| Unspooled | |
| Host: | Amy Nicholson Paul Scheer |
| Genre: | Film History |
| Format: | Podcast (via streaming or downloadable MP3) |
| Language: | English |
| Length: | 1–2 hours |
| Theme Music Composer: | Mike Cassady |
| Began: | May 17, 2018 |
| Provider: | Earwolf |
Unspooled is a film podcast on the Earwolf network. It is hosted by film critic Amy Nicholson and actor/comedian Paul Scheer.[1] Initially, the podcast covered the American Film Institute (AFI) Top 100 films.[2] Later episodes of the podcast have covered other classic movies, with the ultimate goal of creating a list of the 100 best movies of all time. __TOC__
Each episode of Unspooled covers a single film and analyzes its artistic, thematic, and historical significance.[3] Episodes begin with facts about the year the film was released and a summary of the cast and plot. As the hosts debate what works and what doesn't about each movie, they include audio excerpts from the film to illustrate their points, plus supplemental clips such as interviews with the director and cast. Scheer has described the podcast as a "book club where we are watching movies once a week."[4]
Episodes wrap up with a negative review of the film from the time it was released. In Season 1, the show included clips of The Simpson's parodies of the film, if available, to demonstrate the film's continued cultural relevance. In Season 2, the show includes a clip of the top song on the Billboard charts the week of the film's release to examine the film's connection to the zeitgeist.
Unspooled debuted at number 1 on iTunes Film & TV podcast rankings and number 4 on the iTunes overall top chart.[5] [6]
The podcast has garnered many positive reviews in the popular press. Esquire called it one of the best podcasts of 2019.[7] Rolling Stone wrote that the show was "wildly entertaining" and ranked the show as one of the best podcasts of 2020.[8] Town & Country Magazine lauded it as a "sharp, funny series…[with] charming chemistry," and Vanity Fair noted that the show's "fresh and intriguing takes on venerable movies make for entertaining listening."[9] [10] Vulture called it "funny and accessible."[11] Another article in Vulture noted that "Unspooled is definitely among the best of [the good-film appreciation podcasts]."[12] The AV Club described it as "both serious and silly," and The Hollywood Reporter listed the show as an essential film history podcast.[13] [14] IndieWire said that the podcast "provides an interesting context for what does or doesn't remain timeless in the movie world."[15] Discover Pods referred to the show as "slightly more highbrow" than Scheer's companion podcast, How Did This Get Made?,[16] while Emily VanDerWerff in Vox complemented its "entertaining segments … [while being] dedicated to placing these movies in their proper historical context."[17]
Other critics have noted that the podcast is as an "absolute joy ... Scheer and Nicholson usually treat even the movies they don't care for with a measure of respect."[18]
The podcast has been recognized for its willingness to take a critical eye to respected classics. One review commented that the show "fuels discussions of whether these movies are truly brilliant, or simply just respected because no one has ever questioned them."[19] Another stated more directly, "Amy and Paul are not afraid to make the point: Do you really need so many movies about Vietnam?"[20]
The show began by going through each of the 2007 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies beginning with Citizen Kane.[21] For the first half of season 1, films were chosen by a random roll of a polyhedral die. At the end of the season, the hosts eliminated 60 films from the AFI list. Many were eliminated because of repeated directors or genres, particularly war films and Westerns. Other films were rejected because the director is believed to have made a better film that should fill the slot instead, such as replacing William Friedkin's The French Connection with The Exorcist. The trimmed list was published as the API List, an acronym of the hosts' names Amy and Paul.[22]
Following seasons of Unspooled have grouped films into thematic miniseries. Movies are chosen by the hosts and listeners with the goal of expanding the initial list to represent a more diverse, multi-faceted overview of cinema.[23]
Unspooled has produced annual episodes covering each year's Oscars and year-in-review series about the best films of that year. Other special episodes include live shows taped at film festivals and at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
Unspooled also has an ongoing series of mini-episodes called Top 3. On Top 3, a guest is interviewed about the three movies they would add to the top 100 list.
| EP# | Title | Release Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ! Season 1 | |||
| 1 | Citizen Kane | May 16, 2018 | |
| 2 | Ben-Hur | May 23, 2018 | |
| 3 | The Wizard of Oz | May 30, 2018 | |
| 4 | Swing Time | June 6, 2018 | |
| 5 | The French Connection | June 13, 2018 | |
| 6 | Titanic | June 20, 2018 | |
| 7 | A Space Odyssey | June 27, 2018 | |
| 8 | Bonnie and Clyde | July 4, 2018 | |
| 9 | Platoon | July 11, 2018 | |
| 10 | The General | July 18, 2018 | |
| 11 | The Shawshank Redemption | July 26, 2018 | |
| 12 | King Kong | August 1, 2018 | |
| 13 | All About Eve | August 8, 2018 | |
| 14 | Double Indemnity | August 16, 2018 | |
| 15 | Singin' In The Rain | August 22, 2018 | |
| 16 | The Sixth Sense | August 30, 2018 | |
| 17 | Taxi Driver | September 6, 2018 | |
| 18 | E.T. The Extra Terrestrial | September 12, 2018 | |
| 19 | High Noon | September 19, 2018 | |
| 20 | Apocalypse Now | September 26, 2018 | |
| 21 | October 3, 2018 | ||
| 22 | Psycho | October 10, 2018 | |
| 23 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | October 17, 2018 | |
| 24 | The African Queen | October 25, 2018 | |
| 25 | Duck Soup | October 31, 2018 | |
| 26 | Listener Questions Special | November 7, 2018 | |
| 27 | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | November 14, 2018 | |
| 28 | Sophie's Choice | November 21, 2018 | |
| 29 | A Clockwork Orange | November 28, 2018 | |
| 30 | Rocky | December 6, 2018 | |
| 31 | Schindler's List | December 12, 2018 | |
| 32 | It's a Wonderful Life | December 19, 2018 | |
| 33 | In the Heat of the Night | December 26, 2018 | |
| 34 | The Searchers | January 2, 2019 | |
| 35 | Unforgiven | January 9, 2019 | |
| 36 | The Last Picture Show | January 16, 2019 | |
| 37 | Sunset Boulevard | January 23, 2019 | |
| 38 | One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest | January 31, 2019 | |
| 39 | Best of 2018: Blockbusters | February 6, 2019 | |
| 40 | Best of 2018: Critic's Picks | February 14, 2019 | |
| 41 | Best of 2018: Listener's Picks | February 20, 2019 | |
| 42 | BONUS: 2019 Oscars | February 25, 2019 | |
| 43 | The Graduate | February 27, 2019 | |
| 44 | Saving Private Ryan | March 7, 2019 | |
| 45 | A Night at the Opera | March 13, 2019 | |
| 46 | West Side Story | March 21, 2019 | |
| 47 | City Lights | March 27, 2019 | |
| 48 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | April 4, 2019 | |
| 49 | All the President's Men | April 10, 2019 | |
| 50 | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre | April 17, 2019 | |
| 51 | Chinatown | April 24, 2019 | |
| 52 | Tootsie | May 1, 2019 | |
| 53 | The Silence of the Lambs | May 8, 2019 | |
| 54 | To Kill A Mockingbird | May 15, 2019 | |
| 55 | Vertigo | May 22, 2019 | |
| 56 | Halfway There Special | May 30, 2019 | |
| 57 | Horror & The AFI List: Live from the Overlook Film Festival | June 6, 2019 | |
| 58 | Midnight Cowboy | June 12, 2019 | |
| 59 | Toy Story | June 19, 2019 | |
| 60 | Do The Right Thing | June 26, 2019 | |
| 61 | The Deer Hunter | July 3, 2019 | |
| 62 | Gone With The Wind | July 11, 2019 | |
| 63 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf | July 17, 2019 | |
| 64 | Pulp Fiction | July 25, 2019 | |
| 65 | Bringing Up Baby | August 1, 2019 | |
| 66 | Nashville | August 8, 2019 | |
| 67 | The Maltese Falcon | August 14, 2019 | |
| 68 | The Philadelphia Story | August 21, 2019 | |
| 69 | Network | August 29, 2019 | |
| 70 | Lawrence of Arabia | September 4, 2019 | |
| 71 | On The Waterfront | September 11, 2019 | |
| 72 | North By Northwest | September 19, 2019 | |
| 73 | Spartacus | September 25, 2019 | |
| 74 | Some Like It Hot | October 3, 2019 | |
| 75 | BONUS REEL: Shea Serrano | October 8, 2019 | |
| 76 | American Graffiti | October 9, 2019 | |
| 77 | BONUS REEL: Joker & Taxi Driver | October 14, 2019 | |
| 78 | The Godfather | October 16, 2019 | |
| 79 | The Godfather Part II | October 23, 2019 | |
| 80 | The Grapes of Wrath | October 30, 2019 | |
| 81 | Forrest Gump | November 6, 2019 | |
| 82 | The Best Years of Our Lives | November 13, 2019 | |
| 83 | BONUS REEL: Lorene Scafaria | November 18, 2019 | |
| 84 | Annie Hall | November 20, 2019 | |
| 85 | BONUS REEL: Rian Johnson | November 25, 2019 | |
| 86 | Raging Bull | November 27, 2019 | |
| 87 | Best of the Decade Pt. 1 | December 4, 2019 | |
| 88 | Best of the Decade Pt. 2 | December 11, 2019 | |
| 89 | Star Wars | December 18, 2019 | |
| 90 | Best of the Decade Pt. 3 | December 25, 2019 | |
| 91 | Best of the Decade Pt. 4 | January 1, 2020 | |
| 92 | January 9, 2020 | ||
| 93 | The Gold Rush | January 15, 2019 | |
| 94 | The Wild Bunch | January 22, 2019 | |
| 95 | The Apartment | January 29, 2020 | |
| 96 | 2020 Oscars Preview | February 5, 2020 | |
| 97 | The Sound of Music | February 13, 2020 | |
| 98 | Parasite | February 19, 2020 | |
| 99 | LAPOCALYPSE (Live from Alamo Drafthouse) | February 26, 2020 | |
| 100 | M*A*S*H | March 4, 2020 | |
| 101 | Sunrise | March 12, 2020 | |
| 102 | Rear Window | March 18, 2020 | |
| 103 | 12 Angry Men | March 25, 2020 | |
| 104 | Sullivan's Travels | April 1, 2020 | |
| 105 | Easy Rider | April 8, 2020 | |
| 106 | Cabaret | April 16, 2020 | |
| 107 | Yankee Doodle Dandy | April 22, 2020 | |
| 108 | Intolerance | April 29, 2020 | |
| 109 | Goodfellas | May 7, 2020 | |
| 110 | Spool Party: House Party | May 13, 2020 | |
| 111 | The Bridge On The River Kwai | May 20, 2020 | |
| 112 | A Streetcar Named Desire | May 27, 2020 | |
| 113 | Blade Runner | June 4, 2020 | |
| 114 | Shane | June 10, 2020 | |
| 115 | Modern Times | June 17, 2020 | |
| 116 | It Happened One Night | June 24, 2020 | |
| 117 | Jaws | July 1, 2020 | |
| 118 | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | July 8, 2020 | |
| 119 | Casablanca | July 15, 2020 | |
| 120 | Wrapping Up The AFI 100 | July 22, 2020 | |
| ! Season 2 | |||
| 121 | Coming 8/20: Unspooled Season 2 | July 24, 2020 | |
| 122 | Mean Girls | August 19, 2020 | |
| 123 | Stand and Deliver | August 26, 2020 | |
| 124 | The 400 Blows | September 2, 2020 | |
| 125 | Rebel Without A Cause | September 9, 2020 | |
| 126 | Cooley High | September 16, 2020 | |
| 127 | Fast Times At Ridgemont High | September 23, 2020 | |
| 128 | Dazed and Confused | September 30, 2020 | |
| 129 | Frankenstein | October 7, 2020 | |
| 130 | The Babadook | October 14, 2020 | |
| 131 | Night of the Living Dead | October 21, 2020 | |
| 132 | Ganja & Hess | October 28, 2020 | |
| 133 | The Thing | November 4, 2020 | |
| 134 | Raising Arizona | November 11, 2020 | |
| 135 | Tokyo Story | November 18, 2020 | |
| 136 | Eve's Bayou | November 25, 2020 | |
| 137 | The Royal Tenenbaums | December 2, 2020 | |
| 138 | Guess Who's Coming To Dinner | December 9, 2020 | |
| 139 | BONUS: THE GODFATHER, CODA: THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE | December 10, 2020 | |
| 140 | BONUS: Screen Test Rattle My Chains | December 14, 2020 | |
| 141 | The Farewell | December 16, 2020 | |
| 142 | Home Alone | December 23, 2020 | |
| 143 | Dogtooth | January 6, 2021 | |
| 144 | When Harry Met Sally | January 13, 2021 | |
| 145 | Chungking Express | January 20, 2021 | |
| 146 | Groundhog Day | January 27, 2021 | |
| 147 | A Place in the Sun | February 3, 2021 | |
| 148 | BONUS: Promising Young Woman | February 9, 2021 | |
| 149 | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | February 10, 2022 | |
| 150 | Love and Basketball | February 17, 2021 | |
| 151 | Brokeback Mountain | February 24, 2021 | |
| 152 | The Princess Bride | March 3, 2021 | |
| 153 | Mike Nichols (with Mark Harris) | March 10, 2021 | |
| 154 | Hoosiers | March 17, 2021 | |
| 155 | Brian's Song | March 24, 2021 | |
| 156 | Cool Runnings | March 31, 2021 | |
| 157 | Chariots of Fire | April 7, 2021 | |
| 158 | A League of Their Own | April 14, 2021 | |
| 159 | 2021 Oscar Special | April 21, 2021 | |
| 160 | Hoop Dreams | April 28, 2021 | |
| 161 | A Trip to the Moon | May 5, 2021 | |
| 162 | Galaxy Quest | May 12, 2021 | |
| 163 | Spool Party: Big (featuring Lauren Lapkus) | May 19, 2021 | |
| 164 | Screen Test: Darkness In The Force | May 26, 2021 | |
| 165 | Spool Party: Clueless | June 2, 2021 | |
| 166 | Contact | June 9, 2021 | |
| 167 | Alien | June 16, 2021 | |
| 168 | Solaris | June 24, 2021 | |
| 169 | Top 3: Daveed Diggs | June 28, 2021 | |
| 170 | Aliens | June 30, 2021 | |
| 171 | Top 3: Tom Scharpling | July 6, 2021 | |
| 172 | Apollo 13 | July 7, 2021 | |
| 173 | Top 3: Karen Gillan | July 13, 2021 | |
| 174 | The State of Summer Blockbusters | July 14, 2021 | |
| 175 | Jurassic Park | July 21, 2021 | |
| 176 | Bonus: Vaccination Hesitation w/ Dr. Kate Grossman | July 28, 2021 | |
| 177 | Men in Black | July 28, 2021 | |
| 178 | Top 3: Steve Zahn | August 3, 2021 | |
| 179 | Back To The Future | August 4, 2021 | |
| 180 | Speed | August 11, 2021 | |
| 181 | The Fugitive | August 18, 2021 | |
| 182 | The Hangover | August 25, 2021 | |
| 183 | Bridesmaids | September 1, 2021 | |
| 184 | Inception | September 8, 2021 | |
| 185 | September 15, 2021 | ||
| 186 | Season 2 Finale | September 22, 2021 | |
| ! Season 3 | |||
| 187 | Top 3: Melanie Lynskey | September 26, 2021 | |
| 188 | The Exorcist | September 29, 2021 | |
| 189 | The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari | October 7, 2021 | |
| 190 | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre | October 13, 2021 | |
| 191 | Top 3: Tim Blake Nelson | October 18, 2021 | |
| 192 | Raw | October 20, 2021 | |
| 193 | Top 3: Ed Brubaker | October 25, 2021 | |
| 194 | The Blair Witch Project | October 27, 2021 | |
| 195 | A Nightmare on Elm Street | November 3, 2021 | |
| 196 | The Nightmare Before Christmas | November 10, 2021 | |
| 197 | Grease | November 17, 2021 | |
| 198 | Chicago | November 24, 2021 | |
| 199 | Lagaan | December 1, 2021 | |
| 200 | Little Shop of Horrors | December 8, 2021 | |
| 201 | Love Actually | December 15, 2021 | |
| 202 | The Matrix | December 22, 2021 | |
| 203 | A Christmas Story | December 29, 2021 | |
| 204 | Fargo | January 12, 2022 | |
| 205 | Scream | January 19, 2022 | |
| 206 | Frozen | January 26, 2022 | |
| 207 | Top 3: Brian Cox | January 31, 2022 | |
| 208 | The Grand Budapest Hotel | February 2, 2022 | |
| 209 | Jackass | February 9, 2022 | |
| 210 | Force Majeure | February 16, 2022 | |
| 211 | Remembering Ivan Reitman | February 21, 2022 | |
| 212 | The Shining | February 23, 2022 | |
| 213 | March 2, 2022 | ||
| 214 | BONUS: Batman On Film | March 8, 2022 | |
| 215 | Boogie Nights | March 9, 2022 | |
| 216 | The Piano | March 16, 2022 | |
| 217 | Best of 2021/Oscars Preview | March 23, 2022 | |
| 218 | The Green Knight | March 30, 2022 | |
| 219 | Monty Python and the Holy Grail | April 7, 2022 | |
| 220 | Shrek | April 14, 2022 | |
| 221 | Conan the Barbarian | April 21, 2022 | |
| 222 | Gauging Nicolas Cage (with Keith Phipps) | April 24, 2022 | |
| 223 | Adaptation | April 27, 2022 | |
| 224 | Akira | May 5, 2022 | |
| 225 | May 12, 2022 | ||
| 226 | Porco Rosso | May 19, 2022 | |
| 227 | Top Gun | May 26, 2022 | |
| 228 | June 2, 2022 | ||
| 229 | BONUS:, Chip 'N Dale, and Doctor Strange 2 | June 7, 2022 | |
| 230 | Superman | June 9, 2022 | |
| 231 | RRR | June 16, 2022 | |
| 232 | Supercop | June 23, 2022 | |
| 233 | Paddington 2 | June 30, 2022 | |
| 234 | Blade | July 7, 2022 | |
| 235 | RoboCop | July 14, 2022 | |
| 236 | Top 3: Patton Oswalt & Meredith Salenger | July 21, 2022 | |
| 237 | Starship Troopers | July 28, 2022 | |
| 238 | The Three Musketeers & The Four Musketeers (with Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary) | August 4, 2022 | |
| 239 | Fatal Attraction | August 11, 2022 | |
| 240 | The Night of the Hunter | August 18, 2022 | |
| 241 | Training Day | August 25, 2022 | |
| 242 | Top 3: Scott Aukerman & Shaun Diston | August 26, 2022 | |
| 243 | White Heat | September 1, 2022 | |
| 244 | Heat | September 8, 2022 | |
| 245 | The Dark Knight | September 15, 2022 | |
| 246 | Season 3 Finale | September 22, 2022 | |
| ! Season 4 | |||
| 247 | Bonus: Summer Movie Wrapup | September 23, 2022 | |
| 248 | Midsommar | September 29, 2022 | |
| 249 | Hellraiser | October 6, 2022 | |
| 250 | Jennifer's Body | October 13, 2022 | |
| 251 | Halloween | October 20, 2022 | |
| 252 | Ringu | October 27, 2022 | |
| 253 | Goldfinger | November 3, 2022 | |
| 254 | November 10, 2022 | ||
| 255 | Casino Royale | November 17, 2022 | |
| 256 | Planes, Trains and Automobiles | November 24, 2022 | |
| 257 | Thelma & Louise | December 1, 2022 | |
| 258 | Bonus: The 2022 Sight & Sound 100 | December 7, 2022 | |
| 259 | Black Swan | December 8, 2022 | |
| 260 | Avatar | December 15, 2022 | |
| 261 | Die Hard | December 22, 2022 | |
| 262 | Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles | January 12, 2023 | |
| 263 | Blue Velvet | January 19, 2023 | |
| 264 | January 26, 2023 | ||
| 265 | Bonus: 2023 Oscar Nominations | January 27, 2023 | |
| 266 | Crash | February 2, 2023 | |
| 267 | The Notebook | February 9, 2023 | |
| 268 | Top 3: Smriti Mundhra | February 14, 2023 | |
| 269 | Magic Mike | February 16, 2023 | |
| 270 | Top 3: Chapo Trap House | February 23, 2023 | |
| 271 | Hollywood Shuffle | March 2, 2023 | |
| 272 | Best of 2022 & Oscars Preview | March 9, 2023 | |
| 273 | Creed | March 16, 2023 | |
| 274 | Bonus Reel: Creed III, Magic Mike's Last Dance, and Scream VI | March 17, 2023 | |
| 275 | John Wick | March 23, 2023 | |
| 276 | In Bruges | March 30, 2023 | |
| 277 | Top 3: Bruce Campbell | April 4, 2023 | |
| 278 | El Mariachi | April 6, 2023 | |
| 279 | Evil Dead II | April 13, 2023 | |
| 280 | Top 3: Karina Longworth | April 20, 2023 | |
| 281 | What We Do in the Shadows | April 27, 2023 | |
| 282 | Young Frankenstein | May 4, 2023 | |
| 283 | Bonus: Sex Scenes In Film (with Dan Savage) | May 9, 2023 | |
| 284 | Blazing Saddles | May 11, 2023 | |
| 285 | Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory | May 18, 2023 | |
| 286 | The Little Mermaid | May 25, 2023 | |
| 287 | Top 3: Adam McKay | June 1, 2023 | |
| 288 | Labyrinth | June 8, 2023 | |
| 289 | Inside Out | June 15, 2023 | |
| 290 | Talking Trek (with Tawny Newsome & Paul F. Tompkins) | June 22, 2023 | |
| 291 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | June 29, 2023 | |
| 292 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | July 6, 2023 | |
| 293 | Hot Fuzz | July 13, 2023 | |
| 294 | There Will Be Blood | July 20, 2023 | |
| 295 | Children of Men | July 27, 2023 | |
| 296 | The Listener's Choice Winner Revealed | August 3, 2023 | |
| 297 | Pee-wee's Big Adventure | August 10, 2023 | |
| 298 | Barbie & Oppenheimer (with Jamie Loftus) | August 17, 2023 | |
| 299 | Legally Blonde | August 24, 2023 | |
| 300 | Ranking the Mission: Impossible Films (with Light the Fuse) | August 31, 2023 | |
| 301 | American Psycho | September 7, 2023 | |
| 302 | Bullitt | September 14, 2023 | |
| 303 | The Karate Kid | September 21, 2023 | |
| 304 | Imitation of Life | September 28, 2023 | |
| 305 | Saw | October 5, 2023 | |
| 306 | Hairspray | October 12, 2023 | |
| 307 | The Wolf of Wall Street | October 19, 2023 | |
| 308 | The Rocky Horror Picture Show | October 26, 2023 | |
| 309 | Election | November 2, 2023 | |
| 310 | Fight Club | November 9, 2023 | |
| 311 | The Hunger Games | November 16, 2023 | |
| 312 | Ferris Bueller's Day Off | November 23, 2023 | |
| 313 | Concert Films | November 30, 2023 | |
| 314 | Scott Pilgrim vs. the World | December 7, 2023 | |
| 315 | The Emperor's New Groove | December 14, 2023 | |
| 316 | Edward Scissorhands | December 21, 2023 | |
| 316 | 2023 Holiday Party | December 28, 2023 | |
| 317 | Space Finalists: Season 4 | January 4, 2024 | |
| ! Season 5 | |||
| 318 | January 11, 2024 | ||
| 319 | Wayne's World | January 19, 2024 | |
| 320 | Out of Sight | January 25, 2024 | |
| 321 | Jackie Brown | February 1, 2024 | |
| 322 | Amadeus | February 8, 2024 | |
| 323 | American Beauty | February 15, 2024 | |
| 324 | The Sting | February 22, 2024 | |
| 325 | Dune (2021) | February 29, 2024 | |
| 326 | 2024 Oscars Special | March 7, 2024 | |
| 327 | The Martian | March 14, 2024 | |
| 328 | Moon | March 21, 2024 | |
| 329 | Jesus Christ Superstar | March 28, 2024 | |
| 330 | Moonstruck w/ David Sims | April 4, 2024 | |
| 331 | Lost in Translation w/ Rico Gagliano | April 11, 2024 | |
| 332 | Her | April 18, 2024 | |
| 333 | Call Me by Your Name | April 25, 2024 | |
| 334 | Point Break | May 2, 2024 | |
| 335 | Carrie (1976) | May 9, 2024 | |
| 336 | The Goonies | May 16, 2024 | |
| 337 | Mad Max | May 23, 2024 | |
| 338 | The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (w/ Jamie Loftus) | June 6, 2024 | |
| 339 | Sweet Smell of Success (w/ Sean Fennessey) | June 13, 2024 | |
| 340 | Movie Round Up | June 20, 2024 | |
| 341 | June 27, 2024 | ||
| 342 | Independence Day | July 4, 2024 | |
| 343 | Godzilla Minus One | July 11, 2024 | |
| 344 | Twister (1996) | July 18, 2024 | |
| 345 | Edge of Tomorrow | July 25, 2024 | |
| 346 | This Is the End | August 1, 2024 | |
| 347 | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | August 8, 2024 | |
| 348 | Airplane! | August 15, 2024 |
At the conclusion of Season 1, the hosts eliminated 60 movies from the AFI list and kept 40, publishing these selections as the core of their own "API" list (the "Amy and Paul Institute"), with the goal of again expanding the new list to 100 films, this time with an eye to gathering a more diverse representation of film creators and subjects than the AFI list offers. In the following seasons, additional films have been viewed and discussed, and added to the list. The hosts maintain that the collection, when complete, will be "shot into space" so that humanity's artistic endeavors can be shared with alien civilizations.
The API list currently includes 76 films and 2 tentative additions; 40 of which were retained from the AFI list in the final episode of Season 1, 18 of which were added in the final episode of Season 2, 13 of which were added in the final episode of Season 3, replacing 3 previously added films, 2 of which were added in the Listener's Choice episode mid-season 4, replacing 1 previously added film, and 7 of which were added in the final episode of Season 4.
Notably, the hosts have attempted to include no more than one film by any particular director, but due to the variety and quality of their work three directors are currently featured twice: Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, and Billy Wilder.
| Position | Title | Season Added | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Citizen Kane | 1 | ||
| 2 | The Wizard of Oz | 1 | ||
| 3 | Casablanca | 1 | ||
| 4 | Modern Times | 1 | ||
| 5 | 2001: A Space Odyssey | 1 | ||
| 6 | Singin' in the Rain | 1 | ||
| 7 | Do the Right Thing | 1 | ||
| 8 | The Godfather | 1 | Included as a trilogy | |
| 9 | 1 | |||
| 10 | All About Eve | 1 | ||
| 11 | It's a Wonderful Life | 1 | ||
| 12 | Lawrence of Arabia | 1 | ||
| 13 | The Apartment | 1 | ||
| 14 | Taxi Driver | 1 | ||
| 15 | Rear Window | 1 | ||
| 16 | Titanic | 1 | ||
| 17 | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre | 1 | ||
| 18 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | 1 | ||
| 19 | Duck Soup | 1 | ||
| 20 | Pulp Fiction | 1 | ||
| 21 | E.T. The Extra Terrestrial | 1 | May be replaced pending review of additional Steven Spielberg films | |
| 22 | 12 Angry Men | 1 | ||
| 23 | Star Wars | 1 | Included as a trilogy | |
| 24 | Annie Hall | 1 | ||
| 25 | The Best Years of Our Lives | 1 | ||
| 26 | Sullivan's Travels | 1 | ||
| 27 | The Silence of the Lambs | 1 | ||
| 28 | A Streetcar Named Desire | 1 | ||
| 29 | Bonnie and Clyde | 1 | ||
| 30 | Cabaret | 1 | ||
| 31 | King Kong | 1 | ||
| 32 | The Last Picture Show | 1 | ||
| 33 | Intolerance | 1 | ||
| 34 | Dr. Strangelove | 1 | May be replaced pending review of additional Stanley Kubrick films | |
| 35 | Vertigo | 1 | May be replaced pending review of additional Alfred Hitchcock films | |
| 36 | The Lord of the Rings | 1 | Included as a trilogy | |
| 37 | Double Indemnity | 1 | May be replaced pending review of additional Film Noir films | |
| 38 | Nashville | 1 | May be replaced pending review of additional Robert Altman films | |
| 39 | To Kill a Mockingbird | 1 | ||
| 40 | The General | 1 | Possibly replaced by the Jackass Films in Season 3 Finale, with a plan to watch more Buster Keaton and stunt-heavy films | |
| Back to the Future | 2 | Replaced by Who Framed Roger Rabbit in Episode 296, Listener's Choice Winner Revealed | ||
| 41 | Night of the Living Dead | 2 | ||
| 42 | The Princess Bride | 2 | ||
| 43 | Fast Times at Ridgemont High | 2 | ||
| 44 | 2 | |||
| 45 | Tokyo Story | 2 | ||
| 46 | Hoop Dreams | 2 | Pending a discussion of whether documentaries belong on the list | |
| 47 | A League of Their Own | 2 | ||
| 48 | Bridesmaids | 2 | ||
| 49 | A Trip to the Moon | 2 | ||
| 50 | Groundhog Day | 2 | ||
| 51 | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | 2 | ||
| 52 | Ganja and Hess | 2 | ||
| Raising Arizona | 2 | Replaced by Fargo in Season 3 Finale | ||
| The Royal Tenenbaums | 2 | Replaced by The Grand Budapest Hotel in Season 3 Finale | ||
| Inception | 2 | Replaced by The Dark Knight in Season 3 Finale | ||
| 53 | The Thing | 2 | May be replaced pending review of additional John Carpenter films | |
| 54 | The 400 Blows | 2 | ||
| 55 | The Matrix | 3 | ||
| 56 | The Night of the Hunter | 3 | ||
| 57 | Boogie Nights | 3 | May be replaced pending review of additional Paul Thomas Anderson films | |
| 58 | The Dark Knight | 3 | Replaced Inception as a Christopher Nolan film on the API List | |
| 59 | The Grand Budapest Hotel | 3 | Replaced The Royal Tenenbaums as a Wes Anderson film on the API List | |
| 60 | Grease | 3 | May be replaced pending review of additional Musical films | |
| 61 | RoboCop | 3 | Listener-voted for a Paul Verhoeven film on the API List, over Starship Troopers | |
| 62 | Monty Python and the Holy Grail | 3 | May be replaced pending review of Monty Python's Life of Brian | |
| 63 | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre | 3 | Listener-voted for a Horror film on the API List, over The Blair Witch Project | |
| 64 | The Jackass Films | 3 | Included as a tetralogy | |
| 65 | The Piano | 3 | ||
| 66 | Fargo | 3 | Replaced Raising Arizona as a Coen Brothers film on the API List | |
| 67 | 3 | May be replaced pending review of additional Animated, Superhero, and Spider-Man films | ||
| 68 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | 4 | Replaced Back to the Future as a Robert Zemeckis film on the API List | |
| 69 | Children of Men | 4 | ||
| 70 | Die Hard | 4 | ||
| 71 | Election | 4 | ||
| 72 | Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein | 4 | Listener's Choice vote TBD for a Mel Brooks film on the API List | |
| 73 | Edward Scissorhands or Pee-wee's Big Adventure | 4 | Listener's Choice vote TBD for a Tim Burton film on the API List | |
| 74 | Blue Velvet | 4 | May be replaced pending review of additional David Lynch films | |
| 75 | The Karate Kid | 4 | Unspooled crew talked about Karate Kid replacing Rocky, but Rocky was eliminated in Season 1 | |
| 76 | Thelma and Louise | 4 | ||
| RRR | 3 | Tentative, too new and might remove once RRR fever dies down | ||
| Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles | 4 | Tentative, might remove once Jeanne Dielman fever dies down from 2022 Sight and Sound poll |
Screen Test is an Unspooled film-themed game show hosted by Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson. Contestants are tested on their "wits, bravado, and collaboration—the three necessities if you want to make it in Hollywood". The show launched in October 2020 on Stitcher, with some episodes airing live on Paul Scheer's Twitch Channel, FriendZone.[24]
Spool Party is a live stream that focuses on fan favorite films with special guests. Episodes premiere live on YouTube. Shows have featured the films Big, Clue, and Clueless. One episode featured a House Party reunion with director Reginald Hudlin and Christopher "Play" Reid.