A weekly look at the entertainment landscape from The Contending.
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Clarence Moye Podcasts

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‘Amy Bradley Is Missing’ Podcast: A Deep Dive into Netflix’s Documentary Series About a Missing Woman and Misplaced Memories
In a very special Contending at the Water Cooler podcast, Megan McLachlan is joined by Miami Film Festival Director of Programming (and true crime/Babygirl enthusiast) Lauren Cohen to chat about Netflix’s new three-part docuseries Amy Bradley is Missing. You may not have heard of this story before, but you’ve likely seen it on your social media fee…
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Our latest podcast includes reviews of Lena Dunham’s Too Much and Sophie Brooks’ Oh, Hi!. Megan reviewed the upcoming indie romantic comedy Oh, Hi! earlier this week, so it’s time for us all to weigh in. The film stars Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman as a couple embarking on a romantic weekend in the country that may change the entire course of their…
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“Goodbye for Now” features a great deal of spying, another hate crime, and a mysterious new neighbor on Wisteria Lane. Desperate Housewives episode twenty-two, “Goodbye for Now,” sets up a great deal of action that will be resolved in the first season finale. First up, Edie finds the newly happy Mike and Susan incredibly annoying. So much so that s…
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The Contending team members gather around the Water Cooler to discuss their reactions to the 2025 Emmys nominations. Severance dominated the 2025 Emmys nominations with 27 bids for the AppleTV series. That’s not a record (Game of Thrones still holds that), but it’s still a massive upswing from its freshman season. Will the series dominate the 2025 …
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This week, we’re giving podcast listeners a preview of our 2025 Emmy® predictions before they roll out onto the site this week. The Television Academy announces the 2025 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy® nominations next Tuesday, July 15. To prepare for the big day, Jalal Haddad joins Joey, Megan, and Clarence to unveil their 2025 Emmy predictions.…
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“Sunday In the Park With George” features the Scavo’s sexual crisis, Bree’s emotional affair, Gabby’s hot salsa, and Sad Susan’s goodbye. Desperate Housewives episode twenty-one, “Sunday In the Park With George,” explores the time-honored theme of couples who go TEN WHOLE DAYS without sex. Yes, Lynette and Tom Scavo find that work and family someti…
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On this week’s podcast, we look at the making of a TikTok phenomenon and its surprising downfall in our M3GAN 2.0 review. In late 2022, TikTok birthed a bona-fide movie star in M3GAN. The artificially intelligent doll harnessed the power of TIkTok dances and genius marketing to become an unexpected smash hit in early 2023. Now comes the inevitable …
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Desperate Housewives episode twenty, “Fear No More,” sets up storylines that will bring the first season to an end. We’re headed into the final stretch on Desperate Housewives Revisited, and “Fear No More,” episode twenty, sets up crucial plot lines that will carry us to the first season finale. In the world of Mary Alice / Angela Young, Paul finds…
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Joey, Megan, and Clarence offer their favorite films and television series of the year in our annual Best of 2025 at the Halfway Point segment. We’re halfway there. Yes, for many reasons, 2025 already feels like a really long decade, but we’ve only just now reached the halfway point. So, as an annual tradition, it’s time for us to take stock of our…
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Sirens production designer John Paino talks about designing the series’s fantastic and fantastical New England island mansion. Sirens production designer John Paino is no stranger to creating worlds for the ludicrously wealthy. You perhaps best know his work from both seasons of HBO’s Big Little Lies. His recreation of the exclusive world of Monter…
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Joey, Megan, and Clarence give their most passionate pleas as the Television Academy casts votes for the Emmys 2025 season. Each Emmy cycle, we here at the Water Cooler give the Television Academy some recommendations before checking off their Emmys 2025 ballots. We give recommendations in drama, comedy, and limited series both above and below […] …
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Desperate Housewives episode nineteen, “Live Alone and Like It,” offers valuable lessons about kindness and ice cream as sexual metaphor. We’re back after a few weeks off to see about some 2025 Emmy content. “Live Alone and Like It,” Desperate Housewives’ nineteenth episode, shows the darker side of Lynette Scavo, eventually leading to a revelation…
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Molly Smith Metzler talks about the inspirations for her Netflix limited series Sirens, including the identity of the series’ true villain. Starring Oscar winner Julianne Moore, Sirens took flight in the American theater. Series creator Molly Smith Metzler first conceived of the characters and essential plot while a student at Juilliard. The result…
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Joey and Clarence are joined by Frank J. Avella to recap the 2025 Tony Awards presentation, the winners, the surprises, and more. The 2025 Tony Awards aired last night on CBS to a dramatically increased audience. Did the show put its best foot forward? With Megan away for the night, Joey and Clarence are joined […] The post Tonys 2025: Recapping Th…
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We’re never truly told exactly where Netflix’s Sirens takes place. Yet, the lack of a defined location provided director of photography Gregory Middleton several opportunities to capture both the island’s mythic beauty and accentuate its inherent creepiness. Particularly within the cavernous hallways of Peter and Michaela “Kiki” Kell’s (Kevin Bacon…
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Well, that was great…that was really fucking great! This Sunday, the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League will name the best of Broadway at the 78th Annual Tony Awards. With Maybe Happy Ending, Death Becomes Her, and Buena Vista Social Club all tied with 10 nominees each, there are some real races to be […] The post We Could Go See BOOP! A…
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Succession’s Jesse Armstrong returns with a late-breaking Emmy entry about narcissistic tech bros. We weigh in with our Mountainhead review. Jesse Armstrong returns to HBO, the site of his beloved and Emmy-winning Succession, with Mountainhead. The satire stars Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, and Ramy Youssef as four billionair…
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Desperate Housewives episode eighteen, “Children Will Listen,” shows the darkest side of Carlos Solis we’ve seen yet in the series. “Children Will Listen,” Desperate Housewives’ eighteenth episode, brings some of the darkest scenes / themes in the first season. Yes, darker than Mary Alice Young’s suicide. We’re talking about the Solis’s deeply trou…
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The Contending sits down with Emmy nominee Rob Tokarz to chat about HBO MAX’s Hacks production design, including Deborah Vance’s late show set. Rob Tokarz received an Emmy nomination last year for his HBO MAX’s Hacks production design on season three. He returns with season four to carry Deborah Vance (Emmy winner Jean Smart) into her long-coveted …
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This week’s Desperate Housewives episode, “There Won’t Be Trumpets,” offers an exploration of heroes, saviors, and really expensive funerals. Desperate Housewives episode seventeen, “There Won’t Be Trumpets,” puts aside the first season central Mary Alice mystery in favor of slices of suburban drama for our housewives. It isn’t the best episode of …
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