Thoughts on 5 New TV Shows

1. Nine Perfect Strangers - I've only watched 3 episodes so far, but it is soooooo sloooooowww. I bought the book earlier this year, but I haven't read it yet. I did like Liane Moriarty's What Alice Forgot (it wasn't great, but it was a solid summer read), but I'm not the biggest fan of the series Big Little Lies (it's ok, but severely over-praised in my opinion). This seems like the same type of story (privileged middle-aged wealthy white people doing privileged middle-aged wealthy white people stuff). The first episode serves as a character introduction of our "nine perfect strangers", and while the cast is incredible, the actual characters are really boring, predictable, cliched as fuck. I have a huge, gigantic, massively insane crush on Samara Weaving - and she does a good job in the role, but it's basically your typical spoiled shallow influencer and I have no interest in learning anything else about her (although I'm sure there is something "deeper" to her story. *rolls eyes*). There is also Luke Evans, Bobby Cannavale, and Michael Shannon as "asshole", "nice guy but also an asshole" and "nice guy", respectively. And then to top it all off, there is Nicole Kidman with a very jarring Russian accent being super "mysterious" as this new age cult leader/personality. I don't feel like the role fits her at all (she's just always cold to me, which isn't necessarily a bad thing when that's what the role calls for). I'll keep watching, hoping that it gets more interesting, but I'm kind of dreading reading the book now. 

2. American Horror Stories - Wow. I was not expecting this to be this bad. I'm a fan of American Horror Story, as a whole. Although some seasons are clearly better than others - Coven and Asylum are miles better than the rest of the series. But all of them have interesting ideas and solid performances. This, however, is wildly uneven with horrible performances, and really, really cliched horror "stories". I think the idea of a spin-off is actually interesting, but I definitely feel like this is aimed at a younger audience (which is also how I felt about the Fear Street movies). I think the most glaring problem is the acting. I truly appreciate that this is taking the idea of "the next generation" quite literally by casting Paris Jackson, Kaia Gerber, Billie Lourd and Noah Cyrus - but none of them can actually act (Paris has great screen presence, though, and Kaia has the most potential). Also, I'm devastated that the worst offender, the actress playing Scarlett, is the same girl from The Vast of Night because I adored her in that. The character is just a really overdone teenage rebel cliche, that is more laughable than it is disturbing. Every episode gets worse, and the first episode is downright terrible...so....I don't have much else to say. 

3. Cooking with Paris - Fun fact about me: I actually love Paris Hilton. I love Nicole Richie way more, and she is usually the one that instigated the hijinks during their The Simple Life times, but Hilton is hilarious in her own right. I don't, however, like any of the Kardashians - I don't even know which one is which, except for Kim, who unfortunately appears in the first episode of this. This show would be so much better if it was "cooking with Paris and Nicole", but also I'm pretty sure Nicole would set the house on fire, so it's probably not a good idea. Another fun fact about me: I'm a really, really good cook. I absolutely hate doing it, but sometimes I amaze myself at the results. I don't usually like watching cooking shows for the same reason I don't like cooking - it usually grosses me out. Like when I touch raw chicken I have to shut down my brain or else I feel nauseous. But the good thing about this cooking show is that it's obviously not really about the cooking - it's about how ridiculous (and funny) Paris is. We, surprisingly, have a lot in common - our love of cereal and McDonalds french fries, our hate at how many milk options there are (it's seriously an entire aisle at my grocery store - why are there that many different milks???), not knowing what common kitchen appliances are (I am constantly googling for pictures), and somehow the ability to make delicious meals. It's like we are twins. 

4. Dr. Death - I wasn't really planning on watching this show - I didn't even realize that I have Peacock as a streaming service (I literally have so many streaming services and I can't even keep track if I'm paying extra or not? Why do I have this but not Paramount+? I never signed up for it?). But the thought of Pacey in doctor scrubs just reeled me in and then Christian Slater really cinched it. I'm 2 episodes in, and so far it's kinda boring. And mostly predictable. It reminds me a little of the "Dirty John" story - how he is not really who he says he is (maybe?). I think there is definitely an interesting story here, but I don't know when they are going to get to it, and also once they do, I'm not sure how they can continue. It's based on a true story, but I'm not familiar with how it turns out. 

5. The Pursuit of Love - The first episode of this mini-series is really boring, but thankfully it picks up, and the next two are absolutely wonderful (it's only 3 episodes long). Obviously I am a bit biased by my love for Lily James (just pure sunshine, in my opinion), but I think this is a very lovely story of friendship that changes and grows as their lives continue in different directions. It reminded me a lot of my friendship with my college bff - she had that same personality as Linda; always the center of attention, unpredictable, incredibly impulsive (the exact opposite of me, really) and never, ever boring. But after about 10 years, I realized how incredibly toxic she was to my mental health because she was also very selfish and inconsiderate so I gave up on our friendship (I still miss her and love her dearly and I hope that she is well). Anyway, I recommend this if period dramas are your thing - especially for the costume design. And back to Lily for a sec - she's incredible in this, but I was a bit distracted by the fact that this is the project that she had that very publicized affair with Dominic West and now I definitely question her life choices. Nothing against West, but she is waaaaay too good for him (ok, I guess that is obnoxiously against West, but facts are facts). Wouldn't she be cute with someone like, say..., Taron Egerton? He's single and adorable and they have friends in common. He's RIGHT THERE GIRL. Also, WHY is she doing this Pam Anderson project?! Who let her do this? I don't care how good the makeup is - the project is fucked (let Pam Anderson tell her own story, when she wants to do it - that's the only way to make it good).