Send us a text

Episodes Watched This Week:

King of Queens
S3E5 Strike One
S3E6 Strike Too
S3E7 Stike Out

Seinfeld
S9E10 The Strike

Hey Arnold
S1E24b Teachers Strike

Spongebob Squarepants
S40a Squid on Strike

Sister Sister
S3E17 Paper or Plastic

Superstore
S4E21 Sandra's Fight
S4E22 Employee Appreciation Day
S5E10 Negotiations

The Nanny
S2E13 The Strike

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Inexplicably we talk about Howard Dean for quite a bit. 

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Episodes Watched This Week: 

George Lopez
S2E1 Who's Your Daddy
S2E12 This Old Casa
S2E19 Secrets and Lies
S2E24 Long Time No See
S4E14 George Gets Assistance
S5E2 You Dropped a Mom on Me
Mom
S1E1 Pilot
S1E15 Fireballs and Bullet Holes
S2E1 Hepatitis and Lemon Zest
S2E12 Kitty Litter and Class A Felonies
S2E19 Mashed Potatoes and a Little Nitris
S3E1 Terrorists and Gingerbread
S3E20 Pure Evil and a Free Piece of Cheesecake

Melissa Harris Perry Open Letter

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Or London, I guess.

Episodes Watched This Week

Yes, Minister
S1,E1, Open Government
S1,E7, Jobs for the Boys
S2,E1, The Compassionate Society
S3, E6, The Whiskey Priest
S3, E1 Equal Opportunity
The Thick of It
S3, E1
S2, E3
S4, E3
Veep
S2, E5 Helsinki
S3, E9 Crate
S4, E9 Testimony
S4, E1 Joint Session
S7, E6 Oslo

Lindsey Ellis's Hillary Clinton Video
Margaret Thatcher Skit

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Episodes Watched This Week

Small Wonder
S3E2 Everyone in the Pool
S3E5 It's Okay to Say No
S3E12 The Bank Job
S1E13 Brainwashed
S3E13 Oooga Mooga
Wizards of Waverly Place
S2E26 Wizards vs. Vampires on Waverly Place
S2E27 Wizards vs. Vampires: Tasty Bites
S2E28 Wizards vs. Vampires: Dream Date
S2E22 My Tutor, Tutor
S3E8 Alex Charms a Boy
That's So Raven
S3E10 True Colors
S2E18 The Road to Audition
S3E13 Art Breaker
S3E15 Gettin' Outta Dodge

The Good Doctor's Thesis

The Harry/Draco Fanfic

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

CW: Body Dysmorphia, Transphobia, Sexual Assault

The Dustin Hoffman Video

Studs Terkel Interview with John Howard Griffin

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Episodes We Watched This Week:

• "Pilot" (S1E1)
• "Great Expectations" (S1E6)
• "Love Thy Neighbor" (S1E18)
• "Mystery Date" (S1E19)
• "Five Card Stud" (S1E23)
• "A Hair Raising Experience" (S2E13)
• "Singing The Blues" (S2E15)
• "Shrink to Fit" (S3E19)
• "A Raze in Harlem" (S3E21)
• "A Doctor in the House" (S4E12)
• "Back In The Day" (S4E15)

Check out Melissa Harris Perry's talk on her book Sister Citizen 

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Check out George on Tiktok @g.m.time2

Episodes We Watched This Week:

Schitts Creek
S1E1 Pilot
S2E2 Family Dinner (This one can be a bonus but it great)
S2E13 Happy Anniversary
S3E7 General Store
S5E4 The Dress
S6E12 The Pitch
S6E13 Start Spreading the News
Arrested Development
S1E1 Pilot
S1E2 Top Banana
S1E3 Bringing Up Buster
S1E22 Let Them Eat Cake
S2 E5  Sad Sack
S3E12 Exit Strategy

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Come See us on Mondays!

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Check out Landon's Linktree!

Episodes Watched for Today:

Leave It to Beaver:
S1:E2 Captain Jack
S4:E32 In the Soup
S1:E18  Child Care
S1:E37 Beaver Runs Away
S3:E13 June's Birthday
S3:E37 Wally's Play


Bob's Burgers
S3:E15 "OT: The Outside Toilet"
S6:E19 - 'Glued, Where's My Bob?'
S8E04 - 'Sit Me Baby One More Time
S13:E6 Louise Runs Away
S5:E18 Eat, Spray, Linda 
S5:E6 "Father of the Bob"

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Episodes Watched this Week

Frasier
S1E22 Author, Author
S2E22 agents in America iii
S5E14 The Ski Lodge
S5E15 Room service
S8E15 Hooping Cranes
S11E15 Caught in the Act

Home Improvement
S1E1 Pilot
S4E2 Don’t tell momma
S4E13 The Route if All Evil
S5E16 The Vasectomy
S6E3 Workshop til you Die
S8E17 Young at Heart

Thank you to James D'Amore for making the incredible cold open "Pickleball Grampire". 

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Episodes watched for today's show:

Facts of Life

• S1E1: Rough Housing
• S2E10: Breaking Point
• S2E12: The Secret
• S3E18: Runaway
• S3E14: The Amricanization of Miko
• S5E13: The Chain Letter
• S4E13: A Royal Pain
• S5E17: A Death in the Family
• S6E18: With a Little Help From My Friends
• S9E16: The First Times

Check Out Eric G on:
Tiktok
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Youtube

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Episodes Watched for this Episode: 

Golden Girls S2E5 “Isn’t it romantic” 
Married…with children S11E21 “Lez be friends” (Cut for time)
Roseanne S6E18 “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” 
Designing Women S4E24 “Suzanne Goes Looking for a Friend”
All in the Family S8E3“Cousin Liz” 
The Nanny S3E7 “oh vey you’re gay” (Cut for time)
Kate & Allie S2E2 “Landlady
Last Man Standing S1E9 "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Jessica pulls her birthday card and insists we do a Cheers episode.  Join us this week as Jessica and Zach talk about the Sam and Diane Will They/Won't They!  They also give sound career advise to Shelly Long.

Episodes discussed:

S1E1 Give Me a Ring Sometime
S1E22: Showdown pt 2
S2E7: Old Flames
S2E21: I’ll be seeing you pt 1
S2E22: I’ll be seeing you pt 2
S3E25 Rescue me
S5E9: Thanksgiving Orphans
S5E25: A house is not a home
S5E26: I do Adieu
S11E27: One for the road pt 2
S11E28: One for the road pt 3

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Jessica and Zach are still taking it light this week, but they put together a quiz show about Cameo.com!  We'll be back to our normal format next week.

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

It's Pride Month and we ain't doing any work.  Here's a clip show.  See you in July!

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

That's it.  That's the episode.

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Folks, this week friendship has been yaasified as Jessica and Zach talk about The Gay Best Friend trope in Will and Grace.  They also use this opportunity to talk about their relationship and do some straight up couple's counseling with each other, not talking about Will and Grace in any detail until about the 40 minute mark. 

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Greetings, Earthlings!  This week Jessica and Zach talk about the sitcom genres depiction of Aliens and what it says about evolving attitudes towards "the other" and how we view ourselves. Featured on this episode: 3rd Rock from the Sun, Mork and Mindy, My Favorite Martian, and The Neighbors

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

It's time to burn your bras and burn your dinners because there ain't much these 80's Ladies haven't tried.  This week on Because It Was On Jessica and Zach discuss the two iconic television shows Designing Women and The Golden Girls.  The discussion focused on the shows' depiction of female friendships, attitudes towards sex, and status as gay icons. 

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

This week on Because It Was On, Jessica and Zach ponder a question that has confounded philosophers and kings for millennia: Who's the Boss?  Join us as we discuss The Nanny and Who's The Boss as it relates to class, gender, and Dr. Pepper in a wine glass.

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

This week on Because It Was On Jessica and Zach talk about single moms who work too hard, who love their kids and never stop. They, of course, talk about the iconic, the incomparable, the legendary Reba, as well as One Day at a Time  and Kate and Allie. If you have gentle hands and the heart of a fighter, join us as we talk about the sitcom genres portrayal of single motherhood and how it has changed over time. 

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

It's Jessica and Zach in the Mooooorning! This week Jessica and Zach discuss Community, Dan Harmon's writing style, the themes  of community, and surprisingly a lot about Penn and Teller.

Dan Harmon's Writing Circle

Penn Jillette's Wired Interview

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Folks, I hope you're in the mood for some gaslighting and gatekeeping because it's all about girl bosses this week.  Jessica and Zach discuss 30 Rock and The Mary Tyler Moore show to explore the sitcom's depiction of women in the workplace and the historic significance of both of these shows. 

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

This week on Because It Was On: You know why they call it "dope", don't ya?  Jessica and Zach talk about episodes of classic sitcoms that include discussions of marijuana. And they even do a little first hand research.  For science!

Shows discussed on this episode:

That 70's Show
Roseanne
Frasier
Modern Family 
Dinosaurs

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Need to get an A on your science project? How about reprogram your toaster? Do you need someone with a photographic memory to perform party tricks at your next mixer? Did you forget a calculator and need to multiply large sums stat? Do you need someone to perform surgery, land a plane, fix your car, and win Jeopardy for Kids? Have no fear, your local boy genius is here!

This week Jessica and Zach dive into the trope of the boy genius. By looking at Smart Guy, Malcolm in the Middle, and Young Sheldon this episode explores the gifts and struggles of living with a mini mega mind. Jessica and Zach review everything from the loneliness of the boy genius to the impact on the family to the socioeconomic elements at play. They also beg the question: Why are there so few girl geniuses?

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Jessica and Zach try something a little different and walk listeners through the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 80's and early 90's through the lens of sitcoms.  Each episode they discuss this week is an important time capsule for the public's understanding of HIV/AIDS from the early days with Mr. Belvedere to A Different World.

Shows discussed this week:

Mr. Belvedere
Designing Women
Golden Girls
Doogie Howser (We thought it was a sitcom)
A Different World

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Roseanne Barr has been in the public eye for over almost forty years and for the vast majority of that time she has marketed herself as a loud and abrasive proponent of center-left politics.  Her show that bears her namesake is universally understood as a progressive working class text, tackling such issues as abortion, gay marriage, gender violence, and birth control.  She ran for the Green Party nomination in 2012, doxed George Zimmerman, and has openly called for the execution of Wall Street Bankers....and in just a few short years she has turned into an icon of the right, doing pronoun jokes on something called "Fox Nation".

Roseanne was an incredibly important show for Jessica and Zach as well as many other people.  So the question is...what the hell happened to Roseanne?  Find out this week on Because It Was On!

CW: Transphobia, Domestic Abuse, Racism

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Boys, parents, homework, and bullies!  Middle school and high school can be such a drag.  This week Zach and Jessica talk about three shows about teenage girls and how iCarly, Lizzie McGuire, and Square Pegs all depict girlhood. 

(I'm going to be perfectly honest with you: watching these shows sent us places.  Strap in for probably our weirdest episode yet.)

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

This week Jessica and Zach are talking about two shows that center around terrible people! Seinfeld and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia are two shows that are often compared to each other due to their amoral protagonists. An interesting question to explore, then, is what moral vision, if any, can be found lurking behind the many crimes of the protagonists of these two shows.  Do sitcoms even have to have morals?  Do they have to teach you lessons?

Youtube video referenced near the end about It's Always Sunny and HD: Captain Midnight's "HD TVs Ruined Sitcoms"

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Before they did The Office, 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, The Big Bang Theory, and How I Met Your Mother Jessica and Zach have decided, for no discernable reason, to do Normal, Ohio, John Goodman's first project after Roseanne that only lasted seven episodes.

Normal, Ohio follows Butch, a gay man played by John Goodman, who returns to his titular hometown to reconnect with his family.  It...is objectively terrible, but is an interesting time capsule for how gay characters have been depicted in American Comedy.

So join us as Jessica and Zach put on their flannel shirts and crack open a cold one and take a trip to Normal, Ohio. 

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

The witch has long since been an icon for female power, repression, and queerness.  Enter Sabrina the Teenage Witch where the biggest issue is finding the perfect date to prom and ruining your friends’ lives on the daily. Join Jessica and Zach as they gaze into the crystal ball and hope to crack their family secrets. They take a look at Hilda and Zelda and also reluctantly talk about their niece, Sabrina, because she is kind of the titular character of the show. All the while Jessica and Zach unpack a magic incel, debate which Harvey is supreme, and lament the aggressive heterosexuality in this text that will not budge.

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

It's court...at night! Join Jessica and Zach as they take a journey through the municipal halls of Night Court as they try to better understand the NBC property that ran from 1984–1992 and has recently been dusted off on Peacock. It is a bizarre court where the rules are made up, the laws don't matter, and everyone involved should be disbarred.

Bonus that this episode features what is now Jessica's favorite sitcom episode ever: Season 3, Episode 5: "Halloween, Too". The episode from which we draw our title is a dead serious take on why a judge cannot date a witch. Jessica is obsessed.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram 

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Folks the PC Police are everywhere!  Or at least people and media figures whining about them.  For decades now the term "political correctness" has proven to be a fascinating, amorphous concept where people of a certain political persuasion can dump all of their anxieties and societal grievances.  Join us as Jessica and Zach suit up with their Antifa battle gear to go head to head with sitcom episodes rail against this (mostly) imagined enemy.

Episodes Featured on this week's show: 

Murphy Brown
Last Man Standing
Toast of London
Roseanne
Peep Show

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Get the guest bedroom ready because this week Aunt Flo is coming for a visit!  Jessica and Zach will be talking about the sitcom genre's depiction of periods from episodes where characters have their first period to episodes where men cower in fear at the dreaded PMS.

Shows discussed this week:

Everybody Loves Raymond
Roseanne
Black-ish
Married With Children
The IT Crowd
The Cosby Show

Follow us on social media:
TikTok  (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Does time heal all wounds or just turn everyone a little gay? Should you go to the bad place for watching reality tv? If you were a ghost would you make it your mission to start small scale drama in a marriage? All of these topics and more are covered in this week's episode where Zach and Jessica explore what they for some reason thought would be a light and easy breezy topic: immortality in sitcoms. 

Fair warning that this episode does discuss grief, death, and loss. If those are sore spots for you right now then this may not be the best episode.

Show discussed:

• What We Do In The Shadows
• The Good Place
• Ghosts (US)
• Ghosts (UK)

Follow us on social media:
TikTok  (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram


Email us at [email protected] -- We would love to hear your episode ideas!

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Jessica and Zach attempt to answer the question that has plagued philosophers for millennia: What makes a tv show a sitcom? Is it the three cameras, the laugh track, press photos of the principal cast hugging while wearing matching shirts? Or perhaps sitcoms are more than the sum of their parts. 

In this episode we explore the history of sitcoms, create our own framework for what makes a sitcom a sitcom, and then play everyone's new favorite game: "Is It A Sitcom?!".

Some shows discussed include:

• Everybody Loves Raymond
• Parks and Recreation
• 30 Rock
• Seinfeld
• The Good Place
• Stranger With Candy
• Rick & Morty
• The Simpsons 
• & Many More

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

What makes a great will they / won't they? Jessica and Zach take a look at perhaps the most famous example of the trope, Ross and Rachel from Friends, to find out. Along the way they discuss the gender dynamics at play in the show and mount multiple epic takedowns of Ross. Listen in to see if Jessica and Zach conclude if Ross really is Rachel's lobster. 

Follow us on TikTok and Instagram at @becauseitwason 

Email us at [email protected] for correction, opinions, ideas, or to just say hi!

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Hey, champ?  Got a sec?  I think it's time we had a serious talk about the facts of life.

Join Jessica and Zach as they discuss The Birds and The Bees is sitcoms throughout the ages.  We discuss several episodes that deal with teen sexuality and topics such as shame, consent, queer representation, and "hand to gland combat".

Shows discussed: 

• Leave it to Beaver
• The War at Home
• Family Matters
• Blossom
• Boy Meets World
• The Cosby Show
• Black-ish
• Good Times
• The Facts of Life

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Jessica and Zach investigate the common sitcom problem of women with godlike powers giving it all away to be with mediocre dudes.

In this episode, we take a look at what we call "Powerless Powerful Women" these are the women of Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, and just splash of The Flying Nun.

Follow us on social media
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@becauseitwason?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becauseitwason/

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Do you remember the shows your grandparents played while they babysat you? Or maybe you also watched the 6 hour programming blocks of The Nanny on Nick-at-Nite. If so, you will feel right at home listening to Because It Was On. Because It Was On takes those sitcoms and dissects the familiar sitcom formula to tease out the often potent social and political messages they carry in their 22 minute casing. 

In this episode, Jessica and Zach discuss what sitcoms mean to them and how sitcoms actually have significant cultural importance. It is also canonically established in this episode that Jessica is the official domme of this podcast.

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram

Send us a text

Can a show about a car inhabited by the reincarnated soul of a man's mother tell us something about changing conservative reactions to media? Can a show about a Martian trying to ensure his roommate's boss' dog finds love tell us something about the military industrial complex?  How subversive was The Addams Family really and does intent matter to how we understand it today? Jessica and Zach explore all of this and more as they wade into the groovy waters of 1960's fantasy sitcoms.

Shortly after sitcoms became the dominant fictional comedic format on television, creators began to experiment with the premise. As American society itself experienced significant cultural upheaval in the 1960s, creators had to use inventive metaphors to tell stories reflective of the social change at their doorstep while also skirting censors and conservative studio executives. Looking through the lens of fantasy sitcoms on the 1960's, Jessica and Zach will see how fantasy sitcoms have been used as a tool to tell stories of marginalized groups and where they have significant blind spots born of the cultural context in which they were created. 

Shows Discussed:

• The Addams Family, Charles Addams & David Levy, ABC, 1964-1966
• The Munsters, Allan Burns & Chris Hayward, CBS, 1964-1966
• My Favorite Martian, John L. Greene, CBS, 1963-1966
• My Mother the Car,  Allan Burns & Chris Hayward, NBC, 1965
• Mister Ed, Walter R. Brooks, CBS, 1961-1965

Support the Show.

Please consider supporting the show on Patreon.

Follow us on social media:
TikTok (this is where we are most active!)
Facebook
Instagram