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HBO's 'Fantasmas' is new and different and uniquely itself

Julio Torres stars in Fantasmas. HBO hide caption

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HBO

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

HBO's 'Fantasmas' is new and different and uniquely itself

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 lost at a club. In the execution, that quest gets transformed into something epic and surreal and queer in every sense of the word. He keeps bumping into random New Yorkers whose stories play out in a series of sketch-like vignettes. They are played by actors including Emma Stone, Bowen Yang, and Tilda Swinton.

HBO's 'Fantasmas' is new and different and uniquely itself

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'Bridgerton' closes out a crowded third season

Luke Newton in a scene from the series Bridgerton. Liam Daniel/Netflix hide caption

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Liam Daniel/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Bridgerton' closes out a crowded third season

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 Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) may have finally declared their feelings for each other, but there's still a lot left to figure out. We previously talked about the first part of the third season in May, so today, we're diving in everything that happens in the conclusion.

'Bridgerton' closes out a crowded third season

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Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) is a young writer for legendary stand-up comic Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) in Hacks.

Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) is a young writer for legendary stand-up comic Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) in Hacks. HBO Max/HBO Max hide caption

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HBO Max/HBO Max

Comic Hannah Einbinder on 'Hacks,' cheerleading and laughs as a love language

Einbinder says her experience on the competitive cheer team in middle school taught her extreme discipline and focus — which she then put toward comedy. Her new Max special is Everything Must Go.

Hannah

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Jake Gyllenhaal's 'Presumed Innocent' updates a legal thriller

Jake Gyllenhaal in the Apple TV+ show Presumed Innocent. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Jake Gyllenhaal's 'Presumed Innocent' updates a legal thriller

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 the accuser turned defendant as a limited series. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the lead this time, as a prosecutor who is accused of the murder of the colleague he'd had an affair with. David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, The Practice, Ally McBeal) created the show.

Jake Gyllenhaal's 'Presumed Innocent' updates a legal thriller

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Elliot Lee moves the ball for Wrexham.

Elliot Lee moves the ball for Wrexham. FX hide caption

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FX

'Always Sunny' creator Rob McElhenney on his pandemic purchase: a Welsh soccer team

McElhenney says he bought the team to “bring hope to a town that had fallen on hard times." The FX series Welcome to Wrexham chronicles the team and its owners and fans.

'Always Sunny' creator Rob McElhenney on his pandemic purchase: a Welsh soccer team

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Our favorite graduation moments in pop culture

A graduate in gown and caps and his mother celebrate their graduation. Jens Schlueter/Getty Images hide caption

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Jens Schlueter/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our favorite graduation moments in pop culture

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 about the last wild night of high school, we're revisiting our episode about the best moments about graduation in pop culture.

Our favorite graduation moments in pop culture

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Franz Kafka's life wasn't so kafkaesque after all, TV miniseries shows

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with lead actor Joel Basman and director David Schalko about his German-Austrian miniseries Kafka on early 20th century author Franz Kafka, released in the U.S. from June 6.

KAFKA - Joel Basman, David Schalko or Daniel Kehmann

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Becoming Karl Lagerfeld -- Season 1 -- In 1972, Karl Lagerfeld (Daniel Brühl) is 38 and not yet wearing his iconic hairstyle. He is a ready-to-wear designer, unknown to the general public. While he meets and falls in love with the sultry Jacques de Bascher (Théodore Pellerin), an ambitious and troubling young dandy, the most mysterious of fashion designers dares to take on his friend (and rival) Yves Saint Laurent (Arnaud Valois), a genius of haute couture backed by the redoubtable businessman Pierre Bergé (Alex Lutz).

Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld (Daniel Brühl), left, meets and falls in love with Jacques de Bascher (Théodore Pellerin) in Becoming Karl Lagerfeld. Caroline Dubois, Jour Premier/Disney hide caption

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Caroline Dubois, Jour Premier/Disney

Review

TV Reviews

'Becoming Karl Lagerfeld' is the smart, dishy backstory of a style icon

The Hulu show's brisk six episodes take us surprisingly deep inside a figure who moved constantly forward, spurred on by ambition, loneliness and a keen sense of self-protection.

'Becoming Karl Lagerfeld' is the smart, dishy backstory of a style icon

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Orna Gurlanik is the therapist at the center of the documentary series Couples Therapy.

Orna Gurlanik is the therapist at the center of the documentary series Couples Therapy. Paramount+ with SHOWTIME hide caption

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Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

Interview highlights

TV series 'Couples Therapy' gives viewers a rare look into real life therapy sessions

Psychotherapist Orna Gurlanik, star of the documentary series Couples Therapy, is challenging the idea that couples therapy is a last-ditch effort for people.

TV: COUPLES THERAPY S4

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

Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor in Doctor Who. Disney Plus hide caption

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Disney Plus

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

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

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 energy to the story of an alien who travels through space and time in a blue box. The series, now streaming on Disney+, also features the return of showrunner Russell T. Davies, who birthed the modern era of Doctor Who. But what does this mix of new and old mean for the sci-fi institution?

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

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Ed O'Neill as former LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling in Clipped.

Ed O'Neill as former LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling in Clipped. Kelsey McNeal/FX hide caption

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Kelsey McNeal/FX

Review

TV Reviews

'Clipped' finds bigger questions in the scandal of ex-Clippers owner Donald Sterling

The new miniseries dramatizes the 2014 fallout when racist comments by former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling were recorded and leaked.

'Clipped' dramatizes the 2014 leak of former L.A. Clippers owner's racist comments

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'Clipped' recreates an embarrassing NBA scandal

Laurence Fishburne as Doc Rivers in Clipped. Kelsey McNeal/FX hide caption

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Kelsey McNeal/FX

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Clipped' recreates an embarrassing NBA scandal

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's girlfriend – who was Black and Mexican – secretly recorded their conversations. When those tapes leaked, he was embroiled in a scandal that upended the NBA – an industry that profits off the star power of its majority Black players. The series stars Ed O'Neill and Laurence Fishburne as the owner and the head coach who clashed as it all went down.

'Clipped' recreates an embarrassing NBA scandal

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Clockwise from top left: Industry, My Lady Jane, The Bear, The Umbrella Academy, Clipped and House of the Dragon

Clockwise from top left: Industry, My Lady Jane, The Bear, The Umbrella Academy, Clipped and House of the Dragon Nick Strasburg/HBO, Jonathan Prime/Prime Video, Chuck Hodes/FX, Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix, Kelsey McNeal/FX, Ollie Upton/HBO hide caption

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Nick Strasburg/HBO, Jonathan Prime/Prime Video, Chuck Hodes/FX, Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix, Kelsey McNeal/FX, Ollie Upton/HBO

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

What to watch this summer: Here are the TV shows we're looking forward to

Our critics scanned the broadcast and streaming horizons to find the shows you should check out in June, July and August. There's some great new TV — plus, House of the Dragon and The Bear are back.

Looking back at 'The Sopranos,' the godfather of prestige TV

James Gandolfini and Edie Falco in The Sopranos. HBO/Getty Images hide caption

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HBO/Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Looking back at 'The Sopranos,' the godfather of prestige TV

The Sopranos changed television. The HBO series was centered on mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a deeply flawed male antihero. That then- innovative approach cast a long shadow on television, but what really set The Sopranos apart was the fact that Tony was in therapy — a genius touch that granted viewers special access to his inner conflicts. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the show's premiere, so we're revisiting our conversation about the series.

Looking back at 'The Sopranos,' the godfather of prestige TV

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