The Rolling Tape

We're bringing you somewhere we've never been before: the world of reality television. Here on The Rolling Remote, we've covered just about every kind of show imaginable from medical dramas, science fiction, fantasy to vampires, medieval knights, and post-high school drug mules to Mexico, but somehow we've never ventured into the corner of television that can completely take over pop culture like almost nothing else.

Today, we're diving into the recently finished Love Island USA Season 8, hosted by Ariana Madix and streaming on Peacock. The series follows a group of Islanders living together in a villa in Fiji as they couple up, recouple, survive Casa Amor, navigate public votes, welcome bombshells, endure Movie Night, and deal with plenty of other chaos, all in the hopes of making it to the end with a genuine connection. The winning couple walks away with a $100,000 prize.

This season became the biggest original entertainment launch in Peacock's history. Viewership continued to grow throughout its six-week run, making it one of the platform's biggest breakout successes to date.

We break down the final four couples, our feelings about the design of the show as a whole, and the most standout contestants that were dumped throughout the season.

On this episode:
Jake Fittipaldi
Tate Fowler
Danny Jarabek
Courtney Ward

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Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
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Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

The 78th Primetime Emmy Award nominations were announced on Wednesday, July 8, with major acting and series categories revealed by Jeff Hiller and Emmy winner Liza Colón-Zayas. Hiller earned an Emmy nomination last year for Somebody Somewhere, while Colón-Zayas won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for The Bear. 

Among the biggest takeaways, The Pitt led all programs with 25 nominations for its second season. Hacks followed closely with a record-breaking 24 nominations, setting a new high for a comedy series by surpassing the 23 nominations earned by The Studio and the second season of The Bear last year. Apple TV+'s breakout horror comedy Widow's Bay also made a major splash, earning 19 nominations despite its final three episodes falling outside the Emmy eligibility window. 

By network, HBO Max led the field with 122 nominations, followed by Netflix with 111. Apple enjoyed its strongest Emmy performance to date with 89 nominations, fueled by breakout series including Widow's Bay, Pluribus, and Shrinking. 

We break down all the nominations and how our predictions stood up against the results.

On this episode:
Paul Rai
Bobbi Miller

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

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Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
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Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

This week we are locating the Kandarian Dagger...

Evil Dead Burn is the third standalone entry, after Evil Dead (2013) and Evil Dead Rise (2023), and the the sixth installment in the "Evil Dead" franchise as a whole. It was originally slated to be released wide in theaters on July 24, but was moved up two weeks to July 10.

The film is directed and co-written by Sébastien Vaniček, and produced by Rob Tapert and series creator Sam Raimi. It stars Souheila Yacoub as a young woman who seeks solace with her in-laws following the death of her husband, as the family comes together in a secluded house. The gathering becomes a “family reunion from hell” as members gradually turn into Deadites. It also stars Tandi Wright, Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan, Erroll Shand, and Maude Davey in supporting roles.

We review the film and discuss the franchise overall.

Our pre-episode Patreon exclusive conversation features:

• Letterboxd Up For Sale
• First 3 TIFF Premieres Announced
• Focus Features Acquires Elsinore

On this episode:
Danny Jarabek
Joshua Mbonu
Nadia Arain
Des Mack
Paul Rai

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
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Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

Night Nurse, the feature directorial debut of writer-director Georgia Bernstein, premiered earlier this year in the NEXT section of the Sundance Film Festival, and it arrives in theaters July 10 as, in Bernstein's own words, "an erotic thriller which takes place in a retirement community."

In joining The Rolling Tape for a conversation on the film, Bernstein describes how the film originated from the experience of her own grandmother nearly being scammed over the phone. We also discuss how she and her team developed the ambiguous suburban setting, the casting choices for the primary characters of Eleni and Douglas, and her collaborators on the cinematography and score that help shape the unnerving tone of the film.

Follow our interviewee online:
Georgia Bernstein IMDb, Instagram

Follow our interview host online:
Danny Jarabek

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

First off, we want to apologize in advance to Matt Damon. We were going to include him on this episode as a surprise guest, but went through the run of show and he decided he had to spend time with Ben Affleck instead.

RETRO//RANKED is a Rolling Tape network series ranking the individual entries of beloved franchises and filmographies, timed to major new releases. For season 7, we're diving into the complete filmography of Christopher Nolan, building episode by episode, two films at a time, toward the release of his latest film, The Odyssey.

We are in July now. It is Odyssey month. It’s right there in the distance, we can almost touch it.

Interstellar is Christopher Nolan’s ninth film. It was released on October 26, 2014, interestingly not in July. Steven Spielberg, who was attached to direct this movie in 2006, hired Jonathan Nolan to write the screenplay, but chose other projects to direct instead. This is the first movie Nolan worked with Hoyte van Hoytema as Director of Photography. Van Hoytema has gone on as the Cinematographer for all of Nolan’s forthcoming movies, including The Odyssey.

Dunkirk is Nolan’s tenth movie. It was released on July 21, 2017. After first-hand accounts of the Dunkirk evacuation revealed to the writer, producer, and director how young and inexperienced the soldiers were, he decided to cast young and unknown actors for the beach setting. This of course included a small, unknown indie artist making his way in the pop music scene, Harry Styles.

Enjoy all VIDEO episodes of SEASON 7 one week ahead of their public audio-only release.

Our current collaborative ranking so far:

1. The Dark Knight
2. The Prestige
3. Inception
4. Memento
5. The Dark Knight Rises
6. Batman Begins
7. Following
8. Insomnia

On this episode:
Evan Miller
Paul Rai
Claire May Lewis

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
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Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

Leviticus, directed by Adrian Chiarella, is an Australian queer horror film that has resonated with audiences through its blend of horror, coming-of-age drama, and tender romance. While much of the conversation has centered on its emotional story and breakout performances, the film's visual language is equally vital to its impact. 

In this exclusive interview, Leviticus costume designer Zohie Castellano discusses crafting the film’s haunting Australian gothic aesthetic and using costume to reflect the emotional journeys of Stacy Clausen’s Ryan and Joe Bird’s Naim. Castellano breaks down the symbolism behind the film’s colour palette, recurring motifs, and character wardrobes, revealing how every detail was designed to support themes of yearning, identity, and self-acceptance. We also explore her collaboration with director Adrian Chiarella and how costume design helped bring one of 2026’s most talked-about queer horror films to life.

Leviticus is now playing in select theaters. You can read Kam’s essay on the film here. 

Follow our interviewee online:
Zohie Castellano 

Follow our interview host:
Kam Ryan

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
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Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

What better way to celebrate 250 years of American history than by talking about the upcoming Emmy nominations? That's right. As of time of this recording, we were just four days away from the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards nominations set to be announced Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at 11:30 A.M. EST, where we'll celebrate the best television has to offer from June 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026.

We have new shows, returning favorites, and series finales to discuss, so it's a packed episode as we deliver our final Emmy nomination predictions for the Drama Series, Comedy Series, and Limited Series categories, along with their respective lead, supporting, and guest acting races. Altogether, that's sixteen acting categories.

Throughout our discussion, we also work in our writing and directing predictions for each section to help strengthen our arguments for each show's overall performance. It's a lot of ground to cover, especially since this is our very first Emmy predictions episode, so we brought in a couple of TV gurus to help navigate this awards-season terrain.

On this episode:
Paul Rai
Jake Fittipaldi
Tate Fowler

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

Listen Here:
Spotify
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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

We are here to tell you where the minions were between 1939 and 1945...

Minions & Monsters is directed by Pierre Coffin and written by Coffin and Brian Lynch. Produced by Illumination, it is the third installment in the Minions prequel series and the seventh installment overall in the Despicable Me franchise. Taking place in 1927, 41 years before the events of Minions (2015), the film follows the Minions as they aim to make a monster movie of their own in Old Hollywood. The film stars director Pierre Coffin as the Minions, alongside Trey Parker, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Bridges, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, and Phil LaMarr.

We will review the film before discussing the best of the first half of 2026 and previewing our most anticipated titles yet to come.

Our pre-episode Patreon exclusive conversation features:

• Werwulf trailer
• Heat 2 officially happening
• Artificial picked up by NEON for the 2026-27 awards season

On this episode:
Danny Jarabek
Adam Patla
Joshua Mbonu 

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

Listen Here:
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

To conclude our Pride Series for 2026, we start off with a speed review of LEVITICUS, by Adrian Chiarella, an Australian horror-romance that follows two teenage boys who must escape a violent entity after their religious community discovers their sexuality.

We also discuss Gender-Based media, exploring and recommending films that are not based on sexuality, a main topic often included in conversation on Queer Cinema. 

Resources:
Pride Watchlist
POC & International Queer Cinema

On this episode:
Sara Ciplickas
Red Broadwell
Jake Fittipaldi
Bobbi Miller
Des Mack

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

Listen Here:
Spotify
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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

You are unlikely to encounter another movie like Maddie’s Secret this year. The film, born from the mind of writer, director, and star John Early, satirizes both the Lifetime movies of the 80s and 90s and modern influencer culture while also sincerely addressing disordered eating. arly plays Maddie, a dishwasher turned content creator for mega-company Gourmaybe. It’s her dream come true. However, the newfound attention and popularity in front of the camera causes a relapse of her bulimia.

Adam Patla is joined by director John Early to discuss the unique tone of the film and how he executed the project both behind and in front of the camera.

Read more from the interview here.

Follow our interviewee online:
John Early on Instagram, Twitter, IMDb

Follow our interview host:
Adam Patla

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

Listen Here:
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
All Listening Platforms

Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller