I join CP24 Breakfast to talk about legendary director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, who were found dead in their L.A. home in an apparent homicide.
On the Saturday December 13, 2025 edition of The Richard Crouse Show spend some time with Mark Critch. For twenty-three years he has starred on CBC’s popular political satire show “This Hour Has 22 Minutes.” He adapted his first book, “Son of a Critch,” into a hit TV series, co-staring movie legend Malcolm McDowell, and airing on the CBC in Canada and Netflix in the United States.
Today we talk about his latest book, “Sorry, Not Sorry.” In the book, which is available now wherever fine books are sold, Mark delves into the heart of what it means to be Canadian at a time when national pride is on the rise. He examines everything from the historical decision of Newfoundland to join Canada, to the modern-day implications of the Freedom Convoy, the evolving symbolism of the Canadian flag, and of the many reasons Canada is worth fighting for.
Then: Eric McCormack, you know him as Will Truman of the TV series Will & Grace, a role that won him won a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy Award stops by to talk about his new Hollywood Suite show “Hell Motel.” On the creep new show, 10 true crime obsessives are invited to the opening weekend of the newly renovated Cold River Motel, the site of a 30-year-old unsolved Satanic Mass Murder. History repeats itself when the guests get start getting knocked off one by one.
Eric plays Hemmingway, a chef with a wickedly sinister flair. In this interview we talk about Hell Motel, and how to play dead on camera.
Finally, we’ll meet singer and actor Maggie Lacasse who is bring a brand new, edgier interpretation of the character Killer Queen to the new Mirvish production of “We Will Rock You.”
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!
All iHeartRadio Canada stations are available across Canada via live stream on iHeartRadio.caand the iHeartRadio Canada app. iHeartRadio Canada stations are also connected through Alexa, Siri, and Google Home smart speakers.
I wrote about the proposed Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. for CTVNews.ca.
“In April 2025 Time magazine Editor in Chief Sam Jacobs began a Q&A with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos at the Time100 Summit with a simple but direct question: ‘Have you destroyed Hollywood?’
“According to a Variety report, Sarandos smiled and said, ‘No, we’re saving Hollywood.’
“His answer has been echoing in my head since news broke that Netflix would acquire Warner Bros. in one of the biggest media deals of the decade…” Read the whole thing HERE!
I sit in with Deb Hutton on NewsTalk 1010 to go over some of the week’s biggest entertainment stories and let you know what’s happening in theatres. We talk about the Netflix deal to buy Warner Bros and what that means for the industry, a new RoboCop statue, Mr. Simmons Goes to Washington, a name change for Pamela Anderson and reviews of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” and “Merrily We Roll Along.”
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk about the new movies coming to theatres including the jump scares of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” the historical drama “Hamnet,” the Broadway stylings of “Merrily We Roll Along” and the thrills of “The Secret Agent.”
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make the bed! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the jump scares of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” the Broadway stylings of “Merrily We Roll Along” and the thrills of “The Secret Agent.”
In this week’s episode of Entertainment Is Broken, Richard Crouse and Sarah Hanlon head back to Oz to poke at Hollywood’s favourite security blanket… the sequel. Are follow-ups actually good for storytelling, or just very good for spreadsheets?
Along the way, Richard also shares something a lot more personal than box office numbers: a major health scare that hit in the middle of recording last week’s episode. From there, the show pivots from billion-dollar franchises to the simple fact that none of this matters much if your health falls apart.
Wicked: For Good’s billion-dollar moment
Why Universal is already quietly building the “Wicked Cinematic Universe”… and whether that’s exciting, inevitable, or just exhausting.
Sequels vs storytelling
Are follow-ups expanding worlds or just recycling IP until the wheels fall off?
When sequels work: Incredibles 2, Finding Dory, Zootopia 2, Star Trek’s new shows, the King of the Hill revival.
When they absolutely don’t: from Jaws 3D to remakes like the new Hand That Rocks The Cradle that bring nothing new to the table.
Comfort food culture
Richard makes the case that sequels and remakes are the entertainment equivalent of meatloaf: familiar, comforting… and maybe crowding out anything that asks us to try a new flavour.
If the internet promised we’d all get giant “Martians from Mars Attacks” brains, why do we keep using it to find more of the same thing we already like?
Nostalgia vs originality
Is Hollywood just giving people what they want, or training us to stop wanting anything else?
Sarah defends sequels that evolve with the times, while Richard worries about the space they take up on the cultural shelf.
This week’s headlines
Before they dive fully into sequel madness, Richard and Sarah run through a packed slate of entertainment stories:
Jimmy Cliff remembered
From The Harder They Come to a soundtrack that helped make reggae a global force, Richard looks back at a genuine titan and what it meant that his film ran for over a year in one New York theatre.
Donald Glover’s health scare
A stroke, heart surgery, and a reminder that behind every “tour cancelled” headline is a human being whose body just called time out. Richard connects it with his own Bell’s palsy diagnosis mid-podcast last week… and why health really is the only non-negotiable.
Guns N’ Roses back on the road (again)
Axl, Slash, Duff and co are returning with Canadian dates, some new music, and, apparently, shows that actually start on time now. Miracles happen.
Farewell to Udo Kier
The ultimate “I know that guy” actor, popping up in everything from art-house classics to Armageddon. Richard and Sarah unpack why he made bad movies better and good movies unforgettable.
Joni Mitchell & Nelly Furtado get their flowers
Lifetime honours at the Junos for two Canadian icons, plus Richard’s story about Joni, a cigarette, and a very polite attempt at enforcing no-smoking rules that did not go as planned.
Graham Linehan’s harassment case
A British comedy figure cleared of one charge, found guilty on another… and a frank conversation about harassment, hate, and how hard it is to separate “beloved creator” from the harm they cause.
Richard Branson’s loss
The death of his wife, Joan Templeman, and what it means to be the public face of an empire while someone else is holding your life together offstage.
Michael Cera & Pamela Anderson in small-town Ontario
Cera’s directorial debut, Love Is Not The Answer, is shooting in Carleton Place with Pamela Anderson in a leading role. Richard shares what it was like to host her onstage post-documentary, and why her current reinvention feels a lot like a long-overdue course correction.
Jay Kelly, streaming vs cinema, and James Cameron’s line in the sand
A discussion of the George Clooney/Adam Sandler/Laura Dern dramedy Jay Kelly, why it feels like a throwback to mid-2000s grown-up movies… and whether streaming-first releases should be chasing Oscars in the same way theatrical films do.
So… do we really need another one?
By the time Richard and Sarah circle back to sequels, they’ve landed on a pretty simple tension:
Sequels can absolutely be great.
They can deepen characters, speak to the moment they’re released in, and give artists a second (or seventh) swing at a world they love.
But when they’re treated as a safety net instead of a creative choice…
They become a way to avoid risk, to feed nostalgia on loop, and to crowd out smaller, stranger, more empathetic stories that don’t come pre-branded.
Or as Sarah puts it: the problem isn’t that we get another one… it’s when “another one” is the only thing we’re allowed to get.
Listen to the episode
In this episode of Entertainment Is Broken, you’ll get:
Smart, funny, slightly exasperated sequel chat
Deep-cut film and TV references you can steal for your next argument
A reminder to go see something without a number in the title
And a host doing the show with half his face temporarily offline because… show must go on
I join CP24 Breakfast to talk about legendary director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, who were found dead in their L.A. home in an apparent homicide.
On the Saturday December 13, 2025 edition of The Richard Crouse Show spend some time with Mark Critch. For twenty-three years he has starred on CBC’s popular political satire show “This Hour Has 22 Minutes.” He adapted his first book, “Son of a Critch,” into a hit TV series, co-staring movie legend Malcolm McDowell, and airing on the CBC in Canada and Netflix in the United States.
I join “Free For All Friday” host Amanda Galbraith to talk about the much ballyhooed Netflix deal to buy Warner Bros.
I wrote about the proposed Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. for CTVNews.ca.
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Marcia MacMillan to have a look at the Golden Globe nominations, the surprises and the snubs.
I sit in with Deb Hutton on NewsTalk 1010 to go over some of the week’s biggest entertainment stories and let you know what’s happening in theatres. We talk about the Netflix deal to buy Warner Bros and what that means for the industry, a new RoboCop statue, Mr. Simmons Goes to Washington, a name change for Pamela Anderson and reviews of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” and “Merrily We Roll Along.”
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk about the new movies coming to theatres including the jump scares of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” the historical drama “Hamnet,” the Broadway stylings of “Merrily We Roll Along” and the thrills of “The Secret Agent.”
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make the bed! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the jump scares of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” the Broadway stylings of “Merrily We Roll Along” and the thrills of “The Secret Agent.”
In this week’s episode of Entertainment Is Broken, Richard Crouse and Sarah Hanlon head back to Oz to poke at Hollywood’s favourite security blanket… the sequel. Are follow-ups actually good for storytelling, or just very good for spreadsheets?
