Chatz: A Television Podcast

Whether you're pon near or pon farr, we think you'll enjoy this latest lively Star Trek discussion from the ChatzKidz about TOS Season 2 Part 1. We discuss Spock's developing backstory, yet another robot getting outsmarted episode, and the introduction of everyone's favorite Russkie Chekov! Also, the next Chatz season is announced!

As we barrel towards The OA Season 2's cliffhanger ending, exposition dumps and poorly-lit scenes leave us with a bitter taste in our mouths. But all hope is not lost as our Dimension A gang reach the heartbreaking tail end of their adventure. With only two episodes left, it's time to start cashing some checks...

David from the Disc by Disc Podcast joins us as they give The OA a second shot with its bombastic second season premiere. We're introduced to the lovely Karim, flashbanged by a Hollywood celebrity, and given way more questions than they can realistically answer in six episodes. But dang it, they're going to try!

It's the most wonderful time of the year. No, not Christmas silly! Oscar season! Magellan and Allen re-convene for their annual tradition of discussion and predicting the 2026 Oscar Best Picture nominees. Spoilers abound as we discuss the highs, lows, and tearful final scenes of 2025's best fiilms.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Apologies for the very uneven sounding audio this week, folks. Such are the perils of a portable microphone not on a stand. I did my best and always do, so bear with it since I had to record remotely and figure things out on the fly.) The OA continues to surprise, impress, and confuse the ChatzKidz as it enters the endgame for Season One. Dances are practices, motions are made, and we take a quick visit to somewhere far, far away. Come for the discussion of Hap as a stand-in for every evil rich person in charge, stay for celestial travel sounds.

We turn the clock back to 1966 and finally begin our viewing of Star Trek: The Original Series (Or Star Trek, if you're nasty). We discuss the ways women are done dirty in almost every episode, the endless fount of good ideas barely addressed, and how this series kicked off an incredible franchise.

In this episode of Chatz, we take a step back from episode-by-episode discussion to look at Xena: Warrior Princess as a complete series, focusing on its production history, cultural impact, and the enduring legacy of its queer fandom. We discuss how Xena was made, how it evolved over six seasons, and why its relationship with fans, especially queer fans, helped shape what television could be. Drawing from the Rob Weisbrot Official Guide to the Xenaverse and Xena: Their Courage Changed Our World, a collection of essays by fans, we explore how Xena became more than a cult fantasy show and why it still matters decades later.

These episodes of Xena are, as the poet Sappho may have described them, "[ ]".

It's the first Chatz episode of 2026, and we have some great episode discussions for you! We begin with the Saving Private Ryan inspired "To Helicon and Back" and discuss the hellscape that would be a world of endless film homages. And after the break, things get very introspective as a clip show leads to a discussion of Xena as a modern day myth and why we need heroes. Happy New Year and welcome to the second decade of Chatz!

The huntress becomes the hunted in our first half this week as Xena and Amazon queen-to-be Varia escape the treacherous...generic...blonde guy. But at least he has a funny friend? And in part two, the wonderful Alexis Arquette brings some absolute campy evil heat as we return to Rome and the Eve storyline.

For our last TrekChatz of 2025, we wanted to examine two popular documentaries about the creation of shows we've covered so far before stepping further back into the past to cover TOS. So this week, TrekChatz takes a look at 2014's Chaos on the Bridge as well as 2019's What We Left Behind, about TNG and DS9 respectively. EDITOR's NOTE: The sync on this one got really crazy for some reason in multiple spots, so sometimes it'll sound like we're talking over each other when we weren't! Apologies for the issues.

As we continue our trek through the "dark ages" of Xena, the girls finally say what's been on their mind for six years, but not before a desert adventure and, for some reason, forest cannibals!