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Linda Holmes Linda Holmes is a pop culture correspondent for NPR and the host of Pop Culture Happy Hour.
Linda Holmes
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Linda Holmes

Linda Holmes writes and edits NPR's entertainment and pop-culture blog, Monkey See.

Linda Holmes

Host, Pop Culture Happy Hour

Linda Holmes is a pop culture correspondent for NPR and the host of Pop Culture Happy Hour. She began her professional life as an attorney. In time, however, her affection for writing, popular culture, and the online universe eclipsed her legal ambitions. She shoved her law degree in the back of the closet, gave its living room space to DVD sets of The Wire, and never looked back.

Holmes was a writer and editor at Television Without Pity, where she recapped several hundred hours of programming — including both High School Musical movies, for which she did not receive hazard pay. Her first novel, Evvie Drake Starts Over, was published in the summer of 2019.

Story Archive

Wednesday

'Succession' returns for a fourth and final season of family back-stabbing

Succession has always been a sharply written show, but there is a delicious restraint in this final season that feels new. Above, Sarah Snook as Siobhan "Shiv" Roy. Claudette Barius/HBO hide caption

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Claudette Barius/HBO

Review

TV Reviews

'Succession' returns for a fourth and final season of family back-stabbing

The creators are holding Season 4 close to the vest for obvious reasons. But the Roy family is back and off to an emotionally complicated, darkly funny, bantering, betraying, punch-packing start.

Wednesday

'You' is back and Joe is still chaotic evil

Penn Badgley returns as Joe Goldberg in the fourth season of You. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'You' is back and Joe is still chaotic evil

When the thriller series You premiered five years ago, it started a lot of conversations. The show was told largely from the point of view of a charismatic serial killer named Joe (Penn Badgley), and he hasn't changed much as a person, even though his circumstances have. The Netflix series recently returned for a fourth season, so we thought it would be a good time to revisit our conversation about the third season.

'You' is back and Joe is still chaotic evil

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Monday

Our 2023 Oscars Recap

Michelle Yeoh is the first Asian woman to win the Oscar for lead actress. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images hide caption

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Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our 2023 Oscars Recap

At this year's Oscars, Everything Everywhere All At Once won seven awards, including best picture and best director. The film's actors Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan, and Michelle Yeoh also won Oscars. Yeoh's win was historic — she's the first Asian woman to win a lead actress Oscar. Brendan Fraser and All Quiet On The Western Front also won awards.

Our 2023 Oscars Recap

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Saturday

Friday

2023 Oscars Preview: Who will win and who should win
Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

2023 Oscars Preview: Who will win and who should win

If you're entering an Oscar pool, or if you're just figuring out which Oscar-nominated movies are worth your time, we're here to help. Today we're offering up a guide to this year's nominations with some predictions about who will win in the major categories.

2023 Oscars Preview: Who will win and who should win

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Tuesday

2023 Oscars Guide: Documentary Feature

Sara Dosa's film Fire of Love earned an Oscar nomination for documentary feature. National Geographic Documentary Films hide caption

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National Geographic Documentary Films

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

2023 Oscars Guide: Documentary Feature

This year's Oscar nominees for documentary feature include films about two brothers who rescue birds, a man who takes on Vladimir Putin, and a couple that chases volcanoes. From Ukraine to India, Russia to New York City, these films will take you places you couldn't go otherwise. And you can stream them from home.

2023 Oscars Guide: Documentary Feature

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Monday

2023 Oscars Guide: Original Song

Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr. in RRR. The film's song "Naatu Naatu" was nominated for an Oscar. DVV Entertainment & Variance Films hide caption

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DVV Entertainment & Variance Films

Pop Culture Happy Hour

2023 Oscars Guide: Original Song

The Oscar nominees for best original song can be anything from soaring ballads over the credits to toe-tappers that ground musical numbers. This year, they include entries from big artists like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and frequent Oscar nominee Diane Warren. Today, we get into what we think will win, what should win, and what makes a great original song.

2023 Oscars Guide: Original Song

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Tuesday

'The Forty-Year-Old Version' is about getting older and finding yourself

Radha Blank stars in her directorial debut film, The Forty-Year-Old Version. Jeong Park/Netflix hide caption

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Jeong Park/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The Forty-Year-Old Version' is about getting older and finding yourself

In the wonderful film The Forty-Year-Old Version, playwright Radha Blank plays a variation on herself. Frustrated by a stall in her theater career, Radha finds a new passion: she becomes a rapper. The film is so good that we recently added it to the New Black Film Canon – a list of the best films by Black directors that we updated in partnership with Slate. And you can watch it on Netflix.

'The Forty-Year-Old Version' is about getting older and finding yourself

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Monday

Review

Movie Reviews

Hollywood has a new star — a bear that gets into a lost cocaine stash

Cocaine Bear came in second place and drew $23 million at the box office in its first weekend. The movie is based on a true story.

Hollywood has a new star — a bear that gets into a lost cocaine stash

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Sunday

Friday

This is your bear on drugs: Going wild with 'Cocaine Bear'

Keri Russell stars in Cocaine Bear. Universal Pictures hide caption

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Universal Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

This is your bear on drugs: Going wild with 'Cocaine Bear'

A movie called Cocaine Bear needs two things: a bear, and some cocaine. Both are abundant in the new action comedy about a large quantity of cocaine that accidentally winds up deep in the Georgia forest. And who eats it? That's right: a bear. The movie was directed by Elizabeth Banks, and the cast includes Keri Russell, Ray Liotta, Margo Martindale, and O'Shea Jackson Jr.

This is your bear on drugs: Going wild with 'Cocaine Bear'

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Wednesday

Grab a tissue and get emotional with 'Dear Edward'

Colin O'Brien stars in the Apple TV+ series Dear Edward. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Grab a tissue and get emotional with 'Dear Edward'

In the Apple TV+ series Dear Edward, a plane crashes, and there is only one survivor – a 12-year-old boy named Edward, who loses his whole family. He goes to live with relatives, and the web of people grieving loved ones who died in the crash grows and connects. The show was created by Jason Katims, who has a long history making high-octane emotional ensemble shows including Friday Night Lights and Parenthood.

Grab a tissue and get emotional with 'Dear Edward'

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Tuesday

2022 Books We Love: Nonfiction
Noa Denmon for NPR

Pop Culture Happy Hour

2022 Books We Love: Nonfiction

NPR's Books We Love is full of stories. The feature rounds up fiction and nonfiction of many different kinds, and it gives you lots of ways to find what you might love, too. Today, we're diving into the category of nonfiction and highlighting some of our favorite picks.

2022 Books We Love: Nonfiction

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Wednesday

Getting therapeutic with 'Shrinking'

Jason Segel and Harrison Ford in Shrinking. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Getting therapeutic with 'Shrinking'

The Apple TV comedy Shrinking boasts a lot of big names in its cast, including Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, and Jessica Williams, all of whom play therapists. The series shares some of its creators with Ted Lasso. It has a big heart and a lot of jokes, even if you absolutely, definitely would not want your therapist to take any cues from it.

Getting therapeutic with 'Shrinking'

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Tuesday

'Titanic' was king of the world 25 years ago for a good reason

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio star in the 1997 film Titanic. Alamy Stock Photo hide caption

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Alamy Stock Photo

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Titanic' was king of the world 25 years ago for a good reason

Titanic was a box office juggernaut 25 years ago, and it catapulted Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet into a whole new stratosphere of fame. The film recently returned to theaters, but we've got some distance from Leo Mania and "king of the world" jokes. So how does James Cameron's epic hold up all these years later? In this encore episode, we're revisiting our conversation about Titanic.

'Titanic' was king of the world 25 years ago for a good reason

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Friday

'Magic Mike's Last Dance': I see London, I see pants

Salma Hayek Pinault and Channing Tatum star in Magic Mike's Last Dance. Warner Bros. hide caption

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Warner Bros.

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Magic Mike's Last Dance': I see London, I see pants

In the new movie Magic Mike's Last Dance, Channing Tatum returns as a dancer and male entertainer from Tampa. This time, he must put on a show bankrolled by a wealthy socialite played by Salma Hayek Pinault. The film is directed by Steven Soderbergh and is in theaters now.

'Magic Mike's Last Dance': I see London, I see pants

Listen · 27:17
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Tuesday

We love-love 'Poker Face', P-P-'Poker Face'

Natasha Lyonne stars in Poker Face. Karolina Wojtasik/Peacock hide caption

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Karolina Wojtasik/Peacock

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

We love-love 'Poker Face', P-P-'Poker Face'

The very entertaining Poker Face is an offbeat case-of-the-week mystery show starring Natasha Lyonne as a dryly witty, down-to-earth oddball who has an uncanny ability that helps her solves murders. The Peacock series comes from Rian Johnson (Glass Onion), and it features an impressive array of guest stars including Adrien Brody, Lil Rel Howery, Hong Chau, Judith Light and more.

We love-love 'Poker Face', P-P-'Poker Face'

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Saturday

Tuesday

Friday

What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend viewing

Lesley Manville stars in Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. Dávid Lukács/Ada Films/Focus Features hide caption

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Dávid Lukács/Ada Films/Focus Features

What's Making Us Happy: Recommendations From 'Pop Culture Happy Hour'

What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend viewing

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, and more.

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