Pop Culture Happy Hour

Nothing’s fair in love and war — and it's especially true in the very watchable HBO series War. Dominic West and Sienna Miller play a high-profile British couple duking it out in a high-stakes divorce. And the cutthroat litigation between the law firms representing them threatens to rival any of the marriage drama they’ve got going on. War was created by George Kay, who is also behind shows like Lupin and Highjack.If you enjoy high stakes, bingeable dramas, check out these episodes:'Nemesis' brings strong 'Heat' vibes, and we're not mad at it‘The Pitt’ approaches the end of a very long shiftConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Do you like scary movies? It's spooky season, so what better way to get into the Halloween spirit than plopping down in front of a film engineered to scare your pants off. Today, in this encore episode, we’re revisiting our conversation about the scariest movie we've ever seen – including The Babadook, Event Horizon, The Night of the Hunter, and… Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.Looking for more spooky season scares? Try these episodes:In ‘Obsession,’ love hurts. It really, really, really hurts.'The Conjuring: Last Rites' caps off a big summer for demon huntersIn ‘Weapons’, the kids aren't at all right, not in the slightest, nopeIs '28 Years Later' worth the wait?Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to

Wildwood is one of the best movies of the year. It’s an epic stop-motion animated saga about a young girl trying to rescue her brother, and it’s filled with raging battles, fantastical animals and a voice cast featuring Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, and Tom Waits. Wildwood was made by Laika, the studio behind Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings. If you’re looking for other great animated films, check out these episodes:In 'Toy Story 5,' playtime's over and screentime's in'Forgotten Island' is a cluttered feast for the sensesConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Clayface brings R-rated body horror to this origin story of a Batman villain. The film stars Tom Rhys Harries as an actor whose dream life crumbles after an encounter with a mob boss leaves him disfigured. Desperate for a solution, he receives a revolutionary procedure involving nanotechnology powered by AI. What could go wrong? Director James Watkins goes hard on the horror elements, but is the DC Universe big enough to go beyond superhero fare, and take a walk on the creepy, crawly side?For more Batman villains on screen, check out these episodes: In 'The Penguin' a C-list villain gets an A-list series'Joker: Folie à Deux' is much a deux about nothingConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to m

Wicker is somehow the coziest and horniest movie of the fall. Olivia Coleman and Alexander Skarsgård star as the unlikely couple: She’s a fisherwoman who commissions a husband literally made of wicker. The newly-kindled romance upends their small medieval town, where the men are the worst and the women are — surprise surprise — bored and unsatisfied with their own husbands.Are you looking for more Alexander Skarsgård? Check out these episodes:In ‘Pillion,’ submission is the mission 'Murderbot' envisions a caustically funny futureConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

We all love actor/writer Sharon Horgan, and she’s got a new show on HBO called Youth. Horgan stars as Alex, a 50-year-old divorcée who finds herself at several simultaneous personal and professional crossroads. But where does this new show fall in the Horgan canon? Is it essential, or is it more of a vestigial Horgan?Looking for more TV and movies about navigating mid-life?  Check out these episodes:‘The Invite’ is a marriage comedy with sex and heartA twisty scam goes haywire in the fun 'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed'In Tina Fey’s ‘The Four Seasons,’ marriage is far from a vacationIn ‘Rooster,’ Steve Carell makes some college admissionsConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast

A new Jane Austen adaptation is going to give you love, family and honor, repressed emotions and probably financial peril that can only be resolved through marriage. A new film version of Austen's Sense and Sensibility touches on those familiar themes with the Dashwood family, which include the two oldest sisters Elinor (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Marianne (Esmé Creed-Miles). They are, in true Austen fashion, at the mercy of laws that deny widows and daughters financial security. But is this new film a sensible addition to Austen’s film canon?Looking for more buzzy adaptations? Check out these episodes:Truth is elusive in the erotic thriller ‘Verity’'East of Eden' brings a light modern touch to an epic literary classicShould you test out ‘The Love Hypothesis’?Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.S

Guy meets whale; complications ensue. That's basically the plot of the new survival thriller Whalefall. It stars Austin Abrams as Jay, who goes diving in search of his deceased father (Josh Brolin) – and is swallowed by a whale. Based on the book by Daniel Kraus, the movie also has a lot to say about fathers and sons, as well as the lessons they have to teach each other.If you’re looking for more with Austin Abrams, check out these episodes:‘Resident Evil' is a grisly, funny fight to surviveIn 'Weapons', the kids aren't at all right, not in the slightest, nopeHigh school is hazardous in the stylish 'Do Revenge'Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

About a month before Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes went to prison for defrauding her investors, she and her partner Billy Evans invited a film crew to document their lives at home with their kids. And they didn't make a deal with a conventional filmmaking team. They connected with Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim. Fielder’s unusual nonfiction work blurs the lines between truth and artifice, so the resulting documentary, You Can See Everything, depicts Fielder's efforts to figure her out using some very unusual methods. Check out these episodes next:‘Primetime’ sits you down with sleaze'The Rehearsal' is about reality... and surreality'The Dropout' finds the voice of Elizabeth HolmesConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of pe

The great FX series The Lowdown stars Ethan Hawke as a freelance investigative reporter with a knack for sticking his nose where it doesn't belong and getting that nose punched. He gets drawn into the seedy goings-on of one of Tulsa's most prominent families. Created by Sterlin Harjo (Reservation Dogs), the modern-day Western noir comedy has an excellent ensemble including Kyle MacLachlan, Keith David, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Killer Mike. The Lowdown just returned for a second season, so today we’re revisiting our conversation about the series.If you need more comedies with great casts, check out these episodes: ‘Widow’s Bay’ is an island in the screamLisa Kudrow returns in 'The Comeback,' and we did need to see thatGen Z awkwardly transitions into 'Adults'‘The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins’ is (30) Rock-solidConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes

The trailer for the movie Other Mommy went viral when it dropped a few months ago. It dominated the box office this weekend, but was panned by critics. But is it really one of the worst movies of the year? It’s about a 7-year-old girl who is visited by a mysterious entity who takes the form of her mother, played by Jessica Chastain. It’s a lean, intense horror film full of dark family secrets and grisly body horror.Looking for more horror films? Check out these episodes:‘It Ends’ is horror as hangout'Backrooms' brings YouTube horror to the big screenIn ‘Obsession,’ love hurts. It really, really, really hurts.Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NP

The new series Carrie updates the Stephen King book for the digital age, and plays with what we think we know in some surprising ways. Streaming on Prime Video, it follows a young Carrie who has led a sheltered life with her overbearing mother. But as Carrie enters high school, she has a rough go of it. The signposts are familiar – the showers, the prayer closet, the prom, the pig’s blood – but showrunner Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass) builds out the world around those events.Looking for more TV and movies inspired by Stephen King? Check out these episodes:Glen Powell is ‘The Running Man’ in the latest Stephen King adaptationA new generation is down to clown in ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’‘The Long Walk’ is a long walk to nowhereDance with Tom Hiddleston through 'The Life of Chuck'Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sp

Don’t call it a sequel: The Social Reckoning is a companion piece to The Social Network. While the first movie chronicled the invention of Facebook, this one focuses on where Facebook is now. Jeremy Allen White stars as a crusading reporter alongside Mikey Madison, a Facebook insider with damning information about the business’ practices. The film also features Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg. Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, will it be added to the canon of great films about investigative journalism?  Looking for other potential Oscar contenders? Check out these episodes:The movies and TV we’re most excited about this fall‘Primetime’ sits you down with sleazeTom Cruise in 'Digger' is loud, divisive and intensely committed to the bitConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.co

A new series on Netflix is taking a bold crack at the American classic. Maybe you read John Steinbeck’s East of Eden in school. Or maybe you’ve seen the very loosely-adapted film starring James Dean. Anchored by a fantastic Florence Pugh performance, this new adaptation follows multiple generations of the Trask family. The series is an epic retelling of their story that offers a fresh perspective for new audiences.Looking for more adaptations of classic literature? Check out these episodes:Little House on the Prairie‘Lord of the Flies’ gets the Netflix treatmentOnly Guillermo del Toro could've made this 'Frankenstein'Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship prefe

Mahershala Ali’s new movie isn’t the Blade reboot, but it’s still worth your time. Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother follows a newly widowed hitman who wants out of the game. He's also a devout Muslim, and after his wife’s death, he is forced to adjust to being a single dad to three kids, while trying to balance his work and faith. But his boss (Laith Nakli) has other plans for him.If you’re looking for more great movies and TV about parenthood, check out these episodes:‘Last Seen’ is a new spin on troubled detectives'Margo's Got Money Troubles' is a smart adaptation well worth your time‘One Battle After Another’ is revolutionary — and revelatory'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You' shows off Rose Byrne's dramatic chopsConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our

Verity stars Dakota Johnson as a struggling novelist who gets an unusual assignment. She's been asked to ghostwrite the final books by a superstar writer, played by Anne Hathaway. It’s an erotic thriller about marriage, manipulators, and (of course) murder. Based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, Verity is a story of deceit that wants you to keep guessing until the very end, and maybe even after that.Looking for more books adapted for the screen? Check out these episodes:"Wuthering Heights" is rude, moody and broody'No Other Choice' is the perfect movie for our moment'Little Women' Is A Dynamic Sister ActConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.N

Digger is a loud, surprising, audacious, and sure-to-be-polarizing entry in this year’s Oscars race. The film stars Tom Cruise as a powerful oil baron who’s helped unleash an existential threat on the world — but that’s only the beginning. The looming devastation attracts the attention of the president (John Goodman) and a well-intentioned scientist (Riz Ahmed). The film takes some pretty big narrative swings along the way. But will Digger work for everyone?Want more Tom Cruise? Check out these episodes:In 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,' Tom Cruise is too controlled 'Top Gun: Maverick' puts Tom Cruise back in the cockpit, 36 years later'Mission: Impossible' is back, but will you accept it, or will it self-destruct? Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for infor

The TV series A Different World has loomed large in the culture since ending in the ‘90s, and now school is back in session in a new sequel series on Netflix. The show welcomes a new generation of students to the fictional HBCU Hillman College, and brings back notable alumni like Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison). And while the world is a lot different than it was 30-plus years ago, in a lot of ways, it’s also kind of the same.If you’re looking for more nostalgia, Check out these episodes:‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ is a comfy nostalgia trip‘Practical Magic 2’ wants to cast a spell of '90s nostalgiaHow you feel about 'Bel-Air' may depend upon how you feel about CW dramasConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection an

Forgotten Island is a wonderful new animated feature from the team that brought you Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss In Boots: The Last Wish. We’re introduced to childhood friends Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano). One is a free spirit, the other an aspiring scientist, and they’re both getting ready to go their separate ways. But during their last night together, they’re transported to a magical island. The film is full of mythological creatures and fantastical settings, but it’s also rooted in friendship and memory.If you’re looking for more animated epics, check out these episodes:Nature needs a little help in the inventive Pixar movie ‘Hoppers’'The Wild Robot' is grand and gorgeous, with big feelings'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' remembers every Nintendo moment everConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus

The Love Hypothesis brings the beloved trope of fake dating to the world of science and academia – but does it bring a fresh take to the bestselling book by Ali Hazelwood? The new Prime Video movie follows Stanford graduate student Olive (Lili Reinhart). Her best friend Anh (Rachel Marsh) is holding back from pursuing a guy because she thinks Olive is interested in him. Olive wants Anh to follow her heart, so she lands in a fake-dating situation with a notoriously harsh post-doc Adam (Tom Bateman), who for reasons of his own agrees to be her pretend boyfriend. If you’re looking for more romantic comedies, check out these episodes:Olivia Wilde is a problematic dom in 'I Want Your Sex'‘Office Romance’ stars J.Lo as a CEO with a bad case of Brett Goldstein‘You, Me & Tuscany' has got us lost in the pasta sauceConnect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes a