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The rom-com 'Smiley' asks if a gym rat and nerd can find love

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The rom-com 'Smiley' asks if a gym rat and nerd can find love

If you're looking for a charming romantic comedy, consider checking out the Netflix series Smiley. Set in Barcelona, it follows Alex and Bruno, two very different men who meet and experience an overwhelming attraction that they then, as they must, struggle with enormously. Can these two ever find happiness?

The rom-com 'Smiley' asks if a gym rat and nerd can find love

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Middle age 'is a force you cannot fight,' warns 'Fleishman Is in Trouble' author

Lizzy Caplan and Jesse Eisenberg are friends navigating middle age in Fleishman is in Trouble. Linda Kallerus/FX hide caption

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Linda Kallerus/FX

Middle age 'is a force you cannot fight,' warns 'Fleishman Is in Trouble' author

Fresh Air

Taffy Brodesser-Akner says the start of middle age hit her "like a truck." As her friends got divorced and began dating again, she was inspired to write a novel — which she's adapted for the screen.

Middle age 'is a force you cannot fight,' warns 'Fleishman Is in Trouble' author

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Movies

After 2 years of controversy, the Golden Globe Awards were back on TV

The 80-year-old Hollywood Foreign Press Association handed out its awards with a lavish party emceed by comedian Jerrod Carmichael. Many studios, networks and stars boycotted 2022's ceremony.

After 2 years of controversy, the Golden Globe Awards were back on TV

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The Golden Globes had a lot to prove — and still have a long way to go

Ke Huy Quan poses with the Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture award for Everything Everywhere All at Once during the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on Jan. 10, 2023 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Amy Sussman/Getty Images hide caption

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Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Culture

The Golden Globes had a lot to prove — and still have a long way to go

After years of scandal, these awards were about survival not simply ceremony. But the so-called "party of the year" was stunted by a hodgepodge of honors and a host whose caustic comedy didn't fit.

His poem polarized India. Now comedian Vir Das is telling his side

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Asia

His poem polarized India. Now comedian Vir Das is telling his side

"Don't ever let anyone tell you how to love your own country," Vir Das says in his new comedy special.

His poem polarized India. Now comedian Vir Das is telling his side

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'Ginny And Georgia' has a lot going on

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Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Ginny And Georgia' has a lot going on

The Netflix series Ginny & Georgia follows a young single mom, her teenage daughter, and their efforts to create a life for themselves in the suburbs of Massachusetts. It's got high school standbys like new friendships and first sexual experiences, but it's also got adult soap standbys like secret pasts and shady figures. The series recently returned for a second season, so in this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about the first season.

'Ginny And Georgia' has a lot going on

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The best TV in early 2023: From more Star Trek to a surprising Harrison Ford

Clockwise from upper left: Pedro Pascal in HBO's The Last of Us, Robert Flack from PBS' American Masters: Roberta Flack, Jane Lynch from Starz's Party Down and Harrison Ford in Apple TV 's Shrinking. HBO/PBS/Starz/Apple TV hide caption

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HBO/PBS/Starz/Apple TV

The best TV in early 2023: From more Star Trek to a surprising Harrison Ford

The best thing about the start of a new year, especially in media, is the excitement of fresh possibilities. TV critic Eric Deggans says some big stars are in exciting projects this spring.

You should absolutely be watching 'South Side'

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Adrian S. Burrows Sr./HBO Max

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

You should absolutely be watching 'South Side'

On the HBO Max sitcom South Side, the everyday absurdities of living in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood make for hilarious fodder. The show follows an eclectic bunch that includes employees at a rent-to-own shop and a pair of bickering cops as they embark on adventures around the city. Diallo Riddle, Bashir Salahuddin, and Sultan Salahuddin created and co-star in the series.

You should absolutely be watching 'South Side'

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Millennials in Hollywood are making parents apologize on-screen
Allyson Riggs/A24; Disney; Pixar; Daniel McFadden/Marvel Studios/Allyson Riggs/A24; Disney; Pixar; Daniel McFadden/Marvel Studios; Grace Widyatmadja/NPR

It's Been a Minute

Millennials in Hollywood are making parents apologize on-screen

In this episode from June 2022, guest host B.A. Parker and Vox entertainment critic Emily St. James dive into a trend that was all over Hollywood: parents apologizing on-screen. From miniseries like 'Ms. Marvel' to the indie darling 'Everything Everywhere All At Once,' St. James calls the subgenre the 'millennial parent apology fantasy.' They get into how stories about parents and children confronting gaps in culture, generation and identity could pave the way for new perspectives about trauma and family.

Millennials in Hollywood are making parents apologize on-screen

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More than fame and success, Rosie Perez found what she always wanted — a stable home

Fresh Air

Raised in a convent for abandoned kids, The Flight Attendant co-star used to dream of stability and a loving home. Now that she has it, Perez says, "It's priceless." Originally published May 9, 2022.

More than fame and success, Rosie Perez found what she always wanted — a stable home

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What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend viewing, listening and reading

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

What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend viewing, listening and reading

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: The Menu, dancer Kim Hale, "Girlfriend" by Matthew Sweet, Drink Masters and more.

Our 2023 Pop Culture Resolutions
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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our 2023 Pop Culture Resolutions

A lot of people make resolutions in January, and we are no different. Today, we put our stakes in the ground and make our 2023 pop culture resolutions. We also check in on what we resolved to do in 2022, and whether we did it perfectly, imperfectly, or perhaps not at all.

Our 2023 Pop Culture Resolutions

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'Sopranos' actor Michael Imperioli grapples with guilt and addiction in 'White Lotus'

Fresh Air

Imperioli plays a sex-addicted Hollywood producer on vacation in Sicily in the HBO show. In '21, he published Woke Up This Morning, an oral history of The Sopranos. Originally broadcast Nov. 15, 2022.

'Sopranos' actor Michael Imperioli grapples with guilt and addiction in 'White Lotus'

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Our 2023 Pop Culture Predictions

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our 2023 Pop Culture Predictions

It's that time of year again, time for hopes and fears and accountability. What's to come in the new year? We can only guess, and guess we will! Plus, we'll look back at what we thought was coming on the pop culture front in 2022 and we'll see how things turned out.

Our 2023 Pop Culture Predictions

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Comic Jerrod Carmichael bares his secrets in 'Rothaniel'

Fresh Air

The comic, actor and writer opens up about his name, his family tree and his sexual orientation in an HBO special. "The more honest I am, the freer I am," he says. Originally broadcast April 18, 2022.

Comic Jerrod Carmichael bares his secrets in 'Rothaniel'

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Six ways media took a big step backward in 2022

Nothing this year brought home the dangers in private ownership of major social media platforms more than the capricious, often-destructive and regularly unpredictable actions of Twitter CEO Elon Musk. He is pictured above at Tesla's "Gigafactory" in Germany on March 22, 2022. Patrick Pleul/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Patrick Pleul/AFP via Getty Images

Perspective

Six ways media took a big step backward in 2022

Elon Musk caused Twitter chaos, the streaming industry hit adolescence, late night TV lost its footing, there were lots of layoffs and some dispiriting indications of compassion fatigue.

How Hollywood gets wildfires all wrong — much to the frustration of firefighters

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Bettina Strauss/CBS

Culture

How Hollywood gets wildfires all wrong — much to the frustration of firefighters

In a time of accelerated climate change, there's a big disconnect between the portrayal of fires on-screen and the reality of the brave people who fight them in real life.

How Hollywood gets wildfires all wrong — much to the frustration of firefighters

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'Reservation Dogs' co-creator says the show gives audiences permission to laugh

Fresh Air

Sterlin Harjo says society has a tendency to be "very precious with Native people." His irreverent series follows four teens on a reservation. Originally broadcast Sept. 19, 2022.

'Reservation Dogs' co-creator says the show gives audiences permission to laugh

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