The Parting Shot with H. Alan Scott

How did Young Sheldon, a prequel series to The Big Bang Theory, become the rare example of a successful spinoff? That’s exactly what Jessica Radloff’s new book, Young Sheldon: The (Juicier-Than-Meemaw’s-Brisket) Inside Story of the Hit Comedy, uncovers. On this episode of the Parting Shot Podcast, Jessica sits down with H. Alan Scott to reveal the behind-the-scenes secrets of the beloved sitcom. “We're not here to ruin anything, we're there to give you an insider's view into what made it work and a greater appreciation, and you're gonna learn a heck of a lot alon...

Hulu’s Phony brings White Lotus alums Connie Britton and Sam Nivola together for a suspenseful new thriller that pushes both actors into deeply uncomfortable territory. Nivola stars as Sonny, a young man who wakes up after a tragic accident only to find that his mother, Ellen (Britton), doesn't quite seem to be his mother. In this interview with Newsweek, Britton and Nivola break down the bizarre reality of the series and the thrill of actively running in the opposite direction of their past recognizable roles. Nivola opens up about the relief of stepping into the spotlight as...

On this episode of The Parting Shot, Jamie Lee Curtis reveals how a chance encounter with a limo driver sparked the idea for the new NBC comedy Newlyweds. She is joined by real-life spouses and co-stars Téa Leoni and Tim Daly to discuss the joys of impulsively tying the knot in your sixties, the reality of navigating blended families, and the vital, communal experience of traditional network television. From portraying vibrant, sexual older adults on screen to showing younger generations the value of taking real-life risks, the cast breaks down why Newlyweds provides the exact kind of...

This week on the Parting Shot Podcast, H. Alan Scott is joined by Senior Reporter, Lauren Giella, to talk about the anxiety of navigating the internet right now. We tackle the impossible: avoiding spoilers for You Can See Everything. Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's bizarre, boundary-pushing documentary covering the final days before Elizabeth Holmes went to prison just dropped in theaters on October 16, and we debate whether going in blind is even possible in the era of social media.Then, we pivot to how the 2027 awards season is shaping up. Christopher Nolan's massive historical epic The Odyssey...

Do we really need another adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility? After speaking with the cast of director Georgia Oakley’s bold new film, the answer is an undeniable yes. By stripping away the polished veneer, pristine makeup, and rigid etiquette of traditional costume dramas, this adaptation uncovers an intimate, raw, and feminist portrait of the Dashwood women surviving on their own terms. In this episode of The Parting Shot, Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott sat down with the cast—including Daisy Edgar-Jones (Elinor Dashwood), Caitríona Balfe (Mrs. Dashwood), Esmé Creed-Miles (Marianne Dashwood), Fr...

Comedian Anna Roisman joins Newsweek's H. Alan Scott on the Parting Shot podcast to break down a wild mix of pop culture headlines and seasonal comfort:Kelly Clarkson’s "Big Mistake" Moment: Kelly was recently treated like Vivian Ward in an upscale shop, and we're unpacking the viral snub, the retail audacity, and why everyone loves a real-life Pretty Woman showdown.  The Return to Stars Hollow: Why Gilmore Girls remains the undisputed autumn comfort binge, how the viewing rituals change as it heads to Prime Video, and whether Stars Hollow still holds up. Sha...

"Have a seat." For a generation of television viewers, few phrases carried as much weight as that one. On this episode of the Parting Shot podcast, I sit down with screenwriter Ajon Singh to talk about Primetime, the new A24 film starring Robert Pattinson as To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen. We get into the rise of the iconic Dateline NBC series, what its massive popularity says about us as a society and how Hansen has reacted to the film being made. Ajon also breaks down why Gen Z makes up nearly 70 percent of the film's audience and...

With the real world feeling more like a 24/7 breaking news nightmare, it is no wonder we are all escaping into the comforting "competence porn" of Netflix's The Diplomat. On this episode of the Parting Shot podcast, I sit down with the cast and creator of the Emmy-winning series to talk about its fourth season. Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell share why the show's fan base spans generations and the appeal of playing characters who are adjacent to real-world chaos without the personal danger. Creator Debora Cahn opens up about the pressure of bringing in The West Wing alumni Allison...

From the biggest Oscars blunder in history to a museum full of nightmares and Mark Zuckerberg's latest onscreen reckoning, we have a lot to talk about. Newsweek Senior Reporter Lauren Giella and H. Alan Scott break down this week's biggest pop culture moments on the Parting Shot podcast. We kick things off with the Academy Museum's new The Horror Show exhibit in Los Angeles and why it's a must-visit for scary movie fans. Then we get into Aaron Sorkin's 'The Social Reckoning' and why tech movies about Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman always feel a little outdated by the...

Three of the most talked-about books right now share one thing: queer themes. Josh Silver, author of Fruit Fly, joins H. Alan Scott on Newsweek's Parting Shot podcast to talk about sharing the spotlight with Marlon James' The Disappears and Douglas Stuart's John of John. "These two authors are like my heroes," he says. Silver explains how Fruit Fly found its readers with no marketing budget, carried by online book communities to gay and straight audiences alike. He talks about making the jump from his YA novels HappyHead and Traumaland to his first adult novel, and about t...

In 2004, thousands of women applied for a Fox reality show that promised to turn "ugly ducklings" into beauties. It was called The Swan. Contestants spent three months cut off from friends and family while undergoing cosmetic surgery and intense fitness regimens, and most had no idea a beauty pageant was waiting at the end. Now director Erin Lee Carr (Britney vs Spears, Mommy Dead and Dearest) revisits the show in the new Hulu documentary The Swan: Behind the Mirror. She joins H. Alan Scott on Newsweek's Parting Shot podcast to talk about what the show did to t...

From the Poltergeist curse to The Wizard of Oz, Hollywood runs on urban legends. But few have been snickered about longer than the baseless rumor involving Richard Gere and a gerbil. Journalist Allen Salkin spent six years investigating it for Gerbil, a new 12-episode podcast from The Hollywood Reporter. He tracked down sources, ordered obscure magazines off eBay and visited Cedars-Sinai in person. Along the way, he debunks much of the story and uncovers an apparent earlier version of the rumor out of Philadelphia. Salkin talks with Newsweek about why the rumor has survived four de...

It's time to talk about what's trending For the Culture. Newsweek Senior Reporter Lauren Giella joins H. Alan Scott to break down the week's biggest pop culture conversations. First up: Taylor Swift has entered her nesting era. Now that she's married and in love, will her music suffer? Lauren argues it already has with The Life of a Showgirl. Then, Saturday Night Live is back. We run through some of this season's hosts, including Jalen Brunson and Dakota Johnson, and H. Alan asks the question that keeps him up at night: Why won't Dakota Johnson re...

Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke and Donald Faison are back at Sacred Heart Hospital, and as the Scrubs reboot heads into its second season on ABC, the stars are still a little surprised at how well it's worked. On Newsweek's Parting Shot podcast, Braff (J.D. Dorian) admits he was terrified to come back: "We did it for the fans, and the fans are very passionate about the original show." Chalke (Elliot Reid) explains how 25 years of history created a set where everyone feels safe enough to mess up, and Faison (Christopher Turk) says the cast never wanted t...

This week in culture: royals and reckonings collide. Princess Diana's revenge dress is heading to auction decades after it delivered the ultimate wardrobe comeback and could fetch millions. Macklemore was booted from Ed Sheeran's tour for saying Free Palestine, and everyone collectively lost their minds. And Channing Tatum has a finsta? Here's everything you need to know this week on the Parting Shot Podcast, because if it's happening in entertainment, it's For the Culture. Subscribe to H. Alan Scott’s newsletter: https://for-the-culture.beehiiv.com Follow @HAlanScott: https://linktr.ee/halanscott  Subscribe to the Partin...

Laura Baginski, co-founder of Earlybirds, joins host Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott to talk about the dance party that starts at 6 PM and wraps by 10 so everyone gets home for a full night of sleep. "I'm not dead yet, so I do like to go out and have fun." Earlybirds was built around that idea, and it has grown into a movement of early evening dance parties for women and gender expansive people in 50 cities. Each party gives 10 percent of proceeds to nonprofits that uplift women and the gender expansive community. Last year that added up to close to $40,000, an...

He almost missed the story of his career. Investigative journalist Joe Sexton sat down with Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott to talk about HBO's A Killer Story, his six year pursuit of the Dana Chandler case, and the citizen sleuth who wouldn't let it go. Sexton explains why it took roughly 3,000 emails from Eileen Umbehr before he took her tip seriously, how a unanimous Kansas Supreme Court reversal convinced him something had gone badly wrong in Chandler's original trial, and how he tried to stay skeptical of Eileen and her husband Keen even as he came to rel...

Senior Reporter Lauren Giella joins H. Alan Scott to dig into the week's biggest culture stories. Carole Radziwill returns to The Real Housewives of New York with her name tangled in the Epstein files thanks to her old friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell, and she isn't backing away from the questions. Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's Elizabeth Holmes film You Can See Everything shocked Telluride audiences who didn't even know what they were about to watch. And Robert Pattinson's Primetime, his Chris Hansen drama about the making of To Catch a Predator, is already stirring Oscar buzz and controversy after...

Ryan Murphy takes on the Lizzie Borden legend and turns Rebecca Hall and Charlie Hunnam loose on it. Hall and Hunnam break down their work on Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, from balancing camp with real tragedy to watching newcomer Ella Beatty carry the season as Lizzie. Hunnam talks reuniting with Murphy and writer Ian Brennan after making Jungleland with Max Winkler. Hall digs into playing Abby Borden as a woman starved for attention and stuck in a life she never wanted. Subscribe to Newsweek's Parting Shot Podcast with H. Alan Scott for more conversations with the cast and...

Hasan Minhaj is best known for his political comedy on ‘The Daily Show’ and ‘Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj,’ but his latest project hits closer to home. Minhaj sat down with Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott to discuss Netflix's ‘Best of the Best,’ which he produced, co-wrote and co-stars in. The film follows two Indian American best friends who compete in college Bollywood dance competitions, inspired by real circuits like Best of the Best, Legends and the Desi Dance Network. Directed by Lena Khan and starring Priyanka Kedia and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, the movie centers on friendship and whether that bo...