TONY Review + A24 Blacks and Sapphic Black Love | SEATED Podcast | Ep. 45

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Hosts Tre'vell Anderson and Ray Love Jr. are tying on their aprons and firing up the grill for their review of Matt Johnson's coming-of-age A24 biopic, TONY.

Starring Dominic Sessa as a 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain and Antonio Banderas as the gruff mentor chef who takes him in, the film follows the future culinary icon during a chaotic, drug-fueled summer working in a sweaty Provincetown seafood joint in the 1970s. Ray and Tre'vell get into the nitty-gritty of the film's execution, unpacking how this messy kitchen drama plays through the Black gaze and whether the origin story actually gives what it's supposed to give or just leaves us hungry. Tune in for their hella honest verdict: is this culinary deep dive a "Seated," "Stream It," or a "Skip It?"

The duo opens the show by unlocking the doors to The Listener Lounge, reading an email submitted to holla@seatedshow.com from an Instigator asking them to weigh in on the "A24 Blacks" discourse currently taking over the timeline.

Plus, the hosts play a special "Canon Cousin" edition of the Black Cinema Games, highlighting five iconic Black-led films that act as canonical cousins to Tony—centered on restaurants, kitchen pressure cookers, and characters who put their blood, sweat, and tears into the food game. Finally, they close the show with Good Vibes Only, sharing what's bringing them joy this week, including a novel about sapphic Black love and the culinary chaos of The Great Food Truck Race on the Food Network.

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00:00:00 - Intro

00:02:47 - Listener Lounge: A24 Blacks

00:15:45 - Tony Spoiler-Free Chat

00:43:16 - Tony Spoiler-Filled Review

00:56:50 - Seated, Skip It, Stream It Verdict