Podcast Portal: Denzel Washington is the Greatest Actor of All Time Period

Welcome to Podcast Portal: a spontaneous column that will highlight podcasts of all genres that are lesser known or new shows that are worth giving a listen. With the medium continuing to grow, it is hard to acknowledge all of them. However, I am going to try and find as many noteworthy titles as possible to share and hopefully expand your mind to the greatest growing medium out there. If you have any podcast that you feel is worth adding to the Podcast Portal, please make sure to inform me whether through the comments or through an e-mail (information in sidebar). 

SHOW: Denzel Washington is the Greatest Actor of All Time Period
HOSTS: W. Kamau Bell, Kevin Avery
NETWORK: Wolfpop Network
EPISODE BEING DISCUSSED: "Getting Into the Denzelishness" 

*Note: For the next week (or until completion), I will be covering every single NEW podcast on the Wolfpop Network. I will not be covering older shows such as U Talkin' U2 to Me or How Did This Get Made. 

Today marks the start of a new, exciting podcast network called Wolfpop, which is an offshoot of the famous Earwolf network. Focusing on pop culture subjects, it is already off to an interesting start as it mixes a few established shows with a lot of promising new talents. Among them, I was most excited to see that on the bill was W. Kamau Bell. As a fan of the short lived Totally Biased, I was eagerly waiting to see when he would pop up again. Apparently, the time has come, and its a rather interesting angle. Along with former Totally Biased writer Kevin Avery, they have made an ingenious new show that is going to fill up a lot of space: Denzel Washington is the Greatest Actor of All Time Period. If the title doesn't give it away, then nothing will.

The angle is simple. From the perspective that Denzel Washington is one of the best, they will go through his entire catalog in alphabetical order (that is, until The Equalizer immediately throws them off in the next episode. Through the introduction episode, we get a sense of who these two are any why this show needs to exist. Along with a look at their top five selection, they discuss why he is an important figure and how he is inimitable compared to everyone else. His swagger apparently is a big deal.

Thankfully, Bell and Avery are reliably compatible and spend a good portion of the episode giving enjoyable riffs on their own lives. While the show is about one actor, I get the impression that it will be also a chance to get a sense of who these two comedians are as people. In the landscape of podcasts that commemorate one's achievements, such as The X-Files Files or Go Bayside!, it is interesting to see that an actor hasn't really been challenged. Of course, it is much trickier, considering the limitations that it has. However, it still leaves room for some interesting territory.

The first episode is very much a scrappy introduction to the team more than anything else. For those expecting some informative content, just skip to the next episode, which is actually labeled as the first one. However, in terms of starting a show in an interesting direction that promises to also share news and other personal tidbits, such as Sarah Silverman potentially reading Malcolm X lines, it is a very strong start. It could help that I find Bell a very charismatic speaker, but he captures your attention. Also, with Avery about to wrap-up season 1 as a writer on the phenomenal Last Week Tonight on Sunday, this is going to probably become more time consuming. For me, it is likely going to be a weekly fix, even if I don't consider myself the biggest Washington fan.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

WORTH A SECOND GO?: Of the shows, this is probably the most niche of the newbies. However, I have longed for a Bell podcast for quite some time and I wasn't disappointed with the first one. It was funny and engaging in ways that I am sure will only continue to get more interesting as time goes on. I cannot comment on their actual first episode, but if it is as consistent and enjoyable, it is the start of something special.