Pop Culture Happy Hour guests and hosts share what’s bringing them joy : NPR

This week, a new concept album told an old story, a veteran of musicals took her last bow, and we learned that something that could never be a movie is going to be a movie.

Here’s what NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour crew was paying attention to — and what you should check out this weekend.

Wicked Little Letters

It’s horror movie season, but it’s also cozy mystery season, so I’m going to recommend a streaming movie with very low stakes: Wicked Little Letters is set in Britain in 1920. Olivia Colman plays a tightly wound fussbudget named Edith. Jessie Buckley plays a foul-mouthed single mom named Rose. They are perfectly cast. Wicked Little Letters is based on a true story about a town that has been scandalized by profanity laden hate mail. So you’ve got a bit of period drama, a bit of quirky comedy, a lot of fussy British manners, so much swearing, and two phenomenal actors who’ve worked together before and are clearly having a great time. Is it life changing? It is not, but I enjoyed it immensely. — Stephen Thompson

Ariana Grande on SNL

I have been playing clips of Ariana Grande on Saturday Night Live since she hosted the show last week. Her impressions and her commitment to the bit are fantastic. She’s got great timing and a sketch sense of humor. She is so in it with all the rest of these pros. I am so happy whenever we are reminded that Ariana Grande is in fact very funny. She’s got that multi-threat, former child-star entertainer thing — these kids were press trained, singing, dancing, acting, they are doing it all. They are charismatic. From the Vanity Fair lie detector test to hosting Saturday Night Live, Ariana Grande is what’s making me happy. — Jordan Crucchiola 

Jimmy Buffett’s album A1A

When I’m in a state of “freaked out” I turn to music that’s particularly soothing — something I could put on in the car and have a nice drive. My album of choice this month has been Jimmy Buffett’s 1974 record A1A, which I think is his best record. It has some of the best songwriting of the ‘70s, in my opinion. There are songs like “Door Number Three” about the Monty Hall problem. There’s “A Pirate Looks at Forty,” which is on The Beach Bum’s soundtrack and is one of my favorite songs ever. I particularly love “Life Is Just A Tire Swing” these days. Really great metaphor and excellent songwriting. Everybody needs a little Jimmy Buffett when life gets too crazy. — Reanna Cruz

More recommendations from the Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter

by Linda Holmes

Election seasons are anxious for many of us. My most recent escape from such things is the highly absurd and very entertaining first-responder series 9-1-1, which you can stream on Hulu. This season began with a three-parter that was somehow about both a tornado made of bees and an out-of-control plane, because that’s just how this show is. Highly recommended.

I thought I knew the story of Elisabeth Finch, the Grey’s Anatomy writer who pretended — for years! — to have cancer while she wrote for the medical drama. But after watching the new docuseries Anatomy of Lies, I was gobsmacked to find that it was much, much worse and much, much stranger than I had thought. This was not somebody doing the equivalent of padding her resume with life experience. It was something far more damaging. (The series is based on reporting in Vanity Fair.)

I’m a little disappointed that my prized Philadelphia Phillies didn’t go further into the postseason this year, but for me, the regular season is a lot more important. I’d rather watch a team be good for months than a couple of weeks. All this to say: Netflix has a short documentary called The Turnaround, which tells the story of how Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, who had been given a huge contract, had a very, very bad beginning of the 2023 season. And then how a fan, for reasons of his own, helped lead the hometown crowd in bringing Turner back to life. It’s genuinely a great, great story, and it really happened. People will tell you Philadelphia fans are brutal; they are also beautiful. The doc is only about 20 minutes long, and even if you don’t follow baseball, you might really enjoy it. (Maybe not as much as I did.)

Beth Novey and 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.