Two big ole rants for you this week!
First is the news that Kenya Moore has been suspended from filming the new season of Real Housewives of Atlanta amid an alleged revenge porn scheme? Wild.
Then I'm discussing Apple TV+, in general, and the issues I have with so many of their shows, including the ones I'm currently watching: Dark Matter and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
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Wow, I didn't mean to take four months off! Sorry! I explain within.
Then it's on to the new season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars 9, which has a new format, a new prize, and an odd(er than usual) cast.
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Happy 100th episode of the podcast! To celebrate, I'm thrilled to welcome Brett White, host of Must Have Seen TV, to discuss RuPaul's Drag Race season 16. But it's a long conversation, and we detour to what's on the show's application, the upcoming season of We're Here, a bunch of international Drag Race franchises, and the book Brett is writing about Irving Berlin, Hayden Rorke, and soldiers who do drag.
Follow Brett White (@brettwhite) on Instagram and X (Twitter) and his drag alter ego Barb Hardly (@barbardly) on Instagram and X (Twitter)!
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I'm so sorry, but I had to rant for like 15 minutes about people's (unwanted!) hot takes on Kevin's selfishness in Home Alone 2. But then it's on to my favorite TV shows of the year!
I'll be back in 2024 with episode 100, but in the meantime, follow me on Serializd (a TV watching app where you can see what I'm currently watching and discuss TV with me) and Letterboxd (for my annual ranking of Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas movies and more).
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A new season of Drag Race is around the corner, and the cast has been announced... and there's a queen local to me on it!
This week I'm breaking down the Dancing with the Stars finale and the season premiere of Hollywood Houselift with Jeff Lewis. And it's time for my last Hallmark Countdown to Christmas recommendation of the year!
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I'm too lazy to make full sentences, so here's what's on the podcast this week:
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Fargo is back on FX and Hulu! I didn't realize I only actually watched one previous season, but if the rest of this new season is as visceral, thrilling, and funny as the first two episodes, I'm excited to be on board.
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I'm trying something different and talking about the lack of empathy and emotion in reality TV as of late, particularly on Catfish and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and how that's a symptom of our decaying society. Happy Thanksgiving!
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The strike is over, and I'm touching on a couple of things I've watched recently before getting into the season two premiere of The Santa Clauses.
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Get ready for a history lesson! After complaining about how much streaming services cost, I'm diving deep into Showtime's Fellow Travelers, a historical romance series starring Matt Bomer about having hot sub/dom gay sex in the 50s. Just kidding, it's actually about the Lavender Scare, shame, and the persecution of queerness throughout history.
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I have a lot of thoughts on how American Horror Stories season three today, particularly the "Bestie" and "Tapeworm" episodes that Hulu just released for Halloween. Why it's hard to be a teenager in 2023 and an overweight person... any time, but also in 2023.
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This week I'm harping on why the 90-minute episodes of Survivor 45 are doing it a disservice currently but may be great in the long run. Also: this season's casting failures, the LuLuLosers, what made this show so good for so long, and (potentially) the most incompetent Survivor castaway in history.
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Are you a Millennial or Gen X-er who loved those ooky spooky, weird and wild kids' books by R.L. Stine? Did you collect them because you liked the covers? Because you wanted to touch the bumpy letters? Because you wanted to have the ones your friends didn't? Or even because you actually read them? Then you have to listen to this episode, where I'm recapping and reviewing the first five episodes of the new Disney+/Hulu series Goosebumps, based on those lovely little gems of camp and horror from our 90s childhood. Join me!
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Hey, no one's listening to this podcast anymore! But in case you stumble upon this because it's spooky season, I'm reviewing the season three premiere of Chucky and the season thus far of American Horror Story: Delicate, featuring the worst television performance I've ever seen... you'll never guess who's giving it! /s
Watch the season premiere of Chucky on YouTube for free.
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The writers' strike is over (actors may be coming soon?), but I blame them for making me sit through crap like Fox's Special Forces: World's Toughest Test, which I'm proclaiming The Dumbest Show Ever on this episode. I'm also recapping the season 5 premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, which has brought out my inner conspiracy theorist. So join me for The Mystery of the Missing Queen as we kick off spooky season.
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The WGA strike is on the verge of ending, but when will it be enough to salvage the television season? Plus, Dancing with the Stars is cursed, and The Traitors has a season two cast. Southern Charm back for its ninth season on Bravo, and it's as incestuous and borderline-exhausting to keep up with as ever!
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Everyone is on strike, and the villain of the week isn't the Warner Bros. Discovery CFO who suggested we were freeloading off his services but Drew Barrymore! This week, I'm reviewing the new Hallmark Channel movie Notes of Autumn, which features a gay couple that I've been manifesting on Twitter since 2019; and the Discovery misfire Survive the Raft, which took an interesting idea and ruined it.
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Wow, I hope you have a long commute today, because this is a super long episode. It's been a long summer of Bravo TV, and I'm joined by Ande to talk about ALL of it! That's right, we're getting down and dirty with The Real Housewives of Atlanta; complaining about the lackluster (hot take!) The Real Housewives of New York reboot (except Jenna Lyons, who is queen); skimming the bacterial surface of the season 4 premiere of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City; and fighting to the death over whether or not Shannon is the GOAT of The Real Housewives of Orange County. Buckle up, it's a long one... but what else do you have to do, it's not like there's any TV to watch.
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You've probably heard by now that the Writers Guild of America is currently on strike, and most scripted TV and films are shutting down production until a new agreement is reached between screenwriters and producers/studios. I'll break down the reasons why the strike is happening, why the writers are right, and what exactly they're asking for (and currently being refused). Then it's on to the first two episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8! This cast is so weird, but they're delivering so far.
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Anybody else struggling to get invested in scripted TV lately? I'm loving reality right now, but I get into my issues with The Last Thing He Told Me, Beef, and Love & Death on HBO Max, which is my deep dive this week. Elizabeth Olsen plays a much prettier version of Candy Montgomery (yes, the same woman Jessican Biel played on Hulu's Candy last May, which I also covered in this episode) in David E. Kelley's newest agonizing depiction of suburban ennui resulting in murder.
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