Hi All!
Happy Friday! Happy PATIOS ARE OPEN!!!!! The weather is stunning, we can finally go to Home Sense, and I am ready for some *good things* to happen. Itās been a pretty heavy news week here in Canada, especially here in Ontario, and Iām really looking forward to appreciating the little things.
I get so excited any time friends text me that theyāve gotten their 1st vaccine and itās even more thrilling when I hear theyāve got vax #2. I just feel like weāre *maybe* a little bit closer to having some normalcy back and boy do we all need it.
So as much as Iāve got a lot of fun things for us to watch this week and check out on the internet, maybe you should save this list for a day when itās raining and enjoy the little bit of sun and fun weāre being given this weekend. Itās been a long time in lockdown and weāre finally near the end of it.
Letās get to it.
This week on the blog:
Iāve got a list post for you this week. Itās Pride Month and my friend Jenn asked me to put together a list of my favourite shows made by, featuring, or starring 2SLGBTQ+ people. You can read the list here.
My list is not even going to scratch the surface of all the wonderful things you can watch, these are just my favourite shows. So that being said, I want to know what your favourite shows are and what I should check out next :) As always, send me an email and let me know!
If you ever have an idea or want me to talk about something, hit reply to this email and let me know! I love putting together blog posts with specific people in mind ā¤ļøĀ
Things to watch this week:
OKAY! Iāve been waiting for this week. There are quite a few things I want to watch. The one weekend I want to stay in and watch TV is the weekend patios open in Ontario. Weāll finally have a balance of things to watch and things to do!
Off the top, the must-watch of the week has to be In the Heights. This is the movie of the summer and after many delays, itās FINALLY coming out. Directed by Jon Chu, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and starring Anthony Ramos, Iām so excited to see this. Itās an on-demand movie and you can ārentā it for the weekend for $24.99 CAD. If you donāt want to pay that and are patient, it will eventually end up on Crave. Check out the trailer here.
On Netflix, Iāve been eagerly awaiting part two of Lupin ever since the part one cliffhanger ending. The wait is over. It starts streaming today on Netflix. If you missed part one, it was one of my favourites from the winter and itās well worth your time. Iām so excited to see what Assane will be up to this season. Watch the part two trailer here.
Also on Netflix is a new Indian sports drama, Skater Girl. I was completely captivated by the trailer and this feels like a really fun girl power/coming-of-age movie. Check out the trailer here.
If you want more girls skateboarding, Crave has the second season of HBOās critically acclaimed Betty. Episodes drop at 11 p.m. on Fridays. Watch the trailer here.
For fans of Gossip Girl, Crave now has seasons one through six streaming so you can catch up in time for the reboot in July. Xoxo you know you love the OG.
Perhaps your teen show of choice was The O.C. Well Iāve got something for you too. On Crave, Adam Brody stars in the movie The Kid Detective. This movie originally came out last fall in theatres and On Demand but itās now streaming for the masses. Watch the trailer here.
If you want some live TV and cute dogs, this weekend is The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. There are events all weekend on Fox, but the main event (aka the grand finale) takes place on Sunday night at 7 p.m.
I completely forgot to include this in last weekās newsletter, but if you are a fan of the show you obviously knew that The Bachelorette is back! Weāve met the men and now Bachelorette Katie needs to start narrowing down the field. This is a great week to jump in, nothing major has happened (on the showā¦ off the show itās another story), and itās easy to pick up. Grab your glass of rosĆ© and tune into ABC/CityTV on Monday night at 8 p.m. for all the fun. If youāre watching the show, send me an email and let me know who youāre rooting for.
Monday night is also the season finale of the secnd season of Below Deck: Sailing Yacht. I am both so excited to watch it all go down and devastated itās over. This was one of the best seasons of Below Deck in years. The drama was wild, the cast was phenomenal, and I really hope we get some of these kids back next year. You can watch it at 9 p.m. on Bravo or like me, on Tuesday on Hayu.
Lastly, on Wednesday weāve got a really cute penguin show called Penguin Townon Netflix. Like, if you want a relaxing and mindless show ā this might be the perfect fit. Youāve got eight full episodes of adorable African penguins to enjoy. Watch the trailer here.
Plus as always weāve got all our weekly shows, and of course hockey games! Iām begrudgingly cheering for the Habs now that all the other Canadian teams are out. Iām still bitter the Leafs arenāt at this stage but Iām THRILLED Boston is done.
Other things to check out:
So yesterday was WILD. There were honestly so many announcements of cool things coming out that I feel like I couldnāt keep up. Letās break a few of them down.
The biggest news of the week is that Much Music is coming back. You can read the press release here, but the gist is that they are partnering with TikTok to create a digital-first strategy (much like TSNās BarDown). Itās brilliant and I want to work with them. Lots to break down there later.
Canadaās Got Talent is coming back. Itās being reported that Simon Cowell will be a part of this version. A friend of mine is doing pre-casting for the show, so if youāve got talent, get in touch and Iāll send you in her direction. To get you excited, this clip from Americaās Got Talent has been going viral this week and itās very moving.
Lorde has new music. :Solar Powerā is her lead single and itās going to be the song of the summer. Iāll call it now. Itās so good. Just the perfect chill song. It just feels very summer 2021. Especially the line: āForget all of the tears that youāve cried, itās over (over, over, over). Itās a new state of mind.ā Lots of people will be using that as their Instagram caption this weekend. That being saidā¦ the song leaked early and it caused a bit of internet chaos.
We got a full trailer for the new Gossip Girl. Itās dropping on July 8th. I loved this show back in the day and Iām very curious about the reboot.
Also in reboots, the MTV Canada classic 1 Girl 5 Gays is coming back as 1 Queen 5 Queers. Brooke Lynn Hytes is the Queen hosting and Iām excited to see where the show goes. etalk has a basic FAQ about what we know so far.
Never Have I Ever announced their season two date: July 15th. I canāt wait.
Vulture has a great article breaking down the pool scene from In the Heights.
I love Leenda Dong on TikTok and this Complex article about her career is fascinating. Totally worth your time to read it.
The Rosie OāDonnell Show premiered 25 years ago this week. Anne T. Donahue wrote an excellent article about itās cultural impact.
Everyone is buzzing about Bo Burnham. As they should. Heās incredible. Iāve loved everything heās done recently (Eighth Grade should have been nominated for an Oscar and you know how much I adored Promising Young Woman) and I love that heās getting back to his roots and making internet comedy again. His āWhite Woman's Instagramā song is getting a lot of buzz and I get it. Itās very clever. I havenāt had the chance to see his full show but itās high on my to-watch list.
The Junos last weekend were wonderful. I have lots of thoughts on it, but I wanted to draw your attention to two performances. One ā The Tragically Hip and Feist performed together at Massey Hall and it was spectacular. Two ā JP Saxe had his āIām hereā moment. Expect to see a lot more of him. He had one of the biggest songs of 2020 and his performance of āIf the World Was Endingā was incredibly well produced. Itās a 10/10.
Have a great weekend,
-Paula
ššš This newsletter was graciously edited by Emma Sakamoto ššš
Editorās Pick:Ā
This week, the Canadian section of the International Board on Books for Young People released an update to their great Indigenous Picture Books catalogue. The updated PDF catalogue now features 125 picture books by Indigenous authors and illustrators, including additions from the 2018ā2020. This is a great starting point if youāre looking for Indigenous books for your kids or your students or yourself.