In the modern media landscape, influencers and podcast hosts have more power than ever before. It’s not unusual to see the medium include celebrities, but we’ve now entered an era where uber-popular podcast hosts become famous in their own right. Call Her Alex follows the career of Alexandera “Alex” Cooper, the host of one of the biggest podcasts in the world, Call Her Daddy. Broken into two parts, the documentary gives us a peek behind the curtain of Cooper’s career and personal life.
Call Her Alex Plot
The two-part Hulu documentary follows Alex Cooper as she prepares to kick off The Unwell Tour in Boston. As she works to convert her life history into a live show, Cooper explores her life and upbringing. The documentary not only digs into the show Call Her Daddy but also her time as a teenager and soccer star at Boston University. In the process of discussing her career, we get unique insight into how to navigate modern-day showmanship and political pressure.
“Part One” of Call Her Alex brings the honesty and vulnerability we expect.
Running a podcast that first gained fame for its willingness to openly discuss sex for women, Cooper has always embraced the idea of being open with the audience. This carries through into “Part One,” where the podcaster and mogul opens up about life as a child, what caused her to fall in love with production, and her accusations of sexual harassment by her Boston University soccer coach (which have not been openly discussed before).
This becomes emotionally affecting, in part because we see so much from her family in the reaction. As they discuss the accusations, we get a view of the internal dynamics within the family. As she opens up about the process with her roommate and family, it becomes clear that the future podcast host has felt trauma over the experience. Opening up to the audience about a topic she has not addressed before allows Cooper to shed new light on her motivations as a creator and businesswoman.
We also get a look behind the curtain as she preps for an unconventional live show tour for a podcast. With high production value and many moving parts, the rehearsals become dramatic in their own right, and the embedded filmmakers can capture some of the vulnerability she feels in the process.
Another huge advantage of “Part One” is the footage dedicated to the Daddy Gang, the women and men who are considered the biggest fans of the podcast. In the collection of brief interviews, we get an idea of what draws the fandom together and why the show resonates so much with them. While there is a moment in “Part Two” that focuses on a tragic story, the interviews in “Part One” give us a much-appreciated view of the community growing around the show and its place in the culture.
The shifts in focus in “Part Two” make Call Her Alex feel more generic.
While “Part One” of Call Her Alex lays out the groundwork for us to see the difficulty in creating her tour, “Part Two” becomes the podcast’s history in sixty minutes. For those who know nothing about the show, including a short section discussing the original co-host, Sofia Franklyn, the rise to fame might feel more invigorating. However, while the first half felt more open and honest about the struggles Cooper faces in her life, the second half of the series is more in line with traditional celebrity documentaries.
This does a disservice to the documentary project as a whole. The touring aspect almost entirely disappears in the second half, and even the interview with Kamala Harris gets dropped to mere minutes. We still hear from Cooper’s friends and family, but we also hear about why Call Her Daddy is an important show from media studies professionals.
Even though having Gayle King, David Portnow, and Dawn Ostroff speak about Cooper’s vision for the series is informative, it feels strangely sanitized for a show that’s primarily known for honesty and authenticity. In a sense, this half of the series feels more in line with a corporate version of the tale of Alex Cooper, and we lose the aspects that made “Part One” so intriguing. While part of the story does stem from the show’s juggernaut performance and ability to launch a multi-media brand, the viewer is already aware. This adds fluff to the series and dilutes the power of the other footage.
Is Call Her Alex worth watching?
Yes, but the documentary series is more for drawing new eyes to the podcast after its explosion in popularity in 2024. With more eyes now watching the interviews on YouTube and the high listener numbers it picks up across various platforms, Cooper has built a juggernaut. While there are some new details about her career and her journey, there are many other moments that are barely covered (including the “break-up” with Sofia).
If you’re already well-versed in the show’s history, there might not be much more for you here than spending time with the world-famous host. That might be enough to draw you in, but otherwise, this is a swing to get new listeners and viewers.
Call Her Alex releases on Hulu on June 10, 2025.
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