Game of Thrones: Beyond the Wall, The Defenders Ep 1 Review, Bosco – IP 88

Faster than you can sail from Dragonstone to Winterfell – another week has gone by, and another epic Game of Thrones episode has arrived that can NOT be overlooked! We discuss the penultimate episode, Beyond the Wall, of this fast paced season and talk Dragons and Zombie Polar Bears and White Walkers and oh so much more! Be warned again – spoilers ahead!
Then, Sean shares his initial thoughts on Netflix’s The Defenders – and you may be surprised to hear his reaction.
And of course, there is no Inside Pop without the Big Sell.  Sean reviews last week’s ‘soft ball’ musical recommendation from Amita (a song by Bosco featuring St. Beauty) and recommends a politically charged Big Sell that involves Kal Penn, Jhumpa Lahiri, Chuck Close and ‘he who shall not be named’ (but who SHALL be protested).

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders

You can also find us at MaximumFun.org

 

Wonder Woman, Master of None, Tickling Giants, Sense8 – IP 78

This week- we dive into the world of pop culture with:

  • Wonder Woman – Amita gives her reaction and we discuss the film’s record breaking box office.
  • Master of None – We can’t get enough of the Season 2 and talk about Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang’s decision to hold off on Season 3…for now.
  • Sean pours some out for the final season of one of his favorite Netflix series, Sense8.
  • We share an excerpt of our interview with Sara Taksler, the writer/director/producer of the documentary, Tickling Giants.
  • And Sean rates and reviews last week’s Big Sell, the soul/funk/blues artist, Earl St. Clair and shares his Big Sell- a new single from Alabama Shakes.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders

Master of None S2, Twin Peaks, Scandal Ends – IP 75

Let’s Rock!

This week we react to the first four masterful episodes of Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang’s, Master of None. Amita shares the particular joy that comes with watching this South Asian auteur do his his thing!

Then we explain why watching the current season of Scandal is the equivalent to having Pity Sex!

Next we introduce a new segment, Way Into, in which we present a guide for you to become as ‘Way Into” a piece of pop culture as we are. In this inaugural segment, Sean presents a Way Into . . .  Twin Peaks – and tells you everything you need to know and do to prepare for the Twin Peaks premiere on Showtime on Sunday May 21st.

Then we celebrate our 75th episode in a very special way!

And as always, we end with The Big Sell. Amita rates and reviews Sean’s Instagram Big Sell from last week and sells him on a YouTube series that involves chicken, celebrities and hot sauce… Spicy!

Thanks to all of our listeners! Whether you’ve listened from the beginning or just recently found us – we are thrilled to have you here for our special milestone episode!

The best is yet come!

Sean’s Way Into Twin Peaks

  1. Watch Season 1
    1. If you only have time for two eps out of the 7 watch The Pilot and episode 3 – Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer.
  2. Read: The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer
  3.  Watch Season 2 episodes 1-7.
    1. If you only have time for two episodes watch the season premiere + episode 7 Lonely Souls (Laura Palmer’s Killer is REVEALED!)
  4. Watch Fire Walk with Me.
  5. Watch Wild at Heart
  6. Read: The Secret History of Twin Peaks

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @popinsiders

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Sense8, The Dark Tower, The Defenders, South Asians on TV & Film, Broadway, Game of Thrones – IP 74

The May pop culture hot streak continues so we discuss the release of the trailers for the highly anticipated film adaptation of the Stephen King series, The Dark Tower; and The Defenders on Netflix.

Then, Amita gives her immediate (and spoiler free) reaction to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and also shares her exciting experience winning a Broadway Lottery. Meanwhile Sean is incapable of containing his excitement over the premiere of the 2nd season of Sense8.

The Pop Insiders also share the details of the recently announced Game of Thrones spin-offs and share which GoT characters they’d most want to see Frasiered.

Plus, Amita celebrates the influx of South Asians on TV and Film and the joy and inspiration they have given her.

And Sean reviews  last’s week’s Hall & Oates big sell and sells Amita on a climate change focused Instagram feed.

Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram @popinsiders

Links:

The Defenders trailer

The Dark Tower trailer

Big Sell: Everyday Climate Change Instagram feed

Favorite Television Shows of 2016 – IP 55

We’re excited to share the first installment of our annual BEST OF lists- our Top 10 Television Shows of 2016! If you need some new shows to binge watch over the winter, look no further! In this era of Peak TV we had a plethora of options to choose from and after much thought, we each put together our 10 favorite TV shows of the year.

A few of the series that made the cut- Queen Sugar, Luke Cage, Insecure, This Is Us and Atlanta- are some of the most critically acclaimed new shows of the year.

luke-cage queen-sugar atlanta_oabpgv

We also have a few established shows on our lists that continually deliver incredible drama week after week like How To Get Away With Murder, Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead.

game-of-thrones htgawm the-walking-dead

Comedies and dramas, dragons and murderers, families and superheroes- there’s something for everyone!Follow us on Twitter & Instagram @PopInsiders and let us know what you think of our picks and share your top TV shows of the year.

If you like this episode you may want to check out:

  • Our interview with Marvel’s Luke Cage creator and EP, Cheo Hodari Coker, HERE: http://wp.me/p7Uq7E-8g

 

AMITA’S TOP 10 LIST

10. Speechless

9. How To Get Away With Murder

8. Insecure

7. This is Us

6. Luke Cage

5. Queen Sugar

4. Game of Thrones

3. The People V OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

2. Stranger Things

1. Atlanta

SEAN’S TOP 10 LIST

10. black-ish

9. O.J.: Made In America

8. The Walking Dead

7. Insecure

6. Luke Cage

5. Game of Thrones

4. Lemonade

3. Black Mirror

2. Stranger Things

1. Queen Sugar

 

Links

Sean thinks his number 4 pick, Lemonade, owes a debt to Janet Jackson’s Got Til It’s Gone and Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust.

Amita think Sarah Paulson should win an award for the Emmy Award acceptance speech she gave when she won Best Actress for The People V OJ Simpson.

If you’re trying to decide whether Sean’s Ralph Angel impression is a) great b) really great or c) fantastic – watch this dramatic scene from Queen Sugar featuring a remarkable performance from Kofi Siriboe.

An Interview with Cheo Hodari Coker, Creator of Marvel’s Luke Cage – IP 54

We are very happy to finally share our next Producer to Producer interview with the creator and executive producer of Marvel’s Luke Cage, Cheo Hodari Coker. The interview was conducted at the Producers Guild Produced By Conference in New York City on October 29th.ip-with-cheo

Whether you’re a fan of Luke Cage or think that Misty Knight is a bad weather pattern – this is a MUST LISTEN.  Cheo has been in the game for years and has worked on a variety of popular and critically acclaimed shows including – Southland, Almost Human and Ray Donovan.

luke-cageHe has imbued Luke Cage with a creativity and thoughtfulness that has resulted in a ‘superhero’ show that sits firmly within our current golden age of television. Tune in to the show for the bulletproof Black man who can punch through walls, but you’ll also get an education on African American crime writers; a celebration of 90’s Hip Hop; some of the most layered female characters on television; Mahershala Ali’s star turn; a new definition of ‘getting coffee’; an Alfre Woodard master class in how to play a conflicted (but not really conflicted) villain; a love letter to Harlem; Mike Colter owning the title role; and one of the most gorgeously shot shows you’ll see all year.

Coker’s eloquent and insightful conversation touches on:

  • How Shonda Rhimes influences the way he writes female characters.
  • How being a showrunner is like being the captain of a Federation Starship.
  • The use of ‘the N word’ in Luke Cage.cheo

Plus, there’s nothing better than getting a pop culture suggestion from one of our great pop culture creators. Make sure you listen to the end of the episode to hear Cheo Hodari Coker Big Sell us three things he’s loving.

If you’re new to our podcast, visit our website where you can subscribe and listen to additional episodes. www.insidepoppodcast.com

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And on Instagram here.

Big Sell 30 Day 23: Kerry Washington & Aziz Ansari

Amita here with your #BigSell30 today! We’re in our last week of Big Sells and looking back at the last few weeks, as much as we felt like this was a challenge for us and for you, I have also realized how much I’ve learned about myself and felt like I’ve also revealed a lot about myself through this process. The Big Sell is getting deep!

That being said, I’ll reveal a little more to preface today’s Big Sell: As a television and digital producer, one of my favorite jobs is to interview someone about their process. I had the honor and pleasure to do this recently with some of music’s biggest stars (Can’t discuss who now, but will soon!) and I just revel in hearing who inspires them or what it took to create a specific project/album/role.

actors-on-actorsVariety Magazine’s Actors on Actors series does exactly that but with a slight twist on the typical interview format. In this web series, two actors interview each other – it feels like you’re in a personal conversation- you get to see actors learn about each other, and from each other. The episode I’d like to Big Sell features two of Television’s biggest stars (and friends of the podcast): Kerry Washington and recent Emmy Award winner Aziz Ansari.

kerry-and-azizTheir conversation is a revealing look into who they are as performers; but also focuses on roles they took behind the camera (Aziz on Master of None and Kerry on Confirmation). It’s smart, funny, insightful and at 22 minutes, it’s a rare opportunity to dive deep into their individual processes as actors, their struggles as people of color in Hollywood and how they are now in positions of power because of their hard work and success. I love to hear insider info like this and you don’t always get this much information in a 5 minute late night talk show appearance or 3 minute morning show chat.

Kerry gives great insight into her role as a producer on the HBO movie Confirmation and I think she’s a great interviewer. Whenever Scandal is over, she should consider some type of interview series, she’s really smart, thoughtful and asks great questions. (Agent Advice!)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Chelsea Lauren/Variety/REX/Shutterstock (5622630r) Kerry Washington and Aziz Ansari Variety Studio: Actors on Actors, Los Angeles, America - 03 April 2016

Aziz gives a great insider look into how his hit Netflix series Master of None came about and he reveals a great tidbit about the two episodes he directed- “Parents” and “Nashville” (they were his first attempts at directing and they shot the series out of order, so those two were shot at the end).

It’s such a great series and I’m already excited to watch the Mindy Kaling/Conan O’Brien conversation as well as the Courtney B. Vance/Tracee Ellis Ross one as well. Enjoy!

Leave a comment below or tweet us @popinsiders to let us know what you think of today’s Big Sell. Also, be sure to let us know how #BigSell30 is going for you and you still have a few days to tweet us a Big Sell to be featured in the Big Sell 30 Day Challenge!

 

The Week in Black Excellence – IP 47

13thThis week, we are reveling in the gifts of Black Excellence bestowed upon us by the pop culture Gods in film, television and music! We had the exclusive opportunity to watch visionary director Ava DuVernay’s latest documentary, 13th, and discuss why we were so extremely moved by this powerful film.

luke-cageThen, it’s hoodies up as we geek out over our immediate (and spoiler free) reaction to the premiere of Marvel’s Luke Cage.
solange

 

 

Plus, Solange drops her latest album, A Seat at the Table, and we immediately put it on repeat!

All that and Sean gives his first Big Sell in the #BigSell30 Day Challenge!

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @PopInsiders and don’t forget to send us your Big Sells for #BigSell30!

Big Sell 30 Day 1: Peaky Blinders featuring Long Distance Popcast

It’s Day One of the Big Sell 30 Day Challenge! #BigSell30 here we go! Thanks for joining us as we invite everyone to experience one new piece of pop culture every day for 30 days. If you’re looking for suggestions this is the place to be!

peaky blindersEvery day we’ll have a Big Sell recommendation for you here on the site. Our first Big Sell comes from Matt McKee of The Long Distance Popcast. His Big Sell is the Netflix series Peaky Blinders starring Cillian Murphy, Sam Neill and Tom Hardy.

This show has been around for 3 seasons, but may have been overshadowed by higher profile Netflix series like Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, Stranger Things and Marvel’s Luke Cage.

Listen to hear LDP co-host Matt McKee explain why this show is worth checking out!

And tomorrow on Day 2 – we will feature LDP co-host Claudia Castillo’s Big Sell.

We’re off and running! Remember to tweet YOUR Big Sell suggestions to us @PopInsiders and let us know how your #BigSell30 experience is going!