The Parting Shot with H. Alan Scott

It's no surprise that horror films are often allegories for larger societal issues, like racism with Get Out (2017) or male entitlement with Curry Barker's recent Obsession (2025). But rarely does the final girl, the last woman standing to confront the killer, get a redemption story of her own. That changes with Jane Schoenbrun's Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.  "I think just the genre...

Eric Goode and his producing partner Jeremy McBride have made a run of hit documentaries about what happens when humans get a little too into certain animals. With Netflix's Tiger King and HBO's Chimp Crazy , Goode explored the personalities behind the obsessions. In both cases, his subjects ended up in prison.  Now, with Monsters of God , airing on HBO, Goode turns to exotic reptiles and the...

This has been quite a week in culture. First, Newsweek's H. Alan Scott reviews Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the latest chapter in Tom Holland's run as the wall crawler under director Destin Daniel Cretton. Then, Alan shifts gears to talk about Julien's Auctions putting one of television's most beloved props up for bid: Sophia Petrillo's purse from The Golden Girls. From blockbuster superheroes to si...

Crystal Methyd just became the first Drag Race winner out of Missouri, and she is not slowing down. She sits down with Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott to unpack her All Stars run, why she waited to return after a pandemic-era original season, and the tour she just announced: the Enchanted Forest Tour, a full stage production with dancers, puppets and chaos hitting the road soon. Then runner-up Joey Jay t...

 In the 1970s, Tony Powell was a star defender for Norwich City. Then he vanished. Decades later, filmmakers Ramiel Petros and Nicholas Freeman found him living as the manager and sole resident of a fading West Hollywood motel, a gay man who walked away from everything at the height of his career rather than live a lie. Petros and Freeman join H. Alan to discuss their documentary 'The Last Gu...

Golf has never been the loudest sport, but Netflix's The Hawk is making the case that it should be. Will Ferrell stars as Lonnie Hawkins, a pro golfer chasing the fame he had at his 2004 peak, complete with a signature drink, a colorful camper and outfits that could stop traffic on the back nine. In this two-part conversation, Ferrell and Molly Shannon, reuniting on screen for the first time since...

Reality TV is having a moment and Gibson Johns is here to break it all down. The podcast host and pop culture expert joins Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott to unpack the Zach and Bryce bromance that took over Love Island USA this season, a friendship so beloved it arguably outshined every actual couple in the villa. Then it's on to Summer House, which just landed its first ever Emmy nomination after a sea...

Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott sits down with Julie Klausner to talk New York's chaotic summer, the meaning of "cool" across generations and why Hulu’s Difficult People is finally getting a physical release on Blu-ray. They dig into chosen family on screen, from The Golden Girls to Will & Grace, and how friendship, not romance, has always been Julie's favorite story to tell. Julie reflects on the sh...

Comedian Anna Roisman joins me for a packed episode covering the biggest stories in pop culture right now.  First, the Emmy race for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, which is already a two-woman fight: Lisa Kudrow for The Comeback and Jean Smart for Hacks. Nobody is debating whether they get nominated, only who takes it home.   Then, a win for movie-loving millennials. M...

It is America's 250th birthday and what better way to celebrate than talking George Washington. Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott sits down with William Franklyn-Miller, the British actor stepping into his first leading role as a 21-year-old Washington in the new film Young Washington. They get into the irony of a Brit playing the father of our nation, the wooden teeth he thankfully dodged and what we stil...

Tristan Schukraft is one of the most influential figures in queer life right now, and chances are you already know his work. He's the founder of MISTR, the free online platform that has become the largest prescriber of PrEP in the U.S., representing 20% of all prescriptions nationwide. He's the owner of the Abbey, the legendary West Hollywood gay bar in Los Angeles. And he's the man behind Tryst H...

Zoey Deutch and Nick Robinson join us to talk about their new Netflix film Voicemails for Isabelle, a rom-com about grief, love and the most tech-friendly meet-cute in film history. They break down with Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott why Netflix has become the new home for the romantic comedy, what it's like to film a rain scene in actual rain and why, despite starring in a movie about voicemails, neith...

Three conversations, one big picture. Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott is talking rom-com representation with comedian Naomi Ekperigan, making the argument for an unapologetic Office reboot with Newsweek Senior Reporter Lauren Giella, and trying to figure out exactly how Tom Holland accidentally confirmed his own wedding to the entire internet.  Subscribe to my newsletter: https://for-the-culture.bee...

Brooke Shields isn't just the star of Acorn TV's new cozy mystery series You're Killing Me . She's the engine behind it. As both lead actress and executive producer, Shields plays Allie, a bestselling novelist in a quaint New England town who teams up with a young writer and podcaster to solve murders in their community. "I had something to say about everything," she tells Newsweek, from casting a...

Geena Davis is redefining what it means to age on your own terms. Steven Spielberg is reminding everyone why his name above the title is enough. And Justin Trudeau just became one half of the summer's most talked-about couples with Katy Perry. Because if it's the conversation everyone's having, it's for the culture. Newsweek's H. Alan Scott and Senior Reporter Lauren Giella break down the biggest...

Ginger Minj and Jujubee stop by to talk about their new film Stop! That! Train! , the World of Wonder and Bleecker Street comedy that casts them as the leads of a drag-fueled disaster movie parody. They get into what it was like carrying a film for the first time, working alongside RuPaul as a colleague rather than a judge, and why Adam Shankman told them to play it completely straight. Plus: JuJu...

 Kristen Kish has had one of the most exciting years in food television, and she's not slowing down. The ‘Top Chef’ host sat down with Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott to talk about what makes the long-running competition series still feel so fresh, why there's no higher drama than watching world-class chefs compete and how the show authentically celebrates diversity in food and people. She also open...

With The Comeback's 20-year journey now complete, Laura Silverman joined Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott to reflect on what it meant to play Jane, the documentarian who became the audience's eyes and ears into Valerie Cherish's world. Silverman opens up about her bond with Lisa Kudrow, what it was like to act with her every single day and how she found her way into a character that was never overanalyzed...

Andrew Scott sat down with Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott to talk ‘Pressure,’ the WWII film where he plays James Stagg, the meteorologist who convinced Eisenhower to delay D-Day. We talk about his approach to complicated characters, why he's never interested in being liked on screen, his career and the kinds of projects he can't say no to. Plus he defends British people and their weather obsession and h...

Oscar-winner Allison Janney, Andrew Rannells and writer-director Jim Rash sit down with Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott to talk about HBO's ‘Miss You, Love You,’ a dark comedy about grief, estrangement and the unlikely bond between two strangers at a funeral. Janney and Rannells break down how they prepared for the role, why they memorized the entire script before day one and what made this one of the mo...

Writer and producer Our Lady J, also known as Yona Speidel, talks The Burroughs, queer storytelling, career pivots and why she's done chasing one lane. This is a great chat if you’ve ever been interested in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry.   Subscribe to my newsletter: https://for-the-culture.beehiiv.com   Follow me: https://linktr.ee/halanscott   See Privacy Po...

Judith Light talks The Terror: Devil in Silver on AMC+/Shudder, career reinvention and why there's nothing to get in life — only what you can give. If you grew up with her on Who’s the Boss? or were moved by her performance in Transparent, then this chat is for you.   Subscribe to my newsletter: https://for-the-culture.beehiiv.com   Follow me: https://linktr.ee/halanscott   See...

Luke Gulbranson went from Summer House to the campaign trail. Now he's running for Congress in Minnesota and making his case.  "Congress doesn't work for the people. It works for the party, it works for the president, it works with private and special interests. I'm sick of it,” Gulbranson told Newsweek.   Subscribe to my newsletter: https://for-the-culture.beehiiv.com   Follow...

Director Adam Shankman on Stop! That! Train!, bringing comedy back to theaters and why stupidity is exactly what we need.  "I hope I did my part to drag that into our current time," he told Newsweek. "It's unapologetically queer, but I made it for everybody."  Subscribe to my newsletter: https://for-the-culture.beehiiv.com   Follow me: https://linktr.ee/halanscott See Privacy Policy...

Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey on World of Wonder, Stop! That! Train! and why RuPaul was born to lead a disaster movie.  In a media landscape that Bailey describes as its own disaster movie, "tectonic, seismic change" and all, Stop! That! Train! is their answer: an hour and a half of joyful, unapologetic stupidity at a moment when joy feels like its own act of resistance. "There is power in...