On the Saturday May 23, 2026 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we meet award-winning comedian, actor, and author Eric Johnston. His book “Run with the Bull: Three Generations of Sports and Entertainment” chronicled his journey as he broke away from his family’s legacy of professional wrestling to pursue stand-up comedy and acting. The book draws inspiration from the challenging lives and untimely deaths of his father Bullwhip Johnson and grandfather Bull Johnson, Johnson navigates the shadows of mental health and addiction that plagued his predecessors.
The book inspired a docuseries, also called “Run with the Bull,” which you can watch on Bell Fibe TV, that chronicles his mission to get healthy for the sake of his newborn son.
Then, we get to know Sonya Singh. Following the success of her debut, Sonya returns with “The Fake Matchmaker,” a delightful, trope-rich rom-com with real heart. With sharp humour and irresistible chemistry, the novel delivers a smart, modern take on dating, expectations, and the beautiful messiness of falling for someone at the wrong time. Told through a fun, fizzy rom-com lens, Manisha’s story is also steeped in Indian culture, exploring family dynamics and generational expectations with warmth and wit.
Each week on the nationally syndicated Richard Crouse Show, Canada’s most recognized movie critic brings together some of the most interesting and opinionated people from the movies, television and music to put a fresh spin on news from the world of lifestyle and pop-culture. Tune into this show to hear in-depth interviews with actors and directors, to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favourite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Recent guests include Chris Pratt, Elvis Costello, Baz Luhrmann, Martin Freeman, David Cronenberg, Mayim Bialik, The Kids in the Hall and many more!
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Here’s the extended version of a conversation I had with CTV National News reporter John Vennavally-Rao on Stephen Colbert and the end of “The Late Show.”
Is late night television on life support … or are we just watching it differently now?
This week on Entertainment Is Broken, Richard Crouse and Sarah Hanlon dig into the future of late night TV, sparked by renewed conversation around Stephen Colbert and the changing economics of the format. From Johnny Carson’s cultural dominance to Letterman’s chaos, Arsenio’s energy, Conan’s weirdness, Colbert’s political edge, and Canada’s own attempts with Strombo, Pop Life, Peter Gzowski, Ralph Benmergui, Mike Bullard, and more …
Richard and Sarah ask whether we still need the late night talk show. They also get into why these shows are so expensive, what gets lost when conversation moves entirely to podcasts and social clips, and why Canada still needs a proper talk/variety show that can actually help build stars.
Plus, Richard and Sarah talk about Obsessed, Indie Navarette’s freaky breakout performance, Keke Palmer, Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters, and why smaller, stranger movies might be exactly what theatres need.
In this episode: Is late night TV dying?
Why Johnny Carson still defines the format
What made David Letterman so different
Why Stephen Colbert’s future matters
How podcasts and clips changed celebrity interviews
Richard’s memories of hosting Pop Life
Why Canada needs a real talk/variety show
The economics and tax-credit problem behind Canadian talk shows
The rise of smaller, weirder theatrical movies Subscribe for more conversations about what’s broken in entertainment … and why we still love it anyway.
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Akshay Tandon to talk about the new releases in theatres, including the adventures of Star wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” the absurd social commentary of “I Love Boosters” and the demonic road trip “Passenger.”
I appear in a CTV National News report by John Vennavally-Rao on the reignited concerns about censorship as Stephen Colbert prepares to host his final ‘The Late Show’ on Thursday night.
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to brush your teeth. Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the adventures of Star wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” the absurd social commentary of “I Love Boosters” and the demonic road trip “Passenger.”
SYNOPSIS: In “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” the first “Star Wars” film to be released in theatres in almost seven years, the New Republic hires bounty hunter The Mandalorian and his apprentice Grogu to rescue Rotta the Hutt in exchange for information from the Hutt clan on a New Republic target. “This isn’t about revenge,” says Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver). “It’s about preventing another war.”
CAST: Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, Sigourney Weaver. Directed by Jon Favreau.
REVIEW: “The Mandalorian and Grogu” feels like spending an afternoon binge watching the Disney+ show that inspired the movie. It captures the show’s vibe with big action tempered by the heartwarming father-son dynamic between the title characters.
The action begins years after the fall of the Galactic Empire. Former Rebel Alliance pilot Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver), now of the New Republic, recruits Din Djarin a.k.a. The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) to hunt down Imperial warlords who still rule parts of the galaxy.
Part ninja, part knight and full-time dad who keeps Grogu safe, and makes sure he doesn’t ruin his dinner by eating too many cookies, Mando reluctantly agrees to rescue the kidnapped slug-like Rotta the Hutt (Jabba the Hutt’s son voiced by Jeremy Allen White) in return for information on the whereabouts of an elusive Imperial despot.
Dealing with the intergalactic gangsters, however, comes with unexpected twists and turns. “Do you know how hard it is to be your own man when your father is Jabba the Hutt?” asks Rotta.
“The Mandalorian and Grogu” is an old-fashioned action-adventure film with a high-tech sheen. Director Jon Favreau, who also created the television show, delivers large-scale action, some cool puppetry, creepy monsters that look freshly escaped from Ray Harryhausen’s imagination and the father-son relationship so central to the TV show’s success.
What’s missing is ambition. For all the big scale battle scenes, new creatures and things that go boom, there isn’t much risk taking. Visually, the IMAX treatment is, of course, larger and louder than the streaming show, but thematically there’s not a lot of texture. It’s a theme park ride with lots of ups and downs, but no real excitement. The stakes are life-and-death, but the pacing of the two-hour-and-fifteen-minute movie, kills any sense of urgency the story attempts to generate.
But, while “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is mostly empty calories, it does offer pleasures along the way. Martin Scorsese voicing the four-armed fry cook is an unexpected hoot and the spirit of loyalty and love between Mando and Grogu, in part, makes up for the lack of meaningful storytelling.
SYNOPSIS: In “Passenger,” a new folk horror film now playing in theatres, a young couple witness a fatal car accident that leaves one person dead. As they leave the scene, they are pursued by a dogged, demonic stalker. “It’s something unholy. Something’s following us.”
CAST: Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, and Melissa Leo. Directed by André Øvredal.
REVIEW:
A throwback to road horror flicks like “The Hitcher” and “Jeepers Creepers,” “Passenger” spends more time setting up the horror than delivering thrills but does have several genuinely creepy moments.
The story begins with Brooklynites Tyler (Jacob Scipio) and his girlfriend Maddie (Lou Llobell) trading in their beautiful apartment for a tricked-out campervan and life on the road.
Six weeks into hitting the open road and living free of the confines of the city, they come across a terrible car accident. Wanting to help, they pull over to offer aid but it’s too late. The driver is dead behind the wheel, his mouth twisted into a rictus of fear.
They leave the scene, but they don’t leave alone. Tagging along for the ride is “the Passenger,” a highwayman from hell who feeds on pain and suffering.
“No one outruns the Passenger,” says fellow traveler Diana (Melissa Leo).
Their dream trip turned into a nightmare, Tyler and Maddie, with some help from Saint Christopher, the Patron Saint of Travelers, fight back against their demonic stalker.
Like a leisurely ride through the country “Passenger” takes its time to get where it’s going. After a brief prologue to set up the action, the movie lopes along, developing atmosphere and dropping the odd jump scare. When Maddie discovers a book on the “Hobo Code,” a guide to symbols and marks travelers leave for one another to warn against danger, the story begins to find its focus as a tale of folk horror.
Trouble is, director André Øvredal never puts the pedal to the metal. The film is on cruise control for most of its runtime, accelerating only in the film’s final moments. The chemistry between Scipio and Llobell goes a long way to keep things engaging, but horror fans may demand something we haven’t already seen in other demonic road trip movies.
SYNOPSIS: In the raucous “I Love Boosters,” a surreal new satire starring Keke Palmer and now playing in theatres, professional shoplifters wage revolutionary war against a cutthroat designer.
CAST: Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle, Demi Moore. Written and Directed by Boots Riley.
REVIEW: A tale of class warfare filtered through a Looney Tunes filter, “I Love Boosters” is an imaginative, heightened movie whose real-life thought-provoking messages on labor exploitation, capitalism and consumerism cut through the surreal story.
Keke Palmer stars as Corvette, the leader of the Velvet Gang, alongside Sade (Naomi Ackie) and Mariah (Taylour Paige). They’re boosters, i.e. shoplifters, who, like couture Robin Hoods, steal high end fashions to resell at deep discount from make-shift shops in their apartments.
Their main target is Christie Smith (Demi Moore), a high-flying designer whose empire has been built on culture appropriation and exploitative labor.
Their boosting takes a sci fi turn when they meet Chinese garment factory worker Jianhu (Poppy Liu) and her high-tech teleportation device.
“I Love Boosters” is an absurd movie. And I mean that in the best possible way. Writer and director Boots Riley creates a world in which Smith lives in a tall, shiny tower in the city center that is tilted at a steep 45 degrees angle. We’ve seen big buildings before, but this one feels off. It’s familiar and yet quite unlike anything you’ve seen before. Riley uses this and other strange visuals to keep the viewer off balance, as if anything could happen in this strange world.
Keeping pace with Riley’s whimsical vision are a cast who help keep the sky-high story grounded in reality. Even when the film gets outrageous, depicting 30-second lunch breaks, teleporters and a paperwork boulder that follows Corvette around, the charismatic Palmer and the cast are game, bringing a sense of play but also emotion, which prevents the whimsy from taking over completely.
Riley has a lot on his mind. Labor exploitation, materialism and class are essayed but the propulsive comic aspects of “I Love Boosters” are the spoonful of sugar that makes the movie’s messages go down.
