The MFL Podcast Competitions Are Back, Now With Serious Stakes
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)
➼ Where to find them: @blackmenpodcast
➼ Mini-league name: BMCJ Awakens
➼ Who’s playing: Griffin Newman (@GriffLightning), David Sims (@davidlsims)
➼ Where to find them: @BlankCheckPod
➼ Mini-league name: Blankies
➼ Who’s playing: Justin Khoo (@juskhoo)
➼ Where to find them: @cowspod
➼ Who’s playing: Sarah D. Bunting (@sarahdbunting), Tara Ariano (@TaraAriano)
➼ Where to find them: @ExtraHotPodcast
➼ Mini-league name: Extra Hot Great Minds
➼ Who’s playing: Dominick Nero (@dominicknero), Adam Volerich (@AdamVole)
➼ Where to find them: @eyeoftheduckpod
➼ Mini-league name: League of the Duck
➼ Who’s playing: Katey Rich (@kateyrich), Dave Gonzales (@da7e), Matthew Patches (@misterpatches), David Ehrlich (@davidehrlich)
➼ Where to find them: @FITWR
➼ Mini-league name: FITWarriors
➼ Who’s playing: Bob Book, Brad Gee
➼ Where to find them: @FilmWhiskey
➼ Mini-league name: The Viscosity League
➼ Who’s playing: Adam Kempenaar (@filmspotting), Sam Van Hallgren (@samvanhallgren)
➼ Where to find them: @filmspotting
➼ Mini-league name: I Don’t Have Friends I Got Family
➼ Who’s playing: Jesse David Fox (@JesseDavidFox)
➼ Where to find them: @GoodOnepodcast
➼ Who’s playing: Hayes Davenport (@HayesDavenport), Sean Clements (@seanclements), Kevin Bartlet
➼ Where to find them: @HandbookBoys
➼ Mini-league name: Scoop Troop
➼ Who’s playing: Ira Madison III (@iramadisonthree), Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel)
➼ Where to find them: @keepitshow
➼ Mini-league name: Keep It Krew
➼ Who’s playing: Charles Hood (@charlesh00d), Drew Taylor (@DrewTailored)
➼ 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
➼ Where to find them: @littlegoldmen
➼ Mini-league name: Vanity Flair
➼ Who’s playing: Katie Walsh (@katiewalshstx), Blake Howard (@OneBlakeMinute)
➼ Where to find them: @OHMPods
➼ Mini-league name: Mann-iacs
➼ Who’s playing: Alison Leiby (@AlisonLeiby), Halle Kiefer (@HalleKiefer)
➼ Where to find them: @ruinedpodcast
➼ Mini-league name: Ruined
➼ Who’s playing: Scott Aukerman (@ScottAukerman), Shaun Diston (@shaundiston)
➼ Where to find them: @ComedyBangBang
➼ Mini-league name: Scott Hasn’t Seeners
➼ Who’s playing: Clay Keller (@claykeller), Ryan Marker (@MarkerRyan625), Darren Franich (@DarrenFranich)
➼ Where to find them: @ScreenDrafts
➼ Mini-league name: Screen Drafts
➼ Who’s playing: Dan Mecca (@djmecca), Conor O’Donnell (@scruffyl00kin)
➼ Where to find them: @TFSBSide
➼ Mini-league name: The B-Siders
➼ Who’s playing: Chris Feil (@chrisvfeil)
➼ Where to find them: @Had_Oscar_Buzz
➼ Mini-league name: Garyators
➼ Who’s playing: Paul Scheer (@PaulScheer), Amy Nicholson (@theAmyNicholson), Matt Apodaca, Codi Fischer, Jess Cisneros
➼ Where to find them: @unspooled
➼ Mini-league name: Unspooled
➼ Who’s playing: Bobby Finger (@bobbyfinger), Lindsey Weber (@lindseyweber)
➼ Where to find them: @whoweekly
➼ 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
➼ The top team in the winning mini-league will receive a 50-inch Westinghouse Roku TV 4K Ultra HD.
➼ 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 moviesleague@vulture.com with your team name and desired mini-league, and we’ll get you set up.)