My Favorite Episode With Michael Schneider

Nina Dobrev may be best known for her six-season run as Elena on The CW's "The Vampire Diaries." But the actress/writer/producer has done a lot more since then, including the current CBS sitcom "Fam." Dobrev has more ambition, including her own premium drama — like one of her favorite TV series ever, HBO's "Big Little Lies." On this edition of the podcast, we talk to Nina Dobrev about her favorite episode of TV ever, the Season 1 finale of "Big Little Lies," as well as how she is now trying something completely different with a multi-camera comedy. Music by Hook Sounds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Broad City" creators and stars Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer grew up watching "The Golden Girls," and upon a re-binge of the series, have discovered that it still holds up today. For the duo, Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty were true icons, and the show was their comedy school -- a multi-camera sitcom that promised big laughs, well-defined characters and interesting relationships. For their favorite episode, they settled on the "Golden Girls" Season 1 finale "The Way We Met," an origins story of how the Miami roommates first met. (Music by HookSounds.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"The Neighborhood" stars Max Greenfield and Beth Behrs talk about their new sitcom and why they enjoy the multi-camera sitcom format. Also, they dissect their favorite episodes of TV of all time. While Greenfield chose the Season 2 finale of "The Leftovers," Behrs went back to a famous 1969 "Carol Burnett Show" sketch starring Tim Conway as a rookie dentist and Harvey Korman as his unwitting patient. (Music by HookSounds.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TV writer Greg Garcia earned raves for creating shows with quirky but down-to-earth relatable characters, such as 'My Name is Earl" and "Raising Hope." His latest series, the TBS anthology "The Guest Book," introduces new characters every single week. Garcia was inspired by his heavy diet of sitcoms growing up, including the classic "Andy Griffith Show." For a young Garcia, it was a rare appearance by the eccentric Ernest T. Bass that made for his favorite episodes of the series. When we asked the TV creator to pick his favorite TV episode of all time, he zeroed in on those five Ernest T. Bass appearances. (Music by HookSounds.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John C. McGinley, now star of IFC's "Stan Against Evil," grew up during the heyday of the classic 1970s sitcom, when producers like Norman Lear and James L. Brooks ruled primetime. For a young McGinley, there was something extra fascinating about Lear's "All in the Family." We talk to McGinley about his series, acting, Hollywood, and his wide-ranging career, which includes everything from "Platoon" and "Office Space" to "Scrubs." And we talk about his favorite episode of TV of all time — "All in the Family's" Season 2 episode "The Elevator Story." (Music by HookSounds.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Loudermilk" and "A Million Little Things" star Ron Livingston has seen it all, working in comedy and drama and on TV, film and stage. But like many viewers he was floored by the Red Wedding episode of HBO's "Game of Thrones," titled "The Rains of Castamere." We talk to Livingston about his current series, his career choices including that early appearance in the classic film "Swingers," plus his favorite episode of TV of all time. (Music by HookSounds.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" co-creator Aline Brosh McKenna talks about the final season of her CW show, and how Rachel Bloom made it OK to like Rebecca Bunch even at her worst. We also talk about her favorite episode of the series, and her favorite episode of TV of all time -- the pilot to "The Americans." (Music by Hook Sounds.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On their new CBS comedy "Happy Together," Damon Wayans Jr. and Amber Stevens West play a couple who have settled into an ordinary suburban life when a huge pop star moves in with them to escape the paparazzi. Asked to select their favorite episode of TV of all time, Stevens West chose the "Friends" episode "The One Where No One's Ready," which is from the third season of the show in 1996. But dig a little deeper, and we also discovered a secret about Stevens West's love of the show in high school. Also: Wayans Jr. and West about their new show, the chemistry read that landed the part, and what it was like growing up with celebrity dads. (Music by HookSounds.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

D'Arcy Carden stars on two of the most critically acclaimed comedies on TV right now: "The Good Place" and "Barry." She inherited that good taste from her mother, who first introduced her to another legendary comedy: "Friends." On this edition of the podcast, we talk to Carden about playing the A.I. character Janet on "The Good Place," how she was able to juggle both that show and "Barry," and also the "Friends" episode that she chose as her favorite TV episode ever. (Music by HookSounds.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"The Daily Show" correspondent and "Crazy Rich Asians" co-star Ronny Chieng grew up in Singapore, where the animated series "South Park" was banned when it launched. Of course, that just made him want to watch it more. Chieng discusses his  Comedy Central show "Ronny Chieng: International Student," as well as "Crazy Rich Asians," and his favorite episode of TV of all time, the 2006 "South Park" episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft." (Music by Hook Sounds.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For comedian Rob Riggle, "The Office" not only produced his favorite episode of all time, but it also gave him one of his first-ever acting roles. Riggle discusses how he moved from a career in the military into comedy, his experiences on both "SNL" and "The Daily Show," and how a joke turned into his Sony Crackle comedy "Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy." But first, we talk about his favorite episode of TV of all time, "The Office" Season 7 episode "Threat Level Midnight." (Music by Hook Sounds) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Six Feet Under" was one of the shows that ushered in the new golden age of TV. For "Portlandia" co-creator and star Carrie Brownstein, it also produced one of her favorite episodes of TV of all time, the season 4 episode "That's My Dog." In this edition of the podcast, we talk to Brownstein about "Six Feet Under," her favorite episode of a comedy of all time ("The Office"), and her favorite episode of "Portlandia." (Music by HookSounds.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The medical drama "ER" premiered in 1994, and quickly became a monster hit. For "The Handmaid's Tale" showrunner Bruce Miller, it was also an inspiration as he embarked on a writing career. Miller eventually wrote on the show, and still carries the lessons he learned from showrunner John Wells as he now heads up "The Handmaid's Tale." Miller discusses his favorite episode of TV ever, the "ER" pilot, and reveals his favorite installment of "Handmaid's Tale." (Music by HookSounds.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 1999, "Stranger Things" star David Harbour was still a struggling actor in New York, the biggest thing on TV was "The X-Files," and to this day, David's favorite episode of TV ever is the Season 6 installment "Field Trip." Harbour discusses that "monster of the week" episode, the dynamic between Mulder and Scully, and how the episode's themes relate quite a bit to "Stranger Things." He also reveals his favorite episode of "Stranger Things" so far, and how the show is evolving as it heads into Season 3. (Music by HookSounds.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices