Special Edition: What to Watch (or Skip) this Awards Season
The NewsWorthy
Erica Mandy
4.7 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 14 February 2026
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
With awards season in full swing, we're breaking down the films and shows getting the most buzz — and what else is still worth your time.
Entertainment critic Nick Schager from The Daily Beast joins us to weigh in on this year's Best Picture race, the surprises (and snubs) of awards season, and the streaming trends shaping how, and what, we watch.
Consider this your weekend watch guide and pop culture update – just in time for a Valentine's Day movie night.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Today is Saturday, February 14th. This Valentine's Day, if you're planning to curl up with a good |
| 0:04.9 | movie or start a new show, the question is, what should you watch? With awards season in full |
| 0:09.5 | swing now, we're talking all about the movies and TV getting the most attention and what else is |
| 0:14.4 | still worth turning on. Today's guest is Nick Shager, an award-winning entertainment critic for The Daily Beast, |
| 0:19.6 | and a member of several major film critics' organizations. He's weighing in on the Best Picture nominees for the Oscars, |
| 0:25.5 | now just one month away, and sharing what's standing out as unique this year. Plus, later, |
| 0:30.6 | we get into how we watch entertainment in general, from the latest streaming trends, like whether |
| 0:35.1 | to binge or watch weekly, to the way movies are |
| 0:37.6 | made, like how our watching habits impact studios' decisions. Consider this your weekend watch |
| 0:43.3 | guide, pop culture update, and a love letter to great entertainment. Welcome to the |
| 0:49.7 | Newsworthy special edition Saturday, when we sit down with a different expert or celebrity every |
| 0:53.9 | Saturday to |
| 0:54.6 | talk about something in the news. Don't forget to tune in every Monday through Friday for our regular |
| 0:58.8 | episodes where we provide all the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica Mandy. It's now |
| 1:04.0 | time for today's special edition Saturday. Nick Shager, thank you so much for joining us here on The Newsworthy. |
| 1:12.2 | Thank you so much for having me, Erica. |
| 1:14.4 | What was your personal favorite of some of the most nominated or the biggest movies of the |
| 1:18.7 | award season so far? |
| 1:20.2 | I was a fan of most of the best picture nominees. |
| 1:23.8 | There were a couple that I was not too keen on, in particular Hamnet. I'm in the minority |
| 1:30.2 | in not being the biggest fan of sinners in America. And I liked one battle after another without |
| 1:36.9 | loving it. My personal choice for the best film of the year is nominated for Best Picture. |
... |
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