Episode 20: The RomCom Roundtable: A One Year Retrospective

Episode 21: Roman Holiday

Welcome to The RomCom Roundtable! It’s been a fun, nostalgic journey in our mini series throughout Italy through the lens of film. We knew from the beginning the mini series should have a grand finale!  The movie that walked so the films of the future could run…..(cue the drumroll)..... ….Roman Holiday!  Starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, Roman Holiday (1953) is the story of Princess Ann (Hepburn) and journalist Joe Bradley (Peck). Princess Ann is looking for a holiday from the pressures of life and being a royal. Joe is looking for the scoop for his reporting beat about the Princess. Together, they have a whirlwind journey across Rome.  In this episode, we talk about how this movie is one of our favorites and how it set the stage for the films that follow.  We hope that you have enjoyed this episode and our tour of Italy through RomComs!  Roman Holiday is available for streaming and also check out your local library!  We recorded this episode in June 2025. Thank you to The Broken Spine [https://shopbrokenspine.com/] in Tinker & Trade [https://tinkerandtradeco.com/] and Arobone Adventures [https://www.aroboneadventures.com/] for sponsoring this episode!  Don’t forget to follow the pod for future episodes and check out our socials on Instagram @theromcomroundtable. We’re growing our Letterboxd and in the future will have Patreon! We are also on Buy Me a Coffee [https://buymeacoffee.com/theromcomroundtable]! If you’d like to contribute, we appreciate your support, which allows us to bring you the best content here on the pod! Thank you!!   You have a seat at the table! Send us questions for a future mailbag episode; your favorite books, movies, and music, which could be on a future episode; and your feedback! This podcast features music created using Groovepad.  Episode cover art is designed on Canva. © 2026 The RomCom Roundtable. All rights reserved.

Episode 20: The RomCom Roundtable: A One Year Retrospective

Welcome to The RomCom Roundtable! And to our One Year Retrospective!!  It’s been an incredible first year of the pod, and we are so thankful for all of you for being part of the journey!  In this mini episode, we reflect on highlights of the first year of episodes we’ve recorded and published and what’s upcoming for our second season! Thank you to our guests, sponsors, and to you the listeners! We greatly appreciate all of you, and we are so excited to bring you more great episodes of The RomCom Roundtable!!  Stay tuned for our next episode! It’s a RomCom classic!  Thank you to The Broken Spine [https://shopbrokenspine.com/] in Tinker & Trade [https://tinkerandtradeco.com/] for sponsoring this episode!  Don’t forget to follow the pod for future episodes and check out our socials on Instagram @theromcomroundtable. We’re growing our Letterboxd and in the future will have Patreon! We are also on Buy Me a Coffee [https://buymeacoffee.com/theromcomroundtable]! If you’d like to contribute, we appreciate your support, which allows us to bring you the best content here on the pod! Thank you!!   You have a seat at the table! Send us questions for a future mailbag episode; your favorite books, movies, and music, which could be on a future episode; and your feedback! This podcast features music created using Groovepad.  Episode cover art is designed on Canva. © 2026 The RomCom Roundtable. All rights reserved.

Episode 19: The Lizzie McGuire Movie

Hey now! Hey now! This is what dreams are made of!  Welcome to The RomCom Roundtable! We’re back in Italia with our mini series!  And it’s all millennial nostalgia today - we’re chatting about The Lizzie McGuire Movie! Thank you to Fareena for the request!  Starring Hilary Duff, The Lizzie McGuire Movie is based on the hit Disney Channel show. The film had a theatrical release in 2003 and is set at the end of the second series. Lizzie is graduating from middle school and getting ready for a class trip with her best friend Gordo. When she arrives, she is mistaken for a pop star and has a memorable adventure to perform at a music awards event at the Colosseum.  In this episode, we talk about the Disney Channel shows that were popular among millennials, reminisce about our trip to Italy, and the reboot that had been planned for the show Lizzie McGuire in 2020 [https://people.com/jake-thomas-reveals-why-the-lizzie-mcguire-reboot-fell-apart-exclusive-11752165].  The Lizzie McGuire Movie [https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-cdb5deb3-5272-4078-95d9-01e866004c71] is available for streaming on Disney+.  We recorded this episode in July 2025. As we were preparing to publish this episode, we learned of the passing of Robert Carradine.  We extend our condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and to the cast of Lizzie McGuire on their loss. Thank you to The Broken Spine [https://shopbrokenspine.com/] in Tinker & Trade [https://tinkerandtradeco.com] and Arobone Adventures [https://www.aroboneadventures.com/] for sponsoring this episode!  Let us know what you think of the movie and this episode! What was your favorite Disney Channel show?  Don’t forget to follow the pod for future episodes and check out our socials on Instagram @theromcomroundtable. We’re growing our Letterboxd and in the future will have Patreon! We are on Buy Me a Coffee [https://buymeacoffee.com/theromcomroundtable]! If you’d like to contribute, we appreciate your support, which allows us to bring you the best content here on the pod! Thank you!!   You have a seat at the table! Send us questions for a future mailbag episode; your favorite books, movies, and music, which could be on a future episode; and your feedback! This podcast features music created using Groovepad. Episode cover art is designed on Canva. © 2026 The RomCom Roundtable. All rights reserved.

Episode 18: People We Meet On Vacation

Welcome to The RomCom Roundtable! Today we’re talking about People We Meet on Vacation! We recorded this episode the day after the film’s premiere on Netflix!  Starring Emily Bader and Tom Blyth, People We Meet on Vacation is the story of two friends Alex and Poppy who make a pact to meet for a trip for one week every summer. The film takes place over the course of over a decade of their friendship, their travels, as well as what drove them apart. We see the evolution of their friendship from friends to more than friends.  In this episode, we talk about the themes of the novel and the movie, its adaptation from book to film, authors' participation in book to film adaptations, and how it celebrates all the things we love about the RomComs! We also talk about a super fun watch party hosted by our sponsor, The Broken Spine! People We Meet On Vacation [https://www.netflix.com/title/81764371] is available now for streaming on Netflix.  We referenced a few articles about the film and its journey from page to screen:   * People We Meet on Vacation Streaming: Cast, Release Date, First Look Photos, Plot of Emily Henry Adaptation - Netflix Tudum [https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/people-we-meet-on-vacation-release-date-photos-news] * Unpack 6 Easter Eggs from People We Meet on Vacation [https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/people-we-meet-on-vacation-easter-eggs] * Is People We Meet on Vacation Based on a Book? Go Inside the Adaptation with Author Emily Henry - Netflix Tudum [https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/people-we-meet-on-vacation-based-on-a-book] * Let's go on vacation! - by Emily Henry [https://emilyhenry.substack.com/p/lets-go-on-vacation] * Who Plays Poppy and Alex in People We Meet on Vacation? Emily Bader Tom Blyth Interview, Photos - Netflix Tudum [https://www.netflix.com/tudum/features/people-we-meet-on-vacation-emily-bader-tom-blyth-interview] Thank you to The Broken Spine [https://shopbrokenspine.com/] in Tinker & Trade [https://tinkerandtradeco.com] for sponsoring this episode as well as a great watch party for the premiere of the film!  Copies of the novel People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry are available at The Broken Spine as well as Bookshop.org [https://bookshop.org/p/books/people-we-meet-on-vacation-emily-henry/0c254838c8093ee3?ean=9781984806758&next=t] or your local library!  Let us know what you think of the movie and this episode! Have you read the book and / or watched the film?  Don’t forget to follow the pod for future episodes and check out our socials on Instagram @theromcomroundtable. We’re growing our Letterboxd and in the future will have Patreon! We are also on Buy Me a Coffee [https://buymeacoffee.com/theromcomroundtable]! If you’d like to contribute, we appreciate your support, which allows us to bring you the best content here on the pod! Thank you!!   You have a seat at the table! Send us questions for a future mailbag episode; your favorite books, movies, and music, which could be on a future episode; and your feedback! This podcast features music created using Groovepad. Available on Google Play,⁠ ⁠Groovepad - Google Play⁠⁠ [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.easybrain.make.music] & iOS⁠ ⁠Groovepad - iOS⁠⁠ [https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/groovepad-music-beat-maker/id1454398991].  Episode cover art is designed on Canva. This episode will also be featured as a special cross over episode as part of Cait's Reading Nook - The Podcast, which will be debuting soon! © 2026 The RomCom Roundtable and Cait's Reading Nook. All rights reserved.

Episode 17: Champagne Problems

Bonne année tout le monde! Happy New Year everyone! Raise a glass of your favorite bubbly beverage for the new year! Our second holiday episode is a recent Netflix Original Movie: Champagne Problems! The film premiered this past December and stars Minka Kelly, Tom Wozniczka, Sean Amsing, Flula Borg, Astrid Whettnall, and Thibault de Montalembert. Sydney (Minka Kelly) travels to Paris during the holidays prior to acquire a champagne vineyard. When she arrives, she meets Henri (Tom Wozniczka) in a bookstore in Paris and finds out the next day that he is the son of the owner of the vineyard with whom she is meeting.  In this episode we talk about the history of Champagne [https://thechampagnecompany.com/blog/history-of-champagne.html], both the region [https://www.champagne.fr/en/about-champagne/champagne-and-its-history] and the wine, and its evolution over the centuries. The industry we know today is quite matriarchal [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-widow-who-created-the-champagne-industry-180947570/], including the well-known Veuve Clicquot.   [https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230301-the-little-known-history-of-champagne]  We mention a book about Veuve Clicquot: The Widow Clicquot from HarperCollins [https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-widow-clicquot-tilar-j-mazzeo?variant=32122931839010].  We talk about the festival held in the region each year - Habits de Lumière [https://habitsdelumiere.epernay.fr/en] - that has scenes featured in the film.  If you’ve ever taken a Duolingo course, you may recognize the chimes! One of the things we enjoyed in this film was how much French is spoken! Caitie took French in college and spoke a little French in this episode!  In the movie, Sydney and her sister say to encourage themselves that they are a Kelly Clarkson song - so we decided to open the episode talking about what Kelly Clarkson song we would be! Comment below - what Kelly Clarkson song would you be or what’s your favorite Kelly Clarkson song?  We also have a couple references to our previous episode for The Holiday about Hans Gruber in Die Hard and whether Gaston from Beauty & the Beast was the villain. After the episode, leave a comment with your thoughts!    Champagne Problems [https://www.netflix.com/title/81628146] is available for streaming on Netflix. Let us know what you think of the movie and this episode!  We also mention holiday markets and specifically the Christmas Village in Philadelphia [https://www.philachristmas.com/index.html] that is held each year and was open at the time of this recording. Caitie mentioned there was a windmill at the market that was new to the market this year. As part of some follow-up research, we wanted to offer a clarification, and it’s technically called a Christmas Pyramid.  Don’t forget to follow the pod for future episodes and check out our socials on Instagram @theromcomroundtable. We’re growing our Letterboxd and in the future will have Patreon!  Thank you to Shop Broken Spine [https://shopbrokenspine.com/] in Tinker & Trade [https://tinkerandtradeco.com] for sponsoring this episode!  We have also launched a Buy Me a Coffee [https://buymeacoffee.com/theromcomroundtable]! If you’d like to contribute, we appreciate your support, which allows us to bring you the best content here on the pod! Thank you!!   You have a seat at the table! Send us questions for a future mailbag episode; your favorite books, movies, and music, which could be on a future episode; and your feedback! This podcast features music created using Groovepad. Available on Google Play,⁠ ⁠Groovepad - Google Play⁠⁠ [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.easybrain.make.music] & iOS⁠ ⁠Groovepad - iOS⁠⁠ [https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/groovepad-music-beat-maker/id1454398991].  Episode cover art is designed on Canva. © 2026 The RomCom Roundtable. All rights reserved.