Get ready to take your parasocial relationships to the next level! Last year’s Movies Fantasy League Podcaster Division was such a success that we’ve once again welcomed a thrilling array of entertainment and culture podcasters — including our returning champion, Fighting in the War Room’s Katey Rich. This time around, however, there are real stakes for hosts and listeners alike. Here’s what you need to know about the Podcaster Division, the podcast listener mini-leagues, and how you can get involved.
➼ The Podcaster Division: Dozens of our favorite culture-podcast hosts and producers are competing in a subset of the MFL to prove who has the superior awards-season expertise, box-office clairvoyance, and drafting savvy. When the leaderboard is live, you’ll be able to filter to see how the various podcasters are faring against each other. At the end of the season, the winner will receive an ostentatious championship belt because why not.
➼ Podcast Listener Mini-Leagues: Here’s where you can play along. Most of the shows in the Podcaster Division will be hosting mini-leagues, meaning listeners of a given show can compete against one another — and against the other mini-leagues. There’s more than just bragging rights in play: The winning mini-league (see the scoring system below) will land a TV for the top finisher and MoviePass subscriptions for everyone in the top ten.
Read on to find out which podcasts are competing this year, and take note of the mini-league name so you can enter it when you fill out your entry. (Don’t forget to consult the extensive MFL Draft Guide for tips and insights first.)
Important note: You can only belong to one mini-league, so you may have to choose between your favorite podcasts and/or friend groups. We regret putting you in this position.
The Podcaster Division
Black Men Can’t Jump (In Hollywood)
➼ Who’s playing: Jonathan Braylock (@jonbraylock)
âž¼ Where to find them: @blackmenpodcast
âž¼ Mini-league name: BMCJ Awakens
Blank Check
➼ Who’s playing: Griffin Newman (@GriffLightning), David Sims (@davidlsims)
âž¼ Where to find them: @BlankCheckPod
âž¼ Mini-league name: Blankies
Cows in the Field
➼ Who’s playing: Justin Khoo (@juskhoo)
âž¼ Where to find them: @cowspod
Extra Hot Great
➼ Who’s playing: Sarah D. Bunting (@sarahdbunting), Tara Ariano (@TaraAriano)
âž¼ Where to find them: @ExtraHotPodcast
âž¼ Mini-league name: Extra Hot Great Minds
Eye of the Duck
➼ Who’s playing: Dominick Nero (@dominicknero), Adam Volerich (@AdamVole)
âž¼ Where to find them: @eyeoftheduckpod
âž¼ Mini-league name: League of the Duck
Fighting in the War Room
➼ Who’s playing: Katey Rich (@kateyrich), Dave Gonzales (@da7e), Matthew Patches (@misterpatches), David Ehrlich (@davidehrlich)
âž¼ Where to find them: @FITWR
âž¼ Mini-league name: FITWarriors
Film and Whiskey
➼ Who’s playing: Bob Book, Brad Gee
âž¼ Where to find them: @FilmWhiskey
âž¼ Mini-league name: The Viscosity League
Filmspotting
➼ Who’s playing: Adam Kempenaar (@filmspotting), Sam Van Hallgren (@samvanhallgren)
âž¼ Where to find them: @filmspotting
➼ Mini-league name: I Don’t Have Friends I Got Family
Good One
➼ Who’s playing: Jesse David Fox (@JesseDavidFox)
âž¼ Where to find them: @GoodOnepodcast
Hollywood Handbook
➼ Who’s playing: Hayes Davenport (@HayesDavenport), Sean Clements (@seanclements), Kevin Bartlet
âž¼ Where to find them: @HandbookBoys
âž¼ Mini-league name: Scoop Troop
Keep It!
➼ Who’s playing: Ira Madison III (@iramadisonthree), Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel)
âž¼ Where to find them: @keepitshow
âž¼ Mini-league name: Keep It Krew
Light the Fuse
➼ Who’s playing: Charles Hood (@charlesh00d), Drew Taylor (@DrewTailored)
âž¼ Where to find them: @LightTheFusePod
➼ Mini-league name: The Rabbit’s Feet
Little Gold Men/Still Watching
➼ Who’s playing: David Canfield (@davidcanfield97), Richard Lawson (@rilaws), Rebecca Ford (@Beccamford) for Little Gold Men; Richard Lawson (@rilaws), Hillary Busis (@hillibusterr), and Chris Murphy (@christress) for Still Watching
âž¼ Where to find them: @littlegoldmen
âž¼ Mini-league name: Vanity Flair
Miami Nice
➼ Who’s playing: Katie Walsh (@katiewalshstx), Blake Howard (@OneBlakeMinute)
âž¼ Where to find them: @OHMPods
âž¼ Mini-league name: Mann-iacs
Ruined
➼ Who’s playing: Alison Leiby (@AlisonLeiby), Halle Kiefer (@HalleKiefer)
âž¼ Where to find them: @ruinedpodcast
âž¼ Mini-league name: Ruined
Scott Hasn’t Seen
➼ Who’s playing: Scott Aukerman (@ScottAukerman), Shaun Diston (@shaundiston)
âž¼ Where to find them: @ComedyBangBang
➼ Mini-league name: Scott Hasn’t Seeners
Screen Drafts
➼ Who’s playing: Clay Keller (@claykeller), Ryan Marker (@MarkerRyan625), Darren Franich (@DarrenFranich)
âž¼ Where to find them: @ScreenDrafts
âž¼ Mini-league name: Screen Drafts
The B-Side
➼ Who’s playing: Dan Mecca (@djmecca), Conor O’Donnell (@scruffyl00kin)
âž¼ Where to find them: @TFSBSide
âž¼ Mini-league name: The B-Siders
This Had Oscar Buzz
➼ Who’s playing: Chris Feil (@chrisvfeil)
âž¼ Where to find them: @Had_Oscar_Buzz
âž¼ Mini-league name: Garyators
Unspooled
➼ Who’s playing: Paul Scheer (@PaulScheer), Amy Nicholson (@theAmyNicholson), Matt Apodaca, Codi Fischer, Jess Cisneros
âž¼ Where to find them: @unspooled
âž¼ Mini-league name: Unspooled
We Hate Movies
➼ Who’s playing: Andrew Jupin (@jupin), Chris Cabin (@crabin), Eric Szyszka (@ericszyszka), Stephen Sajdak (@stephensajdak)
âž¼ Where to find them:Â @WHMPodcastÂ
âž¼ Mini-league name:Â The Muldooners
Who? Weekly
➼ Who’s playing: Bobby Finger (@bobbyfinger), Lindsey Weber (@lindseyweber)
âž¼ Where to find them: @whoweekly
âž¼ Mini-league name: Wholigans
Podcast Mini-League Rules
The Podcast Listener Mini-League competition will be scored as follows: a mini-league’s total score will be the sum of the scores of the top-ten players/teams within that mini-league. At the end of the season, the mini-league with the cumulative highest score from their top ten will be named winner, and those ten players will be handsomely rewarded.
Prizes
âž¼ The top team in the winning mini-league will receive a 50-inch Westinghouse Roku TV 4K Ultra HD.
âž¼ Each team in the top ten of the winning mini-league will get a yearlong MoviePass subscription, good for up to four movies per month in theaters.
Interested in participating in a podcast mini-league? Just enter your chosen podcast’s mini-league name in the “League Name†field when you draft your ballot. (Already drafted? Shoot an email to [email protected] with your team name and desired mini-league, and we’ll get you set up.)