The ‘Hollywood Handbook’ Boys, Over 500 Episodes Deep

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( a long talk [The Hollywood Handbook Boys, Over 500 Episodes Deep]( “I still get a panic attack when somebody says, ‘What’s your show about?’” Photo: Courtesy Hollywood Handbook On May 16, Sean Clements and Hayes Davenport released the [500th episode of Hollywood Handbook](, an insider’s guide to kicking butt and dropping names on the red-carpet-lined back hallways of this industry we call showbiz, with guest Ben Stiller. First launched on Earwolf in October 2013 as a quasi-spinoff of Clements and Davenport’s [The Reality SHOW Show](, the podcast has since become known as one of the great impossible-to-explainers in modern comedy, a shaggy, shape-shifting improv machine heavy with [fan-maintained lore]( and nonsense inside jokes — for example, that Sean is in a troubled marriage to tennis legend Steffi Graf while Davenport is divorced from Brooke Shields. At its core, Hollywood Handbook remains essentially a mockery of entertainment niceties — with Clements (mischievous, smirking) and Davenport (droll, unamused) taunting industry bigwigs from [Donald Glover]( to [Aubrey Plaza]( to [Jon Hamm]( about whatever projects they are promoting, all while pleading to be involved with them. But it has quietly grown into an exploration of “friendship” in Hollywood and the ways the expected standards of professional collegiality — or, more specifically, the struggle to maintain them under constant bombardment from clowns both literal and figurative — are inherently ridiculous. [read more]( The Latest TV Recaps • Secret Invasion: [Even When I’m Out, I’m In]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [Blow Her, Don’t Shrink Her And Just Like That … season two owes Sarita Choudhury an apology.]( By Angelica Jade Bastién [Kelly Clarkson (Finally) Succumbs to the Spotlight Chemistry proves to be the ideal emotional counterpart to her talk show.]( [Spotify Is Equally Responsible for the Royal Podcast Flop Sure, everyone’s looking at Harry and Meghan, but it takes two parties to tango.]( [Happy Valley Was Never a Cop Show How Sally Wainwright’s most internationally popular show to date evolved from police procedural to psychological study of Catherine Cawood.]( By Valentina Valentini [This Month in Comedy Podcasts: How to Delete Your Twitter Account Rounding up our favorite comedy-podcast episodes of the month.]( [Tom Cruise Is a Barbie-Oppenheimer Double-Feature Evangelist “It doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink).”]( By Zoe Guy [Last Call Gets Another Round, This Time As a Documentary Series The series, adapted from Elon Green’s book, will follow activism surrounding a serial killer targeting gay men.]( By Jason P. Frank [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Today’s Crossword]( 13-Across, Three Letters: Item in Dora’s backpack. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty, Everette [Vulture Recommends]( We consume it all so you don’t have to. Photo: Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images Revisit Weezer’s discography! Over the past six years, Rivers Cuomo and [Weezer]( have played festivals, opened for the Foo Fighters, and co-headlined gigs with the Pixies, Fall Out Boy, and Green Day, but what they haven’t done is tour the U.S. as the main attraction. With a slew of dates lined up this summer, Cuomo is fretting over Weezer’s set lists, which he hopes will appeal to both Pinkerton diehards and the fans who just discovered the band via TikTok. In the spirit of looking back at Weezer’s vast catalogue with an eye to the future, [Vulture caught up with Cuomo]( to talk through the best, most underappreciated, and most enduring songs of his career. [Read more from Vulture]( A newsletter of TV and movie recommendations. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2023, All rights reserved