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What We're Hyped For in 2025: Hunger Games, Stranger Things, and More!
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- [00:00]
Micah
Foreign hey everyone, we are off for one more week. We will be back next week and chapter by chapter will continue. We can't wait to get started again. But while you wait for next week, we wanted to present this episode of what the Hype, our sister pop culture podcast. In it, we talk about what we're most excited for in 2025. It's a really big year in pop culture. We have a new Hunger Games book to look forward to. We have a new season of Stranger Things. We have some highly anticipated video games, and in just a couple of weeks we get probably one of the most anticipated books of the year. If not the most anticipated book of the year. Onyx Storm. It's the third book in the fourth Wing series, so enjoy this episode of what the hype and visit whatthehypepodcast.com for more episodes. We would love if you followed what the Hype for free in your favorite podcast app and we also released the episodes on YouTube before we present this episode. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. While I don't love the post holiday blues in January, this month every year brings you 365 blank pages waiting to be filled in 2025. Maybe you're ready for a plot twist. Or maybe there's a part of your story you've been wanting to improve and revise. Life isn't about resolutions that fade by February. It's about picking up the pen and becoming the author of your own life. Think of therapy as your co author, helping you write new chapters and create the meaningful story you deserve and are eager to live. Working with a therapist helps you lead a better, more fulfilling life. If you have some issues you feel like you need to work through, you're not alone, and there's effective help out there that will make a huge difference in your life. Therapy works wonders for myself, so many others, and it will for you too. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. BetterHelp is fully online, making therapy affordable and convenient. Serving over 5 million people worldwide. They have a diverse network of more than 30,000 credentialed therapists with a wide range of specialties. Write your story with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com mugocast today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp. H E L p.com mugglecast and now enjoy this episode of what the Hype.
- [02:35]
Laura
Tell me all about your latest obsession.
- [02:39]
Micah
Are you a fan?
- [02:40]
Eric
Got guilty pleasure?
- [02:41]
Micah
Yeah.
- [02:42]
Laura
Your confessions.
- [02:44]
Micah
What the Hype? What the Hype? What The Hype.
- [02:56]
Pam
What the Hype what.
- [02:59]
Micah
The Hype what the Hype? Welcome to what the Hype. And this week it's our final episode of the year and we're looking back at what we are most hyped about in 2024 and looking ahead to 2025. And appropriately enough, we have the full panel here today. Hello, everyone.
- [03:17]
Brittany
Hello. Hi.
- [03:19]
Micah
And the goal with at least the first half of today's episode is to talk about things that we have not discussed on what the hype. And everybody threw in two or three items today. It might be a book, a show, a movie, a game, etc. And of course, we're also skewing towards things that were actually released in 2024 to really look back on the year itself. Itself in terms of pop culture releases. Who wants to go first? Not me.
- [03:49]
Eric
Well, one thing that that counts as 2024 and in fact I have plans to witness it in all of its glory tomorrow, in fact is the new Sonic the Hedgehog movie, which I have not yet talked about my love for this newish franchise. It's got James Marsden in it and. And Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik. I love this series. Growing up, playing the games in the 90s, of course, Sonic the Hedgehog, big fan. And the movies get the character and the world, right.
- [04:21]
Micah
Eric, you already broke my rule though. I said something you needed. That came out this year. You haven't seen it yet.
- [04:27]
Eric
It came out this year.
- [04:29]
Laura
Yeah, it's coming out this week, it's coming out tomorrow.
- [04:31]
Eric
I have. Okay, well, not even midnight tickets. I have 10pm tickets tomorrow.
- [04:36]
Micah
Wow.
- [04:38]
Pam
No, I'm just gonna say technically, by the time this episode comes out, There you go.
- [04:46]
Eric
Will have been already released on a technicality. I'm here from the future to tell you all that this movie was great. Just like the first two. No, in the throes of COVID at the very beginning of the Pandemic, the original, the first movie was in theaters and I managed to see it just before then. And ever since then it just feels like time is condensed and it's like accordioning in and out and the only thing to rely on is a new Sonic movie to pull time forward.
- [05:18]
Brittany
Well, I've heard good things about the Sonic Movie series. And also the Knuckles spinoff apparently is really good too.
- [05:25]
Laura
I was going to ask, have you seen that? Eric?
- [05:28]
Eric
I have not seen this. So I think it's a series on Disney, right?
- [05:30]
Micah
It came out this year. No, it's on Paramount.
- [05:34]
Laura
So good.
- [05:35]
Micah
I've seen Sonic 1 and 2, really love them. They're definitely one of my favorite franchises right now. Sonic is one of my favorite franchises right now. And I'm very much looking forward to three. I'll probably see it over the holidays.
- [05:48]
Eric
Oh, man, you really fought me on that. And yet you love the series.
- [05:53]
Micah
No, I love Sonic. And then what's your other new release of 2024?
- [05:59]
Eric
Well, so these ones I've seen, but we've done hype for it. The new release for 2024 that I'm hyped about, and maybe most hyped about is. Does that count? Is that a crazy thing? This. We have been podcasting together for many, many, many years, collectively as a group. We have a hundred years of podcasting under our belts, let me tell you. We talked about the possibility of starting a new show. Other new shows have, you know, kind of started. But the fact that we're all in this one together, that I get to co host with Pam, that we're all together doing this show about pop culture, about what gets us hyped in the year 2024. Sorry, this takes the cake.
- [06:36]
Laura
I agree. No, it's. It's funny because I remember this time a year ago, we were actually deep in planning for this, and we knew that June was going to be our target date. And so it's crazy thinking back on a year ago and how deep we were in concepts of a plan. You know, concepts of a plan. See, we actually made a plan.
- [06:58]
Eric
It actually evolved into actionable concepts.
- [07:02]
Laura
Yeah, but truly, I would challenge anyone who likes the Sonic movies. If you have not seen the Knuckles series, please watch it over the winter holidays. It is delightful, and it has no business being as good as it is.
- [07:19]
Micah
I got to give it another shot because I tried episode one, and I wasn't really feeling it. And like I said, I like the Sonic movies.
- [07:24]
Laura
You got to give it a couple episodes. You got to let it warm up. But.
- [07:27]
Micah
Okay, well.
- [07:28]
Eric
And there's a lot in the plot that harkens back to the original games. You know, Knuckles originally being. Knuckles originally being a bad guy hired by Robotnik. You know, that. That the films loosely follow some of those old game plots that were written 30 years ago.
- [07:44]
Micah
All right, Pam, how about you? What did you enjoy this year?
- [07:47]
Brittany
So I have a couple of TV things, and then I have a music shout out. So my first TV thing is the Artful Dodger, which also just got renewed for season two. So if you were like, if you're somebody that just likes to wait to see if a show is going to go forward with more episodes. This is a good time to binge this over the holiday. I binged this at the start of last year, and depending on what region of the world you live in, it either came out late 2023 or early 2024, so you can catch it on Disney or on Hulu right now if you live in the United States. This is a sequel to Charles Dickens Oliver Twist, and it stars Thomas Brody Sangster as Dodger, but he's going by the name Jack, and he's all grown up now, and he's kind of, like, built a new life for himself as a Royal Navy surgeon, and he ends up being lured back into a life of crime and heists as a result of Fagin returning and just jumping back into his life. And Fagin is played by David Thewlis, who we all know from Harry Potter. And, yeah, this is just so much fun. It's a historical piece. There's comedy, there's drama, there's, like I said, heist involves. There's a little bit of romance because Jack ends up falling in love with the governor's daughter, which, you know, gives it, like, a little bit more of, like, that Pirates of the Caribbean feel as well. But, yeah, this was just such a fun binge. So if you're just looking for a really quick watch and you like stuff like that, I would highly recommend the Artful Dodger. I'm so excited that it's coming out with more episodes. And then the second TV show I wanted to give a shout out to, which I know a couple of us on this panel watched, was Nobody Wants this on Netflix. This was so delightful. Kristen Bell and Adam Brody star in this, so it's like a millennial's dream. Yeah. So for anyone who doesn't know, they strike up a romance, but the. The plot twist is that she's, like, a very outspoken, agnostic podcast host, and he's a rabbi with a conservative family, so nobody wants this. Meaning, like, nobody in their respective lives wants them to be together, but they persevere anyway. So, yeah, it's just. It's. It's absolutely delightful. So much fun to get another really easy binge and probably a good one for the holidays because, like, you know, it's like, light watching.
- [10:16]
Laura
Mm.
- [10:16]
Brittany
But it's. It's. It's great.
- [10:18]
Laura
Yeah. The episodes are like, what, 30 minutes? Yeah, 30 minutes top. Like, it's quick, but, yeah, Kristen Bell.
- [10:25]
Eric
Will not make a show over 25 minutes per episode. She won't do it.
- [10:30]
Laura
It's in our contract.
- [10:31]
Eric
Yeah, yeah.
- [10:32]
Micah
It was one of those shows you couldn't avoid when it came out because so many people were talking about it and definitely went viral on Netflix. It was sitting in the top 10, probably in the top for a while. It was one of those shows I was like, well, there's too much talk about this so I have to watch it. And yeah, it was great. It was a feel good rom com. Genuinely funny too. And it has been renewed for season two, so we have that to look forward to at some point.
- [10:55]
Laura
Yeah, I can't wait.
- [10:56]
Brittany
And then I just wanted to give a general shout out to female artists because there were so many good music releases. I really couldn't pick just one. But I think my, my top three for the year were obviously Taylor's Tortured Poets and then Beyonce's Cowboy Carter and also Maggie Rogers Don't Forget Me, which is really great. If you're not on the Maggie Rogers train yet, I highly recommend you check her out. She's just a really great singer, songwriter and she kind of is like leaning more towards like folksy pop. But yeah, like so many good albums by women this year and we just love to see it. It's a good year for music.
- [11:34]
Micah
Micah, you got some sports picks for us?
- [11:37]
Pam
I do. And really video games, that's what I was going for here. We haven't done a what the hype on video games in general or specific releases. And that's something I'm hoping we're going to do in 2025. And two of the games that really stood out to me and actually purchased them more recently. One was WWE 2K24. It's kind of a throwback to childhood, a lot of nostalgia. I bought the 40 Years of WrestleMania edition. I'm not sure who grew up watching WWF. I feel Laura. No, Pam. I know you both have brothers.
- [12:17]
Eric
It was inescapable. My neighbors, my next door neighbors, two boys, Scotty and Nikki had like all the action figures that were like current.
- [12:25]
Brittany
And I was gonna say I have three brothers. So it was like in the periphery for sure, but not really my cup of tea.
- [12:33]
Pam
But what is cool about the 40 Years of WrestleMania edition is that you. You're basically taken on a journey and given the quest of participating in some of the more iconic WrestleMania matches. So think everybody, I think can probably picture in their mind Hulk Hogan body slamming Andre the Giant. Like those moments are what you are tasked with and you literally have to go through 40 years of those matches. There's the regular game which you can play as well. You can create your own character. You can do all types of crazy matches. But it was just fun to kind of go back in time a little bit and play as your favorite wrestler or wrestlers while you were growing up.
- [13:20]
Micah
What system are you playing this game on and the game you're about to share, just out of curiosity. Okay.
- [13:26]
Laura
Okay.
- [13:27]
Pam
Yeah. And the next one actually is another bit of nostalgia. It's EA Sports College Football 25. And this is the first college football game that has been released since 2013. So we're talking about 11 years. A lot of issues came up around name, image and likeness about 10 or so years ago because the players weren't being essentially compensated for their use in the game. Now their names weren't used, but clearly their image and their likeness were. With all the changes that have happened in the college landscape over the course of the last couple of years, they finally were able to release a new game. And this is the first game that actually has player names in it on every single team. So when I say nostalgic, this was a throwback too, because we used to play this in college all the time. And what I love about it is obviously you can pick any school you want. I obviously picked Syracuse. And, you know, you can be much better than your team actually is in real life. So there's always that element.
- [14:37]
Eric
The game doesn't go. This could never happen in real life.
- [14:40]
Pam
You might have to restart the game every once in a while.
- [14:43]
Eric
Yeah.
- [14:43]
Pam
Get a little frustrated, break a controller or two. But yeah, it's.
- [14:47]
Micah
Well. And speaking of nostalgia, Mike, I'm sure that's part of it for you, being able to play your college football team.
- [14:53]
Pam
Yeah.
- [14:54]
Micah
You're still very loyal to Syracuse.
- [14:57]
Pam
Yeah, absolutely. It's something that, honestly, I forgot how much fun it is to play those types of games. And so that's why I really do hope that we do a show on video games or multiple show on video games.
- [15:12]
Eric
I know that in the new year.
- [15:14]
Micah
And college football is huge. This was kind of news to me over the last year. I didn't realize how many people are so passionate about college football. People have graduated, are still tuning into their games every Saturday. I love the passion. I think it's great.
- [15:27]
Brittany
It's just especially because a lot of, for a lot of people, like the college team is the home team. Like LA obviously has their own team now, but most people I know that are LA natives are either like UCLA fans or USC fans. And that's like the way they enjoy football every season. So.
- [15:44]
Micah
Yeah.
- [15:45]
Eric
But, yeah, Video game wise, it was a big year of that for me as well. LEGO Horizon Adventures is a game LEGO version of the Horizon Zero dawn series. Pretty fun. And then Life Is Strange Double Exposure is a sequel to the original Life Is Strange game with Max and Chloe. So although Chloe's not in this one, Max is just as a shout out. Like, I see, I log in, I see Micah's been playing wwe. And I put in my Life is Strange. And it's been a good fall.
- [16:16]
Pam
Funny story, though. I was told that I needed to change my PS5 profile icon.
- [16:23]
Eric
What was it? It was a weird bird.
- [16:25]
Pam
Meg didn't like the bird.
- [16:27]
Eric
It was kind of freaking her out. It was giving uncanny valley. And when we asked you about it, it was a weird thing. It was as a joke. I sent Micah a text going, hey, your PS5 avatar has kind of given us the willies. Would you mind explaining who or what it is? Is it a beloved character? And Micah was like, no, I think the system just assigned this to me. She has no emotional connection to it at all whatsoever. So I'm like, hey, can. But if somebody said that to me.
- [16:56]
Micah
I would just unfriend them on PlayStation.
- [16:59]
Eric
You're telling me what profile is? It is a miracle that Micah and I are still friends. Wait, we're still friends, right?
- [17:07]
Pam
We are. And I did change it to a very retro looking Dumbledore. So that is now my profile icon.
- [17:17]
Micah
I don't like that Micah. It disturbs me. Can you change it?
- [17:21]
Eric
See how much clout you have? Well, Micah did it for me.
- [17:24]
Brittany
He didn't do it for me.
- [17:26]
Pam
Yeah, that is true. But my name, though, Eric, really did enjoy Dobby's Real dad is my Dobby's real dad.
- [17:34]
Eric
Everybody send your your PSN friend request to Dobby's real dad.
- [17:39]
Pam
Can I also just give a very quick shout out to slow horses? I know that we've maybe brought this up briefly at times. I feel like we've discussed this recently, but I can't remember where. But the fourth season of this show came out and it's just a really great spy thriller with Gary Oldman at the center of it. And where did we just talk about this? Was this on during the Slug Club?
- [18:04]
Eric
Yeah, I brought it up on the Slug Club, but I think you were emphatically enthusiastic about it somewhere previous to that because that was original.
- [18:13]
Brittany
I feel like we were talking Apple originals and maybe it also came out.
- [18:16]
Eric
Yeah, yeah. I have a few friends who are watching it too, and they all say good things.
- [18:21]
Pam
I feel like, everyone on this panel would very much enjoy it, as would our listeners.
- [18:25]
Eric
Man, a new David Thewlis show. A new Gary Oldman show. What year is it? These guys are iconic in their roles.
- [18:33]
Micah
Laura, how about you? What were you hyped about this year?
- [18:36]
Laura
I was really hyped about Arcane Season 2.
- [18:40]
Brittany
So good.
- [18:41]
Laura
Have you finished it, Pam?
- [18:43]
Brittany
No, I'm like, halfway through, but I really liked season one, too.
- [18:47]
Laura
Okay. Yes. So I'm so glad because I knew at least you had seen season one. So I'm so glad we can talk about this. To give, like a little bit of a spoiler free primer here, Arcane is a story that takes place in the League of Legends universe. However, you don't need to know anything about the video game League of Legends. You don't need to have played it. You can come into this series completely blind to the fact that League of Legends is even a game that exists in the world because the story is so good and stands on its own. They're not just copy and pasting the story from the game, although they do, from what I understand, include a lot of elements and, like, general themes from the game. But it essentially focuses on Sisters VI and Jinx, as she becomes known pretty early in the first series. And they're existing in a really troubled society. There's this rich utopian city called Piltover, which of course has a seedy, oppressed underbelly called Zaun and Vine Powder, as she is formerly known, later known as Jinx, kind of find themselves embroiled in a developing conflict over, you know, clashes of conviction between the utopian city of Piltover and the underbelly of Zaun, as well as what are described as arcane technologies, hence the name of the show. So there's a lot of political and civil unrest. There's also a lot of ethics around science and what is and isn't okay to like, test or push on people against their will. It is so good. You should watch it. It's also just beautifully animated. Oh, my God, say that.
- [21:06]
Brittany
Yeah. I love the style of this show. And to your point about not needing to have any background for the the video game series, I know League of Legends is very popular. I had no idea that this was based off a video game until I was asking my brother if he. If he was watching and he's like, you know, that's like, based off of a video game, League of Legends. And I was like, oh, I had no idea. So it is really easy to follow and super compelling from the get go. Like, it just really hooks you in right away. And you really feel for these characters. They're so beautifully fleshed out.
- [21:41]
Laura
Yeah, and they're complicated too. Like, of course there are characters who are, you know, they're not ambiguous. They're either good or bad. But there are a lot of characters that are way more complicated and come in way more shades of gray than just being good or bad, which is part of what makes the show so compelling.
- [22:03]
Micah
This is another show that I see getting a lot of attention and I've gotten close to actually watching. What's your other pick for the year?
- [22:09]
Laura
My other one is an anime actually called Dandadon. And see what's so funny about Arcane and Dandadon, I knew nothing about these things walking into them, so I was very pleasantly surprised to walk into something with zero context and to end up walking away from it, being obsessed with it. So Dhan de Dan is about a couple of high school students who are, I guess we would call them, like, very invested in the supernatural. One of them believes in ghosts and the other believes in aliens, but they each don't believe in each other's supernatural being. And in the first episode, they basically make a bet with each other and they're like, okay, well, you go to this haunted place where I know there's a ghost alien boy, and you tell me that they're not real. And he says the same to the girl because she doesn't believe in aliens. Well, they both end up encountering these beings in these spaces where they go, the aliens unlock. And this is all very early episode one stuff, so we're not in spoiler territory really. But the aliens end up unlocking the girl character, Momo is her name. They end up accidentally unlocking psychic powers for her. And the boy character, Ocarune, he ends up with some additional abilities by virtue of his encounter with a ghost in that first episode. And it basically follows all of their various adventures from there episode to episode. And it is so good. This show, like, runs the emotional spectrum. Because I'm gonna tell you, for the first five or six episodes, I was like, this show is just a riot. It's weird as hell. It's unapologetically Japanese, it loves what it's doing, and they're just having fun. And then they dropped an episode that had me, like, sobbing at the end. I was like, I can't believe they took me from thinking that I'm watching one of the funniest things I've seen in a while to now feeling Like, I'm having my heart ripped out of my chest.
- [24:35]
Eric
Oh, my God.
- [24:36]
Laura
By the time this episode of what the Hype comes out, Dandiran's first season will be wrapped. The finale actually comes out on my birthday, so that's going to be part of what I do.
- [24:49]
Eric
Yeah.
- [24:49]
Laura
Yeah.
- [24:50]
Micah
Awesome.
- [24:51]
Laura
That's really good though. I highly recommend it.
- [24:54]
Micah
Cool.
- [24:55]
Eric
It's the mark of a good show that it can pull you in those emotional directions.
- [25:01]
Micah
So my two picks of the year. First of all, the game Balatro. And I've mentioned this on Millennial once or twice at this point. This is a poker themed deck building game by an indie developer. It was released earlier this year. It's available on virtually all modern platforms, including iOS and Android. Basically what happens is before each round you can open up new packs of cards to enhance your gameplay and you aim for a certain number of points each round and the point, the number of points you have to get each round increases. So it gets more and more difficult. And the best part of this game to me is how you use dozens of different jokers to level up your scoring and gameplay. And what I also love about Balatro is just the unique graphics and sounds. It's all just like eye and sounds candy. And it did win Indie Game of the Year last week at the Game Awards. It's just, it's addictive. Laura, I know you've played it too, right?
- [25:56]
Laura
Oh, my gosh. This game definitely had me by the throat at multiple times throughout the year where it was like the only thing I was doing sort of passively. If I had downtime, if I was like, I have 15 minutes between meetings and I need to take a quick break, or if I didn't have any specific plans for the afternoon, I would find myself going down the rabbit hole of this game. Because the way it's structured is you just play until you lose.
- [26:29]
Micah
Yeah. And you can lose pretty spectacularly and then you want to throw your controller across the room.
- [26:35]
Eric
You know, it's good. You mentioned throwing the controller. I wanted to ask what system should I get this for? I see it's on Steam, I see it on PlayStation. Yeah. But like, is the Switch version going to be.
- [26:44]
Micah
No, it's all the same. I mean, something portable I would recommend it on. So maybe on the phone or Switch. I have it on the Switch. I also have it on the phone, but I can't sync my data so I don't play it on the phone. Once you can sync data and hopefully that is coming at some point, I will Be playing it a lot more. But yeah, highly recommend. It's. Even if you're not into poker. Like, I'm not really into poker, but this game was recommended to me by my brother and I just, yeah, couldn't get enough. But I also want to say that I was really hyped about a TV show this year. It's called English Teacher. This was a new comedy series that premiered on FX starring Brian Jordan Alvarez. And he, the actor is gay and plays an openly gay English teacher at a high school in Austin, Texas. It is funny. It is fast paced comedy too. It's one of those shows that just gets me laughing out loud a lot. It got a lot of recognition when it premiered. It was just refreshing to have this great new comedy series. And an openly gay character was a perk too. Now that said, we actually just learned this week that we now have to cancel Brian because there were new and serious sexual allegations against him. Brian, for the record, has denied the allegations, but it's like, damn it, can I enjoy anything?
- [28:04]
Brittany
That's too bad. I was just gonna ask you if you. Have you seen him popping up off on TikTok because he, he was going viral for the I love your daughter trend?
- [28:14]
Micah
Oh, I didn't see that.
- [28:15]
Brittany
You guys have seen that? Yeah, it's like, it's. The trend is actually based off of a like a Gilmore Girls moment where Kirk is like, I love your daughter. And then the dad's like, what do you have to offer her? He's like, nothing. Only this. And he does this weird dance and so on TikTok, like, that's been going viral and he's been promoting the show by going viral dancing to this.
- [28:40]
Micah
Oh, well, he might have to dance a little harder because people are canceling.
- [28:44]
Eric
Him out of those.
- [28:45]
Brittany
That's probably why he's still dancing.
- [28:47]
Micah
Yeah.
- [28:48]
Brittany
But yeah, I was really enjoying this as well. I haven't. I'm not fully caught up. But that's too bad to hear that he's embroiled in some controversy because you're right, it sucks when we can't have nice things.
- [28:58]
Micah
Yeah. At 30 minute episodes, eight episodes, so very easy to binge. I'd still recommend checking it out. I just. We'll see if this is going to put a. A wrench in future seasons. All right, well, we're going to take a break and then when we come back, we're going to discuss what we're hyped for in 2025. So we'll be right back.
- [29:19]
Eric
This episode is brought to you By Amazon. Sometimes the most painful part of getting sick is the getting better part.
- [29:25]
Pam
Waiting on hold for an appointment, sitting.
- [29:27]
Micah
In crowded waiting rooms, standing in line at the pharmacy. That's painful.
- [29:31]
Eric
Amazon One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy remove.
- [29:34]
Pam
Those painful parts of getting better with things like 24.
- [29:36]
Micah
7 virtual visits and prescriptions delivered to your door. Thanks to Amazon Pharmacy and Amazon One Medical Healthcare just got less painful.
- [29:47]
Laura
We're so done with New Year, New you. This year it's more you on Bumble. More of you shamelessly sending playlists, especially that one filled with show tunes. More of you finding Geminis because you know you always like them.
- [30:01]
Micah
More of you dating with intention because.
- [30:02]
Eric
You know what you want.
- [30:04]
Laura
And you know what? We love that for you. Someone else will too be More youe this year and find them on Bumblebee.
- [30:19]
Micah
So I'll get things started this time. I got a couple of things I'm excited for in 2025. Lady Gaga's forthcoming album is coming out in February. She released the lead single from it, already called Disease. It was very good, very refreshing compared to what we've seen from Gaga recently. More of like a grunge rock type of vibe. Pam, our music girly. Did you have any thoughts on Disease?
- [30:42]
Brittany
I. I think you hit the nail on the head. It's really cool to see her reinventing herself too. I know she. She's been busy. She also put out a concept album for the Joker and Harley Quinn movie that she did. Yeah, that was okay. Yeah, I think it was okay too. But I'm excited to see her go back to her own original stuff. So. Yeah, I'm looking forward to this as. As well.
- [31:03]
Eric
Yeah.
- [31:04]
Micah
Also, the White Lotus season three comes out on Max in February. The first two seasons were great. I actually thought season two was better than season one. I know. Micah, you love it too.
- [31:16]
Pam
Yeah, it's. It's a really entertaining show.
- [31:19]
Micah
Yeah.
- [31:20]
Pam
And it's going to be interesting to see Jason Isaacs.
- [31:24]
Laura
I know, Right.
- [31:25]
Pam
On the show. Given, you know, there are no boundaries for White Lotus. Let's just say.
- [31:32]
Laura
Do you think they'll have him sit in a suitcase?
- [31:35]
Micah
Do you think he'll have him having sex? Because there's a lot of surprising moments in the show.
- [31:42]
Brittany
I would say I've learned about White Lotus has been from the Internet.
- [31:47]
Micah
It's a show made for social media.
- [31:51]
Laura
Is it out to say horrible people.
- [31:53]
Eric
But it's like a takedown of the upper class, right? Yes or no? Like a commentary on the. Okay.
- [31:59]
Micah
Yeah, I think it's Definitely one of HBO's most talked about series right now. It's one of those ones it airs on Sunday nights when it's in season and you'll get a lot of people talking about it.
- [32:12]
Pam
And there are a lot of Survivor Easter eggs and former contestants that pop up in White Lotus because Mike White was on David versus Goliath, I believe, and he is the lead producer of the show.
- [32:29]
Micah
He created the show. I think he writes it. Yeah. Maybe directs an episode or two too. I'm We've mentioned video games a few times today. I'm very excited for the follow up to Nintendo Switch. Apparently we're going to be getting an announcement as early as January, which is really soon. There have been leaks left and right just in the last couple of days, which also implies the announcements coming in January and the release is supposed to be by spring. And of course Nintendo, as they always do, no matter them or Sony or Microsoft, they release big titles with the system too. So hopefully we'll get a big new Mario game with the new Switch as well. We haven't gotten a new Mario entry, a major one, since Odyssey, which came out very early in the Switch one's life.
- [33:13]
Eric
Yeah, I played some of the the other Mario games I recently got through Luigi's Mansion 3. You know, I was late.
- [33:21]
Micah
That one was very good. Yeah.
- [33:22]
Eric
Waiting for the next big Mario. To your point.
- [33:25]
Micah
Yeah.
- [33:26]
Pam
The Switch was just executed.
- [33:28]
Eric
Yeah.
- [33:28]
Micah
The cleaning is very therapeutic. Yeah. You know there's a Luigi's Mansion arcade game. I played it.
- [33:34]
Pam
No.
- [33:34]
Micah
A couple months ago and like you hold the vacuum and suck it up.
- [33:38]
Pam
Towards your Must have spent hours there.
- [33:41]
Micah
This must have been great. I also am excited for Grand Theft Auto 6, which is allegedly coming out in 2025. They did. Rockstar Games did say it's coming out in 2025, but with so many games these days they get delayed. The last we heard was 2025. They said it in the first trailer. This might be the most anticipated game of all time. I think it's been what, over a decade since GTA 5 came out.
- [34:05]
Laura
People are chomping at the bit that.
- [34:08]
Brittany
Long running Joke is finally going to die.
- [34:10]
Micah
Yeah.
- [34:11]
Brittany
It's like I can't believe we got this before Grand Theft Auto 6.
- [34:16]
Eric
It's essentially a return to Vice City, which is one of the most beloved games of the original PS trilogy. So very excited for that.
- [34:25]
Micah
I've also heard game developers are holding off on announcing dates for their games because they don't want to be close to GTA 6, which is understandable.
- [34:33]
Eric
Well I know I'll lock myself in a room for a month and a half until I do everything in that game. For sure. That's what I did for GTA 5. And GTA Online is an achievement in and of itself that came alongside GTA 5. They continue to still add new stuff to do. I've never seen a commitment like it still so popular.
- [34:52]
Micah
Yeah, I actually heard a stat the other day. The most popular online games are all games that have been out for like around 10 years or so.
- [34:59]
Eric
But it's due to that continued commitment to update. It's just absolutely unbelievable.
- [35:04]
Micah
So that's my list. Micah, how about you?
- [35:07]
Pam
So for me, put mostly TV shows in here. The second season of Wednesday. Has anybody seen Wednesday here?
- [35:16]
Laura
Yeah, yeah, I love.
- [35:17]
Brittany
So good.
- [35:18]
Pam
So good. Jenna Ortega starring in the lead role. And just her for folks who aren't familiar. She goes to school at a place called Nevermoor and it really just chronicles her story there. It's a bit of solving some mystery going on, but it's basically an Addams Family spin off. I would say that they recast a lot of the roles extremely well. And there's still a few more surprises I think to come in season two characters that we haven't seen. We did get some cameos in season one and I think we're looking forward to some more cameos in season two. From what I've read. I won't spoil anything here. And then Stranger Things, the finale. We've been waiting for this for a long time.
- [36:06]
Eric
Yeah, I've been running up that hill.
- [36:09]
Laura
Aren't Those kids like 30 now?
- [36:11]
Eric
Yeah, definitely. I really was impressed by the most recent season and how the show continues to really reinvent itself and you really love the characters at this point. So. Yeah, we'll see. I just think it's a really well made series just for Barb.
- [36:29]
Micah
Yeah, just.
- [36:30]
Eric
Still, we'll see the episodes pulling out.
- [36:33]
Micah
Hope the episodes are very long in the most recent season and I think I. And I was just going to say, apparently with this final season, it's going to be the same thing. Maybe even longer. I don't quote me on that. But that's. That's interesting show.
- [36:49]
Brittany
I wish they would do weekly releases for.
- [36:53]
Eric
Yeah. Instead of all at once.
- [36:54]
Brittany
Netflix, if you're listening, I will. I will bite the bullet and pay more for you to do that.
- [36:59]
Eric
Wow. For you to not dump it all at once, Pam.
- [37:02]
Brittany
Yeah, well.
- [37:03]
Laura
Yeah.
- [37:03]
Brittany
Well meaning I will extend my subscription. Oh, me.
- [37:07]
Eric
Oh, right. Okay. Not like. Yeah, exactly.
- [37:10]
Brittany
But I will.
- [37:11]
Micah
Yeah. That is A show people would spend time speculating on week to week and reviewing and discussing each episode. But when they dump a whole season at once or maybe in two parts. They'll probably do it in two parts. It's. Nobody knows where to what to talk about online because you don't know where your audience has is caught up to.
- [37:32]
Pam
Yeah. So it's just messy and very quick. Honorable mention would go to Cobra Kai. Pam will definitely be doing another. What the hype on that in 2025 as that comes to a close. And I actually saw too, there's a movie coming out. I had no idea. Karate Kid legends.
- [37:52]
Eric
Jackie Chan.
- [37:54]
Brittany
Remember that being greenlit.
- [37:55]
Laura
Yeah.
- [37:56]
Eric
Jackie Chan is Mr. Miyagi now. He played the role in a recent Karate Kid reboot.
- [38:00]
Brittany
I think the one with Jaden Smith.
- [38:04]
Eric
Yeah.
- [38:04]
Brittany
Believe. Yeah.
- [38:05]
Eric
Yeah. My big thing for the beginning of 2025 is HBO's The Last of Us Season 2, which I know I knew we'd get some, some excitement and Buzz. Spring of 2025, we don't have a specific date yet. I'm waiting to see see exactly how it is adapted. I have my preferences for how much of the Last of Us video game series they'll do because with the TV show they really managed to strike a really great balance between adaptation, staying true to the series and being able to explore some areas that were not in the game or the focus of the game. I'm thinking of course of the Emmy Award winning episode where it was just about the two men, Bill and Frank. Bill and Frank. And honestly they could be doing more of that type of thing and not get to the big, big shock moment of Last of Us Two until the end of season two. And I'd be happy. I really love Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal as Joel and Ellie and I want as much time with them as. Yeah, it certainly does. So I will be your champion and be doing episodes upon episodes with Lara, of course, and anyone else who will join to be this show's champion in the new year. Very excited.
- [39:40]
Laura
Yeah, I agree with you, Eric. I think they should split the Last of Us Part two into two seasons.
- [39:48]
Eric
They could make.
- [39:48]
Laura
There is so much.
- [39:50]
Eric
Well, the game is non linear in many aspects. The sequel, The Last of Us 2. Who else has seen the first season of the show?
- [39:58]
Micah
I have.
- [39:59]
Eric
Yeah. It's good, right?
- [40:01]
Brittany
Really good.
- [40:01]
Eric
And for an oversaturated market like zombie apocalypse dramas, you don't need to have a show that's this good. It's, it's. It's just.
- [40:11]
Brittany
I think coming off of Andrew. And I know Andrew and I were both really big Walking Dead fans for a while until, like, it started just really getting tiresome. And so, like, to come into something like the Last of Us is just so refreshing.
- [40:25]
Micah
It's not the zombie show that you're expecting for anybody who hasn't seen it.
- [40:29]
Brittany
Yeah. And I think that is a, like, that's not only a testament to obviously, like the source material, but also I think Craig Mason has been doing a fantastic job showrunning as well. Obviously he did a great job with Chernobyl, but he was really killing it with the Last of Us.
- [40:44]
Laura
Yeah. And I think. I think that's exactly the point is that the Last of Us isn't really about the zombies. Like, that's the setting, but this is very much about the Last of us. The people.
- [40:58]
Brittany
Yeah.
- [40:58]
Eric
Seeing them. And I think that character.
- [41:00]
Laura
Yeah.
- [41:01]
Brittany
Like, to me, like most zombie properties that are done right, it is like, mostly about, like, it's not about the scares, but like the. The human condition and like what happens when they're pushed to the brink. Right. Like the psyche.
- [41:15]
Eric
So, yeah, very excited about that coming. And any news on that in terms of like a real world event? Universal's Epic Universe theme park, the follow up to Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios down in Florida. I don't currently have any plans specifically. I don't know what month it's supposed to come out yet, but very excited for the new land. May. So this summer, book a trip down to Florida. Maybe we can all go have a special what the hype? Live in Orlando and go ride the rides and punch some coin blocks.
- [41:57]
Micah
Sounds fun, but I shudder to think how busy it's going to be in the first summer.
- [42:02]
Eric
We gotta apply for that. Check in with me on hello. We are pressed.
- [42:08]
Laura
Let me rethink. I don't want to be in Orlando between summer, like June and September.
- [42:15]
Eric
Anytime I decide that next November, we will go. That's when the locals go. And it's much less populated. That's what the locals go. And I personally decided to sneak in a New Year's resolution of mine, particularly because we're doing this show and there will be more opportunities to talk about books. I have not been much of a reader this year. I really devoured a number of audiobooks, including nonfiction, like biographies. I did three separate Beatles biographies in 2023. But this year I've taken a year off and just I feel less like my brain is being challenged and I'm really entering 2025 with a desire to really Just read as much as possible. Which for me, even if it's like eight books throughout the year, I'll be very happy and feel accomplished for it.
- [43:19]
Laura
Yeah.
- [43:20]
Eric
So I'm excited for sure. I have books I go back to every year, but this time I have a slight TBR pile, and I'm looking forward to it.
- [43:32]
Micah
All right, so Pam and Laura are going to bring us home in our 2025 look ahead. But first, we're going to take a quick break, and we'll be right back.
- [43:48]
Brittany
I'm crossing my fingers for Reputation Taylor's version to come out in 2025. I think we all thought we were going to get it this last year, and we didn't. So 2025 is another opportunity for that to drop. And then my other answer to this question is Yellowjacket Season 3, which comes out in February. It's just been. This has just been such a fun show to keep up with. So it'll be the third season, and it's just like, there's a lot of good television out there if you poke around. This is a Showtime original, so it's a little harder for people to watch sometimes when they're on these premium cable channels, especially with cable cutting still being a big thing. But it's worth signing up for a Showtime subscription just to binge through this. This is told in kind of two parts. So we flash back between 1996 and the present day. And in 1996, it focuses on what happens after a high school girls soccer team ends up crash landing in the wilderness. They're on their way to a soccer tournament when this plane crash happens. And so it's all about following how they survive in the wilderness. And it gets pretty creepy at times. And then in the present day, we're catching up with the survivors that are left over and seeing how they're still haunted by the events of what transpired in the woods in 1996. So this is a great show, especially if you like suspenseful stuff you haven't seen. This is so up your street.
- [45:27]
Laura
I have not seen it. And to be honest, that sold me. But even if you hadn't given that wonderful description of it, you've never led me wrong, Pam. Like, I feel like every time you recommend a show to me, you knock it out of the parks.
- [45:44]
Brittany
So that's so nice.
- [45:45]
Laura
Yeah, this will be something I do over the holiday break.
- [45:49]
Micah
That's another one people lose their shit over.
- [45:51]
Brittany
Yeah, it's really cool, too, because they have all these like. Like 90s icons playing the Adult version of these girls. So like Christina Ricci's in it and Melanie Lynskey and Tanya Cypress and stuff.
- [46:03]
Eric
I like Melanie.
- [46:04]
Brittany
It's really cool to see, yeah, them like get their roses basically for they're acting their asses off obviously. But like both versions of the cast are incredible. So it's really well done.
- [46:16]
Micah
Laura, bring us home today.
- [46:18]
Laura
So I'm very excited for Severance season two on Apple TV that is coming in January. This is the series that is about people who had their work lives and their home lives mentally severed. So that the version of themself that is at work has no concept of what the version of themself outside of work is doing and vice versa. And there are very nefarious reasons for that arrangement. The way that they left off season one. I don't want to get into spoilers again because like this is a show that is very fast paced and has a lot of surprises in it. I think. I think it could be really easy to say too much and reveal kind of where the show goes. And I don't want to ruin it for anybody. But the cliffhanger they left it on has had me checking pretty frequently to see when this show is coming because it's been a few years since season one.
- [47:26]
Micah
Yeah, they've been taking their sweet time premiering season two. And I too watch this show. Laura. I agree, it's fantastic. Very much looking forward to it. In fact, looking at our list today, a lot of stuff we've been talking about is coming in the first quarter of the year. Maybe we're focused on these just because we actually have release dates. We don't know when other stuff is coming out later in the year. But yeah, there's a lot to look forward to over the winter, it seems.
- [47:51]
Laura
Yeah, I agree. I just think it's so funny that Apple really manages to nail the prototypical soul sucking corporate office environment.
- [48:04]
Eric
You can't look too deeply into that. There's really no.
- [48:08]
Micah
You might have some experience with that.
- [48:10]
Laura
No, not at all. But no, it is so well done. The other thing I'm looking forward to, it's a movie, Fantastic Four Steps coming out in July.
- [48:23]
Eric
Pedro Pascal.
- [48:24]
Laura
Yes, Pedro Pascal. Because he's incredible and needs to be in everything apparently. But I'm so excited for him to be in this. Vanessa Kirby is in this as well.
- [48:36]
Brittany
Shoot.
- [48:37]
Laura
I forget the name of the Evan Moss from the Bear. Yes. And I forget the other person too.
- [48:44]
Brittany
It's somebody bit. Oh, it's what's his face from. From Stranger Things.
- [48:48]
Laura
Stranger things. Billy, right? No, not Billy. That's Max's brother.
- [48:53]
Brittany
He was just in Gladiator, too.
- [48:55]
Laura
Yeah. Chrissy, wake up, dude.
- [48:57]
Brittany
Oh, my God. What's going on?
- [48:58]
Micah
Joseph Quinn. Yeah.
- [49:00]
Brittany
Joseph Quinn. Yeah.
- [49:01]
Micah
All right.
- [49:03]
Laura
Yeah. So I'm really excited for this one because it's going to be an entry to the MCU involving characters we haven't seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before. And I know there's been just a lot of general fatigue around seeing the same characters over and over. And I think also Marvel, Marvel has made some missteps over the last few years, and it kind of feels like they got too many cooks in the kitchen and greenlit too many projects, and they just assumed that they could shit anything out that they wanted and that it would sell because it was Marvel. And it's very clear that they're clearing house and kind of getting more aligned on the direction of the mcu. So that makes me hopeful for Fantastic Four. And also the aesthetic of it is so interesting to me. They're definitely leaning into, like, the Jetsons type aesthetic, which is very cool. Yeah.
- [50:08]
Eric
Okay. That could be cool.
- [50:10]
Laura
Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it.
- [50:13]
Eric
You mentioned mcu, but Daredevil Born Again is coming out.
- [50:17]
Laura
That's another one. I didn't want to, like, Marvel out, like, all of my recommendations, but that is another one. I cannot wait for that. Also, There's Captain America 4 is coming out. Next year is going to be a good year for Marvel if they can stick the landing.
- [50:35]
Micah
Yeah, one more title. I just remember it, and I think we'd be remiss if we didn't mention it. There's a new Hunger Games prequel coming out in March, Sunrise on the Reaping. Following Haymitch in his earlier years around the 50th annual Hunger Games, the second quarter quell. So that one already has a movie deal, too. I've shared my thoughts on that situation on a previous episode of Millennial, I think. But, yeah, I liked the first Hunger Games Spin off. A Song of Ballad. A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Yeah, something like that. And the movie. So I look forward to seeing what Suzanne Collins has come up with for Haymitch. So, again, that'll be up mid March.
- [51:16]
Eric
Great character. Good to see it reprised.
- [51:18]
Micah
So lots to look forward to in 2025. And that is the hype around 2024. And thank you everybody for listening and for hopping onto this new podcast this year. Please let us know what you are hyped for in the new year and you can do that by reaching out on social media in the Spotify and YouTube comments. You can also go to what the Hype podcast.com for our social media links and there is a contact form there if you'd like to let us know what you're hyped for that way. And don't forget to follow us in your favorite podcasts and social media apps. Leave us a review and like I said, comment. We will read all of it. So that is the Hype. Happy New Year everyone. Have a great holiday and we'll be back in a couple weeks. Bye everyone.
- [52:02]
Eric
Bye.
- [52:02]
Laura
See you next year.
- [52:08]
Micah
We hope you enjoyed this episode of what the Hype again. Mugglecast will be back next week. Chapter by chapter. Order of the Phoenix will resume. Please follow what the Hype in your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode of the show. We're really enjoying talking about all kinds of pop culture topics outside of Harry Potter. So again, whatthehypodcast.com is where you can find all the links you need to get the show in your favorite podcast app or of course on YouTube. The mugglecasters will see you next week. Bye everyone.