Thank You, Jane Villanueva and Rebecca Bunch

Plus: new recommendations on HBO, crowdfunding and Veronica Mars, and Muppet Movie music [NPR] by Linda Holmes Welcome! It was the week when [an anticipated trailer]( made a lot of people cry. It was the week when television critics began [their press tour]( in Beverly Hills, where they’ll be reporting back on what’s coming in the next few months. And it was the week when I (your regular newsletter correspondent, Linda Holmes) returned from leave, meaning there will probably be a little less muscle, [so to speak]( in the newsletter going forward. Many thanks to Glen Weldon for taking the reins in recent weeks. Let's get to it. Opening Argument [scene from 'Jane The Virgin'] Tyler Golden/The CW Network Saying goodbye is never easy. Next Wednesday, July 31, we’ll say goodbye to Jane The Virgin, the CW telenovela that is somehow also a self-aware riff on telenovelas, after five seasons. Goodbye to Jane, to Xo and Alba. Goodbye to Raf and Michael and Petra and JR, to the inimitable Rogelio De La Vega, and to our constant friend, [our Narrator](. Just a few months ago, back in April, we gave a send-off to Rebecca Bunch, the heroine-ish of the CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, after four seasons. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend started a year after Jane and, between the two of them, the shows really made a mark not just on the CW, but on television in general. First of all, both shows were not only about women, but created by women. Jane was the work of Jennie Urman, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend came from both its star, Rachel Bloom, and Aline Brosh McKenna, the screenwriter of The Devil Wears Prada and other films. Both stars, Bloom and Jane’s Gina Rodriguez, hustled vigorously to get and keep their shows in front of audiences. Both shows dug deep into not only their lead characters’ love triangles with men, but also their nurturing relationships with other women: Jane with her mother and grandmother as well as her nemesis-turned-bestie Petra; Rebecca with her close friends Paula, Heather and nemesis-turned-bestie Valencia. Both were formally distinctive for network television: Crazy Ex was the rare hour-long musical; Jane was not only based on a telenovela, but incorporated on-screen typed text as well as that funny, fourth-wall-breaking narration. The CW has no obvious successors to these shows. The network has mostly committed to a brand that emphasizes superhero shows and dark high-school stories — in both cases, they’ve got shows that are popular and well-regarded. But there’s nothing that seems likely to continue this thread of funny, oddball, women-led format-breakers. And it’s a real shame. Rebecca Bunch told some of the hardest truths there are about mental illness, all while breaking into song. Jane Villanueva tackled grief and family and loss, all while navigating evil doppelgangers and faked deaths and — lest we forget — an accidental insemination while she was a virgin. These were shows that found unoccupied creative ground and built on it, and what they built will remain, even if they stop adding to it. These creators and writers and actors and crew and everything that they made, though? They will be missed, as will be their heroines. --------------------------------------------------------------- We Recommend HBO premiered a documentary this week called Who Killed Garrett Phillips? Directed by Liz Garbus (There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane; What Happened, Miss Simone?), it tells the story of the murder of a white 12-year-old boy in Upstate New York and the years-long pursuit, despite what appears to be minimal evidence, of a black suspect who was ultimately charged and acquitted. Infuriating and invigorating, it’s worth tracking down on one of HBO’s platforms if you have access. To stay with HBO for a moment: On Saturday night, they’re airing a film called Share. It was directed and written by Pippa Bianco and is based on a short film she made in 2015. The film stars Rhianne Barreto as a high-school girl who’s sexually assaulted at a party and discovers that a video of the incident has gone viral. It’s hard to watch but very thoughtful about trauma and isolation and social media (not just scoldy and alarmist, but truly thoughtful), and the performances are outstanding. I had the opportunity this week to read It Feels Good To Be Yourself, a children’s book about gender identity written by Theresa Thorn and illustrated by Noah Grigni. (You might know Theresa as one of the hosts of the One Bad Mother podcast.) It made me so glad that there are so many books to help parents talk to kids about all sorts of things, and the art is gorgeous. --------------------------------------------------------------- What We Did This Week [scene from Veronica Mars on Hulu] Hulu I wrote about [the complexities of crowdfunding]( — and how choosing to treat a crowdfunded project as a fan-service opportunity might have had unintended consequences for the recently released fourth season of Veronica Mars on Hulu. In cooperation with NPR Music, I also [wrote about the soundtrack]( to The Muppet Movie, which is turning 40. (Take note: If you’re a Muppet Movie person, there are also [anniversary showings of the film]( in some theaters on Tuesday, July 30.) [Glen wrote about]( the new Amazon superhero-antihero series The Boys, which he found to be not as adventurous as it thinks it is. [Stephen wrote about]( yet another “Old Town Road” remix. Our producer, Jessica Reedy (you may know her as “Underscore”), is taking some well-deserved time off this week. So we shared [our 2018 Jeopardy! episode]( featuring our pal Marissa Lorusso, on Wednesday of this week. On Friday, we brought back [our Queer Eye episode]( which we did with the great Tobin Low and Kathy Tu of the podcast Nancy. --------------------------------------------------------------- What's Making Us Happy Most every week on the show, we talk about some other things out in the world that have been giving us joy lately. But since we've queued up some reruns, this segment will make its return next week. Rest assured: There are, in fact, things making us happy, which we will share with you soon. --------------------------------------------------------------- What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [pchh@npr.org](mailto:pchh@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! 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