The Playlist Podcast Network

this week’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo goes back in time to realize not much has changed with the film, “Firebrand.” Directed by Karim Ainouz (“Invisible Life,” “Futuro Beach”), the film follows Catherine Parr (Alicia Vikander), the sixth wife of Henry VIII (Jude Law), who finds herself fighting for survival when the paranoid king grows more suspicious of her actions. The film also stars Eddie Marsan, Simon Russell Beale, Erin Doherty, and more.  READ MORE: ‘Firebrand’ Review: Karim Aïnouz Paints A Dull Version Of History In Handsome Period Drama [Cannes] During the interview, Law and Vikander discussed their parts being filled with “so many colors to play” that the roles were almost irresistible and so many other aspects of their career. Not only did they discuss "Firebrand," but Vikander's time on the 'Tomb Raider' franchise, Jude Law's tenure on Marvel and the upcoming 'Star Wars' project 'Skeleton Key,' but also almost appearing as Superman in a version of the film with Colin Farrell and Brett Ratner from almost 20 years ago.

In this week's episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo powers up to take on “The Boys.” The show is premiering its fourth season on Prime Video on June 13th and follows a group of vigilantes who set out to take down corrupt superheroes who abuse their superpowers. The show stars Karl Urban, Antony Starr, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Chace Crawford, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and more. READ MORE: ‘The Boys’ Season 4 Review: Prime Video’s Hit Superhero Show Returns With A Great, Confident Season Joining Bingeworthy to discuss the hyper-violent, filthy take on superheroes is Writer, Creator, and showrunner Eric Kripke (“Supernatural,” “Timeless”). During the interview, Kripke discussed this fourth season being the darkest yet, but for a very real reason.

In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo gets all of the answers while investigating “Under the Bridge.” The true crime Hulu series follows two women, a cop, and a reporter, who attempt to uncover the truth at the center of a young girl’s murder. The show stars Lily Gladstone, Riley Keough, Vritika Gupta, Chloe Guidry, Izzy G., Javon Walton, and more. READ MORE: ‘Under The Bridge’ Review: Riley Keough, Lily Gladstone Ground Heartbreaking True Crime Mini-Series Joining Bingeworthy to discuss the thrilling true crime mini-series is Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Fancy Dance”). During the interview, Gladstone discussed this being the first part written with her in mind. 

Pixar Reportedly Considering Reboots Including ‘The Incredibles’ & ‘Finding Nemo’   How times change. There once was an era when Pixar just didn’t think it needed sequels and could just go from original story to original story. In fact in 2016, Pixar’s president Jim Morris said there were no Pixar sequel plans after Brad Bird’s “The Incredibles 2,” something of a response to the underwhelming reception to “Cars 2” and to a lesser degree, “Toy Story 3.”   “Most studios jump on doing a sequel as soon as they have a successful film, but our business model is a filmmaker model, and we don’t make a sequel unless the director of the original film has an idea that they like and are willing to go forward on,” Morris said at the time.   While Pixar has certainly tried to stick to that—six of the ten movies they’ve released since the summer of 2016 have been original— since Morris’ remarks, they’ve released “Toy Story 4” (even when they said ‘3’ was the finale), the spin-off “Lightyear,” and this summer’s upcoming “Inside Out 2.”   A “Toy Story 5” is in the works, and now a new report from Bloomberg— discussing many of Pixar’s recent layoffs and woes— says not only are sequels still game, but Pixar is considering rebooting some of its classic films.   According to the Bloomberg piece, “Every hit of yesteryear is being considered for a reboot, with Finding Nemo and The Incredibles regarded as particularly strong candidates for new titles.”     Pixar’s new strategy to turn around their financial problems” involves balancing original movie ideas with sequels and spinoffs, the better to remind audiences what they once loved about Pixar.”   The new aim is apparently to make three new movies every two years, which is historically much less frequent to their usual, one film a year cadence, “with every other title a sequel or spinoff and the rest standalone concepts or potential seeds for new franchises.”   This also sounds a lot like Bob Iger and Disney’s less is more approach and their dialing back at Marvel and Lucasfilm.   On May 21, Pixar announced the company’s largest restructuring, cutting 175 jobs as the studio refocuses on big-screen films instead of Disney+ projects—also not dissimilar to the way Marvel and Lucasfilm are heading, back to the big screen with a deemphasis on Disney+ programming.   It's a sign of the times, unfortunately, and financially they are not great at the moment, a trend that is affecting the entire industry.  Will they follow through? This industry is fickle, so we shall see, but if the box office of 2024 is any indication, these alarming trends may just continue to dominate for the foreseeable future. In this week’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo roams the forest in search of his next victim while discussing “In A Violent Nature.” The movie follows a resurrected killer through the woods as he stalks his victims, all while searching for his stolen necklace. The film is written and directed by Chris Nash and stars Ry Barrett, Josh Lucas, Andrea Pavlovic, Cameron Love, Reece Presley, and more.  READ MORE: ‘In a Violent Nature’ Review: Chris Nash’s Debut Heralds a Major New Voice in Horror [Sundance] During the interview, Chris Nash discusses not only the obvious homages to '80s slashers like “Friday the 13th” but also the less-expected influences that just as heavily influenced the tone and approach to his first feature film.

In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo delves into the underworld to wrestle with the emotions of “Eric.” The Abi Morgan-written Netflix series follows Vincent, a neurotic puppeteer whose son goes missing, leading him to attempt to solve the case with his son’s imaginary friend - a monster named Eric. The show stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Gaby Hoffmann, McKinley Belcher III, Dan Fogler, Ivan Morris Howe, and more. Joining Bingeworthy to discuss their harrowing mini-series are Benedict Cumberbatch (“Doctor Strange,” “The Power of the Dog”) and Gaby Hoffmann (“Girls,” “Now & Then”). During the interview, both described what brought them to the show; however, Hoffmann noted feeling conflicted at first for a very understandable reason.

In this week's episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast, host Mike DeAngelo dives headfirst into “Outer Range.” The mysterious and compelling Prime Video series follows a rancher who discovers a mysterious hole in his pasture, leading to land wars, family drama, and time-jumping mysteries. The show stars Josh Brolin, Imogen Poots, Lili Taylor, Lewis Pullman, Tom Pelphrey, Will Patton, and more (read our review here). READ MORE: ‘Outer Range’ Review: Time Is A River For Josh Brolin In Still Weird, Existentially Compelling Season 2 Joining Bingeworthy to discuss the second season of the metaphysical Western sci-fi drama are two stars of the series, Josh Brolin (“No Country for Old Men,” “Avengers: Endgame”) and Imogen Poots (“Green Room,” “Vivarium”), as well as new showrunner Charles Murray (“Luke Cage,” “Sons of Anarchy”). During the interviews, much was discussed about the showrunner change from creator Brian Watkins to Charles Murray. Some, including Imogen Poots, are close friends with Watkins, which could have potentially created an awkward situation, but it seems like Murray pulled the transition off with a great amount of class. 

In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo ventures into another universe to discuss “Dark Matter.” The Apple TV+ series is based on the Blake Crouch book of the same name and follows a college professor who is abducted into an alternate universe and has to fight his way back to his old life and real family. The show stars Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly, Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson, and more. READ MORE: ‘Dark Matter’ Review: Joel Edgerton & Jennifer Connelly Traverse The Multiverse For Adults & Consider Existential Regrets Joining BingeworthyBothto discuss the mind-bending sci-fi thriller are two stars of the series, Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly. During the interviews, both actors discussed "Dark Matter" and many aspects of their careers during the interviews. For Edgerton, it was his directorial career. For Connelly, it was "The Rocketeer" and films like "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Only The Brave," both made by filmmaker Joseph Kosinski.

In this week’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo gets swept up in the whirlwind romance at the heart of “The Idea of You” with writer/director Michael Showalter (“The Big Sick,” “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” “Wet Hot American Summer”). The movie is based on the book of the same name and follows a forty-year-old woman reeling from a divorce who stumbles into a romance with a twenty-something singer from the world’s biggest boy band. The film stars Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Reid Scott, Ella Rubin, and more.

In this week’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo goes undercover to discuss “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” with star Cary Elwes (“The Princess Bride,” “Stranger Things,” “Saw”). The movie is based on real events and dives into the origin of the Special Operations Executive, a small group of highly skilled men recruited by the British military to strike German forces behind enemy lines. The high-energy action film is directed by Guy Ritchie (“The Gentleman,” “Snatch,” “Sherlock Holmes”) and also stars Henry Cavill, Henry Golding, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Eiza Gonzalez, and more. Elwes also discussed many of his other projects, past and present, including "Rebel Moon: Part Two," the "Knuckles" spin-off series from "Sonic The Hedgehog" and, of course, the classic "Princess Diaries" comedy.

In this week’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo grows out his handlebar mustache and puts on a southern accent to discuss “Blood for Dust” with star Kit Harington (“Game of Thrones,” “Eternals”). The movie follows a struggling salesman with a troubled criminal past who is pulled back into a string of crimes by a former colleague, leading to a trail of blood...and dust. The film is written and directed by Rod Blackhurst (“Amanda Knox” “Night Swim”) and also stars Scoot McNairy, Josh Lucas, Nora Zehetner, Ethan Suplee, Stephen Dorff, and more. READ MORE: Kit Harington Says There’s Currently “Nothing Going On” For ‘Eternals 2’ Or His Black Knight Character Harington also talked about many of his other film and TV projects, including working on "Game of Thrones" and the "Jon Snow" spin-off that's no longer happening, plus his experience on Marvel's "Eternals" and whether or not we'll see him return as the character The Black Knight. Listen on for more.