Newcomers: Sports, with Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus

Monique Heart ( RuPaul's Drag Race ) guides Lauren and Nicole through their first experience with a Tyler Perry television drama–the pilot episode of  The Oval  (2019).  Follow Monique on Instagram and Twitter , and check out  Ace of Hearts with Monique Heart   on Headgum.  Next Week's Watchlist: Madea Goes to Jail (2009) Like the show?  Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on...

Comedian and writer Rae Sanni joins Lauren and Nicole to discuss another film within the Madea Cinematic Universe– Madea's Big Happy Family  (2011).  Follow Rae on  Instagram  and  Twitter , and check-out  The Cast with Rae & Jacquis  on HeadGum. Next Week's Watchlist:  The Oval  S1 E1 "The Pilot" (2019) Like the show?  Rate Newc...

Nicole and Lauren are joined by comedian and actress Dulcé Sloan ( The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, The Great North ) to discuss her experience working on an episode of Tyler Perry's  Meet the Browns .  Follow Dulcé on Instagram and Twitter @dulcesloan, and tune into  The Great North  airing Sundays on FOX.  Next Week's Watchlist: Madea's Big Happy Family (2011) Like...

Michelle Collins ( The Michelle Collins Show, Midnight Snack ) returns to help Lauren and Nicole examine Tyler Perry's psychological thriller, Acrimony (2018). Follow Michelle on Instagram and Twitter @michcoll and tune into The Michelle Collins Show on SiriusXM and her podcast, Midnight Snack . Next week's watchlist: Meet the Browns (TV Show) Episodes: "Meet Brown Meadows" and "Meet the Trainer"...

Nicole and Lauren are joined by writer, producer, and podcaster Jason Concepcion (host of Crooked Media's Takeline and ALL CAPS NBA ) to discuss a holiday film within the Madea Cinematic Universe, A Madea Christmas (2013).  Follow Jason on Instagram and Twitter @netw3rk and tune into his new Crooked podcast, Takeline .  Next week's watchlist: Acrimony (2018) Like the show?...

Nicole and Lauren are joined by comedians, writers, producers, and sisters Lauren Ashley Smith ( A Black Lady Sketch Show ) and Mariah Smith ( Spectacle: An Unscripted History of Reality TV)  to discuss the Tyler Perry marriage dramedy,  Why Did I Get Married  (2007).  Follow Lauren on Twitter and Instagram , and check out the second season of A Black Lady Sketch Show , debutin...

Actor, comedian, and podcaster Jacquis Neal ( The Cast with Rae & Jacquis , Culture Kings ) joins Lauren and Nicole to examine a Tyler Perry family melodrama– The Family That Preys (2008). Follow Jacquis on Twitter and Instagram , and check out his podcast The Cast with Rae & Jacquis ! Next week’s watchlist:  Why Did I Get Married (2007) Like the show?  Rate Newcomers 5-Star...

Nicole and Lauren are joined by comedian, actress, and fellow Headgum podcaster Sydnee Washington ( Hobby Hunter, Unofficial Expert ) to discuss one of Tyler Perry’s first dramatic rom-coms,  Daddy’s Little Girls (2007) . Follow Sydnee on Twitter and Instagram , and check out her podcast Hobby Hunter ! Next week’s watchlist:  The Family That Preys (2008) Like the show?  Rate Ne...

Nicole and Lauren are back, and this season, they're watching Tyler Perry's works for the first time. No more of that nerd stuff! They're starting with the movie that kicked it all off for him: Diary of a Mad Black Woman , and are joined by Jon Braylock (Astronomy Club, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) , who knows Mr. Perry's oeuvre inside and out. Follow Jonathan on Twitter and Instagram ! Like the sho...

Join Lauren Lapkus and her quarantine buddy/husband Mike Castle on their watchalong of  Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Like the show?  Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts Advertise on  Newcomers  via  Gumball.fm See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Join Lauren Lapkus and her quarantine buddy/husband Mike Castle on part 2 of their watchalong of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Like the show?  Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts Advertise on  Newcomers  via  Gumball.fm See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Join Lauren Lapkus and her quarantine buddy/husband Mike Castle on this first installment of their watchalong of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Like the show?  Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts Advertise on  Newcomers  via  Gumball.fm See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info...

For their final romp through Middle-earth, Lauren and Nicole are joined by comedian and podcaster Kevin T. Porter ( Good Christian Fun, Gilmore Guys ) to explore the much-loved 1981 BBC radio drama adaptation of The Lord of the Rings . Nothing is held back in this final installment of Season 2 as Lauren and Nicole reflect back on their experience with The Lord of the Rings franchise, and what they...

Lauren and Nicole are joined by the voice of Hayley Smith herself, Rachael MacFarlane , to discuss the American Dad parody episode, Return of the Bling. Listen in as the they lament bad coronavirus jokes, take pleasure in finally understanding all these LOTR references, and scratch their heads at the absurdity of having to ask to use the bathroom in school. Like the show?  Rate Newcomers 5-St...

Lauren and Nicole are joined by comedian, writer and actor Jake Hurwitz ( If I Were You, Not Another D&D Podcast ) to dig into some Lord of the Rings fan theories! All the most important questions are asked, and answers of varying credibility are provided... Why didn't they just fly the eagles to Mordor? Would it have been a terrible idea in the first place? Is LOTR just WW1 + magic? And who e...

Lauren and Nicole go on their very first Dungeons and Dragons campaign, Lord of the Rings style! Joined by Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan ( CollegeHumor’s Dimension 20 series ), Darkwin the Elf and Samwise Parkington the Hobbit are on a quest to meet with their good friend Gandy, but not without running into some trouble along the way... Like the show?  Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Po...

Lauren and Nicole are back to discuss the popular 2014 video game, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, with the voice actor of the hero Talion himself, Troy Baker ! Troy takes Lauren and Nicole on a deep behind-the-scenes look into the production of this runaway hit game, offering insight into the bizarre sensations of filming on a performance capture stage, the tightrope walk of carefully (and legall...

Lauren and Nicole are joined by actress and comedian Jessica McKenna ( Off Book: The Improvised Musical ) for some more Lord of the Rings memes and parodies! The three take a peek at Aragorn's text messages, compare Saruman to a shampoo bottle, and watch Orlando Bloom himself imitate a popular song entirely based around a single Legolas line from the films. Like the show?  Rate Newcomers 5-St...

It's about that time again! In Part 2 of Lord of the Rings fanfiction, Lauren and Nicole are joined by graphic novelist and writer, Molly Ostertag , to get weird, goofy, creepy, and super cute with a fresh batch of fics. This round of fanfics truly runs the gamut of genres and moods. From the antics of Peepee the small stupid hobbit, to Lady Gollum's pursuit of rings and love, to (of course) some...

Now that they're out of the woods of the challenging and bizarre Lord of the Rings animation trilogy, Lauren and Nicole suddenly find themselves... in more woods. Fan-made woods, that is! Joined by writer Eva Anderson ( Comedy Bang! Bang!, You're The Worst ), the three take a detour into the popular 2009 Lord of the Rings fan film, The Hunt for Gollum. Eva holds nothing back as she tells the tale...

The third and final pillar of the Lord of the Rings "animation trilogy" has been vanquished by Lauren and Nicole, with the aid of fellow Headgum podcaster, comedian and musician Miel Bredouw (Punch Up the Jam, Camp Unplug) . The trio dive deep into this 1980 musical television film version of The Return of the King and decry the ugliness of all the characters (except Éowyn, who is super hot), note...

Trudging ever onward through the deep cuts of the LOTR franchise, Lauren and Nicole bring along comedian and talk show host Michelle Collins ( The Michelle Collins Show, Midnight Snack with Michelle Collins ) to experience and help piece together the trippy and sometimes terrifying Ralph Bakshi animated film from 1978, simply known as The Lord of the Rings. The three begin on common ground, airing...

Actor and comedian Oscar Montoya ( Spanish Aqui Presents, Inside The Disney Vault ) joins Lauren and Nicole to begin the hosts' first foray into the world of animated Lord of the Rings content, starting with the American musical television special from 1977, The Hobbit . Oscar brings his obsession for animation along with him to explain his love for this movie, draw comparisons between this film's...

Welp, we were sort of wrong to think there would be a lot of insights into the world of The Lord of the Rings in store for us with the 2019 biopic, Tolkien. But though it was a dry well to draw from, Lauren and Nicole still managed to enjoy some thought-provoking conversations with actor and writer Mike Castle ( Brews Brothers, Clipped ) around the concepts of separating the art from the artist, w...

After finishing both Peter Jackson trilogies, Lauren and Nicole are ready to decompress, have a laugh, and perhaps even learn a thing or two in this episode of Newcomers all about the memes, parodies, and other bits and bobs that have cropped up over the years surrounding the Lord of the Rings franchise. Joined by actor, comedian and podcaster Paul Scheer ( The League, Black Monday, How Did This G...