Critical Darlings – Episode 1: “Introducing Critical Darlings”

Podcast: Blank Check with Griffin & David
Date: January 1, 2026
Hosts: Richard Lawson & Alison Wilmore
Producer: Ben Frisch
Location: Blank Check Studios

Overview

Critical Darlings launches as a spinoff from the Blank Check podcast, with veteran critics Richard Lawson and Alison Wilmore embarking on a season-long dive into the 2025/2026 awards race. Their aim: to dissect not just the films vying for Oscars, but also the eccentric world of awards campaigning, shifting industry trends, film festival drama, and the evolving tastes of the global film-watching public. Their witty rapport and industry bonafides set the stage for a conversational, sometimes self-deprecating but always insightful look at the culture of critical and popular "darlings."

Key Topics & Insights

1. The Premise and Approach ([00:26])

• The show intends to analyze this year’s "critical darlings"—award season contenders genuinely beloved by reviewers and the film community—and broaden the conversation beyond standard Oscar predictions.
• There’s an explicit Blank Check DNA: “I'm sure we'll branch out into other topics, as is the Blank Check brand.” (Richard, [01:29])

Notable Quote

"I'm looking forward to both dissecting the movies that we have to live with for all award season and then also maybe taking a different look at awards season, which is, I think, so much stranger than anyone ever really registers.”
—Alison Wilmore ([01:51])

2. The Absurdity and Mechanics of Awards Season ([02:38])

• Awards season is a “cottage industry” with its own parties, receptions, and lobbying efforts.
• Social dynamics: Many voters are regular people, swayed by repetitive events, endless schmoozing, and sometimes (jokingly) mild arm-twisting.
• Online discourse (Twitter, Letterboxd) now exerts measurable influence on the Oscar races: "There's almost a whole other Oscar race that is litigated on Twitter…" (Richard, [03:02])

Notable Quote

“For all that the Academy is filled with, as our friend Cal Buchanan put it, a bunch of guys named Mel... it is also filled increasingly with younger, more online, more international members whose tastes are slightly less predictable.”
—Alison ([03:29])

3. Festival Memories and Critical Friendships ([04:46], [07:26])

• Intimate origin stories: stripes earned at major festivals (Cannes, Toronto, Sundance), including jet-lagged film viewings and missed meals.
• Anecdotes illustrate both the grind and glamour of festival-going, along with generational shifts in criticism.
• The horror of early morning screenings: seeing Hereditary "wildly terrifying... definitely lay there in bed with my eyes, like, wide open..." (Alison, [08:18])

4. Personal Oscar Histories and First Awards Memories ([10:09])

• Richard’s first big Oscar memory: seeing Titanic in 1997 and being allowed to stay up late for the whole show ([10:19]).
• Both recall 1993's The Piano: “Suddenly I felt like I was getting a glimpse into this idea of what not just a movie was, but like this grown up world of... prestige serious cinema.” (Alison, [12:17])
• Family background, the role of local video stores, and the evolution of the type of films that fill Best Picture slots.

Notable Moment

• Tangent on Il Postino and electric shocks in college psych studies ([17:58]): oddball but hilarious.

5. The Shifting Landscape of Studio Films and Oscar Contenders ([16:15], [44:10])

• Richard laments “Hollywood isn't really putting out enough awards y movies to fill 10 best picture slots anymore.” ([44:10])
• The rise of "independent" studios (A24, Neon), and international players breaking into majors categories.
• The “collapse of the dinosaur industry” as a joke about Silicon Valley, but also a metaphor for changing film markets ([13:16]).

6. The Festival Circuit’s Influence (and Pitfalls) ([38:36], [48:17])

• Attending and covering Cannes, Venice, Toronto, etc., is a grind but also fuels the Oscar narrative.
• Locations and scheduling can drastically affect a film’s initial buzz and campaign arc.
• “One of the main stories of this year... is how unreliable festival reaction was.” (Richard, [51:49])
• “Sometimes, yeah, you really just wrestle over getting your talent there.” (Alison, [40:13])

7. The Internationalization and Diversification of Taste ([33:00], [61:12])

• Shout-out to Brazilian and Filipino film Twitter, "the funniest and most heartening... phenomenon that's sprouted up," displaying massive global engagement ([33:09]).
• There’s a generational and international divide: younger audiences are more comfortable with anime, foreign-language cinema, and different narrative rhythms, whereas the mythical "Mels" of West LA may not even try.
• Changes in streaming mean Gen Z's "film grammar" is broader: "They can parse a story from anywhere around the world." (Richard, [62:08])

Notable Quote

“It's almost like we're nearing full reversal, you know, of the engines... China's starting to really reject a lot of American movies and then America trying to, like, figure out what they wanted.”
—Richard ([65:40])

8. Oscars on YouTube & Future of the Ceremony ([66:31])

• The Oscars will move to YouTube in 2029. Hosts debate the potential pros (modernization, global/youth reach) and cons (“a little less prestigious and a little bit jankier”). ([66:34])
• “I worry a bit about... YouTube feeling a little less prestigious and a little bit jankier.” (Richard, [66:34])

Notable Moment

• Imagining Goku420's Oscar picks in the YouTube chat: “Come to Brazil. Come to Brazil.” (Alison/Richard, [68:55])

9. The Evolving Red Carpet ([71:54])

• Fashion takes: From Cate Blanchett’s “incredible yellow dress” to Marion Cotillard in Gaultier “mermaid” glamour ([72:43]–[74:38]).
• The death of wild card choices like Bjork’s swan dress: “There are so many brands involved… it's a lot less interesting than someone being like, I love this dress. Even though everyone says don't do it, I'm gonna wear it.” (Alison, [76:29])

10. What’s to Come: Episode & Series Roadmap ([77:18])

• Format: Each week, a deep dive into a likely Best Picture contender (Marty Supreme is next), framed by larger industry questions and season trends.
• “We'll also do an episode... on the nominations... and a postmortem of the actual ceremony.” (Richard, [79:55])
• Video: Some podcast clips will appear on Vulture’s socials as they record at the Vulture video studio, though main episodes remain in audio on the Blank Check feed.

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• “It is an honor and a pleasure... I want to talk about why we're here, but first of all, can I just say how strong my commitment is to this brand new endeavor?” —Richard ([00:30])
• “I mean, certainly any sense of financial stability or maybe... retirement plan, you know, a social life, really.” —Alison ([01:17])
• “I've been to a lot of those parties and receptions and... things where I think my arm is being twisted a little bit to vote. I don't think I've ever actually been swayed by it, but...” —Richard ([02:38])
• “For all that the Academy is filled with... a bunch of guys named Mel... it is also filled increasingly with younger, more online, more international members…” —Alison ([03:29])
• “I have a very strong memory. Another Film Festival Memory, 2018. We went to see Hereditary... wildly terrifying movie. And then we were both like, bye.” —Alison ([07:33])
• “Movies have kind of crossed borders more easily... I think it's also just that Hollywood isn't really putting out enough awards y movies to fill 10 best picture slots anymore.” —Richard ([44:10])
• “There is a tension between traditional Hollywood Oscar fare and the kind of new Oscar fare being, like, Cannes movies...” —Richard ([49:22])
• “Brazilian film Twitter...thousands of them...they can be kind of nasty, but they're for the most part really enthusiastic.” —Richard ([33:09])
• “They're not going to hold your hand through every single matter of the plot, whereas I think an American film does.” —Richard ([62:08])
• “I worry a bit about YouTube feeling a little less prestigious and a little bit jankier. I think the Netflix award shows ...the sound quality is not great.” —Richard ([66:34])
• “I have sort of. One is. Well, I have two answers. One is more sentimental. One is more technical. I think technically, the Cate Blanchett yellow dress when she won for the Aviator is incredible. It's very pretty. In hindsight, a really weird win.” —Richard ([72:43])
• “Part of the issue with the swan dress is that, like, we are now in an age where everyone has a stylist... and so there's a lot less daring choices.” —Alison ([75:01])

Key Timestamps for Segments

• [00:26]: Show introduction and premise
• [01:51]: The odd reality of awards season
• [04:46]: Richard & Alison’s critical meet-cute
• [10:09]: Personal Oscar memories
• [16:15]: How indie movies overtook studio fare
• [38:36]: The festival circuit grind and its Oscar impact
• [51:49]: Festival buzz versus real-world reaction
• [66:31]: The future: Oscars on YouTube
• [71:54]: Fashion and the red carpet
• [77:18]: Episode & series roadmap

Conclusion

The debut episode of Critical Darlings mixes banter and rigorous film nerd knowledge, setting up a show as much about the oddities and sociology of awards season as about the films themselves. Richard and Alison’s tales of festival chaos, global film fandoms, and red carpet disasters foreground a season in which the old rules keep changing—both at the Oscars and far beyond. As promised, next week they’ll dissect “Marty Supreme” and dig even deeper into the “critical darling” phenomenon, the unpredictable machinery of Hollywood recognition, and why it all still matters—for better or worse.