This week, The Onion made a big purchase, My Little Pony became a hall of famer, and we bid farewell to a dance legend.
Here's what NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour crew was paying attention to — and what you should check out this weekend.
It's Florida, Man
It's Florida, Man on Max is based on the endlessly meme-able "Florida man" headlines that we've always seen go viral. The show is basically interviews with everyday Floridians telling unbelievable ripped-from-the-headlines stories. Those interviews are cut together with actors like Sam Richardson, Ego Nwodim, Randall Park, and Juliette Lewis re-enacting those events. There are stories like a professional mermaid and her feud with a witch, or a man getting his arm ripped off by an alligator that he claims was the reincarnation of his mother. These are stories told by the people that they happened to so they come across as kind of a love letter to Florida in some ways that can be really quite charming. — J.C. Howard
Borrowing backlist audiobooks from your local library
Having access to audiobooks I loved in my childhood via my library card is bringing me a lot of joy. This is a great hack, because if you're trying to get Tom Lake narrated by Meryl Streep, you're out of luck. But if what you want to borrow is the Y.A. fantasy Sabriel by the author Garth Nix? Those books are owned in droves and nobody's waiting for them, which means you can hear Tim Curry narrating your favorite Y.A. audiobook. Even before audiobooks were as much of an industry as they are now, they would have great full cast voice productions, really good actors and strong work because this was always a popular category. Borrowing beloved childhood classics through your local library and listening to them while you wash the dishes or do yard work is a great way to microdose joy. — Margaret H. Willison
Hot Frosty
Hot Frosty sounds like what they call it when somebody kisses you with slushy in their mouth. What it actually is, is a movie on Netflix starring Lacey Chabert, a popular Hallmark Christmas movie star, and the charming Dustin Milligan, who you may know as Ted from Schitt's Creek. It's hot "Frosty the Snowman" with the possibility of sex. Essentially, she is in her small town, obviously, which is having a Christmas snow sculpture contest. Someone in her town gives her a magic scarf and she puts it on a snowman who is sculpted like a hot, shirtless man. And he comes to life. This movie makes Red One look like Citizen Kane. It is extraordinarily silly, sweet, weird, and legitimately funny because of the cast. — Linda Holmes
Dhanika Pineda adapted the Pop Culture Happy Hour segment "What's Making Us Happy" for the Web. If you like these suggestions, consider signing up for our newsletter to get recommendations every week. And listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Copyright 2024 NPR
