We have finally reached the conclusion of”Thanks for the Judds,” a six-week programming block of Ashley Judd thrillers. After looking at films like Kiss the Girls (listen), Eye of the Beholder (listen), Double Jeopardy (listen), High Crimes (listen), and Twisted (listen), we’re now at the film we consider to be the best of the lot: William Friedkin‘s 2006 adaptation of Tracy Letts‘ stage play Bug.
In the film, Agnes (Judd) is still reeling from the disappearance of her young son 10 years prior when she meets Pete (Michael Shannon), a timid veteran who walks into the lesbian bar she works at. Bonding over their shared miseries, Pete embroils Agnes in his paranoid delusions, primarily that of government operatives implanting bugs under his skin. It isn’t long before the two succumb to a folie à deux as they quickly spiral into a complete and utter shared madness.
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Episode 408: Bug (2006)
We saved the best for last as we conclude “Thanks for the Judds,” a six-week programming block on Ashley Judd thrillers, with a look at William Friedkin’s controversial 2006 adaptation of Tracy Letts’ play Bug, which boasts a career-best performance from Judd.
So finish that impromptu tooth extraction and destroy that smoke alarm because we’re going all in on this supremely disturbing film (though Friedkin considers it a black comedy!). You’ll hear us say it in the episode, but this is a great fucking movie.
Plus: offering a primer on Tracy Letts, returning to the dreaded F CinemaScore, and heaping all the praise on Judd’s iconic “Super Mother Bug” monologue that closes the film.
Cross out Bug!
Coming Up Next: We’re moving on from our “Thanks for the Judds” programming block as we discuss Kimberly Peirce’s attempt at modernizing Carrie (2013).
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 525 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal Season 3 Episodes 9-10, Beware Boiúna, Verity, Other Mommy and an audio commentary on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) for its 20th anniversary. It’s also the return of the Requel Tier as we begin our episodic coverage of Mike Flanagan’s Carrie (2026).
