Zanna and Billiam
Media & Entertainment Podcasts
Briefly put, Zanna & Billiam is a podcast about television. It consists of the dynamic duo Susannah and Will: teenage, TV-obsessed, best friends. Together, they’ll cover a number of shows they find crucial to their friendship, shows like Portlandia, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and 30 Rock. Recapping, reviewing, and relishing a different episode each week, you can expect plenty of strong opinions, deep dives, inside jokes, and above all, friendship, comedy, writing, dreams(both nighttime and aspirational), quotes, and above all, television.
Location:
United States
Description:
Briefly put, Zanna & Billiam is a podcast about television. It consists of the dynamic duo Susannah and Will: teenage, TV-obsessed, best friends. Together, they’ll cover a number of shows they find crucial to their friendship, shows like Portlandia, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and 30 Rock. Recapping, reviewing, and relishing a different episode each week, you can expect plenty of strong opinions, deep dives, inside jokes, and above all, friendship, comedy, writing, dreams(both nighttime and aspirational), quotes, and above all, television.
Language:
English
Website:
https://zannabilliam.com/
Email:
zanna.billiam@gmail.com
Episodes
The Good Place: Most Improved Player (1.8)
9/12/2021
This week, we're covering Most Improved Player from The Good Place's first season. And in addition to cubes of all purposes and striking differences from later seasons, this episode also contains Waterloo Seltzers, whose name Les Miserables superfan Susannah is only kind of obsessed with, preachy barefooters on Quora, Holocaust allegories, brand new ship names (#shellagonye), and loads and loads of whatever the audio equivalent of cacti are.
Next week, we're covering Parks and Rec's Harvest...
Duration:01:11:18
30 Rock: What Will Happen to the Gang Next Year? (6.22)
9/5/2021
We're back this week with What Will Happen to the Gang Next Year! And no, we haven't made a full-length episode out of our outro section. That would be kind of boring. Rather, we're covering it's namesake, 30 Rock's wonderfully chaotic season six closer! We discuss Kristen Wiig sightings, praise Mary Steenburgen at length, Susannah talks about YA and Will talks about Virginia Woolf, and we mention a PBS miniseries and a Courtney Love movie.
Oh and hey, there's a weird thing going on with...
Duration:00:57:55
B99: The Jimmy Jab Games (2.3)
8/22/2021
For our coverage of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's classic Jimmy Jab Games, we're remote again due to Susannah's being in Martha's Vineyard. But what we lack in being in person, we make up for in Audrey! Also: carnival prizes, Larry David and Alan Dershowitz, sound effects, the dating lives and jail times of mobsters who dip children in acid, "moshing like there's no tomorrow", books, Will not leaving clothing in Carrie Brownstein's dressing room, paper plates, Susannah’s ability to make pompoms (with...
Duration:01:03:36
Portlandia: Weirdo Beach (6.4)
8/8/2021
From Susannah's mom's attic office, it's our triumphant return to Portlandia with Weirdo Beach! Perhaps there's just something about Fred and Carrie, as while this episode isn't quite as hectic as Amore, it's definitely more hectic than the typical Zanna and Billiam episode. Susannah talks about A.A. Milne poetry, we imagine a virtual assistant with a strong Cockney accent, we sing some Free to Be You and Me and some Ice Ice Baby, we find a philosophy book by Susannah's great-grandfather,...
Duration:01:34:14
Downton: 201
8/1/2021
We're back! After that loooong hiatus due to Will's camp and overall summer fatigue, we make our return with Downton Abbey's Season Two Episode One, which Susannah can honestly probably recite at this point. Besides trying to get back into the swing of things and marveling at the fact that we can record this in person and inside, we also compare William (the character, not the podcast host) to a Mormon vampire, dust off some deep dives from a year ago, and sing the Camp Portland song again...
Duration:01:04:20
SNL: Andy Samberg (39.21)
6/7/2021
Andy Samberg hosted SNL in 2014 and now we are, well, not really following in his footsteps by hosting this episode of our podcast! We talk about a real-life Hunchback of Notre Dame, our thrift shop, and calendars. Also, Will plays the Oldies channel again to drown out the sirens on his street, and Susannah rants about how much she hates Bruce Chandling.
And we're taking on a new show: New Girl! Join us for "Background Check" this time next week! (Well, not this exact time. Preferably...
Duration:01:07:22
Parks and Rec: Bailout (5.16) (ft. Audrey)
6/1/2021
Yes, it might seem a bit strange that we, shippers that we are, chose this episode instead of the previous one, Leslie and Ben (for non-superfans, that's the one where they get married). But hey, this episode's got mani-pedis, old movies, and several members of the sprawling Lerpiss family. And of course, it's the first appearance of the one and only Mona-Lisa Saperstein. Our attempt to cover includes lots of air quotes (which aren't great for this audio medium), a revisit of the various...
Duration:01:19:25
The Good Place: The Burrito (2.12)
5/15/2021
We're back in The Good Place for this penultimate episode of Season Two (of The Good Place, not the podcast. We're too lazy to put this podcast into seasons). Yes, this episode is shorter than usual, and yes, Susannah (who writes these usually very witty episode descriptions) can't think of anything to say here, but we have no doubts that this is just as enjoyable, as, I guess, whatever you'd do instead of listening to this episode.
Next week, we'll be joined by Audrey to discuss Parks and...
Duration:00:37:41
30 Rock: The Moms (4.20)
5/9/2021
We head back to 30 Rock(both the show and the place) for a very special(to be honest, it's not actually that special) Mother's Day episode. Even though this episode probably won't be heard until after Mother's Day. But we make like Victor Hugo and digress! (#ObscureLesMizRef)
Anyhoo, in this episode, Will mocks/performs slam poetry, Susannah(yet again) tells us about her parent's interaction with a celebrity(this time, it's her dad and Keith Haring, Will reassures us all that Susannah is...
Duration:01:04:32
B99: Debbie (7.5) (Ft. Audrey!)
5/1/2021
Our good friend Audrey joins us as we cover this lace paper airplane of a Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode! After a bit of a confused beginning, Susannah directs everyone towards her favorite Belgian girls choir. Then, prompted by a country song, we question the logic of reviving ghosts, and go on a tangent about stuff in our rooms.
Next week, we'll head to The Good Place for season two's The Burrito, featuring a fantastic Maya Rudolph.
Duration:01:12:29
Portlandia: Amore (7.5)
4/17/2021
We restart our cycle once again with Portlandia's Amore! And as any episode recorded on the eve of a week off school is expected to do, it goes off the rails pretty quickly. We get to the major points of the Rachel-Dratch-starring episode, such as Fred and Giuseppina's ship name (Gred? Friuseppina?), but we also warn of the dangers of Portuguese businessmen, maybe accidentally stumble upon secret FBI codes, and talk about the crime family from the fictional Princess Diaries country. And that...
Duration:01:30:41
Downton Abbey: 1.7
4/11/2021
It's our very first Downton episode(or at least it's Will's), and we've got plenty of strong opinions about O'Brien, Edith, Bates, Marthew (Mary&Matthew), and pretty much every other thing that briefly appears on-screen, including umbrella handles. But first, we kick off with an unusually long cold open featuring two fill-for-time’s and a treasure found inside a book leading to a deep-dive. Then, Susannah tells you some of the things you need to know about Pitman shorthand, and Will briefly...
Duration:01:02:39
SNL: Paul Rudd/DJ Khaled(44.21)
4/3/2021
We return to Susannah's sometimes-favorite show SNL with a vaguely recent finale hosted by Paul Rudd! Susannah talks about her father’s “breakthrough” Shakespeare research before getting into the Genovese crime family, while Will is yet again astonished by how little Susannah knows about popular culture(this time, it’s Ant-Man) and starts a Smashing Pumpkins-based feud with Paul Rudd’s daughter. Also, If you are/know Jane Fonda, Jackson Browne, or any of their children, and/or have any...
Duration:01:04:08
Parks and Rec: The End of the World (4.6) (ft. Audrey!)
3/16/2021
We've headed back to Pawnee with a WONDERFUL episode form Season Four. Audrey joins us as we find various antonyms for 'palpable' (dubious, inferential) and mourn our lack of anyone else to invite to our podcast. Plus, Susannah's got a very special deep-dive that's months in the making, but she can't share it until she remembers the basic plot of "Who Moved my Cheese?" And once she finally does, she reveals that her research might have taken her to some illegal corners of the internet, and...
Duration:00:55:22
The Good Place: You've Changed, Man
2/27/2021
We return to The Good Place with 'You've Changed, Man', one of the final (and strongest) episodes! We see Good, Bad, and Neutral Janet, as well as Animal Janet (from the Cat and Dog Good Place) and another Janet of unknown purpose. Plus, we tell our broken-glass stories, we discuss the merits of the concept of warm pretzels, Will talks about his admiration for Julia Roberts' niece, and Susannah displays her perpetual love for Downton Abbey.
Duration:00:59:22
B99: 99 (5.9) (ft. Audrey!)
2/22/2021
Audrey joins us again for the episode we promised you two weeks ago, rerecorded somewhat fatiguedly (is that a word? Not going to look it up) but nonetheless enjoyable. We, of course, do discuss every aspect of this landmark Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode, but we also learn about the fingernail equivalent of an accent wall from Audrey, talk about our distaste for various Die Hard films, examine stunt doubles, recall our previous (and dearly departed) recording in which Audrey turned to Reddit to...
Duration:00:46:29
30 Rock: Anna Howard Shaw Day (4.13)
2/13/2021
We've decided to do a Valentine's episode, even though Valentine's Day is a sham created by card companies to reinforce and exploit gender stereotypes. But whether you're celebrating the birthday of famed suffragette Anna Howard Shaw or taking part on one of the many weird Valentine's traditions mentioned by Liz's coworkers (eating pierogi at the cleaning lady's husband's grave, anyone?), chances are you'll like this hilarious 30 Rock episode featuring Avery's debut, Horatio Sanz as Jenna's...
Duration:00:55:56
Portlandia: Trailblazers (4.07)
1/30/2021
It's our first second episode of Portlandia! That's right, we've restarted the cycle, and we're returning to the City of Roses with Will's favorite Portlandia episode, Trailblazers. Susannah likes the episode as well, but as a person with extremely long hair, she's a bit put off by that first sketch. Also, Susannah talks about how she got her ears pierced in the middle of a mall hallway(thankfully, it was not done by Michael Michael Jordan), Will's a bit disappointed Susannah won't let him...
Duration:01:01:15
SNL: John Mulaney/Jack White (43.18)
1/23/2021
We're finally doing an SNL episode, and what an episode indeed! John Mulaney's first stint hosting features tour de force sketches like Diner Lobster, sketches we have an obscure emotional connection to like Real Intros of Reality Hills, wonderfully random cut sketches like Wedding Toast, and two great musical performances by Jack White. Plus, Susannah has some exciting findings to share that she almost forgets, Will has a lot to say about the music, and some other stuff, I don't know, I'm...
Duration:01:16:55
Community: Mixology Certification (2.10)
1/16/2021
If you think we're really into mixology, well, you wouldn't be wrong. It's pretty much our favorite thing, at least when it comes to television. And we can all agree that the only thing that could make this exceptional episode of the thoroughly unique sitcom Community better would be Andy Samberg as the mixologist. Sorry, the Mixologist. (Also maybe if it was less depressing.)
Tune in next week for John Mulaney's first SNL hosting gig, an episode with something for everyone.
Duration:00:57:06