Déjà Vu Christmas
Is it 2020 all over again?!?!
Hi All!
It’s Friday evening. If you can believe it, I sent this off to Emma to edit this morning at 10:00 a.m. and yet here I am sending this off at 7:30 p.m. What happened?!
Well — one, I got caught up in Selling Tampa. I watched seven episodes today… I don’t *love* Selling Sunset, but Tampa is much stronger. I don’t know if I like it, or if I’m just watching it because I’m avoiding the news.
Which leads me to reason number two — has anyone else been doomsday texting all their friends? It feels like the world is imploading again.
At work we’re gearing up for another wave and my team is hunkering down to create TV programming in place of other programs that we’d normally offer. I’m still going to be going in to office. I’m triple vaxxed (max vaxed) and trust the PPE and protocols they have at work. I’m just not looking forward to reducing my life.
We got an email yesterday saying our in-person MBA classes would now be online again. I’m waiting to hear that Girl Guides is going to swing back to outdoor only or online meetings again. I don’t think I’m going to be sitting in a restaurant anytime soon… All the little things that my extroverted heart craves are being pulled back again. I’m so annoyed.
I was so looking forward to the holidays but I’ve completely lost the spark. So that’s the thrid reason this is late. It’s taken me a lot longer than I’d like to admit to put together my Holiday watch guide.
Anyways — here we are. It’s 7:30 p.m. and I’m hitting send.
I’m skipping next week’s newsletter. I’m working Christmas Eve at the hospital — it’s one of the busiest days of the year for my team and with all the burn out, I’m jumping in to help out. I’m also on MBA vaca! I sent in my last paper of the term on Wednesday night! I’m ready to relax. I’m ready to chill out for two weeks before next semester. I deserve a bit of a break ❤️
So with all that said — enjoy this EXTRA LONG newsletter today… I’ll be back on the 31st.
This week on the blog:
If you are like me, you might not have gotten into the holiday spirit yet. That’s okay. It’s been another weird year.
That’s why I’m here with my annual holiday watch guide!
I’ve got a list of holiday movies to watch and where to find them on the various streaming platforms.
Things to watch this week:
If you want to head out to theatres this weekend, there are three movies to point out. For Marvel fans, Spider-Man: No Way Home is going to be a huge draw; Guillermo del Toro’s new film, Nightmare Alley, is getting a lot of buzz; and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, The Lost Daughter, is out.
I’m going to be staying home this weekend because the movie I want to watch is now streaming on CBC Gem…
Anne Murray: Full Circle is on CBC TV tonight at 8:00 p.m and now streaming on CBC Gem. I knew Anne Murray was a legend, but I didn’t fully appreciate how much of an impact she made on Canadian music until I worked on the Junos earlier this year. I am now *obsessed*. I cannot wait to watch this documentary about her life. Check out the trailer here.
Over on Netflix, The Witcher’s second season is starting to stream today. Watch the trailer here.
On Crave, the first episiode of Chillin Island starts streaming at 10:30 p.m. tonight. This is an unscripted show from HBO about rappers (like Young Thug and Lil Yachty) in nature. Check out the trailer here.
If you are trying to get into the Christmas spirit, A Christmas Story, one of my all-time favourites, is airing at 8:00 p.m. on CBC on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday Greta Gerwig’s Little Women moves from Amazon Prime over to Netflix. This movie quickly became one of my favourites — it was the last movie I saw in theatres before the world shut down in 2020 — and I could watch it over and over again. Instead of a trailer — here’s a Taylor Swift cross over montage.
Also on Wednesday on Netflix — the second season of the controversial Emily in Paris starts streaming. It’s light, it’s fun, it’s really nothing special but I enjoyed watching the first season. I will be tuning in. Watch the trailer here.
Things to watch next week:
As I said up top, because next week is Christmas, I’m taking the week off — but I know a lot of you have the week off so I’ve got a list of things for you to watch next week too!
Going to the theatre on Christmas is a tradition for many and there are a lot of movies out on the 24th, including The Matrix Resurrections, The King's Man, The Tragedy of Macbeth, A Journal for Jordan, and Sing 2.
I will be watching Don’t Look Up on Netflix. This is the big climate change dramedy starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, etc. etc. It has an all-star cast and is a mega project by Adam McKay. It starts streaming on the 24th. Watch the trailer here.
For all Canadian TV fans the annual Christmas tradition of watching a new season of Letterkenny continues. This is the 10th season — which is incredible. Check out the trailer here and watch it all on Saturday the 25th.
I don’t know about you, but I always end up watching a bunch of British content around Christmas. On the 25th on Netflix, Jimmy Carr has a new stand-up comedy special and I can promise you that I will be curling up with this special after all the Christmas chaos is over. It’s called Jimmy Carr: His Dark Material and you can watch the trailer here.
For those of you who lean into the religious aspects of Christmas — the Pope has a new Netflix show. Yup. That’s right. Pope Francis has a show called Stories of a Generation – with Pope Francis that starts streaming on Christmas day. Check out that trailer here.
As per usual, the IIHF World Junior Championship starts on Boxing Day. TSN has all the hockey you could wish for if that is your speed.
One of my favourite traditions in that weird week between Christmas and New Year’s is watching the UK’s Big Fat Quiz of the Year. One day I will get the rights and make it in Canada. It’s a brilliant show. It airs on Channel 4 in the UK on the 26th… so check your usual places (YouTube/Reddit, etc.) for a stream on the 27th.
On Monday the 27th on CBC TV, The Royal Variety Performance airs at 4:00 p.m. It’s another British tradition and one that I enjoy having on in the background if I’m lounging around. There is something for everyone and it’s family friendly (if it’s good enough for the Queen, it’s good enough for anyone).
Last year, Netflix had a satirical movie called Death to 2020. It was excellent and well received so they’re back with Death to 2021. It has been an interesting year to say the least and I think they’ll have lots of stuff to poke fun of. It starts steaming on Monday. Check out a preview clip here.
Other things to check out:
🎶 The Arkells played the Halftime Show at the Grey Cup last weekend. Is it the best live vocals…? no. It was freezing cold and Max isn’t the best singer — but the energy is unmatched. As the show goes on, he gets more and more into it and it builds. They put on a great show and I can imagine that the in-person experience was unreal. Check it out here.
🎶 I always love Tom Power’s interviews and this week, q has a nearly 45-minute interview with Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor. It’s lovely. Watch that here.
The Late Late Show’s Crosswalk Concerts are always gems. This week BTS took to the crosswalk and it was a joy. The slight mocking that happens in normal episodes is taken to the next level. Highly recommend check it out.
🎬 The trailer of the week is for The Lost City. Starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Brad Pitt and Daniel Radcliffe. I already know I’m going to love this film:
📺 I am not a die-hard How I Met Your Mother fan, but I really enjoyed it. I’d say I was a casual watcher but enough of a fan to know all the words to Robin Sparkle’s hit song “Let’s Go to the Mall.” I am however, a MASSIVE fan of Lizzie McGuire so I’m really excited about How I Met Your Father starring Lizzie McGuire Hilary Duff. The trailer dropped this week and I’m into it.
TIK TOK — I really want to talk about TikTok. I need to figure out a way to share my favourite TikToks with you here each week. Are you all into TikTok? We’re going into a new wave — it’s time to get into TikTok if you haven’t yet. Today it’s an easy one. Have you heard of “Bing Bong” / “Byron” TikTok? If you know you know. Regardless this sound has taken over the app. “Byron” is actually President Joe Biden and the Jonas Brothers have officially won this trend by posting a Bing Bong Bryon vid that surpasses all the others.
Have a great weekend,
-Paula
📝📝📝 This newsletter was graciously edited by Emma Sakamoto 📝📝📝
Editor’s Pick:
I’ve had this acoustic version of “Seventeen Going Under” by Sam Fender, featuring Holly Humberstone, on repeat this week. I liked the original recording, but the acoustic treatment is just beautiful.
This newsletter was written by me — Paula Sanderson — a freelance Television Producer and current MBA student based in Toronto. After years of recommending the best shows to my friends, I decided to start a newsletter so everyone could get the recommendations. If you want to learn more about what I do professionally or follow me on the various social channels click here.