Hey All,
Welcome back to lockdown for those of you reading this in Toronto đˇ. I hate it here - but whatever. Itâs the thing we need to do to keep our community safe and so thatâs what weâre going to do. Weâre going to do our part and watch a bunch of TV on the couch.
Throughout the pandemic, Iâve felt a little guilty - my industry doesnât do anything substantial in a crisis. Weâre not front line workers. However, Iâve flipped that thinking because what we do is create entertainment that allows the people doing the real work to destress, escape, and relax for however long they watch our projects. So thatâs my hope this week. I hope I can give you some things to watch that will help you destress, escape and relax â¤ď¸
As always, let me know what youâve watched - I love to hear from you.
This week on the blog:
Iâve got three posts for you this one: In Wonder, folklore, and Dash and Lily.
Up first: Dash and Lily.
I stumbled upon this a bit late and quite unexpectedly. It was released a few weeks ago, I put on the first episode without knowing much about it but I LOVED it. Itâs a fantastic rom-com. Think To All the Boys I Love Before meets Christmas. Really cute. Without any spoilers hereâs my pitch why you should watch it.
Plus: Back to back Musical documentaries!
The Shawn Mendes doc In Wonder started streaming on Monday on Netflix. Iâve been building this one up and yup - I have a lot of thoughts. Letâs sum it up: I think Shawn the person is wonderful, but I think âShawn Mendesâ the brand needs an overhaul. Iâve got some suggestions and wrote them down here. But then, to add to my thesis that his brand needs work - he then announced that his concert doc would be coming out on the 25th⌠the same day that:
Surprise! Taylor Swift launched a new doc on Disney+ this week and I (obviously) loved it. I mostly cried through it - but thatâs ok because as Taylor said âEverybody needed a good cryâ. A lot of people are calling this a âsecret sessionâ and while Iâve never been to one - I feel like this would be like that. Big fan. I went into detail about why I love this whole project but also I slipped in my all time favourite camp vid. Youâll understand once you read it here.
Like Shawn. Both you and Camila have worked professionally with Taylor and while I donât know how much you keep in touch with her, you know better than to try to release something on the same day. Amateur hour buddy.
If you have to pick one to watch between them hereâs my take: Shawnâs doc is a more traditional doc (story arcs etc), while Taylorâs is more of a sit down discussion of the songwriting process. From a production standpoint, I could argue that Shawnâs was the better âdocâ - but I think Taylorâs does more for her (especially with the Grammy noms) and at the end of the day thatâs the whole point of these things.
Things to keep an eye on this week:
Basically, as of Tuesday, it becomes socially acceptable to watch Holiday films, but letâs be honest weâve already started:
Today you can watch Over Christmas a German Christmas show that starts streaming on Netflix. It looks very cute and has a pessimistic Christmas vibe that I feel in 2020. Check out the trailer here.
CBC is really ramping up their Holiday schedule. Highlights this week include The Great British Baking Show: Holiday Special (various times), Frostyâs Winter Wonderland (Satruday at 6:30), and Home Alone (Sunday at 530pm). There is also a full collection of Holdiay programming now on Gem.
Plus there is a huge dump of Christmas movies happening over on Crave. Too many to list - but Iâm sure youâll find something fun to watch over there. To start you off hereâs a link to their main holiday collection that includes Home Alone, Love Actually, and Die Hard.
If Holiday shows arenât your thingâŚ
Season two of Virgin River drops today on Netflix. Itâs very âcabin in the woodsâ isolating. I tried watching season one and couldnât get it into it, but I know people love this series. If youâre into Hallmark Movies - this might be something for you.
Netflix has a new reality show out today from India - Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives. It looks incredible. If you are a fan of watching rich wives - this looks like a great addition to the genre. Netflix India has been creating a lot of great stuff this year and this feels like another winner.
Related - in case you missed it, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City premiered a few weeks ago. Weâre stalking season one - so itâs very easy to get into. Episode four airs on Wednesday - so this is a great time to catch up and get into it. Itâs all the best parts of the Housewives - but with Mormons. If you do choose to dive in, youâll be in good company - Emma Stone was on Jimmy Fallon this week raving about it.
Other things to check out:
In industry news - Netflix India has been in the news this week because of a controversy surrounding A Suitable Boy. Two senior officials at Netflix India were booked by police - and itâs a political issue. The New York Times wrote about it, as did the Guardian. If youâre curious about the film - it is streaming on Netflix and you watch the trailer here.
I adore Matt Galloway, and while Iâm sad heâs no longer hosting CBCâs Metro Morning he is obviously a great host for The Current. This week, he interviewed former US President Barack Obama and it was phenomenal. Galloway is a gifted interviewer and Obama is a pro at answer questions - listen to the full conversation here. Plus for some more Obama joy - watch this clip from Kimmel.
In music - BTS released a new jam called Life Goes On. Iâm really into it, it just feels like good vibes. Plus - I just think the message of âLife Goes Onâ is what we all need right now. Watch the music video here. But they also did a really cool prefomance of Life Goes On and their hit Dynamite on The Late Late Show. Youâre going to want to watch that too - check it out here.
JoJo Siwa released her cover of Where Are You Christmas? yesterday - which Iâm going to use as an excuse to plug my favourite JoJo (the ICONIC Leave (Get Out) singer. Bachelorette JoJo comes in at #2). JoJo and JoJo Siwa sat down a few months ago for a 20 minute convo. Itâs a must watch.
A few people sent this to me and I am obessed with it: Rolling Stone magazine ranked all of Taylor Swifts songs. I might reorder this list - but Iâm very into #1. Read it here.
Also in rankings and lists - the New York Times did a really interesting interactive piece on âThe 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century (So Far).â It caused a lot of discussion online - and I was very into it. My only complaint - where is Meryl? Check it out here Here.
I donât know if this would make a âtop 25 bestâ list, but⌠they are making a Clifford The Big Red Dog live action movie and their âfirst lookâ just came out. Itâs⌠something. I just have a lot of questions about it. Watch it here then email me because⌠well. Itâs something.
Iâm really looking forward to seeing The Prom and Netflix has a new trailer for it. If anything, James Cordonâs last holiday musical was Cats so Iâm going to go ahead and say this will be much better.
No Christmas ads this week, but this German Covid ad is fantastic - watch it here.
Iâve been talking to a lot of friends about gifting lately - my favourite blogger - Carly - has really good ideas and inspiration. Iâd take her gift guide but then find similar products that are from local small buisness.
Lastly, Iâve got some fun TikTok accounts to share. 1) Iâm obsessed with Deanna Giuletti. Sheâs a musical theatre actress in Massachusetts and an all-around fantastic human. She creates joyful and confident outfits of the day - OOTD - or as she says âOO-TA-DAsâ. They are always at least a 10/10. Peep the shoe and check her out honey! 2) Although Iâm not a corporate gal, Corporate Natalie always makes me laugh. Between her and Rod - my algorithm now gives me lots of corporate recs but I donât care because I just want more of those two. 3) I sometimes think âmaybe I should become a TikTokerâ and then I see Annaâs videos and itâs an instant ânope never mindâ because she is SO good at everything and Iâm ok with her ruling the app.
Have a great weekend!
-Paula