Escape from the Algorithm

As Sarah wrote this morning, Los Angeles is still in flux and that means many Hollywood events are on pause. Safety and containment is of course the first priority for the fires. Then cleanup and the assessment of damage will start. There is a lot of unknown and layered with those immediate unknowns is the question mark of when and how will work continue for the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on the TV and film industry in the cultural hub of the Western world. 

There’s also a pretty terrible vibe shift online, with so much misinformation being spread on top of a kind of gleeful vitriol for celebrity homes burning down. There are a handful or resources being shared over and over (which again, is a good thing – it’s important to find on-the-ground resources) but at some point, looking through photos of burning neighbourhoods is not helpful. It’s a loop of awfulness. For those wanting to engage in celebrity culture but want some space from doom scrolling, these are the current watch/reads/rewatching/catchups I’m diving into. 

Starstruck: I’ve written about this show before but even I–a fan!--missed season three drop. The premise is a normie who dates a movie star and the meet-cute and courtship parts are great, the real interesting stuff comes in when they have to actually be in a relationship. 

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City: this is elite television and a friend of mine recently had surgery and I urged her to watch because you don’t need to start at the beginning. You can skip the Jen Shah seasons (in fact, I wish I had because I find her draining and not entertaining) and start at season four. 

Next up is LANDMAN. The all-cap styling is mine because when I watch, I can’t stop from exclaiming, LANDMAN whenever Billy Bob does something Billy Bob-ish. This is a Taylor Sheridan production and exactly what we’ve come to expect from his shows – small towns = good people. Big city = bad people. Working men know things that those bigwigs and dang environmentalists will never understand. It is heavy on the violence and industrial accidents, which might be upsetting to some, but I chuckled my way through most of it because Taylor Sheridan is not a serious man. 

Oh! And there’s a SASSY woman who drives a Bentley and brushes her teeth with tequila and is loyal to her man. Did I mention she’s sassy? Which in this world means she’s abusive and likely has an undiagnosed personality disorder. 

Jon Hamm and Demi Moore are in it. I’m convinced Demi and Taylor must be friends someone because I have no idea why she would even show up for this, she’s like an extra in most scenes. Demi f-cking Moore! But I haven’t finished the series, so maybe there’s more to come. Then there’s Billy Bob doing his best Billy Bob impression. He isn’t just a man. He’s LANDMAN. 

On my to-watch list is Laid starring Stephanie Hsu. 

In December I did catch Based On a True Story. I really enjoyed the concept in season one and that continues, but I feel like this is one that might have gotten lost in the holiday shuffle. Episodes are short, it’s breezy.

Before Covid, I was a pretty consistent reader and since then, I’ve struggled with finishing books even when I like them. That’s what I’m working on now and to ease into, I will finally get to Lorraine Moriarty’s Here One Moment, One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware, Family Meal by Bryan Washington, The Fraud by Zadie Smith and A Court of Thrones and Roses (which I know is the next “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and I’m SO behind on, it’s been on the NYT bestseller list for 39 weeks). 

You might be reading this and thinking “wow you are dumber than I thought” (fair). There is a book club that is apparently very good and not the usual one we hear about – Dua Lipa has a newsletter and podcast and I’ve heard it’s quite interesting. Maybe worth a dive.