Pop Culture Happy Hour
Episodes
All Her Fault
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The entertaining Peacock series All Her Fault begins with a cute kid, an Emmy winner, and a mystery. Sarah Snook plays a mother who goes to pick up he...
Wicked: For Good And What’s Making Us Happy
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wicked was a smash hit that earned Oscar nominations for Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo–but that was only the first half of the story. Wicked: For ...
A Man On The Inside
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The charming Netflix sitcom A Man on the Inside stars Ted Danson as a lonely widower who’s hired by a private investigator to live undercover in a s...
The Beast In Me
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the new Netflix series The Beast In Me, a writer played by Claire Danes struggles to find the topic of her next book – until a nefarious real est...
Now You See Me: Now You Don't
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, the magical Four Horsemen – played by Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher – reunite ...
The Running Man And What's Making Us Happy
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Running Man is a new dystopian thriller starring Glen Powell as a man so desperate for money to care for his family that he volunteers to run for ...
Death By Lightning
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Netflix’s Death by Lightning pits President James Garfield (Michael Shannon) against Charles Guiteau (Matthew McFadyen), the disgruntled would-be po...
Pluribus
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The new and highly anticipated Apple TV series Pluribus, from Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad), asks a simple question: What if a proud misanthrope sudde...
Predator: Badlands
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Predator: Badlands is the latest film about an alien race that hunts things using all sorts of space-gadgets. It’s told from the Predator’s perspe...
Frankenstein And What's Making Us Happy
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is a new reimagining of Mary Shelly’s classic gothic horror tale about a misunderstood monster who’s abandoned...
I Love LA
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rachel Sennott’s next project, the HBO series I Love LA, has finally arrived. And like plenty of shows before it, it’s about young people trying t...
Hedda
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the new film Hedda, Tessa Thompson plays a woman bored with her dull husband, and who devilishly manipulates the affections of everyone in her orbi...
IT: Welcome To Derry
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In new HBO prequel series IT: Welcome to Derry, we return to the clown who keeps on giving. Based on the Stephen King novel and a prequel to the films...
Bugonia And What’s Making Us Happy
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Bugonia stars Emma Stone as a high-powered CEO who’s kidnapped by conspiracy theorists, one of whom is played by Jesse Plemons. The conflict grows m...
If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rose Byrne shows off her dramatic chops in the new movie If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, where she plays a therapist shouldering all the responsibility ...
Halloween Songs
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who's the Mariah Carey of Halloween? Every year we hear many familiar Halloween songs – from the Ghostbusters theme to “Thriller” to “Monster ...
Blue Moon
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the new movie Blue Moon, Ethan Hawke plays songwriter Lorenz Hart, who is having maybe the worst night of his life. His long term collaborator Rich...
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere And What’s Making Us Happy
24 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the new film Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, the currently red-hot actor Jeremy Allen White plays the eternally red-hot rock star, Bruce Spri...
Nobody Wants This
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the Netflix series Nobody Wants This, Kristen Bell plays an agnostic podcaster, who meets a rabbi, played by Adam Brody. They like each other immed...
The Reality TV Show I'd Like To Judge
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When you watch a competitive reality show, you might think about how you'd win. But maybe you think about a much more powerful role for yourself: the ...
Good Fortune
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In Good Fortune, Keanu Reeves plays a doofy, well-meaning guardian angel named Gabriel who gets a little too involved in the life of a gig worker name...
Black Phone 2 And What’s Making Us Happy
17 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Grabbers gonna grab, even from beyond the grave. In Black Phone 2, Ethan Hawke returns from the dead as the serial killer who hides behind a demonic m...
Roofman
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the new movie Roofman, Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst ooze with their signature charm and chemistry. Tatum plays an exceptionally savvy military ...
After the Hunt
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the new movie After The Hunt, Julia Roberts plays a Yale professor who finds herself in a hard place when one of her star students (Ayo Edebiri) ma...
Kiss of the Spider Woman
13 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jennifer Lopez stars in the new film adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman. Set in an Argentine prison, one man (Tonatiuh) tells his cellmate (Diego ...
TRON: Ares And What's Making Us Happy
10 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
TRON: Ares is the third film in the franchise, and this time flips the script: Instead of humans entering the digital world, this movie sees human-sha...
Most Overused Songs In Movies
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Some great songs are so overused in movies, they’ve become cliches. Everyone’s mileage is bound to vary, but we’re rounding up a few songs we lo...
The Lost Bus
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the new movie The Lost Bus, Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera play a bus driver and a teacher who have to transport more than 20 kids to safe...
Taylor Swift The Life Of A Showgirl
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Taylor Swift just dropped her new album The Life Of A Showgirl. It touches on her relationship with fiancé Travis Kelce while reflecting on fame, nor...
The Smashing Machine And What's Making Us Happy
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Emily Blunt star in the new sports biopic The Smashing Machine. Johnson plays Mark Kerr, a UFC champion who is reeling f...
Brokeback Mountain
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This year marks 20 years since Brokeback Mountain hit theaters. The film starred Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as two sheep herders who fall in lov...
The Lowdown
30 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Lowdown is a great new FX series starring Ethan Hawke as a freelance investigative reporter with a knack for sticking his nose where it doesn’t ...
Wayward
29 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the new Netflix series Wayward, Toni Collette plays a deeply creepy woman who runs a facility that promises to fix troubled teens. A cop (Mae Marti...
One Battle After Another And What's Making Us Happy
26 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One Battle After Another is an action-thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor and Sean Penn. DiCaprio plays a washed up ex-revolutionary se...
Showgirls
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Showgirls stars Elizabeth Berkley as a Vegas dancer trying to move up from a seedy club to a glamorous hotel show. Paul Verhoeven’s NC-17 movie was ...
Task
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The new HBO series Task stars Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey in a grim, but stealthily hopeful drama. From the creator of Mare of Easttown, the show is...
Haunted Hotel
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From one of the minds behind Rick and Morty, Netflix’s new animated comedy Haunted Hotel is the perfect mix of fun and creepy to kick off spooky sea...
Him And What’s Making Us Happy
19 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the new horror film HIM, Tyriq Withers stars as a young football player who has a chance to be trained by his idol, played by Marlon Wayans. As the...
Fall Guide
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The fall of 2025 is shaping up to have something for everyone with a fresh Knives Out mystery, Guillermo del Toro’s take on Frankenstein, and a new ...
The Summer I Turned Pretty
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The TV series The Summer I Turned Pretty features a messy love triangle, plenty of drama, and a LOT of Taylor Swift songs. The show has become a word-...
2025 Emmys Recap
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This year’s Emmy Awards saw big wins for Adolescence, The Studio, and The Pitt. The telecast was also packed with a couple of surprise wins, a show ...
The Long Walk And What's Making Us Happy
12 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The new film The Long Walk is Stephen King meets The Hunger Games. It takes place in a dystopian America in which one young man from each state compet...
Great Movies With Silly Plots
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever found yourself completely caught up in a film only to find, after the lights come up, that the story didn’t make any sense, yet you lo...
Watch This: Twinless
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dylan O’Brien and James Sweeney star as unlikely friends in the new movie Twinless. They meet in a support group for people who have lost their twin...
The Paper
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Paper is a spinoff of The Office, and like its predecessor, it’s a mockumentary about a workplace that's facing financial and cultural headwinds...
The Conjuring: Last Rites And What's Making Us Happy
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Conjuring: Last Rites winds down the story of the demon-hunting couple loosely based on Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera ...
Sabrina Carpenter Man’s Best Friend
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sabrina Carpenter is following her breakout album Short n’ Sweet with a new collection of cheeky earworms called Man’s Best Friend, which includes...
The Thursday Murder Club
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Netflix’s The Thursday Murder Club is a cozy British mystery set at a posh retirement community. The movie stars Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, and B...
Caught Stealing
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Austin Butler, Zoë Kravitz and Bad Bunny star in Caught Stealing, the new grungy, throwback film from Darren Aronofsky. Butler plays Hank, a sad sack...
The Roses And What's Making Us Happy
29 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
First a novel and a 1989 hit film, the story of The Roses has been told before. This time around, Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman play a couple...
Jaws
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Steven Spielberg's Jaws turns 50 this year. It’s been called the perfect movie, the first blockbuster, and the film that changed why we go to the mo...
Songs For When Your Flight Is Delayed
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you travel by plane with any regularity, you've been there: stuck in an airport because your flight is delayed. So we thought it best to give your ...
Watch This: Long Story Short
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Long Story Short is a very funny and surprisingly moving new Netflix animated comedy series from the folks behind BoJack Horseman and Tuca & Bertie. T...
Lurker And What's Making Us Happy
22 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fame does strange things to people. In the new film Lurker, Théodore Pellerin plays a young retail clerk making his way into the inner circle of a po...
Best John Grisham Adaptations, Ranked
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a new TV version of The Rainmaker out, so today, we’re ranking the five best John Grisham adaptations – including The Firm, The Pelican ...
Our 15th Anniversary Time Capsule
19 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We launched Pop Culture Happy Hour 15 years ago this summer, and we had a lot of pent-up hot takes. To celebrate this milestone, today we’re breakin...
Highest 2 Lowest
18 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Spike Lee's new crime thriller Highest 2 Lowest reunites him with his favorite leading man, Denzel Washington. The film is based on Akira Kurosawa’s...
Alien: Earth And What's Making Us Happy
15 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Alien: Earth is a new TV spinoff of the Alien movie franchise, and as one might expect, it has plenty of Facehuggers, chestbursters, and dark metal co...
Bring It On
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The cheerleading film Bring It On spawned direct-to-video sequels and a Broadway musical. And with an all-star cast of Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, an...
Platonic
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the breezy comedy series Platonic, Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne play former best friends who reconnect years after a falling out. The Apple TV+ show f...
Weapons
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The intriguing and seriously creepy new film Weapons follows what happens after 17 third-graders get out of their beds on the same night, at the same ...
Freakier Friday And What's Making Us Happy
08 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis first switched bodies over 20 years ago in the beloved Disney body swap movie, Freaky Friday. They return in the lo...
Y2K Pop Culture
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are 25 years into the 2000s, so we wanted to debate: what’s the most definitive piece of Y2K pop culture? We try to pinpoint the essence of that ...
Together
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Every couple goes through certain rites of passage. You date, maybe you move in together, maybe you get married. And maybe a visit to a mysterious cav...
Wednesday
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wednesday is one of the most popular Netflix shows of all time, and it helped make Jenna Ortega a star. It takes the breakout Addams Family character ...
The Naked Gun And What's Making Us Happy
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Naked Gun franchise has always been a rapid-fire delivery system for gags, delivered straight-faced by a cop who doesn't know that anything is fun...
The Hunting Wives
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Netflix series The Hunting Wives is a soapy murder mystery full of nudity and intrigue, about a group of Texas women who are up to no good. It sta...
Happy Gilmore 2
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's been almost 30 years since Happy Gilmore gave Adam Sandler one of his best-loved movie roles. The rowdy golf comedy gets a belated sequel on Netf...
Song Of The Summer
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last year was Brat summer and saw the rise of Chappell Roan, Shaboozey, and Sabrina Carpenter. But is there a song of the summer for 2025? Today we're...
The Fantastic Four: First Steps And What's Making Us Happy
25 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Fantastic Four are back again in a new movie--and it's an eye-popping good time. The Fantastic Four: First Steps stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby...
Our Favorite YouTube Channels
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we're recommending a few of our favorite YouTube channels. These are the ones we find ourselves returning to again and again on subjects includi...
I Know What You Did Last Summer
22 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the original I Know What You Did Last Summer, some very '90s teenagers are targeted by a killer clad in fisherman's garb and armed with a hook. Nea...
Watch This: Sorry, Baby
21 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sorry, Baby is a refreshingly disarming movie. The film was written and directed by Eva Victor, who also stars a newly minted professor at the liberal...
Congress has voted to eliminate government funding for public media
20 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Act now to ensure public media remains free and accessible to all. Your donation will help this essential American service survive and thrive. Visit d...
Eddington And What's Making Us Happy
18 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Eddington plunges us back into that familiarly distressing time of the early days of the pandemic. Directed by Ari Aster (Hereditary and Midsommar) Jo...
KPop Demon Hunters
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Netflix animated movie KPop Demon Hunters is a phenomenon, with a soundtrack that's climbing the Billboard charts, and a fandom rivaling that of j...
2025 Emmy Nominations
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This year's Emmy nominations are out, and it was a good year for familiar favorites like Hacks, The Bear, Abbott Elementary, The Last of Us and The Wh...
Too Much
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When your long-term boyfriend leaves you for an Instagram influencer, what can you do? In the new Netflix romantic comedy series Too Much, the answer ...
Superman And What's Making Us Happy
11 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After much anticipation, there is a pretty great new Superman movie. And he's bringing exactly what we look to him for: hope. Writer and director Jame...
We Rewatch The Movies We Loved As Teens
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This summer marks Pop Culture Happy Hour's 15th birthday. We decided to re-watch the movies we loved at 15 with fresh eyes, and of course, some of the...
Love Island
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Love Island USA is pure chaos, and admittedly: we love it. It's one of many spinoffs of the long-running British hit series, Love Island — and it mi...
Great Songs For Your Next Road Trip
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you're thinking about taking a road trip, you're going to need some road trip music. You might need a pick-me-up, a distraction, or something for w...
Jurassic World Rebirth And What's Making Us Happy
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jurassic World Rebirth is the latest reboot of the beloved franchise. This time around Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey head to...
Squid Game
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Netflix's Korean drama Squid Game became a worldwide phenomenon, winning six Emmys and inspiring countless Halloween costumes. The series has now reac...
The Bear
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Bear is back for a new season. The FX on Hulu series sees Carmy and Sydney (Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri) trying to get the restaurant they ...
M3GAN 2.0
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The horror comedy M3GAN spawned memes, made a fortune, and even taught us a lesson about the dangers of outsourcing our humanity to AI. The sequel, M...
F1 And What's Making Us Happy
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you like cars that go fast, you'll be glad to know they go very fast in F1 The Movie. The film stars Brad Pitt as a veteran Formula 1 driver and Da...
Ironheart
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ironheart is a fun new Marvel series following Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a brilliant young woman we first met in Black Panther: Wakanda Foreve...
Best Pixar Movies, Ranked
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's been nearly 30 years since Toy Story kicked off a historic run of animated films. So now seemed like a good time to discuss the best of the best ...
Elio
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the new Pixar film Elio, a lonely kid dreams of being abducted by aliens. And then one day, it happens. Eager to find a place to belong, Elio (voic...
28 Years Later And What's Making Us Happy
20 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The new apocalyptic horror film 28 Years Later takes place in the same world as 28 Days Later, where a deadly virus transformed the citizens of the U....
Watch This: Pee-Wee As Himself
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The new HBO documentary Pee-Wee As Himself isn't the boilerplate Hollywood profile you think it is. You get the biographical details you expect – ho...
The Life of Chuck
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Stephen King's work has often contemplated the inevitability of death. But his latest adaptation, The Life of Chuck is a life-affirming film that chal...
Materialists
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Should you date for love or financial security? That's the central premise of the new movie Materialists. It stars Dakota Johnson at the center of a l...
How to Train Your Dragon And What's Making Us Happy
13 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Disney has been remaking its animated classics for years to great financial success – Lilo & Stitch has been dominating the box office for weeks now...
Almost Famous
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In Almost Famous, writer and director Cameron Crowe looks at the ecosystem surrounding a rising rock band in the early '70s. Starring Patrick Fugit, K...
Summer Blockbusters
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fifty years ago Steven Spielberg's Jaws was released in theaters, kicking off the summer blockbuster phenomenon. And you know a summer blockbuster whe...
The Phoenician Scheme
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wes Anderson's new film The Phoenician Scheme is classic Wes Anderson, complete with a great cast delivering heightened dialogue and stylized cinemato...
Ballerina And What's Making Us Happy
06 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
John Wick's back in a spinoff new film, Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas. She plays a ballerina-turned-assassin making her way through the internation...
Adults
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Every generation gets its versions of a "20-somethings hang out and make mistakes" sitcom, such as Living Single, Friends, New Girl and Broad City. No...