Linda Holmes

Oct 12, 2024 | kccu.org | Linda Holmes

This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, we talked about our “pop culture pumpkin spice lattes” – things we might call “basic” but love anyway. To the surprise of no one, I shared my love of what I called "B+ to C+ romantic comedies of the '90s." Not the universally beloved classics like Sleepless in Seattle or You've Got Mail, or even the most fondly recalled B-listers, like The Cutting Edge. All delightful films to watch, but not exactly what I mean.

Aug 20, 2024 | wrvo.org | Linda Holmes

In the new Apple TV+ series Bad Monkey, a fishing boat in the Florida Keys pulls in a human arm, and a suspended detective is the only one who can crack the case. Created by Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso) and starring Vince Vaughn, the series is a beachy, sun-drenched comedy-mystery with plenty of twists and turns as well as, yes, a monkey. But does it successfully capture the vibe of Carl Hiaasen's book? Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Copyright 2024 NPR

Apr 20, 2024 | klcc.org | Linda Holmes

HBO's The Jinx, which aired in 2015 (yes, nine years ago), was a huge contributor to the true-crime boom in television and audio. It came out the same year as Netflix's Making a Murdererand only a few months after the first season of the podcast Serial. Few later attempts have been as successful, though, because they lack The Jinx's secret weapon: the participation of the extraordinarily strange, compulsively talkative, and now deceased subject, Robert Durst.

Dec 27, 2023 | wunc.org | Linda Holmes

I've been making annual lists of 50 Wonderful Pop Culture Things since 2010. They include things you've probably heard of and things you might not have, things that are meaningful and things that are hilarious, things that matter and things that don't at all. In this year in which TV and film were both interrupted for months as a result of labor disputes, there was plenty to admire even as production ground to a halt.

Nov 12, 2023 | tpr.org | Ronald Young Jr. |Linda Holmes

This week, Tracy Chapman was still the best, Jared Letowanted attention, and it Patrick Dempsey was apparently sexier than anyone else on the planet? Here's what the NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour crew was paying attention to — and what you should check out this weekend. There's a romantic comedy from 2019 called Long Shot – Charlize Theron plays a U.S. Secretary of State who reunites with a journalist played by Seth Rogen – who she babysat for many years ago.