<\/p>\n
As Sarah wrote this morning<\/a>, 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There\u2019s 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 \u2013 it\u2019s important to find on-the-ground resources) but at some point, looking through photos of burning neighbourhoods is not helpful. It\u2019s 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\u2019m diving into.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Starstruck<\/em>: I\u2019ve written about this show before but even I\u2013a 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City<\/em>: this is elite television and a friend of mine recently had surgery and I urged her to watch because you don\u2019t 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Next up is LANDMAN<\/em>. The all-cap styling is mine because when I watch, I can\u2019t stop from exclaiming, LANDMAN<\/em> whenever Billy Bob does something Billy Bob-ish. This is a Taylor Sheridan production and exactly what we\u2019ve come to expect from his shows \u2013 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oh! And there\u2019s a SASSY woman who drives a Bentley and brushes her teeth with tequila and is loyal to her man. Did I mention she\u2019s sassy? Which in this world means she\u2019s abusive and likely has an undiagnosed personality disorder.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jon Hamm and Demi Moore are in it. I\u2019m convinced Demi and Taylor must be friends someone because I have no idea why she would even show up for this, she\u2019s like an extra in most scenes. Demi f-cking Moore! But I haven\u2019t finished the series, so maybe there\u2019s more to come. Then there\u2019s Billy Bob doing his best Billy Bob impression. He isn\u2019t just a man. He\u2019s LANDMAN<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n On my to-watch list is Laid<\/em> starring Stephanie Hsu.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In December I did catch Based On a True Story<\/em>. 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\u2019s breezy.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Before Covid, I was a pretty consistent reader and since then, I\u2019ve struggled with finishing books even when I like them. That\u2019s what I\u2019m working on now and to ease into, I will finally get to Lorraine Moriarty\u2019s Here One Moment<\/em>, One Perfect Couple\u00a0<\/em>by Ruth Ware, Family Meal<\/em> by Bryan Washington, The Fraud<\/em> by Zadie Smith and A Court of Thrones<\/em> and Roses<\/em> (which I know is the next \u201cGirl with the Dragon Tattoo\u201d and I\u2019m SO behind on, it\u2019s been on the NYT bestseller list for 39 weeks).\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You might be reading this and thinking \u201cwow you are dumber than I thought\u201d (fair). There is a book club that is apparently very good and not the usual one we hear about \u2013 Dua Lipa has a newsletter and podcast and I\u2019ve heard it\u2019s quite interesting. Maybe worth a dive.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n \u00a0<\/p>