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Pop culture in high spirits
Settle in for the spy-show pleasures of 'The Night Agent'

Luciane Buchanan and Gabriel Basso star in Netflix's The Night Agent. Dan Power/Netflix hide caption

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Dan Power/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Settle in for the spy-show pleasures of 'The Night Agent'

An FBI agent working in a lonely, secret office in the White House basement gets a phone call. A woman needs help, right away. That's the beginning of The Night Agent, a Netflix spy thriller series full of action and intrigue. Created by The Shield's Shawn Ryan, the series follows Peter and Rose — the agent and the tech expert he's protecting — as they try to uncover a conspiracy that goes right to the heart of the government.

Settle in for the spy-show pleasures of 'The Night Agent'

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Books We Love: No Biz Like Show Biz
Beck Harlan/NPR

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Books We Love: No Biz Like Show Biz

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 recommending great books for people who love show business, including a fictional take on a popular gossip Instagram account, a love story, and a memoir.

Books We Love: No Biz Like Show Biz

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'John Wick: Chapter 4' wonders, 'When does this all end?'

Keanu Reeves returns as John Wick in John Wick: Chapter 4. Murray Close/Lionsgate hide caption

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Murray Close/Lionsgate

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'John Wick: Chapter 4' wonders, 'When does this all end?'

In previous John Wick films, Keanu Reeves played a retired hitman out of revenge. In the latest entry, John Wick: Chapter 4, his reasons are a little more simple — he just wants to be left alone. Wick's quest for freedom takes him all across the world, as encounters would-be assassins, busy traffic, and a sadistic French aristocrat.

'John Wick: Chapter 4' wonders, 'When does this all end?'

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Jonathan Majors on his meteoric rise through Hollywood

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Jonathan Majors on his meteoric rise through Hollywood

Actor Jonathan Majors is having a moment right now: he recently starred in Creed III and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Friend of the show and host of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday Ayesha Rascoe recently sat down with Majors for a fun and wide-ranging conversation about his path to acting, how he picks his roles, and how he defines masculinity.

Jonathan Majors on his meteoric rise through Hollywood

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The intense sting of 'Swarm' might be worth the pain

Dominique Fishback stars as Dre in Swarm. Warrick Page/Prime Video/Prime Video hide caption

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Warrick Page/Prime Video/Prime Video

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The intense sting of 'Swarm' might be worth the pain

In the new Amazon Prime series Swarm, Dominique Fishback plays Dre, a socially awkward young woman who is obsessed with the mega pop star Ni'Jah, a thinly veiled analog for Beyoncé. When a life-changing event occurs, Dre's obsession with Ni'Jah takes on a more sinister tone. Donald Glover co-created the show with Janine Nabers, and it definitely shares an off-kilter vibe with his previous hit Atlanta.

The intense sting of 'Swarm' might be worth the pain

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'Grand Crew' is a network comedy to sip and savor

Echo Kellum plays Noah on Grand Crew. Elizabeth Morris/NBC hide caption

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Elizabeth Morris/NBC

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Grand Crew' is a network comedy to sip and savor

The very funny, bingeable NBC sitcom Grand Crew has a dependable sitcom setup: Six friends hang out together to decompress and commiserate about their careers and their love lives. They're Black, their hangout is a Silver Lake wine bar, and the show – like the vino they're always guzzling – has gotten better with age.

'Grand Crew' is a network comedy to sip and savor

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We're Russian To Finish 'Shadow And Bone'

Jessie Mei Li plays Alina Starkov and Ben Barnes plays General Kirigan and in the Netflix series Shadow and Bone. Netflix hide caption

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

We're Russian To Finish 'Shadow And Bone'

Shadow and Bone is a fantasy series based on a successful set of novels. There's a lot to take in — at least six main characters, people who can wield wind and shadow and light, and a Chosen One. That all sounds familiar, but there's enough here to make this series worth your consideration. Shadow and Bone recently returned for a second season, so we thought it would be a good time to revisit our conversation recorded back in 2021 about its first season, featuring panelists Mallory Yu and Petra Mayer. Petra died unexpectedly later that year, and we always loved having her on the show. Even though we will always miss her terribly, we hope you'll agree how great it is to hear her voice, and her passion, in your podcast feed once again.

We're Russian To Finish 'Shadow And Bone'

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Let's celebrate the mistakes the Oscars didn't make

Directors Daniel Kwan (left) and Daniel Scheinert pose with their best director trophies for Everything Everywhere All at Once. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Let's celebrate the mistakes the Oscars didn't make

Just one last word about the 2023 Academy Awards, which wrapped Sunday in a manner largely free of catastrophic embarrassment: Here's an unsexy-but-crucial rundown of the mistakes that were avoided.

'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' is a near myth

"Forget Pat's, forget Geno's. Jim's. Jim's in the best cheesesteak in Philly." Shazam (Zachary Levi) and Hespera (Helen Mirren) have a sit-down. Warner Bros. hide caption

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'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' is a near myth

The sequel to the 2019 film that starred Zachary Levi as the adult superhero persona of a lonely teen goes bigger. And goofier. But the fuel mixture's off and Levi's one-note performance grates.

'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' is a near myth

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'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' has lost some magic

Zachary Levi, with (l-r) Adam Brody, Meagan Good, and D.J. Cotrona in Shazam! Fury Of The Gods. Warner Bros. hide caption

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'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' has lost some magic

Four years ago, Shazam! was a surprise hit and a lighthearted entry in the DC Extended Universe. It follows teenager Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who's bestowed with magical powers and turns in an adult superhero, played by Zachary Levi. In the new sequel Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, Levi returns with a big cast that includes newcomers Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler.

'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' has lost some magic

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Do we, in fact, all scream for 'Scream 6'?

Melissa Barrera as Sam Carpenter and Jenna Ortega as Tara Carpenter in Scream 6. Philippe Bossé/Paramount Pictures hide caption

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Do we, in fact, all scream for 'Scream 6'?

The Ghostface killer is taking yet another stab at the box office as Scream 6 has arrived in theatres. It's a sequel to last year's reboot – or requel – of everyone's favorite deeply meta slasher franchise. Starring Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barerra, Scream 6 takes the characters who managed to survive the last Scream movie out of bucolic Woodsboro and into the urban jungle of New York City.

Do we, in fact, all scream for 'Scream 6'?

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'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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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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Marvel's 'Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur' is a stone cold groove

Diamond White voices Lunella in Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. Disney hide caption

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Marvel's 'Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur' is a stone cold groove

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 Black girl genius Lunella (voiced by Diamond White) who accidentally transports a T-Rex with the personality of a golden retriever from the prehistoric past to present day. She then launches into a side hustle fighting crime. The show is now streaming on Disney+.

Marvel's 'Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur' is a stone cold groove

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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

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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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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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2023 Oscars Guide: International Feature

Felix Kammerer stars as Paul in All Quiet on the Western Front. Netflix hide caption

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

2023 Oscars Guide: International Feature

The five films nominated for international feature at this year's Oscars wrangle with some tough ideas and issues. There's the brutality of war, the human cost of fascism, animal cruelty, neglectful parenting and the prison of masculinity. Yet all of these films find room to offer glimmers of hope — some more than others.

2023 Oscars Guide: International Feature

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