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Pop-Culture News And Analysis From NPR
'The Legend Of Korra' Is Fire (And Air And Earth And Water)

Bolin, Korra, and Mako are three of the heroes in the Nickelodeon series The Legend of Korra. Nickelodeon hide caption

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Nickelodeon

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The Legend Of Korra' Is Fire (And Air And Earth And Water)

The Legend of Korra is a sequel to the hugely popular animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. It takes place 70 years later, in a darker, more industrialized world where bending the elements is commonplace. Korra is now the Avatar, and she's everything her predecessor Aang wasn't. She's a confident, headstrong teenage girl much more comfortable with combat than with the spiritual aspect of her role.

'The Legend Of Korra' Is Fire (And Air And Earth And Water)

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NPR's Fall TV Preview: 23 Suggestions For What To Watch Next

(Clockwise from upper left) Joshua Caleb Johnson in The Good Lord Bird, Rafe Spall in The Salisbury Poisonings, Whoopi Goldberg in The Stand, Nicole Kidman in The Undoing, Joseph Gordon-Levitt in The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Amelie Smith in The Haunting of Bly Manor William Gray/Showtime, James Pardon/Dancing Ledge/BBC ONE/AMC, James Minchin/CBS, Niko Tavernise/HBO, Niko Tavernise/Netflix, Eiki Schroter/Netflix hide caption

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William Gray/Showtime, James Pardon/Dancing Ledge/BBC ONE/AMC, James Minchin/CBS, Niko Tavernise/HBO, Niko Tavernise/Netflix, Eiki Schroter/Netflix

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NPR's Fall TV Preview: 23 Suggestions For What To Watch Next

It feels like a minor miracle that there are so many high-quality shows coming to the small screen this season. Four NPR critics share their picks to keep you entertained during a challenging year.

'Enola Holmes': Sherlock's Little Sister Gets On His Case

Millie Bobby Brown stars in Enola Holmes, the new Netflix film based on the book series by Nancy Springer. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

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'Enola Holmes': Sherlock's Little Sister Gets On His Case

The new, bright and breezy Netflix movie Enola Holmes stars Millie Bobby Brown as the 16-year-old sister of Sherlock Holmes. She sets out on an adventure when her eccentric mother (Helena Bonham Carter) goes missing. It also features Sam Claflin as her stuffy brother Mycroft, Louis Partridge as a romantic interest, and Henry Cavill as Sherlock.

'Enola Holmes': Sherlock's Little Sister Gets On His Case

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In The Lively 'Enola Holmes,' Sherlock's Little Sister Goes Sleuthing

"The train's afoot!": (L to R) Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and Mycroft (Sam Claflin) literally look down on their younger sister Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) in Netflix's Enola Holmes. Alex Bailey/Legendary/Netflix hide caption

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Alex Bailey/Legendary/Netflix

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In The Lively 'Enola Holmes,' Sherlock's Little Sister Goes Sleuthing

This bright and breezy Netflix adaptation of a YA novel finds Millie Bobby Brown starring as the brilliant, fourth-wall-busting little sister of Sherlock Holmes.

Our 2020 Emmys Recap

Daniel Levy, pictured here, picked up four Emmys for his work on the series Schitt's Creek. ABC hide caption

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ABC

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Our 2020 Emmys Recap

It was not your usual Emmy Awards ceremony. Because of the pandemic, there was no crowd, and host Jimmy Kimmel worked mostly alone. People accepted their awards from home. But surprisingly enough, it turned out pretty well. Schitt's Creek, Watchmen, and Succession all had big nights. And it was kind of fun to watch people dressed up in their own living rooms.

Our 2020 Emmys Recap

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The Emmys Pull Off A Good Show As 'Schitt's Creek' And 'Watchmen' Shine

Eugene Levy accepts his award for lead actor in a comedy series for Schitt's Creek as his son (and creative partner) Dan Levy looks on at Sunday night's Emmy Awards. ABC via Getty Images hide caption

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ABC via Getty Images

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The Emmys Pull Off A Good Show As 'Schitt's Creek' And 'Watchmen' Shine

Sunday night's Emmy Awards, which featured neither a large crowd nor a red carpet, managed to achieve a charming intimacy as Watchmen, Schitt's Creek and Succession all won major awards.

What Exactly Is 'Antebellum' Trying to Say?

Janelle Monáe stars in the new film Antebellum. Matt Kennedy/Lionsgate hide caption

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Matt Kennedy/Lionsgate

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What Exactly Is 'Antebellum' Trying to Say?

In the new horror film Antebellum, Janelle Monáe plays an enslaved woman on a plantation run by Confederate soldiers. She's desperate to escape. But Monáe also plays a successful contemporary author and speaker with a beautiful family, living a life of success and wealth. But does the film successfully tie the story together? Note: This conversation discusses specific spoiler-y plot points to explore how those roles fit together, break down what's really going on, and whether or not the movie is successful.

What Exactly Is 'Antebellum' Trying to Say?

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Predictions Of How COVID-19 Will Impact Pop Culture

What will be the visual cues that film and television will one day use to depict 2020? Malorny/Getty Images hide caption

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Predictions Of How COVID-19 Will Impact Pop Culture

It's hard to predict how the current pandemic will affect the work of artists in television and film and theater, but that doesn't mean we can't try. What will change? What won't change? How might creators react? Today, we're stepping back to make some guesses about the future of pop culture and think about what's to come.

Predictions Of How COVID-19 Will Impact Pop Culture

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Billy Porter On 'Pose,' 'Kinky Boots' And More

Billy Porter on the red carpet for the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards on September 22, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb hide caption

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Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Billy Porter On 'Pose,' 'Kinky Boots' And More

A special bonus feed drop from the NPR podcast It's Been A Minute With Sam Sanders. Billy Porter is a force to be reckoned with. A Tony Award-winning Broadway performer. A fashion icon with unforgettable red carpet looks. An Emmy Award-winning actor (with another nomination under his belt this year). Currently, Porter stars in the acclaimed FX show Pose, all about New York's underground ball culture in the 80s and 90s. It's also takes place during the height of the HIV-AIDS crisis. Sam talks to Porter about the parallels between that crisis and the one we're living in today, about growing up in the church, and why — despite everything that's happened this year — love will always win.

Billy Porter On 'Pose,' 'Kinky Boots' And More

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We're Still Thinking Of Things In 'I'm Thinking Of Ending Things'

Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Toni Collette, and David Thewlis sit for an awkward dinner in Charlie Kauffman's latest film, I'm Thinking Of Ending Things. Mary Cybulski/Netflix hide caption

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Mary Cybulski/Netflix

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

We're Still Thinking Of Things In 'I'm Thinking Of Ending Things'

In the Netflix film, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, the plot is easy to follow. A young couple played by Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons drives through a snowstorm to the farmhouse where Plemons' character grew up. They have dinner with his parents, played by Toni Collette and David Thewlis, then they drive home. That's it. That's the movie. Simple, right? Wrong! This is a Charlie Kaufman movie, and that means things are trippy and dreamlike and just plain weird from the jump. Note: This conversation delves into spoilers that discuss specific plot points and theories to try to unpack just what this movie is actually about!

We're Still Thinking Of Things In 'I'm Thinking Of Ending Things'

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'Avatar': We're Thinking Of Bending Things

In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang, the titular "last airbender" and his friends, Sokka (l) and Katara (r), travel on a flying bison on a quest to bring the world into balance. Nickelodeon hide caption

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Nickelodeon

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'Avatar': We're Thinking Of Bending Things

The fantasy adventure Avatar: The Last Airbender aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. But this year, as the pandemic struck, the animated series became one of the biggest streaming hits on Netflix. In the world of Avatar, some people are essentially equipped with superpowers: They can bend fire, water, earth, or air. Only the Avatar — in this case a 12-year-old boy named Aang — can develop the power to bend all four elements and keep the world in balance.

'Avatar': We're Thinking Of Bending Things

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In 'I'm Thinking Of Ending Things,' A Couple Gets Stuck In A Dreamlike Limbo

Snow Way Out: A couple (Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons) takes a long road trip during a snowstorm in I'm Thinking of Ending Things on Netflix. Mary Cybulski/Netflix hide caption

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Mary Cybulski/Netflix

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In 'I'm Thinking Of Ending Things,' A Couple Gets Stuck In A Dreamlike Limbo

In writer/director Charlie Kaufman's latest, a couple spouts pat, pseudo-intellectual bromides. But stay with it — because that's a clue to what's really going on in this tense, surprising film.

'Mulan': A Beloved Disney Classic Reimagined As Martial Arts Epic

Liu Yifei stars in the live-action reimagining of Disney's Mulan. Disney hide caption

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Disney

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'Mulan': A Beloved Disney Classic Reimagined As Martial Arts Epic

The biggest movie so far to be bumped from theaters to home viewing during the pandemic is Disney's Mulan. The live-action reimagining of the 1998 animated musical doesn't have songs or a cartoon dragon. But the story still finds young Mulan disguising herself as a man so she can fight in her father's place.

'Mulan': A Beloved Disney Classic Reimagined As Martial Arts Epic

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'The Boys' Return For A 2nd Season, Even More Twisted Than The 1st

The second season of Amazon Prime's The Boys comes out on Friday. Karl Urban plays Butcher (from left), and his "boys" Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid), The Female (Karen Fukuhara), Frenchie (Tomer Capon) and Mother's Milk (Laz Alonso). Jasper Savage/Amazon Studios hide caption

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Jasper Savage/Amazon Studios

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'The Boys' Return For A 2nd Season, Even More Twisted Than The 1st

The Amazon Prime series returns Friday full of satire, superheroes and subversion. It's a funhouse mirror reflection of the racism, xenophobia, criminality and political posturing of our real world.

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