Welcome To The Party Pal: The Mind-Bending Film & Television Podcast You Didn't Know You Needed!

This episode of Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates Nightmare Alle y, the 2021 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Guillermo del Toro from a screenplay by del Toro and Kim Morgan, based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham, being the second feature film adaptation of Gresham's novel following the 1947 version. The film stars Bradley Cooper as a charmi...

This episode of Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates the fourth season of Ozark, the American crime drama television series created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams for Netflix. The series stars Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as Marty and Wendy Byrde, a married couple who relocate their family to the Lake of the Ozarks for money laundering. Bateman also serves as a director and executive producer...

In this episode, Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates — once again — Station Eleven,  the post-apocalyptic fiction limited series created by Patrick Somerville based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Emily St. John Mandel. A post-apocalyptic saga spanning multiple timelines,  Station Eleven  tells the stories of survivors of a devastating flu as they attempt to rebuild and reimag...

In this episode, Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates Station Eleven, the post-apocalyptic fiction limited series created by Patrick Somerville based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Emily St. John Mandel. A post-apocalyptic saga spanning multiple timelines, Station Eleven tells the stories of survivors of a devastating flu as they attempt to rebuild and reimagine the world anew while holding...

Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates the life and career of famed director Peter Bogdanovich through an examination of one of his most influential films, They All Laughed . They All Laughed is a 1981 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Bogdanovich starring Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, John Ritter, Colleen Camp, Patti Hansen, and Dorothy Stratten. The film was based on a screenplay by Bo...

Join in as Welcome To The Party Pal meticulously dissects the final four episodes of Season 3 of HBO’s smash hit comedy-drama Succession . Created by Jesse Armstrong, the series centers on the Roy family, the dysfunctional owners of Waystar RoyCo, a global media and entertainment conglomerate who are fighting for control of the company amid uncertainty about the health of the family’s patriarch, L...

Welcome To The Party Pal meticulously dissects the first five episode of HBO's smash hit comedy-drama Succession . Created by Jesse Armstrong, the series centers on the Roy family, the dysfunctional owners of Waystar RoyCo, a global media and entertainment conglomerate who are fighting for control of the company amid uncertainty about the health of the family's patriarch, Logan Roy (Brian Cox).&nb...

Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates the 2021 Revisionist Western film The Harder The Fall , directed by Jeymes Samuel, who co-wrote the screenplay with Boaz Yakin. The film stars Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, and Deon Cole. It is one of fe...

Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates the second season of Ted Lasso, the American sports comedy-drama streaming television series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly, based on a character of the same name that Sudeikis first portrayed in a series of promos for NBC Sports' coverage of the Premie...

Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates the South Korean survival drama television series streaming on Netflix, Squid Game . Written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, it stars Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, O Yeong-su, Wi Ha-joon, Jung Ho-yeon, Heo Sung-tae, Anupam Tripathi, and Kim Joo-ryoung. The series centers on a contest where 456 players, d...

Welcome To The Party Pal sets its sights on The Aloha State in an episode that celebrates the first season of The White Lotus , the American satirical comedy-drama series created, written, and directed by Mike White ( Enlightened ). The series was greenlit in October 2020 and filmed in Hawaii in late 2020. Featuring an ensemble cast including Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Ale...

This episode of Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates Loki, the television series created by Michael Waldron for Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character of the same name. It is the third television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) produced by Marvel Studios, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. The ser...

This episode of Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates the life and career of one of Hollywood’s most prolific and consistent directors, Richard Donner. Donner began his career as a television director, helming episodes of series like The Man from U.N.C.L.E. , The Fugitive , and The Twilight Zone. He made his film debut with the low-budget aviation drama X-15 (1961), but had his critical and commerci...

This episode of Welcome To The Party Pal thoroughly explores the ins and outs of the 1978 American epic war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino, The Deer Hunter . This enthralling, critically-acclaimed film, follows a trio of Russian-American steelworkers whose lives are changed forever after fighting in the Vietnam War. The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro, Christopher...

Welcome To The Party Pal delves into Yasuke , the Japanese-American original anime series loosely based on the historical figure of the same name, an African warrior who served under Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga during the Sengoku period of samurai conflict in 16th century Japan. Created by LeSean Thomas and animated b...

Welcome To The Party Pal casts its gaze towards Bangkok, Thailand in an episode that explores  The Serpent,  a British crime drama serial developed by Mammoth Screen. The eight-part limited series is a co-production between BBC One and Netflix and is based on the crimes of serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who murdered young tourists between 1975 and...

This episode of Welcome To The Party Pal thoroughly explores the 1975 science fiction sports film Rollerball , directed and produced by Norman Jewison. Rollerball stars James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams, John Beck, Moses Gunn and Ralph Richardson. The screenplay was written by William Harrison, and adapted from his own short story entitled "Roller Ball Murder.” The captivating and poignant fil...

In this episode of Welcome To The Party Pal hosts Michael Shields and Christian Niedan explore 1962's and 1991's Cape Fear , the two film adaptations of John D. MacDonald's 1957 psychological novel,  The Executioners.  1962's Cape Fear stars Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Polly Bergen and was directed by J. Lee Thompson. The subsequent adaptation was direc...

In this episode of Welcome To The Party Pal host Michael Shields, with the help of author and film & television enthusiast Douglas Grant*, explores the Japanese thriller series Alice in Borderland. Alice in Borderland is a series based on the manga of the same name by Haro Aso, and it is directed by Shinsuke Sato. The enthralling eight episode story arc stars Kent...

In this episode of Welcome To The Party Pal, hosts Michael Shiels and Mitch Lucas delve deeply into one of the best films released in 2021, the American drama film Nomadland . Set amid the fallout of the economic collapse of a town in rural Nevada, Nomadland follows Fern (Frances McDormand) as she packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-d...

In this episode of Welcome To The Party Pal, film historian and host Christian Niedan, with the help of editor and culture journalist Dante A. Ciampaglia, explore the fascinating particulars of the 1993 fantasy action comedy Last Action Hero , directed by John McTiernan. It is a satire of the action genre and associated clichés, containing several parod...

In this episode of Welcome To The Party Pal hosts Michael Shields and Christian Niedan celebrate the contributions to cinema by Edward Bunker. Bunker was an author of crime fiction, a screenwriter, convicted felon, and an actor. He wrote the scripts for — and acted in —  Straight Time  (1978) (adapted from his debut novel  No Beast So Fierce ),  Runaway Train  (1985)...

In this episode of Welcome To The Party Pal hosts Michael Shields and Mitch Lucas commemorate the second season of the Disney+ television series  The Mandalorian  which stars Pedro Pascal as the title character, a bounty hunter trying to return "The Child" (Grogu!) to his people, the Jedi. It is part of the  Star Wars  franchise, set after the events of...

In this episode of Welcome To The Party Pal, host Michael Shields, with the help of film/television enthusiast and podcaster Jonathan Hart, celebrates Ted Lasso , the comedy series developed by Bill Lawrence, Jason Sudeikis, Joe Kelly and Brendan Hunt, based on a character of the same name that Sudeikis first portrayed in a series of promos for NBC Sports' covera...

In this episode of Welcome To The Party Pal, film historian and host Christian Niedan, with the help of editor and culture journalist Dante A. Ciampaglia, celebrate the 1957 cult classic Sweet Smell of Success .  Sweet Smell of Success  is a noir drama film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, and&nbsp...