Pop Culture

Mariah Carey appears in, directed, and provided music for Hallmark's movie A Christmas Melody.

Arts

20 Things You Desperately Need To Know About Mariah's Hallmark Movie

11:24am December 21, 2015

by Linda Holmes

Called A Hallmark Melody, the movie stars Lacey Chabert as a fashion designer who relocates to a small Midwestern town with her adorable child. The shocks continue from there.

Genevieve Buechner (in pigtails), Constance Zimmer (holding microphone) and Craig Bierko star in Lifetime's UnREAL.

Arts

A Little Under-The-Radar TV: 'UnREAL'

10:55pm December 20, 2015

by Linda Holmes

Lifetime's UnREAL is one of the shows that might have gotten lost in the shuffle of television, and it's worth looking for.

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According to fan reactions, the Star Wars franchise's latest droid BB-8 from The Force Awakens may have out-cuted the clever R2-D2.

The Intimidating Task Behind This Season's Cutest Breakout Star

12:12pm December 19, 2015

by Neda Ulaby

One of the new characters in the latest Star Wars, BB-8, is one adorable droid. With only a sketch of the final product, its creators didn't know how much fuss would come from the harmless robot.

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Arts

Here's One TV Show You Might've Missed: 'You're The Worst'

8:04am December 19, 2015

NPR's Scott Simon talks to TV critic Melanie McFarland about television shows that have flown under the radar. She recommends "You're the Worst" - a romantic comedy with a dark twist.

Arts

'Star Wars' Superfan Describes Episode VII As 'The Movie We Always Wanted'

8:10pm December 18, 2015

by Becky Sullivan

Sixteen years ago, Daniel Alter was first in line to see Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. NPR tracked him down to get his thoughts on the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens.

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Paula Pell has "a very toned joke-writing muscle," says comedian Tina Fey. "She can just go and go and go."

Arts

Comedy Writer Paula Pell Says You Don't Have To Go Far For Good Material

1:36pm December 18, 2015

by Elizabeth Blair

The longtime Saturday Night Live writer created the screenplay for the new Tina Fey-Amy Poehler movie Sisters. Pell says she wanted to explore how people carry their teenage identities into adulthood.

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Robin Wright's fictional character Claire Underwood in the Netflix series House of Cards is a favorite of TV critics and fans. But the demographics of real U.S. women who have abortions are very different from the TV character's.

On TV, Women Who Have Abortions Are Younger, Whiter And Wealthier

11:38am December 18, 2015

by Lisa Aliferis

An analysis of TV shows finds that fictional characters getting abortions are better off than the average American who has an abortion, and are also less likely to already be raising children.

"We started the school day ... with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag — looking out the window I could see the barbed wire fence and the sentry tower right there — as I recited the words 'with liberty and justice for all.'" — George Takei

Arts

Is Forgiveness The Ultimate Test?

10:17am December 18, 2015

by NPR/TED STAFF

In 1942, the U.S. government interned George Takei and his family in a Japanese-American internment camp. Decades later, the actor describes his journey to forgive the country that betrayed him.

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Mayim Bialik and Jim Parsons star as Amy and Sheldon on CBS's The Big Bang Theory.

Arts

Baby Steps: Love And 'The Big Bang Theory'

8:33pm December 17, 2015

by Linda Holmes

How does The Big Bang Theory mark one of the biggest events in nerddom? Well, they thought of something.

The patriarch of F Is for Family, Frank Murphy (Bill Burr), is an angry dad and husband who manages an airport's baggage claim.

Arts

Dad Rage Fuels The Comedy Of 'F Is For Family'

5:34pm December 17, 2015

by Elizabeth Blair

The animated Netflix series features an often-frustrated patriarch named Frank Murphy. Comic and co-creator Bill Burr says the show is inspired by his own childhood stories.

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