Things we didn’t really know we really needed until they happened: A Hannah Montana and Lilly reunion. Miley video chatted with Emily Osment on Instagram Live on Monday. The fact that they are still best friends TO THIS DAY warms my soul and waters my crops. To top it off, they reacted to old photos from when they were shooting Hannah Montana. The outfits are definitely something (Emily even admits that one of the looks appears to be Ann Taylor on a 14-year-old), but it’s really heartwarming to hear them reminisce about their time together on set and in photoshoots.
The reunion was a segment on Miley Cyrus’s latest project, Bright Minded, a daily, hour long IG Live that happens at 11:30 PST. It’s low-budget and chock full of technical difficulties, but it is so freaking endearing. Plus, Miley connects with a star-studded list of guests that includes Hailey Bieber, Amy Schumer, Trixie Mattel, and even Ellen DeGeneres (although, maybe people aren’t super into her right now.
There are two reasons why I love the show. The first is that it’s super positive. Bright Minds is actually an acronym. It stands for Blessings, Reliable sources, Immune boosters, Getting active, Healthy anxiety, Thoughts and attention, Memories, Inflammation, Negative thoughts, Dedicating 15 minutes to something new, and Sleep. In the Emily episode, she encourages viewers to focus on what we CAN do during quarantine, rather than what we CAN’T do. For example, when talking to Trixie, she suggests that right now is a great opportunity for people to work on their craft like drag. She even offers some tips on things we can do every day that help us feel like ourselves during this scary time.
Although coronavirus is a serious issue that everyone should of course pay close attention to, the constant articles, statistics, reminders, explanations, think-pieces, and other news flooding our timelines at all times of the day can be exhausting and oversaturating. Some days, I just feel emotionally and mentally spent scrolling through Twitter. Lots of people have it much worse, but Miley’s show is an hour break where we can just enjoy Miley’s fun and relaxed energy while listening to conversations about something other than what’s going on right now. That’s the intention of the show. Miley explains that she “wants to bring light in a very dark time.”
The second reason I love this show is because I’m intrigued by the format. When the show first started last week, Miley was just at a desk FaceTiming her guests. Over the weekend, she built a set, created a theme song, and even built a DJ booth for her dog. It’s almost like Miley’s becoming a YouTuber? With a lot of productions and studios halting operations, new content is a bit harder to come by. There’s definitely lots of TV for everyone to catch up on, and there are those shows that you always feel like re-watching. But if the isolation continues longer term, what are we going to watch?
Maybe Bright Minded is a new standard of content in a post-COVID-19 world: A YouTube style format with Network style talent. Social media has already changed how we interact and view celebrities, and in the past, those slow to change have had to conform. As Lainey wrote earlier, without regular publicity channels, celebs are going to have to get creative in order to maintain their relevance and keep attention on them. Depending on how long this lasts, maybe we’ll start seeing more homemade shows like Miley’s. And it might not just stop with quarantine. Based on her reaction to how the show is going so far, Miley might keep going with Bright Minded. Maybe I’m a little early on this, but will all this homemade content affect the kind of media we consume when this is all over?
You can watch Episode 6 featuring Emily Osment below. It also has a whole segment on dogs so if you’re a dog person (Lainey), this episode is definitely for you.
