The Bachelor Drama is happening off-screen this week
Plus - Plus a final letter To All The Boys I Loved Before
Hi All,
I feel like we’re in a bit of a snowglobe today here in Toronto and I love it. It’s not too cold, it’s not too windy, it’s just soft snowflakes that make you want to stick your tongue out and catch them.
So here’s what I’m recommending — go put on all your winter gear (get your snow pants out of storage!) and go for a walk or a toboggan ride. It’s the perfect day for it. Just get out there and enjoy the snow ❄️
Then come home, make a big mug of hot chocolate. If you have a fireplace, light it. Get COZY and lean into the winter vibes. Then settle in with some TV :)
Let’s get to it.
This week on the blog:
So wow, there was a HUGE implosion of Bachelor Nation this week. Normally the drama is on-screen, but this week it’s all been happening off-screen.
Frankly, Chris Harrison did it to himself and I have little to no “grace” for him.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about — I’ve got you. If you do know what I’m talking about, I’ve got you too. I’m breaking down all the drama this week surrounding The Bachelor, giving you all the background info and context you need to keep up at the Zoom water cooler, and I’m talking about some of my hopes for where this might take the show. Read them all here 🌹🌹🌹
Also on the blog, I have some thoughts on To All The Boys: Always and Forever. Basically, it made me sob but I’m not sure if it was the movie or 2021. Read that here.
Things to watch this week:
As always on Fridays, I’ve been watching RuPaul’s Drag Race/Drag Race UK. Both are fantastic this year. Go catch up if you haven’t started. I also know a lot of you are excited about watching the new episode of WandaVision.
On Amazon Prime, Rosamund Pike stars in the new dark comedy thriller I Care A Lot. It looks very intense. I’m into it. It’s out today. Watch the trailer here.
If you want something totally light to watch, all five seasons of The Muppet Show start streaming today over on Disney+. As they say… It’s time to play the music. It’s time to light the lights. Get into the mood with this.
On Saturday night — Regé-Jean Page (Bridgerton’s Duke of Hastings) and Bad Bunny are on SNL. I’m very curious to see what they get Page to do. This will be a big breakout moment for him and I’ll be watching.
On Sunday evening, the documentary series Allen v. Farrow starts on HBO/Crave. If the name didn’t give it away — it’s about the legal battle between Woody Allen and Mia Farrow. Watch the trailer here.
Ok — so this is my MUST WATCH of the week. From HBO Nordic we finally get the TV adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s Beartown on Monday. Beartownis about a hockey-obsessed small town in Sweden and how the townspeople deal with a specific secret. It looks incredible. I am SO SO SO excited. Watch the trailer here — but if you haven’t read the book, go get the book today, read it this weekend, and THEN watch the trailer/show.
For superhero fans, on Tuesday we get a new DC/CW show — Superman & Lois. It airs in Canada on CTV Sci-Fi. It looks like a lot of fun. Check out the trailer here.
Also on Tuesday, sports fans can get excited about the documentary Pelé on Netflix. I don’t even need to tell you who this is about… Watch the trailer here.
But really the BIG Tuesday news is that Disney+ is expanding and launching “Star” and there are honestly WAY too many things worth watching for me to list them all out. But just scanning the list, I’m already clearing space to watch Love, Victor, Criminal Minds, Greek, M*A*S*H, Ugly Betty, and Scrubs. It is a LONG list — get excited.
Lastly, on Wednesday — there is a new mother-daughter show called Ginny & Georgia. Yes, they are leaning into their Gilmore Girls dynamic, no it doesn’t look as good as Gilmore Girls. But I’ll still watch it. Watch the trailer here.
Other things to check out:
When I was a kid, I was obsessed with 101 Dalmations. It was my all-time favourite Disney movie. I had multiple 101 Dalmatians–themed birthday parties. So I am BEYOND excited to see Cruella, the new origin story movie starring Emma Stone. The trailer is amazing.
We also got a new trailer to Mare of Easttown — Kate Winslet’s new TV show for HBO. It looks fantastic. Watch it here and get excited for April.
HBO has a new teen TV show called Generationcoming out in March. The trailer is a lot. I love a teen show but I’m not sure if this one's for me. I think if you like Euphoria this might be for you.
Emmy Winner (!!!) Annie Murphy of Schitt’s Creek fame has a leading role in a new black comedy from AMC, Kevin Can F*** Himself. I’m excited for Annie to grow her career and this project looks like a lot of fun. We’ll get to see it in the summer but for now, check out the trailer here.
So… Demi Lovato has another YouTube documentary coming out. This one is called Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil and it’s all about her getting clean. I’ll be honest — it makes me sad. She had a doc three years ago called Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated and it was all about how she got clean… It just feels like maybe she shouldn’t do a doc. I understand wanting to stay busy, open, and accountable but I feel like with each doc things get crazier and I don’t love that for her. I’m curious, so I’ll probably watch it, but I feel extremely weird about it. Dancing with the Devil drops on March 23rd. Watch the trailer here.
In other “I feel weird about this” pop culture — Claudia Conway, aka Kellyanne’s kid, was on American Idol this week. It was a true “I don’t want to watch this but I can’t look away” moment. If you are on TikTok you’ve probably come across Claudia at some point, she’s been very vocal. It’s just wild to see her and her parents in this context. I don’t know if you want to watch this, but I think you should know that this is something that is happening because she’s “Going to Hollywood!” This story is going to continue and you know AI is going to milk it.
Let’s take a hard left.
For all the space nerds out there you probably already watched this, but in case you missed it — there is a new rover on Mars! It landed yesterday and it was a *big* deal in certain circles. Watch the full landing here.
Awkwafina was on Hot Ones this week. She’s a joy and this show is a joy and it’s just wonderful. Watch it here.
This is a great article about the Canadian TV/Movie biz from the Toronto Star.
I ended up watching and loving a long 30-minute long YouTube video by Tom Scott talking about influencers and ads called “YouTubers have to declare ads. Why doesn't anyone else?”. It was fascinating. Watch it here.
I’ve got another Pandemic Fatigue article for those of you who need a boost. I followed journalist Hannah Sung before the pandemic, but I’ve been very impressed with her lately and she has become one of my favourite people on the internet. Her weekly newsletter is well worth your time. Last week she wrote about “3 ways to beat pandemic fatigue” and it was exactly what I needed. Go sign up :)
Lastly, most of you know that I’m a Girl Guide leader in my spare time, but you might not know that February 22nd is “Thinking Day”. This is the day the international Girl Guide and Scout communities celebrate the global organization and come together. Normally we have events with hundreds of people, but this year I’ve got quite a few Zoom parties to go to and programs to run. It’s a big thing in the org. So in honour of the occasion this year, many buildings across Canada will be lit up blue (the Girl Guides’ colour) on Monday night as part of “Guiding Lights”. In Toronto, we’ve got City Hall, the CN Tower, the Toronto Sign, the Canada Life Building, and Casa Loma glowing blue. So if you happen to see a Blue building on your adventures that day, send me a photo :)
Have a great weekend,
-Paula
📝📝📝 This newsletter was graciously edited by Emma Sakamoto 📝📝📝
Editors Pick:
I love a good slice-of-life anime or a sweet high school rom com — but sometimes you just need a fun battle shounen anime. I’ve been watching Jujutsu Kaisen (streaming on Crunchyroll). If you liked Bleach, you’ll probably like this. It even features an overpowered red-haired protagonist fighting supernatural creatures… but I’m in it for the friendship-is-magic vibes and the fantastic end-credit song. Try not to dance to this.