‘King of the Nerds’ season 3 spotlight: Will Todd ‘The Bod’ Landree be the Toddfather of Nerdvana?
Have we saved the best “King of the Nerds” spotlight for last? We leave that up to you, dear reader, but we definitely saved the only one with a pre-ordained nickname. Todd “The Bod” Landree, whose last name may be forgotten altogether by the end of the season, is entering Nerdvana with both an extra name and apparently a superpower that makes any situation into one big party.
Todd is a man who will not be ignored, and that is why casting was probably thanking any and all gods the moment that this guy entered their lives. You need people like him on the show; he’ll probably be a good narrator in confessionals, a hashtag-generator, and given that he already has multiple other nicknames for himself (Toddzilla, The Toddfather), he will probably have some for everyone else within about 30 seconds.
We’re not going to waste any more time here setting up the man, the myth, the legend that is Todd. Let’s dive right into how a man with his sort of confidence and personality will do on this show.
Name – Todd Landree
Age – 26
Location – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Specialty – “Comic book nerd.” Huzzah! We celebrate this because it didn’t feel like there were enough comic fans on season 2, and the ones that were traversed back home to read their comic books a little early. Now, we just want to know what particular comic books Todd enjoys. He says he is a trivia nerd as well, and while we feel confident we’d have a chance in general trivia, in comic books trivia alone he’d dominate. It’s only in the past year we started to get into reading comic books a la Moon Knight and Harley Quinn; growing up, our comics were more comic strips (Calvin & Hobbes primarily).
Nerd cred – As any true nerd knows, there are many different types of nerds. There is the extremely quiet nerd with almost zero social function, the nerd who likes to challenge you anytime you mispronounce a word, the nerds who finds a small group of like-minded friends and avoids the rest of the world, and the nerd who loves what he loves and will scream it from the rooftops. Todd feels like the latter. The man’s super-confident, but also connects with you easily. He’s smart, not afraid to perform, and may have a little bit of a ruthless streak in him. He references Littlefinger, and we certainly hope that strategic mind comes out (just don’t push anyone through the moondoor).
Weak points – Is Todd almost too much the nerdy life of the party? There are people whose strategy this season is to lay low. Todd’s not going to lay low. If he was a superhero, he would not be a Batman and do most of his work in the shadows. He’s more akin to walking up and down the streets without a mask on, waving at onlookers. He’s even given himself his own hero name already! You can win this way with being such an obvious target that somehow people forget to target you (see Tony from this past “Survivor”), but it’s tricky. Todd has the road less traveled … mostly because this road’s got rocks in it and alligator-infested waters nearby. Winning this for him will be like Oliver vs. Ra’s al Ghul on this season of “Arrow,” the ultimate challenge.
End assessment – Here’s the funny thing. Back when we recorded our cast preview podcast for this season, there was less information available on Todd and we (being Matt and Jessa) were divided on whether or not we were fans. After seeing more of the show, we’re both in agreement; he’s now closer to spirit animal status. The man is entertainment gold, and we have no problem admitting when our first impression is wrong.
Todd probably does get the benefit here of being the last person we highlight, since we have the most informed opinion of him at the time of writing this. The big personalities almost never win, so we’re not extremely high on his odds; however, we may commence an Aeris-level crying fit (yes, we still spell her name that way) if he gets sent home in the first few weeks.
If you missed our exclusive podcast with two of the “King of the Nerds” executive producers about this season, head over to the link here! Also, sign up now to get some further TV news on everything we cove via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: TBS.)