March This'N'Thats
In which I get caught up on TV (sort of), and poke around the internet
Good morning friends! I have spent the week sequestered in my home while people worked on pulling apart and putting back together our kitchen (it is done now, thankyousweetlordjeebus). My husband was away for work, my dog was away for his own sanity & respiratory health (neither of which was a particular concern re: me, apparently). Faced with all this uninterrupted solo time (heaven) and ambient noise (sort of hell) I set myself up on a little island in our library/movie room (I’d call it a living room, but we have a different room we call that, because…. who’s gonna stop us? Please don’t answer that).
Anyway, as a result I’ve finally been watching TV, something I was in a little bit of a slump lately (is there such a thing as a TV watching slump? Please don’t answer that either) and to celebrate that accomplishment, we start this newsletter with some streaming reactions:
Adolescence - very good, but not great, and I don’t care what anyone else says. Don’t get me wrong: the kid is 150% a star, the story was almost immediately compelling (a tall order for someone who watches thrillers A LOT), the shooting style was ambitious, but … It felt like a play, which makes sense for a show developed by actors, but I was here to watch TV and not a play. Part of it is due to the binge consumption effect - watching something in sequence implies the episodes should string together into a cohesive whole, and I was left with an annoyance of the unfinished narratives feeling extremely unfinished. I genuinely wish Netflix released this on a week-by-week basis, because the stand-alone effect with some time to breathe would have worked a charm.
Long Bright River - Good, but not as good as the book. Though, I am here for all of Liz Moore success and sat up and applauded when I saw
endorse “God Of The Woods” as a book compelling enough to make you to stay off your phone. Also, I think we are officially entering the Amanda-Seyfried-for-an-EGOT era
Ludwig - BritBox’s latest is a noble effort to add to the beloved “jaunty mystery” genre which I my personal favorite (see: “McDonald & Dodds”, “Agatha Raisin” etc) and while the premise is fun (a recluse puzzle setter is impersonating his missing twin brother who is a DI), the cast is flawless (David Mitchell of the legendary “Peep Show” and Anna Maxwell Martin of everything from “Bletchley Circle” to “Death Comes To Pemberley”), and the vibe is on point (I will 150% continue watching) - the cases are, well, a little lacking. I would love to see this expanded to 90 min per episode for the inevitable Season 2 to let the crime solving feel a little more than just coincidence.
Running Point - Very fluffy and effectively a brand placement exercise, but desperate times call for desperate measures and as a result I extremely here for this, and even more extremely here for Kate Hudson’s face making a comeback after a few years of not-so-great-cosmetic-interventions. Also, fun fact for those missing “Winning Time” (which is all of us, right?) - Isla is directly inspired by Jeanie Bus.
Ink Black Heart (CB Strike season 4 on MAX) - I am fully aware we’re not fans of JK Rowling anymore but Cormoran and Robin are such good characters, and the premise of the new season is promising: a graphic novelist about to make it big (film deal etc) is found murdered in a graveyard after being cyber bullied for years.
The Snow Girl - S2 - If you are craving a classic dark and dirty thriller - something dark and brooding, with a tortured lead and an (inevitably) awful revelation at the end - Season 2 of this Spanish series delivers as much as Season 1 did. Side note: while the book recap is obviously coming next week, I am reading “The Overnight Guest” by Heather Gudenkauf and it is kind of the book equivalent of this - I often feel like I’ve read it all before, but THIS ONE keeps me turning the pages.
and of course, I am finally caught up on (in one feverish afternoon/evening) on:
White Lotus S3 - and:
a. I am having a good time with it, b. predicting an Aimee Lou Wood presence for every fashion campaign in 2025/2026 (that doesn’t already feature Parker Posey) and c. I have a few thoughts on the whole White Lotus consumption:
#1 - I cannot recommend enough binge watching White Lotus. This is my I gave up on Season 1 a few episodes in because everyone was just so unpleasant, but then proceeded to watch both it and S2 in one sitting, and trust me - this is the way to go. You just let the ennui wash over you in one fell swoop - it works. Granted, if you hate spoilers, it is a little hard to participate in the internet during this time but also:
#2 - There are NO SPOILERS in White Lotus. Mike White sets up the show like a classic play, with all the foreshadowing you need from episode one: you see a gun - we’re gonna use a gun, you see a younger brother watch an older brother masturbate in the bathroom - we’re gonna see this go to an unpleasant next level no matter what, you see a man self-satisfied with his life - you know he’s not going to remain this way. The only unkown always is who will inevitably get killed (someone always gets killed), and the internet can’t spoil that for you.
#3 - White Lotus is 150% comfort television -
#4 - The most fun one can have in America right now is dream casting for upcoming seasons of White Lotus and here are my current suggestions: Laura Dern (did they get into a fight after “Enlightened”? how has this not happened already?), Alana Ubach, Nathan Lane, Lisa Kudrow, Ben Affleck (just think on this for a second), Jessica Gunning, Chloe Sevigny, Megan Statler/Paul W. Downs crossover with Hacks, Julianne Moore, Barry Keoghan, Hilaria Baldwin, Patrick Dempsey making a comeback we all need (I bet all that hair is still intact), Jon Hamm, and obviously… OBVIOUSLY Gwyneth.
(via
)Related:
- on Carrie Coon reading “Modern Lovers” on ep 6
Carrie Coon does Criterion Closet - notable for her husband’s (THE HUSBAND IS, BTW, TRACY LETTS in case you’ve not googled that yet) obsession with physical vessels for movies (I can relate) and her BIG endorsment of “Crossing Delancey”, the most perfect White Lotus palette cleanser ever (my husband did just get me the Criterion edition of it, so we’re basically ready to be invited to that Letts Coon dinner party anytime)
And some more things:
Air Mail just released the perfect “Travel to Europe” accessory for the summer (bonus: it comes in a pack of 5, so you can give it to your friends and family / co-travelers too). I do wish someone made a companion piece with Leslie Bibb’s smile on it:
I have literally forgotten to link this in at least 9 newsletters already but! The best thing you can find on the internet is Coralie Fargeat's 92-page lookbook for The Substance in google doc format. WOW. Seriously, someone just publish this as a book and take my money so I can have it on my coffee table, right next to my Horror Caviar.
While we’re on the topic of coffee table books: I am still not buying any clothes this year but I did buy this book about clothes movie directors wear. Highly recommended. Bitty preview here (perfectly tangential to my friend Morgan’s reminiscing about a thrifted corduroy suit she aquired so she could look exactly like Wes Anderson)
They’re making a show out of one of my favorite books of the last half decade: “Vladimir” and not only is Sharon Horgan producing, but Rachel Weisz is IN to star. I would have prefered this be a movie but cast Adam Driver as the male lead, and all is forgiven.
Ryan Murphy is expanding his multiverse to include “American LOVE Story” and the first one will involve JFK JR & Carolyn Besette. I don’t know if I am ashamed or not about how excited I am for this, but I am very excited for this. This coffee table book is too.
Loved
’s 30-FOR-43 list this week (I’d add my “There’s An Ann Patchett Essay For That” tangent to it, but otherwise extremely on point)Simone Ashley has a not-great-looking new romcom out (anytime a streamer forgoes releasing a romantic comedy in February, I worry), but her instagram is truly the only style inspiration I am interested in (that doesn’t feature Parker Posey) - the blazers keep popping, the dresses keep skimming, the shoes are always somehow both on point AND surprising.
Newsletter custom made for people who like this newsletter:
’s Receipt From A Bookshop which is about the comings and goings in an actual bookshop in a small town in England.Substack is doing more events and it all feels very 2008-2012 to me in the best way -
is hosting a listening party (w/ Kimbra?!?!), and are having a yard sale masquerading as an auction etc …. it is kind of making me want to bring back the BYT Book Swap or pitch Substack their version of a Bentzen-Ball-meets-Vulture-Festival.And finally: inside the world of Chappell Roan’s Set Designer:
Till next time buds!
I gave up on the first White Lotus for exactly the same reason... So now I may go back in.