Linda Holmes
Linda Holmes is a pop culture correspondent for NPR and the host of Pop Culture Happy Hour. She began her professional life as an attorney. In time, however, her affection for writing, popular culture, and the online universe eclipsed her legal ambitions. She shoved her law degree in the back of the closet, gave its living room space to DVD sets of The Wire, and never looked back.
Holmes was a writer and editor at Television Without Pity, where she recapped several hundred hours of programming — including both High School Musical movies, for which she did not receive hazard pay. Her first novel, Evvie Drake Starts Over, was published in the summer of 2019.
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Superhero movies, thrillers and the return of some of our favorite TV shows — the 2025 summer season offers something for everyone.
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The Academy has announced that Oscar voters will actually have to watch all the movies in a category before making their final-round picks. It's on the honor system, but hey, it's a start. -
Previous seasons of the show have taken a bleak stance on how humans use new technologies. The new season takes a more ambivalent approach, showing both threats and opportunities. -
The first season of The Pitt focused on the toll that work takes on doctors and nurses. It's also been a stellar season of TV. -
When the last season left off, Deborah was offered her second chance at late night — and Ava resorted to blackmail. It's hard not to feel like the new season continues to take these two in circles of fight and reconciliation. -
The Yankees 20-9 win against the Brewers last weekend put the spotlight on torpedo bats. But in baseball, as in life, sometimes a fluke is just what it seems. -
In The Studio, Seth Rogen plays an insecure studio executive who loves movies – but gets in the way of the people who make them. The new Apple TV+ series is about the systems that become far more destructive than any one well-meaning person can easily fix. -
Uzo Aduba stars as a brilliant detective in this high-energy, light-hearted murder mystery show on Netflix. -
Even though this tragedy was hinted at from the first episode, it's treated with gravity and presented in agonizing detail. -
Each week, guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: A Dolly Parton memoir, the show Reacher, the game Dredge, and the song "Bittersweet" by Semma.
