We recorded this week’s episode of Show Your Work last night, knowing we wouldn’t know the outcome of Serena Williams’s match today at the French Open. Because whatever happened, the points of our discussion remain the same – Serena is, like so many women, now managing career and parenthood and she showed us, on Being Serena, what her challenges are, which are not unlike the challenges other mothers have experienced, even though she’s the Greatest Of All Time. Being Serena, on HBO, is allllll Show Your Work. And last week, she showed us again what she’s been working on – a new catsuit, a new clothing line, and a new magazine, all of timed for her return to grand slam tennis. Along the way though, she’s also showing us what she couldn’t possibly prepare for and, in that process, she’s trying to change the conversation about women’s expectations and women’s choices when they become mothers. We already know the impact she’s had on the court. What will be the impact of Serena Williams OFF the court?
From there we move on to the Samantha Bee backlash following her comments about Ivanka Trump on Full Frontal and Drake not commenting much at all after Pusha T came for him in "The Story of Adidon". It’s a double case of celebrity crisis management as Duana and I compare how each handled their respective controversies and the work lessons that can be taken away from both examples. We reference Dustin Rowles’s piece in Pajiba during this segment.
And finally… the end of The Americans, a series Duana has been shouting at me to get into for years and it turns out, all she had to do was talk to me about the show’s wig game. Racked published a great piece about the work of costume designer Katie Irish and how hair, makeup, and clothing come together to create a character and a mood and a story.
Catch us weekly on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify, and hit us up on twitter at @laineygossip and @duanaelise.
