Critical Darlings

Richard Lawson, Alison Willmore

blankcheckpodcast@gmail.com

For verified host and producer emails, sign up to view.

Booking Overview

Critical Darlings is a weekly film conversation built around what’s driving the movie conversation right now—pairing fast, informed critique with culture-focused context. Booking works well for PR teams that can offer film creatives, critics, or industry voices who have a clear stake in recent releases and broader pop-culture impact.

Metrics

Episodes: 27

Frequency: Weekly

Rating: 4.9/5.0

Estimated listeners: 1k-10k

Gender skew: Neutral

Location: USA

Contact Information

blankcheckpodcast@gmail.com

For verified host and producer emails, sign up to view.

Host

Richard Lawson - A critic and co-host of Critical Darlings (also associated with his newsletter, Premiere Party).

Alison Willmore - A critic and co-host of Critical Darlings (her work is associated with Vulture).

Booking Intelligence

Booking Requirements

medium
Typical Credentials:  
Film critics and writers, film/TV podcasters, and culture commentators with a clear specialty (e.g., queer cinema, blockbuster franchises/IP, or deep fandom expertise). Guests are often recognizable media voices rather than purely industry-only insiders.
Required Achievements:  
Podcast/creator audience in film or pop-culture media, Notable subject-matter expertise tied to the episode’s release or theme (e.g., awards/category expertise, franchise/IP knowledge), Published writing in recognized entertainment media outlets (implied by host affiliations and guest profiles)

Recent Guest Discussions

Colin Drucker - Two Wide-release Gay Movies—rupaul’s Stop! That! Train! And The Australian Horror Leviticus; Rupaul’s Legacy; Fandom/controversies; Representation And Queer Themes.

Starlee Kine - Spielberg And His Alien Films; Disclosure Day’s Place In Spielberg’s Slate; Reactions To The Film; Ghosts Vs. Aliens; Film Optimism And Cultural Context; Ranking Spielberg’s Alien Movies.

Mattie Lubchansky - Masters Of The Universe And IP Management; Development History; Casting; Toyetic IP Boom; What A Coherent He-man Film Could Be.

Recent Topics

Film, Criticism, Pop Culture, Awards, Screenwriting

Episodes

Here's the recent few episodes on
Critical Darlings
:

“Stop! That! Train!”, “Leviticus”, and Pride At The Movies (With Colin Drucker)

June 25, 2026

It’s Pride Week on Critical Darlings, and we’re joined by the co-host of the Alright Mary podcast (and Best Supporting Actress expert) Colin Drucker to break down two new wide-release gay movies: RuPaul’s spoofy Stop! That! Train! and the Australian conversion therapy horror film Leviticus. First, we discuss the delightful Stop! That! Train!, its performances, cameos, and various controversies including lying drag queens (funny) and AI visual effects (depressing). We also get into RuPaul a...

“Disclosure Day” And Ranking Spielberg’s Alien Movies (With Starlee Kine)

June 18, 2026

It’s Disclosure Week on Critical Darlings, with writer, podcaster, and E.T. super fan Starlee Kine!  Almost five decades after Steven Spielberg reimagined aliens on screen with E.T. and Close Encounters, he’s delivered another story of extraterrestrial awe. The movie stars Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor. But the figure who looms largest over Disclosure Day is Spielberg himself.  We discuss our relationships to Spielberg’s work, how Disclosure Day fits into his slate of alien films, and how ...

“Masters of the Universe” And The IP Drought (With Mattie Lubchansky)

June 11, 2026

By the power of Grayskull, we have cartoonist and co-host of the No Gods No Mayors podcast, Mattie Lubchansky, in studio to discuss Masters of the Universe!  The movie is a test for Mattel, who are going all-in on IP management in the post-Barbie era but Masters has underperformed at the box office and with critics. Has the He-Man IP run out of gas? Did it ever have gas? What would a coherent He-Man movie even look like? Where’s Orko?  On this episode, we try and figure it out. We discu...

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