The Playlist Podcast Network

The drive to be the best has always carried a cost, but in Justin Tipping’s new film “HIM,” that cost curdles into something nightmarish. Opening September 19 through Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and Universal Pictures, the story takes the familiar arc of athletic ambition and twists it into a surreal descent where glory and terror run side by side. As one of the rare entries in the sports horror genre, it pushes the language of both forms into strange, unsettling territory.In the film, Tyriq Withers plays Cam, a rising football star whose career is derailed after a brutal assault leaves him with brain trauma. Salvation seems to arrive when his idol, legendary QB Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), offers to train him at a remote desert compound. But mentorship quickly warps into manipulation, and the pursuit of greatness becomes a sinister crucible threatening to consume him entirely. The ensemble also features Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies, and more.READ MORE: ‘Alien: Earth’: Noah Hawley On Creature Design, Transhumanism & Proving The Show Belongs In The ‘Alien’ Canon [Bingeworthy Podcast]Director Justin Tipping joined The Playlist’s Bingeworthy Podcast to discuss the film, and during the conversation, explained why the script instantly felt like his. “I was an athlete, played all the sports, and my father was a quarterback and like a pole-vaulting champion. I understood the drive and the passion and the agony of defeat and ecstasy of victory and the locker room aspects of it,” he said. “And then the sheer mashup with this horror genre — I cannot point to another comp. The opportunities here were to create a new language and combine languages to create something new.”

On this episode of Bingeworthy, host Mike DeAngelo heads into ‘Chief of War’, Apple TV+’s bruising, beautiful, and epic historical saga told largely in the native Hawaiian language and anchored by Jason Momoa as Ka‘iana. The series reframes Hawai‘i’s unification through a warrior-exile (Momoa) who’s seen the outside world and returns warning that their internal conflict is nothing compared to what’s coming. The Season 1 finale arrives September 19th only on Apple TV+ and also stars Temuera Morrison, Cliff Curtis, Luciane Buchanan, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, and more. The series is a decade-in-the-making passion project for Momoa, which he also directs, writes, and produces. When asked about the film language he brought as a filmmaker, he doesn’t hesitate to admit that he's more comfortable behind the camera. “I’m 100% on the cinematic side of things. As an actor, I’d rather strip away dialogue and tell it with images. Both of my parents were painters. The version of me as a director is completely different than the version of me as an actor.”

On this episode of Bingeworthy, host Mike DeAngelo is joined by writer, director, and showrunner Noah Hawley ("Fargo," "Legion") to discuss his new FX series, "Alien: Earth." The highly anticipated prequel series debuted August 12th and runs through September 23rd, delivering a bold new chapter in the iconic sci-fi horror franchise. Set in a future Earth, the story follows a young woman and a band of tactical hybrid misfits who uncover a terrifying secret after a mysterious spacecraft crash-lands in their corporate territory, forcing them into direct conflict with everyone's favorite killer, acid-blooded alien species and much more. The series stars Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, and Timothy Olyphant.READ MORE: ‘Alien: Earth’ Review: Noah Hawley Matches Ridley Scott’s Classic In A Terrifically Smart, Engaging & Terrifying Sci-Fi Horror SeriesThe show takes place only two years prior to the events of "Alien," and Hawley made doubly sure his series felt instantly familiar to fans of the original. “People have to watch it in the first five minutes and go, this is Alien,” Hawley said. That meant using the actual Nostromo blueprints to design the Maginot ship and opening the series just like Scott’s 1979 film—with the crew waking up, smoking, eating, and overlapping their conversations. “It has to feel authentic,” Hawley stressed.

n this episode of Bingeworthy, host Mike DeAngelo is joined by comedy icons Seth Rogen & Rose Byrne, along with creators Nicholas Stoller & Francesca Delbanco, to discuss Season 2 of "Platonic." The hit Apple TV+ comedy series returned August 6th and runs through October with new episodes that double down on codependency, middle-aged mayhem, and Rogen’s uncanny ability to brutalize delivery robots & bird scooters.The show once again follows Will (Rogen) and Sylvia (Byrne), two long-time friends navigating the messiness of middle age through their unhealthy platonic relationship. Season 2 digs deeper into their toxic but undeniably hilarious bond while still delivering the mix of sharp dialogue and outrageous physical gags that made the first season a hit.

On this episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo is joined by Riz Ahmed, Lily James, and director David Mackenzie to talk about ‘Relay’, a paranoid thriller set in New York City that follows a world-class “fixer” (Riz Ahmed) who brokers lucrative payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals who threaten their ruin. He keeps his identity a secret through meticulous planning and always follows an exacting set of rules. When a new message arrives from a potential client (Lily James) needing his protection to stay alive, the rules quickly start to change. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Willa Fitzgerald, Matthew Maher, and more.For Ahmed, the attraction was as much about who he was working with as the story itself. “The thing that’s always one of the most important things is your director,” he said. “You’re going to be in their hands. You’ve got to kind of vibe with them. So David was a big pull. And then it’s also who else are you going to be doing this with? When I heard it was Lily, I was absolutely thrilled.”

On this episode of Bingeworthy, host Mike DeAngelo heads back into Peacock’s wildest ride, ‘Twisted Metal.’ Season one surprised audiences with its mix of brutal action, absurdist comedy, and unexpected heart. Now, season two takes things even further, upping the stakes with bigger stunts, more elaborate effects, a larger cast, and cosmic weirdness creeping in around the edges. This season finds John Doe (Anthony Mackie) and Quiet (Stephanie Beatriz) thrown into a high-stakes tournament run by the unpredictable Calypso (Anthony Carrigan), with returning chaos from Sweet Tooth (Samoa Joe/Will Arnett) and a roster of new eccentric competitors. Joining the podcast for two separate interviews are Michael Jonathan Smith, the series’ showrunner, and actor Anthony Carrigan, who makes his debut as the chaotic wish-granting figure at the center of the tournament.

On this episode of Bingeworthy, host Mike DeAngelo heads back into the burning world of Apple TV+’s ‘Smoke’, a gripping slow-burn crime drama based on the true story of a serial arsonist and the investigator determined to stop him. The series follows arson investigator Dave Gudsen (Taron Egerton), a small-town arson investigator who appears to be a dependable family man. But as the series progresses, a darker truth is revealed - SPOILER ALERT for Episode 2: Dave is secretly setting fires and unraveling psychologically at a dangerous pace. Investigators team up to take Dave down once and for all. The series also stars Greg Kinnear, Jurnee Smollett, Rafe Spall, John Leguizamo, Anna Chlumsky, and more.John Leguizamo joins the podcast to discuss his role on the show. Showrunner Dennis Lehane actually wrote the role of Ezra Esposito, Dave's disgraced former partner, for Leguizamo, which was both flattering and a little eyebrow-raising.

On this episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo is joined by Tony Hale and D’Arcy Carden to talk about “Sketch,” a new family-friendly fantasy comedy-drama from first-time director Seth Worley. The film follows a grieving family whose emotional baggage literally comes to life in the form of magical, terrifying creatures after a child’s sketchbook falls into an enchanted pool.Tony Hale (“Veep,” “Arrested Development”) stars as Taylor Wyatt, a widowed father trying to help his two children navigate loss while also battling monsters made of crayon wax and chalk dust. D’Arcy Carden (“The Good Place,” “Barry”) plays Liz, Taylor’s sister and the family’s voice of reason.

On this episode of Bingeworthy, host Mike DeAngelo is joined by Director Chris Weaver and Wrestling Superstar Bianca Belair to talk about “WWE Unreal,” Netflix’s new docu-series that finally takes fans inside the machine behind professional wrestling. For the first time, WWE allows cameras into its most sacred spaces, including the writer’s room, backstage before matches, and the constantly shifting road to WrestleMania, showing the creative chaos and real emotional toll that powers one of the most watched weekly dramas in the world.The series comes from NFL Films (“Quarterback,” “Receiver”), with Chris Weaver serving as director. Weaver didn’t consider himself a die-hard wrestling fan going in, but that distance became part of the creative advantage. “I wasn’t this huge fan dropping in and trying to overdo it, but our other showrunner Erik Powers is an encyclopedic fan,” Weaver said. “It was a good dynamic. I could be the outsider voice, and he could be in the weeds.”

On this episode of Bingeworthy, host Mike DeAngelo is joined by Michael C. Hall and Krysten Ritter, stars of “Dexter: Resurrection” - Paramount+ with Showtime’s gritty revival that continues the twisted journey of serial killer Dexter Morgan - yes, he lives! The new series picks up shortly after the events of “Dexter: New Blood”, with Dexter waking from a coma, presumed dead, and setting out across New York City in search of his estranged son Harrison. He instead finds a smorgasbord of "like-minded" individuals and a mountain of killer trouble. The show also stars Peter Dinklage, David Dastmalchian, Uma Thurman, Neil Patrick Harris, Eric Stonestreet, and Krysten Ritter.