Pop Culture Diner

Rose Plate Special: Bachelorettes Gabby and Rachel – Episode 1 One of the best parts of a new season is getting to see the Bachelor or Bachelorette's actual personality, and in this case (unlike Clayton), we actually get to SEE personalities! We have more contestants than ever, not a ton of standouts from the beginning, but we'll see where the season takes us. We also open the episode with some life and Bachelor Nation updates.

Bachelor Nation - A Very Special Episode Our little rose plate specialists! We miss you so very much! To let you know we haven't gone anywhere, and in fact, we'll be back as soon as Daddy Bachelor calls us to the mothership, we're going to do a few "Very Special Episodes" about Bachelor or Bachelor-adjacent topics. Tune into this episode if you'd like to hear Sammi talk about a book, but really just how much she liked UnREAL, for about an hour. Next, we'll be covering Joe Millionaire and...

Rose Plate Special: Bachelor Clayton Echard – Episode 10 What a long, strange trip it's been, with the Bachelor we didn't necessarily want and the host we didn't necessarily need. I'm not sure what it'll take to get the show to understand that we don't care about things looking the same every season. We WANT people who are interesting, and messy, and not the prototypical "Bachelor"-type. Rodney would have been a great Bachelor this season. Aaron and James SHOULD get a duo Bachelor season to...

Rose Plate Special: Bachelor Clayton Echard – Episode 9 Another season, another Women Tell All episode, and a very dramatic Fantasy Suite week. Sammi is joined by our guest host, Tuc (aka Chris) to go through the ins and the outs of this almost-final chapter. Who do we think is going to win it all? Do we think someone will reappear? You'll have to listen in to find out on this extra-long episode!

Rose Plate Special: Bachelor Clayton Echard – Episode 8 Another season, another hometown adventure. Clayton meets all of the lucky ladies' respective families and it was, well, uncontroversial. Everyone seems lovely. The dates all went well. We'd be happy to be in any of these families. So, in a nutshell, kind of boring TV. But good for them! Special shoutout to Susie's dad and the absolute gut-wrenching wit of Gabby's grandpa.

Rose Plate Special: Bachelor Clayton Echard – Episode 7 This week is the most important week so far, but next week won't matter at all. We talk about the therapy sessions, our chosen fighters between Sarah & Mara, and our predictions for the much-fabled final three.

Rose Plate Special: Bachelor Clayton Echard – Episode 6 Things are really starting to heat up in Croatia, I guess! Or not. I have no idea anymore. Bonus feature - Tuc's notes from last episode. Enjoy!

Rose Plate Special: Bachelor Clayton Echard – Episode 5 It's always nice when we can get a fresh perspective on the show. This episode, we got to hear from Tuc, our household co-host who has only graced us with his presence TWICE! (So leave a nice review if you like him on the show, and maybe he'll come back!) We talk about our general impressions of the season thus far, this week's INTERNATIONAL episode, and some outside-the-show gossip. It was a great time! Unlike Shanae.

Rose Plate Special: Bachelor Clayton Echard – Episode 4 You know producers are desperate for content when they stretch an argument about shrimp over two episodes. With our milquetoast host and equally uninspiring Bachelor, who can blame them? We can only sit idly by, shouting at our televisions about the slow-moving trainwreck happening before us. Tune in next week where we're sure to complain about something like pool floaties, who knows.

Rose Plate Special: Bachelor Clayton Echard – Episode 3 It's interesting how Clayton's season has been nothing and everything at the same time. We have some pretty great villains - incompetent, frustrating, telling bold faced contradictions within minutes. What else do we want in our Bachelor viewing? But still, there is so much of the same. We're getting lost in a sea of blonde women without nearly as many one-liners from Melina as Sammi would like. And does every episode have to be an ad?...

Rose Plate Special: Bachelor Clayton Echard – Episode 2 The combination of things that were contained in this episode...we could have never predicted it. Hilary Duff. Ziwe. And THE BACHELOR? We couldn't believe it. Really, this episode speaks for itself, we're on opposite sides of hating/loving what's happening, and they're keeping it interesting (with the exception of a snooze of a host).

Rose Plate Special: Bachelor Clayton Echard - Episode 1 I really appreciated the title of the Vulture article - "Everyone Hates Clayton." While that may not be entirely true, it is shocking to see three people leave right out of the gate! We have a couple favorites, Sammi messages one of the contestants (you'll have to listen to the episode to find out who), and we love that someone went down in a blaze of glory right away in episode 1. Golly!

Rose Plate Special: Bachelorette Michelle Young – Episode 10 I won't lie - I think we're both pretty burnt out on Bachelor Nation, but luckily we get a whole week off to recoup! Then we're back at it immediately with our new beef potato, Clayton, who is apparently in love with three women. We'll see how that goes. Michelle's finale was pretty unsurprising and we do wish the best for the happy couple. Here's hoping that the song that has now become Nayte's favorite is his fave for years to...

Rose Plate Special: Bachelorette Michelle Young – Episode 9 While we think we can see the writing on the wall, this relatively uneventful episode (with one slight shock) has us wondering what the surprising thing is that will happen in next week's finale, if anything. Stick around to the end to get some bonus content about industry plants and PR couples, courtesy of Sammi's recent TikTok deep dives.

Rose Plate Special: Bachelorette Michelle Young – Episode 8 If we were to rank episodes of the Men Tell All, this would probably land somewhere in the middle. A decent amount of drama, some lovely men getting closure with Michelle, and some villains solidifying their place as villains in the series (while, oddly, thinking they looked good in the process, idk). But the weirdest part of this season's MTA was all of the GIMMICKS! Have we ever seen this many gimmicks in one MTA? Astounding!

Rose Plate Special: Bachelorette Michelle Young – Episode 7 This may be the first time ever in Bachelorette history where we like all the men who are left. It doesn't seem like Michelle can make a bad choice from here on out! Without spoiling absolutely everything, all the dates go well, we are happy for Michelle because she deserves it, but oh my gosh, there better be SOME controversy at Men Tell All.

Rose Plate Special: Bachelorette Michelle Young – Episode 6 Sometimes I think the editors just do things to mess with me, like put in an enticing clip about Nayte being an actor, and then Clayton leaves and what, that doesn't happen in the episode? Is Clayton coming back? Will Rodney make it all the way to the end? I have so many questions! Fair warning, the first 15 minutes is us talking hot Bachelor Nation gossip, and the end is me (Sammi) acting like Bryan doesn't have a whole podcast...

Rose Plate Special: Bachelorette Michelle Young – Episode 5 It isn't a season of the Bachelorette without someone to hate, is it? This episode, we just continue to tear Chris S. a new one. We're also eyeing Martin with a healthy dose of skepticism. Because we understand this franchise, we're sure there'll be someone new who turns on us right around the corner (but please, please, don't let it be Nayte!)

Rose Plate Special: Bachelorette Michelle Young – Episode 4 We're still picking up steam in the episode, no doubt about it. However, there is some controversy brewing. Michelle wants to feel more seen by the men (100% valid). Chris S. accuses Nayte of being in it for the wrong reasons (100% false and he's 100% a "dweeb"). Olu has not heard the story of Harry Houdini. This episode is quite the cornucopia of moments, including one great date, and one not so great. We'll let you decide which...

Rose Plate Special: Bachelorette Michelle Young – Episode 3 The men of this season are definitely different from the gems on Katie's season, but there are definitely some contenders who are starting to rise to the top. We get to see Rodney come into his own, Brandon show more of his depth, and then we get this shocking about-face from Jamie. It's always fun to see how our early impressions twist and change so quickly throughout the season. We'll see what next week brings!