The Plot Thickens
Episodes
Ask Ben Your Cleopatra Questions!
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’re doing our first-ever Q&A bonus episode, and we want your questions! Call 404-885-0013 to leave a voicemail for Ben. You can ask about Cleopatr...
Wildly Successful and Much Maligned
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The fate of 20th Century Fox hangs in the balance as Cleopatra premieres. Critics and audiences weigh in, Elizabeth and Richard face momentous life de...
Mankiewicz vs. Zanuck
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Joe’s body reaches its breaking point, and he’s forced to film the last few scenes from a wheelchair. But when production wraps, Fox installs a ...
Le Scandale
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s love affair becomes a tabloid sensation. Richard drinks and Elizabeth cries, they fight and make up, all whi...
The Girl is on Salary
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Mankiewicz decides to recast two leading men and hires Richard Burton and Rex Harrison – major talents who turn out to be major headaches. He a...
Joe
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
While Elizabeth Taylor fights for her life in a London hospital, Joe Mankiewicz begins to grapple with the movie he’s inherited. The script is dread...
London Slog
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
20th Century Fox pays Elizabeth Taylor a record-breaking salary to play Cleopatra, then tries to save money by filming the movie in England. That turn...
Season 6 Trailer: Cleopatra
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
His studio was collapsing. His budget was skyrocketing. And his two stars were making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Those were just some of the...
The Legend
18 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After being removed from a film and ruining his friendship with Henry Fonda, John Ford begins to openly challenge his previous work. He deconstructs t...
The Mythmaker
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At the height of his powers, John Ford directs his masterpiece, an anti-racist Western called The Searchers. It’s a movie of contradictions: John Wa...
Monument Valley
04 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After D-Day, Ford goes on a historic bender then heads home... not to Hollywood but to Monument Valley, a secluded land with incredible scenery. There...
The Search
27 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Ben traces the mystery of John Ford's missing D-Day documentary. The one time Ford talked about it, he claimed it was buried in a governmen...
The Commander
20 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ford is finally in the military and his first assignment is… to make a sex ed film for soldiers! Soon he sees real combat and is injured while filmi...
The Araner
13 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
John Ford buys a yacht, where he cavorts, drinks and vacations. But he also keeps an eye on the looming threat in Europe, and uses his new vessel to ...
Go West, Young Man
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
John Ford was born in Maine as Sean Aloysius O’Feeney… or so he says. His birth records say differently, and it would not be the last time he cha...
Season 5 Trailer: Decoding John Ford
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meet John Ford, the curmudgeon with an eyepatch who just happened to be the greatest filmmaker of the 20th Century. Ford was a bully and a drunk who r...
Introducing: Talking Pictures from TCM and Max
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
While we're hard at work on the next season of The Plot Thickens, we're excited to share Ben Mankiewicz's new podcast, Talking Pictures. The first gue...
From American Masters: Creative Spark: John Waters on the Fine Art of Bad Taste
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re sharing a bonus episode from our friends at American Masters: Creative Spark, the PBS podcast that goes in-depth with an iconic artist about t...
Bonus Episode: Donald Bogle and Racquel Gates
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Film scholars Racquel Gates and Donald Bogle detail the rise and fall of Blaxploitation, and how Pam Grier transcended the genre and stayed iconic for...
Bonus Episode: Bob Minor & Jadie David
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Legendary stunt performers Jadie David and Bob Minor go in-depth about their most dangerous stunts, working with Pam Grier, and breaking through as Bl...
Bonus Episode: Jacqueline Stewart
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Mankiewicz speaks to TCM host and Director and President of The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Jacqueline Stewart about Pam Grier's star image,...
Bonus Episode: Quentin Tarantino
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
More from Ben Mankiewicz’s interview with Quentin Tarantino, who speaks about making Jackie Brown, enjoying Blaxploitation, and first seeing Pam whe...
Ms. Jackie Brown
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After receiving a devastating diagnosis, Pam leaves Hollywood and heads home to Colorado. But she’s lured back into the spotlight when the hottest d...
I’m Gonna Die For Paul Newman
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pam finds love on a movie set when she’s cast opposite superstar comedian Richard Pryor. She sets out to change Richard’s self-destructive ways, a...
Looking Good
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As the Blaxploitation craze comes to an end, Pam fights for better roles and hobnobs with the biggest names in showbiz. She meets the love of her life...
Bonus: Pam Grier in Italy
18 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pam is almost killed when a horse goes wild on the set of a gladiator movie. But instead of losing her life, she meets a new friend, who just happens ...
The Queen of Blaxploitation
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pam’s career hits new heights as Black-themed movies take the country by storm. She stars in four low-budget films in the span of one year, includi...
An Actor Prepares
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pam heads to the Philippines to star in a pair of “women in prison” movies, where she endures volatile weather, skimpy costumes, and cobra encount...
I'm Not From Here
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Newly arrived in Los Angeles, Pam learns underground filmmaking at UCLA and sings backup for some of the biggest musical acts of the 60s. She also has...
The Black West
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up in Colorado, young Pam Grier endures racism and trauma, but finds solace in horses and the beautiful countryside. As a teen, she visits Lo...
Season 4 Trailer: Here Comes Pam
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is the story of Pam Grier as only she can tell it. Her sudden stardom, her iconic roles, her fights against the system. It’s a story of bravery...
From Revisionist History: Star Struck
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re sharing a bonus episode from our friends at Revisionist History, Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast about things misunderstood and overlooked. This ...
Bonus Episode: J.K. Simmons
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Mankiewicz speaks with the Oscar-winning actor about playing William Frawley in Being the Ricardos, and how Frawley's tumultuous relationship with...
Bonus Episode: Carol Burnett, Kate Flannery and Kate Micucci
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Mankiewicz speaks to three celebrity fans about how they were influenced by Lucille Ball, Lucy’s incredible talent for physical comedy, and why ...
Bonus Episode: Aaron Sorkin
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Mankiewicz speaks to Aaron Sorkin, the writer-director of Being the Ricardos, about what drew him to Lucy’s story, Lucy and Desi’s intense rel...
Bonus Episode: Lucie Arnaz
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
More from Ben Mankiewicz's fascinating interview with Lucie Arnaz, who speaks about working with her mom, growing up on the RKO studio lot, and what m...
Twilight
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lucy sinks into a depression after the failure of her newest show and becomes a reclusive, fiercely competitive backgammon player. Yet she's still rev...
Boss Lady
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Escaping Hollywood after her split, Lucy heads east for a chance to star on Broadway. There she meets a new man, a Borscht Belt comedian with a bad to...
The End of Desilu
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lucy and Desi's studio expands as they buy the RKO lot and produce new shows under the Desilu banner. The strain of running an empire takes its toll, ...
Red Scare
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
At the height of Lucy’s popularity, the government kicks off a political investigation that threatens to ruin her career. Why had Lucy registered as...
I Love Lucy
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With a TV deal from CBS, Desi assembles a ragtag team of collaborators to make a new kind of program, one that would rewrite the rules of television. ...
Desilu
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From the start, Lucy and Desi fight as fiercely as they love. After a spur-of-the-moment elopement, the newlyweds buy a small ranch north of Hollywood...
Desi
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Forced from his native Cuba by violent revolution, 17-year-old Desi Arnaz is a stranger in a strange land. Armed with an appetite for girls and gambli...
Hollywood
26 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For her first movie role, Lucy wears a flesh-toned bodysuit and waist-length blonde wig while chained to a rock. But her clowning on set gets her noti...
New York City
19 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lucy heads back to Broadway where she meets her first girlboss: fashion baroness Hattie Carnegie, who hires Lucy to model coats and dresses for New Yo...
Jamestown
12 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In a small town in New York, young Lucille Ball becomes enamored with showbiz after watching vaudeville acts and silent movies at the amusement park n...
Season 3 Trailer: Lucy
07 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From her early years as a model to her triumphant takeover of television, this is the story of Lucille Ball, as never heard before. Join host Ben Mank...
The Devil’s Candy Bonus Episode
24 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Author Julie Salamon joins TCM Host Alicia Malone for a revealing interview about what you didn’t hear during our second season of The Plot Thickens...
You’ve Got to be a Genius to Make a Movie This Bad
10 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Bonfire of the Vanities tanks with both critics and the moviegoing public. Brian De Palma leads the autopsy, trying to understand how all these s...
The Best Movie We Ever Made
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With production now in Los Angeles, Brian De Palma feels the pressure from prying studio executives – and from Bruce Willis, who starts directing ot...
Hollywood Heat
27 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As production moves to Los Angeles, the specter of sexism clouds the movie. Rumors swirl among the crew about Melanie Griffith’s plastic surgery, Ki...
Wire Without a Net
20 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The cast shows its true colors: some are easygoing and relatable, but not Bruce Willis. The New York shoot spirals over budget as the courtroom scene...
The War Zone
13 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Shooting hasn't even started and the movie is already under attack. Detailed leaks and star outbursts are reported daily by a hungry press. Bit part...
Reaching for the Stars – and Paying the Price
06 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As Tom Hanks researches his role, nobody recognizes how wrong he is for the part. There's more immediate pushback against the casting of Bruce Willis,...
Lighting the Fire
29 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
One decision could make or break The Bonfire of the Vanities: who will play the female lead? It comes down to two actresses – established, expensiv...
Season 2 Trailer: The Devil's Candy
09 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A blockbuster book, an all-star cast... what could possibly go wrong? For our second season, we're telling the inside story of The Bonfire of the Van...
The Plot Thickens Returns This Summer
05 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We've got two new seasons coming your way in 2021, and the first is dropping soon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adc...
The Plot Thickens Virtual Event
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
TCM host Alicia Malone hosts a conversation with Peter Bogdanovich and Ben Mankiewicz, who share memorable stories and answer questions from listeners...
Henry Fonda, John Wayne and James Stewart
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Highlights from Peter Bogdanovich’s interviews with three of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars, who talk about the unique challenges of working with...
Alfred Hitchcock
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Bogdanovich sits down with one of his filmmaking heroes, Alfred Hitchcock, for a wide-ranging conversation about Psycho, Vertigo, North by North...
Howard Hawks
16 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For our first bonus episode, Peter Bogdanovich interviews director Howard Hawks in the Palm Springs desert in April 1972. Hawks tells Peter how he go...
I’m Still Peter Bogdanovich
02 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Grief-stricken for years, Peter finally goes back behind the camera and ends up shooting one of his most popular films. But he sues the studio before...
Dorothy
26 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Alone for the first time, Peter finds love in an unexpected place: the Playboy Mansion. His passionate romance with Playmate Dorothy Stratten ignites...
Bogdanovich, The Misunderstood
19 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Feeling betrayed, Orson Welles humiliates Peter on national television. So Peter heads overseas to shoot a daring new movie, filming in secret to eva...
Babe Ruth Just Bunted
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Following The Last Picture Show, Peter directs two more major hits, What’s Up, Doc? and Paper Moon. But then his wife leaves him, and his next thre...
Cybill
05 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Peter challenges himself to film an “unfilmmable” book and creates one of the seminal movies of the 1970s: The Last Picture Show. His actors win ...
Target: Hollywood
28 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Peter meets Polly Platt, his closest creative collaborator – and soon, his young wife. The newlyweds drive across the country to break into the mov...
Bugs
28 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A young film buff named Peter Bogdanovich grows up in New York, learning to obsess over the movies the way his father obsesses over art. With his sig...
Bonus Trailer: I'm Still Peter Bogdanovich
14 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Learn more about the first season of The Plot Thickens, the new podcast from Turner Classic Movies. The first two episodes premiere on April 28. Lea...
Introducing The Plot Thickens
26 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Bogdanovich was a young cinephile who quickly rose to become one of Hollywood's top directors. But he soon found himself a victim of jealousy, h...