Listener sentiment
Listener sentiment on The Mess Around has improved markedly since the early going, and the dominant story of the recent window is the rebrand: after Zooey Deschanel exited, most reviewers say the podcast with just Hannah Simone and Lamorne Morris flows better, feels more focused, and lets the two hosts' genuine friendship shine — many call it a fun comfort listen for New Girl fans that lands better than the original three-host version. The recurring criticisms are practical rather than about the hosts themselves: heavy ad loads that some say consume a third or more of an episode's runtime, inconsistent audio (Lamorne's volume, distracting mouth noises), unlabelled re-uploaded episodes, and a chatty structure that drifts far from the episode being recapped — a divide between listeners who came for structured rewatch breakdowns and those who enjoy the digressions. A handful of recent reviews also flag concerns about the hosts' discussion of fasting and weight-loss content and sponsorship choices as alienating, while others ask for more preparedness and deeper episode analysis comparable to other actor-led rewatch podcasts. Overall the tone is warmer than in the show's earliest reviews, with the two-host format widely seen as a genuine upgrade.
Apple3.4 · 272
Summary generated Oct 19, 2026
