It's been a while... let me explain.
Time to get back into it and get this ball rolling again ❤️
Hi All,
It’s been a while since my last email and I’ve really missed sending these out.
I always start these emails with a little update but unfortunately this week’s is not a good one. The main reason I stopped writing the newsletter for the past six(ish) weeks is that my dad died in June after a two year battle with MSA.
My dad was a huge supporter of the newsletter and would always email me back his thoughts on whatever I talked about that week. There was the time I wrote about a Dylan song and he was (hilariously) disappointed it was not ‘his’ Dylan “I’ve been punked!”. Often it was a note about how he taped something for me based on an update — Kenneth Branagh on Bill Maher or a SNL episode.
People always talk about how ‘firsts’ are hard after the death of a loved one, and it’s been hard to put together and send out my ‘first’ newsletter that he won’t read.
On top off that, because I’ve obviously been off in my own world for a little while, I feel really out of the loop with what shows are coming out. I don’t know what to write about.
I’ve also been having a really hard time with my ability to focus in general lately. I have a long list of things I need to do, but I’ve been struggling to get anything done that requires focus.
Anyways — here we are. It’s time to hit send and get this ball rolling again.
I will say though, before we move on, that I was once again reminded how much TV and entertainment in general helps people. As I said, I haven’t wanted to do much, but I have watched a lot of reality TV. It’s the perfect amount of stupid and interesting. I know other people in similar situations have found their joy in TV — whatever type of show that might be for them. I’ve been reading again, listening to podcasts while on walks, just generally escaping into other worlds and I so appreciate all the creators out there making things.
Let’s get into it.
Things to watch this week:
Let’s start with Netflix. The big movie of the week is The Grey Man, Ryan Gosling’s new action movie. Watch the trailer here.
We’ve also got a new season of the Canadian-made Blown Away. Check out the trailer here.
On Amazon is a new show called Anything’s Possible. It’s a coming of age rom-com directed by Billy Porter. The show follows a “confident high school girl who is trans, as she navigates through senior year.” It looks SO cute. I’m into it. Watch the trailer here.
Over on Crave, there is an important PSA: The Spy Kids franchise is now streaming. I loved this series as a kid. Movies 1 & 2 were iconic.
And if you want to beat the heat and sit in a cold movie theatre, Jordan Peele’s new movie Nope is now out. Staring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Steven Yeun, fans of horror will be all over this! Watch the trailer here.
On Wednesday, the 3rd season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series drops on Disney+. I’m secretly hoping that Zac Efron’s most recent Instagram post is a secret teaser to a cameo this season… but I’m into this anyways because it’s set a camp (obviously). Check out the trailer here.
Also on Disney+, film nerds should check out Light & Magic a show all about the special effects that made some of the classic movies so special. Watch the trailer here..
On Wednesday over on Netflix, we’ve got the 3rd season of Dream Home Makeover. I have to say, I’m obsessed with the Studio McGee design style. There is just something about the homes they do, that I adore. Totally unrealistic in Toronto, but for Utah… stunning. I cannot wait to see what they make this season. There isn’t a trailer, but you can get the idea by looking at the pretty photos on Instagram…
Finally, on Thursday Crave has the series premiere of HBO' Max’s Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin. I loved the original. It got *crazy* but it was a really fun show and I’m hopeful this will be just as fun. Watch the trailer here.
Plus… because I missed it… my all time favourite show Friday Night Lights is now on Crave. Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t Loose.
Other things to check out:
🎶 Billie Eilish has new music out and I’m really into it. I’m also have had Lizzo’s new album on repeat all week. Highly recommend.
🎬 We’ve got a few trailers that are worth pointing out to upcoming projects:
First coming out of comic-con, we’ve got two big trailers: 1 we’ve got a trailer for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and the Game of Thrones spin off House of Dragon.
Then of course I always a Harry Styles update for you and this week we’ve got a new trailer for Don’t Worry Darling and the news that his movie My Policeman will have it’s global premiere at TIFF. Industry friends — I am ready and available to be your plus one to that screening/panel/party/anything.
📺 Huge news coming out of the Canadian Film Centre — tutition for thier prestigious programs is now covered. This is massive in helping get more people into our industry. If you have a Globe and Mail subscription, you can read more about it here or check out the press release here.
📻 One topic that will always fire me up is talking about the Canadian star system (or lack thereof) and I’ve really enjoyed discovering and listening to Steve Patterson (of CBC’s The Debators) podcast The Canadian Star System.
🗳️ This might be one of the best political ads I’ve ever seen. It’s incredibly well made, clever, and might just take down a certain doctor running in Pennsylvania.
⚽ Some people on the internet are saying FIFA 23 doesn’t have any major updates, but I love seeing the woman’s teams represented and as The Gist says, this is huge.
🏊♀️ Lastly, I loved this Toronto Star article about the joy of Toronto’s outdoor pools. I hope you all beat the heat this weekend and get to swimming.
Have a great weekend,
-Paula
p.s. As always you can get in touch by hitting reply. I’d love to hear what you’ve all been up to the last few weeks.
p.p.s And… a note on editing: We’ll get back to edits with Emma and a more polished newsletter next week — this week’s motto is “Done is better than perfect” hope you all can understand ❤️
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.