Joey and Megan finally weigh in with their Obsession reaction and dip their toes into Margot’s Got Money Troubles. There’s no doubt about it: everyone is talking about Curry Barker’s Obsession. The $750,000 film has made boatloads of cash since it debuted last week, and horror on a budget has had quite the run these last few weeks. Megan and Joey dissect who is the film’s true villain, and Megan relates Barker’s vision to “nice guy tropes” in the current dating world. Can we enjoy this kind of horror on face value, or is it better to obsessively dive in as deep as possible? Find out all this and more in our Obsession reaction podcast! We then shift gears to Apple TV’s Margot’s Got Money Troubles and debate whether we think the David E. Kelley series leans more comedy or drama. How will this adaptation fare in this season’s Emmy race? Where is the tip button? Can we bundle 3 seasons for a discounted monthly rate, or… We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen to our audio podcast. Our video podcast follows below!     Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/  The post Do We Have An ‘Obsession’ with Elle Fanning’s ‘Money Troubles’? [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

The Emmy 2026 documentary landscape includes two buzzy Netflix documentaries: the touching Marty, Life is Short and the viral The Crash. The 2026 Emmy documentary landscape includes the typically wide array of potential contenders. Netflix added to the pile with two buzzy titles that recently debuted. Marty, Life is Short lovingly explores the career and personal life of Martin Short, one of our most beloved comic figures. It faces stiff competition to fill that “classic Hollywood celeb” slot from docs focused on Mel Brooks, Jayne Mansfield, and the legendary comic duo of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. On the true crime front, the more straightforward The Crash became a viral sensation. That’s partially due its main subject (Mackenzie Shirilla) and her influencer-focused social media presence. We chat about both documentaries and the broader Emmy documentary landscape. We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen to our audio podcast. Our video podcast follows below!     Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/ The post Emmys 2026: ‘Marty, Life Is Short,’ ‘Crash’ Bring the Docu Drama appeared first on The Contending.

Memorial Day marks the beginning of Summer 2026. We offer up the 15 entertainment milestones we’re hottest for this year. Summer 2026 is here. It’s hot out, and movies are already burning up the box office. But there’s more to summer than just good movies. This week at the Water Cooler, Clarence, Joey, and Megan each list the five events, films, music releases, television shows, and more they’re most excited for this summer. We actually have a pretty eclectic mixture of titles. Hopefully, we’re giving you some inspiration of new things to seek out this summer season. What are some of your eagerly anticipated Summer 2026 events? Sound off in the comments! We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen to our audio podcast. Our video podcast follows below!       Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/ The post Summer 2026: 15 Things We’re Hot For In Entertainment [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

This week at the Water Cooler, Megan & Joey dive into Jack Thorne’s Netflix adaptation of the classic novel Lord of the Flies. If you can wade through all the chatter Megan and Joey do about high school and the politics of Lincoln High, you might be able to survive the unexpected brutality of Netflix’s limited series, Lord of the Flies. William Golding’s 1954 novel has been adapted time and time again (shout out to The Simpsons‘ “Das Bus”), so what do we think of Jack Thorne’s new adaptation? Will a new generation be as horrified as we were when we read it in high school? Netflix has a lot of contenders on their hands for the Limited Series category–how many series can they land in the top category? Can this new iteration make it in alongside Beef? Something for the kids with its exploration of bullying and the deterioration of two different marriages for the older crowd? David McKenna, as the beloved Piggy, landed a nomination at the Gotham TV Awards…can he follow in Owen Cooper’s footsteps? We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen to our audio podcast. Our video podcast follows below!       Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/  The post ‘Lord’… Time ‘Flies’ When You’re Getting Bullied on an Island [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

‘What’s up, faggots?’ is the first line of Elliot Tuttle’s buzzed about new flick, Blue Film. The two-hander, starring Kieron Moore and Reed Birney, has courted some controversy before its release this weekend, but the reviews have been really solid so far. Frank and I are always talking about the queer films that don’t get as much attention as the ones that enter the realm of the awards conversation, and it got us thinking about how some films don’t get the attention they deserve. For our first foray into analyzing new queer filmmaking, Frank and I talk about Tuttle’s film in addition to Rachel Mason’s My Brother’s Killer and Steve Bache’s No Dogs Allowed. All three films have brought on some chatter about their subject matter. Blue was rejected from several film festivals, because of implications involving Birney’s character. Mason’s film, which debuted at this year’s South By Southwest Film Festival, centers on the decades-old murder of adult film actor Billy London in West Hollywood, and Bache’s film skipped a theatrical release in the States since it focuses on a controversial bond between an adult and a confused teen. Not only do we talk about what we admire about all of these films, but we ponder why audiences have such a knee-jerk reaction to the subject matter when each offers something insightful and intelligent to dig into. Mason’s crime documentary allows us to consider how a community can untangle an insidious web of uncertainty while the films by Tuttle and Bache ask us to stretch the limits of our own empathy. Each one of these films is worth seeking out. Don’t sleep on them! Blue Film is now playing in limited release. My Brother’s Killer is seeking distribution. No Dogs Allowed is available to watch on Prime Video and Tubi.  We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen to our audio podcast. Our video podcast follows below.     Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/  The post ‘What’s Up, F*ggots?’: Celebrating Complexities of ‘Blue Film,’ ‘My Brother’s Killer,’ & ‘No Dogs Allowed’ appeared first on The Contending.

First up, we review The Devil Wears Prada 2. Then, we continue in our “Megan’s Never Seen This Michael Douglas Movie” journey with The War of the Roses. This week, we chat about Meryl Streep’s return as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada 2. The sequel to Oscar-nominated film revisits the publishing industry in a modern, digital era. How does this film justify itself as a 20-year-old sequel? What does it get right about modern journalism and sequels in general? Plus, have people been sleeping on Anne Hathaway? Then, we continue with the latest in our “Megan’s Never Seen This Michael Douglas Movie” series — The War of the Roses. Starring Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, and Douglas, Roses famously pits a married couple going through a painful separation. Since neither party is willing to give up their beloved home, they reluctantly live together until the stress becomes far too much to bear. We look at the film through a modern lens, ask if it takes sides in the feud, and consider DeVito’s direction of the tricky material. The film received three Golden Globe nominations and zero Oscar noms. Did The Academy get it right? Next up is another Douglas / Turner / DeVito special: Romancing the Stone. Catch up with us in June for this romantic comedy classic. We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen to our audio podcast. Our video podcast follows below!         Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/  The post Reviewing ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ & Revisiting ‘War of the Roses’ [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

In Episode 550, we look deeply and longingly at The Pitt. How much did we love Season 2? More importantly, how will Season 2 rewrite The Pitt Emmy narrative? We love The Pitt, and that did not change with Season 2. Yes, certain online communities seem to have already turned on the medical drama, but we believe Season 2 remained consistent in its extraordinary character depth and authenticity. After gushing over the new season, we spitball various The Pitt Emmy scenarios. Will Katherine LaNasa move up to Lead Actress? Who does that open space for in the Supporting Actress race? What guest performances will resonate with the Television Academy? Can anyone beat Noah Wyle? Or, for that matter, can any series stop a Drama Series repeat? We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen to our audio podcast. Our video podcast follows below! The post ‘The Pitt’ Emmy Chances: How High Will Season Two Fly? [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

Joey and Clarence look at Beef Season 2: the themes, the performances, and its Emmy chances. Plus, an early look at Michael. Beef Season 2 dropped last week without the typical Netflix limited series fanfare. Audiences reacted in kind: initial ratings ranked 60% lower from season to season. But Beef Season 2 may not be a shower, more of a grower. Starring Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan, Lee Sung Jin’s second season explores themes of wealth, cultural identity, marriages, and the vast generational gap. Joey and Clarence break things down and find common ground in their reactions, even if they don’t agree 100 percent on the merits of the season. Will audiences find their way to the season? Will the Television Academy embrace it as tightly as they did Season 1? Find out on this week’s podcast! But first, Clarence gives a quick sneak preview of his reaction to Michael, the new Michael Jackson biopic. We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen to our audio podcast. Our video podcast follows below!     Podcast Music: Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/ The post ‘Beef’ Season 2: Eating the Rich With a Side of Generational Angst [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

We continue our break down of the 2026 Emmys race where we focus on the bleak Comedy Actor race and the 2-woman Comedy Actress race. We’re back from our spring break and ready to tear into the 2026 Emmys race once more. With HBO MAX’s Hacks receiving series-best reviews in its final season, we wonder if anyone can beat Jean Smart’s clean sweep. Will she win Comedy Actress for all five seasons of the series? Or will Lisa Kudrow finally win Comedy Actress for HBO’s The Comeback? Is there really anyone else who can break into what appears to be a 2-way race? On the flip side, the 2026 Emmys Lead Comedy Actor race looks bleak. Bleak as any recent race we can remember and completely devoid of a frontrunner. Only Murder in the Building‘s Martin Short seems widely predicted to take home an Emmy, finally, but is that out of love for its latest, muted season or is he the last man standing? If not Short, then who? Jason Segel (Shrinking)? Adam Brody (Nobody Wants This)? The two Steves (Martin, Only Murders; Carell, Rooster)? Or are there dark horse contenders who will leap into contention? We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen to our audio podcast. Our video podcast follows below!     Podcast Music: Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/ The post 2026 Emmys: Lead Comedy Actor, Actress Are No Laughing Matter [VIDEO] appeared first on The Contending.

Joey and Megan kick off Emmys 2026 with a look at the early frontrunners as we head into the end of the eligibility window. Are you ready to dive into some Emmy contenders? Yes, it is only April 1st, but we already have some bonafide Emmy passion with even more on the horizon. Megan and Joey begin this Emmy season with discussing the conclusion to Connor Hines’ Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. Did the nine-episode season go on too long? Is Sara Pidgeon really out that far in front? With three women now battling for Supporting Actress (Naomi Watts, Constance Zimmer, and Grace Gummer), will one of them be left out? From there, Megan and Joey run down each series category to counter what may or may not make the cut. Can sophomore efforts like Jury Duty or Nobody Wants This break back in or will Comedy Series make way for something new like Rooster or The Chair Company or can The Comeback earn its first nomination? Will The Pitt grow in nominations as it defends its title? Which Limited Series can extend Netflix’s 3-year winning streak? We close our podcast, as always, with the Flash Forward to the media we’re most anticipating in the upcoming week. We’re deeply appreciative for your shares, likes, and positive ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Click here to listen to our audio podcast. Our video podcast follows below!   Podcast Music: Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Here We Go! by cinematic alex https://tunetank.com/track/802-here-we-go/  The post Emmys 2026: Will the Academy ‘Love’ JFK Jr. & Carolyn or Will Their Eyes Wander? appeared first on The Contending.