In this episode of Welcome To The Party, Avatar: The Way of Water, the epic science fiction film directed and produced by James Cameron, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, is dissected and celebrated. It is the sequel to Avatar (2009) and the second installment in the Avatar film series. Cast members Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, and Giovanni Ribisi reprise their roles from the original film, with Sigourney Weaver returning in an...

This episode of Welcome To The Party Pal looks forward to the year ahead and previews a slew of the captivating television shows set to air in 2023. First, hosts Michael Shields and Ryan O' Connell discuss heralded television shows returning for their latest season — those highly anticipated, beloved programs such as Succession, Barry, The Mandalorian, and Loki. Then, they dig into a bevy of television shows premiering this year, ones that star such renowned actors as Meryl Streep, Woody...

This episode of Welcome To The Party Pal pays tribute to The Fabelmans, the coming-of-age drama directed by Steven Spielberg and written and produced by Tony Kushner and Spielberg. It is a semi-autobiographical story based on Spielberg's adolescence and first years as a filmmaker, told through an original story of the fictional Sammy Fabelman, a young aspiring filmmaker who explores how the power of films can help him see the truth about his dysfunctional family and those around him. The film...

In this episode of Welcome To The Party Pal hosts Michael Shields and Ryan O’ Connell share their choices for the best television shows of 2022. In a year absolutely chock full of brilliant offerings, across a multitude of genres, whittling it down to just ten was no easy task, but that was thej ob. And so, join in on a celebration of 2022's bounty. Does Barry, The Bear, Better Call Saul, Rings of Power, Abbott Elementary, Severance, Andor, or Reservation Dogs make our list? Tune in to find...

This episode of Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates the first season of Andor, the science-fiction action-adventure television series created by Tony Gilroy for Disney+. It is the fourth live-action series in the Star Wars franchise, as well as a prequel to both the spin-off film Rogue One (2016) and the original Star Wars film (1977). The series follows thief-turned-Rebel spy Cassian Andor during the five years that lead to the events of the two films. Diego Luna reprises his role as Cassian...

This episode of Welcome To The Party Pal dissects the first season of House of the Dragon, the fantasy drama television series that persists as a prequel to Game of Thrones. It is the second show in the franchise created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal for HBO. Both series are based on the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by Martin with Condal and Miguel Sapochnik serving as the showrunners. Based on parts of the novel Fire & Blood, the series is set about 200 years before the events...

In this episode of Welcome To The Party Pal hosts Michael Shields and Ryan O' Connell set forth to answer one of the most impossible questions in television: Who is the greatest HBO character of all time? Basing their conversation on an article written by Ryan O' Connell at BroBible titled, "Who Is The Greatest HBO Character of All Time? We Set Up A Massive Battle Royale To Figure Out The G.O.A.T," the two overly prepared hosts analyze all the characters who have inhabited the programs of...

This episode of Welcome To The Party Pal journeys to Graceland to commemorate Elvis, the 2022 biographical musical drama film directed by Baz Luhrmann, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, and Jeremy Doner. The film follows the life of rock and roll icon, singer, and actor Elvis Presley, told from the perspective of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. It stars Austin Butler in the title role with Tom Hanks as Parker, while Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson and Richard Roxburgh...

In this episode, Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates Better Call Saul, the American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the Breaking Bad franchise, it is a spin-off, prequel, and sequel to Gilligan's previous series, Breaking Bad. Set primarily in the early 2000s in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series develops Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk), an earnest lawyer and former con artist, into an egocentric criminal defense attorney known as Saul...

In this episode, Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates Season 4, Volume 2 of Stranger Things, the science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers that is streaming on Netflix. The brothers serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Set in the 1980s primarily in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, the series centers around numerous supernatural events occurring around the town, specifically around their connection to a...

In this episode, Welcome To The Party Pal revisits Wes Anderson's directorial debut Bottle Rocket, a cult classic that persists as one of the most cherished indie films of the 1990s. Bottle Rocket was written by Anderson and Owen Wilson and is based on Anderson's 1994 short film of the same name. Bottle Rocket is also the acting debut for brothers Owen and Luke Wilson, who co-starred with Robert Musgrave, their older brother Andrew Wilson, Lumi Cavazos, and the great James Caan. Throughout...

In this episode, Welcome To The Party Pal examines Obi-Wan Kenobi, the television miniseries created for the streaming service Disney+ that is part of the Star Wars franchise starring Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, reprising his role from the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Set ten years after the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), the series follows Kenobi as he sets out to rescue the kidnapped Princess Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) from the Galactic Empire, leading to a...

In this episode, Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates Season 4, Volume 1 of Stranger Things, the science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers that is streaming on Netflix. The brothers serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Set in the 1980s primarily in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, the series centers around numerous supernatural events occurring around the town, specifically around their connection to a...

This episode of Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates the second half of the fourth season of Ozark, the 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 for the series. In June 2020, the series was renewed for a fourth and final season,...

Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates The Batman, the latest reboot based on the DC Comics character Batman. The film was directed by Matt Reeves, who wrote the screenplay with Peter Craig. It stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne / Batman alongside Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell. The film sees Batman, who has been fighting crime in Gotham City for two years, uncover corruption while pursuing the Riddler (Dano), a serial...

This episode of Welcome To The Party Pal celebrates Nightmare Alley, 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 charming and ambitious carnival worker with a mysterious past who takes big risks to boost his career....

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 for the series. In June 2020, the series was renewed for a fourth and final season, which will...

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 reimagine the world anew while holding on to the best of what’s been lost. Throughout this episode hosts Michael Shields...

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 on to the best of what's been lost. Throughout this episode host Michael Shields, with the help...

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 Bogdanovich and Blaine Novak. It takes its name from the George and Ira Gershwin song of the same...

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, Logan Roy (Brian Cox). The series stars Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy, Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy,...

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). The series stars Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy, Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy, Sarah Snook as Siobhan...

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 few Westerns whose principal cast members are all Black. Although a fictional film, its characters are based on real cowboys, lawmen, and outlaws of the...

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 Premier League. The series follows Ted Lasso, an American college football coach who is hired to coach an English soccer team in an attempt by its owner to spite her...

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, drawn from different walks of life but each deeply in debt, play a set of children's games with deadly consequences for losing for a chance to win a 38 million...