>>4 Assuming the board wouldn't be considered without a proof of concept (/ discussing that side anyway since board approvals are few and far between these days):
Yeah, I think you'd need some kind of dedicated topic each week if you wanted it to be distinct from the RTT (the current misc chat thread over in Random). It's just a dupe otherwise.
You could definitely get away with one thread. Might have to be remade now & again if it gets closed out, but that's no biggie, just a sign of a good series.
Protip for single-threadom: don't put the first week's topic in the OP. Users will respond to that first even ten, twenty, weeks later. Instead, put a note in the OP to look for this week's topic in the recent posts, as well as to link/mention it every few replies so new lurkers know what it is.
I actually think something like this would fit really well in the intro board, to be honest?? I always like when discussion/chat threads pop up in there. Makes it welcoming o: (Otherwise, Random fo' sure.)