As critical as I’ve been of the show, I liked this one well enough. I think there may be a perspective problem here with your criticisms of Nate and Keeley’s stories. I don’t see them as one-episode conflicts that are resolved neatly, so much as the payoff to what’s been going on all season.

I don’t think that’s a fair way of looking at it. That season 1 was incredibly tightly plotted; everything flowed steadily and logically and made sense. Like Ted himself, its winning nature was in its steadiness and consistency.

Burr has been my favorite working standup for about a decade now, but I probably still would’ve done something stupid like yell out “Oh, it’s BRUTAL!” in a terrible Bill Burr impression.

I started Royal Crackers but haven’t gotten back to it since the pilot. There’s just so much on right now!

Also Noah and Nicky's dad on Grand Crew, which is a pretty good network sitcom I don't think many people watch. 

I mean... yeah, probably, but I think murdering someone during a hockey game and showing no remorse or repentance for it is worse.

Didn’t someone actually call her that in the show instead of the actual word, though?

I definitely feel like both shows have lost their way a bit the last two seasons, although they still have their good elements and episodes. In each case, they’ve both gotten away from the tight plotting that made them great and bought into their hype a bit too much: Ted Lasso that it’s a feel-good show that should…

Huh?

Bill Burr was a great choice for that pastor because the pastor is kind of a mirror image of him. Burr’s persona is definitely angry; he definitely has anger problems; but as far as I know he’s not actually a violent person. The pastor doesn’t sound angry at all, but he is an unrepentant murderer who is much too…

When the barista joined them— and the way Fuches talked about her and her daughter at dinner— I assumed she’d been writing him on the inside, something like that. (Sort of a Selma / Sideshow Bob situation, if you will.)

Ahh, that’s a shame. Well, I highly recommend finding a way around that if you can.

“It isn’t until some of the characters go on an adventure, à la National Treasure”

One of the best shows on television. Can’t wait!

I saw this tweet a couple of days ago and I think it sums it up pretty well:

I didn’t see any indicators they knew each other. I think that’s just Rupert being dismissive of her for being lower-class and thus “beneath” him and his coach.

The renewal for season 2 was announced five days after season 1 dropped, so I doubt it was written before then, and certainly not made, although the turnaround time was fairly quick.

I did at least like that we got to see Keeley around the facilities, interacting with people like Ted and Roy in the context of the team, again. Having watched some of season 1 recently, that was a big part of what I missed about the character. (I love your description of her, though.)

I don’t think there’s reason to think it was that, though. Rupert could just be trying to get Nate to be more like him in how he regards women. Or, perhaps, he just considers Jade too lower-class for his coach to be dating, so he tries to set him up with another high-society model. There are multiple viable…

Ahh, I haven’t been watching Shrinking. I follow you now.