Jemele Hill will cohost a podcast rewatching The Wire for The Ringer

Shockingly, The Ringer is launching a new podcast in the weeks ahead, a month or so after Spotify purchased the company for a quarter of a billion dollars. The new podcast also has nothing to do with sports, which makes sense given that uh, there are no live sports right now.

The Hollywood Reporter first reported on Wednesday that The Ringer will be launching a rewatch podcast for The Wire, cohosted by The Ringer’s Van Lathan and Jemele Hill, best known for her work at ESPN.

Bill Simmons confirmed the story on Twitter, while Hill and Lathan expressed their excitement for the new podcast, which will launch next month.

Some @ringer news b/c we don’t want to stop creating content despite everything that’s going on – we’re launching a new podcast w/ @jemelehill + @VanLathan.

They’re re-watching “The Wire” and doing a podcast on every single episode. Launches next month.https://t.co/n4x9HefX7p

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) March 25, 2020

Never thought I would get paid to watch the greatest TV show of all time (yeah I said it). Also thrilled to be co-hosting this w/ @VanLathan and partnering with my old pal @BillSimmons + @ringer. I love it when a plan comes together! https://t.co/X8XQYC73Ri

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) March 25, 2020

Welp, cats outta the bag now. @jemelehill and I about to take y’all back to West Baltimore.

The Ringer to Debut 'The Wire' Rewatch Podcast (Exclusive) https://t.co/BdJTflbhM3 via @thr

— Van “#1 Voice in Wrestling Media” Lathan Jr (@VanLathan) March 25, 2020

(there’s also a natural tie-in here thanks to Simmons’ partnership with HBO)

I’m not much of a fan of show rewatch podcasts because I typically watch more than one episode in a sitting and quickly outpace the podcasts as they’re released. But with so many people socially isolating and looking for content to binge, a rewatch podcast for a critically acclaimed show that ended 12 years ago is a solid idea, especially when the hosts are two people fully invested in the show.

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if other companies, or even The Ringer itself, start rolling out more rewatch podcasts of classic shows in the coming days and weeks. It makes all the sense in the world with many states still under social isolation or shelter at home orders for the near future, and since we’re no closer to live sports and active TV shows are wrapping up their current seasons, previously released content could be in higher demand.

And hey, if you don’t like the hosts (or, for whatever stupid reason, The Wire), you can just not listen and move on with your life. I have no idea if this podcast will actually be good, but hey, launching it was a logical move for The Ringer.