Podcrushed - YOU Pilot Rewatch (with Lee Toland Krieger), pt 2

Episode Date: April 24, 2025

To kick off our celebration of the release of YOU Season 5, we're doing a two part reaction episode to the YOU S1 Pilot, featuring director Lee Toland Krieger.   And preorder our new book, Crushmore, here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Crushmore/Nava-Kavelin/9781668077993   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    Want more from Podcrushed? Follow our social channels here:  Insta: https://bit.ly/PodcrushedInsta TikTok: https://bit.ly/PodcrushedTikTok X: https://bit.ly/PodcrushedTwitter You can follow Penn, Sophie and Nava here: Insta: https://www.instagram.com/pennbadgley/  https://www.instagram.com/scribbledbysophie/ https://www.instagram.com/nnnava/ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iampennbadgley https://www.tiktok.com/@scribbledbysophie https://www.tiktok.com/@nkavelin  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lemonada It's nice actually when actors have directed stuff because you know that while I'm coming up to you'm like yeah let's have a very deliberate conversation about this one thought you had about the scene I'm like please get on your fucking mark we've got to go welcome to podcrushed

we're hosts I'm Penn I'm Nava and I'm Sophie and I think we could have been your middle school besties stealing our cousin's playboy magazines to make paper majeet. Oh, that's just so sweet. You took it to a place I was not expecting. Does anyone else ever get that nagging feeling that their dog might be bored? And do you also feel like super guilty about it?

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So he's a lamb-pee-luff guy. Keep mealtime exciting with Nom-Num, available at your local pet-smart store or at Chewy. Learn more at TryNom.com slash Podcrush, spelled Try. N-O-M dot com slash podcrushed. Hey, it's Lena Waithe. Legacy Talk is my love letter to black storytellers, artists who've changed the game and paved the way for so many of us. This season, I'm sitting down with icons like Felicia Rashad,

La Reilly Devine, and more. We're talking about their journeys, their creative process, and the legacies they're building every single day. Come be a part of the conversation. Season two drops July 29th. Listen to Legacy Talk wherever you get your podcast, or watch us on YouTube. Have you been, Paco? We just grab some no shakes.

Just walk off as strangers? Joe's not a stranger. Yes, he is. Inside now. Okay. Keep away from my girlfriend's kidding. I'm sorry, but he was out here, and he could hear everything in there. What you tell me, had a parent? Look, this whole nice guy, this might work on other people.

I'm a parole officer, 15 years, and I can see what you are. Well, you're an alcoholic shitbag who beats women, so please enlighten me. You're a freak. So stay away from Paco, because if you don't, I've got to grab a steak knife and cut those freak guys out. There are scary people in the world, Beck. that's why it's important to be safe and why I have to do what I'm about to do so this is Daniel Cosgrove who plays yes that's right plays Paca stepdad who I think is exceptional as as as and I is it's a hard role to play really hard and this is this is

funny okay this is going to date me a little bit so I watched a lot of 902 2001 growing up because i was he another two one oh yeah okay he's so good in this part and i i remember the first day working with him and this is two two day the only to date rather the only time this has ever happened to me i i slept through my alarm and i and my phone died like it wasn't plugged in the phone in the apartment i was staying and had gotten disconnected it was like you know perfect storm so they couldn't reach me and finally somehow i woke up and it was like i was woke up and it was up like five minutes before I was supposed to be on set. Luckily, I come early, but I was so shaken that I showed up just by that.

And then Daniel was there and was like so lovely. But I'm like, because I ran to every, you know, holding my, I'm dripping sweat. And it's summer in New York. And I'm literally like, I don't know if you remember this. I'm like literally dripping sweat. And I'm trying to give him direction. And I think he looked at me like, are you okay? I'm like, don't waste the Coke

He's like I literally looked like a vagrant Who had like stumbled into this stage And started giving people direction Anyway, that's my memory But Daniel was so wonderful And just absolutely knocked it out of the part That's so funny

Was that your first day giving him direction? Yeah, I think it was literally In the last Yeah, in the last He's like, that guy cannot come near me again Yeah, right Normal No, he was lovely

Fun fact Did you know the law requires gas leaks to be investigated? I've been learning a lot since I met you. Hey, Beck, you left the door open again. I thought we said we weren't going to do that anymore. I was careful to call the gas company on a day when you had a full schedule. I wouldn't want to scare you. Hey, is Beck here?

Nope, super, let me in. Someone reported a leak. Right, yeah, she mentioned that. Is everything okay? Yeah, all clear. I tell your girlfriend there's no leak. I'm done so. Okay, thanks.

Well, I can just lock up. this is one of those moments that i have to say having not seen it in so long people are constantly telling me people are always saying like it's so scary like that he can be the way and you know i'm at this point like you know the frog in the boiling water i'm just like huh well yeah sure yeah you know but but this is one of those moments where this feels feasible i mean it's disturbing and it would take an incredible amount of you know just like it was just lack of boundaries all kinds of things but this is one of those things

that I think is really insidious and smart and and has a nuance to it that is like yeah that's um that feels like that could happen right yeah this wow with this guy something else

no there's people who I don't know if it's because of the show but I feel like since the show there are people on TikTok who that's their whole thing is they show you how easy it is for you to be found. Like, if you comment and say, like, bet you can't find my birthday or whatever.

And then they'll go through and then make a video of like, I know that your grandma, like, works at this place and da-da-da-da-da. And it's wild. Actually, Greg Berlanti and Sarah Gamble, when they were pitching this show to the various studios, they did that to different executives. Yeah. And I think when they were pitching it at Showtime, I don't remember which one was.

I never heard this. It was at Showtime for a minute. Showtime was the most interested before they passed. But, yeah, they apparently were doing this to all the executives in the room. Because the whole point was that this was like just after Mr. Robot had become a huge thing. And it was like, he's not that guy. The point is that he's like bumbling through this. Yeah, yeah. But it's very easy to find so much personal information, you know.

You owe me 20 more pages. I've been honestly working every day and grading papers. The schedule is too rigorous drop back to part-time. But then I won't qualify to TA. I need the cash, the housing. I lose my place. I'm sure you figure it out. You're smarter.

You wouldn't be here. Please, Professor Leigh. Paul. Paul, I'll get you the pages by the end of the week. I can't go to part-time, okay? I'm rooting for you. You just need to keep up. Happy to discuss further.

After class some evening. some evening. If we're going to seriously discuss poetry, it should be over a drink. There's a little gastrop I love. So this is 2017, right? Not that long ago, but it is pre-me-too. Right?

Just pre, though. Barely. During, while we were shooting, that happened. I remember having a conversation, when we get there, when they go on the date, and he touches her leg onto the table. And I was chatting with somebody in the costume department.

a woman, and I said, we were talking about for Elizabeth, sort of what we, what she would be wearing and she, she knows what Professor Lee he's up to, right? And I was like, oh, is, like, is, you know, has this ever, this kind of thing ever happened to you? And she looked at me like I had to it. She's like, and, you know, very seriously, Lee, this has happened to every woman you know. Yeah. Yeah. And I, and again, I mean, I have a sister.

And, you know, like, felt, because at that time, I was 21. No, at that time, I was already in my 30s. And I'm like, you know, the fact that that was new information to me was upset. And it was really stuck with me, too, that the way she said it. Beck, you're too drunk to be alone. What if some sicko had followed you down here? And you're too wasted to be standing so close to the tracks. Beck, Beck, stop texting that arrogant club soda, no-show dickhead.

You want Benji, you need my change up off the child. You want Benji. You need Benji. You hold that phone like it is Benji because it's your only means to stay connected. Forget Benji. And to hell with that phone. I want to just call something to attention here. It's going to happen now.

when and I'm really remembering this almost like I'm seeing it for the first time this is a really smart device where they run in like now he's actually trying to leave and she ends up

where he is and she actually ends up in danger and he actually saves her like this is this is such a in a way on our part like a smarmy device because they're just like

reeling you is he left he wasn't even trying to follow her anymore but that's the tightrope and again i'm not us but the but caroline gregg sarah who wrote all this reeling you back in by something redeemable every time you're like that's creepy as shit oh something redeem you know and he actually like he's really listening to her poetry right you know and in this part he seems like a guy is just like you know what i got to get out of this i got to get out of this relationship and that's like the whole device for season two, right? Is that he's really trying to like change.

Yeah. Well, I guess it technically is after this every season. Yeah. Should we talk about the fact that if you want to shoot on a subway in New York, you have to attend an all-day MTA class? That's right. Oh, my God. And you guys actually had to lay on those disgusting tracks.

I cannot get over that you did it on the real track. You guys, not you guys. Elizabeth Lale. I remember when she was doing it, I was like, I was like, I was going to be like leptose I mean, to this day, and I've worked with some great people, but like nobody more game and down for the cause than Elizabeth Lale. I mean, to do that, like, I would like. And that's not like five minutes. Like, how much time did she actually spend on the tracks?

A lot. I mean, yeah. I mean, there's a piece where winter head hits that we did on stage and green screen and we just comped in. Yeah. No, but I'm of the mind And I'm sure when you're directing You're not going to ask And I wouldn't never ask an actor

Or anybody on the cast or do something I wouldn't do And I was like I don't know if I would do it Was this a real station? Like did you have to shut down a station? Well, it's a station that's inactive So basically anytime you see a New York station It's this station that's been redressed

As far as I know unless that's changed here At least was the case then I don't know if it's different now yeah yeah because you can't shoot in the subway it's just like an impossibility unless you steal shots which we've you know i've done that other projects in the beginning yeah that one that one shot yeah exactly exactly you okay you're all right can you stand up just stay still half that shit down there can let you all right so just give me your hand get up take it up bring it up give me your hand give me your hand Pick it off, pick it off, make it off, make it off, make it off.

Lee, this scene is just so iconic. Tell us about everything you had to balance, directing it, shooting it. Wow, look at that. Titanic Worthy shot. Love it. I love it. Did you forget about that? I did, I did too. It's a great beat.

But yeah, can you walk us through all the different elements? Well, again, here's what I remember pretty well. Like, it is, at least on a TV show, a relatively complex sequence because we're on a subway track. We had a subway that went by, a real subway car went by the stunt for falling in. And we had one day. We were just down there for one day. I remember it being about 120 degrees. It was super hot.

You know what a subway platform is like in August. Oh, my gosh. It was miserable and you're in a jacket and, you know, Elizabeth. Anyway, we definitely storyboarded the whole thing. So it was very meticulously sort of planned out. I do remember we kind of tried to shoot everything in order as best we could. I was most nervous about. Which is nice because a lot of times you don't get to do that.

Right. But it just helped in terms of continuity and everything else. throwing up on and everything she had to get dirty and there's also this stuff of like you know once we brought this mTA stuff but once we brought the subway car in that they have to turn the third rail on to do that oh right but to be down in the subway for crew and gear and actors to be down there they have to turn it off and it's it's not like just somebody flipping a switch it's sort of a thing so the order in which we shot i was just you know had to take that into consideration I just remember wanting to nail

that you falling into frame with her and feeling like it was too big a cheat because effectively they come out this way and then they land that way and so it's a cheat but you wanted the train to rush right as we fall down and I remember I remember it was like there was so much pressure

to get the timing right and we're like standing there like this and I'm like in a horse squat waiting and then the train's coming and it's like you gotta time it right yeah totally Like that sort of thing. And on our tight schedule, it's like, okay, if we don't get that, let's reset the train and wait 45 minutes, you know, for the train to go back.

It was like a lot of pressure and so hot, all that stuff. But I do feel like we did. Well, I don't know. I mean, you didn't have to reset it and wait the 45 minutes. I think we did it three times. Yeah, I was going to say twice, but it might have been three. Then that's probably right. I just know that we did it more than once and we definitely didn't do it more than three.

Yeah. Probably twice. Tell us about the puking. I mean, so this is just, it's like a soup mix. This is one of these things where when you know you've been doing it as long as I have, you're so used to like just to drink somebody's soup that's been in their mouth. Yes, it was. No, it was like, it was just one of these days that's very, very, very uncomfortable.

You have to act like you're not. You know, I'm not, of course, complaining about it. It's just an interesting thing where, you know, you wouldn't think about it. If you were going to complain about something, I think you'd be allowed to complain about this. Yeah, yeah. But no, I mean, as an actor, I think something you do get very used to being is like you're never dressed for the weather. Never. It's uncanny. You think once in a while would work out never, never. It's like you're either very hot or you're very cold and you have to act like neither is true. Yeah, totally.

It's like, I don't know how it always works that way. Pilot of Gossip Girl was shot in the dead of winter and the women were having a deal with all kinds of, you know, short skirts. so we go back to shoot the second episode in the dead of August summer and I had a scene that we had to pick up where I'm in my full scarf jacket everything in a cab that can't have AC on for sound and I'm telling you that is that is stuck out of my brain yeah at 20 years old is like one of the worst feelings I think I've ever had just like just you feel like you're losing your mind and you can't get out you're just sitting there you got the scarf on you're sweating you have to act like you you're not, constantly dab it away to, you know, it's like, it's like just for the split second while you're on camera, and suddenly you have to just dissociate. That's why I'm so good at it. So then so she like spits out all the... Yeah, she just spit out all the soup and it like definitely went in my mouth.

Did it get in your eyes? No, I don't think so. I mean, honestly, the thing about the discomfort, what I'm trying to say is I don't even really remember. And then because you had to do more than one take, do you take a quick shower? Like, how does that work? No, you just, you wipe it off. It's, it's, a lot of it kind of like, um, um,

I mean, so down there, so I also had like a, I had some kind of stinty, like padding on my back, right? Because I was falling right down on my back on the tile and had to do it, you know, in the rehearsal, at least certainly had to do it over and over. So to make sure that we were all prepared. So I was constantly, I think, you know what I was doing? They had a bunch of, you know, extra shirts and jackets down there. So, again, it's not like, I'm complaining, but it's one of these things where, you know, in between takes I'm having to change in and out and I'm covered at this point in like

fake subway dirt and a lot of real sweat so much real sweat and then you know the feeling of being extremely dirty and sweaty and you're trying to put on clean clothes like somehow that is a terrible feeling and that's what it was doing repeatedly

and a quick shout out to Penn because you have to remember there's not that many actors who would be like okay I just got puked on have word drove standing right here give me another jacket and just and we'll go again because we know we're to crush for time nine out of 10 or four out of five let's say would be like all right i'm gonna walk back up slowly to my trailer get go through the hair makeup is gonna make sure i look cool i'm gonna probably

cool off a little bit maybe i'll check my phone i mean really maybe not four to five but but but three at a three out of five all i'm all i'm saying is that one of the reasons this is such a great memory for me is because you set the tone and everybody really was like you know game game they got to listen to me the script we had what's that again got to listen to me yeah right so you know and that those are the things that I think a lot of at least actors because they're they're not on the other side of the camera don't realize like but this one yeah except you 409 so it just I'm just saying it's it's I'm it's nice actually when actors have directed stuff because you know that like while I'm coming up to him like yeah let's have a very

deliberate conversation about this one thought you had about the scene I'm like please get on your fucking mark we've got to go yeah it so it's like you're in television again you're just something that is hard to appreciate until you go through it viscerally it's like you're so pressed for time that like um kind of like this of you i'm being on set now and poking me and probably being like why won't he turn around. It's like we're used to such a phenomenal level of stress. Like at all times, intense stimulus of all kinds. It's just kind of like, no, this is just, I'm just a frog in the boiling water, you know? Yeah. When I was on the set, I was asking crew members and stuff about like actors

they've had good experiences with. And one thing they said about Penn was that they were surprised how much he loves doing his own stunts. Like that was one thing about Penn does almost all his own stunts. You also wouldn't think that there are a lot of stunts. But Joe's a pretty physical, physical enough So there's things that you do a lot that, like, are just, it's just clunky and you get bruised. But, yeah, no, I mean, it's important to me because it just feels more real. Yeah. It's fine. Stick around.

We'll be right back. All right. So, let's just, let's just real talk, as they say, for a second. That's a little bit of an aged thing to say now. That dates me, doesn't it? But no, real talk. How important is your health to you? on like a one to ten and i don't mean the in the sense of vanity i mean in the sense of like you want

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You mind. Sure. Um, you know, let's get you in a cab, right? at the risk of more patting ourselves on the back this scene I remember feeling kind of good doing because we had kind of made it through the tough part of the day and it felt like you filmed this the same day

no no sorry same we had I think we'd come from the alley with Benji is my recollection the alley is like right down the street but we it just felt kind of like less stressful than like the subway day and it just felt like the two of this this amount of

make a show for a moment yeah and and it felt like it just felt like being out on the street in New York at night during the sun which it was of course but I know what you mean it was more relaxed

yeah yeah we did it was like a vibe we could like spend time on creating the vibe which you know again as we're saying it's like sometimes you're just you're like yeah yeah it'll be it'll be there in post

we'll get it later yeah yeah she just shut up we got to roll hemorrhaging money thank you for sobering me up and for saving my life No, I didn't, I didn't save your life. Yeah, you did.

Um, this is Joe. He literally saved my life tonight. I, I fell on the tracks. It was crazy. Babe, I told you, people are basically good. it's a great job bro bro you waste of hair do you remember almost getting run over when we were finishing this me specifically i don't think it was you i think it might have been elizabeth and lou we were doing the coverage in the car and the cop that was holding up the sorry if this is boring but no this is such a new york thing there was a cop at the end of the street closing the street and the deal was like at 5 a.m we had to be off the street and we were like like last setup and instead of at 5 a.m. him radioing to AD's like he's saying like hey guys 5 a.m. I got to go. That's the deal. He just let him go. He just drove off, which we didn't know. And we're in the middle of a take and a cabby, a real cab comes plowing down the street and almost hits. You don't remember this? Maybe maybe he had wrapped you by then. I don't know. Yeah, you probably had to wrap number one. You got to number one wrapped about 9.30.

Yeah, I just remember that. It's such a New York thing. I mean, a lot of the New York, obviously, police department that help us are phenomenal, but there's a couple of guys who are like, look, at five, I told you, I'm going, I'm going, kind of thing. Anyhow. Yeah. I like the book better. Yeah, exactly. Got it.

So what we have here is a line press, basically just a huge clamp. I fought in wardrobe so hard to have him in a white shirt the whole show because I was like, he's a average working class. I just want, you know, it was me again trying to, I knew that I wouldn't get it, but I wanted him in a white shirt as much. as possible. So I finally got it in this scene. Polyvinyl acetate glue means no acid to burn the pages, get your needle, thread. And finally, right out of Bugs Bunny, a trusty mallet. You see this? We don't need this. So the idea of the mallet, I think in the original I'm supposed to That is really fun.

I know. I'm just supposed to start whacking it. And I remember asking the guy who binds the books, I'm like, I have a feeling that you would never whack a book. And he's like, never in my life. Why would you whack the book? Why would you like the book? You're trying to rebuild it. And so.

It's funny because it doesn't match the line that you just said. I know, I know. Yeah. And so I just remember there being a conversation like, so this is going to have an element of comedy to it. It's going to be, you know, it's like there's actually something very sinister if you think about it where he's like he's building up to it. it, you know, use the exact force. I think we even had to change a line for that reason. Yeah. Yeah. It was like

he's being so methodical. But it's such a slow, like, dopey kind of just not, it's not cinematically satisfying. So if I recall, there's one, let's see. Yeah, you give it a whack here, which is... Because it makes no sense. Yeah. If you think about it, it makes no sense.

For the huge part of our audience that builds books, it is that really bumped to them. Johnno, listen to this. Dear Benji, heard about your soda I'm interested in including you on my fall list of must-trives would love to discuss, perhaps even try some.

Jeff Pavenzi. That's the dude you're always retweeting? It's the culture guy from New York Magazine. This is day one. That's the first setup of day one right there. And this was the day of the eclipse. That's right. And the show I started with Zach, Quinto.

Was on another eclipse? For day one was on an eclipse, too. That's weird. I'm not crazy? That is weird. That is amazing. We were shooting on the next eclipse. as well, but it wasn't like our first day

period. Was it Heroes? What show was it? No, no, no. The show he's on now. Brilliant Mike. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Amazing.

You did that. That's cool. I did that pilot as well. We had Zach on for that. That's right. I love Zach Quinto. Yeah, he's a great guy. And I, sorry to segue, but Margin Call,

it's like one of my favorite indies of the last 15 years. Love that movie. You're in that movie, I think. You know, this is, by the way, remember we talked about Penn texting rapidly the other day, which was so weird. Classic Penn. I'm in Toronto shooting this pilot with Zach, and I'm like, we got a, we got to text Penn, you know, something. And so we take a picture, send it to Penn. No response.

It's fees to family. No response. And so Zach would come up to me like a couple of hours later, like, hey, would Penn say? I'm like, um, maybe my, I don't know if it's gone through. My service is... Maybe he changed his number. It's just so classic. So embarrassing.

And I'm sure Zach was like, what's with this guy? Like, does he actually? Nope. Yeah. I didn't know. In jokes. So,

anyway, that and I better... Maybe if you're not too busy, we could get a drink sometime? Sure. Sure. But I still can't find my phone. I know. Email. That's right. See you, Joe.

See you soon. Beck. Begged Sarah Gamble to, like, bring Elizabeth Lail back. Like, I felt the fact that, like, I want justice for Beck. I want Beck to be a lot. You know what? mean she's just so like she's like a little angel yeah she's like literally looks like a little angel you know she does yeah but yeah also just i love the way you read the pick her up pick her up it's so good that was really good that whole thing agreed so good great great beat great you nailed

that yeah that ending i don't nail that end woo wow wow it was a long rewatch long rewatch i don't know how much we're going to cut it down but we sat here for five and a half haven't. Final thoughts? Final thoughts on that pilot? I could enjoy that more than I anticipated because it is hard to watch yourself, you know? Yeah. Likewise. I mean,

meaning I have enough distance where I'm not like grimacing and wanting to hide. No, but I get because when I directed a 409, what I remember is every shot that wasn't quite edited the way that I wanted to do. We're obviously doing a 401 rew.

I don't know if you know, but he couldn't watch playback. yeah something you need to know about episode 409 oh man Tony our stunt coordinator for season one oh yes who came back for season five who is just the best yeah he I really wanted when Benji gets hit in the head with the mallet

I really wanted like that full kind of timber landing but you know we're on the stage it's like concrete floor and so obviously they scenic a little mat but that stunt, the Blue's stunt double whose name, I'm not remembering seven years ago, lovely guy did two full

full face plants and it's a mat but it's like that. It's not. It's not. It's just keeping it from being potentially lethal. Yeah. Exactly. And this summer Tony and I talked about that and what a killer job they did

in doing it and executed. Anyway, so thank you Tony. Appreciation to Tony. And I think is there true His company's New York City stunts, I believe. Maybe you have to look that up, but good guy, good man, good company. Sounds like there's some nice full circle moments from like season one to season five. Yeah. You know, like a break in the middle.

That's the whole thing, really. It is. Yeah, it's it is a full circle. Yeah. Just come back to New York, I think. It feels like the show. Yeah. Yeah, a lot.

I mean, it's amazing how much crew from season one was on season five, don't you think? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it was nice for me because I, because I, because all the other seasons, it was so different. Yeah, it did feel like coming home a bit. And we'll be right back. Does anyone else ever get that nagging feeling that their dog might be bored? And do you also feel like super guilty about it?

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or coming of age stories like somebody's daughter, be sure to pick up fetishized available wherever books are sold. We're gonna see you next month for the finale rewatch. Is there anything you can preview for us? Well, so our last episode,

well, yeah, specifically, our last episode, there can be a drudgery and an anxiety to shooting television because it's so fast-paced and there's so much money being hemorrhaged at all times. And there's so many giant companies that are basically like, you know, you have to somehow save us money, blah, blah, blah.

But our last episode was like such a different experience from every other episode, even the pilot, I would say. It's like we got to make a movie and we were having I just remember so many days being like

it was like it felt reasonable totally you know and and like so enjoyable because of it well i i mean and again big big thanks to marcos seaga saved all that money so that we could do it saved all the money through the first nine episodes and jason sokoloff who did season one and season five and i've done other shows with him um we had can i say we had 16 days to shoot the finale that's insane which normally you guys were on nine day episodes during this which is And we shot 101 and 102 cross-boarded in 22 days. So, you know, much less. I mean, like 11 days, obviously, being the average.

So to your point, Penn, not only was it great, just like being in New York in the summer, which felt like coming home, getting to laugh probably too much with you, driving everyone nuts. It might have hurt my performance. It might have hurt both, yeah, both of our prospects of coming back to work for one of the brothers might have been affected. But 16 days. And, yeah, going home and not feeling totally shamed. Gattered and feeling like you'd come back to work the next day and not just be like rung out. You know, that was really refreshing.

Yeah, well, obviously I haven't seen it, but I did run into Justin Lowe at a party and he... Justin Lowe was our, one of our executive producers became a showrunner in the last... And he said he was on his ninth watch because he was, you know, helping to give notes and edits, whatever. And he said he hadn't gotten sick of it and that was one of the only times that, you know, nine watches in. He's not sick of an episode. And that it was his favorite episode of the whole season. and he wasn't expecting that and that he was

and he specifically said he was like blown away by Lee's work as the director and he was blown away by Maddie and Penn's performances so I can't wait I can't wait I don't think I've seen

a final cut to be honest I think I saw the second of final I saw it when it was like you know near there I don't think I don't think I've seen the final mix I went through color with a lot picture

but the final final mix but it is I will just say Michael Foley who was was number two on the show up into the fifth season and then he became showrunner alongside just and he's he's been there the longest now out of anybody that's right sarah gamble left so he so so foley really really is the end-to-end man and and he wrote you know with neal i mean really the i mean really the i think incredible finale i mean and i would imagine as as you know obviously

Greg and Sarah, they're genius we've established, but I have to believe writing a finale after five seasons is actually harder when you're trying to stick the landing of so many things pay so many things off. Undoubtedly. And I just thought it was a total home run

and then to have the time to actually do it right was, I don't think I'll ever I can't imagine a time of my career I'll have what we had this last summer with the time... Not in TV, no. No. No. Especially now.

I feel like the world has sort of imploded a little bit since then. You know what I mean? Just the business in general. So anyway, it was a great experience and I cannot wait to do this again and discuss it with you guys. Come back next month, guys.

Yeah. Lee, thank you so much. Thank you, guys. So great to be here. Yeah, really appreciate it. And what's nice is reflecting on the finale, we just took a little bit of time out of that rewatch. Yeah, just keep it going on that one.

Ramp it up. Thanks, guys. Podcrushed is hosted by Penn Badgley, Navacavalin, and Sophie Ansari. Our senior producer is David Ansari, and our editing is done by Clips Agency. Special thanks to the folks at La Manada. And as always, you can listen to Podcrushed ad-free on Amazon music with your prime membership. Okay, that's all. Bye.