Original Content podcast: Confronting the tragedy of Hulu’s ‘Looming Tower’

The Looming Tower, a new series on Hulu, approaches the September 11 terrorist attacks from an unusual angle — instead of focusing on the day itself, it tells the story of the FBI and CIA investigations into Al-Qaeda in the late 1990s.

In some ways, the show feels like a police procedural, with Jeff Daniels as the FBI’s John O’Neill and Peter Sarsgaard as Martin Schmidt, his counterpart in the CIA. Except we all know where this investigation is leading.

On this week’s episode of the Original Content podcast, we discuss our initial impressions of the show (new episodes are still airing each week), how it combines fact and fiction, and how it compares to the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Lawrence Wright.

We also cover Amy Poehler’s deal to direct and star in a film for Netflix, the controversy over the salary disparity between Claire Foy and Matt Smith on The Crown and the new trailer for a “killer rain” show called, um, The Rain.

You can listen in the player below, subscribe using Apple Podcasts or find us in your podcast player of choice. If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review on Apple. You also can send us feedback directly.