SHRINKING Review, NOBODY WANTS THIS Review: 2 Emmy Rivals
In their Shrinking review and Nobody Wants This review, Lisa Johnson Mandell and Tandy Culpepper explore two top Emmy contenders, on their The Hollywood Beat podcast. Shrinking Review What if your therapist stopped following the rules—and actually started telling you what they really think? That’s the high-concept (and high-risk) premise of Shrinking, a surprisingly…
YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS Review, THE DAY OF THE JACKEL Review — 2 Good!
The Your Friends and Neighbors review and The Day of the Jackal review podcast on The Hollywood Beat finds TV critics Tandy Culpepper and Lisa Johnson Mandell agreeing that the lead makes the show. Your Friends and Neighbors Review Apple TV+’s limited series Your Friends and Neighbors delivers a sleek, morally fractious descent into…
The Dark Side of ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’
While some families were helped by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, others were buried in increased taxes, higher utility bills and maintenance expenses that were too high to handle. Vice TV “Move that bus!” To the uninitiated, those words might have little meaning; but to longtime fans of reality TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,”…
SEVERANCE Review — THE WHITE LOTUS Review — 2 Buzzy Dramas
Film and TV Critics Lisa Johnson Mandell and Tandy Culpepper give their Severance review and The White Lotus review on The Hollywood Beat podcast. Both series come with flaws, but they’re highly entertaining. The White Lotus review — Season 3 differs from 1 and 2 Mike White’s biting satirical dramedy The White Lotus…
2 Laughs in 1 — THE STUDIO Review, THE BEAR Review on The Hollywood Beat
The Hollywood Beat Podcast reveals that Lisa and Tandy are pretty much on the same page in their The Studio review and The Bear review. The question is, how will Emmy voters decide between these two? The Studio review — 4 Thumbs up The Studio is Hollywood’s funhouse mirror. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg—alongside…
ZERO DAY Review, PARADISE Review — Tandy vs Lisa on The Hollywood Beat
In their Paradise review and Zero Day review, Tandy Culpepper and Lisa Johnson Mandell give their takes on two TV dramas that are already getting Emmy buzz. High concept. It’s a compound adjective used to describe certain film and TV projects, and it’s defined as “a simple, easily grasped idea or premise that forms the…
MOUNTAINHEAD Review — Fleece Clad, High Tech Terror
Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Mountainhead review says that HBO Max’s latest streaming film is razor sharp, frightfully prescient and punctuated by some of the best acting you’ll see on a small screen. Succession director, writer and executive producer Jesse Armstrong didn’t intend for the HBO Max streaming film Mountainhead to be a horror film, yet it…
Results of the Critics Choice Real TV Awards — Don’t Judge!
Even if you claim to hate reality TV, betcha some of your favorite shows are among this year’s winners of the Critics Choice Real TV Awards. I know a lot of you erudite small screen fans turn up your noses at reality TV. “I don’t watch that stuff, it’s dreadful!” you scoff, then you start…
2 Comedy Podcast — Mid-Century Modern Review, Will & Grace Review
Lisa Johnson Mandell and Tandy Culpepper dish about two Max Mutchnick and David Kohan comedies, giving a Mid-Century Modern review and a Will & Grace review. Both are fabulous and ground breaking for their times. 2 in 1 — Mid-Century Modern review and Will & Grace review The streaming service Hulu has dropped a new…
2 Takes in 1 — Adolescence Review, Disclaimer Review
In this episode of The Hollywood Beat’s Take on TV, Lisa and Tandy offer an Adolescence review and a Disclaimer review, two drama limited series that push the envelope in that they use unconventional story-telling techniques. Adolescence Review The first, Adolescence, runs only four episodes, and—wait for it—each episode is shot in one take. Let…
