Newcomers: Sports, with Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus – Details, episodes & analysis

Lauren and Nicole head to the front row of the New Rochelle Challenger with very special guest Margaret Cho to chat all things Challengers! Our trio examines the film’s trio of Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor, share their expectations versus reality of one of 2024’s sexiest films, reminisce about early aughts fashion, and muse about the similarities between pursuing a career in sports and comedy.

Follow Margaret: Twitter, Instagram

Join us next week for our episode covering Field of Dreams! 

Get tickets for the upcoming Newcomers: Sports Fan Choice Finale Livestream with special guests Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel on 9/5 at 4PM PT here!

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5 stars on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review for Nicole and Lauren to read on the pod!

Follow the podcast on Letterboxd.

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Lauren and Nicole hop over the pond with very special guests E.R. Fightmaster, Katie Kershaw, & Tien Tran (Jockular) to get into all things women’s football with the early aughts film Bend It Like Beckham. Also discussed is the icon and living legend Ilona Maher, the beyond obvious queer storyline that refuses to come to fruition, and the movie trope of an injured man becoming the coach for a women’s team.

Join us next week for our episode covering Challengers! 

Get tickets for the upcoming Newcomers: Sports Fan Choice Finale Livestream with special guests Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel on 9/5 at 4PM PT here!

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5 stars on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review for Nicole and Lauren to read on the pod!

Follow the podcast on Letterboxd.

Advertise on Newcomers via Gumball.fm

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Lauren and Nicole are joined by very special Bostonian guests Mike Mitchell (Doughboys) and John Hodgman (Judge John Hodgman) to get into Scorsese’s award-winning 2006 film The Departed! This episode has everything: Mitch’s birthday, rat acting, Jack Nicholson’s filming pre-requisites and a special shout out to every person, place, and thing that made this film what it is. You won’t ever think of micro-processors the same way again.

Follow Mitch: Instagram

Follow John: Instagram, Twitter

Next week tune in for our next episode covering The Irishman (2019!

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5 stars on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review for Nicole and Lauren to read on the pod!

Follow the podcast on Letterboxd.

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Lauren and Nicole are joined by writers and LOTR fanatics Gaby Paiella (GQ) and Callie Beusman (The Cut) to close out the final installment of the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King.

The four of them venture fearlessly into topics of conversation such as who in the Fellowship has Big Dick Energy, why Callie thinks the Director's Cut is the only way to go (it has a lot to do with a particularly goofy-looking orc), the continued dissection of how the film creates such extreme illusions of size and proportion in characters, pondering why this franchise gets such universal acclaim versus all the backlash Star Wars constantly receives, and also, "Who the f*** is the Witch King!?"

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts and let us know what LOTR media you'd like the series to cover.

Sources for this episode:

"Which Lord of the Rings Characters Have Big Dick Energy?" article

Gaby's article on Vanessa Hudgens' Lord of the Rings themed birthday party

Trivia from IMDB

Trivia from MovieMistakes.com

Trivia from Mental Floss

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Helping Nicole and Lauren make sense of and, dare we say, enjoy, Peter Jackson's second installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Two Towers, is Mary Holland (Comedy Central's Robbie / Jedi Temple Challenge).

Listen in as they hash out points of varying importance such as how flawless Gandalf the White's new hair is, the finer details of Elven love and aging, the baffling games the films play on our perception of characters' sizes, and Mary's command of the Elvish language.

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts and let us know what LOTR media you'd like the series to cover.

Sources for this episode:

Trivia from Screen Rant

Trivia from Mental Floss

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Nicole and Lauren embark on their epic journey across Middle-earth, discussing the first installment of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring.

Your hosts can't do it alone, though. Jon Gabrus (The High & Mighty, The Action Boyz) returns to the pod to guide his friends through the first steps of their quest. And if you thought the #1 fuccboi nerded-out hard with Star Wars, you've heard nothing yet. Nothing.

Sure, they discuss the plot, but that's secondary to the important stuff: Who in the Fellowship is a daddy? What are they smoking in those pipes? Why do the wizards have a breakdance fight? What are any of these characters' names? Why is everyone white? Where the hell is Gollum?

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts and let us know what LOTR media you'd like the series to cover.

Sources for this episode:

Fellowship of the Ring Trivia from IMDB

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Nicole and Lauren are back at it again with experiencing more critical pop culture for the first time. In season 2 of Newcomers, they'll be taking on The Lord of the Rings, starting with the Peter Jackson trilogy!

Joined by their own fellowship of LOTR fans, ranging from fellow comedians to creators involved in the franchise, Nicole and Lauren will be in good company, being guided both safely and absurdly through their new journey to Middle-Earth.

Subscribe today and catch the first episode of the new season, launching 8/18!

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To celebrate our Star Wars finale, we're joined by Ahmed Best (voice of Jar Jar Binks) and Mary Holland (voice of AD-3 droid) to talk about your top movie suggestion - the 1987 Mel Brooks satire film Spaceballs. Mary and Ahmed also discuss what it's like hosting the new children's Star Wars game show series, Jedi Temple Challenge. Plus, Ahmed shares the incredible audition process behind Jar Jar, how it caused a rift between him and Michael Jackson, and what it's like working with George Lucas.

Sources for this episode:

Bob It! Baby Yoda

Spaceballs Trivia from IMDB

Also, we announce what we're covering for season two! So stay subscribed to this same feed, we'll have new episodes releasing later this summer. Thanks for listening!

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Star Wars author Preeti Chhibber (The Clone Wars Anthology, A Jedi You Will Be) joins Nicole and Lauren to break down the critically acclaimed series finale to Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Have Nicole and Lauren been gaslit into liking Star Wars? Is baby Yoda not who we thought he was? Plus more Hoth Goss about 90 Day Fiancé, Disneyland reopening, and how to become a writer for Disney.

Looking to watch before listening? Here are the episodes we cover:

S1E19 - Storm Over Ryloth

S5E20 - The Wrong Jedi

S7E9 - Old Friends Not Forgotten 

S7E10 - The Phantom Apprentice

S7E11 - Shattered 

S7E12 - Victory and Death

Media mentioned in this episode:

Stormtroopers enforcing social distancing at Disney Springs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cCmJX7fOmU

Preeti's Baby Yoda celebrating May the 4th

https://twitter.com/runwithskizzers/status/1257308111263522816

George Lucas watching Ewan Mcgregor get a haircut

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFvTkUOo1uI

The Clone Wars MOCAP fight sequence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzYyJa2Upas

Beat Saber gameplay

https://twitter.com/MarsMel/status/1271951033678389248

We'll be back in two weeks for our Star Wars season finale.

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Have Lauren and Nicole changed their tune on Ewoks? Comedian and Star Wars superfan Joel Kim Booster (Sunnyside, Singled Out) joins us to break down the 2 Ewok movies from the 80's: 'Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure' and 'Ewoks: The Battle for Endor'.

Next episode, we watch the series premiere and 4-part finale of The Clone Wars.

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Sources this episode:

Ewok Adventures Trivia

The Battle for Endor Trivia

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