Loves Labours Watched

Loves Labours Watched goes virtual with our first social-distancing episode! Join us as we chat to one another from afar and call up bestselling author Holly Bourne! Holly talks to LLW about her fantastic new novel Pretending, which delves deep into complicated truths about modern life, love and dating apps. Holly also discusses her frustrations with the concept of "women's fiction", why she writes so candidly, plus, why she's loving Netflix's Love is Blind. Meanwhile, Helena's rewatched Disney's Robin Hood(the one with the suspiciously hot cartoon fox) while Francesca is seeking refuge from the world in Kleinfeld's Bridal store via Say Yes to the Dress. We're also both getting excited about Hollie Rubenhold's The Five. TW: Please note that Pretending deals with issues surrounding trauma and sexual violence. If you want to avoid any reference to this content, skip the first half of the episode. Lots of love and we hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!

This week we're chatting about new movie Misbehaviour, directed by Philippa Lowthorpe and starring three of our favourite actors: Keira Knightley, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Jessie Buckley. This British film is based on the real life events of the 1970 Miss World Contest, where the newly-formed Women's Liberation Movement disrupted proceedings, while Jennifer Hosten, Miss Grenada, was crowned the first black Miss World winner. We were so excited to sit down with director Philippa Lowthorpe and discuss her role bringing this true life story to the big screen. The three of us fangirled about Little Women, talked about the importance of intersectionality on screen, the transformative power of clothing and why women want to see their stories reflected in film. Later, Helena fills us in about her experience finally watching Netflix's Sex Education, and Francesca has some thoughts on musical classic Les Miserables. Enjoy!

Welcome back to Loves Labours Watched! This week we're discussing Celine Sciamma's new film Portrait of a Lady on Fire, a breathtaking cinematic portrayal of a love affair between a painter and her subject in 18th century France. Find out why we were totally enthralled by the movie's contemporary feel, striking cinematography and exploration of the roles and interior lives of women, plus why it reminded us of two of our faves: Call Me By Your Name and God's Own Country. Spoiler alert, we do discuss the plot of this film in detail, so if you've not seen it yet, head to the cinema ASAP and bookmark our discussion for right after! Later, we discuss Parasite, Snowpiercer and why Helena's found herself returning to Outlander, despite some misgivings.

Welcome back to Loves Labours Watched! This week we debrief the 2020 Oscars, from the films to the fashion (Timothee Chalamet, as always, making an appearance!) and chat all about Autumn de Wilde's new adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel Emma, starring Anya Taylor Joy and Johnny Flynn. We absolutely loved it, in case it's not obvious! Thanks for listening and, as always, connect with us on Twitter and Instagram for outside of podcast chat and updates!

Welcome back to Love's Labours Watched! It's a new year and (somewhat) new us, as we kickstart our new bi-weekly episode schedule with a discussion of Greta Gerwig's 2019 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. We discuss the two-stranded narrative structure, the Oscar-nominated performances, the modern themes of money, female agency and what really happened in the end...

Welcome back to Loves Labours Watched! On the back of the announcement of Stranger Things 4 by Netflix this week we're talking all about Stranger Things 3, what we loved so much about it, and the continuous battle in our hearts between Steve and Jonathan. Jokes we love Max really. We also chat about Margaret Atwood's recently released book The Testaments, and the cultural and political currents surrounding it, and what we've been interested in and looking forward to. Thanks for listening, give us a share if you like it!

LLW: Poldark Season 5 and Interview with Kerri McLean by Loves Labours Watched

We absolutely devoured The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary and absolutely adored chatting to Beth about her wonderful, funny, heartwarming and romantic debut novel. Beth spoke to us about the inspiration behind the book, crazy London flat share scenarios and writing a romantic comedy that felt real. There are minor spoilers for the book, so if you’d rather go in fresh, we recommend reading first! We also discuss everything we’ve been enjoying recently, from Seth Rogen movie Long Shot to moving novel An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. Enjoy!

Welcome to Loves Labours Watched! This week we're so excited to be talking to author Madeline Miller, author of recent novel Circe, which has been longlisted for the 2019 Women's Prize. We chat all about Circe, plus Madeline’s first novel The Song of Achilles. We also discuss her writing process, her favourite books, women’s role in the modern and ancient world, retelling classic stories and the power of recentering narratives. We had such a great time and hope you enjoy the conversation too!

Welcome back to Loves Labours Watched! This week on the show, we have a special guest - Emma Morgan, author of new novel A Love Story for Bewildered Girls. We chat to Emma all about her book and its themes of modern love, female friendships and family. We're also talking about Netflix's new dating show Dating Around, in which one New Yorker goes on five identical dates wearing the exact same outfit...enjoy!

Welcome back to LLW! This week we're chatting all about the new film Mary Queen of Scots, starring the fabulous Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie as the Stuart and Tudor queens Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I. We also have a chat about what we're looking forward to in 2019 pop culture, including the new Frozen 2 trailer and whether or not the new live-action Aladdin's genie really will haunt your nightmares. Enjoy!

We're back! Happy 2019 everyone, we're starting it off strong with a great interview with Hilary McKay, award-winning author of The Skylark's War and many other amazing novels for children and young adults. Also, we talk about our love for Goodreads, what we're reading this year, and generally advise you on why reading is good. Give us a listen, and connect with us on Twitter, Instagram, and email!

We have a SPECIAL GUEST on the podcast this week! We are so excited to welcome actor Erick Lopez, who stars as Hector on the CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (on Netflix internationally) Erick chats to LLW about working on one of the most creative and dynamic shows on television. He discusses the show's use of inventive musical numbers and how it deliberately turns romantic comedy tropes on their head. Later, we go deep on Outlaw King, the Netflix movie about Robert the Bruce, here played by our favourite Chris - Chris Pine - and co-starring the ridiculously talented Florence Pugh. Finally, we discuss the silly-but-fun The Spy Who Dumped Me, in which Sam Heughan plays a spy who doesn't actually dump anyone and Kate McKinnon steals the show. Our interview with Erick Lopez contains some spoilers for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, so be warned if you're not caught up. Spoilers for Outlaw King too, but equally its based on real events that happened 700 years ago...so we think it's fine. 3:11 -- Interview with Erick Lopez 22:22 --

This time round we discuss the new series of Doctor Who and Jodie Whittaker's debut as the Doctor, the first woman to take on the iconic role. We also take a deep dive into Doctor Who episodes past and discuss some of our favorite moments. We round off our discussion with our thoughts on Heathers the Musical, currently playing London West End -- it's a vibrant, fun musical adaptation of the cult 1980s movie. Finally, we discuss what we've been enjoying from family drama This is Us to A Star is Born. (Minor spoilers for Doctor Who episodes past and Heathers to follow!) 00:00 -- Doctor Who 29:40 -- Heathers the Musical 48:14 -- Everything else we're enjoying!

We're back to discuss what we thought of female-led heist movie Oceans 8, the current season of Poldark and the recent books we've read and rated on GoodReads! Timestamps below! (Apologies for the laughing fit about pilchards) 00:00 - Oceans 8 (minor spoilers!) 21:34 - Poldark Season 4 38:08 - The books we've loved recently from Less by Andrew Sean Greer to The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt -- plus our thoughts on the Man Booker Prize longlist 2018.

In honour of the FAB news that Netflix's Queer Eye is returning, we chat about why we love the show, how it examines current affairs and toxic masculinity, why each of the Fab Five rule and whether or not Antoni can cook more than guacamole. We've also went on a theatre outing to see West End classic The Phantom of the Opera - Helena for the third time, Francesca for the first. Find out what we thought and whether the show stands up 30 years on. Finally, we discuss newly renewed shows including Brooklyn 99 and Outlander! (We do spoil the plot of Phantom in this podcast, but aside from that it's pretty spoiler-free. Just in case, here are time stamps as normal!) Enjoy! 03:06 - The Phantom of the Opera 29:23 - Queer Eye 52:03 - Renewed shows - from Brooklyn 99 to Outlander

This week we analyse our favorite Met Gala 2018 looks and then take a deep mermaid-esque dive into The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, the debut novel by Imogen Hermes Gowar shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. We then discuss the craziness of Eurovision 2018 and what we've been enjoying this week from more books to the Graham Norton Show live recording. 00:00 - Met Gala chat 09:28 - The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock (Spoiler warning!) 40:00 - Eurovision 2018 51:13 - What We've Been Enjoying

This week we discuss super charming teen movie hit Love, Simon and how it's regenerating this well-loved genre. We've also seen A Wrinkle in Time and have lots to say about our love of Oprah and Chris Pine. Minor spoilers for both these movies -- check the time stamps below. We also update the world on Timothée Chalamet's latest antics, what to wear to work in hot weather and books we're enjoying at the moment! 5:50 - Love, Simon 22:24 - Wrinkle in Time 41:30 - Books we're enjoying including Robin Hobb's Assassins Apprentice, The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes and why we're excited to read Libby Page's The Lido and Circe by Madeline Miller

This week we discuss the shock reveal that Claire Foy was paid less than Matt Smith for her role in Netflix hit The Crown, casting announcements for the BBC adaptation of His Dark Materials, why we can't wait to see A Wrinkle in Time and a bunch of books we loved recently. Time stamps below! 2:38 – The Crown and the gender pay gap (note, since time of recording, it's been announced that Tobais Menzies will play the new Prince Philip. Thoughts on that next time!) 18:40 BBC's His Dark Materials 23:40 A Wrinkle in Time and new female-led film review site, Cherry Picks. 35:12 Book update! Why we're loving the Goodreads app, KJ Whittaker's False Lights, Gail Honeymoon's Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Andre Aciman's Call Me By Your Name, and Matt Haig's How to Stop Time. (SPOILER ALERT for Call Me By Your Name book ending from 45:00-45:55)

This week we discuss the winners and losers of the 2018 Academy Awards and why we loved The Shape of Water and Lady Bird. Spoilers for both those movies, time-stamps below: 00:00 Intro and Oscars Talk 19:00 Shape of Water 32:35 Lady Bird 45:00 Pop Culture We Like This Week