Myles McNutt
@memles.bsky.social
Media Scholar at Old Dominion University and Editor-in-Chief of TV criticism newsletter Episodic Medium
The one thing I’ll add to this is that Nielsen doesn’t count phone viewing and the show is viral among a generation who watch an alarming amount of their TV on their phones.
HBO Max says “Heated Rivalry” is averaging 9 million viewers per episode to date, but it hasn’t yet made a streaming top 10 chart. That’s probably due to how Nielsen classifies the show - I break it down here.
HBO Max Says ’Heated Rivalry’ Is Huge — So Why Hasn’t It Registered With Nielsen?
The answer may come down to how the ratings service classifies the show in its streaming ratings.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
January 29, 2026 at 1:03 AM
The one thing I’ll add to this is that Nielsen doesn’t count phone viewing and the show is viral among a generation who watch an alarming amount of their TV on their phones.
We saw the Kids' Menu-style riddles in Season 41, so we knew this. But the idea that he learned nothing from the dissonance that created is wild.
January 28, 2026 at 8:28 PM
We saw the Kids' Menu-style riddles in Season 41, so we knew this. But the idea that he learned nothing from the dissonance that created is wild.
Amanda Seyfried’s Talk Show Musical Performance trend continues to rip, but I want to also highlight the discursive power of Seyfried doing celebrity business with a nonsense nickname Instagram handle, vis a vis her authenticity.
January 28, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Amanda Seyfried’s Talk Show Musical Performance trend continues to rip, but I want to also highlight the discursive power of Seyfried doing celebrity business with a nonsense nickname Instagram handle, vis a vis her authenticity.
Reposted by Myles McNutt
Continuing our Pixar miniseries with Cars.
We get into the strange logic of its world, anthropomorphized vehicles, and why this movie quietly opens a lot of questions Pixar never answers.
@memles.bsky.social
@pmiscove.bsky.social
@emilystjams.bsky.social
#FilmDiscussion #CarsMovie #Pixar
We get into the strange logic of its world, anthropomorphized vehicles, and why this movie quietly opens a lot of questions Pixar never answers.
@memles.bsky.social
@pmiscove.bsky.social
@emilystjams.bsky.social
#FilmDiscussion #CarsMovie #Pixar
January 28, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Continuing our Pixar miniseries with Cars.
We get into the strange logic of its world, anthropomorphized vehicles, and why this movie quietly opens a lot of questions Pixar never answers.
@memles.bsky.social
@pmiscove.bsky.social
@emilystjams.bsky.social
#FilmDiscussion #CarsMovie #Pixar
We get into the strange logic of its world, anthropomorphized vehicles, and why this movie quietly opens a lot of questions Pixar never answers.
@memles.bsky.social
@pmiscove.bsky.social
@emilystjams.bsky.social
#FilmDiscussion #CarsMovie #Pixar
#Shrinking is back and it remains very good but I need you to understand that there is a casting decision in next week's episode that is UNCONSCIONABLE.
January 28, 2026 at 2:45 AM
#Shrinking is back and it remains very good but I need you to understand that there is a casting decision in next week's episode that is UNCONSCIONABLE.
I’m less than five minutes into Netflix’s #FindingHerEdge and like…if you can’t hire a double who can actually deliver Olympic-quality skating, you can’t claim your character is an inevitable Olympic champion.
January 25, 2026 at 5:10 PM
I’m less than five minutes into Netflix’s #FindingHerEdge and like…if you can’t hire a double who can actually deliver Olympic-quality skating, you can’t claim your character is an inevitable Olympic champion.
When they held the 1992 Juno Awards, they knew one day they'd appear in a list after Lightning McQueen slash fic. They just KNEW.
This week on @podcastlikeits The 2000s @emilystjams.bsky.social and I continue our Pixar miniseries by talking Cars with @memles.bsky.social! We discuss anthropomorphized cars and the rules of this world (or lack thereof), Lightning McQueen slash fiction and the 1992 Juno awards.
January 23, 2026 at 5:53 PM
When they held the 1992 Juno Awards, they knew one day they'd appear in a list after Lightning McQueen slash fic. They just KNEW.
I have been actively and consistent Team What Chaos, and this is very validating.
feels both depressing and inevitable, and the thing i find most fascinating about it is the decision and then commitment to performing wild enthusiasm anyhow. you hate this, and yet you understand the very real monetary benefit of championing it
www.outsports.com/2026/1/22/24...
www.outsports.com/2026/1/22/24...
Empty Netters host called Heated Rivalry 'trash,' producers 'losers' - Outsports
As he publicly praised 'Heated Rivalry,' one 'Empty Netters' host privately trashed the show. Outsports has seen the texts.
www.outsports.com
January 22, 2026 at 5:57 PM
I have been actively and consistent Team What Chaos, and this is very validating.
Gen Z discovering Veronica Mars on Netflix and all the TikTok comments pleading with them to ignore the Hulu season?
Cinema.
Cinema.
January 22, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Gen Z discovering Veronica Mars on Netflix and all the TikTok comments pleading with them to ignore the Hulu season?
Cinema.
Cinema.
The baseline of #WWEUnreal is pretty by-the-numbers, but let me tell you: the way it becomes INFINITELY more interesting as soon as it focuses on Chelsea Green.
January 21, 2026 at 4:03 PM
The baseline of #WWEUnreal is pretty by-the-numbers, but let me tell you: the way it becomes INFINITELY more interesting as soon as it focuses on Chelsea Green.
Nothing transitions me into Old Man Yells At Cloud while teaching more than when students admit to watch movies or TV shows in segments on TikTok, so this capitulation made me sad.
January 21, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Nothing transitions me into Old Man Yells At Cloud while teaching more than when students admit to watch movies or TV shows in segments on TikTok, so this capitulation made me sad.
Reposted by Myles McNutt
come enjoy the essay someone in the comments describes as the most offensive thing they've ever read on our website
on the particular genre of watching straight men watch heated rivalry
www.vulture.com/article/heat...
www.vulture.com/article/heat...
Watching Straight Men Watch Heated Rivalry
The romance phenomenon has captivated the dudes and bros.
www.vulture.com
January 20, 2026 at 1:43 PM
come enjoy the essay someone in the comments describes as the most offensive thing they've ever read on our website
Because I take all of my critical cues from the upstanding denizens of the Golden Globes, it’s CLEARLY time to take celebrity podcasts more seriously, so We Need To Talk About the Temporal Chaos of The Opening Of Good Hang With Amy Poehler.
youtu.be/AHNxcQo01Us?...
youtu.be/AHNxcQo01Us?...
Jennifer Lawrence | Good Hang with Amy Poehler
YouTube video by Good Hang with Amy Poehler
youtu.be
January 20, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Because I take all of my critical cues from the upstanding denizens of the Golden Globes, it’s CLEARLY time to take celebrity podcasts more seriously, so We Need To Talk About the Temporal Chaos of The Opening Of Good Hang With Amy Poehler.
youtu.be/AHNxcQo01Us?...
youtu.be/AHNxcQo01Us?...
Reposted by Myles McNutt
over on Crave, still 2nd. Last week moved back to first after a few days after The Pitt released and stayed until a new ep of The Pitt dropped.
January 19, 2026 at 4:24 PM
over on Crave, still 2nd. Last week moved back to first after a few days after The Pitt released and stayed until a new ep of The Pitt dropped.
Reposted by Myles McNutt
Fifteen years ago this month, we got our first glimpse of #GameOfThrones on a special HBO behind-the-scenes featurette.
Only fitting HBO debuts the latest effort to capitalize on the phenomenon it became tonight.
My review of the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere is up at Episodic Medium.
Only fitting HBO debuts the latest effort to capitalize on the phenomenon it became tonight.
My review of the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere is up at Episodic Medium.
Review: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, "The Hedge Knight" | Season 1, Episode 1
HBO launches its latest quest for more of the same (but different)
www.episodicmedium.tv
January 19, 2026 at 4:17 AM
Fifteen years ago this month, we got our first glimpse of #GameOfThrones on a special HBO behind-the-scenes featurette.
Only fitting HBO debuts the latest effort to capitalize on the phenomenon it became tonight.
My review of the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere is up at Episodic Medium.
Only fitting HBO debuts the latest effort to capitalize on the phenomenon it became tonight.
My review of the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere is up at Episodic Medium.
For the first time since the finale, #HeatedRivalry has fallen to third place on HBO Max’s Top 10 TV shows, although notably still outperforming HBO’s actual Sunday drama, Industry (which is up 20% on last season).
January 19, 2026 at 4:05 PM
For the first time since the finale, #HeatedRivalry has fallen to third place on HBO Max’s Top 10 TV shows, although notably still outperforming HBO’s actual Sunday drama, Industry (which is up 20% on last season).
Fifteen years ago this month, we got our first glimpse of #GameOfThrones on a special HBO behind-the-scenes featurette.
Only fitting HBO debuts the latest effort to capitalize on the phenomenon it became tonight.
My review of the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere is up at Episodic Medium.
Only fitting HBO debuts the latest effort to capitalize on the phenomenon it became tonight.
My review of the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere is up at Episodic Medium.
Review: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, "The Hedge Knight" | Season 1, Episode 1
HBO launches its latest quest for more of the same (but different)
www.episodicmedium.tv
January 19, 2026 at 4:17 AM
Fifteen years ago this month, we got our first glimpse of #GameOfThrones on a special HBO behind-the-scenes featurette.
Only fitting HBO debuts the latest effort to capitalize on the phenomenon it became tonight.
My review of the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere is up at Episodic Medium.
Only fitting HBO debuts the latest effort to capitalize on the phenomenon it became tonight.
My review of the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere is up at Episodic Medium.
After making the terrible (if somewhat self-care justified) decision to start #HadesII on the weekend before the semester starts, I have fortunately reached my self-determined stopping point so now my Game Industry class might actually have a syllabus.
January 18, 2026 at 11:06 PM
After making the terrible (if somewhat self-care justified) decision to start #HadesII on the weekend before the semester starts, I have fortunately reached my self-determined stopping point so now my Game Industry class might actually have a syllabus.
Given that it has held firm as HBO Max’s first or second most popular show throughout this period, the asterisk here would seem to be Nielsen’s inability to track people watching on their phones. #HeatedRivalry
#Fallout Returns to Nielsen Streaming Top 10 Chart, #HeatedRivalry Still MIA After 4 Weeks
mattmitovich.ghost.io/fallout-view...
mattmitovich.ghost.io/fallout-view...
'Fallout' Returns to Nielsen Streaming Top 10 Chart, 'Heated Rivalry' Still MIA After 4 Weeks
The "reboot" no one saw coming! TV news and interviews from veteran entertainment journalist Matt Webb Mitovich
mattmitovich.ghost.io
January 16, 2026 at 1:31 AM
Given that it has held firm as HBO Max’s first or second most popular show throughout this period, the asterisk here would seem to be Nielsen’s inability to track people watching on their phones. #HeatedRivalry
I like The Charm Offensive a lot, but using it for our first trade press “Heated Rivalry meets X” is wildly misleading as to the content of this story. (Also? I don’t care if it went off the rails, the X should obviously be UnREAL).
January 15, 2026 at 10:18 PM
I like The Charm Offensive a lot, but using it for our first trade press “Heated Rivalry meets X” is wildly misleading as to the content of this story. (Also? I don’t care if it went off the rails, the X should obviously be UnREAL).
I knew there was a reason forces conspired to keep me from finishing writing the Galaxy’s Edge chapter of my book last semester!
January 14, 2026 at 5:10 PM
I knew there was a reason forces conspired to keep me from finishing writing the Galaxy’s Edge chapter of my book last semester!
Finally finished up #TheEndOfAnEra, which would have been much more interesting if it wasn’t at all about Taylor, and just told the stories about the tour? Those stories resonated most, and captured the way the tour became bigger than its star for fans.
January 14, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Finally finished up #TheEndOfAnEra, which would have been much more interesting if it wasn’t at all about Taylor, and just told the stories about the tour? Those stories resonated most, and captured the way the tour became bigger than its star for fans.