Roxana Hadadi

For their first TV show, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna challenged themselves to write “an anti-fable where losing was winning your freedom.”

On working with the man he calls “Meat” (last name Loaf), the catharsis of terrorizing a priest, and his decades-old beef with Rosie O’Donnell.

The problem with prequels, the mode du jour in Hollywood's grab-all-the-IP age, is they make the mistake of thinking our appreciation of something is the same as curiosity about its provenance.

Cristin Milioti thought through every motivation, music cue, and mullet option to craft the most sympathetic psychopath on TV.

The new film Gladiator II is a sequel to Gladiator, Oscar-winning swords-and-sandals blockbuster that starred Russell Crowe. It tells a similar tale — a soldier, sold into slavery, becomes a gladiator in the Roman arena. This time out, it's Paul Mescal whose prowess in the coliseum earns him fame that threatens Rome's tyrannical rulers. Directed by Ridley Scott, the film also stars Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington.Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd/nprpopculture. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour

At what point should we start considering that the Hollywood Handshake is cursed?