Pop Culture

Frances McDormand plays Olive Kitteridge in the four-hour HBO miniseries adapted from Elizabeth Strout's Pulitzer Prize-winning book of short stories.

Arts

Like Olive Kitteridge, Actress Frances McDormand Was Tired Of Supporting Roles

7:41pm October 31, 2014

by NPR Staff

"I've made a career of playing small supporting roles," McDormand says. And in a four-hour HBO miniseries she plays Kitteridge, a supporting character who "should be a leading lady."

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National

'Frozen' Characters Holding Strong For Costume Of The Year

7:41pm October 31, 2014

Audie Cornish checks in with Richard Parrott of the New York City costume chain Ricky's. He tells us whether his predictions on this year's most popular costumes were correct.

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Religion

The Creepiest Ghost And Monster Stories From Around The World

4:32pm October 31, 2014

by Gene Demby

Did you know about the bat-demon of Tanzania? Or the Japanese girl who haunts school bathrooms? We've rounded up some spooky stories that come from different cultural contexts. The chills translate.

A new digital platform called Simpsons World features all 25 years of episodes. FX says it is trying to cater to both old-fashioned TV fans and people who watch shows on other devices.

Arts

In An Online, On-Demand Age, TV Reruns Are Redefined

3:27pm October 31, 2014

by Eric Deggans

FX's new digital platform, Simpsons World features all 25 years of episodes from The Simpsons. NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans says it's also among several sites that are revitalizing the TV rerun.

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Richard Jenkins plays Henry, Olive's husband.

Arts

In The Life Of 'Olive Kitteridge,' It's The Little Things That Add Up

2:48pm October 31, 2014

by David Bianculli

The HBO miniseries starring Frances McDormand is based on a collection of stories about residents in a small town in Maine. It's about family, friends and the tenuous relationships that make up life.

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Jeffrey Tambor plays Maura in the new Amazon series Transparent. Jill Soloway says she cast Tambor in the role because everyone knows Tambor as a "dad figure."

Arts

Funny, Dirty, Sad: The 'Holy Trinity' For 'Transparent' Creator Jill Soloway

11:52am October 31, 2014

When writer Jill Soloway's father came out as a trans woman, Soloway says, it was a huge relief. And it helped her create the series Transparent about "boundaries, legacy, gender, family."

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Tyler Ritter (center) stars in CBS's The McCarthys with, clockwise from top left, Jack McGee, Laurie Metcalf, Jimmy Dunn, Joey McIntyre and Kelen Coleman.

Sports
Arts

Can Shows Like 'The McCarthys' Replace CBS' 'Thursday Night Football'?

4:47pm October 30, 2014

by Eric Deggans

Tonight marks the return of scripted programming on CBS after seven weeks of Thursday Night Football, including a new show, The McCarthys, that should have been left in the locker room.

Feminist critic Anita Sarkeesian, seen here filming her Tropes vs. Women web series, recently canceled a talk at Utah State University after the school received threats of a mass shooting at the event.

One Feminist Critic's Battle With Gaming's Darker Side

1:35pm October 29, 2014

by NPR Staff

This week, Anita Sarkeesian, known for her series critiquing the portrayal of women in video games, canceled a talk at Utah State University after the school received a threat of a mass shooting.

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Halloween For Adults: A Scary History

1:03pm October 29, 2014

by Linton Weeks

Fright Night is not just for kids anymore. Never really was.

Amy Poehler plays Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation, which will air its final season next year. Poehler says, "It's a privilege in television to be able to have a proper goodbye."

Books
Arts

A Candid Memoir From Comedian Amy Poehler? 'Yes Please'

10:23am October 29, 2014

Poehler joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to talk about fighting the body image "demon," being a "world-class snooper" and how she was once told that she had a "great face for wigs."

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