Pop Culture Persephone

We may never know really went down at the 94th Annual Academy Awards between Will Smith and Chris Rock, but that won’t keep Persephone from ruminating and theorizing about it on this week’s episode!  Persephone unpacks the slapping scandal and what might have led up to it, plus briefly discussing some of the night’s wins and other surprises - since no one else seems to be mentioning them.  In the second half of the show, Persephone shares her thoughts on the barrage of new “start-up failure” series treatments based on true stories including The Dropout, We Crashed and Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber.  Is it about “changing the world” or just wanton narcissism and greed?  Tune in to find out!

This week on the PCP, Persephone and return guest Anna Rose split a bottle of red wine while suffering through the much anticipated Ben Affleck/Ana de Armas erotic thriller Deep Water. Suffice it to say, one bottle of wine was not enough to help us make it through this shallow attempt at titillation and marital misdeeds in this underwhelming flick, but at least our commentary is fun! We watched this one - so you could save your time and go straight to our review. As a bonus, Anna and I discuss the troubling latest regarding Kanye West and if this behavior is part of his performative art, a cry for help or a combination of both.

It’s the enthusiastic return of Netflix’s dating show Love is Blind and it’s exactly what we expected: cringeworthy/shocking/predictable and completely unpredictable! Persephone is joined this week by Cleveland-based theatre artist Amiee Collier to unpack the series and ask the big questions regarding the believability of the connections, our favorite (and not-so-favorite) cast members, and who we think will “go the distance.”  This much requested episode is filled with spoilers - so be warned!

On this week's much anticipated episode, New York artist Anna Meyer joins Persephone as we discuss America's chicest and most unpleasant con-woman, Anna Delvey and the Netflix series, "Inventing Anna." Join us as we parse out fact vs. fiction, the Shonda Rhimes hyperbole problem, and trying to discern between true story and dramatic narrative.

Time to listen in to Part 2 of the annual Academy Award Nomination special where Persephone and special first time guest and Oscar expert Stuart Hoffman dive deep into the best supporting actor and actress nominee pool. Who do we think will go home with the little gold man compared to who we think will win the coveted award?  You will have to tune in to find out! A can't miss multi-part episode for film and Oscar fans!

Somehow its Oscars Awards season again so your trusty Persephone is back and dropping three episodes devoted to the 94th Annual Academy Award nominations! With the ceremony returning to their traditional home at LA's epic Dolby Theatre and a return to a host format, will the March 27th event feel more reminiscent of the Oscars of yore or will the malaise of COVID-19 still hang thick in the air? While time will tell on these questions, during this three-part series Persephone and special first time guest and Oscar expert Stuart Hoffman will dive deep into the nominee pool and who we think should win compared to who we think will win. A can't miss multi-part episode for film and Oscar fans!

Before the Kim Kardashian of it all, the only viral celebrity sex tape that mattered was the one linked to those kooky newlyweds Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee in 1995.  This week on the PCP, Persephone is joined by reality tv superfan Peter Clark as we dive into Hulu’s miniseries Pam and Tommy - a pretty accurate re-telling of the brief courtship between America’s biggest sex symbol of the 90’s and rock-n-roll’s bad boy drummer.  With Lily James and Sebastian Stan impressively inhabiting these roles, the series is an interesting reflection on how celebrity was treated at the height of paparazzi culture while people were still figuring out the monetary capabilities of the internet.  What was the real story behind this love affair and did the sex tape scandal ruin their chances of happily-ever-after or where they a “doomed from the beginning” couple? Peter and Persephone will discuss our thoughts on the power couple, that mid-90’s vibe, and how this celebrity sex tape set a precedent for much more to come.

Our focus on the horrors of being a teen continue as we examine the beauty and nightmarish hellscape that is HBO’s Euphoria as it rockets into its second season.  Created by Sam Levinson and featuring Emmy-award winner Zendaya in a career defining performance as Rue, this series dives headlong into addiction, sexuality, love, violence, and gender - all set to an unmistakable score by Labrinth.  Tune in this week as special first time guest Mo Eutazia Dugger joins Persephone to discuss the impact of this series, why we are so drawn to messy characters, and what we are feeling about the future of the controversial series. This episode contains spoilers from season one and two!

Showtime pulled a bloody rabbit out of it's hat when dropping the 90's-era teen survival drama Yellowjackets in late November, brilliantly situated  alongside the reboot of Dexter: New Blood on their Sunday lineup.  A tautly wrapped drama focusing on a girls varsity soccer team who inexplicably survive 19 months in the Canadian wilderness after their plane crashes while in route to a national championship, Yellowjackets seamlessly shifts between two timelines - 1996 and 2021.  What really happened in the wilderness and who survived the 25-year tragedy is the driving action of this series with enough hidden clues and "Easter eggs" to warm the heart of any rabid Reddit superfan! Tune in this week as special return guest McKenzie Merriman joins Persephone to discuss this first season, our theories, our character favorites and how Yellowjackets is raising the bar for the rest genre television.  This episode is filled with spoilers - be forewarned!