Dead Eyes Podcast Looks Right at Tom Hanks

For its third season finale, Dead Eyes, a podcast investigation on why actor Connor Ratliff was fired from Band of Brothers because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes,” is speaking with the man himself: Tom Hanks. The episode will debut on March 10th, and will be available on all podcatchers.

From its inception, Dead Eyes has felt a bit different from the typical “inconsequential quest” podcast–think Missing Richard Simmons or Whatever Happened to Pizza at McDonald’s?–in no small part due to the access to Hollywood power host Connor Ratliff wields to solve his mystery. Ratliff is no A-lister, to be clear, but his early interviews with guests like John Hamm, D’arcy Carden, and Seth Rogen seemingly suggested a pot of gold at the end of a podcast rainbow: would listeners finally get an inconsequential quest that . . . actually finds answers and closure?

According to the episode’s press release, yes:

The upcoming milestone episode features a full-length interview with Hanks that discusses the details and play-by-play of “the incident,” in which the famously kind star apparently proclaimed that Ratliff had “dead eyes” and replaced him with another actor at the last minute. 

But this special episode of Dead Eyes isn’t just about “the incident,” the harrowing and baffling day that ultimately led Ratliff to create the podcast. It will also include Hanks’s discussions of being part of the A-list that Ratliff is not, including speaking out loud the “unspoken rules of working on a set.”

The question that remains, of course, is: where does the podcast go from here?

The episode’s press release hints at a future for Dead Eyes:

Although this episode ultimately solves the mystery of what happened on the Band of Brothers set that day, Ratliff has always produced his show with broader themes in mind: why doing something you love can sometimes suck, how to avoid turning the professional into the personal, and how to make peace with the powerful, yet comically random gears and levers that make some actors successful, and others, not. And Ratliff is an expert guide for the listener, offering emotionally-engaging, accessibly-profound insights that lead to unexpected “lightbulb” moments applicable to the everyday ups and downs of life – even if you’ve never been fired by your personal hero.

It seems fans will have more to dig into even after this quest reaches its “having changed” stage in its story circle. We may get closure on why Ratliff was fired and what the hell even really happened that day, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to the podcast riding off into the sunset. What the future for the podcast looks like remains to be seen with our dead eyes, but it’s a relief to hear we’ll have more of Ratliff’s musings to look forward to.

Read more: The 10 Funniest Comedy Podcasts (You Might Not Be Listening To Yet)

If you’re familiar with my writing, there’s a good chance you’re surprised I’m a fan of Dead Eyes. I have been critical of celebrity culture and unchecked parasocial relationships, both of which Dead Eyes dances around–but on a stage built from those concepts in the first place. If you’re familiar with me as a person, there’s an even better chance you’re surprised. In maybe my hottest media take, I’ve just never really liked Tom Hanks’s work outside of the unhinged Joe Versus the Volcano. Just one of those faces. Whatever the opposite of dead eyes are. Too alive eyes.

Dead Eyes has consistently been captivating, funny, and heartwarming enough for me to enjoy it regardless. Much of the joy of the podcast comes not from the quest itself, but from Ratcliff’s earnest and vulnerable conversations both scripted and in interviews with his guests. The podcast focuses on a specific, small story to speak on larger topics most spurned creators can sympathize with. It’s one of the most personal, funny, and lovely explorations of failure since The Worst Sitcom Ever Made.

But as much as I’ve recommended this podcast, I frequently get responses worried that this will be yet another story with no end. It seems those worries can subside when the episode drops on March 10th–so now seems like a great time to get caught up on the story you’ve been missing.