Hi All!
Today is the second Friday the 13th in 2020 - which is on-brand for this year. It was pointed out to me that the last Friday the 13th we had in 2020 was March 13th - aka the weekend we went into lockdown. So you know - maybe things will cancel themselves out this time and we’re all going to have great days!
… At least that’s what I’m hoping for 😀
This week I’ve loaded up the ‘other things to check out’ section of this note. Hopefully some will put a smile on your face and make today a little better.
If you ever read any cool articles or see any cool videos - always feel free to send them along! I love it when people pass along cool things - which is why I’m passing along cool things here…
This week on the blog:
Sadly, I’ve got nothing for you. It’s been a weird week - the mix of the US election and this weekend’s beautiful weather, I a) didn’t spend a lot of time watching TV and b) I didn’t watch anything on TV this week that I wanted to talk about 🤷
I expect to have multiple blogs for you next week because I have three shows coming up that I want to talk about. But I also need some blog inspiration - so if you have any shows or pop culture content you want me to talk about let me know. Feel free to send me an email - I’d love to know your thoughts.
Things to keep an eye on this week:
Frankly, there is only ONE thing that I care about this week: The Crown season 4 comes out on Sunday (Nov 15th) on Netflix!!!! This show is spectacular and I’ve been looking forward to it for months. This season, it’s all about the women. HRH Elizabeth II is dealing with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Diana makes her debute. Plus I’m sure we’ll get some fun Princess sass from Anne and Margaret. In anticipation of S4: I’ve watched all their interviews - if you want to watch any Graham Norton and Eli Glasner have good ones with Josh O'Connor (Charles) & Emma Corrin(Diana); I’ve rewatched season 3 in prep for S4; I’ve even pulled out my Royal party supplies (I have a lot from the weddings) to create a watch party at home. If you need a scone recipe for your own watch party - I recommend this one. Expect a write up about it next week because I will 100% have thoughts.
When you’re done with The Crown, you might find this fun. We Are the Champions is a documentary series about odd, quirky, and outrageous competitions. From Executive Producer Rain Wilson (you know him as Dwight on The Office, I love him as the co-creator of SoulPancake), this series looks like the perfect show for 2020 - just pure fun. The show has six episodes - each focusing on a different sport: cheese roll chasing, frog jumping, chili eating, dog dancing, fantasy hair styling, or yo-yo. It starts streaming on Netflix on Tuesday Nov 17th. Watch the trailer here.
In case you missed it, Grey’s Anatomy premiered last night. I’ll say this - I’ve seen S1-6 multiple times and I follow the show loosely (like I know who’s dead/alive etc). I was curious about the pandemic coverage, but the end twist might have done enough to suck me back into the show. If you have ever been a Grey’s fan - it might be worth getting back into it this season.
Other things to check out:
Like many people, I grew up watching Alex Trebek on Jeopardy. Hearing the news of his passing this week was incredibly sad and another ‘I hate 2020’ moment. However, the tributes that came in were beautiful,heart warming and all around wonderful. The Executive Produer did a great one, Tom Power had a good one on q, and The New York Times looked at his impact on pop culuture.
John Mulany has joined the writing staff for Late Night with Seth Meyer’s. This is a very interesting move to me. I’m a big fan of Seth Meyer’s show and I really like John Mulany’s work - especially this bit. So I’m very curious to see how the show evolves with Mulany’s style and humour. Read about it here.
The Bachelorette has been a MESS. I talked about it last week. This week, we got our first look at Tayisha and the internet LOVES her. Big fan of this recap by The Ringer.
Happiest Season trailer dropped this week. It has a great cast (hello Dan Levy!) and an all around fantastic vibe. I love Christmas movies and I’m excited to watch this one - but TBD how I’m going to watch it. In the US, you can stream it on Hulu but apperently it’s getting a theatrical release in Canada on November 25th. With our current case count - I’m going to have to wait until it comes out on a streaming service here. Check out the trailer here.
Also in Christmas/Holiday news. British Christmas Adverts are coming! Cue the tears! First out of the gate, Disney has already made me cry. I’m sure there will be more to come.
The embargo on Hillbilly Elegy ended and the critic reviews of this film were seething. Everyone seems to hate this film. Vanity Fair and Vox both wrote critiques that are worth your read. If you haven’t heard about this film - you can watch the trailer here but maybe don’t go see the movie...
Finally, there were three big things in X Factor Alumni news this week.
1) Harry Styles is the Vogue cover story for Decemeber. The photos and article just dropped today and you better believe I’m going to make an event out of reading the full article. Maybe get some nice English Breakfast tea, curl up with this playlist and then dive in. Read the article here.
2) Little Mix had a reality show on the BBC this fall called The Search, which was all about finding the ‘next’ vocal band. For those of you who are not ‘Mixers’ - Little Mix is a vocal group that was created out of 'rejected’ soloists on the 8th season of X Factor (UK) - much like One Direction (which was created on the 7th UK season) and Fifth Harmony (on the 2nd USA season). To simplify it, the first half of The Search was all about “making a band”: auditioning as a soloist, getting sorted into the right band (girl vocal, girl dance, boy band, mixed group, instruments, or Rap/R&B), then making the final cut for that band. The second half was a ‘battle of the bands’: each week eliminating a band from the competition. Well friends we have a winner and they are worth checking out: Since September. I recommend watching their best two videos here and here. I just have a gut feeling you’ll be hearing from them in the future.
3) Niall Horan hosted a livestream last weekend at the Royal Albert Hall to raise funds for the #WeNeedCrew Relief Fund. Big kudos to him for doing this. I don’t know how much he ended up raising for the fund, but I’ve heard it’s over $4 million CND. If you were curious what the show looked liked, he released this clip of Moral of the Story with Ashe on The Late Late Show.
Have a great weekend,
-Paula