The Big Stream is The Big Lead&#39;s home for all things pop culture. Kyle Koster, Ryan Phillips, Stephen Douglas, and Liam McKeone discuss what they are watching and plan to watch. Regular reviews, recaps and breakdowns of current and past television shows and movies and whatever else they find interesting at the intersection of the Internet and pop culture. The Big Stream will cover it all.

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One of the best parts of last year was getting in on the ground floor of &#39;The Bear&#39; an truly underdog show that ascended to the top of the streaming mountain. There were all kinds of questions surrounding how they would cook up season two, and we now have some answers. The Big Lead&#39;s Kyle Koster and Stephen Douglas discuss the first five episodes, which reveal a much different recipe but some of the familiar beats that made us so hungry for more. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

'The Bear' Is Back and Using a Much Different Recipe

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The Succession finale lived up to insane expectations and ushered in a new era for Waystar. Ol&#39; Tommy did it. The son of a gun actually did it. Kendall Roy has a promise he&#39;s chased since he was 7 ripped away. His brother Roman has a new casual shirt and deep wisdom. Shiv pulled the ultimate Shiv. Kyle Koster and Stephen Douglas discuss it all one last time. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

'Succession' Finale Reaction: Kendall Roy Simply Cannot Win the Big One

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It&#39;s Succession&#39;s penultimate episode and it&#39;s set at Logan Roy&#39;s funeral in a gridlocked and tense Manhattan. He&#39;s still dead and nothing can get him out of the coffin, no matter how hard Roman would want that. There&#39;s an entire pew devoted to wives and mistresses. The future president/dictator is there and everyone wants a piece of him. Hell, everyone is there except trust ol&#39; Tom because he has to work. Breaking down the second-to-last masterpiece this series will ever give us, and how it elevated an all-time great character even higher. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

That Was A Good, Hard Take That Ewan Roy Gave Up There

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Unrest in Portland. Burned ballots in Milwaukee. It&#39;s Jimenez vs. Mencken for all the marbles in what could be the last free and fair American election. And the narrative will be shaped by Disgusting Brothers doing coke behind a whiteboard, troll-in-human form Roman Roy, and a wide-eyed Kendall who can&#39;t find him own backboard. Inside a biting and hilarious Succession episode with dire consequences and some top-level physical comedy. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Democracy Dies With Wasabi in the Eyes and a Not-That-Lemony La Croix

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Forty thought leaders, polls, and deranged billionaires gathered for the worst tailgate party a person could ever imagine to wait until they could wait for the election results to come in. Lukas Matsson does some transatlantic crashing because a dad man technically invited him and employs a charm offensive that was more offensive than charming with a crew every bit as deranged as the Roys. Shiv and Tom&#39;s sexting turns into something darker and final. Kendall gives another good speech and has plans to run a Reverse Viking, which sounds illegal. Gerri solidifies her future will be bankrolled by Roman. The Big Lead&#39;s Kyle Koster and Stephen Douglas break down the Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Simply Let Connor Roy Be the Ambassador to a Second India

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A Hail Mary effort to juice the Waystar stock price gets tipped around in the end zone before landing in Kendall&#39;s hands. For perhaps the first time in Succession history, a public speaking endeavor goes well. Roman goes full George Steinbrenner, firing people as though it were a bodily function. Shiv and Tom rekindle the magic by turning up the insults. Matsson sends a terrible tweet. Karl finds his voice. All that and more on The Big Stream&#39;s recap. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Kendall Roy is Living+ His Best Life

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It&#39;s off to Norway for the still-grieving Roy family, which rolls extremely deep. There are fjords and scenic views and not a single wam welcome. Chairman Lukas Matsson&#39;s re-eduction camp ends with a deal because he wrote down the biggest number, but it almost feels like a $197-per-share troll. Those aloof billionaires can be such scamps. This was a Succession episode about the art of the deal and weighty issues like if France is going to make it or if they will pull a Greece. Plus, there&#39;s a kill list and all sorts of weird blood sex stuff. We discuss it all. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

How Many Half-Liters of Your Blood Are Too Many to Send to a Direct Report?

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Waystar and the Roy children must move forward following the shocking death of L to the OG and one way to do that is to find a piece of paper in a safe representing his last wishes. Or his wishes before he changed his mind and either underlined or crossed it out. Just speculating comically here, but it might be better if something like that were to be, say, accidentally blown by the wind into a toilet and flushed. A week after an episode unlike any other, Succession returned to what it does best: put everyone together in room resembling a wake or sad sex party and let them cook. Also, Marcia is back and making big-time moves like moving real estate and humiliating wanna be television presenters. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Colin Does Jeans and Kendall is the Man on a Piece of Paper?

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Well, Succession went and did it. They did the thing teased in the very first scene of the entire series, but not in the way or on the timeline anyone expected. Stephen Douglas and Kyle Koster of The Big Lead go through the stages of grief while on the air and arrive at a place of acceptance: that this was a remarkable and perhaps unprecedented television moment. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

You Can Rule the World But Still Die on An Airplane Toilet Surrounded By Random Members of the Supporting Cast

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The second episode of Succession&#39;s final season featured the Roy children going through the motions of taking Connor out for a sad bachelor party out in &#34;Real America,&#34; a halfhearted but long-awaited apology, a harrowing look at the world of high-priced divorce attorneys, and a prospective ATN host who is just not ready for primetime. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Singing Karaoke Like They Do In the Movies With Guys Whose Hands Bleed

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Succession&#39;s final season premiere was well worth the wait as Logan Roy pondered his own existence and had sad, sneaky dinners with his only friend Colin. Meanwhile, the Roy children are thriving and keeping it The Hundred — until something more off-the-shelf comes along in the form of Pierce. What comes after nine billion? Will the Disgusting Brothers go down thanks to CCTV footage? Can Connor maintain his one percent of the conversation? It&#39;s a little dry in here so let the joking begin. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

The Disgusting Brothers Discuss the Final 'Succession' Season Premiere

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It&#39;s a damn shame more people aren&#39;t talking about &#39;Vengeance&#39;, a thinking person&#39;s modern Western from the brain of B.J. Novak that aims to tell the story of a dead white girl through the lens of &#39;Merica. Stephen Douglas and Kyle Koster of The Big Lead do their part by breaking down the 2022 title, which features some incredible work by Ashton Kutcher and a deep bench of memorable characters. &#39;Vengeance&#39; manages to be funny, suspenseful and cram a tremendous amount of inside into the world into its runtime. Perhaps one of the finest Podcast Movies ever made. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

'Vengeance' Has An Elite Ashton Kutcher Performance, So Much to Say

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The Menu is now available on HBO Max and open for reservations. It&#39;s a dining experience unlike any other and is perhaps the most stylish of the demented concept genre. Ralph Fiennes leads a descent into madness that is both meta and masterfully dark while retaining trenchant comedic notes. You will not leave unsatisfied. If you leave at all. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

'The Menu' Is Deliciously Rich and Deadly

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In November, A Christmas Story Christmas was released on HBO Max. The true sequel to A Christmas Story (because we&#39;d all be better off pretending 2012&#39;s A Christmas Story 2 doesn&#39;t exist) follows Ralphie as an adult with his own wife and family coping with the death of his father. Ralphie scrambles to make Christmas as perfect for his own kids as his dad made for him while attempting to make it as a writer. Shenanigans ensue in great quantity. Many beloved characters from the first movie make appearances with the original actors playing the parts.  Liam McKeone and Ryan Phillips both grew up watching A Christmas Story and got together to discuss the sequel. It can&#39;t capture the magic of the first but comes as close as possible. Most importantly, it is not your typical transparent Hollywood attempt at a moneygrab by making a sequel to a beloved film.  Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Reviewing 'A Christmas Story Christmas,' the True Sequel to 'A Christmas Story'

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Jingle All The Way had enormous plans to ride on the heels of Toy Story with a story centered around pure, unabashed commercialism. Somewhere along the way of mashing Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, and a super-sexy Phil Hartman together, things went off the rails. The result was a testament to the weird 1990s and the value of mediocrity. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

'Jingle All the Way' Is a 1990s Overdose

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There has been no fresh Ted Lasso in our lives for over a year now. This is sad. You know what&#39;s not sad? The Ted Lasso Christmas episode from Season 2, &#34;Carol of the Bells.&#34; Stephen Douglas and Liam McKeone got into the spirit of the holidays and rewatched the episode to discuss as part of The Big Lead&#39;s Big Stream Holiday Podtacular. Highlights include: wondering why there was not a Ted Lasso Christmas special this year and the fact that there is not is a huge missed opportunity; the Love Actually scene with Phoebe was actually more meaningful than the original Love Actually scene; stunning and saddening that Roy, Keely, and Phoebe did not end up caroling with Ted, Rebecca, and the players; the Higgins househould is the purest part of the episode and needs to be recognized as such; and what we would give for fresh Ted Lasso and how sad we&#39;ll be when it&#39;s over.  Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Rewatching the Ted Lasso Christmas Episode, 'Carol of the Bells'

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Stephen Douglas and Kyle Koster of The Big Lead follow up on their hit Home Alone podcast by diving into its worthy New York-based sequel. They have different levels of respect for ol&#39; Mr. Duncan, some questions about the Bird Lady, and plenty of other observations about the holiday staple. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York' Characters, Ranked

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The Big Stream&#39;s Holiday Podtacular breaks down classic &#34;Community&#34; episode &#34;Regional Holiday Music.&#34; Oh yeah, Britta is in this one. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Ranking the Songs of Community’s Classic 'Regional Holiday Music' Episode

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Home Alone is one of the best Christmas movies of all time. No one denies this! So how do you even talk about it? Well, be attempting to power-rank the characters. Can Kevin McAllister capture the crown? How about the immensely creepy Uncle Frank? And which Wet Bandit is more essential. Can you have a Mount Rushmore without John Candy? The Big Lead&#39;s Stephen Douglas and Kyle Koster discuss the 1990 classic. Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

The Top 11 Characters in 'Home Alone'

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Love Actually celebrates its 19th anniversary this holiday season. To celebrate the occasion Stephen Douglas and Liam McKeone rewatched the Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightly, Bill Nighy, Andrew Lincoln, Martine McCutcheon, Elisha Cuthbert, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thomas Sangster classic. And then they talked about it on The Big Lead Big Stream Holiday podtacular.  Advertising Inquiries: <a href='https://redcircle.com/brands'>https://redcircle.com/brands</a> Privacy & Opt-Out: <a href='https://redcircle.com/privacy'>https://redcircle.com/privacy</a>

Finally, Someone Discussed 'Love Actually' on a Podcast

The Big Stream is The Big Lead's home for all things pop culture. Kyle Koster, Ryan Phillips, Stephen Douglas, and Liam McKeone discuss what they are watching and plan to watch. Regular reviews, recaps and breakdowns of current and past television shows and movies and whatever else they find interesting at the intersection of the Internet and pop culture. The Big Stream will cover it all.