The Playlist Podcast Network

On our latest episode of Bingeworthy, co-hosts Mike DeAngelo & Rodrigo Perez dig into Showtime’s new anthology series, "Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber," which tells the story of one of Silicon Valley’s most successful and most destructive unicorns, Uber. The season pivots on Travis Kalanick (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Uber’s hard-charging CEO who was ultimately ousted in a boardroom coup, and his sometimes tumultuous relationship with his mentor Bill Gurley (Kyle Chandler), the plainspoken, brilliant Texan venture capitalist who bets his sterling reputation on Uber’s success – and then has to live with the consequences. After the initial intro and discussion of the series, writer/showrunners Brian Koppelman, David Levien, and Executive Producer Beth Schacter (BILLIONS) stop by to discuss the show and why these stories, like Travis Kalanick of Uber, keep popping up out of Silicon Valley. "All of this comes from Steve Jobs," Koppelman says and Jobs legacy really looms large over all these tech stories. Remember to check out more stories, news, reviews, interviews, and more at ThePlaylist.net, subscribe to our newsletter, and check out more of our Playlist Podcast interviews here.

Director Shawn Levy and actor/wise-ass extraordinaire Ryan Reynolds have become a bit of a magic pairing. First collaborating on last year’s original sci-fi hit, “Free Guy,” the two have been singing each other’s praises in interview after interview, all usually while talking up what was going to be an even better movie, their next original sci-fi collaboration entitled, “The Adam Project.” The film follows a pilot from the future named Adam (Ryan Reynolds) who jumps back in time and teams up with his younger self (Walker Scobell) and his father (Mark Ruffalo) to save the world from a person who has used time travel for their own nefarious purposes. During a conversation on The Discourse, director Shawn Levy shared how the project came to be, discussed his bff working relationship with Ryan Reynolds (and those "Deadpool 3" rumors), and a little bit about "Stranger Things" season four, the series that he is an executive producer of and sometimes acts as a director too. Remember to check out more stories, news, reviews, interviews, and more at ThePlaylist.net, subscribe to our newsletter, and check out more of our Playlist Podcast interviews here.

The Bingeworthy buds, Mike DeAngelo and Playlist Editor-in-Chief Rodrigo Perez, are back to talk about all of the TV news and shows that are worth your time. This week finds our hosts digging into one of the new HBO series, “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.” After the discussion, writer/showrunner Max Borenstein, writer/executive producer Rodney Barnes, and actor Quincy Isaiah, who plays the charismatic Magic Johnson, stop by to discuss how the show became the prestige show that it is. Remember to check out more stories, news, reviews, interviews, and more at ThePlaylist.net, subscribe to our newsletter, and check out more of our Playlist Podcast interviews here.

On this episode of the Deep Focus podcast, host and Playlist EIC, Rodrigo Perez talks to Reid Carolin, the co-director and co-writer of "Dog" which he made with co-writer/co-director and star Channing Tatum. Tatum's been absent from the live-action big screen for nearly four years-- the actor needed a break after his divorce and was feeling disillusioned with the industry. But part of the reason he was gone for so long, in addition to his personal life, was trying to write, direct, produce and star in the 20th Century Fox, "X-Men" spin-off "Gambit.' The film was a big passion project to Tatum, but eventually fell apart after Fox was bought by Disney and absorbed into the greater Marvel brand. But all that prep work prepared them for "Dog," a much-much different film, and a two-hander buddy comedy about a man and his... well, not-quite-best-friend yet. Tatum stars as a U.S. Army Ranger, battling PTSD and brain trauma, who is tasked with taking a military dog to the funeral of his handler.  It's also a road trip film, a soulful life-affirming drama as well as the quirky comedy of all the detours it takes. Think Hal Ashby if he listed to Jack Johnson while taking gummies. In this episode, we get to all things "Dog," but we also dive into a lot of "Gambit," since that was the film that lead to dog, and also the "Magic Mike" series. Carolin and Tatum are the architects of the "Magic Mike" franchise and they've brought back original director Steven Soderbergh to helm, "Magic Mike 3: The Last Dance." Carolin talks about Soderbergh's mentorship to the two burgeoning filmmakers and gives us a taste of 'The Last Dance,' suggesting this is the closest Steven Soderbergh has ever gotten to making a full-blown musical.  Remember to check out more stories, news, reviews, interviews, and more at ThePlaylist.net, subscribe to our newsletter, and check out more of our Playlist Podcast interviews here.

After years of development, more than a year of delays, and an absolute ton of marketing, “The Batman” is finally upon us. You’ve seen the rave reviews already, but on this episode of The Playlist Podcast, we dive deep into the film to really figure out if Matt Reeves delivered the quintessential ‘Batman’ film or not. Remember to check out more stories, news, reviews, interviews, and more at ThePlaylist.net, subscribe to our newsletter, and check out more of our Playlist Podcast interviews here.

Academy Award Winner Taika Waititi is no stranger to mixing intimate workplace comedies with genres you wouldn’t necessarily expect like, Vampires, Indigenous Kids, Musicians, etc. Well, now he and writer/showrunner David Jenkins have teamed to bring you a humorous and heartfelt tale of pirates with their new show, “Our Flag Means Death,” which premieres March 3rd on HBO Max. Now, Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby stop by The Discourse to talk about their new series and how they got involved. Remember to check out more stories, news, reviews, interviews, and more at ThePlaylist.net, subscribe to our newsletter, and check out more of our Playlist Podcast interviews here.

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett aka Radio Silence made a name for themselves with the excellent 2019 original horror hit, “Ready or Not.” From there, as they say, the horror world was their gory little oyster. So, what did the up-and-coming team decide to take on next? A “Ready or Not” sequel? Hogwash! It turns out that the duo was basically gifted a much more enticing prospect in the form of a “Scream” sequel — the first that wouldn’t involve the late Wes Craven. While at first, they were skeptical—not a huge fan of horror sequels— ultimately they relented when they discovered that the producers wanted to make a thoughtful horror film that avoided the trap of bad horror films. "You never want to be the outlier. And especially because it’s movies that we love and we also just don’t want to ruin that legacy. It just matters too much. Luckily Guy and Jamie are also mega-fans, so we knew it was going to be treated with love and respect.” And the rest, as they say, is history. “Scream” (2022) was a big hit and the sequel was immediately greenlit when critics and fans responded positively. The duo is hard at work on breaking the story of the next “Scream” film and admitted they might even be developing another sequel when asked about their first hit, “Ready or Not.” All this and more on this week's episode of the Discourse brought to you by host Mike DeAngelo and The Playlist Podcast Network. Remember to check out more stories, news, reviews, interviews, and more at ThePlaylist.net, subscribe to our newsletter, and check out more of our Playlist Podcast interviews here. 

The Yellowstoners, Mike DeAngelo and Rodrigo Perez, have returned to discuss the final two episodes of the hit Paramount+ prequel spin-off series, “1883,” entitled “Racing Clouds” and “This Is Not Your Heaven.” Suffice it to say, *spoilers follow,* for what was a very bold, shocking, and impressive, season finale, from writer/director/showrunner Taylor Sheridan. Sheridan showed his hand with the finale of “1883,” and what the show was ultimately all about, and, boy, was it a heart-wrenching, brutal take on the journey that led the Duttons to their hallowed home and ranch. Ultimately, as predicted by former U.S. Army Captain/wagon master Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott), the cost of that journey was high as possible, with nary a soul left standing. If you were looking for huge emotional stakes, "1883" over-delivered on its promise of showing the heartless and savage side of nature along the Oregon Trail in the late 1800s. In the final Yellowstoners episode of the season, we break down the events and emotions that came along with the final two episodes, what this means for the recently green-lit season two of “1883,” and how this reflects on the "Yellowstone" empire overall. The question is less, “Who actually dies?!” and more, “Who actually lives?” Either way, the answer likely shocked viewers this past weekend, leading to a potential tissue shortage, at least in our homes. Let's just say this, Sheridan wasn't f*cking around and isn't afraid of killing off all your favorite characters. Less horsing around and more drama.  This episode is something of a goodbye for now. "Yellowstone" probably won't return until summer 2022, so consider this something of a hiatus until then. Remember to check out more stories, news, reviews, interviews, and more at ThePlaylist.net, subscribe to our newsletter, and check out more of our Playlist Podcast interviews here.

The Bingeworthy boys, Mike DeAngelo, and Playlist Editor-in-Chief Rodrigo Perez, are back to talk about all of the TV news and shows that are worth your time. This week finds our hosts digging into one of the new HBO series, “Our Flag Means Death” which premieres on March 3. After the discussion, writer/showrunner David Jenkins stops by to discuss how the show came into being just by hearing the true story of the real Stede Bonnet. Remember to check out more stories, news, reviews, interviews, and more at ThePlaylist.net, subscribe to our newsletter, and check out more of our Playlist Podcast interviews here.

On this episode of the Bingeworthy podcast, The Playlist's TV podcast dedicated to what we watch and how we watch it in the accelerated streaming age, we speak to multi-hyphenate super thread Lake Bell, an actress, filmmaker, writer, producer, and voice actress, who recently was tapped to directed some crucial episodes of Hulu's series, "Pam & Tommy," about the Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee '90s sex tape scandal.  While Bell is known for her acting career first and foremost, she turned to creating her own stories with 2013's acclaimed Sundance film, "In A World," that she starred in, wrote and directed. She followed that up with 2017's "I Do... Until I Don't" comedic treatise on marriage and then co-created the ABC comedy "Bless This Mess" with Elizabeth Meriwether, in which she starred in, and directed and wrote on. Her latest directing gig is joining Craig Gillespie and a talented crew of filmmakers on "Pam & Tommy." Chronicling the marriage between actress Pamela Anderson and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, played by Lily James and Sebastian Stan, the Hulu series tells the tale of how their home-movie sex tape was stolen from their home, and eventually screened and sold to the whole world, a massive invasion of privacy that strained their marriage and arguably tanked Anderson's career.  Moreover, this personal, private tape which they had no intent on selling, let alone showing to anyone was a massive violation and invasion of privacy, that shamed, humiliated, and made Anderson the butt of cultural jokes for years. While "Pam & Tommy" starts out rock n' roll, funny and vibrant, it eventually gets pretty dark when the sex tape is stolen-- an act of twisted "karma"-- as Anderson is shocked and emotionally devastated about this violating exposure.  Bell is there to direct the key fourth, turning-point episode "The Master Beta," right after the tape is stolen and begins to leak and spread, illustrating the emotional panic the couple feels when they learn it was stolen (Seth Rogen plays a disgruntled carpenter who took a safe that had the tape). She also returns for the penultimate and seventh episode, which airs March 2 on Hulu and further gets into the darker turmoil of this story and how Anderson is put through the wringer as she is exposed to the world. While "Pam & Tommy" is entertaining, it's also the story of reclaiming Pamela Anderson's narrative and reminding the world she was a real victim in this story, caught between the warring of two stupid men (her husband and the carpenter he refused to pay), grifters trying to make a buck (Penthouse, the porn industry, the burgeoning online industry), lawyers and judges who make neanderthal-like decisions against her privacy and agency, and a culture all too willing to not see her side of the story-- a clear violation of her privacy--and just cruelly mock her.  This is really the meat of what Bell digs into in this podcast, telling Anderson's story, trying to reclaim her narrative, and digging deep into still-relevant topics of privacy, agency, and lack thereof, violation, and the horror of feeling helpless. Bell herself was a victim of a 2014 cyberattack that exposed private photos of herself and dozens of other celebrities and she speaks about that violation of her own privacy for the first time as well, candidly talking about that humiliation and how it helped her relate to Anderson's story. Bell also speaks about her solo directing career (at least two new projects on the way, that she wrote), working for Marvel as the new Black Widow on Disney+'s "What If?,? voicing Poison Ivy on the animated "Harley Quinn" and much more.