Nostalgia is having quite the moment lately, and it’s easy to see why. Besides the very real phenomenon that things tend to come into style, go out, and come back around again (just look at the journey that bell bottom jeans have had over the last 50 years), memory is powerful. If you were a fan of the 1980s/90s sitcom The Wonder Years (both the original version and the reboot), you know that the show’s premise is about that very human act of looking back on a time in your life where things maybe seemed a bit simpler, or more intense, or where you learned a lot of tough lessons (which might be childhood, for a lot of us). We look back on experiences with a combination of fresh insight having lived through them, and the sensation of actually being back in that time. And our television and movie-watching experiences as kids absolutely stick with us.

Streaming platforms have given us a gift that in previous decades we haven’t really had the luxury of: in just a few clicks, on any device we choose to use, we can access older TV shows we love from decades past. You used to have to track down and purchase a full season of a TV show on DVD, which could be both expensive and bulky, but streaming platforms have changed that. Now it’s relatively easy to pull up a show you loved as a teenager and rewatch it, and at Remarkist, members primarily schedule watch party series of older shows. Our inaugural series-watch on the Remarkist app platform was of Gilmore Girls, two decades after its original airing. We were able to weave in cast and crew interviews from the franchise, and everyone took a walk down memory lane. Fandom and nostalgia almost always go hand-in-hand.

With such increasingly easy access to older shows, and the phenomenal explosion of podcasting in recent years, rewatch podcasts from the creators or talent from those shows have popped up in droves. Fans and actors from popular TV shows from decades ago are essentially rewatching together, which can be really interesting when the actors have either never watched or haven’t seen the show they are famous for being a part of in a while. Listeners often gain insight they never knew through additional cast and crew interviews while remembering a show they might know really well. And listening to the stars participate in the character analysis and breakdowns of episodes fans have done for years is incredibly fun.

We’ve put together a list of rewatch podcasts of classic TV shows that have caught our attention, which can help you on any of your rewatch journeys at Remarkist!

1. Pod Meets World with Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, and Rider Strong 🌎

   This Boy Meets World rewatch podcast with hosts who played three of the main characters on the show from the start to finish of its run doesn’t feel like a podcast as much as it feels like three best friends reminiscing together. Danielle (Topanga Lawrence), Will (Eric Matthews), and Rider (Shawn Hunter) have all gone on from their teen stardom to have illustrious careers behind the camera as writers, directors and voiceover actors, so they bring a ton of TV industry knowledge to every conversation. They look back on each episode week to week, with interviews with former costars in extra episodes. As adults, they look back on their feelings at the time of filming, as well as talk about what might be different if filmed today, thirty years later. If you’re re-watching Boy Meets World on Disney+, this is an essential listen.

2. Back to the Beach with Kristin and Stephen 🏖

   Kristin Cavallari and Stephen Colletti were arguably our first teen reality stars. After The Real World, but before Jersey Shore, the MTV “scripted” reality show, Laguna Beach, showcased the everyday lives of several teens in Orange County, CA. The hit TV series, The O.C., premiered in 2003, and Laguna Beach explored the real lives of real teens in living in the same general area of California. Kristin and Stephen were the famed on-again/off-again couple of the series, and two decades later, their friendship lends itself to some great conversations about their adolescent relationship. Together they go through every cringey moment of the show and look back on the friendships they had in high school, as well as share filming details that prove that the show maybe wasn’t completely “real” at all times. As a precursor to other reality shows, where pretty much everyone, including the cast, was learning about the new format that now dominates reality TV, it’s a fascinating look-back. Speaking of Orange County…

3. Welcome To the O.C., Bitches! with Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke 💔

   Stars of the early 2000s hit, The O.C. Rachel Bilson (Summer Roberts) and Melinda Clarke (Julie Cooper) host this podcast that’s all about their groundbreaking show. They take listeners back through episode deep-dives with frequent special guests from behind-the-scenes like editors, writers, script-supervisors and directors, as well as their famous costars like Adam Brody and Mischa Barton. They tell never-heard-before stories from their set, including inside jokes between cast and crew. A few listens will have you longing for a Juicy Couture velour tracksuit or a pair of oversized sunglasses and matching oversized purse that 2004 Lauren “LC” Conrad would approve of.

4. Clear Eyes Full Hearts: A Friday Night Lights Rewatch with Derek Phillips and Stacey Oristano 🏈

   Friends and costars Derek Phillips (Billy Riggins) and Stacey Oristano (Mindy Collette) go back to the mid-2000s to rewatch and discuss the iconic show they were on, Friday Night Lights. Episode by episode, they dig deep into the show that significantly impacted their careers. They feature former costars and crew. Plus, they support other podcasters—like their friends over at the “other” Friday Night Lights podcast…

5. It’s NOT Only Football: Friday Night Lights and Beyond with Scott Porter, Zach Gilford, and Mae Whitman 🏈

   Scott Porter (Jason Street) and Zach Gilford (Matt Saracen) team up with fellow actress and actual FNL superfan (and TV ex-wife of Zach on Good Girls), Mae Whitman for this Friday Night Lights—and beyond—rewatch pod. These three friends talk about being young actors who grew up in front of the camera, and the experiences they’ve had along the way. Mae’s inclusion makes this a bit of a refreshingly different actor’s rewatch podcast, because she’s a true fan, just like us! But sharing her experience in showbiz since she was very little adds levity to these discussions about being young and on a hit show (ahem, like Parenthood) that can define a career.

6. The West Wing Weekly with Joshua Malina and Hrishikesh Hirway 🇺🇸

   This is an older podcast, and one of the first rewatch podcasts featuring an actor from the show in question. Joshua Malina was a cast member of The West Wing (and also, notably, another show about Washington, D.C., Scandal). Together with musician and composer Hrishikesh, whose podcast Song Exploder was a huge hit before podcasts were even really a thing, they discuss each episode with humor, levity, and detailed explanations of the plot and filming. Throughout the podcast, our hosts interview just about everyone who was on the show, as well as political leaders who add context to some of the plot lines in the series and explain a bit more about how American government works. The West Wing Weekly is essential listening if you’re starting on a West Wing rewatch journey. And speaking of Scandal…

7. Unpacking the Toolbox with Katie Lowes and Guillermo Diaz 🧰

   You know them as part of the Gladiators: Katie (Quinn) and Guillermo (Huck) are real life best friends who are finally getting to relive their favorite memories from the set of Scandal. This podcast is brand new as of this writing, and premiered on February 9 with a blockbuster guest episode: an interview with the queen, Shonda Rhimes herself. I expect to see many more stars of the hit show as guests, and I hope they eventually answer my biggest question about the series: Where did Olivia Pope get those giant wine glasses?! Don your white hat and get excited about this rewatch podcast.

8. 90210MG with Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling 🎓

   For all the Beverly Hills, 90210 fans out there: this is the ultimate rewatch podcast. It’s been….over thirty years since the show premiered in 1990, a truly generation-defining drama intended for a teen audience. Jennie (Kelly Taylor) and Tori (Donna Martin) have been the best of friends since those early days and it is evident while listening to them reminisce. They pick apart each episode of the show and look back on their younger selves, as well as host guests for interviews and answer fan questions. They even conduct pop culture experiments—like a special mini-episode where Jennie and Tori ask a 25-yr old who has never seen 90210 to watch and discuss the average TV college experience portrayed on the show by today’s standards.

9. Office Ladies with Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey 📎

   There is something so delightful about knowing that Jenna (Pam) and Angela (Angela) are real life best friends and have been since their days on The Office. From the very first episode, the listener feels like they might just be having a coffee in these ladies’ living room, chit-chatting and laughing along. Jenna and Angela make listeners feel like they’re their friends too, and it’s such a special quality to the show that it’s no wonder this podcast is one of the biggest of all time, and certainly an enormous success in the realm of celebrity rewatch pods. Jenna and Angela deep dive every single episode of The Office, telling stories from behind the scenes from jokes on set to things they remember from their daily lives at the time of filming. The podcast inspired a #1 New York Times bestselling book they wrote together, The Office BFFs, and the two documented the writing of the book as part of the show. Multiple guests have joined for interviews from both behind and in front of the camera, sharing a goldmine of insight. An essential listen for any fan of this iconic TV show.

This list barely scratches the surface: celeb-hosted podcasts for Scrubs, Supernatural, and One Tree Hill and more have popped up too. But of course, we cannot forget that fans were the first podcasters to develop rewatch content. The Gilmore Guys podcast was an enormous hit and coincided with the addition of Gilmore Girls to Netflix, which helped fuel a resurgence of the show’s popularity. The podcast Bruh Meets World, a fan rewatch pod for Boy Meets World, caught the attention of the Pod Meets World hosts who had the creators on for a guest interview. Connecting with our favorite franchises in more ways than simply watching is a touchstone of fandom, and fans almost always drive content. Type in the name of your favorite show and “rewatch” into your podcast search bar, and you’ll find multiple shows you can listen to from fans just like yourself. And if not, you can usually find other fans at Remarkist on our Discord! Members are constantly scheduling watch party content for classic TV shows we love at Remarkist; come join the fun right here!

Listening to a rewatch podcast we didn’t mention? We’d love to hear about it on our platforms. Find other fans who love rewatch podcasts and the shows you love at Remarkist, and be sure to join our Discord to chat about your favorite franchises with others!

Not a Remarkist member? Here’s how to get started: 

• Step 1: Become a Remarkist early adopter and grab your unique @membername. Install our app from here, and be one of the earliest to collect our KRNL token while earning rates are high, including up to 650 KRNL to get you started. KRNL fuels Remarkist’s fandom economy of events and collectibles.

• Step 2: Join our Remarkist Clubhouse Club—Clubhouse is a separate mobile app on iPhone and Android that we use right now to meet and watch content together. You’ll need it to actually join us for many of our real-time events, and you’ll need to be a member of our club there to see those chat rooms.

• Step 3: Join our Discord Server—this is where hundreds of Remarkists are geeking out over the shows we love 24 hours a day, and it’s where you can get the latest developments on the project. 

• Step 4: Check out our website at remarkist.com for a splashy birds-eye view of the biggest stuff happening in our ecosystem.

• Step 5: Subscribe to future magazine issues so you can stay up to date on all the exciting stuff coming to Remarkist in 2023, or share this with others who might be interested. Creativity is always best with friends!