Podcasts & Books

8 Of The Best Rewatch Podcasts To Get Nostalgic About

By Tim Piccione
21st Feb 2024

We’re never quite ready to let go of our favourite TV shows. We miss the laughs, plot twists, dramas, relationships, cliffhangers, season finales, and the characters that kept us company over countless hours of binging.

But how can you fill that nostalgic void in your heart and continue exploring the depths of the TV shows you love so dearly? It turns out that entire podcasts are dedicated to rewatching and discussing some of the best TV shows ever made. We’re talking plot breakdowns, in-depth analysis, extra information, behind-the-scenes chat, unknown stories, and more. Some are even hosted by or feature show creators, writers, cast members, producers or crew workers.

So, whether you want to reminisce about Game of Thrones and The O.C. or find out hot gossip from The Sopranos and The Office–we’ve rounded up the best rewatch podcasts available for listening now.

Fake Doctors, Real Friends

There’s no denying that one of the most satisfying parts of watching Scrubs over its eight-season run (nine if you dare count the failed Scrubs: Med School season initially intended as a spinoff) was J.D. and Turk’s loving friendship. But better than that was the public knowledge that the actors portraying them, Zach Braff and Donald Faison, became best friends in real life too. If you miss ‘eaaaaagle’, the ‘world’s most giant doctor’, or playing ‘find the saltine’ with your two medical buds, then Fake Doctors, Real Friends is the podcast for you. During lockdown, the pair reunited to revisit the entire comedy series episode by episode, reliving scenes and jokes together, telling behind-the-scenes stories and bringing on guests galore.

The Wire: Way Down In The Hole

Arguably the greatest TV show to ever grace our screens, The Wire is a brilliant and authentically brutal portrayal of life in the city of Baltimore, told from the perspective of those in the streets, the police department, the docks, the schools, the press and the government. A show of this calibre deserves a genuinely personal and analytical breakdown–which is precisely what we receive from The Ringer’s Jamele Hill and Van Lathan on their podcast The Wire: Way Down in the Hole. The podcast’s title comes from the show’s opening theme song written by Tom Waits, repurposed every season as perspectives change–but if you’re a fan, you already knew that. Hill and Lathan analyse each episode to discuss broader implications and themes, providing character deep-dives and delving into key scenes to give you fresh insight.

The West Wing Weekly

If any writer deserves to have his work meticulously broken down and discussed over conversation on a podcast, it’s the king of fast-paced dialogue and grand speeches, Aaron Sorkin. The great screenwriter’s work is perhaps best loved by fans in The West Wing, running from 1999 to 2006. Hosted by Hrishikesh Hirway and cast member Joshua Malina (who played Will Bailey), The West Wing Weekly podcast provides the usual episode by episode discussion. However, it effectively set the tone for the success of cast-hosted podcasts giving behind-the-scenes analysis that fans were craving. The show includes guest appearances from Sorkin himself and cast members like Martin Sheen (President Bartlett!), Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford, and expert government officials and academics.

Welcome To The OC, Bitches!

In the best kind of way, the title really says it all. Hosted by real-life friends and former co-stars, Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke (Summer and Julie on the show) Welcome to the OC, Bitches! is here to help fill that nostalgia-filled, California-sized hole in your heart and give you another reason to revisit the unstoppable teen drama that was The O.C. The early 2000s are back, as Bilson and Melinda run through and discuss the show episode by episode. Show creator Josh Schwartz has already featured on the podcast, with plenty of cast members promised to be joining as well down the track. Cue the piano intro–you know the one.

Binge Mode: Game Of Thrones

There is no doubt in our minds that Binge Mode: Game of Thrones has forever set the bar of TV show rewatch podcasts. Hosted by Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion, the podcast deep-dives (and we mean deep) into each episode, discussing theories, history, characters and themes. The show became the ultimate preparatory homework for anyone awaiting Game of Thrones’ final season. Not only do the pair have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the show, but they also bring with them an in-depth understanding of the books–greatly helping those of us who are happy to waste hours of time watching TV but couldn’t be bothered getting into the best selling George R. R. Martin manuscripts. If you’re so inclined, Rubin and Concepcion have also hosted Binge Mode breakdowns for Harry Potter, Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Office Ladies

The world was never truly ready to say goodbye to the US version of The Office. Today, the internet is overwhelmingly inhabited by memes and clips from the show, as it continues to break streaming records thanks to those either endlessly rewatching it or others lucky enough to discover it and enjoy it for the first time. Now, thanks to cast members and real-life best friends Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, Office Ladies is your new comfort blanket, helping you reminisce about one of the most popular sitcoms ever made. The pair, who played Pam and Angela on the show, is here to dish the office gossip you’ve so dearly craved with the help of crew and co-stars, perhaps finally stopping you from looking for more show bloopers online.

The Good Place: The Podcast

If you were a fan of the half philosophy class and half heart-warming sitcom that was The Good Place, then we’ve got the forking perfect listen for you. The Good Place: The Podcast, hosted by cast member Marc Evan Jackson (who played Shawn on the show), discusses the show episode by episode, chock-full of people involved in its creation, mixing cast members, writers, creators, crew members and special guest stars. No spoilers if you’re yet to watch it, but there’s some pretty wild twists and turns on this show which many times shook its fanbase–perhaps some things you might want to hear discussed by those in the thick of it? Best of all, if you had caught on to this podcast early, was the fact that it ran alongside the sitcom as it aired. This gave us the kind of in-depth analysis we expect from rewatch podcasts, with the immediacy of the Reddit thread you run to after the credits roll to spill your feelings about the episode. 

Talking Sopranos

While we all patiently wait for The Many Saints of Newark, the prequel film to The Sopranos hopefully being released sometime in the next year, we’ve found the definitive rewatch podcast delving through one of the greatest American mobster stories ever told. If you still haven’t recovered from that infamous cut-to-black and you still miss one of TV’s best anti-heroes, let co-stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa walk you through episode by episode with their podcast, Talking Sopranos. The pair, who played Christopher Moltisanti and Bobby Baccalieri on the HBO drama, dive into every episode with behind-the-scenes chat and insight from cast members, producers, production crew and special guests, also sharing conversations about their own lives and friendship.

Next up, devour these chilling true crime podcasts

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