In a year that has seen critical acclaim for the coming-of-age film The Peanut Butter Falcon, starring former Special Olympics athlete Zack Gottsagen, Hollywood is learning that there is a place in the industry for people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This hasn't always been the case – although the CDC estimates that more than 250,000 Americans have Down Syndrome, only 1.6 percent of all speaking characters in 2018's top 100 movies evinced any sort of disability. Tropic Thunder parodied the practice of actors "going full R-word," an unfortunate Hollywood tradition that has included several Oscar winners. The Rebeccas trace the industry's history of portraying characters with IDD (which, to be fair, does include highlights such as Chris Burke's authentic Golden Globe-nominated performance in the early '90s family drama Life Goes On) and sit down with Rachel Osterbach and her mother Laurie, two of the stars of A&E's Emmy-winning docuseries Born This Way, which follows seven adults with Down Syndrome, and the show's executive producer Jon Murray.

Hosted by: Rebecca Ford and Rebecca Sun

Produced by: Matthew Whitehurst and Joshua Farnham

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Lesbian representation on television has come a long way since TV’s first same-sex kiss between two women, on a 1991 episode of NBC’s L.A. Law. Just look at Ellen DeGeneres in 1997, whose simultaneous sitcom and real-life coming-out made headlines around the globe (including the cover of Time magazine), and Ellen in 2019, TV’s ruling daytime queen and go-to host for feel-good, family-friendly programming. In the intervening decades, depictions of female-female attraction and intimacy ranged from coy (Friends’ Carol and Susan have a wedding -- but don’t kiss) to ratings stunts (“The One with Rachel’s Big Kiss” is an actual episode title). In 2004, Showtime premiered the first television series centering on an ensemble of gay women. It was a landmark show but like any trailblazer, an imperfect one that often cracked under the burden of authentically representing a diverse and marginalized community. Fifteen years later, the L Word is back, and the Rebeccas chat with its new showrunner, Marja-Lewis Ryan, on how the Generation Q revival builds upon (and in some cases, rectifies) the legacy of its predecessor.  

Hosted by: Rebecca Ford and Rebecca Sun

Produced by: Matthew Whitehurst and Joshua Farnham

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Strippers and exotic dancers have been a rite of passage on many a major actress' filmography, from Joanne Woodward (in 1963's The Stripper) to Jennifer Aniston (in 2013's We're the Millers). But most of these portrayals tend to depict the profession as a last resort for desperate women – or simply an excuse to ogle a movie star in compromising positions. Films centered on the world of female strippers tend to fall more in the camp rather than the awards crowd (unless you're talking about Showgirls and Striptease vying for the Razzies' Worst Picture of the Decade), with the exception of the latest entry in the canon – STX's true-crime pic Hustlers. The Rebeccas talk to its director, Lorene Scafaria – incidentally, one of the few women to helm a movie in the genre – about her research into the industry and how she filmed awards-contender Jennifer Lopez through the female gaze.

Hosted by: Rebecca Ford and Rebecca Sun

Produced by: Matthew Whitehurst and Joshua Farnham

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Pop culture has traditionally not been kind to nerds in general – they're usually the butt of the joke, considered romantically undesirable and portrayed as social misfits. And black nerds – both onscreen and in real life – often contend with an additional misperception: the insinuation or accusation that, by dint of their interests, hobbies or academic achievements, they are "acting white" and not being true to their race (see: Fresh Prince's Carlton vs. Will, Andre's fears about his son Junior in Black-ish's premise). The Rebeccas explore the history of Hollywood's most famous blerds and then talk to The Good Place star William Jackson Harper about what it means to be authentically black, authentically nerdy – and also authentically a romantic lead – all at once.

Hosted by: Rebecca Ford and Rebecca Sun

Produced by: Matthew Whitehurst and Joshua Farnham

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While the news media has created a narrative that often characterizes black men as absentee or deadbeat from the household (statistics dispute this narrative), film and television have, over the years, created many memorable — and very present — father figures. In this week's episode, The Rebeccas will revisit some of the best African American fathers onscreen, from those brought to life as part of the Norman Lear universe (James Evans Sr, George Jefferson) to protective, street-smart pops like Furious Styles to the '90s TV dads like Carl Winslow and (father figure) Uncle Phil. Then, Sterling K. Brown, known for playing Randall Pearson on This is Us, will join the Rebeccas to talk about how being a father himself has influenced his work, his priorities when bringing Randall to life and his new film, Waves, in which he plays a very different type of father figure.

”Hollywood Remixed” is a topical, diversity-focused podcast from The Hollywood Reporter, hosted by Rebecca Sun and Rebecca Ford. Each episode will be dedicated to a single theme – a type of character or story that has been traditionally underrepresented or misrepresented in pop culture – and feature a special guest whose latest work exemplifies a new breakthrough in representation. We’ll revisit groundbreaking classics and introduce listeners to hidden gems, in order to better understand how film and television in the past has shaped progress in the present.

Hosted by: Rebecca Ford and Rebecca Sun

Produced by: Matthew Whitehurst and Joshua Farnham

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Although Asian men have existed in Western cinema since Sessue Hayakawa in the silent era, they have often been maligned as geeks, Fu Manchus – and sometimes annoying neighbors in yellowface. The Rebeccas trace the lineage of Asian male actors in Hollywood, from Bruce Lee’s enduring (and even posthumous) struggle to be taken seriously as a leading man to the long-awaited present era, where Asian men are finally breaking through as romantic leads and even superheroes. “Last Christmas” star Henry Golding joins us to share his own journey of becoming an Asian leading man and the responsibilities that entails. 

Hosted by: Rebecca Ford and Rebecca Sun

Produced by: Matthew Whitehurst and Joshua Farnham

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

”Hollywood Remixed” is a topical, diversity-focused podcast from The Hollywood Reporter, hosted by Rebecca Sun and Rebecca Ford. Each episode will be dedicated to a single theme – a type of character or story that has been traditionally underrepresented or misrepresented in pop culture – and feature a special guest whose latest work exemplifies a new breakthrough in representation. We’ll revisit groundbreaking classics and introduce listeners to hidden gems, in order to better understand how film and television in the past has shaped progress in the present.

Hosted by: Rebecca Ford and Rebecca Sun

Produced by: Matthew Whitehurst and Joshua Farnham