Hi All,
Happy Friday! It’s been an extremely busy week for me.
At work, we had a big guest come into the studio. I don’t know you if you remember my newsletter from December when I talked about a show that didn’t go well… well I had my redemption arc. This week, the big guest show went really well. It taught me some important lessons about making TV and I’m moving forward with a plan.
This week was also week two of the Canadian Media Producers Association’s annual conference so I’ve been busy with panels and zoom events. Last night I got to see the premiere of CBC’s The Porter — it’s good. I think it’s going to make a splash.
I also took on a job doing some social media management for a former show of mine and I’m really excited to be working with my old team again.
So basically all that to say, it’s been BUSY — and I’m so excited to be able to curl up with the Olympics and a glass of wine tonight.
Frankly, I’ll be watching rom-coms all weekend. Some of those rom-coms will be movies, others will be just in my head as I project romantic storylines on Olympians.
Basically, I will be watching this on repeat and hoping for a new couple to stan. (But let’s be honest… where is the biopic?! Hello… Telefilm? How do I get funding for this… )
I digress.
Let’s get into it.
This week on the blog:
UGH — I’m really feeling that personal guilt and pressure here. I am struggling to put out blogs right now. I don’t really know why. I think I spend too much time writing these newsletters and then run out of time/steam to write blog posts. I don’t have an update on my Marvel journey because I took a pause. I also have wayyyyy too many thoughts swirling around my head about Canadian TV after the conference all week… sigh. I’ll get there. I need to just find my flow.
BUT because I want to give you something, I’m going to give you a few archive posts instead:
1 - Here is my 2021 Valentine’s Day watch guide. If you need a rom-com, this is a pretty good list.
2 - In 2019, I wrote a post about my favourite Valentine’s Day rom-com — Valentine’s Day. It is a 2009 Gary Marshall film and it is just so comfy. I adore it.
Things to watch this week:
The Olympics continue and because the competition hours are all either super early or super late, so does my caffeine addition…
Tonight you can check out men’s hockey: USA vs Canada. This would have been a killer match-up if the NHL boys were there… ugh. Could you IMAGINE?! Like honestly, with all the doom and gloom in the world that would have been the bright light we needed… but OF COURSE (like always), the women have to step up and carry Team Canada and the Olympics and our women’s hockey team is crushing it. Make a note in your calendar — medal games are taking place on Wednesday.
Plus while I’ll watch most things, the big event I’ll be waking up for and watching is Ice Dance. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are reuniting and joining the CBC commentary team to add their insights. Tune into the short program at 6 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday) morning and the finals aka the free program is Sunday night at 8:15 p.m.
There are so many sports worth checking out this week so once again, here’s the link for the full schedule.
I’ve come to appreciate that I need something to watch from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. when the Olympics are not on so here’s the pre-show 😉
Today on Netflix, check out the wild based-on-a-true-story, Inventing Anna. Shonda Rhimes and co have taken on the story of the "fake heiress" Anna Delvey, aka Anna Sorokin and have focused on the becoming of this persona rather than the con itself. Reviews have been stellar. I’m excited to watch this one. Check out the trailer here.
Last week, the reality smash Love is Blind launched its Japanese format, this week the OG is back for season two. It starts streaming today on Netflix. Watch the trailer here.
Over on Crave, check out season 2 of Dollface. Starring Kat Dennings, Brenda Song, Shay Mitchell, and Esther Povitsky, this show is about a group of late twenty-somethings as they navigate the world post-pandemic. I didn’t see season one but because of the buzz around season two, I’m circling back to check it out it. Watch the trailer here.
Today on CBC Gem, a show I’ve had my eye on for a while finally starts streaming: Best in Miniature. Made in Canada, friends of mine helped cast this competition show about making miniatures. There are 10 episodes and it looks like the perfect weekend watch:
On Sunday, the new remake of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Bel-Air, starts airing. STACKTV/Amazon here in Canada (Peacock in the States). I’m not sold yet. I think the trailer looks a bit ridiculous, but who knows. It feels like a CW show and those often do reasonably well with teen audiences. Check out the trailer here.
More importantly, Sunday is Super Bowl LVI. Watch the Cincinnati Bengals face off against the home team, the Los Angeles Rams on CTV here in Canada. Kick-off is at 6:30 p.m. but if you want the full show, tune in around 5:30/6ish. Mickey Guyton, Jhené Aiko, and Mary Mary are all a part of the preshow (think American anthem etc). The Half-time show is a mega-mix headlined by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. I will be tuning in to the game, but I have to admit I’m slightly confused. Why would the powers that be stack two of the biggest sporting events in the world? NBC has the American rights to the football game, but also the Olympic Games… so that feels odd. I have questions… but what this means for me is that I’ll be flipping channels.
Finally, on Wednesday the new Kanye West doc is streaming on Netflix.
I personally will not be watching Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye West Trilogy, but I know a lot of people will be. He’s such a polarizing figure in pop culture and to his own detriment, he’s in an ugly public custody battle. Let’s just say… I’m on team Kim. But while I find him insufferable, I know others find his behaviour and art fascinating. If you’re in that camp — you might get into this. Watch the trailer here.
Other things to check out:
🎶 Canadian singer-dancer Tate McRae continues to be a ‘one-to-watch’. Her new song “she's all i wanna be” is such an earworm. I cannot stop listening to it. It’s been all over TikTok, but the full song is even better. Check out her video here.
🎶 One of my all-time favourites, Vance Joy, is putting out new music and it’s making me very excited about his concert this summer. His new song “Don’t Fade” is the song I’ve been listening to when I need to turn Tate off. Watch the video here.
🎶 So it’s not new music, but Taylor Swift is now on Ed Sheeran’s “The Joker and the Queen”. There is a really cute easter egg/call back to their “Everything Has Changed” vid… but — shoutout to the University of New Brunswick which makes a cameo. That’s the CanCon I’m here for. Watch it here.
🎬 The Academy announced its nominations for the Oscars. Here’s the full list.
🎬 If you’re excited about the origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the full trailer for Lightyear came out this week. Watch that here.
📺 The Amanda Seyfried lead biopic of Elizabeth Holmes has a trailer and it is spectacular. I am already counting down the days until we get to see it. Check out The Dropout trailer here.
📺 Adele was on The Graham Norton Show. I adore her. There are two clips and both are fantastic. Watch her explain why she disappears here and watch her talk about her Vegas show and potential second baby here.
📰 This long-form piece from the New Yorker on AOC is fantastic. It’s long but it’s good. It’s been five years since she went from bartender to the face of the American left and it documents her incredible rise.
🏅 I love watching skating… if you somehow missed American Nathan Chan’s Gold medal free skate, it’s a MUST watch. Just incredible.
🏅 Finally, Canada’s first Gold Medal of the 2022 Olympics was won by Max Parrot in Snowboard Slopestyle. His story of overcoming Hodgkin's lymphoma to win a Gold is incredible. There are a lot of reasons to be impressed with him, but I’ve got my own story: Parrot was a featured athlete on a show I worked on and he earned my respect by telling off a particularly problematic cast member. He’s a golden person and now has the hardware to match. Watch him win gold here… and then wade into the controversy with Mark McMorris here.
Have a great weekend,
-Paula
📝📝📝 This newsletter was NOT edited by Emma Sakamoto because I didn’t have time to send it to her. Please don’t judge my spelling/grammar/other mistakes 📝📝📝
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.