Hi All,
I think we’re all exhausted this week. Particularly this week. It’s just been a lot. I got some frustrating personal news but I’ve also had some energizing conversations with friends and new connections. The idea of riding the Covid-coaster and taking things one day at a time has never been more true.
365 days ago, I finished my last day of work onAll Round Champion. We gave the kids one last hug and sent them all home. As a cast team, we went out for lunch at East Side Mario’s, completely oblivious to the world around us. I remember looking up at the TV on the bar and seeing the “breaking news” that the NBA had shut down and feeling shocked. I was so surprised because I had been in such a production bubble for the last week, just trying to get to the finish line, that I had zero clue what was going on in the world. That evening the crew went to a bar in Toronto for a wrap party. I was so tired and wasn’t going to go — I could meet up with them later, I had been up on the Thursday night till 2 a.m. with the kids just talking, and I just didn’t feel like it. But I forced myself to go because our industry is all about networking and I hadn’t lined up my next job yet — I figured I should go, be friendly, and make some connections.
Well obviously I had a blast and stayed late and I’m so glad I did. I haven’t been in a bar since and I haven’t had an on-set job, or contract longer than four weeks since. It’s been a *rough* year with a lot of stress in my personal life and not having steady employment… and also dealing with the collective trauma of the global pandemic on top of everything else.
However — last March I fired up the blog again. I came up with lists of what to watch during the “two weeks'“ we were going to stay at home. Over time those lists evolved into this newsletter you are now reading.
While things have been hard, I’ll say this over and over — I’m so glad you’re here. This little newsletter has been a passion project for me and has given me something to do when I literally have nothing else going on. It also makes me feel good to know I’m putting these lists and blogs together for you.
So thank you for all the kind emails you’ve sent, the positive affirmations that I’m on the right track, and the general enthusiasm you’ve all shown. It truly means a lot to me and I’m so touched you’ve chosen to open this ❤️
Ok — let’s get to it.
This week on the blog:
Obviously, I’m talking about the Meghan and Prince Harry interview with Oprah. I honestly have so many things to say that this blog might be one of my longest yet. I lay out why I care about the Royals, my thoughts on the things that they said, my thoughts on Oprah, and my opinions on the industry side of this (ratings, production costs, etc).
Read it here.
Things to watch this week:
So now that you’ve all finished WandaVision, you have to watch Assembled: The Making of WandaVision. That’s out today on Disney+. I didn’t watch WandaVision because I’m not a Marvel person, but I’m very curious about the people who make it so I’ll be watching this. Watch the trailer here.
We’ve got a few movies out today.
On Netflix, Jennifer Garner’s new family movie Yes Day looks really cute. It’s all about parents who have to say YES to everything their kids suggest for a full day. Watch the trailer here.
On Crave, we’ve got The Broken Hearts Gallery. This is a YA rom-com produced by Selena Gomez. It came out On Demand earlier in the year but this is the first time it’s streaming. Check out the trailer here.
If you don’t want a movie, on Netflix we’ve got a new series called The One out today. It’s a sci-fi show set in the future about using DNA to find your perfect match. Looks creepy in an interesting way. Watch the trailer here.
My one thing to watch this week is on Sunday. Love them or hate them, it’s theGrammy Awards! This year my favourite producer, Ben Winston, is executive producing and he’s (obviously) got Harry Styles opening the show. We've also got performances from Taylor Swift, Marren Morris, Megan Thee Stallion, BTS, Cardi B, and more. Hosted by Trevor Noah, you can check it out at 8 p.m. on CityTV.
On Monday, season one of The Lost Pirate Kingdom premiers on Netflix. It’s a documentary with lots of reenactment all about the golden age of pirates. I’m really excited to watch this — it looks like perfect escapism. Check out the trailer here.
On Tuesday, I’m going to check out Waffles + Mochi on Netflix. This is a kid’s show, but it’s Michelle Obama’s food show for kids and I’m so curious. It has a Jim Henson vibe with the puppets and I’m just very interested in seeing what this show does. The Obama’s production company has created excellent documentaries (Crip Camp being my favourite) and I wonder what their kids’ offerings will be like. Check out the trailer here.
For true crime fans, we’ve got a new Netflix murder show on Wednesday. Under Suspicion: Uncovering the Wesphael Case. It’s about a Belgian politician who murders his wife.
Also on Wednesday on Netflix, Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal starts streaming. You know this case — it’s the one that took down Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman. It’s made by the same producers as Fyre Festival and Tiger King so you know it will be big. I’m super curious about this and will 100% watch this. Check out the trailer here.
Finally on Thursday for all you nerds out there — we’ve got Zack Snyder's Justice League starting to stream on Crave. If you know the drama around this film, then you’re probably excited to see this. Cole’s Notes — this movie bombed when it first came out in 2017, but there were huge production issues. The director, Zack Snyder, stepped away from the project and Joss Whedon finished it. Fans wanted to know what a ‘Snyder’s Cut’ would look like and here we are. So this is the same movie, but with Snyder’s editing and original vision. Truly for the nerds. Watch the trailer here.
Other things to check out:
K-pop fans — Rosé from BLACKPINK has her first solo song. It’s called “On The Ground”and I’m very curious how much play this will get in “mainstream” pop as this song is fully in English. I wonder if this will be her huge crossover moment. Check it out here.
Hamilton’sDaveed Diggs and Emmy Raver-Lampman did an open door tour of their home for AD. It’s stunning. That Hamilton money is gooood.
Justin Bieber took his “Hold On” song from last week and turned it into a Leafs hype video this week. You can take the boy out of Stratford but you can never take Stratford out of the boy. This is truly his ten-year-old self’s dream come true.
I talked about how much I lovedPromising Young Woman a few weeks ago. Variety interviewed the film’s Head of Makeup, Angie Wells, about her intentions with Carey Mulligan’s look. This video is well worth your time.
With all the chat about how much of a bad week this was for the real Prince Charles, it’s been a great week for Fake Prince Charles — Josh O’Connor. He won the Critic’s Choice Award the same night as the Oprah interview. I think Josh is going to be a major star over the next few years and if you feel like he’s come out of nowhere, he’s been working hard for a while. Netflix did a great job showing all the work he’s done over the last few years to get to this point.
Speaking of the Critics’ Choice Awards — Alan Kim’s win was the best video on the internet last week.
I’ve got a bunch of fun YouTuber stuff this week:
If you are an OG YouTube fan — you know who Zoella and Alfie Deyes are. For the uninitiated, they are two British YouTubers who were “just friends.” Lol. I’ve been following them for years and as fans, we’ve watched them start to date, fall in love, move in with each other, and this week… they announced they are having a baby!
There is a YouTuber named Johnny Harris who used to work for Vox, now is independent and talks a lot about traveling and international relations. I’m generally obsessed with his stuff, but this video about learning a language through a map-based video game is fantastic. Basically, he’s taken my theory of interactive programming on Gather (IYKYK) to the next level and figured out to monetize it. I’m very jealous. Check out his video here.
One of my favourite Youtubers, Max Fosh, is running for Mayor of London. It’s hilarious.
Julie Nolkeand Trey Kennedy combined forces to create a Canadian vs American video. It made me laugh. Watch it here.
Lastly, for all of us still living that Zoom life, I’ve got a video to remind you how much we used to love being on Zoom. This is an oldie but a goodie. Last year ESPN’s Katie Nolan issued a challenge to her friends: who can get the most famous celebrity to join the group's Zoom chat. Hilarity ensued. Check it out here.
Have a great weekend,
-Paula
📝📝📝 This newsletter was graciously edited by Emma Sakamoto 📝📝📝
Editor’s Pick:
I tried making Dorie Greenspan’s beloved World Peace Cookies a couple weeks ago and had a gluten-free-flour-swap recipe fail. So I’m turning to these salted chocolate buckwheat cookies from Food52 this weekend. I made them a couple years ago and I remember them being everything I want from a chocolate cookie. (Am I baking my pandemic feelings? Maybe.)