Pop Culture Happy Hour

Thelma And What's Making Us Happy

21 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Financial scams are an unfortunate phenomenon, but what happens when a fraudster messes with the wrong grandma? The very fun action-comedy Thelma imag...

HBO's Fantasmas is new and different and uniquely itself

20 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The brilliant and idiosyncratic new HBO series Fantasmas has a simple plot. Creator and star Julio Torres searches New York City for an earring he los...

Bridgerton closes out a crowded third season

18 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The second half of Bridgerton's latest season just dropped on Netflix, and naturally the course of true love continues to not run smoothly. Colin Brid...

It's getting hot. So what's sweatiest movie ever made?

17 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Whether they're lightly perspiring, gently glowing, or soaked through from sweltering, people in the movies sweat a lot. But what movie has had peopl...

Inside Out 2 And What's Making Us Happy

14 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Pixar's Inside Out introduced us to the core emotions inside an 11-year-old girl named Riley. We met Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), and A...

Jake Gyllenhaal's Presumed Innocent updates a legal thriller

13 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Presumed Innocent was a blockbuster legal thriller as a novel, and then a hit movie starring Harrison Ford. Now, Apple TV+ brings back the story of th...

Our favorite graduation moments in pop culture

11 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the time of year when so many students graduate. Whether it's graduation episodes of our favorite TV series, high school songs, or movies abou...

Am I OK? is a coming-out movie for adults

10 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Am I OK? is a about what happens when you finally come to accept your sexuality much later in life than many do. It stars Dakota Johnson and Sonoya Mi...

Hit Man And What's Making Us Happy

07 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Netflix's entertaining dark comedy Hit Man is not about a hired killer. It's about a guy who pretends to be a hired killer. Director Richard Linklater...

Doctor Who is enlivened by its new Black, openly queer star

06 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The venerable British science fiction series Doctor Who is back with a new season. Ncuti Gatwa — who is Black and openly queer — brings a vibrant ...

Clipped recreates an embarrassing NBA scandal

05 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new FX limited series Clipped tells the story of Donald Sterling, the then-owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, who was outed as a racist. Sterling'...

Looking back at The Sopranos, the godfather of prestige TV

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Sopranos changed television. The HBO series was centered on mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a deeply flawed male antihero. That then- inn...

Welcome to Pop Culture Happy Hour

31 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Get obsessed with us. Four days a week, Pop Culture Happy Hour serves you recommendations and commentary on the buzziest movies, TV, music, books, vid...

Best Fictional Bands And What's Making Us Happy

31 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes, our favorite musical artists are too good to be true because they're sprung from the imaginations of Hollywood screenwriters. But what make...

We Are Lady Parts rocks with bracing honesty and nuance

29 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Peacock series We Are Lady Parts is a bold and very funny comedy about an up-and-coming London punk band called Lady Parts. The members of Lady Pa...

Terrible but bingeable TV shows

28 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What is it about a show that turns you into a bitter-ender, that keeps you dutifully watching every last episode, long after the train has jumped the ...

Why Chris Pine gave up on being perfect

27 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we are bringing you an episode of a new NPR podcast hosted by our pal Rachel Martin. It's called Wild Card, and it's a new interview show where...

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga And What's Making Us Happy

24 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is packed with bone-crunching practical stunts and lots of gnarly, diesel-powered chase scenes. It also shows a commitment to ...

Does The Sympathizer worthily adapt its acclaimed book?

23 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's rare to find a series with such an impeccable pedigree as HBO's The Sympathizer. It's based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, co-created by aute...

Does IF capture the magic of its Pixar inspiration?

22 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the new movie IF, a 12-year-old girl (Cailey Fleming) discovers she can see other people's imaginary friends. It stars Ryan Reynolds, and directed ...

The sexy sex is back in Bridgerton's new season

20 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Netflix series Bridgerton is back, as gossipy and over-the-top as ever. Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and her crush on childhood best ...

Back To Black And What's Making Us Happy

17 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new music biopic Back to Black chronicles the life of singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse. The film stars Marisa Abela, and follows Winehouse as she r...

Babes gives us a funny (and gross) portrait of parenthood

16 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new movie Babes stars Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau as longtime best friends who've made very different life choices. It's also about the inher...

Looking to the past and future of Black Twitter

15 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For years, Black Twitter was the watering hole. It was where we could pop off jokes about Olivia and Fitz on Scandal. It's also where you could call o...

I Saw the TV Glow is weird and transfixing

14 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

I Saw the TV Glow is a strange and pleasantly unsettling new film from writer and director Jane Schoenbrun. It's about two teenagers (Justice Smith an...

Sink your teeth into Interview with the Vampire

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you're familiar with Interview with the Vampire — because you read the Anne Rice novel or you saw the 1994 movie — the AMC series has some surp...

Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes And What's Making Us Happy

10 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes follows Noa (Owen Teague), an extraordinary chimpanzee whose clan is enslaved by a mercenary ape king named Proximus...

The Drake-Kendrick Lamar Beef

09 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

2024 seems destined to go down as the Year of Pop Culture Grievances. Megan vs. Nicki. Beyoncé vs. Nashville. But above all: Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake...

Dua Lipa's Radical Optimism

08 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The British singer Dua Lipa has become one of the world's biggest pop stars. Now, she's back with Radical Optimism, a sort of concept record about mov...

Unfrosted

07 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new Netflix film Unfrosted tells a fanciful invented version of the Pop-Tart's origin. The film was directed and co-written by Jerry Seinfeld, who...

Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show

06 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, the comedian doubles down on the uncomfortable intimacy of his stand up special Rothaniel, where he came out public...

The Fall Guy And What's Making Us Happy

03 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the entertaining new film The Fall Guy, Ryan Gosling plays a down-on-his-luck stunt performer who gets a big new opportunity to get his career on t...

The Idea Of You

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new movie The Idea Of You tells the story of a boy band star (Nicholas Galitzine) who falls in love with an older divorced mother (Anne Hathaway)....

Baby Reindeer

01 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new Netflix series Baby Reindeer has a lot of people talking, including us. It tells the haunting semi-autobiographical story of a man (Richard Ga...

Summer Guide

30 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we're offering up a guide to spotlight some of the movies, TV, and music we are most excited about this summer.Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy H...

Dead Boy Detectives

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new show Dead Boy Detectives is a spinoff of Neil Gaiman's beloved series The Sandman – both the comic and the Netflix series. It's about a pair...

Challengers And What's Making Us Happy

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The terrific new film Challengers is about being intense about tennis, sex, and competition. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the film stars Zendaya as Ta...

What Makes A Good Sex Scene?

25 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's easy to notice when a sex scene is bad. But what makes a sex scene good? Today, we are recommending films with good sex scenes, including Bound, ...

Mary & George

24 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the new Starz series Mary & George, Julianne Moore plays a low-born, scheming woman who recognizes that her handsome son George (Nicolas Galitztine...

Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department

22 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Taylor Swift dropped an epic new album that spans two hours — and two high-profile breakups. The Tortured Poets Department delves deeply into two of...

Fallout And What's Making Us Happy

19 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new show Fallout is based on a hugely successful video game series known for its sardonic, very dark comedic sensibility, and its violence. It's s...

Hot Ones And Conan O'Brien

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hot Ones is the YouTube show where famous people answer questions while eating increasingly hot chicken wings. Hosted by Sean Evans, the series is a p...

X-Men '97

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For millions of kids, the popular 1990s X-Men animated series served as a gateway drug into the world of the X-Men and comics in general. Now, the new...

Books We Love: Love And Romance

15 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

NPR's Books We Love is a roundup of favorite books of the year, sorted and tagged to help you find exactly what you're looking for. From the meet cute...

Civil War And What's Making Us Happy

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new film Civil War depicts a contemporary America torn apart by a military conflict between the federal government and an alliance of secessionist...

Girls State

11 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new Apple TV+ documentary Girls State asks: how would high school girls do things if they were in charge? The film is a follow-up to 2020's Boys S...

Shōgun

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The sweeping historical epic has roared back with Shōgun. The FX miniseries takes place beginning in 1600, in a fictionalized but historically inspir...

A Guide To Stephen King

09 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Stephen King is one of the most successful living writers. He's written more than 50 books that have sold hundreds of millions of copies. And his work...

Monkey Man And What's Making Us Happy

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new action film Monkey Man is Dev Patel's film – he serves as star, director, and co-writer. He plays a young man whose village was destroyed an...

Ripley

04 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Ripley is back — and still can't be trusted. The character — created by novelist Patricia Highsmith — was made indelible by Matt Damon i...

Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Throw on those boots with the spurs, grab your cowboy hat, and saddle up that horse, because Beyoncé's highly anticipated album, Cowboy Carter is her...

The Movies Of 1999

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Movies had a big year in 1999. Today, we're going back 25 years to talk about some of the most interesting movies released in 1999 — including Drop ...

Godzilla x Kong, Godzilla Minus One And What's Making Us Happy

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Godzilla has been around for 70 years and recently won his first Oscar. The beloved 2023 Japanese production Godzilla Minus One won an Oscar for visua...

3 Body Problem

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the new Netflix sci-fi series 3 Body Problem, a killing during the Chinese Cultural Revolution sparks a chain of events that puts humanity at risk....

Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV examines the working environment of the young stars who fueled Nickelodeon's rise. The serie...

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is the latest entry in the blockbuster action-comedy franchise. This time, the crew has set up shop in New York, and, with...

Road House And What's Making Us Happy

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The 1989 movie Road House starred Patrick Swayze as a no-nonsense bouncer who saves a honky-tonk bar from a local toughs. Now, in the new remake, Jake...

Immaculate

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the new movie Immaculate, Sydney Sweeney plays Cecelia, an American woman who joins a convent in Italy. But after she arrives, she encounters stran...

Romantic Comedy Guide: Irish Wish, Anyone But You, Upgraded

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If there is a spot in your heart-shaped like a rom-com, we've got some good news for you. You can stream a few playful love stories from your couch, w...

Problemista

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the very funny and gently surreal new film Problemista, Julio Torres plays Alejandro, a young man from El Salvador scraping by in New York City as ...

Love Lies Bleeding And What's Making Us Happy

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The movie Love Lies Bleeding is a fun and weird erotic thriller. It's set in the late 1980s and stars Kristen Stewart as a brooding gym manager who fa...

Girls5eva

14 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The bingeable comedy series Girls5eva is a silly parody of the music industry. It's about four down-on-their-luck members of a 90s girl group who reun...

Kung Fu Panda 4

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Kung Fu Panda 4 is the latest movie in the popular and surprisingly thoughtful animated film franchise. Jack Black returns to voice Po, a gigantic, ad...

Love Is Blind

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Netflix's Love is Blind is like a bad relationship that's hard to give up. We've had doubts. We've had fights. And now, in its sixth season, we just c...

Our 2024 Oscars Recap

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At this year's Oscars, Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer won in most of the major categories, including best picture and best director. It was also a bi...

2024 Oscars Preview And What's Making Us Happy

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Will it be Oppenheimer? Will it be Barbie? Or will it be some other story entirely? It's time to get down to business, because the Oscars are upon us....

2024 Oscars Guide: Documentary Feature

07 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This year's Oscar nominees for outstanding documentary feature are really strong entries that are available on streaming now. They also happen to be p...

Couple To Throuple

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Most dating shows have two things in common: They are terrible and they are watchable. That dynamic continues on Peacock's new dating show Couple to T...

2024 Oscars Guide: International Feature

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This year's crop of Oscar nominees for the best international feature adopt vastly different approaches to tell their disparate stories. There's a cou...

2024 Oscars Guide: Original Song

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This year's Oscar nominees for best original song are headlined by two songs from Barbie: one from Billie Eilish, and the other from Ryan Gosling. But...

Dune: Part Two And What's Making Us Happy

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dune: Part Two is a sweeping, soaring space epic and this year's first big movie. Starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, and directed by Denis Ville...

Wendy Williams

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new and unsettling Lifetime docuseries Where Is Wendy Williams? documents the former daytime talk show host as she struggled with alcohol addictio...

Avatar: The Last Airbender

27 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender is regarded as a classic. Now, it's gotten a live-action adaptation on Netflix. The series tells the st...

Oppenheimer

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Oppenheimer tells the story of the brilliant physicist (Cillian Murphy) who oversaw the construction of the first atomic bomb. It goes on to chart the...

Drive-Away Dolls And What's Making Us Happy

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The movie Drive-Away Dolls is a shaggy comedy about a couple of lesbian friends (Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan) who take a road trip and ...

Jennifer Lopez's This Is Me... Now

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The wait to learn more about Jennifer Lopez's love life is finally over. The singer and actress has released a new film on Prime Video called This Is ...

Madame Web

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Madame Web, the latest Spider-Man-adjacent film that stakes out its own corner of the Spider-Verse. Dakota Johnson plays a New York paramedic who sees...

True Detective: Night Country

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

HBO/Max's True Detective: Night Country is the fourth season of the murder mystery anthology series. It's a bit of a welcome departure, with new showr...

Feud And What's Making Us Happy

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Feud: Capote Vs. the Swans is the latest reimagining of historical events produced by Ryan Murphy. The series follows famed author Truman Capote (play...

Platonic Love In Pop Culture

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There have been countless romantic movies and TV shows — and a virtually infinite number of ways to watch people fall in love. But we're here to cel...

Abbott Elementary

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The fantastic ABC series Abbott Elementary is a workplace sitcom set at a severely underfunded Philadelphia public school. It's a giant hit, and it's ...

2024 Super Bowl, Plus Beyoncé's New Singles

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This year's Super Bowl featured an exciting game in which the Kansas City Chiefs beat San Francisco 49ers. It also featured an attention-grabbing half...

Lisa Frankenstein And What's Making Us Happy

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the new '80s horror comedy Lisa Frankenstein, an introverted teen (Kathryn Newton) finds comfort in visiting the grave of a young Victorian bachelo...

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On Prime Video's fun new spy show Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Donald Glover and Maya Erskine play spies going undercover as a married couple. The show is part t...

Expats

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new Prime Video series Expats fits quite neatly into the recent work done by its star, Nicole Kidman. She plays a rich woman who is one of three A...

2024 Grammys Recap

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Every night is a big night for Taylor Swift. But this year's Grammy night proved especially big: Swift won album of the year for Midnights and announc...

Argylle And What's Making Us Happy

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the comedic spy thriller Argylle, a reclusive author (Bryce Dallas Howard) gets sucked into a web of danger and intrigue when her books mirror the ...

The Pop Culture Hill I'll Die On

01 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Maybe you think you shouldn't read a book before seeing the movie adaptation, or you're convinced season two is the best season of The Wire. We've all...

Marvel's Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is an all-ages animated series that's got style and energy – and original songs – for days. It's the story o...

2024 Sundance: Best Movies

30 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over 75 feature films premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year, including a deeply personal coming-of-age story, a film starring Saoirse Rona...

Vanderpump Rules

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For more than a decade, Vanderpump Rules has been a hit reality show on the Bravo network. The show reached new heights of tabloid infamy last season ...

Jacqueline Novak's Get On Your Knees And What's Making Us Happy

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In her smart and funny comedy special Get On Your Knees, performer Jacqueline Novak delivers a kind of Ted Talk on the subject of oral sex. It's also ...

Barbie

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Barbie was the biggest movie of last year. We saw the memes, we heard the songs, and it was 2023's highest grossing movie. It recently racked up eight...

2024 Oscar Nominations

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This year's Oscar nominations were announced today and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer leads the field with 13 nominations. Other leading nominees inc...

The Zone Of Interest

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In The Zone of Interest, a German couple and their family live a bucolic life, but over the garden wall lies the Auschwitz concentration camp. The fat...

Origin And What's Making Us Happy

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Origin is the story of a writer who faces personal loss at the same time she works on a book based on her unified theory about systems of oppression. ...

Echo

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new Marvel series Echo spotlights Maya Lopez (played by Alaqua Cox), whom we first met as the stoic badass enforcer for the criminal Wilson Fisk (...

Bluey

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The TV cartoon Bluey is a hit with young children. But it's also found a devoted following among their parents, who've embraced the show's emotional d...

Our Emmys Recap

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The 75th annual Emmy Awards are over, and it was a big night for The Bear, Beef, and Succession. Plus Elton John earned his EGOT, and Jennifer Coolidg...

Lift

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the new Netflix action-comedy-heist movie Lift, Kevin Hart plays an experienced thief and con man whose crew is backed into a corner and forced to ...