Networks can't stop talking about their hit shows either

TV producers are trying to re-create the 'watercooler talk' for their buzzy series with explainers and behind-the-scenes docs

- Story by Manuel Betancourt

Pedro Pascal in "The Last of Us."

IN AN AGE OF CHANGING MEDIA CONSUMPTION (AND WORK-from-home) habits, the phrase "watercooler television" may be something of an anachronism. But as anyone following shows like "The White Lotus" can tell you, discussing, dissecting and debating hit series never goes out of style. And of all networks, HBO knows how best to capitalize on such buzzed-about moments: The network's "Inside the Episode" programs have long offered viewers the chance to process shocking plot twists and jaw-dropping deaths. That's where viewers of Season 3 got to hear creator Mike White break down everything from Saxon and Lochlan's drunken exploits to Chelsea and Rick's doomed ending.

"Shows like this are the new water-cooler moment," says Emmy nominee Natalia Echeverria, a creative director at HBO and an executive producer of "The White Lotus: Unpacking The Episode." "We try to anticipate what beats from the episode people will be talking about and then we dive in, giving audiences an inside peek only we can provide."

Owing a debt to post-episode talk shows like "The Talking Dead" and podcasts like "Private Joke: The Official How I Met Your Mother Podcast" and "The Good Place: The Podcast," such companion series, now commonplace across platforms, have risen in popularity in the last decade. This year, in fact, they make up the entirety of the short form nonfiction or reality series Emmy category.