2024 Spring/Summer Entertainment Report

A recap and a preview: I've watched (and read) a lot, so you don't have to

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Hello! It is Memorial Day weekend, the start of my least favorite season, summer. I am the person who does not like long days (give me any reason to be cozy in bed by 8pm) or sweltering heat (I grew up in the armpit of Florida, enough for a lifetime) or massive crowds at the airport and around Los Angeles¹. Summer is when we are encouraged to GET OUTDOORS and socialize and not worry about screens. We’ll get a few big summer blockbuster movies and some kicky new reads, but don’t hold your breath for much new television content. I will be out living-in-the-real-world like everyone else. Sigh.

Don’t worry though! If you will need some moments in the a/c and shade, or some content for a long flight or a day on the beach, I’ve got you covered. Here’s a recap of what I’ve loved (and hated) this spring with a sprinkle of what I’m looking forward to this summer.

Engaging Television

• Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix): NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour raved about this quirky show in April, but it took me a bit to get to it. I’m not usually a fantasy girlie, but this is so undeniably charming (two deceased boarding school boys -one from WW1 era and one from the 80s- solve spiritual world crimes with the help of a chaotic -and living- psychic) that I can’t stop watching. Lucas Hedges comically sultry (by design) turn as a Cat King is worth it alone. It’s got enough darkness to not be twee.

• Sugar (Apple TV): Please do not mistake me. This show is…not great. I came for the LA locales and Colin Farrell in a suit (my man looks GOOD). Despite its mediocre plot and odd tics, the eps are mostly 30-35 minutes and three-quarters of the way through (ep 6), the show takes the most BONKERS turn I’ve seen in a while. I reversed multiple times to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. The storyline sucked but Amy Ryan, Colin and some gonzo twists make it a show to talk about with your partner or friends.

• Hacks, Season 3 (Max): It’s a delight when a favorite show stays consistently good for multiple seasons. They’ve released 7 episodes, and it’s so far, so great. Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder as opposites (platonically) attract comedians are a delight and the episode with Tony Goldwyn and Christina Hendricks is not to be missed. (Fitz and Joan are still smoking hot.)

Book Adaptations

• 3-Body Problem (Netflix): I can’t say I love this sci-fi show, but I don’t feel the changes are massacring the book and it is engaging. Sadly, this is not a “background show” and you really need to apply full attention to follow along. There are *many* characters and some time/planet jumping.

• A Gentleman in Moscow (Paramount +/Showtime): Ewan McGregor is well-cast in this show about 1900s Russia and a man confined to living in one fancy hotel as punishment for being rich (well, sort of). The only substantial changes to the book are an enhanced application of history including the quite violent and repressive regime change. It’s dark, but also sweet. Slow, but not draggy.

• Dark Matter (Apple TV): I had problems with this book (which you can read about next week), but so far the TV show is surprising me. Four episodes of the show are currently available, and I think the changes they’ve made are for the best (like adding more characters beyond our main couple). Do not expect the multi-verse science to make sense, but the broad strokes seem to be enough here to make the “sliding doors” aspect relevant. Jennifer Connelly in any universe does it for me.

• Ripley (Netflix): A very strong adherence to Patricia Highsmith’s book, but also, one of the most visually compelling shows I’ve seen in a long time. This black-and-white series is shot with the utmost care and truly feels like a throwback to a different era of filmmaking. I loved seeing Andrew Scott harken back to his villain days (he was a great Moriarity in Sherlock), going dead-behind-the-eyes to play a remorseless grifter. Gorgeous and lush and *almost* like an Italian vacation.

• Manhunt (Apple TV): I did not read the nonfiction book this one is based on, but the show tells the story of the titular manhunt and conspiracy trial following Lincoln’s assassination. I really liked this show! Tobias Mendes is great, as always, as Secretary of War, Edward Stanton, and this series takes on the tragedy of Reconstruction America in a way that’s rarely presented in mainstream entertainment. If you didn’t hate Andrew Johnson before this show, you will abhor him after. They glorify Lincoln a little, but most of the focus is on how a contingent of people had a profound (detrimental) ripple effect on the aftermath of the Civil War.

• Interview with the Vampire, Season 2 (AMC+): Season 2 is only 2 episodes in, but I’m buckling up. Queer vampires running amuck in 1940s Paris. Oui, oui!! Episode two had a scene at a country estate of the bourgeoisie that was epic high camp and delightfully vampiric. I’m (so sorry to do this) hungry for more.

Catch-Up Before the Emmys!

• True Detective: Night Country (Max): Jodie Foster and Kiley Reis all fucking day! I loved this show in winter darkness, but the Alaskan tundra -and the search for a killer of indigenous women and a disappeared research team- might cool you off this summer, as well. I would watch again - my favorite show of 2024 thus far!

• Gilded Age (Max)- Season 2 premiered late last year and IYKYK. It ain’t strict history, it is good soapy drama. Hot robber barons all day long. Christine Baranski for everything.

• Fellow Travelers (Showtime/Hulu) - Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer SIZZLE in this multi-decade story of a love affair. Come for the reflections on gay rights, stay for the toe-sucking.

Buzzy Shows I Skipped or Quit

• A Man in Full (Netflix): Jeff Daniels doing a Colonel Sanders accent while he demands to be respected for being rich for the greater part of every episode? No, thanks. I tried several episodes because of Diane Lane and Lucy Liu, but this show is BAD and when Netflix somehow mysteriously deleted it from my “Keep Watching” section, I did not miss it.

• The Veil (Hulu): I like Elisabeth Moss, but the first episode about a (maybe??) spy in a refugee camp trying to help a (maybe??) terrorist was so convoluted and boring, I couldn’t continue. Let me know if it got better.

• Palm Royale (Apple TV): Friends, Apple is spending SO MUCH MONEY on TV shows they never promote and you never watch. The budget for this one - a frothy look at 1960s/70s Palm Beach society with headliners like Allison Janney and Kristen Wiig and CAROL BURNETT (and a still smoking hot Ricky Martin)- must have been astronomical for the sets and cast alone. I still couldn’t make it to the end of this tired and drawn out caper.

• Baby Reindeer (Netflix): I know everyone on the internet is talking about it, but it just doesn’t call to me. You can’t watch everything!

• Fargo (FX/Hulu): Jon Hamm continues to turn in excellent guest performances on TV shows and the whole cast here (including Juno Temple and Lamorne Morris) is strong, but it’s just too goofy for my tastes.

• The Regime (FX/Hulu): Everybody deserves a miss, even Kate Winslet. Ugh, this show was unwatchable and was universally panned. Don’t even think about it.

• Feud: Capote vs Swans (FX/Hulu): I don’t know how you ruin a show with Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Calista Flockhart and Chloe Sevigny playing disgraced NYC socialites but FX managed to do it. Depressing, dreary and decidedly dull. Truman Capote is screaming from the grave.

Plus, two movies I would skip:

• Monkey Man (rental VOD, various streamers): I love Dev Patel (and his glorious hair) but his directorial debut was too dark (in both picture and plot) and disjointed for me to follow.

• Poolman (theaters): Another vehicle for an actor to both star and direct (here, my neighbor, Chris Pine), this had some quirky moments, but was ultimately weirdly paced and too cutesy for its own good.

Spring Movies I Loved/Liked

• Dune Part 2 (streaming, Hulu): Like Dune Part 1 but with actual themes and a plot. A rare thought-provoking action film! Javier Bardem is doing whatever he wants in his role and I’m here for it. Austin Butler is a sociopath that also makes my loins feel tingly???

• Civil War (rental VOD, various streamers): Kiki Dunst doing some of her best work in this bleak, but excellent, imagining of a war torn America through the eyes of photojournalists.

• Love Lies Bleeding (rental VOD, various streamers): This Kristen Stewart movie of body-building lesbians caught up in some extreme violence in 1980s Arizona is not for everyone, but I love a movie where the filmmaker just goes for it. Also: proof that Kristen can rock both a tank top *and* a mullet.

• The Idea of You (streaming, Prime): Yes, I know I wrote a recap of this that wasn’t exactly favorable, but it goes down easy if hot romance² is your summer mood.

• La Chimera (rental VOD, various streamers): an Italian movie with Josh O’Connor (speaking Italian through most of the film!) playing a 1980s grave robber struggling with mortality, afterlife and lost love. Delightful, poignant and lustrously shot. Fave of the year so far!

• Challengers (theaters, rental VOD, Prime): I think you should see this in the theater while you still can. As previously noted, this movie is DRUGS. It is not meant to change your life, it is meant to get you high AF. Let it.

• The Fall Guy (theaters): Look, the plot is…not great. But, Emily Blunt, Ryan Gosling and Winston Duke give it their all. People in my theater cheered. Life is short, have fun.

• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (theaters): Ok, so this one depends on personal preferences a lot. What does this movie have in common with Dune? Um…sand? Furiosa is movie with no subtext (her name is Furiosa and she is, uh, mad), no romance, no friendships and no chill. Violence trumps dialogue and there were certainly times I felt they’d skimped on the CGI budget. That said, Chris Hemsworth is truly demented (his character is…Dementus), and I was clenching my arm rests through the greater part of my IMAX showing.

  Entertainment I Missed But Want to Double-Back to

• Shōgun (Hulu): Critics have RAVED. The only reason I haven’t gotten to it is because I know I need to give it my complete attention (and read subtitles).

• Under the Bridge (FX/Hulu): While this didn’t grab me the way a crime show should in the first episode, I love Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough and I’m having a nice 90s retro moment, so I’ll be back.

• The Sympathizer (Max): Mixed reviews from the critics, but I’ll watch once I finally read the book.

• Criminal Record (Apple): British crime procedurals, particularly with Cush Jumbo in the lead, do it for me, so I’ll return for this praised, but under-the-radar series.

• Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime): I am almost done and didn’t love it as much as most, but it feels right for summer. Renewed for another year, but with new leads, which should be interesting.

• Slow Horses (Apple): I am kind of mad, because I watched the first season of this show and told everyone about it and no one watched, so I quit, but now in Season 3 people can’t stop yapping about it. Time to catch up! I’m still mad!

• I Saw the TV Glow (theaters): A nostalgic horror movie that deals with queer identity that I’ve heard mostly great things about. I’ll bring tissues.

• Babes (theaters): A Pamela Adlon (please go watch Better Things) helmed film about friendship and motherhood with Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau = take all my money please. Hoping to support women and see it with my theater dollars!

2024 Books That Would Make Fun Summer Reads

(i.e. they are easy to follow and page-turners)

• Beautyland (Marie Helene-Bertino): Read about it here.

• Martyr! (Kaveh Akbar): Read about it here.

• Come & Get It (Kiley Reid): Read about it here.

• The Morningside (Téa Obreht): Read about it here.

• James (Percival Everett): Read about it here.

• All Fours (Miranda July): This novel is SPICY. While it’s definitely a Bored, Rich, White lady POV, it’s also bisexuality, nontraditional families, kink and perimenopause. The plot is bananas and weird and I had a real good time. (More next week and thanks to

  Rosamond
  for the rec.)

• Annie Bot (Sierra Greer): I’m sorry, but a novel that’s barely 200 pages about sex robots?? Why would you NOT read this on the beach? Surprisingly substantial in themes, to boot! (More next week and thanks to

  Traci Thomas
  for the rec & loan!)

• A Table for Two (Amor Towles): A collection of well-composed short stories that often feel very retro and go down easy. Great for picking up and putting down, most stories are only 30-35 pages.

SUMMER 2024 WATCH/READ LIST

Television:

• Outer Range, Season 2 (Now, Prime): This show is dumb and weird and soapy and illogical. It is like…sci-fi Yellowstone and IDGAF. Seated for Season 2.

• Evil, Season 5 (Now, Paramount +, Prime): This show started on a major network, but when it was cancelled, fans revolted. So, they made two more seasons on Paramount. A hot priest, an atheist and a nerdy tech guy investigate the paranormal. It is cheeky and scary and an absolute blast.

• The Bear, Season 3 (June 27, FX/Hulu): I do not need to tell you about The Bear.

• Lady in the Lake (July 19, Apple TV): Burying Natalie Portman’s first dive into television series work in the dregs of summer does not bode well. And I am not a Laura Lippman mystery book fan. But, will I show up for at least a few episodes? Of course.

Movies:

• The Bikeriders (June 20, theaters): Jodie Comer-yes. Austin Butler- YES. Observing Mike Faist in his first movie since Challengers - yes, yes. This will probably be violent and tedious, but I’m intrigued enough to show up.

• Kinds of Kindness (June 20, theaters): Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest film post-Poor Things. Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe are back, along with Hunter Schafer, Jesse Plemmons, Hong Chau and oh yeah, Taylor Swift’s ex.

• Maxxine (July 5, theaters): Just watch the trailer. They had me at 1980s Los Angeles and serial killer.

• Twisters (July 18, theaters): Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones fight tornados with Southern accents. I mean…c’mon, don’t say this doesn’t sound like the perfect summer IMAX movie.

Books:

• Bear (June 25, Julia Phillips): On paper, Disappearing Earth shouldn’t have been a book I loved (remember Horny Reindeer Teens from last year??), but Phillips captured me with her evocative and pulsing language. Now, she’s back with a sisters story set in WA State and involving a swimming bear and a dead-end island. Those of you who have been with me to Orcas Island will know this sounds like catnip.

• The God of the Woods (July 2, Liz Moore): I am DYING to get my hands on this. From the LA Times, “Moore takes readers to an Adirondack summer camp in the mid-70s…Barbara [missing from her bunk] appears to have suffered the same fate as her brother, who disappeared 14 years prior.” A mystery novel that touches on wealthy wilderness camp folks and the people who accommodate them. HELL, YES.

• Hum (August 6, Helen Phillips): Helen Phillips wrote one of my favorite books of all time, The Need. (I love the “motherhood horror” subgenre.) Hum is set in a city populated by high-intelligence robots and involves more mothering-under-threat. Gimme.

That’s it! That’s a lot! What did I forget? Let me know what you’re into this summer and don’t forget to wear sunscreen and please, please do a lot of making out.

1. In practice, it is very strange to have people constantly asking you for directions to the Hollywood sign. It’s…very Hollywood??

2. Please note: I have no idea what hot romance actually is.