February 6th, 2022
This Week: Fake boobs and dicks, two entries from the Brits, and two comedies that couldn't be more different.
Happy Sunday, Streamers. This past week I turned 31, and the only birthday gift I want (outside of a time machine so that I can handle hangovers like I could when I was 22), is for you all to share the gift of no more wasted time with your friends.
Not that I need too much help - my readership is exploding (see below).
Now let’s get to it.
Pam and Tommy
What It’s About: This comedic-mini-drama recreates the story of how Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s now infamous honeymoon sex tape was leaked to the press in the mid-’90s, and the subsequent scandal and legal action that followed.
Why You Should Watch: For ‘90s nostalgia, dark comedy, and voyeurism
Man does this show deliver on what those first set photos promised. Chock full of the sex, drugs, and gratuitously-large body parts (er, three in particular), that defined Pam and Tommy’s whirlwind romance, this ‘90s pop culture time capsule is just as fun as we all wanted it to be. What is unexpected, though, is the way in which each episode is treated as it’s own mini-movie, giving each character/real-life player in the story their due. The first episode barely has Pam and Tommy in it, and instead spends most of its time on a sympathetic portrayal of Seth Rogen’s Rand Gauthier (a surprising take given his crime, overnight creation of the celebrity sex tape industry, and resulting destruction of Pam and Tommy’s marriage). Then, of course, there’s the elite make-up/prosthetic work. Lily James is unrecognizable, and there’s enough full-frontal from Sebastian Stan that by the time this email hits your inbox I’m sure Twitter will already be flooded with unlimited hot-dick-takes: one corner praising the normalization of full-frontal male nudity on television, another corner of hypocrites bemoaning why there had to be so much dick in a show they thought was about boobs, and a third corner just wondering who ARE these cocksmen (or women) behind the scenes doing this top-notch penile prosthetic work? You can probably guess where I fall:
Who’s In It, and Where You Probably Know Them From:
Sebastian Stan - Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier in the Marvel Universe, I, Tonya, Gossip Girl, and the 80s jock-bully in Hot Tub Time Machine.
Lily James - Baby Driver, Cinderella, Downton Abbey, Yesterday, and Mamma Mia!
Seth Rogen - Honestly, Seth Rogen has been so prolific in his output as an Actor, Producer, Entrepreneur, and Ceramicist (?!), there’s too much to list. Let’s also not forget that one time he inadvertently caused a pretty significant geopolitical conflict because he wanted to fuck around with James Franco and do stuff like this:
Nick Offerman - Parks and Rec, Devs, and being one half of the funniest married comedian couple out there.
Honorable mention to Jason Mantzoukas who, without giving it away, might be the beneficiary of the most spot-on casting of all time.
Who Made It, and What Else Have They Done:
The creator/showrunner Robert Siegel wrote The Wrestler and The Founder.
Where You Can Watch: Hulu
Vigil
What It’s About: This British whodunit drama follows a detective as she investigates the mysterious disappearance of a Scottish fishing trawler along with the death of a crew member on a nuclear submarine, the HMS Vigil, bringing the police into conflict with the Navy and British Security Services.
Why You Should Watch: For suspenseful twists and turns + a guilt-free opportunity to turn on subtitles for an English-language show
You can keep your crooked teeth and definitely-child-rapist-Royals, what I want from the Brits is more of these tight crime dramas. Vigil’s mad-lib premise (A [person] DETECTIVE [verb] INVESTIGATES a [noun] MURDER on a [noun] NUCLEAR SUBMARINE) is just as fun to watch as it sounds. Add in a main character that (shocker) has a traumatic past with confined underwater spaces, a geopolitical-we’re-on-the-brink-of-war-with-Russia subplot (too on the nose?), and a who’s-who of Game of Thrones vets in the supporting cast (Ser Big Dick Ponce!), and you’ll be screaming DIVE!! DIVE!! at the TV before you can say U-571.
Who’s In It, and Where You Probably Know Them From:
Suranne Jones - A lot of British medical/crime dramas I - and likely you - have never seen.
Rose Leslie - Being the queen of Jon Snow’s heart in both Westeros and reality.
Honorable mention to Ser Ponce (Daniel Portman), Stanley Baratheon (Stephen Dillane), and McGloin from Gangs of New York (Gary Lewis)
Who Made It, and What Else Have They Done:
Tom Edge, who did some writing on The Crown, created Lovesick on Netflix, and wrote Judy.
Where You Can Watch: Peacock
South Side (Season 2)
What It’s About: This comedy follows two friends who just graduated from community college with big dreams, but are stuck working at a rent-to-own store on the South Side of Chicago until those dreams become reality.
Why You Should Watch: For easy laughs
I don’t think a white Jew from a cul-de-sac in Connecticut was the target audience member when this show was made, but I’m loving South Side all the same. It’s a simple premise that is made laugh-out-loud funny by its unexpected characters. There’s the sensitive best friend who is obsessed with space, the enthusiastically crooked cop (does anyone remember the last time a crooked cop was played just for laughs?), her straight-laced partner who just wants to get back to patrolling the bougie (read: White) North Side, or the former Civil Rights heroine who has aged into a grade-A shit talker who won’t pay her rent. The episodes are quick and easy, and I’ve been running through them (you will too).
Who’s In It, and Where You Probably Know Them From:
This is the first major credit for Sultan Salahuddin, Kareme Young, and Quincy Young, but you’ll probably recognize Lil Rel Howery from Get Out, Judas and the Black Messiah, Insecure, and a slew of other comedies.
Who Made It, and What Else Have They Done:
Bashir Salahuddin, (who plays Officer Goodnight on the show and is the main character’s brother in real life), wrote and created this along with Diallo Riddle, who also plays a character on the show. Both are writers who cut their teeth writing for various comedies including Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Last O.G.
Where You Can Watch: HBOMax
Landscapers
What It’s About: Based on true events in 1998, this dark comedy mini-drama tells the story of how a mild-mannered couple, Susan and Christopher, came to kill Susan’s parents and bury them in the back garden of their home; a crime that remained undiscovered for over a decade.
Why You Should Watch: For stylized-acting-tour-de-forces with a twinge of British humor.
As you can tell from the above, this is not a “whodunit” so much is it a “whydidtheydunit” and “howdidtheyeverthinktheycouldgetawaywithdunningit.” There are plenty of dark laughs as the show plays with the latter, but it’s the former where the show really shines. As the couple’s motive is revealed, you not only get Olivia Colman turning in an award-worthy performance as an emotionally-stunted woman with a traumatic past, but an equally-great performance from David Thewlis as her protective (if pretty dimwitted) husband. There’s also a lot of play with a recurring Western-motif (Susan has an escapist-obsession with Westerns) that can get a little tired, but otherwise check this out if you enjoy talented Brits going full thespian.
Who’s In It, and Where You Probably Know Them From:
Olivia Colman - Unlimited prestige “the” content like The Crown, The Father, The Favourite, The Lost Daughter, The Night Manager, The Lobster, and then, of course, Fleabag.
David Thewlis - Probably from the Harry Potter franchise as Remus Lupin, but also hilariously as the Shame Wizard in Big Mouth.
Who Made It, and What Else Have They Done:
Ed Sinclair, who hasn’t done much outside of being Olivia Colman’s husband (which explains a lot).
Where You Can Watch: HBOMax
Somebody Somewhere
What It’s About: This dramedy follows a down-on-her-luck woman returning to her hometown in Kansas as she copes with the recent loss of her sister all while trying to find her place in life.
Why You Should Watch: For heartwarming laughs and Ted-Lasso-level earnestness
The type of TV dramedy that is very obviously based on the starring comedian’s own life has become pretty par for the course over the last decade, but this one has a couple of different angles which make it interesting. For one, most of the main characters are LGBTQ (as opposed to one of the main character’s friends), it takes place in small-town Kansas (rather than in LA, NY, or some other cultural hub), and the story isn’t about the main character trying to balance their family with a career in entertainment/media so much as it is about her simply finding herself (with some help from the other local outcasts). This sets the show up for plenty of genuine emotion, but also plenty of laughs - particularly from her fast friend Joel who made me laugh out loud repeatedly during the first two episodes. Watch to feel hopeful, or if you just want to spend some time with people and places that the majority of content today tends to ignore.
Who’s In It, and Where You Probably Know Them From:
Bridget Everett - The Chelsea Handler Show, Inside Amy Schumer, and stealing this scene in Trainwreck:
Jeff Hiller - a UCB/improv alum who has popped up in small roles in a lot of TV comedies like 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Broad City.
Who Made It, and What Else Have They Done:
The creators, Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, are both writer-actors who wrote on High Maintenance and Mozart in the Jungle. The fingerprints of the Duplass brothers, who are executive producers on the show, are all over this as well - they are the East-LA kings who previously brought us Togetherness, The Skeleton Twins, Tangerine, Wild Wild Country, The One I Love, and Safety Not Guaranteed. If all that went over your head, you would probably recognize Mark Duplass from either The League or The Morning Show.
Where You Can Watch: HBOMax