Buddy (2026)

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This week we’re reviewing Buddy (2026). We dissect its collision of ’90s children’s television and graphic horror, explore Buddy’s need for love as a form of control, and praise Keegan-Michael Key’s emotional range. This episode contains spoilers, beginning at 25:33.
Mentioned in the Episode
Watch the Movie
⁠Buddy (2026) (letterboxd.com/film/buddy-2026)
Main Episode
⁠Casper Kelly dives into the darkness of kids’ television with ‘Buddy’ (roughdraftatlanta.com/2026/08/28/casper-kelly-…)
⁠The Black List Interview: Casper Kelly on BUDDY (blcklst.substack.com/p/the-black-list-intervie…)
⁠Child’s Play (2019) (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child%27s_Play_(2019_film))
⁠The Banana Splits Movie (2019) (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Banana_Splits_Movie)
⁠The Wizard of Oz (1939) (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz_(1939_f…))
B-side
⁠Barney & Friends (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_%26_Friends)
⁠en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletubbies
⁠Blue’s Clues (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue%27s_Clues)
⁠Pee-wee’s Playhouse (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pee-wee%27s_Playhouse)
⁠Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Rogers%27_Neighbo…)
⁠Sesame Street (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesame_Street)
⁠Gullah Gullah Island (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah_Gullah_Island)
⁠The Puzzle Place (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Puzzle_Place)
⁠Dora the Explorer (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dora_the_Explorer)
⁠en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoboomafoo
⁠The Big Comfy Couch (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Comfy_Couch)
⁠Bear in the Big Blue House (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_in_the_Big_Blue_House)
⁠The Wiggles (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wiggles)
⁠Thomas & Friends (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_%26_Friends)
⁠Care Bears (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Care_Bears)
⁠en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALF_(TV_series)
⁠Clifford the Big Red Dog (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_the_Big_Red_Dog)
⁠If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_You_Give_a_Mouse_a_Co…)
⁠Peter Rabbit (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Rabbit)
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Music Credits: "Hack or Slash" by Daniel Stapleton