Inspired By

Filmmakers, musicians, and other creators offer a deep dive on the works they intentionally referenced when working on their latest project—from movies to off-the-wall sources of inspiration.

Inspired By: The Projects Behind Famous Artists' Work

Nation

Design by Maitane Romagosa for Thrillist / Photo by Brigitte Lacombe

Entertainment

Thrillist's entertainment section covers every facet of popular culture. If you care about television, music, film, or celeb news; we've got it covered.

Entertainment - Latest Entertainment & Pop Culture News - Thrillist

Not Okay is one of the most online movies to date.

How Scammers, TikTokers, and Satires Inspired 'Not Okay'

Design by Maitane Romagosa for Thrillist

Back in the simpler times of 2010, Freeform existed as ABC Family and brought Sara Shepard's popular YA book series Pretty Little Liars to TV screens.

How the '90s Inspired the New 'Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin'

Design by Mallory Rosten for Thrillist

When you're watching a Genndy Tartakovsky joint, you know.

Genndy Tartakovsky's 'Primal' Was Inspired By Spaghetti Westerns and Bugs Bunny

Design by Maggie Rossetti for Thrillist

Tuca & Bertie is one of the richest texts of modern women's experience that just so happens to be a joke-stuffed cartoon.

How Nickelodeon, Annie Proulx, and Trolling Inspired Lisa Hanawalt for 'Tuca & Bertie'

Design by Maggie Rossetti for Thrillist / Photo by Sophie Hur

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For some, it can seem like you feel everything all at once, or nothing, with no in between.

How Goth Music and Fantasy Inspired Soccer Mommy's New Album 

How to describe Kate Berlant and John Early's Peacock special Would it Kill You to Laugh?

Kate Berlant and John Early Are Inspired by Awkward Reunions and 'Architectural Digest'

Design by Chineme Elobuike for Thrillist

The 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical A Strange Loop—now nominated for 11 Tonys, including Best Musical—makes many of its influences clear over the course of its exhilarating 90 minutes on stage.

Liz Phair and Tyler Perry: Michael R. Jackson Explains the Inspiration for 'A Strange Loop'

This weekend, the Belcher family hit the big screen with the release of The Bob's Burgers Movie, a joyous adventure for the burger-slinging clan that contains musical numbers and murder.

'The Incredibles' and Ralph Bakshi: Loren Bouchard's Inspiration for 'The Bob's Burgers Movie'

Illustration: Maitane Romagosa for Thrillist

If two people have sex on a mountaintop at dawn in a novel, it should be greenlit for a movie adaptation immediately.

Florence + the Machine and Taboo Love Sparked Akwaeke Emezi’s Sexy, Sad Summer Must-Read

Neon

When Swedish filmmaker Ninja Thyberg was first introduced to porn at the age of 16 by her then-boyfriend, she was enraged to the point she became an anti-porn activist.

Porn and 'Get Out': What Inspired Ninja Thyberg's New Movie 'Pleasure'

Adult Swim

Located somewhere nondescript, smack dab in the middle of WASP, U.S.A., is a suburb called Lemoncurd.

How 'SpongeBob' and 'The Real Housewives' Inspired 'Three Busy Debras'

Photos: Universal Pictures, Amanda Edwards/Getty Images, Focus Features, Sven-Erik Arndt/Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images; Illustration: Maitane Romagosa

When you sit down to see a Robert Eggers movie, you know you're in for a history lesson.

How Scammers, TikTokers, and Satires Inspired 'Not Okay'

Writer-director Quinn Shephard explains everything that informed her new dark comedy about an Instagram ruse gone very wrong.

How the '90s Inspired the New 'Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin'

'Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Lindsay Calhoon Bring talk about how horror tropes and generational trauma inspired their new HBO Max series.

Genndy Tartakovsky's 'Primal' Was Inspired By Spaghetti Westerns and Bugs Bunny

And, obviously, Conan the Barbarian.

How Nickelodeon, Annie Proulx, and Trolling Inspired Lisa Hanawalt for 'Tuca & Bertie'

The 'Tuca & Bertie' series creator talks about her favorite '90s cartoons, ensemble stories, and more.

How Goth Music and Fantasy Inspired Soccer Mommy's New Album

Sophie Allison, the brainchild behind the indie-rock favorite, explains what informed her great new album, 'Sometimes, Forever.'

Kate Berlant and John Early Are Inspired by Awkward Reunions and 'Architectural Digest'

The comedians talk about what's behind their new Peacock special 'Would it Kill You to Laugh?'

Liz Phair and Tyler Perry: Michael R. Jackson Explains the Inspiration for 'A Strange Loop'

The Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the Tony-nominated musical talks with Thrillist about his influences.

'The Incredibles' and Ralph Bakshi: Loren Bouchard's Inspiration for 'The Bob's Burgers Movie'

The creator of 'Bob's Burgers' discusses his inspirations for the movie version.

Florence + the Machine and Taboo Love Sparked Akwaeke Emezi’s Sexy, Sad Summer Must-Read

'You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty' was born from the writer's internal process—plus an obsession with cooking shows and one specific Florence lyric.

Porn and 'Get Out': What Inspired Ninja Thyberg's New Movie 'Pleasure'

The director of the NSFW film describes her influences.

How 'SpongeBob' and 'The Real Housewives' Inspired 'Three Busy Debras'

The hysterical Adult Swim comedy is about three deranged housewives, who, yes, are all named Debra.

'The Northman' Director Robert Eggers Was Inspired by Iceland Itself

Eggers takes us through the landscapes and texts that built his Viking action epic.