Pretty Much Pop: A Culture Podcast

In light of Judd Apatow's HBO documentary The 99-Year-Old Man, we discuss the films of Mel Brooks, which were to varying degrees formative on us (i.e. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al). Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop. Sponsors: Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp. Visit squarespace.com/PRETTY (code PRETTY) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.

In light of the now-completed black history month and the upcoming Oscars, we consider the "Oscars So White" issue that was a hot topic about a decade ago. We all tried to watch some of the Oscar-nominated films by black creators, like Twelve Years a Slave, Moonlight, Judas and the Black Messiah, Boyz in Da Hood, et al. What makes for a critically lauded drama in this genre? Does a film have to have black creators (not just stars) to be an authentically black film? Are such films destined for a niche audience? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al discuss. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp. Visit squarespace.com/PRETTY (code PRETTY) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.

When we don't know much about some genius playwright's life, why not make up some things based on the contents of his plays? Maybe put Shakespearean dialogue right in character's mouths, so the audience will say, "hey, I remember that line!" Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk through the Chloe Zhao Oscar-bait historical drama, Hamnet, and its source, the 2020 novel by Maggie O'Farrell. Is the film great, or just "grief porn"? Plus, Shakespeare in Love and other biopics. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp. Visit squarespace.com/PRETTY (code PRETTY) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.

We're discussing Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Comedy Central show that premiered in 1997 and has just finished its politically relevant 28th season, featuring the usual crew: Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. How can a show be so juvenile yet so apparently well thought out?e get into the evolution of the show,, the equal-opportunity offensive humor, the use of child characters to deliver it, their ambiguous politics, the quick turnaround production, the excellent music, and more. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsor: Visit squarespace.com/PRETTY (code PRETTY) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.

The Netflix sci-fi/horror/teen series by the Duffer Brothers that started in 2016 has now finished with its sixth season, attempting to be both epic and sentimental. Who is this show actually aimed at? We talk about the initial appeal through various uneven seasons through the execution of the finale. Has the thing gone on so long that we can't make sense out of the continuity. Featuring, as usual, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsor: Visit squarespace.com/PRETTY (code PRETTY) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.

The Hallmark Channel became famous for producing low-budget, formulaic Christmas films, and this has spread to other outlets, sometimes with higher budgets and ambitions. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al each watched a smattering of these and share their reflections on the genre and their specific experiences. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get up to 50% an annual membership at MasterClass.com/PRETTY. Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at rula.com/pmp.

We discuss the British spy show based on the novels of Mick Herron, which are in turn firmly in a tradition of anti-007 books by John le Carré. Featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al. The point is not to glamorize the spy service, but to use realism and black humor to stress the human cost and general boredom of this work along with the dysfunctional nature of the institutions involved. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get 15% off an annual membership at MasterClass.com/PRETTY. Go to surfshark.com/pmp or use code pmp at checkout to get 4 extra monthsof Surfshark VPN.

In light of One Battle After Another, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al walk through the range of his films from his 1996 crime film Hard Eight through his much lauded Magnolia, Boogie Nights, Punch-Drunk Love, and There Will Be Blood and his more controversial recent ones like Licorice Pizza, The Master, The Phantom Thread, and Inherent Vice. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Go to surfshark.com/pmp or use code pmp at checkout to get 4 extra monthsof Surfshark VPN. If you like our show, check out the Moviestruck podcast.

In light of Noah Hawley TV show Alien Earth, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al revisit the franchise through its seven canon films beginning with Ridley Scott's 1979 classic. While there's plenty of sheer repetition (alien loose, killing people one by one) throughout these properties, the various filmmakers attempt to avoid sure repetition by shifting genres. On the new show, we get a pronounced shift to focusing on the synthetic humans; is that a good thing? Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get 50% off Claude AI Pro at Claude.ai/pmp. Get 15% off an annual membership at MasterClass.com/PRETTY.

It's a special two-hander where Mark and Lawrence reflect on the appeal of horror and how the new Monster: Ed Gein Netflix show has to contribute, given that it is not merely a (very loose) presentation of real events, and itself a horror drama, but also a commentary on the Hollywood properties influenced by the Ed Gein murders, including Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs. We bring this up to date by including discussion of the Terrifier films as well as the work of Rob Zombie. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get 50% off Claude AI Pro at Claude.ai/pmp. Go to surfshark.com/pmp or use code pmp at checkout to get 4 extra monthsof Surfshark VPN.

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al watched Spinal Tap and its new sequel, and we throw these into a mix with K-Pop Demon Hunters and other films and shows involving made-for-TV (and film) bands, including We Are Lady Parts, That Thing You Do, Fear of a Black Hat, CB4, Atlanta, The Blues Brothers, The Commitments, Almost Famous, The Rutles, and The Monkees. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get 50% off Claude AI Pro at Claude.ai/pmp. Get 15% off an annual membership at MasterClass.com/PRETTY.

For our Emmys/back-to-school episode, we cover the pinnacle of the current network sitcom landscape: The six-time 2025 Emmy nominated Abbott Elementary, which is beginning its fifth season. Mark, Lawrence, Al and West-Philly-resident Sarahlyn discuss the show's Philly-ness and how it integrates cringe humor with realistic depiction of how messed up it is for schools to be so underfunded. Is this a "black show"? Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get 50% off Claude AI Pro at Claude.ai/pmp. Try the Stuck in the '80s podcast at sit80s.com.

What do we expect out of a superhero film? Does it need overqualified dramatic actors? Does it even need a real budget? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the various films modeled after Marvel's Fantastic Four comics initiated by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1961. First Steps is clearly the best of them and surpassed our low expectations, with its delivery of a believable family dynamic and a fun retro-futurist production design. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.Sponsors: Get 15% off an annual membership at MasterClass.com/PRETTY. Check out the That Aged Well podcast.

What is the state of the stream-of-gags formula that used to stand tall in the films of the Zucker Brothers (mainly Airplane) and Mel Brooks? A new generation attempts to revive that with a new Naked Gun film. How does this new effort relate to the classic films? Are these kinds of films particularly timeless? Rewatchable? Do young people appreciate this kind of thing? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and (for the third or so) Al speculate wildly as usual. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.

In light of the new James Gunn film Superman, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the character, his stories, and past films and shows. Did Zack Snyder (Man of Steel) miss the point? Are the Richard Donner films (chiefly 1978's Superman: The Movie) as good as nostalgia would have us recall them? How does one write a convincing plot centered around a flawless, basically all-powerful hero? How should the Lex Luthor character fit in? Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.

Purported the first summer blockbuster, Jaws has now hit 50 years, and so we discuss this wonderful early Spielberg film, its ill-conceived sequels, some of the making-of docs, and the legacy of shark/big carnivore films that it spawned. Is the film as flawless as it's made out to be? Are the sequels as awful as typically described? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss! Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.

In light of the new film Ballerina, we discuss the John Wick franchise that kicked off in 2014 with four films plus a (bad) Peacock TV show. We also watched the recent documentary Wick Is Pain. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al are joined by Brian Casey to mostly talk about the main four films in the series: They have a formula, but is that bad? Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.

In immediate reaction to the Apple TV+ Seth Rogan show The Studio, we talk about Hollywood's obsession with itself and how studio dynamics interfere with what exactly we all get to see. Also, what's with the fascination with old Hollywood? What's the appeal of Hollywood gossip? Erica our first-season co-host returns to join Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. If you enjoy our show, check out the All the Right Movies podcast.

On the eight-film action series that launched in 1996 (based on the 1966 TV series) in light of its apparently final film. Featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al. Is this a coherent narrative as the last film would have you believe, or just an excuse for a series of Tom Cruise physical challenges? Maybe the latter is enough for us! For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss Tony Gilroy's Star Wars Disney+ two-season TV show. Should this actually be a Star Wars show given how different in tone it was? The show adds meat (and banality!) to the evil of the Empire and the rough life of a rebel. We talk characters, themes, settings, and all that other literary stuff. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.