Welcome to PV Guide

Hello!

My name is Pete Volk, and until last week, I was the senior curation editor at Polygon. Welcome to my newsletter, PV Guide, where I interview interesting people and recommend interesting movies, TV, and more that Google, Netflix, or any of the other ever-encroaching algorithms might not push your way. I’m going to dig through the fire hose of media available to you to uncover those hidden gems and enhance your experience watching them, whether that’s a new, under-the-radar title or an older classic worth talking about in a new light.

In my time with Polygon, I regularly reviewed action movies, and interviewed big names like John Woo, Chad Stahelski, Milla Jovovich, and Donnie Yen. But I also cherished bringing lesser-known movies and figures to the forefront, like my interviews with stunt coordinating legend J.J. Perry, my chat with the world’s biggest fan of the Street Fighter movie, or my oral history of the DTV action classic Blood and Bone, as well as reviews of fun indie genre fare that deserved more attention than they got.

And it’s not just action: I watch all sorts of movies and TV, and I'm particularly drawn to keeping up with new releases, international and Classic Hollywood cinema, game-based comedy shows like Taskmaster and the programming at Dropout, making unconventional lists, and more – you can expect a variety of subjects being interviewed and titles being recommended here.

First up: A series I’m calling Polygon Exit Interviews, where I will be talking to the many fantastic people laid off at Polygon about what they did at the website, what they’re proud of, and what they hope is next for them. I’m excited to introduce many of you to the great people I worked with over the past few years, and the terrific things they worked on. The first of those will go up tomorrow, with more in the following weeks (as well as other planned interviews I’m excited to share with you all).

I expect to add a paywall at some point, but for now every post in this newsletter will be 100% free. I want you here because you like me and you like what I’m doing, and I want to build your trust and interest because I know your inbox already gets a bunch of garbage. Let’s fill it up with some good stuff, instead. Ditch the algorithm with me in the PV Guide.