The State of Scary TV
‘The Returned’ and ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ join ‘The Walking Dead’ in offering high-quality horror.
September 21, 2013
The Best of Grantland Pop Culture Podcasts: Fall TV, Survivor, Cosplay, and Arsenio Hall
Chris and Andy cover new fall TV, Right Reasons weigh in on Survivor, Girls in Hoodies give their thoughts on Heroes of Cosplay, and Prince Movies discuss Arsenio. Listen to the podcast here: ESPN.com Podcenter. Subscribe to Grantland Pop Culture on iTunes, and check out our podcasts page.
Read moreSeptember 20, 2013
Afternoon Links: Louis C.K. on Loneliness and Cell Phones
Last night on Conan, O’Brien’s old buddy Louis C.K. stopped by to reminisce about working together on Late Night back in the day, failing to pick up Gwyneth Paltrow at a Christmas party, and why he won’t let his daughters have cell phones. Was it because he was afraid they’d turn into morally bankrupt adults […]
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Right Reasons Podcast: Survivor, The Challenge, and Britney Spears
Jacoby and Juliet discuss the new Survivor cast and format, savor The Challenge as it winds down, and check in on Britney Spears’s investment portfolio. Listen to the podcast here: ESPN.com Podcenter. Subscribe to Grantland Pop Culture on iTunes, and check out our podcasts page.
Read moreTrailers of the Week: Nebraska, Grace of Monaco, Snowpiercer, and More
Nebraska (November 22) Silver: There are really only a handful of filmmakers working today whose films should be fervently anticipated as soon as they are labeled “in production.” Given Alexander Payne’s track record, he should be seen as one of them. Nebraska appears to contain simplistic visual similarities to Payne’s earlier work, like Citizen Ruth […]
Read moreSongs of the Week: Beck Gives, Solange Loves, Deltron Melds, Uncle Murda Wu Wuu Wuus
Hear seven days of jams.
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Emmys Preview: The Six Biggest Stories to Follow on Sunday Night
This Sunday night on CBS, the 65th-annual Emmy Awards will celebrate the year in television excellence. Like most meth-addled Americans, I won’t be watching — at least not live. Instead, I’ll be tuning in to AMC to watch some truly excellent television in real time, a.k.a. the penultimate episode of Breaking Bad. Still, many, many […]
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Breaking Bad Precap, Episode 515: Twice More Unto the Breach
A Final Toast for Hank Andy Greenwald: Hank died last week. Let’s say it again, to be clear: Hank died last week. That was him, lying in the desert, furiously aware of his fate long before his genius brother-in-law figured it out. He was ASAC Schrader. His name was his name. He didn’t beg or […]
Read moreHey, Here's Peter Dinklage Singing on Sesame Street, Happy Friday
Is this wonderful? Yeah, this is wonderful. Now you almost want Tyrion Lannister to break into song the next time he’s sitting around that giant table with Tywin, getting an earful about what a disappointment he is. And when the song’s done, Tywin’s like, “Your dead mother had a beautiful voice, thanks for killing her.” […]
Read moreVideo on Demand Report: World War Z, Now With More Zombie Dismemberment
The Headliner World War Z It’s not that all movies need to be extremely gory, OK? I’m not an animal. I’m a respectable person — a Canadian person, for God’s sake — who abhors real violence. But when approximately every other scene in your movie requires someone to kill a zombie with whatever happens to […]
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The Nine People You Meet in a Dance-Battle Movie
Battle of the Year krumps its way into theaters today, and while I haven’t been fortunate enough to see it yet … in a way, I kind of have, because other than the specific choreography, all dance movies are kind of exactly the same. Here are the nine people you meet in a dance-battle movie […]
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Dexter’s Terrible Final Season and How Breaking Bad Ruined the Series
Think back to the late fall of 2007, if you can. If you were a TV buff at that time, there were a handful of shows that mattered. The Sopranos had just ended its run, while Mad Men had just begun. 30 Rock had come roaring onto the scene over the course of the calendar […]
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Grantland Reality TV Fantasy League: Double Dipping With Survivor and The Challenge
Survivor is back, which means we finally get to introduce some new blood into the GRTFL waters this week. (Don’t worry, you’ll get your Challenge scoring update, too.) Survivor: Blood vs. Water immediately gave us a hot doctor couple probably headed for divorce, the threat of assault with a deadly oar, a near drowning, a […]
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Dream-Casting NBC's Johnny Carson Biopic Miniseries
NBC has announced a Johnny Carson biopic miniseries, one of those “Oy, what a bad idea”s that could prove immensely entertaining. Carson was the most enigmatic of all mass-popular TV stars, a man who spent thousands of nights in Americans’ living rooms and bedrooms without revealing anything about himself that he didn’t want you to […]
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Jerry Bruckheimer's Deal With Disney Over: Hollywood Heavens Weep
Yesterday, the once unimaginable happened to He Who Bestrides Hollywood like an open-collared Colossus. Mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer lost his mega-rich deal with Disney. (Grantland and ESPN are both owned by Disney.) To which we can only say: Oh Bruckie-mandias! Look on Lone Ranger, ye mighty, and despair!
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