Advertise on podcast: Contending at the Water Cooler

Joey and Clarence are joined by Mark Johnson to recap the first few days of the 2026 Middleburg Film Festival. Joey, Clarence, and Mark gather in the luxurious Salamander Resort room of Variety’s Clayton Davis to record a podcast quickie about the first few days of the 2026 Middleburg Film Festival. On the podcast, we discuss our and audience reactions to The Debut, Club Kid, La Bola Negra, and Ray Gunn. Plus, what is the most anticipated film of this year’s festival? Check it all out on our mid-festival podcast. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen!   Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/ The post 2026 Middleburg Film Festival: Recapping Our First Few Days appeared first on The Contending.

This week, we’re breaking down the 2027 Best Actor race which could include Digger‘s Tom Cruise and will not include anyone from The Social Reckoning. It’s truly two wildly different conversations on this week’s Contending at the Water Cooler podcast. First up, Joey and Megan have endured Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning. So, the results aren’t good despite game performances from the cast. Where does the film go wrong? Is it entirely Sorkin’s fault? Does he need to be placed in movie jail? Then, following last week’s Digger conversation, Tom Cruise (and to an extent the film itself) have passionate defenders in the 2027 Oscar race. Can Cruise crack the Best Actor five? We talk frontrunners, Cruise’s position, and potential dark horse candidates. We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen, and our video podcast follows below!     Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/ The post Oscars 2027: A ‘Reckoning’ Over Cruise and the Best Actor Five appeared first on The Contending.

On this week’s Water Cooler podcast, Joey and Megan take nuanced, thoughtful, opposing stances in their Digger review. Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Tom Cruise teamed up to deliver the most polarizing film of the year, Digger. Is it a climate change satire? Is it a satire of climate change satires? Twitter / X will tell you with thousands of hot takes, but here, Joey and Megan offer (SHOCK) thoughtful takes on their opposing reactions to Iñárritu’s film. They consider what works, what doesn’t, and whether or not the film has stayed with them since seeing it. Plus, does it still have a place in the 2027 Oscar race? We cover this and more on our Digger review podcast! We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen, and our video podcast follows below!     Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/ The post ‘Digger’ Review: Cruising Into Climate Disaster? [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

Yes, we do see how this looks–and we think it’s good! With Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime lighting up the box office for A24 this weekend, it was obvious that Megan and Joey were eager to dive into their thoughts of the film. How did the film live up to expectations? Is there room in the Best Actor for Robert Pattinson’s driven performance as Chris Hansen? Could it be possible that Merritt Wever or Skyler Gisondo could ride Pattinson’s coattails? Or is the film too dark for some voters? We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen, and our video podcast follows below!     Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/  The post ‘Primetime’ Review Podcast: You See How This Looks, Right? appeared first on The Contending.

With Joey, Megan, and Frank all back from the first rounds of film festivals, we take stock of the 2027 Oscar race and see how the landscape has changed. The recent Telluride, Venice, and Toronto film festivals gave us our deepest view yet into the 2027 Oscar race. Many contenders emerged and faced shifting winds as they screened for varied audiences. Joey, Megan, and Frank attended the major three early festivals and share their informed view of the 2027 Oscar race on this week’s podcast. Which films surprised or disappointed them? What can we expect now that La Bola Negra received the often predictive TIFF People’s Choice Award? Can anything stop The Odyssey‘s march to the podium? We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen, and our video podcast follows below!     Podcast Music: Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/   The post Oscars 2027: First Fests Wrap-Up, Updates on 2027 Oscar Race appeared first on The Contending.

The whole Contending team gets together to review and recap the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards. And with that, another Emmy season comes to a close. Last night, Apple broke last year’s The Studio record for wins with Widow’s Bay completely steamrolling over Hacks in all the acting categories (except for Jean Smart, of course). Many predicted The Pitt to dominate, but it only went home with two in the major categories, for Drama Actor and Drama Series. Finally, it was a good night for DTF St. Louis, which took home Outstanding Limited Series, except most of the other wins it took home weren’t televised (we would have dropped some of those music numbers to see Linda Cardellini and David Harbour receive their trophies). Team Contending got together to review the 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards hosted by Mariska Hargitay and discussed how the newbie host did overall (she at least gets an A for effort), why some of us were left unfulfilled by the Dolly Parton dedication, whether The Pitt needs to rethink their actor and episode submissions, and why Love Story fell out of love with voters. Plus, we open our 2025 Emmy Time Capsule to find out whether last year’s predictions came true and make predictions for next year (hint: Furious might be on some of our wish lists). We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen or watch our video podcast below!     Podcast Music: Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/   The post 2026 Emmys Review Podcast: The Good (Rhea!), the Bad (No Hacks?), and the Ugly (Those Songs) appeared first on The Contending.

Jalal and Clarence consider the 2026 Creative Arts Emmys winners and how that might forecast next week’s Primetime Emmys. Joey and Megan are taking a much deserved rest after their brilliant Telluride experience. This week, Clarence and Jalal leverage the recent 2026 Creative Arts Emmy Awards to see if their initial thoughts on the Primetime Emmys have changed. Can Pluribus upset The Pitt? Is Beef still a contender, or did DTF St. Louis sew it up? And can Widow’s Bay break into Hacks‘ final season Emmy run after dominating the Creative Arts ceremony? We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen, and our video podcast follows below!     Podcast Music: Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/   The post Emmys 2026: Final Thoughts Ahead of Next Week’s Primetime Emmys appeared first on The Contending.

It’s time for the 10th Annual Fantasy Oscar Pool, another one of our favorite podcasts of the year, as we head into film festival season! For long time listeners of our podcast, this is the one where we really earn the Explicit rating (thanks largely to Joey). It’s the 10th edition of our Fantasy Oscar Pool! Before Megan and Joey head to the mountains of Telluride, Colorado, we make our first round draft picks for the Fantasy Oscar race. Then, we’ll follow our selected performances and films throughout the 2027 Oscar season. We regroup for our second round drops and swaps shortly before the critics groups weigh in after Thanksgiving. We’ll be tabulating results on the website across the season. We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen, and our video podcast follows below!     Podcast Music: Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/   The post Oscars 2027: It’s Time For 10th Annual Fantasy Oscar Pool! [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

The 2026 Telluride Film Festival runs September 4-7 at Telluride, Colorado. In this podcast, Megan McLachlan, Joey Moser, and special guest Mark Johnson discuss what they’re expecting out of the film schedule lineup. The 2026 Telluride Film Festival is right around the corner, meaning we’re gearing up for another awards season. This year looks like a doozy, with past Oscar winners like Julianne Moore in the mix, newbies like Jordan Firstman campaigning their first awards season, and actresses like Sandra Huller with not one, not two, but four films in contention this year (eat your heart out, Hathaway!). With the TIFF schedule out and Venice lineup announced, we thought it would be a good idea to take a stab at figuring out the Telluride schedule — although one can never predict when a Frankenstein will show up for a last-minute screening. The great Rebecca Hall will be a guest director, curating her own selection of films (one of her own might even be on the schedule at this fest—she’s in Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love). In this new Contending at the Water Cooler Podcast, Megan and Joey are joined by Mark Johnson to talk about what to expect out of the film lineup, including what celebrities will be traipsing around Main Street. (Will Joey lose his mind if he sees Penelope Cruz? Probably.) We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes or subscriptions, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen to our audio podcast. Our video podcast follows below!     Most Likely to Be at the 2026 Telluride Film Festival A Long Winter Bucking Fastard Club Kid The Debut Elsinore Fatherland Fjord Gentle Monster Ink Knife La Bola Negra Minotaur The Only Living Pickpocket in New York Rose Tender Loving Care Wild Horse Nine Maybe at the Festival as a TBA or Surprise Artificial Behemoth! Digger Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! The Man I Love Primetime The Social Reckoning Probably Not at Telluride All of a Sudden Being Heumann Bunker Josephine Klara and the Sun Misty Green   The 2026 Telluride Film Festival takes place September 4-7.      Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/  The post Podcast: What to Expect at the 2026 Telluride Film Festival appeared first on The Contending.

With the Television Academy voting underway, we reveal the 2026 Cooler Award nominations and our Emmy wish list! The 2026 Emmy voting window is finally here. So, with the Television Academy weighing in on their favorite television series, Joey, Megan, and Clarence offer their Emmy wish list recommendations. What do we think that the Television Academy should most definitely consider? What personal favorites do we advocate? Find out on this week’s podcast! But first, Clarence unveils the 2026 Cooler Awards nominations! Find out what surprises the readers and staff of The Contending have in store for the best in 2026 Emmy season television. Nominations will post on the site Tuesday night, so you’ll get a first-hand look at the noms via our podcast! Starting Wednesday, August 19, check back at The Contending to vote on the 2026 Cooler Awards winners! We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes or subscriptions, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen to our audio podcast. Our video podcast follows below!     Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/ The post Our Emmys Wish List and the 2026 Cooler Awards Noms! [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

We review three new series including The Shards, Furious, and a new season of Emmy-winning comedy Ted Lasso. This week, Joey, Megan, and Clarence take a break from the 2026 Emmys to look at three new series. Ryan Murphy returns to directing in the pilot of FX’s The Shards. Based on the novel and co-written by Bret Easton […] The post New TV Reviews: Do ‘The Shards,’ ‘Furious,’ and ‘Ted Lasso’ Offer Emmy 2027 Hope? appeared first on The Contending.

In a very special episode of the Contending at the Water Cooler podcast, Megan McLachlan is joined by freelance writer Joshua Axelrod to discuss all five 2026 Outstanding TV Movie Emmy contenders. Notably, the Outstanding TV Movie category is completely unpredictable, with past winners including Rebel Ridge, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, and Chip ‘n […] The post Emmys 2026 Outstanding TV Movie Podcast: Two Differing Opinions on Frontrunner ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’ appeared first on The Contending.

The Contending co-founders Megan McLachlan and Joey Moser are joined by special guests freelance writer Fawnia Soo Hoo and costume dresser Eoin Daly to discuss the four Emmy costume categories. Is 2026 the year of Middle-Aged Malaise? It appears to be in the Emmys 2026 Contemporary Limited Series/TV Movie Costume category. Series like DTF St. […] The post Emmys 2026 Costume Extravaganza Podcast: Is It the Year of Middle-Aged Malaise? appeared first on The Contending.

We review Christopher Nolan’s take on the original epic: Homer’s The Odyssey. Does it withstand all of the hype? Homer’s The Odyssey is one of the great tales to be handed down within humanity. Oddly, or perhaps due to its epic scale, there haven’t been as many takes on the epic poem as you’d imagine. Many films […] The post ‘The Odyssey:’ Is Nolan’s Epic a Homer Run? appeared first on The Contending.

It’s one of our favorite podcast episodes of the year: our break down / geek out over Emmy’s Title Design nominees. Last week, the Television Academy unveiled their 2026 Emmy nominations. So now, we finally get to geek out at length over our favorite Emmy category: Title Design. Back in the fall of 2025, HBO […] The post Emmys 2026: Geeking Out Over Title Design, Our Fav Category! appeared first on The Contending.