2025 Glitterjaw Wrapped (and 2026 Previews!)
As we draw the curtain closed for the very final time on the year that was 2025, we wanted to reflect on all the amazing work our collective did over the past year. From growing the Glitterjaw roster of shows to creating a repository of resources for those wishing to take action; from a Star Wars-themed benefit drag show to Mario Card Trivia for charity, we accomplished a lot this year. And all the while, we kept making, if we could be so bold, kick-ass queer art.
To that end, we asked the hosts of each Glitterjaw show to wrap up their 2025, drop a few fun stats from the year, give folks a preview of what’s to come in 2026, and curate some of their favorite episodes of the year.
You’ll find no algorithms in this Wrapped. There’s no AI recommendations, no AI categories with AI slop art. Just real, human, queer creators talking about their favorite moments. (Eat your heart out, Spotify.)
✨ Welcome to the 2025 Glitterjaw Wrapped ✨
Click on a show below to jump to their wrapped!
Are You My Mother?
It was a short season in 2025, but we still got to talk about some amazing moms, from robots to royalty. This year was all about finding motherhood in unlikely and unusual ways and gave us so much opportunity to talk about some truly outstanding characters.
Are You My Mother’s 2025 by the Numbers:
Stat #1: Even though it was a short season, it is still surprising that we only had one episode with a Glitterjaw guest!
Stat #2: Even though the characters were miles apart, two of the characters we covered in 2025 were played by the same actor: Julie Andrews!
Are You My Mother’s 2026 Preview:
We are coming back in 2026 to cover even more moms, including some episodes that have been percolating for quite a long time!
David’s Favorite Episode of the Year:
Roz - The Wild Robot: For me, it was absolutely “The Wild Robot” because getting my guest, Doug Fink, to talk about animation is such a warm experience. The film was good and the conversation was even better.
Distant Echoes: A Star Wars Podcast
This was the year of Andor and Visions for Distant Echoes! We started off this year by finally finishing off Andor Season One, then took a short “break” to recap one of the greatest experiences we’ve probably ever had in our lifetime—our trip to Japan and Star Wars Celebration 2025! The con was jam-packed with prescient sneak peeks that colored the rest of our year as we tackled Andor Season Two and ventured through Visions Vol. Three. It truly was an experience like no other, and one that somehow only deepened our love for adventuring through the galaxy.
Distant Echoes’ 2025 by the Numbers:
Stat #1: Number of times Cass forgot the name of an important Star Wars character but pulled someone like Erskin Samaj immediately thereafter: At least 20, which is more than half of the episodes we had this year.
Stat #2: Number of times we sighed loudly and in sync and in utter desperation because we discovered how incredible Andor is...and how silly we were for making a longstanding joke to stave off watching it for two-ish years: ….29. (Which is also the total count of episodes this year)
Distant Echoes’ 2026 Preview:
To kick off 2026, we rolled out a brand-new, likely irregular series where guests can suggest their favorite favorite episode (or video game mission, comic issue, anything that feels “episode-y”) to gush about. Friend of the pod, Patrick Cotnoir, helped us inaugurate the series with Andor’s “Welcome to the Rebellion,” and we’re so excited to return to this mini-series throughout the year. We’re also looking forward to bringing back some other favorite episode segments, like making character playlists and tabletop roleplaying character sheets! And of course, balancing silly antics with discussions of anti-fascism in Star Wars.
(Stay mad, nerds!)
Cass’s Favorite Episodes of the Year:
Tommy’s Favorite Episodes of the Year:
Cass & Tommy’s Joint Favorite:
Falling with Style: A Pixar Movie Marathon
It wasn’t supposed to be a busy year for Falling With Style, but sometimes ya gotta work through some anger by producing a five-episode Special Presentation miniseries discussing animated and family media featuring unafraid and unambiguous queerness, because Pixar just won’t do it! And ya know what? It ended up being some of the work we’re most proud of!
Falling with Style’s 2025 by the Numbers:
Stat #1: Number of films we thought we would talk about in 2025: 1
Stat #2: Number of films we actually talked about in 2025: 7
Falling With Style’s 2026 Preview:
We’ll be back in the Spring for Pixar’s next original feature, Hoppers, and Toy Story 5—yes, FIVE—in the Summer. And who knows? Maybe another Special Presentation miniseries!
Doug’s Favorite Episode of the Year:
Derek’s Favorite Episode of the Year:
Doug & Derek’s Joint Favorite:
Fear Coded: A Queer Horror Podcast
This year we brought the horrors onto a much more frequent basis, dropping (almost) weekly! We also delivered themes from teens to divas to dolls in an effort to track how much changes and what stays the same! We also started a Patreon, offering bonus episodes and other goodies.
Fear Coded’s 2025 by the Numbers:
Stat #1: During our scared and prepared segment, David was “scared” 18 times, and “prepared” 31 times. Merrilee was “scared” 22 times and “prepared” 27 times. And Tyler was “prepared” 20 times and “scared” 32 times.
Stat #2: The podcast covered media from 1872 all the way to 2024!
Fear Coded’s 2026 Preview:
2026 has a lot in store for our hosts and guests as we free ourselves from required themes and instead allow ourselves the freedom to explore media we’ve had on the backburner that didn’t quite fit. But don’t worry, themes will still present themselves when the moment is right! And right around the height of our powers, October, our 100th episode will be dropping, so there’s a lot to look forward to!
David’s Favorite Episode of the Year:
Merrilee’s Favorite Episode of the Year:
Tyler’s Favorite Episode of the Year:
Gimmicks
Season 5 featured deep cuts like Maniac Mansion and TV greats like Deep Space Nine, along with explorations of soap operas and a very special Saved by the Bell! And our season 6 began with the history of jumping the shark, Pee-wee Herman, Derek getting David into another cancelled 2000s FOX sci-fi show with a female lead, and a terrible Christmas musical. Plus, we started our new bonus episodes!
Gimmicks’ 2025 by the numbers:
Stat #1: This year, we covered episodes of television spanning the past 6 decades from All in the Family (1973) to Only Murders in the Building (2021).
Stat #2: Number of times we referenced Tru Calling: 1,000 and counting.
Gimmicks’ 2026 Preview:
We’ll finally be returning to favs like Buffy and The X-Files, with some plans for a Very Brady Episode and some other TV institutions we’ve yet to tap.
Derek’s Favorite Episodes of the Year:
MANIAC MANSION’S first episode is a 10th anniversary clip show (with Chris Cummins)
THE SECRET WORLD OF ALEX MACK keeps a secret from Alex Mack (with Dr. Lara Ameen)
David’s Favorite Episodes of the Year:
Lee Carvallo’s Podding Challenge: A Simpsons Gaming Podcast
In 2025, we tackled a total of nine Simpsons games, one not-quite-a-game tech-demo, one probably-the-closest-we’ll-get-to-a-new-Simpsons-game collaboration in The Simpsons x Fortnite, and had conversations with eight amazing Springfieldiean Neighborinos (...aka guests!). We also dove deep on several gaming and pop-culture topics, from a brief history of mini-golf and skateboarding to archived developer files and the wild history of the Simpsons House sweepstakes!
Lee Carvallo’s 2025 by the Numbers:
Stat #1: Extremely excessive page count total for our show notes, mostly detailing topics that weren’t actually The Simpsons: 393 (or, roughly 55,113 words!)
Stat #2: Number of games Derek played and was unable to beat: 7
Lee Carvallo’s 2026 Preview:
We’re looking forward to playing The Simpsons Game for the very first time and then completing the entire history of Simpsons games (including the defunct mobile ones)...and seeing if they finally announce a Hit & Run remake!
Derek’s Favorite Episodes of the Year:
Tommy’s Favorite Episodes of the Year:
Derek & Tommy’s Joint Favorite:
Little Dead Aliens
My 2025 was filled with ups and downs, good days and bad days, but ultimately it was a pretty good year. I finished courses in graphic design, finished my watch-through of The X-Files (that I started in 2024), my husband and I celebrated our 19th anniversary, I beat both Hollow Knight and Silksong and, most importantly, had the idea for Little Dead Aliens and joined the Glitterjaw collective! So, I know when I look back at 2025 it will be a year with lots of changes for me.
Little Dead Aliens’ 2026 Preview:
This year I will be covering season 1 of The X-Files on the pod, so look forward to some really iconic episodes like “Ice”, “Eve”, “Gender Bender”, and “Darkness Falls”. I already have some great guests lined up from the Glitterjaw crew and beyond! I am very excited about a bonus episode that should be out this month where I just recap 2025 in horror that I hope will help people get to know me and my horror likes and dislikes a little more, so look out for that soon!
The Mixed Reviews
In 2025 we covered some subjects we’ve wanted to cover since we started the show almost a decade ago. We also had three amazing guests, looked at the careers of some of the most cherished actors in the business and the movies of theirs we loved, and expanded our ever growing library of Halloween season themed episodes with Aliens on Film!
We also expanded our patreon with episodes of Gavin and Louie Go to the Movies and covered new films playing at New York Film Festival and Independent Film Festival Boston!
The Mixed Reviews’ 2025 by the Numbers:
Stat #1: This year on the main show we covered 3 Mini-genres, 6 actresses, and 3 actors, covering film history from silent cinema through 2025, and spanning multiple countries.
Stat #2: One of our cohosts moved from New York City to Boston, which our other cohost hears is a lot like NYC except smaller and wicked different.
The Mixed Reviews’ 2026 Preview:
We’re hoping to have another great year bringing you the stories of the movies and performances you adore, and making bonus episodes for our Patreon, connecting with our audience and delivering the movie content and history you love!
Favorite Episodes of the Year:
That’s like asking us to pick a favorite baby! But Denzel Washington was an episode we had been talking about doing since 2018, and Judy Garland with Tranna Wintour was a monumental task that I think we pulled off fantastically.
Novel Gaming!
It was a year of game clubs and sequels on Novel Gaming! From brand new dating sims to decades old portable classics, we played more games together than ever before, and three of our book club picks were sequels to previous book club picks—we even did a duology in back-to-back months at the end of the year! Unprecedented!
Novel Gaming’s 2025 by the Numbers:
Stat #1: Number of books read together: 11
Stat #2: Number of games played together: 8
Novel Gaming’s 2026 Preview:
2026 will see the return of the Backlog Challenge! We’re adding a couple more games, giving ourselves much more time, and we’re bringing along some friends! And we’re nothing if not creatures of habit, so look forward to twelve more book clubs, twelve more video game discussions, and maybe even a few Glitterjaw crossovers.
Favorite Episodes of the Year:
The Q Division
The Q Division went on twelve assignments and one secret mission in 2025, picking up many agents, sharks, and martinis along the way. They completed their journey through the Sean Connery era and are racing along through Roger Moore’s, thirsting after him more and more after each assignment.
The Q Division’s 2025 by the Numbers:
Stat #1: Only podcast produced by three queer dogs (pictured below).
Stat #2: Our hosts mentioned sharks more times in Thunderball than both films starring the character Jaws combined.
The Q Division’s 2026 Preview:
As we explore the history of each film and break them down, we continuously look forward to showing our audience just how queer the James Bond universe has been all along. We have a stacked roster of new agents and assignments in 2026 and plan to expand the James Bond multiverse. With Roger Moore’s regeneration on the horizon, how will Chels feel about saying goodbye to her blue-eyed hottie?
Favorite Episodes of the Year:
We love all our children equally but Jaws had a chokehold on us with The Spy Who Loved Me (featuring Special Agent Sophia Ciminello) and Moonraker (featuring Special Agents and hosts of Glitterjaw’s Distant Echoes podcast Cass & Tommy Proffitt).
Skreeonk! A Godzilla Movie Marathon
This year, Doug finally got to meet Mechagodzilla, Hedorah, and two of Godzilla’s children; lots of monsters teamed up to kick Ghidorah’s ass; we watched an anime trilogy we hated; and most importantly…we saw Anguirus again!
Skreeonk’s 2025 by the Numbers:
Stat #1: Number of cover art pieces done by guest artists: 12
Stat #2: Number of predictions Doug has gotten wrong: Innumerable
Skreeonk’s 2026 Preview:
We’ll be wrapping up this year, so we’re excited for Doug to finally have a full picture of Godzilla’s legacy and cover the many era finales! And, of course, we’ll cover the new Minus Zero film at the end of the year.
Derek’s Favorite Episodes of the Year:
Doug’s Favorite Episodes of the Year:
Honorable Mention: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) specifically for Baby Godzilla.
Super Mario Moment
2025 was the year that SUPER MARIO MOMENT began! I’d always wanted to listen to a show like this but couldn’t find anything, so I’m really proud I got to produce two seasons of ten episodes each, covering everything from the most acclaimed video games of all time, to dodgy Chinese bootlegs. It was great having a new guest each week too, with everyone from game developers to artists to comedians and more!
However, I think my proudest achievement was our Christmas special, which brought seven other Glitterjaw hosts together for a very bizarre Mario-theme quiz! Perhaps this can be a yearly tradition?
Super Mario Moment’s 2025 by the Numbers:
Stat #1: Times I forgot Super Mario Moment was a video podcast and I picked my nose : 7
Stat #2: Times I felt subconscious about my British pronunciation of Mario: 128
Super Mario Moment’s 2026 Preview:
I am so excited about Season 3 starting in February because I am getting a co-host for the first time! David Arnold from Gimmicks and Fear Coded will be joining me as we discuss all the Mario tv and film adaptations leading up to the release of the Super Mario Galaxy movie. We’ve already recorded an episode and it sort of feels like Super Mario Moment has finally found what it was always supposed to be as a Glitterjaw show—queers chatting crap about TV.
Favorite Episode of the Year:
2-1 SUPER NINTENDO WORLD. It was so fun covering the Universal Studios Nintendo World theme park with my brother Rory, as it was nice to talk about something other than a game and I got to role-play being a Plus-Size Park Hopper for a day. Also, my brother got to bring a rare look into a Secret Nintendo Bar which only all your Uncles who work at Nintendo are usually allowed to go to, which felt like our show doing an EXCLUSIVE for the first time.
Walloping Websnappers! A Spider-Man Podcast
We had a packed year leading to our 300th episode! But before that, we finished season 1 of Ultimate Spider-Man, covered the newest show Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man as it aired, completed Spider-Woman, dipped back into the 1981 cartoons, and fully covered the entire run of The Spectacular Spider-Man for the second time (and extremely in-depth, we might add!)
Walloping Websnappers’ 2025 by the Numbers:
Stat #1: Number of Spider-Man shows we watched: 6
Stat #2: Number of Faces of the Episode: 95
Walloping Websnappers’ 2026 Preview:
We’re sad to be finishing one of our favs, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends! But we’re excited to get back to the 2017 cartoon and its Superior Spider-Man adaptation.
Derek’s Favorite Episodes of the Year:
Doug’s Favorite Episodes of the Year:
Derek & Doug’s Joint Favorite:
That’s a wrap for the Glitterjaw Wrapped 2025. What were your favorite episodes of the year? What are you most looking forward to from the collective in 2026? Let us know on Bluesky, Instagram, or our contact form — or drop a comment or a 5-star review for your favorite show!
Thanks for listening! We can’t wait for you to see what’s in store this year.
