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'Starstruck' is a meet-cute with fame

Nikesh Patel and Rose Matafeo star in the HBO Max series Starstruck. Mark Johnson/HBO Max hide caption

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Mark Johnson/HBO Max

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Starstruck' is a meet-cute with fame

It might sound like fun to date a glamorous movie star, but in reality, it would probably get very messy. That's the premise of HBO Max's Starstruck, created by and starring New Zealand comedian Rose Matafeo. The romantic comedy series is complicated, funny and charming — treating fame as the isolating pain in the neck it often can be. It's a great weekend binge watch, and just returned for a second season. In this encore episode, we discuss the first season.

'Starstruck' is a meet-cute with fame

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Our 2022 Grammys Recap

Olivia Rodrigo accepts the best pop vocal album Grammy. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy hide caption

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Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our 2022 Grammys Recap

Last night's Grammys featured wins for Olivia Rodrigo, Silk Sonic, Jon Batiste, and more. Plus we got a lavish stage show with performances from BTS, Lady Gaga, and many others.

Our 2022 Grammys Recap

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Sarah Lancashire becomes master — and teacher — of French cooking as Julia Child

Sarah Lancashire as Julia Child pours a bottle of wine in episode 2 of the new HBO Max series, "Julia." HBO Max hide caption

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HBO Max

Sarah Lancashire becomes master — and teacher — of French cooking as Julia Child

Actress Sarah Lancashire transforms into the iconic Julia Child, the chef who popularized French cooking in America.

Sarah Lancashire becomes master — and teacher — of French cooking as Julia Child

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Estelle Harris, whose acting credits include 'Seinfeld' and 'Toy Story,' has died

Estelle Harris, who hollered her way into TV history as George Costanza's short-fused mother on TV's "Seinfeld" and voiced Mrs. Potato Head in the "Toy Story" franchise, has died. She was 93. Katy Winn/AP hide caption

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Katy Winn/AP

Obituaries

Estelle Harris, whose acting credits include 'Seinfeld' and 'Toy Story,' has died

Harris hollered her way into TV history as George Costanza's short-fused mother on "Seinfeld" and voiced Mrs. Potato Head in the "Toy Story" franchise. She was 93.

Samuel L. Jackson gets personal about dementia in 'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'

Samuel L. Jackson accepts his first Oscar, an honorary lifetime achievement award, during the 2022 Governors Awards at The Ray Dolby Ballroom last month in Hollywood, Calif. Mike Coppola/Getty Images hide caption

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Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Samuel L. Jackson gets personal about dementia in 'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'

Jackson stars as a 91-year-old man who reclaims his memory to solve a crime in the new TV series. NPR spoke with the actor about his new Oscar, what it means to be a legend and more.

Samuel L. Jackson gets personal about dementia in 'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'

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Tony Hawk plans to keep skateboarding 'Until the Wheels Fall Off'

Tony Hawk flies through the air in a new documentary, Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off. Sam Jones Pictures/HBO hide caption

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Sam Jones Pictures/HBO

Movie Interviews

Tony Hawk plans to keep skateboarding 'Until the Wheels Fall Off'

Hawk elevated his sport. But in middle age, it's become hard on his body. NPR spoke with the skateboarding icon about his new documentary, Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off.

Tony Hawk plans to keep skateboarding 'Until the Wheels Fall Off'

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Jen Psaki leaving the White House for MSNBC this spring

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki arrives at a White House daily press briefing at the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on March 21. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

Politics

Jen Psaki leaving the White House for MSNBC this spring

The Biden press secretary will serve as a pundit and host a show on the network's streaming platform. She's the second administration official joining MSNBC and faced ethics questions from reporters.

'Slow Horses' offers a gleefully corrosive vision of British intelligence

Gary Oldman heads up a ragtag crew of intelligence agents in Slow Horses. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Review

TV Reviews

'Slow Horses' offers a gleefully corrosive vision of British intelligence

Fresh Air

Mick Herron's Slough House books center on a ragtag crew of intelligence officers who've blown their careers through bungling or bad luck. The first of those novels is now a clever Apple TV+ series.

'Slow Horses' offers a gleefully corrosive vision of British intelligence

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The case for 'Is It Cake?,' Netflix's new game show

April Julian on Is it Cake?, measuring a cake made in the image of a shoe. Patrick Wymore/Netflix hide caption

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Patrick Wymore/Netflix

The case for 'Is It Cake?,' Netflix's new game show

There's something perfect about the fact that almost two years after a meme, Netflix made it into a game show.

The case for 'Is It Cake?,' Netflix's new game show

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'Bridgerton' is back, but will you still swoon?

Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey star in the second season of Bridgerton. Liam Daniel/Netflix hide caption

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Liam Daniel/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Bridgerton' is back, but will you still swoon?

The Netflix series Bridgerton is back for a second season. And now, Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) is having his story told with the addition of a new love interest, played by Simone Ashley. Based on a series of Regency romance novels by Julia Quinn, there's still high drama, scandalous gossip and elaborate period costumes that sometimes take over entire scenes. So what's different, what's the same and how do Daphne and her duke figure into this season?

'Bridgerton' is back, but will you still swoon?

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Jada Pinkett Smith calls for healing after hair joke, Oscars slap

Composite image of Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Chris rock at the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. Angela Weiss/Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Angela Weiss/Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Race

Jada Pinkett Smith calls for healing after hair joke, Oscars slap

The "Red Table Talk" host broke her silence on Tuesday, calling for healing after an insensitive hair joke saw her husband slap a Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars on Sunday night.

Emotions are working overtime in the 'Big Mouth' spinoff 'Human Resources'

Maria Bamford as Tito the Anxiety Mosquito, James III as Cat Stevens, Chris O'Dowd as Flanny the Love Bug, John Gemberling as Tyler the Hormone Monster, David Thewlis as Shame Wizard, Maya Rudolph as Connie the Hormone Monstress, Rosie Perez as Petra the Ambition Goblin, Aidy Bryant as Emmy the Love Bug, and Maria Bamford as Depression Kitty in Human Resources. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Emotions are working overtime in the 'Big Mouth' spinoff 'Human Resources'

The Netflix animated series Human Resources is a spinoff of the filthy and funny Big Mouth. The series takes place in an office where the creatures that embody human emotions work, including Hormone Monsters voiced by co-creator Nick Kroll and Maya Rudolph. The show centers on a Love Bug voiced by Aidy Bryant. And there are plenty of other new faces, including a Logic Rock voiced by Randall Park and an Ambition Gremlin voiced by Rosie Perez. We also spend some time with Aidy Bryant's human client, a new mother named Becca, voiced by Ali Wong.

Emotions are working overtime in the 'Big Mouth' spinoff 'Human Resources'

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Bringing 'Pachinko' from page to the screen

Lee Minho as Hansu and Minha Kim as Sunja in "Pachinko" (Apple TV+) Apple TV Plus hide caption

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Apple TV Plus

It's Been a Minute

Bringing 'Pachinko' from page to the screen

Elise Hu chats with Soo Hugh, writer and showrunner of the much anticipated series Pachinko, based on the 2017 novel by Min Jin Lee. It's the epic story of a family through four generations across the 20th century, all about their lives as Zainichi Koreans in Japan. In this chat, Hugh talks about what it was like to bring the beloved book to screen, what she's is doing to support Asian American creators coming up behind her, and why this story resonates with people of all backgrounds.

Bringing 'Pachinko' from page to the screen

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Sam Waterston returns to 'Law & Order,' glad to be working into his 80s

Law & Order actor Sam Waterston, shown here in 2016, also co-stars in the Netflix series Grace and Frankie and in the Hulu series The Dropout. Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

Sam Waterston returns to 'Law & Order,' glad to be working into his 80s

Fresh Air

Waterston joined the cast of the original NBC series in 1994 on a one-year contract. He wound up staying 16 years, until the series wrapped in 2010. Now the show's back — and so is he.

Sam Waterston returns to 'Law & Order,' glad to be working into his 80s

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