Trung Phan + Rob Henderson — Talking Television (EP.124)

Is this the greatest crossover event in history? Fresh from their individual appearances on Infinite Loops, Trung Phan and Rob Henderson join forces to discuss TV, film, and why Rob still hasn’t seen Apocalypse Now.

Important Links:

Rob’s Substack
Rob’s Twitter
Trung’s Substack
Trung’s Twitter

Show Notes:

Hearts of Darkness: one of the craziest stories in Hollywood history
The beginning of TV’s golden age
Breadth or depth? The two paths to prestige TV
What TV can teach you about elite America
The two ways of watching prestige TV
How TV shows program us
The decline of event TV
Recurring themes and HumanOS
Succession and signalling
The Great Reshuffle and Substack
The 70s: one of the worst American decades of all time
What will TV be like in 10 years’ time?
Challenge yourself with art
Broaden your content horizons

Books Mentioned:

Heart of Darkness; by Joseph Conrad
Unflattening; by Nick Sousanis
The Iliad; by Homer
The Odyssey; by Homer
The Da Vinci Code; by Dan Brown
Infinite Jest; by David Foster Wallace

TV Shows and Films Mentioned:

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse
Apocalypse Now
The Shield
The Godfather
The Sopranos
Seinfeld
All In The Family
The Wire
The Simpsons
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Mad Men
Game of Thrones
The West Wing
Roseanne
Power Rangers
The O.C.
Breaking Bad
Better Call Saul
The Truman Show
Back to the Future
I Love Lucy
Succession
Will and Grace
Severance
House of Cards
Stranger Things
Office Space
Euphoria
Avengers: End Game
Top Gun Maverick
The Office
Parasite