This week on Geektown Radio, Dave is joined by Matt for Episode 499, and it is a properly packed one. The pair dive into horror hit ‘Obsession’, the opening episodes of ‘Spider-Noir‘, Russell T Davies’ new Channel 4 drama ‘Tip Toe’, and the stylish spy series ‘PONIES’, alongside chat about ‘Shrinking‘ Season 3, ‘For All Mankind’, and a fresh James Bond gaming detour with ‘007 First Light’.
Matt kicks things off with ‘Obsession’, which he reckons is one of the best films of 2026 so far. The horror film follows a young man whose wish for the girl he likes to fall for him spirals into something much darker and much more disturbing. Matt is full of praise for its slow-burn approach, its smart execution, and one particularly jaw-dropping scene that clearly left a mark. It sounds like exactly the sort of horror film that proves you do not need a giant budget to really get under people’s skin.
He also checks in with the first two episodes of ‘Spider-Noir’, with Nicolas Cage (Longlegs, Renfield) stepping into the live-action version of the character after voicing him in the animated Spider-Verse films. One of the more fun wrinkles here is that the show can be watched in either colour or black and white, and Matt is firmly leaning into the black and white version for the full noir experience. Add in some praise for the mood, the writing, and Cage doing exactly the sort of grizzled weirdness you want from him, and it sounds like this could be a very nice fit for fans of offbeat comic book TV.
There is also a bit of 9-1-1 catch-up, with Matt wrapping up the show’s space storyline, which somehow sounds like it should be ridiculous and yet, by this point, apparently just feels normal. Which may be the most 9-1-1 sentence possible. He also finishes ‘Shrinking’ Season 3 and is hugely impressed by it, praising the writing, the emotional balance, the cast, and the way it handles drama, comedy and character in a way that feels grounded rather than forced. So yes, more evidence that Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones, Star Wars) can apparently do prestige TV just as easily as everything else.
On Dave’s side, there is some gaming chat around ‘007 First Light’, the new Bond game from the team behind Hitman. The verdict is very positive, with the game sounding like a proper cinematic Bond adventure, complete with a young 007, strong action sequences, and the sort of story-led structure that makes it feel like you are playing through a film. There is also the slight brain-scramble of realising Bond is played by Patrick Gibson (Dexter: Original Sin, Shadow and Bone), who some people may still mentally associate with playing a young serial killer rather than Britain’s suavest spy.
Dave has also been watching ‘PONIES‘, a 1970s-set spy drama starring Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones, Secret Invasion) and Haley Lu Richardson (The White Lotus, Split). The pair play two women in Moscow whose husbands, both undercover CIA operatives, die in suspicious circumstances. Rather than heading home quietly, they end up convincing the agency to let them become operatives themselves, using the fact that they are dismissed as harmless as a cover. It sounds like a smart setup, with a strong central duo and plenty of paranoia, espionage, and period style to keep things moving.
Another standout this week is ‘Tip Toe’, Russell T Davies’ new Channel 4 drama led by Alan Cumming (The Traitors US, The Good Wife) and David Morrissey (The Walking Dead, Sherwood). The series looks at LGBTQ+ life, culture war tensions, and the way online hostility can bleed into the real world, all through the story of two neighbours in Manchester whose lives collide in increasingly uncomfortable ways. Dave is clear that it is not always subtle, but it is powerful, funny in places, and very much Russell writing adult drama in the way only he really can.
He also catches up with the ‘For All Mankind‘ finale, which sets up some intriguing possibilities for where the story goes next, particularly with ‘Star City’ also now in the mix. And for those still following the Jack Ryan universe, there is also a look at the ‘Jack Ryan’ movie event, which Dave says works nicely as both a continuation and a possible final chapter if they decide to leave it there.
In the news section, there is the usual Geektown mix of renewals, cancellations, rumours, and slightly odd TV developments. ‘Euphoria’ is now officially done after Season 3, ‘Pointless Celebrities’ is ending while the main show continues, ‘Cold Water’ is not coming back, ‘Piglets’ has been axed after two series, and ‘Emily in Paris’ will wrap with its sixth season. On the renewal side, ‘Daddy Issues’ is back for a third series, ‘The Weakest Link’ returns with Romesh Ranganathan (Avoidance, The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan) still hosting, ‘Balamory’ has landed two more runs, ‘Saint-Pierre’ is officially back for Season 3, and ‘The Testaments’ will continue with a second season.
There is also some air date news, including the ‘Baywatch‘ reboot heading to Sky in 2027, ‘X-Men ’97’ returning in July, and a brand new Grey’s Anatomy spin-off heading to rural Texas. On the gaming front, ‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’ is somehow getting a surprise third expansion in 2027, because apparently that game still has one more adventure left in it.
Elsewhere, Dave also tackles the latest ‘Doctor Who’ panic rumour doing the rounds, and, quite rightly, points out that the whole thing does not really add up. The BBC has not confirmed much, which has left a vacuum for nonsense to fill, but no, the lack of visible filming in June is not proof the show has fallen into a black hole, and no, the idea that nobody wants to play the Doctor is every bit as daft as it sounds.
There is also some genuinely good news for ‘Hudson & Rex‘ fans, with John Reardon (Van Helsing, Continuum) returning as Charlie Hudson for the new season after the messy fallout around his exit. And over at HBO Max, David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, Presumed Innocent) is developing Michael Connelly’s ‘Welcome to Catalina‘, which sounds like another sun-drenched crime drama where the peaceful island life predictably does not stay peaceful for very long.
As usual, the episode also rounds up what is landing on TV next week, including ‘Allegiance’ Season 2, ‘Clarkson’s Farm’ Season 5, ‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ Season 4, ‘Will Trent’ Season 4, ‘Cape Fear’, ‘Mock the Week’, ‘Alice and Steve’, and ‘Best Medicine’.
So if you want one podcast episode covering ‘Obsession’, ‘Spider-Noir’, ‘Tip Toe’, ‘PONIES’, plus a pile of TV and film news, Geektown Radio Episode 499 has you covered.
Listen below.
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