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

Have a listen to Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim, a new Headgum podcast! Raised by a single mom, Ego Nwodim may have daddy issues, but she suspects you might, too. On Thanks Dad, she invites guests like Bill Burr, Kenan Thompson, Adam Pally, Hasan Minaj, Tim Meadows, Andy Cohen, and many more to be her “Dad for the Day” and has funny, heartfelt conversations with them about their experiences with their own dads and as parents themselves. Each episode wraps up with her getting practical advice from her guests such as how to get the best deal when buying a house, how to know you’ve found “the one,” and how to perfect your jump shot.

Subscribe to Thanks Dad on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and check out new episodes every Monday.

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It’s the extra special livestream finale of Newcomers: Sports! Lauren and Nicole are called up to the show to discuss Bull Durham with very special guests Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer. Along with celebrating the alluring powerhouse that is Susan Sarandon, the group also gets into the range of Tim Robbins, the strangeness of A Big Romantic Speech, and improvise the plot to Bull Durham 2.

Follow Rob: Twitter, Instagram

Follow Paul: Twitter, Instagram

You can hear six seasons of Newcomers theme music composed by Newcomer’s editor/composer extraordinaire Faris Monshi now streaming everywhere: bit.ly/ThemesFromNewcomers

Get tickets for the VOD version of the Newcomers: Sports Fan Choice Finale Livestream with special guests Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel here! Available until Sunday, September 15th at 11:59 PM PT.

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!

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Lauren and Nicole are back with an epic new season of Newcomers covering legendary sports movies. There’s no better way to kick things off than discussing White Men Can’t Jump (1992) with Headgum founder, co-host of the podcast Segments, and basketball fanatic Amir Blumenfeld! The group gets into their own personal experiences playing sports (both good and bad, mostly bad), understanding the lore of someone’s Favorite Movie, and clear up the misconception that this film's sequel is not called White Men Can’t Jump Again.

Follow Amir: Instagram, Twitter

Join us next week for our episode covering Rudy!

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!

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Moving on to what the trio will summarize as "The Dead Man's Chest of The Hobbit series", Lauren and Nicole are joined by writer and entertainment reporter Karen Han to shake off the liquid gold and hash out what they just experienced in the second installment of The Hobbit series, The Desolation of Smaug.

The three note the dramatically different portrayals of violence between the first and second movie, consider if a romantic interest's DISinterest in your favorite movies is ever a dealbreaker, and confess their struggle to feel invested in any of these characters unless they look like celebrities they know, or are Bilbo, sometimes. Kind of.

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:

Amazon TV series news article by Radio Times

Trivia from Warped Factor

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Moving on from the acclaimed The Lord of the Rings trilogy and buckling in for an all new (and again, very long) adventure, Lauren and Nicole are joined by comedian/writer/actor Jon Braylock (Astronomy Club, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) to begin The Hobbit prequel trilogy, starting with An Unexpected Journey.

The three ponder how on earth Peter Jackson was able to stretch out a short children's book into the three-pronged behemoth the film adaptations became, while also learning that it was an absolute nightmare to create. We also learn about Lauren's early history with The Hobbit, where as a child she performed, as she describes, "as one of those three disgusting, naked things" in one of her first ever plays. Later on, we hear why Nicole thinks Sauron and Saruman should be called Carl and Gary instead. Hopelessly mixed emotions abound with this first installment of The Hobbit trilogy!

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:

Article on The Hobbit's production chaos

Trivia from IMDb

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Having just finished their first watch through of the acclaimed Peter Jackson trilogy, Lauren and Nicole are joined this week by author, speaker and writer, Preeti Chhibber, to spend some time exploring the world of The Lord of the Rings fanfiction.

The trio navigate stories of varying excitement and severity, discovering their limits in both directions, from too tame to WAY too much. And, of course, they've written a few stories of their own. It's time to make things weird all over again with this new franchise! You knew this was coming...

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:

Orlando Bloom interview

Preeti's article on (and picture of) Sidharth Malhotra, Indian Elf

Fan Fics:

The Steward's Sons

A Little Care

My Birthday Present

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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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