Euphoria's Bad Vibes and Impeccable Performances, Plus Matthew Macfadyen on Death by Lightning's Twisted History
4/21/202655 min
Chris Murphy joins Katey to talk about the return of HBO's Euphoria, how much the show has changed since it first premiered back in 2019, and whether it might earn Zendaya a remarkable third Emmy. Then talks to Matthew Macfadyen about playing yet another "slightly excitable Midwesterner" on Death by Lightning, but one who feels a long, long way from Tom Wambsgans. 00:00 Intro 01:09 Euphoria Returns 02:18 Minting New Movie Stars 04:59 Euphoria's Zoomer Aesthetics 06:28 The Idol Experiment 09:35 Season Three's Visual Shift 15:33 Rooting for Rue 18:10 Zendaya's Superstardom 21:17 Drama Actress Emmy Race 23:58 Colman Domingo's Impact 26:50 The Wider Drama Race 29:01 Next: Matthew Macfadyen 30:40 Origin of Death by Lightning 32:16 The Death by Lightning Beard 32:53 Evaluating New Scripts 34:27 Understanding Charles Guiteau 35:47 Researching a Forgotten Era 36:51 Playing a Delusional Narcissist 38:34 Acting Moment by Moment 41:20 The Thrill of the Unknown 42:25 Clashing Scene Dynamics 43:53 Fame and the Desire to Belong 45:24 Life Imitating Art on Set 46:24 The Comfort of Being a Gun for Hire 48:06 Leaving It to the Editors 48:59 The Artist's Right to Fail 50:07 Finding the Show's Tone 52:33 A Break from Excitable Characters Subscribe today to Prestige Junkie After Party bonus episodes for just $5 a month. Subscribe to the Prestige Junkie newsletter. Follow Katey on Letterboxd. Follow The Ankler.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsChris Murphy· Guest0:00
[upbeat music] a million, uh, candles [laughs] being lit for a dinner. [laughs] That, that doesn't make any sense, but- No ... it looks cool.
Katey Rich· Host0:08
[upbeat music] Hi, everyone. It's The Prestige Junkie Podcast. I am Katie Rich, and today it is getting dramatic, and in the desert, and neon colored, and there's eye makeup because we are gonna talk about Euphoria. And to do that, I am joined by Vanity Fair's Chris Murphy. Hello, Chris. Thank you for coming to talk to me.
Chris Murphy· Guest0:28
Hi, Katie. [laughs] Thanks for having me. And don't forget, there's a lot of drugs, too.
Katey Rich· Host0:31
So many. Oh- So many drugs ... boy. Drugs and balloons, drugs- Drugs ... up noses. Um- Drugs everywhere ... what's in those drugs, we don't know.
Chris Murphy· Guest0:38
I mean, that's not good.
Katey Rich· Host0:39
Maybe people should know before they snort them. Uh- [laughs] We're, we're gonna talk about Euphoria, which is back on HBO. It's now aired two episodes. And then a little bit about the Best Drama Series race in general, which includes The Pit, which has just finished its season, and where all the things stand in that race. And then after you hear me and Chris talk, you'll hear my conversation with Matthew Macfadyen about his really incredible work on a limited series that I love, Death by Lightning. Hear all of that and more soon. Welcome to the show. Hello, Chris. I'm so happy to have you back on here, and I'm so glad that when I was trying to think of who I wanted to talk about Euphoria with, that I, I thought you were the right person. [laughs] You were immediately like, "Yes, I'm the right person."
Chris Murphy· Guest1:20
Well, I- Thank goodness ... I am a glamorous teen- [laughs] ... who's just completely just messed up in the head, so it does- This, this is me thinking you'd be like- It does ...
Katey Rich· Host1:27
Chris understands the youth, right?
Chris Murphy· Guest1:29
[laughs] Totally.