Blank Check with Griffin & David is a film podcast following the career output of notable directors who had significant success early in their careers and were then offered a figurative blank check to pursue their passion projects. Most episodes focus on a single movie from the director's filmography, and the show's episodes are grouped into miniseries, in which some or all of the director's films are reviewed. Founded in 2015, the show is hosted by actor Griffin Newman and The Atlantic film critic David Sims.
Series overview
The Blank Check website describes the podcast as:
Notable guests who have appeared on the show include Rachel Zegler, Jamelle Bouie, Leslye Headland, Jamie Bell, Kevin Smith, David Lowery, Patton Oswalt, Tatiana Maslany, Richard Lawson, Lulu Wang, Ayo Edebiri, Karina Longworth, Alex Ross Perry, Roman Mars, Nia DaCosta, Bowen Yang, Amy Irving, David Krumholtz, Jane Schoenbrun, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ari Aster, Zach Cregger, Seth Rogen, and Marc Maron.
Origins: Griffin and David Present In 2015, the podcast began as Griffin and David Present, and assessed the Star Wars prequel films as if in a universe where the other Star Wars films did not exist. Originally planning to spend 50 episodes on each film, producer Ben Hosley convinced the hosts to only do ten. Having used a lengthy analysis of a filmography as a means of discussing the films' director, Newman and Sims decided to use a similar approach in reviewing the works of other directors, and retitled the show Blank Check with Griffin and David. Title Director Initial Release Episodes First episode Last episode 1 The Phantom Podcast George Lucas 11 2 Attack of the Podcast 10 3 Revenge of The Podcast 10 4 The Star Wars Sequels 6
Blank Check with Griffin & David Each miniseries is given a loosely comedic title which combines the word "podcast" with either a title of a film or the director's name. If a director they've previously discussed releases a new film, they will work it into their schedule of upcoming shows. Director TitleCoincides with Initial Release Episodes First episode Last episode 1 M. Night Shyamalan Pod Night ShyamacastN/A 11 2 The Wachowskis The Podchowski CastersN/A 9 3 Cameron Crowe We Pod A CastN/A 10 4 James Cameron Podinator: Judgment CastN/A 11 5 Steven Spielberg (The DreamWorks Years) Pod Me If You CastN/A 15 6 Christopher Nolan The Pod Knight CastsDunkirk 10 7 Kathryn Bigelow Pod-19: The WidowcasterDetroit 10 8 Paul Verhoeven (English language films) Podship CastersN/A 8 9 James L. Brooks Podcast NewsN/A 7 10 Brad Bird The PodcastiblesIncredibles 2 7 11 Ang Lee Podback MountcastN/A 13 12 Nancy Meyers Something's Podda CastN/A 7 13 Tim Burton Podward ScissorcastDumbo 17 14 Michael Mann Michael Mannsplaining/Cast of the PodhicansN/A 12 15 Hayao Miyazaki Howl's Moving PodcastleN/A 12 16 Jonathan Demme Stop Making PodcastsN/A 16 17 George Miller Mad Pod: Fury CastN/A 10 18 Nora Ephron You've Got PodcastN/A 9 19 Gina Prince-Bythewood Pod & BasketcastThe Old Guard 4 20 Robert Zemeckis Podcast AwayThe Witches 20 21 Ron Clements/John Musker The Poddle MercastN/A 7 22 Elaine May The Podbreak CastN/A 4 23 John Singleton Podz n the CastN/A 9 24 John Carpenter They PodcastN/A 18 25 Jane Campion The PodcastianoThe Power of the Dog 9 26 Sam Raimi Podcast Me to HellDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 15 27 Bob Fosse Pod That JazzcastN/A 5 28 Stanley Kubrick Pods Wide CastN/A 12 29 Henry Selick Ben Hosley's The Podmare Before CastmasWendell & Wild 5 30 Danny Boyle TrainspodcastingN/A 13 January 22, 2023 April 30, 2023 31 Buster Keaton Podcast Jr.N/A 6 32 Park Chan-wook I'm a Podcast, But That's OKN/A 10 June 18, 2023 September 3, 2023 33 David Fincher The Curious Pod of Benjamin ButtcastThe Killer 12 September 10, 2023 November 26, 2023 34 Bradley Cooper A Pod Is Cast Maestro 3 October 7, 2018 January 4, 2026 35Barbra StreisandPodcastlN/A5January 14, 2024February 4, 2024 36 John McTiernan Pod Hard with a VengecastN/A 11 February 11, 2024 April 28, 2024 37 Satoshi Kon PodprikastN/A 4 May 5, 2024 May 26, 2024 38Martin BrestPodverly Hills CastN/A6June 9, 2024July 14, 2024 39Kevin CostnerPodcasts With WolvesHorizon: An American Saga – Chapter 14July 21, 2024August 18, 2024 40David LynchTwin Pods: Fire Cast With MeN/A15August 25, 2024December 22, 2024 41Steven Spielberg (The Early Years)Podrassic CastN/A15January 5, 2025April 20, 2025 42Amy HeckerlingPod Times at Ridgemont CastN/A9April 27, 2025July 6, 2025 43Coen BrothersPod Country for Old CastN/A19July 13, 2025December 7, 2025 44Lynne RamsayWe Need to Pod About CastvinDie My Love5January 18, 2026February 22, 2026 45Peter WeirPodnic at Hanging CastN/A13March 8, 2026June 7, 2026 46Andrew StantonPODD-CToy Story 56June 21, 2026August 2, 2026 47Martin ScorsesePodcastFellasN/A25August 9, 2026TBA
Blank Check: Special Features On January 1, 2019, Newman and Sims created a Patreon page, Blank Check: Special Features, where fans could pay a monthly amount in exchange for extra content. Blank Check Special Features focuses primarily on audio commentary about films that are part of franchises, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Toy Story, Mission: Impossible, The Santa Clause and Alien. The Patreon feed also offers monthly bonus episodes and other content related to the current miniseries or general interest.
, the Blank Check Patreon was ranked 12th in the podcast category and 33rd overall based on the number of paying supporters, with 17,762 subscribers. Franchise Initial Release Episodes First episode Last episode 1 Marvel Cinematic Universe 23 2 Star Wars 8 3 Toy Story 5 4 Mission: Impossible 6 5Alien6October 1, 2020December 21, 20206Crocodile Dundee3January 1, 2021February 1, 20217Star Trek6February 21, 2021May 1, 20218The Twilight Saga5May 21, 2021July 21, 20219The Chronicles of Riddick3August 1, 2021September 1, 202110The Mummy 5September 22, 2021November 11, 202111The Santa Clause3November 21, 2021December 21, 202112Ghostbusters4January 1, 2022February 21, 202213The Matrix4March 1, 2022April 21, 202214Batman7May 1, 2022August 1, 202215Roger Moore Bond7August 21, 2022November 21, 202216National Treasure2December 1, 2022December 21, 202217Qatsi Trilogy3January 1, 2023February 1, 202318Men in Black4February 21, 2023April 1, 202319Planet of the Apes5April 21, 2023June 21, 202320Ocean's5July 1, 2023September 1, 202321Pierce Brosnan Bond4September 21, 2023November 1, 202322Austin Powers4November 21, 2023January 1, 202423Terminator6January 21, 2024April 1, 202424Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles7April 21, 2024July 21, 202425Tabletop Games6August 1, 2024October 21, 202426Andrew Lloyd Webber adaptations4November 1, 2024December 21, 202427The Jelly Trilogy3January 1, 2025February 1, 202528Star Trek: The Next Generation5February 21, 2025April 21, 202529Superman7May 1, 2025July 21, 20253090s Indie comics8August 1, 2025November 21, 202531Timothy Dalton Bond2December 1, 2025December 21, 202532Oz adaptations 5January 1, 2026March 11, 202633Mortal Kombat4March 21, 2026May 21, 202634RoboCop4June 1, 2026July 21, 202635 Resident Evil7August 1, 2026November 1, 2026
Blank Check: March Madness Every March since 2018, there has been a March Madness style bracket pitting thirty-two directors against each other, allowing listeners to vote and decide a director to be covered later in the year. Until 2022, the votes were cast through Twitter polls, but were later moved to the Blank Check website following use of bots to influence match-ups. Since 2020, there have been brackets exclusive to the Patreon to decide a franchise to cover. Year Theme Winner Runner-Up 2018 N/A Nancy Meyers David Fincher 2019 N/A Jonathan Demme George Miller 2020 Oscars vs. Razzies Robert Zemeckis Barry Sonnenfeld 2021 Hosts vs. Guests John Carpenter Gore Verbinski 2022 20th Century Filmmakers Stanley Kubrick Orson Welles 2023 World Cup/International Park Chan-wook Bong Joon-ho 2024 The New Blood David Lynch Spike Lee 2025 Decade of Dreams Coen brothers Peter Weir 2026 Losers Only Martin Scorsese Tony Scott
Reception
Blank Check has been positively reviewed by Paste, Decider, and The A.V. Club. The show was included in Esquire's list of the best 21 podcasts of 2018, as well as on Paste list of the top 30 podcasts of the decade. It has also been featured in Vulture and Entertainment Weekly as a selection of the week. In May 2023, Luis A. Gómez of The New Yorker wrote about the podcast, stating that "Newman and Sims reveal themselves as connoisseurs of context in engaging, discursive conversations" and are "a positive, authoritative voice in the film-podcasting landscape."
The show was an honoree in the 2025 Webby Awards. The show was also nominated for best TV and Film podcast in the 2025 iHeartRadio podcast awards.
Notes
References
External links