Double Take Podcast: Your Guide To Streaming TV

 There are several reasons why podcasts about movies and TV proliferate. First, listeners of podcasts are also consumers of movies and TV. Second, movie reviews and TV show reviews require no degree or academic certification. In effect, anyone with a sense for artistic excellence can do such reviews. Third, these review shows engender a cadre of co-hosts bantering and bashing each other, adding a comedic touch to the reviews. 

However, just because there are a lot of these podcasts doesn't mean they're easy to do and easy to do well. 

That's why I recommend the Double Take podcast for people who want guidance on streaming TV shows. The co-hosts are articulate, insightful, and engaging, and their reviews are astute and carefully considered. In effect, this podcast can help you find and recognize eye-worthy streaming TV shows.

 Here's the marketing pitch from Double Take: "Not with anything life changing, but with your constant struggle to figure out what to watch on TV. Because there’s nothing worse than endlessly scrolling through all of your streaming service apps, right?"

"Join Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen as they give their thoughts on new streaming shows in the form of episode-by-episode reactions, reviews of new shows, and more."

The podcast name, Double Take, is apparently a reference to the two women who provide reviews on TV shows.

Double Take began in July 2022 with several episodes about season two of Only Murders In The Building. It began to branch out with episodes like "Top 10 TV Shows And Movies For Fall" and "The Best Halloween TV Episodes."

Jess and Jenni comment: "We have always loved talking about TV together, and then we started a newsletter in early 2022, Double Take, to review and highlight new and upcoming series. We saw that there was a dearth of female voices in movie and TV criticism, and in entertainment podcasting, and wanted to bring a different perspective to the landscape. We hope that the podcast evokes hanging out with your two friends and chatting about TV."

I like the fact their show isn't a bunch of bros trying too hard to be funny with endless banter about their fantasy football teams in between brief discussions of Tulsa King.

In 2023, Double Take focused on HBO's The Last Of Us, reviewing all the episodes in season one. Throughout the year, the podcast focused on hit streaming shows like Ted Lasso and Succession, and found time to review a broadcast show, Abbott Elementary.

The show even did Veronica Mars rewatch episodes during the summer, and I enjoyed it.

The co-hosts -- Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen -- do a commendable job with reviews and keeping the show lively and informative. Both women clearly possess a strong sense of artistic acumen. To their credit, they give reviews based on the show's appeal to its target audience, even if Spoll and Cullen are not part of that target audience.

The co-hosts have developed a nice cadence on their podcasts and compliment each other well. That's an unappreciated skill. I listened to many podcasts where the co-hosts talked over one another, interrupted one another, and had the chemistry of oil and water.

Jess Spoll started her career as a software engineer and then transitioned into self-employment. She runs a wedding photography business alongside writing the newsletter, co-hosting the podcast, and creating TV and movie based content for social media. She currently has over 150k followers on TikTok, where she shares her thoughts and recommendations with her audience.

Jenni Cullen is a writer and digital producer. She has worked as a creative marketing professional for early-stage startups while contributing weekly reviews to the newsletter and co-hosting the podcast.

From their podcast, I learned that they bonded in eighth grade over Harry Potter and Gilmore Girls. 

 It's smart for the co-hosts to say at the beginning of each episode that the show is about "their takes on all things TV." For first-time listeners, that phrase informs new listeners about the subject of the show. Further, the co-hosts avoid the trap of too much banter before diving into their TV reviews.

 Kudos to co-host Jess Spoll, who is the editor and producer because the sound quality is solid, the show is tightly edited, and the intro and outro music matches the tone of the show.

Jess Spoll also does TikTok videos with TV show recommendations, and her short spots are informative, upbeat, and well done. Her TikTok videos seamlessly summarize complex information to offer viewers brief reviews of upcoming TV shows. It's one of those media skills that looks like easier than it actually is.

Like many indie podcasters, time to write, record and edit their podcast is always an issue. Here's what they said: "One of the greatest challenges for us in doing the podcast is actually just finding a consistent time to record. We both have busy schedules and aren't often in the same city, so figuring out those logistics — as boring as it sounds — is the toughest part."

Double Take does provide a valuable service by guiding people through the morass of streaming shows and channels by helping them find shows that are worthy of their eyeball time. The co-hosts are engaging, knowledgeable, and have sensitive and sensible artistic taste. The co-hosts avoid the mean-spirited snark that some TV and movie review podcasts think makes them edgy and funny. They're not. 

The show is informative, fun, nimble-witted, and is definitely a great tour guide through the baffling array of TV shows on the streaming channels. 

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This review is part of an ongoing series of reviews, recommendations, and essays about Indie podcasters -- their craft, their challenges, and the critical role they play in podcasting. These entrepreneurs display skills as disparate as hosting, sound production, graphic design, scriptwriting, interviewing, marketing genius, and financial watchdog. They are the heart and soul of podcasting.

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