Loves Labours Watched

This episode we speak to debut author Sophie Haydock about The Flames, her historical novel about four women who were painted by Austrian artist Egon Schiele. Sophie chatted to us about recentering women in history, her inspiration for the novel and her popular corresponding Instagram account @egonschieleswomen. Later, we chat about the return of Netflix fave Bridgerton. Find out all our thoughts on Kate and Anthony, our hopes for next season and why we were so excited to see Rupert Young AKA Merlin's Sir Leon pop up (expect some spoilers for Bridgerton Season 2) Get in touch with us with your thoughts @RealLLW on Twitter and @LovesLaboursWatched on Instagram. Shout out to Alex Egge (@aneggeaday on Instagram)for our lovely logo too!

We're back and we're thrilled to be interviewing Meg Mason, author of best-selling hit Sorrow and Bliss, a novel that's taken the world by storm. The bittersweet tale of Martha, a woman whose marriage is on the rocks and who is struggling with an undiagnosed mental illness, is warm, candid and unforgettable. Meg spoke to us about her writing process, comparisons to Jane Austen and how the book balances humor and realism. Our chat isn't too specific, but from 24:46-28:10 and 34:33-34:45 there are some spoilers around the novel's ending, so skip those parts if you haven't got round to reading the book yet. Later in the episode we discuss Red (Taylor's Version), Taylor Swift's rerecorded and released version of her classic 2012 album. Expect a deep dive into the lyrics, imagery, music and, of course, the All Too Well short film. Get in touch with us @RealLLW on Twitter and @LovesLaboursWatched on Instagram. Shout out to Alex Egge (@aneggeaday)for our lovely logo too!

This month on Loves Labours Watched we're speaking with author Rosanna Amaka about her beautiful debut novel The Book of Echoes. Switching between London and Nigeria, the novel is about love, hope and time, charting how history is never static, but reverberates through to the present. Rosanna wrote The Book of Echoes to celebrate the African Caribbean community in which she grew up in Brixton, south London, and she worked on the book for 20 years. It was published in 2020, and is out in paperback in the UK now. Later in the episode, we continue our Marvel chat with a discussion of new Disney+ show Loki, along with our thoughts on Scarlett Johansson-led movie Black Widow, also starring LLW fave Florence Pugh. Expect spoilers for both! Plus, we're absolutely delighted to have a brilliant new logo designed by Alex Egge, who you can find at @aneggeaday on Instagram. We hope you love it as much as we do, and enjoy the episode!

This month on Loves Labours Watched we're speaking with author Zakiya Dalila Harris about The Other Black Girl, her New York Times bestselling debut novel. We talk to Zakiya about publishing's diversity problem, and how she blended elements of realism, sci-fi and horror to depict the ways in which white supremacy asserts itself in the workplace. Zakiya also discusses the novel's upcoming TV adaptation, which she's working on with Rashida Jones, and why she loves TV show Search Party. Later, Helena and Francesca chat about Bo Burnham's Inside, the comedian-writer-director's Netflix comedy special that takes a humorous but pointed look at the role of the internet in our lives, and which was filmed over the course of the past pandemic year. If you enjoy this episode, please leave us a rating and review, or get in touch on social media. See you next time!

This month we connect with New York Times bestselling author Maggie Shipstead about her new novel Great Circle, an enveloping, lyrical and ambitious novel about a 1940s female aviator and the modern-day actress who is hired to play her in a biopic. We enjoyed a fascinating discussion with Maggie all about how the megastardom of the Twilight stars influenced the story, her globe-spanning research process and how Great Circle plays with ideas of narrative and storytelling. We then continue the bookish chat with a discussion of this year's Women's Prize for Fiction nominees, which include previous LLW guest Brit Bennett. Finally, Francesca updates us on her WandaVision-prompted Marvel journey and so we discuss some (mostly Sebastian-Stan-related) thoughts on the Captain America series. Enjoy!

This month we're chatting to Laura Kay, author of the heartwarming new rom-com The Split. We chat to Laura about how she centered queer narratives, why main characters don't have to be likable and why Louise Rennison's Angus Thongs series remains a masterpiece to this day. Later, we dive deep into WandaVision, the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first Disney+ offering. We discuss how the show recreates sitcoms past, why Elizabeth Olsen's performance is so spectacular, how the show plays with themes of narration and storytelling and why its resonating with former MCU sceptics, including Francesca. Enjoy!

Welcome back to LLW, this month we speak to author Lucy Jago about her new novel A Net For Small Fishes, which examines two real life women who were at the centre of a 16th century English scandal. We speak to Lucy about her wealth of historical research, recentering female narratives and why tearing War and Peace in half is the way to finally get round to reading it. Then, continuing the historical fiction theme, we deep dive into Bridgerton, which Helena first encountered age 13 on her Palm Pilot and has now become a Netflix TV show that’s broken records and made waves across the world. We discuss the colour conscious casting, the romance novel genre and what we hope to see from the second series, set to star Sex Education actor Simone Ashley. Recommendation wise, Francesca is seeking post-Bridgerton escapism via Netflix’s Virgin River, while Helena is enjoying more historical discussions via BBC podcast You’re Dead to Me. Stay safe and well everyone, and we’ll see next month!

For our first episode of 2021, LLW connected with Kiley Reid, author of Such a Fun Age, the smash-hit novel long-listed for the 2020 Man Booker Prize. In our chat, Kiley discusses the novel’s themes of storytelling and social media, plus how she uses the writing process to get inside her character’s heads, why she chose the multi-layered title and the limitations of the anti-racist reading list. Our chat was mostly spoiler-free, but we do discuss the novel’s ending from 23:05 to 26:16 and again from 27:38 to 28:17, so skip those parts if you haven't read the book yet. It was fantastic to connect with Kiley on the eve of the UK paperback release of Such a Fun Age, which is out now in all good bookstores. Later, we chat about questionable-yet-entertaining Netflix festive films The Princess Switched 2: Switch Again and Christmas on the Square, which we watched together via Netflix Party over the holiday period. We hope everyone’s staying safe and well as we begin the New Year and we’ll be back with a new episode next month.

This week on LLW we speak to Zaina Arafat, author of You Exist Too Much, a coming of age story about a young Palestinian-American woman caught between two worlds. Zaina, an LGBTQ, Arab/Muslim-American writer, speaks to LLW about her protagonist, who struggles with her dual identity, her complicated relationship with her mother and her internalised homophobia. We also discuss how Zaina settled upon You Exist Too Much's vignette-style structure and her choice of a first person narrator. Later, we chat about why we’re so excited for the return of BBC/HBO’s His Dark Materials and have some thoughts on the Netflix adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. Enjoy!

After a month hiatus, LLW is back! We're here to chat about two recent Netflix big hitters: new movie Enola Holmes starring Stranger Things' Millie Bobbie Brown and so-bad-it's-good TV hit Emily in Paris. Find out why we were charmed by one and bemused by the other and get stuck into a discussion about breaking the fourth wall, a saccharine vision of Paris and whether TV shows are always aware when they've created unlikable characters. We're delighted to be back and have more book/cinema/theatre discussion coming up!

This week we had the pleasure of chatting to Helly Acton, author of debut novel The Shelf. The Shelf follows protagonist Amy, who is unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend on a new reality TV show and tasked, alongside six other contestants, to complete challenges that'll turn her into a 'keeper' and win the show. We had a great time listening to the audiobook, which is read by Normal People star and LLW fave Daisy Edgar-Jones. We also loved connecting with Helly to discuss feminism, sexism and reality television and followed that up with all our thoughts on reality TV in today's modern world, from Love Island to new hit Selling Sunset. Enjoy!

Welcome back to Loves Labours Watched! This week we're chatting to Susannah Dickey, author of compelling new novel Tennis Lessons, a coming of age story showcasing snapshots of a young woman's life from her childhood to late twenties. It's visceral and compulsive and we speak to Susannah all about her knack for observing the minutiae of daily life. Also...Midnight Sun, Stephenie Meyer's rewriting of Twilight, is out and of course Helena has read it and has many thoughts. Plus, we discuss some of our past interviewees who've recently had books optioned for TV, including Beth O'Leary, Naoise Dolan and Brit Bennett. Enjoy!

This week on Loves Labours Watched we’re chatting all about How to Build a Girl, the new movie adaptation of Caitlin Moran’s 2014 novel of the same name. We speak to director Coky Giedroyc, who brought the book to the big screen with a vivacious energy that matches the bighearted performance of Beanie Feldstein as protagonist Johanna Morrigan. Coky talks to LLW about the importance of creating a film that was truthful and reflected the reality of being a teenage girl and how her fast paced camerawork mirrors her protagonist’s journey. We also discuss the v swoon-worthy performance by Alfie Allen and how the movie ranks against our favourite coming-of-age dramadies. How to Build a Girl is available to watch on demand in the US and via Amazon Prime in the UK. Speaking of music, we later get into all our thoughts on Taylor Swift’s surprise new album folklore. Plus book recs including Candice Brathwaite’s I am Not Your Baby Mother. Enjoy! (And please rate and review the podcast if you’ve liked it/get in touch on social media to tell us your thoughts)

This week on Loves Labours Watched we speak to memoirist Tamsin Calidas, author of I Am An Island, an account of Tamsin's fraught yet transformative move from London to an unnamed Scottish island. Tamsin speaks to LLW about the process of memoir-writing, wild-swimming and her belief in the importance of living cohesively with the natural world. Later, Francesca discusses I May Destroy You, Michaela Coel's explosive, genre-defying TV series, available on BBC iPlayer and currently broadcasting in the US on HBO. Meanwhile Helena is obsessed with Netflix's Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams. Plus, we discuss new Netflix series Cursed and question whether it could ever top the dizzy heights of BBC's iconic noughties series Merlin.

This week we connect with author Brit Bennett, whose second novel The Vanishing Half has shot to the top of the New York Times bestsellers chart and is causing a buzz across the literary world. We talk to Brit about how she tackled themes of race, discrimination, gender, performance and identity. Later, we talk about Mrs Dalloway, which Helena's reading for the first time and is about the impact of the First World War on London society. We consider whether the Covid-19 pandemic might produce similar literary and pop culture ruminations and get excited about Zadie Smith's upcoming essay collection about lockdown life, Imitations, due to be published this summer. Follow us and get in touch on social media, we'd love to hear from you. We're @RealLLW on Twitter and @LovesLaboursWatched on Instagram. We hope everyone is staying safe and as well as possible in this strange time and we'll see you in a couple of weeks.

This week we had the pleasure of chatting to journalist Gavanndra Hodge, author of new memoir The Consequences of Love, about the sudden death of her younger sister and its impact on her family. We talked about grief, memoir-writing and what it was like for Gavanndra growing up as the child of addicts. We also bring back our bi-weekly book segment. This time round, we discuss some fiction and non-fiction written by black authors that discuss racism in Britain and in the US. We talk about Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age, Andrea Levy's Small Island and Tayari Jones' An American Marriage. This is just a small selection -- there are so many more important novels and works of non-fiction that could help educate readers on race relations and discrimination in Britain, the US and across the world. We have many more on our reading list and we would love to hear recommends from listeners, too. Follow us and get in touch on social media, @RealLLW on Twitter and @LovesLaboursWatched on Instagram. Stay safe everyone and enjoy the episode.

This week on Loves Labours Watched we connect with acclaimed author Curtis Sittenfeld. You may have read Curtis' bestselling 2008 novel American Wife, which imagines the life of a fictionalised American First Lady who shares many biographical similarities with Laura Bush. Or perhaps you devoured her wry collection of short stories, You Think it, I'll Say it, published in 2018 and set to be adapted into a Reese-Witherspoon-produced TV series. Now, Curtis' back with an explosive new novel, Rodham, a fictionalised account of what might have happened had Hillary Clinton decided not to marry Bill. We discuss Curtis' motivations for writing the novel, what it was like marrying real life with fiction and what she thinks Hillary herself might think of the book. It was a fascinating chat and we then dive into our thoughts on the book (the chat and discussion is largely spoiler-free!) Later, more book chat as Francesca discusses writer Emma Gannon's debut novel Olive, and Helena is gearing up to read new novel Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick. Enjoy!

Welcome back to Loves Labours Watched! This week we were delighted to speak to Lenny Abrahamson, Oscar-nominated director of the 2015 movie Room and the filmmaker behind hit BBC/Hulu show Normal People, based on the bestselling novel by Sally Rooney. We chat to Lenny about adapting the novel for screen, reflecting the novel's intimacy and interiority on film and we take a deep dive into the themes and mood of the series. Later, we also discuss why Helena is not-so-secretly freaking out about Twilight author Stephanie Meyer's long-awaited Midnight Sun. Plus, some thoughts on the recently released Parks and Rec online reunion special. Enjoy!

This week on Loves Labours Watched we welcome back author Beth O’Leary! Our first repeat guest, Beth last chatted to us back in May 2019 about her debut novel The Flatshare, a super heartwarming and gorgeously told story about the power of connection. The Flatshare became an international hit and now Beth’s back this spring with The Switch, a vivacious, warm and funny novel about a grandmother and her granddaughter who temporarily switch lives, with results both humorous and life-changing. We had a fantastic time catching up with Beth and hearing about her whirlwind last year and we absolutely loved The Switch. Plus, Francesca’s enthusing about Bernadine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other and the new TV version of Malory Towers, while Helena is enjoying the TV version of What We Do in the Shadows, and just did a mammoth book order. Don’t forget to sign up to our Patreon for bonus content! This time round, we discuss The Phantom of the Opera with a Phantom newbie in honour of its recent livestream via The Shows Must Go On!

This week on Loves Labours Watched, we're chatting to author Naoise Dolan. Dubbed "the next Sally Rooney", Irish writer Naoise just published her first book Exciting Times, which explores the intricacies of human relationships and connection via the story of three young people living in Hong Kong. There's so much well-deserved buzz surrounding the novel, we both loved it. We had a fantastic time chatting to Naoise about why she chose Hong Kong as the setting, the assumptions made about young female novelists, subverting expectations, how she transplanted the themes of the Victorian novel to the present day and why we would watch a socially-distanced-version of Derry Girls. Later, we discuss the tiny joys getting us through this strange time: Helena's getting excited about Eurovision Again and we're both enjoying the roster of plays offered by National Theatre Live. PLUS exciting news about how we're growing the podcast, check out the last few minutes to find out more.

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 Love's 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 -- Outlaw King 48:33 -- The Spy Who Dumped Me

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!

Welcome back!! This week we're having a casual chat all about what we've been loving and up to, including Francesca's stage door encounter with Aidan Turner, a surprise detour into one of our favourite BBC One shows, Merlin, and dives into Mamma Mia 2, Netflix's To All The Boys I've Loved Before (and Peter Kavinsky), Sally Rooney's Normal People, and more! Get stuck in and enjoy :)

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

Welcome back to Loves Labours Watched! This week we dive into The Greatest Showman, and how we think it could have been greater, as well as what we've been loving recently -- including reading Call Me By Your Name and watching The Bold Type. Plus what we're looking forward to in the world of popular culture! And, for your listening pleasure, we've started separating out our episodes so (if you play that way) you can choose what you listen! See timestamps below. Thanks for supporting us! Introduction: 00:10 Greatest Showman Discussion: 01:32 What We've Been Up To: 28:32

Happy (belated) New Year! In our first episode of 2018 we take a deep dive into the Aziz Ansari controversy, the Golden Globes' black dress code and the upcoming Oscar nominations. We also discuss our recent pop culture faves including Friends, Bridget Jones' Diary and Ali Smith's Autumn. Plus we get excited for February releases including Lady Bird and The Shape of Water!

This week we're talking all about one of our favourite movie sub-genres... Princess movies! More specifically princess movies set at Christmas! We chat about Netflix's new addition to this genre, A Christmas Prince (and how little it impressed us!), compare it to some of our personal favourites (Princess Diaries 2, anyone?!) and provide a definitive ranking of the heroes of the movies. Listen in, connect with us on Twitter or by email with comments, and enjoy!

And we're back! Hello and welcome to Episode 4, where we discuss the Luca Guadagnino movie 'Call Me By Your Name', a romantic (and slightly tragic) drama set in gorgeous Northern Italy. On the way we talk about its musical stylings, stellar acting, and beautiful location, and also have a chat about what we're loving this week! Stay connected with us on Twitter, iTunes, and by email, and enjoy!

Weeellcome back to a *spooky* episode of Loves Labours Watched! Today we're discussing the hit show Stranger Things and its second season, from whether we would date Steve or Jonathan to the current controversy surrounding the harassment of the younger stars. Don't listen if you don't want to be spoiled! We also cover our faves of the week, including Philip Pullman (again!) and The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. Happy listening!

This week we're discussing new West End play Venus In Fur, currently on at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London -- starring Game of Thrones' Natalie Dormer and David Oakes from ITV's Victoria. It's a comedic two-hander play that quickly turns chilling (and that we were wholly surprised by!) Warning --- our podcast is not spoiler-free this week as we discuss the ending of the show! Alongside that, listen in to hear us talk about our favourites of the week, including Philip Pullman's Northern Lights and Margaret Attwood's Alias Grace. You can connect with us @realllw on Twitter or leave your comments on this track, and enjoy!

Welcome back to Series 2 of #LLWshow!! We're kicking things off with a chat all about the most recent season of the Starz hit show Outlander, covering diverse (and great) characters, strong women, how much we love Scotland and, overall, what makes this show so worth watching. And we're bringing this chat to you in a brand new format, which features us rounding up all the pop-culture things we're loving this week. Give us a listen, connect with us on twitter @realllw, and we hope you enjoy!

Hello! We're back with another episode, all about the new DC Comics film WONDER WOMAN, starring Gal Gadot as Diana herself. Listen in to hear us chat all about our thoughts on the film and its reception, as well as its place in in modern culture and feminism. Find us @realllw on twitter to share your thoughts!