Month-to-Month: Episodic Medium's Fall Schedule & Subscription Drive

Every September, I run a subscription drive here at Episodic Medium. It’s when we offer our largest discount on our annual subscriptions, and where I make my pitch for you to support the criticism we’ll produce over the next year.

Running a reader-supported publication is all about these appeals, and it’s tempting to turn this into a meta-commentary of the various anxieties that come from our recent move to Ghost. Substack was technically a platform designed to translate free subscribers into paid, albeit for their purposes and not ours. Substack wanted you to become a paid subscriber because they need that 10% of revenue to appease their investors. By comparison, I want you to become a paid subscriber because I believe in the value of criticism and critics, and want to keep supporting our freelance contributors so they can keep doing work I consider important. I also believe in the value of critical community, and the best way for that community to develop is to gain new perspectives.

As we moved to Ghost, we lost access to Substack’s “network” effects, which were meant to get this message to as many people as possible. While I’m experimenting with the good folks at Outpost to explore options to convince our “Casual Viewers” to invest in our community, on a certain level the philosophy behind Episodic Medium means that I have to believe in something simpler: that you see the value of television criticism, and might be willing when able to support that work in exchange for receiving insightful reviews in your inbox (plus access to over 3 years of archived reviews). September is when we make the hard sell to make you a part of our community, which seems especially important as we navigate this move.

Our 2025 Subscription Drive

This year, there are two dimensions to our Subscription Drive. The first is the usual 20% off annual subscriptions at the Regular Viewer tier, and I want to be clear upfront: this is the last time this offer will ever happen. Given the scale of what we’re offering, our $50 per year annual plan is already a tremendous value, offering a roughly 15% discount on the $5 monthly cost—that’s less than $0.20 per review if you break it down. But as we manage the move to Ghost, I want to lower the barrier to entry one last time, hoping that the slightly lower upfront cost can get you in the door and see what the community has to offer. To activate this offer, click the button below—unlike with Substack, you do NEED to access the offer through this link.

The second is an introductory discount to our new Loyal Viewer tier, which started with our move to Ghost. If you missed those details, this new tier gives paid subscribers an additional element of community: the Episodic Medium Discord, which is now up and operational. It’s where I’ve been sharing my thoughts on Australian Survivor, and where Loyal Viewers have talked about subjects like the appeal of Game Changer or suggestions for “competence porn.” It’s a space to connect with me and our contributors, as well as each other, and we’ll be holding a live discussion during this month’s Primetime Emmy awards as a test for future events.

Moving forward, the Loyal Viewer will be $10 per month and then $100 on a yearly basis. However, until the end of September, I’m offering $80 yearly subscriptions—note that these will renew at $80, unlike the Regular Viewer discount which only applies to the first year. I’ll be raising the price on new Loyal Viewer subscriptions beginning in October, so if you’re considering increasing your support of the newsletter, now is absolutely the time to do so. Note that if you are already a paid member on an annual basis, your subscription will prorate based on what you have already paid.

Now that we’re at Ghost, note that 100% of your contributions (after processing fees, which are smaller for yearly subscriptions) go directly to supporting our work. Last year, roughly 70% of those revenues went to our freelance contributors, and the other 30% helps me cover costs, carve out the time I need to serve as Editor-in-Chief, and invest in expanding our community (and write my own reviews, of course). None of this happens without your support, and I hope you’ll consider investing in our community here at our new home.

The Fall Schedule Your Support Makes Possible

Even as streaming and cable have largely displaced broadcast television as the center of the medium’s cultural footprint, there’s still something magical about the idea of “Fall TV.” It’s the start of a new season, and with that comes new and returning coverage.

The Paper (Peacock, September 5)

As you might know if you follow this newsletter closely, I have an infamous history with The Office, and so I had to take the opportunity to engage with the idea of creating an in-universe spinoff. I was halfway through writing reviews when they switched from weekly drops to a binge release, so reviews of the first season will be split into periodical drop-ins to debut for a week-and-a-half or so.

Taskmaster (Youtube, September 12)

Technically we covered Season 19 of the British favorite that now enjoys cult success in the U.S., as Laura M. Browning joined us for weekly reactions. This time around, we’re moving the coverage behind the paywall, so I hope those of you who enjoyed having those reactions in your inboxes will consider signing up to join the conversation.

The Lowdown (FX, September 23)

Sterlin Harjo’s Reservation Dogs made the kind of impact that gets you excited for the followup, and reteaming with Ethan Hawke—who guested on the third season of that show—for an Oklahoma noir had Noel Murray’s name written all over it.

Slow Horses (Apple TV+, September 24)

I didn’t have any takers among our contributors for coverage of the show last summer, but once I binge-watched the first four seasons this summer and realized the fifth was already available on Apple’s screening site, I figured I might as well just follow the momentum and review Slough House’s latest misadventures myself.

Matlock and Elsbeth (aka ElsLock) (CBS, October 13)

As someone who wrote about three seasons of Elementary week-to-week, I have strong feelings about the value of critically analyzing broadcast procedurals, but wasn’t sure if the budget would ever allow it. However, Josh Spiegel has kindly agreed to combine shorter reflections on two of them, so paid subscribers will get his reflections on their second and third seasons, respectively.

It: Welcome to Derry (HBO, October 26)

While he is generally very nice and collaborative, I do think that Zack Handlen would have gone full Pennywise if I had denied him the opportunity to put all his knowledge to work in tackling HBO’s attempt to spin off the hit Warner Bros. films into a prequel series.

Pluribus (Apple TV+, November 7)

Episodic Medium owes a lot to the internet’s desire to read Donna Bowman finishing out her 15-year run covering Vince Gilligan’s Albuquerque series, and so there was no question who would take on Gilligan’s first show since the end of Better Call Saul, a sci-fi return to Albuquerque reuniting him with Rhea Seehorn.

Returning Coverage

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu, September 9)

After three seasons writing about the show, I’m stepping off this beat, with Erik Adams—who covered Succession for us back in 2023—coming in to cover the fifth season with a new murder and a new set of conspicuous guest stars.

Survivor (CBS, September 24)

While I’ll be returning to Fiji in the spring for Season 50, my fall schedule complicates my Wednesday evenings, so what better opportunity to bring in our other Survivor expert Ben Rosenstock to cover Season 49? I’ll see y’all in the comments.

Abbott Elementary (ABC, October 1)

As she announced in her review of last season’s finale, LaToya Ferguson is stepping away from her coverage of the series, but after getting a taste with St. Denis Medical (which we won’t be continuing to cover) Caroline Siede will pick up the sitcom baton for coverage of the ABC comedy’s fifth season.

Ongoing Coverage

• Alien: Earth (Myles McNutt)
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Zack Handlen)
• Dexter: Resurrection (Alex McLevy)
• Peacemaker (Liam Mathews)

Calendars

Note, as always, that additional coverage may be added at a future date. Without screeners, there is nothing else that has immediately demanded coverage, but we’ll be looking at shows beginning later in October/November as we prepare for December and beyond.

In our current climate, being a critic—or any kind of journalist—means also being an entrepreneur. The privilege I have in running Episodic Medium is that I am not just trying to sell myself. I am selling 12+ amazing contributors, whose collective work is the absolute best value you are going to get in a television newsletter. Your subscriptions support their work, and they also help me continue supporting them, and expanding our pool of contributors and our coverage as budget allows.

I don’t take any amount of support for granted, but appreciate everyone who has contributed to help make this a sustainable enterprise. When we’re here a year later, it’s because of readers who decided to invest in our vision, and I hope you’ll take this opportunity to consider doing the same as we head into the fall season.

Thanks for your support,

Myles McNutt

Editor-in-Chief, Episodic Medium