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Need A Break? The Pets And Vets Of 'All Creatures Great And Small' Might Hit The Spot

James Herriott (played by Nicholas Ralph) gets up in a lot of animals' business in the new All Creatures Great And Small. Matt Squire/Playground Television/PBS hide caption

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Matt Squire/Playground Television/PBS

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Need A Break? The Pets And Vets Of 'All Creatures Great And Small' Might Hit The Spot

A new adaptation of James Herriot's books about life as a Yorkshire vet in the 1930s has gorgeous landscapes, majestic animals, and a welcome focus on home and work.

You Don't Know 'Dickinson'

Hailee Steinfeld stars in Dickinson on Apple TV . Apple TV hide caption

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Apple TV

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

You Don't Know 'Dickinson'

Despite its preponderance of bustles and bonnets, the Apple TV+ series Dickinson is not some fusty old biopic. It casts Hailee Steinfeld as a young Emily Dickinson: a feminist free-thinker and iconoclast, chafing against the rigid social and sexual mores of her time.

You Don't Know 'Dickinson'

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Fran Lebowitz's 'Pretend It's A City' Is The NYC Trip You Can't Take Right Now

Fran Lebowitz talks about a wide variety of topics — including her stint as a New York City cab driver — in the Netflix series Pretend It's a City. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Fran Lebowitz's 'Pretend It's A City' Is The NYC Trip You Can't Take Right Now

Fresh Air

The show features the humorist's conversations with Martin Scorsese on many topics, Manhattan in particular. "If I dropped the Hope Diamond on the floor of a subway car, I'd leave it there," she says.

Fran Lebowitz's 'Pretend It's A City' Is The NYC Trip You Can't Take Right Now

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'Bridgerton' Is All About Gossip, Marriage and Butts

Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor star in Netflix's Bridgerton. Liam Daniel/Netflix hide caption

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Liam Daniel/Netflix

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Bridgerton' Is All About Gossip, Marriage and Butts

What if you took Gossip Girl and set it in Regency-era London, where members of the aristocracy plot to find love, sex and spouses? You'd have Bridgerton. Created by Chris Van Dusen, Bridgerton is the first project to emerge from Shonda Rhimes' production company under a lucrative Netflix deal.

'Bridgerton' Is All About Gossip, Marriage and Butts

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As 'Mr. Mayor,' Ted Danson Sustains His Stellar Sitcom Streak

Ted Danson plays a retired millionaire who becomes mayor of Los Angeles in Mr. Mayor. Mitchell Haddad/NBC hide caption

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TV Reviews

As 'Mr. Mayor,' Ted Danson Sustains His Stellar Sitcom Streak

Fresh Air

Playing a retired millionaire who unexpectedly wins his bid to become mayor of Los Angeles, Danson takes the spotlight and shines, sticking every landing on every line.

As 'Mr. Mayor,' Ted Danson Sustains His Stellar Sitcom Streak

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Why 'Better Things' Pamela Adlon Is Everyone's Mother

Pamela Adlon stars as Sam Fox, a single working mother, in the FX series Better Things. Suzanne Tenner /FX hide caption

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Suzanne Tenner /FX

It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

Why 'Better Things' Pamela Adlon Is Everyone's Mother

Sam revisits his conversation from 2020 with actress Pamela Adlon. Adlon is the writer, star, director and co-creator of the acclaimed comedy-drama Better Things on FX. The series follows Adlon's character, Sam, as a divorced actress, raising three kids in Los Angeles - all things that mirror Adlon's real life. Sam talks to Adlon about her career, seeing your parents as real-life people, and the awful, crazy, beautiful experience of being a parent yourself.

Why 'Better Things' Pamela Adlon Is Everyone's Mother

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Does Joel McHale Take 'Card Sharks' Higher Or Lower?

Host Joel McHale (right) with two contestants from Card Sharks. Eric McCandless/ABC hide caption

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Eric McCandless/ABC

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Does Joel McHale Take 'Card Sharks' Higher Or Lower?

The game show Card Sharks has lived many lives: It's been on NBC, on CBS, in syndication, and now it's on ABC, in prime time, hosted by Joel McHale. The game seems simple — you're guessing whether a card will be higher or lower than the one before it. But it's also complicated. And now, in its latest iteration, there's big money involved.

Does Joel McHale Take 'Card Sharks' Higher Or Lower?

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Our 2021 Pop Culture Resolutions

It's been a year like no other, but here at Pop Culture Happy Hour, we're sticking with tradition by revisiting our 2020 resolutions and making new ones for next year. Kristin Lee/Getty Images/Tetra images RF hide caption

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Kristin Lee/Getty Images/Tetra images RF

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our 2021 Pop Culture Resolutions

It's the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, as much as it seemed like we might never get here. That means we're looking back, and we're looking ahead. What did we resolve to do in 2020, did we accomplish them and what do we want to do in the year ahead? We've still got goals, plans and the willingness to look back at our ambitious plans and wonder what in the world happened to all of them.

Our 2021 Pop Culture Resolutions

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4 Ways 2020 Changed Media: The Consumer Has Never Had More Power

(Clockwise from upper left) A "Black Lives Matter" protest in Brooklyn, N.Y., a shuttered AMC movie theater, a "Stop the Steal" protest in Atlanta, Ga., and the short-form streamer Quibi. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images, Scott Olson/Getty Images, Megan Varner/Getty Images, Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images, Scott Olson/Getty Images, Megan Varner/Getty Images, Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

Media

4 Ways 2020 Changed Media: The Consumer Has Never Had More Power

All the biggest media companies are chasing viewer tastes more intensely than ever, focusing on their streaming platforms as consumers create an increasingly personalized, fractured media diet.

Our 2021 Pop Culture Predictions

2020 was an unpredictable year, but Pop Culture Happy Hour is sticking with our annual tradition of looking into the future and predicting what the new year might bring. Nora Carol Photography/Getty Images hide caption

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Nora Carol Photography/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our 2021 Pop Culture Predictions

To say we could not have predicted the course of 2020 is a ridiculous understatement. But nevertheless, we press on. We'll check in on last year's predictions, while turning our eyes to the future to try and figure out what the next year will bring, even when that seems nearly impossible.

Our 2021 Pop Culture Predictions

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Dementia Complicates The Search For 2 Lost Women In 'Elizabeth Is Missing'

Maud (Glenda Jackson) is haunted by two mysteries in the television film Elizabeth is Missing, based on a novel by Emma Healey. Marsaili Mainz/Courtesy of STV Productions hide caption

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Marsaili Mainz/Courtesy of STV Productions

Dementia Complicates The Search For 2 Lost Women In 'Elizabeth Is Missing'

Fresh Air

A new PBS Masterpiece psychological thriller stars Glenda Jackson as a woman desperately trying to solve two mysteries — even as her own grasp of reality is slipping away.

Dementia Complicates The Search For 2 Lost Women In 'Elizabeth Is Missing'

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The Best — And Worst — Of Christmas Culture

Miniature cars with Christmas gifts in them, to celebrate the holiday season. pepifoto/Getty Images hide caption

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pepifoto/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

The Best — And Worst — Of Christmas Culture

Sam shares holiday recommendations with Audie Cornish, co-host of All Things Considered and Consider This, and Bob Mondello, NPR's film critic. They discuss not only their holiday favorites, but also the holiday things they hate. And yes, they'll discuss Love Actually.

The Best — And Worst — Of Christmas Culture

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Best TV Of 2020: Great Shows Brought Us Together In A Difficult, Distanced Year

(Clockwise from upper left) Eugene Levy in Schitt's Creek, Leslie Odom Jr. in Hamilton, Anya Taylor-Joy in The Queen's Gambit, Jurnee Smollett in Lovecraft Country, Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, and Kristen Bell in The Good Place. Pop TV, Disney , Phil Bray/Netflix, Eli Joshua Ade /HBO, Amazon Studios, Colleen Hayes/NBC hide caption

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Pop TV, Disney , Phil Bray/Netflix, Eli Joshua Ade /HBO, Amazon Studios, Colleen Hayes/NBC

Review

TV Reviews

Best TV Of 2020: Great Shows Brought Us Together In A Difficult, Distanced Year

Fresh Air

COVID-19 precautions kept us physically apart, but Fresh Air TV critic David Bianculli says shows such as Schitt's Creek, Better Call Saul, Fargo and Lovecraft Country provided virtual connection.

Best TV Of 2020: Great Shows Brought Us Together In A Difficult, Distanced Year

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Filmmaker Details Investigation That Identified Alleged Pan Am Flight 103 Bomb-Maker

A long investigation by Ken Dornstein, a documentary filmmaker whose brother died in the attack, identified Libyan Abu Agela Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi as the possible maker of the bomb that shattered the New York-bound Boeing 747 as it flew over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988. Steven Senne/AP hide caption

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Steven Senne/AP

Law

Filmmaker Details Investigation That Identified Alleged Pan Am Flight 103 Bomb-Maker

Ken Dornstein talks about how his 2015 documentary led to the recent indictment of Abu Agela Mas'ud as the man suspected of making the bomb that took down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Filmmaker Details Investigation That Identified Alleged Pan Am Flight 103 Bomb-Maker

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Our 12 Favorite Things of 2020

Catherine O'Hara as Moira Rose in the series finale of Schitt's Creek. Comedy Central hide caption

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Comedy Central

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our 12 Favorite Things of 2020

At the end of the year, we like to look back on some of our favorite things from the last 12 months of pop culture. We revisit some of the TV, film and music that helped us make it through.

Our 12 Favorite Things of 2020

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Steve McQueen's 'Small Axe' Tackles The Personal And Political

Michael Ward and Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn dance at a blues party in Lovers Rock, one of five films in Steve McQueen's Small Axe anthology. Parisa Taghizedeh/Amazon Studios hide caption

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Parisa Taghizedeh/Amazon Studios

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Steve McQueen's 'Small Axe' Tackles The Personal And Political

A tense courtroom, an intimate house party, a stifling police academy. These are just a few of the environments depicted in Small Axe, the ambitious anthology film series from director Steve McQueen. The result is a collection of poignant stories buoyed by excellent performances from stars like John Boyega and Letitia Wright; as well as searing imagery, and a scene that could arguably be called the best movie moment of the year.

Steve McQueen's 'Small Axe' Tackles The Personal And Political

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Buckle Up: 'The Flight Attendant' Is A Comedy-Thriller Worth Binging

Kaley Cuoco stars as the sometimes messy, always entertaining lead in The Flight Attendant. Phil Caruso/HBO Max hide caption

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Phil Caruso/HBO Max

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Buckle Up: 'The Flight Attendant' Is A Comedy-Thriller Worth Binging

A woman wakes up after a night of partying and realizes something is very, very wrong. That's the premise of the HBO Max series The Flight Attendant. It's a taut, darkly funny thriller starring Kaley Cuoco as a woman in search of some answers about the present that also might shed light on the past.

Buckle Up: 'The Flight Attendant' Is A Comedy-Thriller Worth Binging

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