The Front Row Network

We are excited to bring you our conversation with actor, comedian and podcast host Connor Ratliff. His podcast  Dead Eyes  speaks to his experience with rejection early in his career at the hands of Tom Hanks. Craig and Larry speak to Connor about his career in acting, his time with the Upright Citizen's Brigade and of course, his hit podcast. Find Dead Eyes on Headgum: https://headgum.com/dead-ey...

Earlier this week the Screen Actors Guild announced their nominations for the 2021 award season! Brett and Ryan were there to give immediate reactions to the awards, and talk us through who they think walks away with the awards in the end. FEATURING: Brett Rutherford & Ryan Lootens Don't forget to follow/reach us at: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/frontrownetwork Website: www.nprillinois.org/pro...

We are thrilled to bring you our interview with actor and author Evangeline Lilly. Many know her for her roles in Lost , The Hobbit and as Hope van Dyne in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In addition to her acting, Ms. Lilly has a true passion for writing. The crew sits down with her to discuss her ongoing children's book series The Squickerwonkers . We also discuss her past acting experiences, and...

Front Row Classics is heading back to the 1970s this month. We're looking at the Best Picture winner of 1977, Annie Hall. This influential romantic comedy was a break through in modern movie making and still casts a giant shadow today. Flashback's Erin McCabe joins Brandon and Eric to discuss the many aspects of the performances, script and the complexity of viewing a Woody Allen film in 2021.

After a necessary delay, the movie awards season has officially kicked off with the nominations for the 2021 Golden Globe awards! Jeremy and Ryan are here to break down all the nominees, who the early favorites are and who was snubbed! FEATURING: Jeremy Goeckner & Ryan Lootens Don't forget to follow/reach us at: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/frontrownetwork Website: www.nprillinois.org/programs...

After spending almost a year in quarantine, we thought it'd be time to watch Pauly Shore and Stephen Baldwin do it too! It's the 25 anniversary of Bio-Dome, and Guilty Pleasures is ready to learn all that The Weasel has to teach us about isolation and protecting Mother Earth. Featuring: Lou Hare, Sam Dubina, Christian Krauspe

Join your co-sensei's Larry Smith and Jay Hoffman as they walk you through all things All-Valley Karate as they breakdown Season 1 of the Netflix hit Cobra Kai. Future episodes can be found on the Front Row Flashbacks podcast feed on whatever app you use to listen to podcast. STRIKE FIRST! STRIKE HARD! NO MERCY! FEATURING: Jay Hoffman & Larry Smith Don't forget to follow/reach us at: Please join o...

John Del Vecchio is a best-selling author and a National Book Award Finalist who offers his unique perspective on a variety of topics and their historical antecedents. He uses his time as a Vietnam veteran to tackle issues such as race, economic issues, mental health, and the changing family dynamics in society. In our interview with John we will get into the many themes present in his latest book...

John Kennedy is a puppeteer who has had so many amazing experiences throughout his career. In this special interview, the crew discusses his time at Disney MGM Studios. We also ask about projects he worked on with The Muppets, and a special experience he had with Jim Henson. January 29th fans of the hit show Dinosaurs will be able to stream every episode on Disney+. John was with the show from pil...

FLASHBACKS is kicking off 2021 with a snowy independent film from 1996 that had a huge impact as it snow blew the Coen Brothers into the world of mainstream cinema and received an avalanche of award nominations. We are discussing the impact of Fargo as it celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year. Along with your Flashbacks hosts Ryan, Jay & Erin we have Front Row Classics host Brandon Davis and f...

It's time for the Super GG Awards for 2020!  The regular crew is back to go over our year with several segments to highlight some of our favorites!   We'll be back next week with our regularly scheduled programming.  Thanks for listening, it's been a pleasure making the show each week. Join us!   Segments:    Best Alpha/Beta Personal Top 3 of the Year Games We Wanted to Play Super GG Radio's Games...

Once a year the geekiest podcasts in all of Central Illinois gather together to discuss the year that was. It is true that 2020 was a year we may want to forget, but the content creators gave us lots to sink our teeth into! Join Craig and Jeremy from the Front Row, Mitch from The Geek Awakens, Bailey from Lincolns Legends and (for the first time) Meghan and Jacqueline from I Think You're Gonna Lik...

The Front Row is thrilled to welcome writer and lyricist, Chad Beguelin. Chad is an Illinois native and is an accomplished lyricist for the Broadway stage. His musical, The Prom , is now a brand new feature film on Netflix with an all-star cast. Join Jeremy as he discusses the many aspects of the film with Chad in this delightful conversation. FEATURING: Jeremy Goeckner Don't forget to follow/reac...

It's one of the most polarizing movies of the year ALREADY! We've got the entire Flashback crew on hand for some FULL DISCLOSURE of the latest offering from the DCEU Wonder Woman 1984. Does it live up to the first film? Does Kristin Wiig make a convincing villain? What are the exact ethics of ethereal consciousness hook-ups? All questions we answer while SPOILING EVERYTHING! FEATURING: Ryan Looten...

Dan Bublitz Jr. is a standup comedian and host of The Art of Bombing podcast. Dan has a one man show, "It Was Supposed to Be a Love Story" on Amazon Prime and a new Dry Bar comedy special coming out soon! The discuss online shows, jokes vs. storytelling, Dan's dislike of a certain sitcom (no, a different one) and his love of dumb movies. 

Front Row Classics rings in 2021 with one of the most enduring movie musicals ever made, The Sound of Music. Robert Wise's production of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical features some of the most iconic musical moments in film history. Brandon and Eric are joined by first time Front Row guest, Kelly Lohrenz. The three discuss the cast, score and never-ending behind-the-scenes trivia tha...

Join us for a special discussion about the new Pixar film, Soul. We are thrilled to bring back to the show, Disney Legend Floyd Norman. In addition to his thoughts about the film, Floyd gives insights into the Pixar process, his experiences in animation and much more. We also speak about the voice acting, production, animation and beautiful music that makes up Soul. FEATURING: Craig McFarland, Bre...

Just when we thought we were out, they pull us back in! Brandon and Lou are back to talk about The Godfather saga one last time as we discuss Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. After 30 years, Francis Ford Coppola offers up a new version of The Godfather: Part III. We get into all the changes and which version we prefer.   Featuring Lou Hare & Brandon Davis Don't forg...

FLASHBACK is closing out 2020 by taking a look at what might just be the best murder comedy ever made. Based on the Parker Brothers board game and featuring an all-star comedy cast, CLUE is one of those movies that just gets better with every watch. Let's break it down with the entire Flashback crew! FEATURING: Ryan Lootens, Jay Hoffman, Erin McCabe & Rob Don't forget to follow/reach us at: Patreo...

Netflix's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is one of the most celebrated films of the year and The Front Row is breaking it all down. We are thrilled to have August Wilson scholar Dr. Joan Herrington along with Davenport Junior Theatre's Creative Director Ben Gougeon joining Lou to review the film and how it honors the legacy of August Wilson. Non-Spoiler review to start, Full Disclosure (spoilers) discus...

Merry Christmas! We have quite the treat for you at Beyond the Mouse. We recently had the amazing opportunity to chat with Rolly Crump. He was awarded the Disney Legend award in 2004 for his tremendous work as an animator and as an Imagineer. Rolly worked on attractions from The Haunted Mansion to The Tiki Room. We talk about it all in this episode! FEATURING: Craig McFarland, Brett Rutherford, Va...

VIEW FROM THE BACK ROW returns with a look at M. Night Shyamalan's superhero drama Unbreakable. Steve is joined by CONVINCE ME host Larry Smith to talk about the film and how well it portrays it's wheel chair bound antagonist. FEATURING: Steve Sykes & Larry Smith Don't forget to follow/reach us at: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/frontrownetwork Website: www.nprillinois.org/programs/front-row-net...

Have we got a great episode for you! Larry has Adam Ziegler, his podcasting partner (Zig & Larry Ignore a Topic) and friend for over 20 years on for an interview (you guys really should know more about him), a special movie review of the new Lifetime classic A Recipe for Seduction starring Mario Lopez as Harland Sanders (yes, that one), and Zig tries to convince Larry sports are overrated and why...

FULL DISCLOSURE's packed December continues with a deep dive look at Netflix's new musical hit The Prom. We're talking the ways it was adapted from Broadway, the stacked cast, our favorite musical numbers and hit briefly on that possible controversial casting. It's time to dance! FEATURING: Jeremy Goeckner & Sara Baltusevich Don't forget to follow/reach us at: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fron...

We are thrilled to welcome Chris DeMakes of Less Than Jake to the show! Chris is the lead vocalist and guitarist for the band. Their new album Silver Linings was just released last week. Craig and Scott have been fans of Less Than Jake for over twenty years, and had a lot of questions for Chris. The interview covers the new album, Chris' favorites from the bands 28 year career, his new podcast and...