geek on!

“Welcome to Miracle National Park, the most populated bordered area unaffected by the Sudden Departure. We hope you leave heartened by this living reminder of the world as it was and what it can be again.”

Don’t forget to keep your wristbands on at all times. Stay out of the swimming hole. And don’t bother the locals!

Guess what. Susan and Kelly took a lil’ ol’ road trip over to Jarden and did, in fact, bother the locals! 

Oh, my lord, we found the actual Durst/Garvey and Murphey houses, the fire station, the church, and the courthouse! Unfortunately, the goat-sacrificing diner had shut down. But we found a cozy little café down the street fr lunch. See some photos on the website!

In this episode, we chat with Amelia about her experience watching the first episode. Then we answer some “deep questions” about the series.

And, if you didn’t notice, this episode is the first one of… SEASON 13! Woo hoo! By our rough count, this is episode 583 overall!

Next week: We’re celebrating National Alaska Day! We’ll be watching something along the lines of “The Grey” (max), “30 Days of Night” (AMC+), or “Grizzly Man” (AMZ Prime). We’re also considering two rentable options: “Into the Wild” and the Christopher Nolan version of “Insomnia.”

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Original music by Garrett Thompson

Follow us:

• Instagram @GeekGirlSoup
• BlueSky @GeekGirlSoup

Continue the conversation on Facebook

Listen to Cort's podcast with Brad at PureFandom.com

Check out Susan’s movie stats on Letterboxd 

Email your questions and comments to GeekGirlSoup@gmail.com

Geek on!

After all the kerfuffle last year about the negative connotation of “nepo babies” in the entertainment industry, we thought we’d put a positive spin on Hollywood legacy families. 

We don’t choose our parents, right? Sometimes, kids end up being as good as—or even better than—their parents. Not always, of course!

And that’s what we’re discussing in this episode. We take a totally subjective look at some Hollywood legacies. We discuss who made it bigger than their parents, who’s just as good/big as their parents, who’s a great actor, who’s a “fine” actor, and who’s, well, not so great. And we talk about a few films/shows that feature a parent and their kid. 

Some examples:

• Miley Cyrus
• Jamie Lee Curtis
• John David Washington
• Margaret Qualley
• Alexander Skarsgard
• Domhnall Gleeson
• Kate Hudson
• Kiefer Sutherland
• Colin Hanks
• Angelina Jolie

Correction: “Love Story” came out in 1970. I’ve rethought Mariska Hargitay vs Jane Mansfield through the lens of who may be more remembered in 50 years.

Next week:

Can you believe we start season 13 next week with the 6th annual rewatch of HBO’s “The Leftovers”? You can bet that we’ll have new insights and commentary for you. And… we’re even planning a little roadtrip!

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Original music by Garrett Thompson

Follow us:

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Geek on!

We watched the documentary film “Classic Albums: Peter Gabriel - So,” but mostly we’re talking about our favorite PG music and concert moments. And, of course, we just had to watch “Say Anything.” Wouldn’t you?

Kelly saw Peter’s I/o Tour live in Pittsburgh this past weekend. So, we talk about that and how it holds up to his past concerts.

Susan and Kelly are old enough to have fallen in love with Peter’s music during his 1 - 4 phase, also known as Car, Scratch, Melt, and Security. We mostly listened to “4” this past couple of weeks, while Cort mostly listened to “So.” 

A few highlights from this episode:

• “Solsbury Hill” was Peter’s first solo single
• Due to some confusion, Peter first rejected Cameron Crowe’s request to have “In Your Eyes” for “Say Anything.” Cameron kept pushing because all the other songs he tried totally failed to have the impact he wanted.
• There were hundreds of variations of the song “In Your Eyes,” pieced together with 96 different versions on multitrack
• Manu Katché recorded the drums for “Sledgehammer” in one take
• The Pittsburgh I/o concert was excellent, even most of the new songs (Kelly highly recommends!)
• “So” producer Daniel Lanois locked Peter in a barn to get him to finish some lyrics
• “So” was the quickest album Peter had made up to that point in a “speedy” 10 months
• Four Peter Gabriel songs appear in our beloved series “The Americans”
• We do not break out into song in this episode (copyright infringement!), but we do share a few lyrics!

Next week: Hollywood Legacy Families!

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Original music by Garrett Thompson

Follow us:

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Continue the conversation on Facebook

Listen to Cort's podcast with Brad at PureFandom.com

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Email your questions and comments to GeekGirlSoup@gmail.com

Geek on!

In 1985, Gen X had “Just One of the Guys.” Remember that gem? (We did love it!) Maybe we’ll watch it on its 40th anniversary. But this week we went back to 1983 and watched “Yentl,” same Shakespearean premise of a woman pretending to be a man to succeed in a man’s world.

Yentl is an Ashkenazi Jewish girl living in Eastern Europe in 1907 in a community where women are not permitted to study the Talmud. But her forward-thinking father does indeed teach her the sacred texts. When her father dies, Yentl cuts her hair, leaves town, finds a religious school, and takes on the name Anshel so that she can become a Jewish scholar.

The film is directed by and stars Barbra Streisand. She was even nominated for best director at the 1984 Academy Awards. Mandy Patinkin and Amy Irving also star in the film as fellow Talmud scholar (the former), wife (the later), and dual love interests.

Watch the film on max!

Next week: Kelly is seeing Peter Gabriel’s I/o tour in Pittsburgh, so we’re watching the documentary “Classic Albums: Peter Gabriel - So” on Amazon Prime with ads.  

-

Original music by Garrett Thompson

Follow us:

• Instagram @GeekGirlSoup
• BlueSky @GeekGirlSoup

Continue the conversation on Facebook

Listen to Cort's podcast with Brad at PureFandom.com

Check out Susan’s movie stats on Letterboxd 

Email your questions and comments to GeekGirlSoup@gmail.com

Geek on!

The Geek Girls are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month! We watched part of the telenovela “Tierra de Reyes,” several of the “Habla” series on max, and a host of fabulous women on YouTube.

Of course, we get sidetracked right from the start. So, feel free to jump straight to 21 minutes to get to the topic! Otherwise, listen in as we chat about “Who Is Erin Carter?”, “Creamery,” “Dear Child,” “From,” and The Walking Dead Universe. (Will it never end???)

Some fabulous Latinas to check out:

• Fighting Words with Aida Rodriguez
• Gloria Zamora
• X Mayo
• Danielle Perez
• Karolena Theresa at Hoes with Feelings
• These2 Locas

Next week: The 40th anniversary of “Yentl” (on max)!

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Original music by Garrett Thompson

Follow us:

• Instagram @GeekGirlSoup
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Continue the conversation on Facebook

Listen to Cort's podcast with Brad at PureFandom.com

Check out Susan’s movie stats on Letterboxd 

Email your questions and comments to GeekGirlSoup@gmail.com

Geek on!

Our Hollywood insider, Erik C. Andersen, is back to give us the scoop on the writers and actors strikes that have movies and tv shows at a standstill. 

Erik is an Emmy Award-winning editor who has joined writers and actors on the picket line to show his support for fair wages and judicious/limited use of AI in film and tv.

This episode is the full interview Susan and Kelly did with Erik, an excerpt of which you heard in episode 12.51.

In this episode, Erik shares:

• A clip from the picket line
• An example of how one actor was barely paid for the use of her likeness in a film
• Some of the issues of using AI in editing
• Other insider details about the strikes

See Erik’s filmography on IMDb:

http://tinyurl.com/ggserik

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Original music by Garrett Thompson

Follow us:

• Instagram @GeekGirlSoup
• BlueSky @GeekGirlSoup

Continue the conversation on Facebook

Listen to Cort's podcast with Brad at PureFandom.com

Check out Susan’s movie stats on Letterboxd 

Email your questions and comments to GeekGirlSoup@gmail.com

Geek on!

We’re celebrating Labor Day at Geek Girl Soup with a few movies and a TV show that explore various working conditions.

We start with the HBO limited series “Telemarketers,” which looks at the horrors both of how telemarketing companies treat their workers, and also how these companies deal with consumers and the “nonprofits” they allegedly raise money for. This is a scrappy little series that had almost no budget. It has original footage from inside one of the earliest scummy telemarketing companies.

We move on to Sally Field in “Norma Rae.” You’ve probably seen this Oscar-winning film in which Norma Rae helps unionize the textile factory where pretty much the entire town works.

We also watched “Up in the Air,” in which George Clooney spends nine months of the years traveling the country firing people. 

For fun, we watched “Working Girl” and “9 to 5.” We were disappointed that “Working Girl” pits woman against women. You know, “there can be only one” women in the boys club. Sigh. But yay for the glorious sisterhood of Lily, Dolly, and Jane!

You’ll hear an excerpt of a discussion Susan and Kelly had with Erik C. Andersen, Hollywood editor. We talk all about the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. If you want to listen to our full interview with Erik, it will be out later this week.

Next week: We’re celebrating the start of Hispanic Heritage Month! 

-

Original music by Garrett Thompson

Follow us:

• Instagram @GeekGirlSoup
• BlueSky @GeekGirlSoup

Continue the conversation on Facebook

Listen to Cort's podcast with Brad at PureFandom.com

Check out Susan’s movie stats on Letterboxd 

Email your questions and comments to GeekGirlSoup@gmail.com

Geek on!