11/19/21
This week: THREE new shows to watch immediately—plus, a celebration of a decade (!!) of A$AP Rocky.
TRENDS THIS WEEK
☞Youtube SPIDERMAN: NO WAY HOME Trailer
Letterboxd SHANG-CHI
TikTok #Friendsgiving
Spotify ALL TOO WELL - Taylor Swift
Netflix RED NOTICE
Twitter Spotify
Life & Culture
If you’re looking for a pick-me-up after a stressful week, I feel you—and let me introduce you to TikToker Elyse Myers. She went viral in early October with a video telling the story of the worst date she’s ever been on—which is wildly funny, and now has over 20 million views—and ever since, she’s been consistently showing up on my FYP with similar rambling, hilarious videos. Her storytelling style is what really sets her apart, to me. She slowly gives more context as she goes along, and makes even the re-telling of everyday happenings feel like an enjoyable adventure. I didn't know how widely Elyse’s videos had caught on until I started seeing other creators make videos in her signature style (like this one), impersonating her by talking slowly, asking and answering their own questions, and using their hands to illustrate a point. I realize that sounds pretty generic, but promise if you watch a few of her videos you’ll catch what I mean.
The NFL is apparently getting into the NFT business. The football league is launching what it’s calling “Virtual Commemorative Tickets” at select games this season. So, when a fan buys a ticket and attends a certain game, they get access to an NFT version of the ticket on Ticketmaster as well. Plus, there are a small handful of these NFTs available to fans who didn't attend the games, ranging from $10 to over $1,000, depending on the team. You can imagine how those values will rise and fall as they trade on the secondary market.
In more news out of the sports world, Disney is reportedly getting into sports betting. The company plans, unsurprisingly, on using ESPN as their entrypoint into the world, with CEO Bob Chapeck calling sports betting a “very significant opportunity for the company.” Early talks point to the media conglomerate partnering with existing platforms rather than building its own.
And, of course, two of my favorite videos this week: this one, which will immediately suck you into the serenity of nature in the Everglades, and this one, highlighting the goofiest of penguins. Enjoy!
—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist
Travel
Head into 2021 with a trip to Portugal booked on us. Yep, we have another sweeps happening, and this time, we’re giving away a week-long adventure in Portugal, with your flights, hotels, and breakfast covered, along with $2,500 in spending money. You can enter here—good luck!
TV
This weekend, I’m looking forward to diving into HBO Max’s THE SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS (trailer here). Created by Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble, the half-hour comedy series follows a quartet of freshmen roommates at the prestigious (and very fictional) Essex College in Vermont, as they navigate the absurdity and drama of their first sexual experiences. After watching the pilot, I’m honestly excited to see where the show takes us over the course of its season. The central ensemble of characters (played by the extraordinarily charming Amrit Kaur, Alyah Chanelle Scott, Pauline Chalamet, and Renee Rapp) carry a breezy, infectious, endearing energy that immediately pulls you in, not dissimilar to other Kaling-created shows like NEVER HAVE I EVER and THE MINDY PROJECT. And while THE SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS is a comedy first and foremost, the pilot delivers on setting up drama and dimensionality within our ensemble, too; each character carries their own baggage with them to school—secret affairs, fractured family lives, hot older siblings. If you’re looking to relive the euphoric highs and deeply underwhelming lows of your college years, this one’s for you.
—Neal Mulani, Development Assistant
YELLOWJACKETS (trailer here) finally premiered on SHOWTIME this Sunday! Off to a foreboding start, the series switches back and forth between the traumatic past and present of a group of high school soccer stars who survive a deadly plane crash and resort to cannibalism while stranded in the vast snowy wilderness of Ontario. People are calling it a gender-flipped LORD OF THE FLIES, but I have high hopes that it’ll be much more. The ingeniousness of the casting of each character’s adult counterpart is unmatched, with stars including Melanie Lysnkey, Juliette Lewis, Tawny Cypress, and Christina Ricci. I can’t wait to see where this one goes. You can check out the first episode for free here.
—Alicia Devereaux, Development Assistant
Your favorite middle-school perverts are back in a new season of BIG MOUTH (trailer here). Season 5 goes balls-to-the-wall (sometimes literally) with more fantastical metaphors and musical numbers—including the return of the Shame Wizard, a.k.a. Shane Lizard. The episodes are not as tight as the ones from some of the early seasons, but the jokes are better for it. I'm convinced that hypochondriac, psychopath, and lovable weirdo Andrew Glouberman reigns as TV’s funniest character. And for all you film lovers, the first two episodes pile in references to GOODFELLAS, PULP FICTION, and THE DARK KNIGHT, although the Chodeker doesn't compete with Heath Ledger’s and Jack Nicholson's performances. So don’t fear, BIG MOUTH is zany as ever and not at all Thanksgiving friendly! Consider yourself warned.
—Daniel Shifren, Production & Development Intern
Podcast
I know there are some rom-com lovers out there and I am, of course, here for it! Taking the classic workplace romance international, SHOWMANCE is a fun and entertaining audio romp through London. Our jilted heroine heads abroad when a dream job comes calling, and meets not one but two very sexy British bachelors along the way. Not only will SHOWMANCE make your commute more adorable, but I also want to shout out the fantastic sound design with the audio effects providing just as many “punchlines” as the dialogue does. Fair warning: Have a snack on hand as the series is heavy on audio food porn. And yes, that is a thing.
—Emmanuelle Stahler, VP, Audio
Music
This year marks the 10th anniversary of A$AP Rocky's debut mixtape, LIVE. LOVE. A$AP. This album was such a huge moment in the rap world and solidified who A$AP Rocky is today. For those of you who may not know, A$AP Rocky is an American rapper from Harlem, New York. He’s part of a collective of artists called A$AP Mob, and rose to popularity in the early 2010s by embracing internet culture and pulling various different types of sounds and styles and making them his own. He married Southern rap with OG New York sounds to create a new world that bridged a huge gap with LIVE. LOVE. A$AP. This year, to celebrate the iconic mixtape, Rocky blessed fans by making the tape available on streaming services for the first time ever. Since releasing on Spotify and Apple Music a few weeks ago, every single song has been streamed over a million times, making it clear that this music can stand the test of time. If you’re new to his music, I suggest starting out with PESO, GET LIT, and a new track he dropped with the mixtape, SANDMAN.
—Eden Bekele, Digital Associate
