Review: ‘Only Murders in the Building’ is both lighthearted fun and a great send-up of true crime podcasts

True Crime is, debatably, the largest and furthest reaching of all the podcast genres. They reach mass audiences and have been adapted into television series that have gone on to critical acclaim. So it’s only natural then that someone was going to send them up. Luckily for us, that person turned out to be Steve Martin.

Martin, alongside producer John Hoffman and joined in the cast by Martin Short and Selena Gomez, created a delightful lighthearted comedy series and a delightful send-up of the true crime podcast genre itself.

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Review: ‘Marvel’s What If…?’ explores what might have been in the MCU, and it’s great

What If...?

Here’s a true story for you. When I was young, I collected comics. Not that uncommon, to be sure, especially among kids in the late 80s and early 90s who had heard stories about the adults who paid off their homes by hanging on to comics and baseball cards and other collectables. So I didn’t just collect comics; I collected comics.

I loved many characters and series, but the one I enjoyed most –the one that I was buying when no one else I know was– was a series by Marvel called “What if…?”, in which a toga-clad all-seeing cosmic being related stories of the Marvel universe I knew and loved but with a single change. Imagine the butterfly effect at work: a butterfly flaps its wings in China, you get rain in Stanley Park; Peggy Carter doesn’t go up to the observation room as Steve Rogers is headed toward the experiment that would make him Captain America, and instead, we end up with Captain Carter. I loved it. I still do. And now they’ve made an animated series out of it.

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Let’s talk about the end of ‘Loki’

Loki

Loki, Marvel’s latest Disney+ television series, ended last night with several surprises, but perhaps the most surprising thing is that it was a season finale –cliffhanger and all– rather than the end of a self-contained series.

There are a few big revelations, so let’s talk about them, what they might mean, and a few thoughts I have on where things might go. Yes, this article will be riddled with spoilers (and assumes you’ve watched the series).

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Review: ‘Schmigadoon!’ is hilarious, fun, and clearly made by people who love musicals

Schmigadoon!

Here’s a true fact: I grew up watching musicals. I spent a lot of time at my grandmothers house when I was a kid and she had lots of them on VHS. It is my heartfelt belief that she loved them, but it was probably also that they were super long and could keep us distracted for hours at a time. Anyway, the point is that I have seen a lot of the classic musicals and my appreciation for the musical continues to this day.

So it is easy to see why I really like AppleTV+’s new series Schmigadoon!, which features two modern day characters dropped into the middle of a classic 1940s musical.

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Review: ‘Monsters at Work’ is exactly the continuation this franchise needs

Monsters at Work

Ok, this is where I make a confession: I’ve never really liked Monsters Inc. I get why the people who love it love it, but I never have. I never watched Monsters University because the world doesn’t hold a lot of interest for me.

When I heard about Monsters at Work I thought that television might actually be the perfect place for a franchise like this. A workplace comedy about monsters in the laugh factory is probably the best possible way to explore these characters and this world. It turns out that’s probably true, even if it’s not for me.

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Review: The first two episodes of ‘Loki’ set up an intriguing adventure

Loki

Tom Hiddleston is back as the god of mischief in Disney’s new limited series Loki, and he’s definitely up to no good. Or, maybe a little bit of good. It’s not really clear, but that’s half the fun. Loki has always been in it for himself, but now he has Owen Wilson to add some direction, and the results are good.

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Review: ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ is off to an exciting start

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

In case you aren’t in the know, the Star Wars universe has seen some excellent storytelling in the last several years. Most of it, though, hasn’t been from movies or the much-lauded show about not-Boba Fett and Baby Yoda, but rather in the form of an animated universe clone troopers. The Bad Batch, the latest animated series from Disney+ and creator Dave Filoni, continues to prove that Star Wars is at its best on TV.

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Review: ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ premiere is a big tease for things to come

How do you follow in the footsteps of a giant? How do you live with the sins of your past? These are two of the questions at the heart of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the new series on Disney+ that follows Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, reprising their roles as Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, respectively.

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Recap & Review: ‘WandaVision’ Series Finale, in which our heroes stories are resolved. Mostly.

This week WandaVision comes to a close with a nearly hour-long episode, fittingly titled “The Series Finale”. This episode will bring the story to a close (mostly, this is Marvel we’re talking about), but is it successful? There’s only one way to find out.

Heads up, I wrote the recap a little differently this week, with a section dedicated to each character. It was definitely easier to write, and I hope it’s easier to read.

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