How Fox News went from ailing network to rightwing behemoth

Slow Burn returns for a new season, examining the phoenix-like rise of the American media giant. Plus: five of the best reality TV podcasts

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There’s a consensus for how many seasons to give a hit TV show before calling it quits. Two is probably the optimal number for a comedy – think The Office, Fleabag, Fawlty Towers etc. For dramas, you’re probably pushing it beyond five (Breaking Bad) or six (The Sopranos). There are notable long-running exceptions – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Curb Your Enthusiasm etc – but as a rule, they tend to drop off a cliff.

For podcasts, the template is yet to be established. Given how easy it is to make a great show with the right people and the right format, it’s hard to see an end in sight for uber-popular shows in a way that similar TV entertainment franchises can’t manage (Bake Off jumped the shark around the time it left the BBC in 2016, and even Taskmaster began to wane after Mike Wozniak gave himself piles seven seasons ago). The Guardian’s own Comfort Eating With Grace Dent just returned for its eighth season (episode one is with Rag’n’Bone Man), while Off Menu – whose success is now so all-pervasive that a new recycling podcast we review this week features a segment where they riff on its classic “Poppadoms or bread?” catchphrase – is on to its 11th. Louis Theroux has just launched his third season on Spotify, after two on the BBC, kicking off with a typically candid episode with former adult actor Mia Khalifa. Shagged Married Avoid seems to have done away with seasons entirely and just be on an endless march to the climax of time itself.