The new series Carrie updates the Stephen King book for the digital age, and plays with what we think we know in some surprising ways. Streaming on Prime Video, it follows a young Carrie who has led a sheltered life with her overbearing mother. But as Carrie enters high school, she has a rough go of it. The signposts are familiar – the showers, the prayer closet, the prom, the pig’s blood – but sh
12 Oct 2026 · 18 minTrying to keep up with the latest in pop culture? We’ve got you covered. The Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast helps you find the best new binge-worthy tv shows, movies, music, and videogames. Join hosts Linda Holmes, Aisha Harris, Stephen Thompson, and Glen Weldon four episodes a week - plus a rotating cast of guest pop culture enthusiasts. It’s your fix for reviews, recommendations, and recaps of the pop culture everyone is talking about. From lowbrow reality TV to Oscar-winning movies to the stuff in between, we take it all with a shot of cheer. On the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, we watch everything so that you never miss anything. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org . You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour.
Latest episodes
Don’t call it a sequel: The Social Reckoning is a companion piece to The Social Network . While the first movie chronicled the invention of Facebook, this one focuses on where Facebook is now. Jeremy Allen White stars as a crusading reporter alongside Mikey Madison, a Facebook insider with damning information about the business’ practices. The film also features Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg. W
9 Oct 2026 · 26 minA new series on Netflix is taking a bold crack at the American classic. Maybe you read John Steinbeck’s East of Eden in school. Or maybe you’ve seen the very loosely-adapted film starring James Dean. Anchored by a fantastic Florence Pugh performance, this new adaptation follows multiple generations of the Trask family. The series is an epic retelling of their story that offers a fresh perspective
7 Oct 2026 · 22 minMahershala Ali’s new movie isn’t the Blade reboot, but it’s still worth your time. Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother follows a newly widowed hitman who wants out of the game. He's also a devout Muslim, and after his wife’s death, he is forced to adjust to being a single dad to three kids, while trying to balance his work and faith. But his boss (Laith Nakli) has other plans for him. If you’re lo
6 Oct 2026 · 25 minVerity stars Dakota Johnson as a struggling novelist who gets an unusual assignment. She's been asked to ghostwrite the final books by a superstar writer, played by Anne Hathaway. It’s an erotic thriller about marriage, manipulators, and (of course) murder. Based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, Verity is a story of deceit that wants you to keep guessing until the very end, and maybe even af
5 Oct 2026 · 23 minDigger is a loud, surprising, audacious, and sure-to-be-polarizing entry in this year’s Oscars race. The film stars Tom Cruise as a powerful oil baron who’s helped unleash an existential threat on the world — but that’s only the beginning. The looming devastation attracts the attention of the president (John Goodman) and a well-intentioned scientist (Riz Ahmed). The film takes some pretty big narr
2 Oct 2026 · 22 minThe TV series A Different World has loomed large in the culture since ending in the ‘90s, and now school is back in session in a new sequel series on Netflix. The show welcomes a new generation of students to the fictional HBCU Hillman College, and brings back notable alumni like Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison). And while the world is a lot different than it was 30
30 Sep 2026 · 28 minForgotten Island is a wonderful new animated feature from the team that brought you Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss In Boots: The Last Wish . We’re introduced to childhood friends Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano). One is a free spirit, the other an aspiring scientist, and they’re both getting ready to go their separate ways. But during their last night together, they’re transported to a magical isl
29 Sep 2026 · 14 minThe Love Hypothesis brings the beloved trope of fake dating to the world of science and academia – but does it bring a fresh take to the bestselling book by Ali Hazelwood? The new Prime Video movie follows Stanford graduate student Olive (Lili Reinhart). Her best friend Anh (Rachel Marsh) is holding back from pursuing a guy because she thinks Olive is interested in him. Olive wants Anh to follow h
28 Sep 2026 · 26 minThe new docudrama Primetime is a weird and highly fictionalized account of the meteoric rise of To Catch a Predato r. Robert Pattinson plays host Chris Hansen, who is struggling to get bigger ratings. Hansen and his team work with local law enforcement to drag the accused sexual abusers of minors before the camera and arrest them. But does director Lance Oppenheim’s highly stylized approach work,
25 Sep 2026 · 23 minJay-Z has been everywhere lately. It’s been 30 years since his acclaimed debut Reasonable Doubt , and he celebrated with a series of concerts at Yankee Stadium. And now there’s the HBO docuseries, JAŸ-Z In 8 , in which Jay-Z dissects his catalog with producer Rick Rubin. The series hopes to further cement his legacy as one of the most revered lyricists of our time. But Jay-Z (or JAŸ-Z, as he’s sty
24 Sep 2026 · 26 minThis fall, there’s a lot of movies and TV on tap for you to see. And we're as excited for all of it to arrive as you are. So we’ve got a guide to what’s worth keeping on your radar, including Wicker , Wildwood , Wild Horse Nine , Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother and Avatar: Seven Havens . Looking for more buzzy movie recommendations? Check out these episodes: ‘Resident Evil' is a grisly, funny
23 Sep 2026 · 32 minWe talk a lot about movies and TV shows, but new documentary films sometimes can sometimes get lost in the shuffle. So today we’re highlighting some new documentaries that are worth your time and you don’t want to miss – including Remake , The History of Concrete , Black Zombie , The Oldest Person in the World , and You Had to Be There . Looking for more films that might have flown under your rada
21 Sep 2026 · 22 minThe new Resident Evil movie is wild, scary, inventive, fast-paced, and funny . That’s because the videogame-turned-film franchise got a reboot courtesy of director Zach Cregger ( Weapons and Barbarian ). Austin Abrams plays a medical courier tasked with transporting an important medical MacGuffin, and his journey goes haywire almost immediately as gnarly perils pile up. But does the movie’s blend
18 Sep 2026 · 21 minThe new Apple TV series Last Seen is a compelling thriller. It stars Patrick Brammall ( Colin from Accounts) as an emergency dispatcher named who gets a call one night from a girl he thinks might be his long-missing daughter. The show follows him as he becomes obsessed with finding the truth, even at the cost of his own stability and sobriety. It also tackles some thorny questions about who stands
17 Sep 2026 · 17 minThe Netflix TV show Crew Girl follows in the footsteps of successful coming-of-age dramas like Sterling Point and The Summer I Turned Pretty . It follows Teagan, an ambitious high school rower (Miku Martineau) trying to fit in on the boys’ crew team at a fancy prep school. The show’s got a plucky fish out of water, a love triangle with two very different boys (Kyle Clark and Sam Braun), and a drea
16 Sep 2026 · 17 minThis year’s Emmys were a big night for shows we really love, including Widow’s Bay , The Pitt and Pluribus. Actors Jean Smart and Matthew Rhys picked up wins, and Rhys made some history. And we’ll explain why we love Mariska Hargitay, who proved to be a game yet corny host. Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour: Letterboxd / Facebook Our weekly newsletter Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy per
15 Sep 2026 · 24 minIn Practical Magic 2, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return as witch sisters doomed by a family curse that means any man they love will die. They embark on a new chapter where the next generation is discovering the dangers of being born into this family. It’s been over 25 years since the original film. But will practical moviegoers be swept up in the magic twice? If you are gearing up for the wi
11 Sep 2026 · 29 minWhen you hear the words “pumpkin spice latte,” maybe you think of fall. But maybe you just think about the pleasures of something unapologetically basic. The same can be said for movies and TV. Today, we are revealing some of the most basic things we really love – including National Treasure , Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again , Dateline NBC , and The People’s Court. Looking for more episodes like this?
10 Sep 2026 · 33 minAre you tired of the same eat-the-rich narratives churned out by Hollywood? There is a great new film Filipiñana offering a new take about the inner-workings of a country club in the Philippines. It’s both beautiful to look at and an emotional gut-punch. From director Rafael Manuel, this film kind of feels like if Wes Anderson made an explicitly anti-colonialist satire. If you want a few more styl
8 Sep 2026 · 18 min