A weekly look at the entertainment landscape from The Contending.
…
continue reading
Clarence Moye Megan Mclachlan Joey Moser Podcasts
1
‘One Battle,’ ‘Dynamite’ Enter the Oscar Race [PODCAST]
1:16:42
1:16:42
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:16:42
‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘A House of Dynamite’ currently both have great-to-good reviews. But which is the real Oscar contender? We’ve all finally caught up to Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. Coming into its debut weekend, the film boasted a reputation as The 2026 Best Picture Winner. After seeing the film with (varying degre…
…
continue reading
1
Lilith Fair: Exploring the ‘Mystery’ Of a Female-Driven Sensation [VIDEO]
47:21
47:21
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
47:21
This week, we look at the new Hulu documentary ‘Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery’ which details the creation and legacy of the first female-driven music concert. In the late 1990s, Sarah McLachlan and other major female artists banded together to kick off Lilith Fair. Against all odds, the concert series flew in the face of the male-dominated music …
…
continue reading
Team Contending gathers around the Water Cooler to recap the 77th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Plus, we create the 2026 Emmy Time Capsule. In our annual tradition, Team Contending gathers around the Water Cooler to share their thoughts on the 77th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. We chat about the ceremony and how the host, Nate Bargatze, constructed…
…
continue reading
The Contending’s Megan McLachlan is joined by Tarcia Smith Bush of Grits & Gab to discuss the twisted Netflix documentary Unknown Number: The High School Catfish. Everyone has been bullied in high school at some point. (And if you haven’t, you’re probably the bully!) But Netflix’s new documentary Unknown Number: The High School Catfish takes harass…
…
continue reading
Jalal Haddad joins the Water Cooler for our 2025 Emmy predictions podcast! Who do we think will take home the top prizes on Sunday night? Sunday night, the Television Academy will unveil the winners for the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards, so naturally, it’s time for our 2025 Emmy predictions podcast! Our own Jalal Haddad joins us to predict the winners…
…
continue reading
1
Oscars 2026: It’s Time For Our 9th Annual Fantasy Oscar Pool! [VIDEO]
25:17
25:17
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
25:17
We proudly present the 9th Annual Fantasy Oscar Pool, another one of our favorite podcasts of the year! It’s a short podcast this week, but it’s one of our favorites and one where we really earn the Explicit rating (thanks largely to Joey). It’s our Fantasy Oscar Pool: the 9th Annual Edition (except for the year where we kind of forgot to do it)! W…
…
continue reading
Emmy nominee Carrie Coon talks to The Contending about the politics of art and the beauty of Mike White’s writing in The White Lotus. If you follow her on social media, then you know that acclaimed actress Carrie Coon does not shy away from a political conversation. Coon regularly debates conservative points of view, points out hypocrisy where she …
…
continue reading
1
Emmys 2025: It’s Charades, Emmy Edition! [VIDEO]
1:04:50
1:04:50
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:04:50
This one’s for the YouTubers. It’s our 2025 Emmy Charades contest between Megan and Joey! Yeah, podcast listeners won’t get much out of this one. Sorry folks. This is for the YouTube fans! To celebrate the start of the 2025 Emmy Phase 2 voting window, Joey and Megan face off in our first Charades: Emmy Edition! Yup, it’s charades as you know it, bu…
…
continue reading
We’re exploring this year’s Emmy-nominated Main Title Themes this week. Plus, we look at recent major horror films including Weapons. Two weeks ago, Joey, Megan, and Clarence chatted about the Emmy nominated Main Title Designs. This week, we return to the Emmy discussion by looking at another favorite Emmy category: Main Title Themes. Typically, th…
…
continue reading
This week, two special guests join the Water Cooler to give Megan and Joey a crash course on the Telluride Film Festival. Within film circles, Labor Day weekend brings the highly influential Telluride Film Festival. Nestled in the lovely Rocky Mountains, Telluride offers a sequestered community, an intriguing mixture of high art and great food defi…
…
continue reading
“One Wonderful Day” marks the end of Desperate Housewives’ first season and of our look back at the Emmy-winning series’ first season. Desperate Housewives ended its first season with episode 23, “One Wonderful Day.” The episode learned from the mistakes of Twin Peaks and other series before it by giving the audience what they wanted most: answers.…
…
continue reading
Tony winner Harriet Sansom Harris shares what it was like playing the devilish housewife-adjacent Felicia Tilman. Desperate Housewives saw many guest stars across its entire run, but few had the seismic impact of Harriet Sansom Harris. As Martha Huber’s estranged sister Felicia Tilman, Harris was the very desperate housewife who cut through all of …
…
continue reading
This week, we’re analyzing one of our favorites: the Main Title Emmy categories. First up: Title Design. Plus, we review The Naked Gun. Today’s podcast marks one of our very favorite of the year. This week, Joey, Megan, and Clarence being their break down of the main title Emmy categories: Title Design and Main Title […] The post Our ‘Naked’ Love F…
…
continue reading
1
‘Amy Bradley Is Missing’ Podcast: A Deep Dive into Netflix’s Documentary Series About a Missing Woman and Misplaced Memories
In a very special Contending at the Water Cooler podcast, Megan McLachlan is joined by Miami Film Festival Director of Programming (and true crime/Babygirl enthusiast) Lauren Cohen to chat about Netflix’s new three-part docuseries Amy Bradley is Missing. You may not have heard of this story before, but you’ve likely seen it on your social […] The p…
…
continue reading
Our latest podcast includes reviews of Lena Dunham’s Too Much and Sophie Brooks’ Oh, Hi!. Megan reviewed the upcoming indie romantic comedy Oh, Hi! earlier this week, so it’s time for us all to weigh in. The film stars Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman as a couple embarking on a romantic weekend in the country that may change […] The post Podcast: ‘Oh,…
…
continue reading
“Goodbye for Now” features a great deal of spying, another hate crime, and a mysterious new neighbor on Wisteria Lane. Desperate Housewives episode twenty-two, “Goodbye for Now,” sets up a great deal of action that will be resolved in the first season finale. First up, Edie finds the newly happy Mike and Susan incredibly annoying. […] The post “Goo…
…
continue reading
The Contending team members gather around the Water Cooler to discuss their reactions to the 2025 Emmys nominations. Severance dominated the 2025 Emmys nominations with 27 bids for the AppleTV series. That’s not a record (Game of Thrones still holds that), but it’s still a massive upswing from its freshman season. Will the series dominate the […] T…
…
continue reading
This week, we’re giving podcast listeners a preview of our 2025 Emmy® predictions before they roll out onto the site this week. The Television Academy announces the 2025 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy® nominations next Tuesday, July 15. To prepare for the big day, Jalal Haddad joins Joey, Megan, and Clarence to unveil their 2025 […] The post 2025…
…
continue reading
“Sunday In the Park With George” features the Scavo’s sexual crisis, Bree’s emotional affair, Gabby’s hot salsa, and Sad Susan’s goodbye. Desperate Housewives episode twenty-one, “Sunday In the Park With George,” explores the time-honored theme of couples who go TEN WHOLE DAYS without sex. Yes, Lynette and Tom Scavo find that work and family someti…
…
continue reading
On this week’s podcast, we look at the making of a TikTok phenomenon and its surprising downfall in our M3GAN 2.0 review. In late 2022, TikTok birthed a bona-fide movie star in M3GAN. The artificially intelligent doll harnessed the power of TIkTok dances and genius marketing to become an unexpected smash hit in early 2023. Now […] The post ‘M3GAN 2…
…
continue reading
