Everything we canât stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture.
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This Week - My beloved [Morning Show has returned](. - I canât stop laughing about this [celebrity auction](. - Gimme gimme gimme this [Mamma Mia! oral history](. - An instant Real Housewives icon. - Some sage celebrity advice. TVâs Greatest Show Is Finally Back There are TV series that have wild twists, and then there is [The Morning Show](. Itâs just on a different level, like saying there are good actors, and then there is Meryl Streepâor there are things that are hot, and then there is the sun. The Morning Show is my sun. And my moon, my starsâmy everything. I am so glad it is back. (Warning: Spoilers for The Morning Show ahead!) We should all be grateful to exist at the same time as a TV show that, to resolve its storyline in which Steve Carell plays a Matt Lauer-esque news anchor who is disgraced following a sex scandal, had him drive off a cliff in Italy and die. It was then revealed that Jennifer Anistonâs character, Alex, also had an affair with him at one point. This wasnât even a finale cliffhanger (heh); these things happened during random episodes midway through the season. Thereâs a certain gusto with which The Morning Show employs these twists, an unapologetic confidence that allows a character to do something that they never have given even the slightest indication that they would ever do and you just go âsure, make senseâ without questioning it. Case in point: the decision to have Reese Witherspoonâs Bradley Jackson and Julianna Marguliesâ Laura Peterson [start a romance]( with each other. There are moments in my life that were so packed with emotion that Iâll never forget a single detail about them: my high school graduation, the birth of my twin nephews, being in the same room as Oprah Winfrey, and when Reese Witherspoon and Julianna Margulies, completely out of nowhere, started making out in the back of a company car. I am thrilled to report that the [new season of The Morning Show](, which began this week on Apple TV+, is every bit as twisty as its two previous outings, in all of its ludicrous, enthralling glory. In the first two episodes alone, [Jon Hamm is introduced]( as a billionaire named Paul Marks who is not so loosely inspired by Elon Musk; Alex makes a Kelly Ripa-esque stand for the money and stake in the network she deserves; Billy Crudupâs Cory Ellison secretly tries to sell the company to Paul; we learn that Bradley was not just at the Capitol for the insurrection, but in it; she, Cory, and Paul are launched in a rocket to outer space; there is a cyberattack that exposes everyone in the companyâs texts and emails; and there is an equal-pay race reckoning. When a show is doing so much like this, youâd think it would be head-spinning. But thereâs something almost comforting and calming about the cadence and wildness of these twists. One of the biggest surprises of The Morning Show was the revelation, over the course of its first season, that the series really was more of a soap opera than anything else. I think because of the pedigree of its star cast and the topics it was tackling amid the #MeToo movement, there was an expectation for pompousness or pretention. Instead, the show entertainingly leaned into salaciousness. At times, sure, that can be goofy. But itâs also really fun. Thereâs even a relatability to all the outlandishness. Chronicling #MeToo, COVID, the collapse of the news media, racial tensions, political polarization, and cyber warfare, all while romantic trysts, family issues, and petty office drama affect the charactersâ lives: Itâs not trying to do too much. âToo muchâ is exactly what our lives have been like these last few years. Thereâs a delirium to everything The Morning Show is doing that is treated as normalcyâkind of like âbeing alive in the year 2023â is for all of us. The Morning Show is a spiritual sister to the other TV series to which I have a ferocious devotion: [And Just Like That](. Whether they are of the same quality is debatable, but there is a certain preposterousness to charactersâ behaviors that audiences are asked not only to forgive, but simply go along with in order to enjoy. Considering the decades of history behind the And Just Like That characters from the [Sex and the City show and films](, thatâs more difficult to do with the sequel series. But celebrating rather than questioning the plot twists can lead to a highly enjoyable viewing experience. A person doesnât spend a significant percentage of his life watching Greyâs Anatomy and dozens of TV series created by Ryan Murphy without learning how fun it is when you donât take a showâs nonsensical choices and silliness too seriously. So what do I think will happen on this season of The Morning Show? There is literally no way for a human to predict, no matter how closely they watch the series. And thatâs why I love it. This Celebrity Auction Will Make You Laugh It is a rare moment when major Hollywood celebritiesâ behavior is altruistic and noble, while at the same time absolutely hilarious. We are fortunate to be experiencing such a time right nowâand the extremely online among us, bless them all, are having a field day with it. A slew of famous peopleâactors, directors, musiciansâare participating in an eBay auction to support the Union Solidarity Coalition, with the net proceeds going to benefit healthcare funds for crew members who have been affected by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Many of the experiences available for bidding are of the normal variety youâd expect from something like this: Zoom with the [stars of Manifest](; have dinner with [Bob Odenkirk and David Cross](; ask Sarah Silverman [20 questions in 20 minutes](. Others are moreâ¦creative. Adam Scott will [walk your dog]( for one hour. John Lithgow [will paint]( a watercolor portrait of your dog. (Lots of opportunities to pamper your dog.) Lena Dunham [will paint]( a mural in your house, which several people on social media remarked comes off as a threat. The most genius members of our societyâthose who make memesâreally ran with this one, Photoshopping fake items to bid on. Itâs the perfect viral trend because some of the real-life items are so ridiculous that you really wouldnât be able to tell which of the entries you stumble on while scrolling through social media are real and which are fake. (Except, of course, the ones that are of the shadier variety: Kate Winslet [will tell you]( the âfour gay actorsâ she knows who havenât publicly come out, referencing a 2021 quote she gave, or Caitlyn Jenner will [run over your nemesis]( with her car. Those are just obviously fakeâ¦and hilarious.) Itâs the rare meme trend where almost every single attempt is legitimately funny, and, though itâs been going on all week, hasnât gotten old. Now if youâll excuse me, I need to run to the bank to apply for a loan so I can bid on âNatasha Lyonne will help you solve the New York Times Sunday crossword.â ([Real item!]() The Mamma Mia! Oral History It is my firm belief that the greatest, purest joy a human can experience during their time on this Earth is while watching a production of Mamma Mia!âor either of the two films based on the ABBA musical. Short of that, thereâs the bliss of reading [Vogueâs oral history of Mamma Mia!](. Timed to the filmâs 15th anniversary, itâs a tell-all that goes on for about 450,000 wordsâand, as far as Iâm concerned, could have gone forever. The creators of the original musical, members of ABBA themselves, the filmsâ production team, and many of its stars all participate, and, in a rarity for these things, actually dish. There are casting scoops on stars who were consideredâMeryl Streep was always the first choice for Donna, but Michelle Pfeiffer was floated as a possibilityâand who gave great auditions and were nearly cast. When it came to choosing a Sophie, Emily Blunt, Felicity Jones, and Natalie Dormer were great but not available; Gemma Arterton, Carey Mulligan, and theater stars Tammy Blanchard and Celia Keenan-Bolger made strong impressions; Amy Adams, Brittany Murphy, Jessica Biel, Kirsten Dunst, and Mandy Moore were among the actresses who were seen. Dominic Cooper had to be begged to audition for Sky. Neither Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, nor Stellan SkarsgÃ¥rd had to audition, though they all confess to being convinced that they were about to royally humiliate themselves in a very public way for being in the movie. Everyone talks about the âVoulez-Vousâ shoot as if they had been to war. On nights after long shoots, everyone got absolutely wasted togetherâStreep included. If youâre a person of taste who has seen the Mamma Mia! films a few dozen timesâ¦a yearâjust me?â[the whole thing]( is a blast to read. A Real Housewives Star Is Born In this weekâs episode of [The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City](, one of the cast members breaks down in tears. Thatâs hardly unusual in and of itself when it comes to this showâbut the circumstances this time certainly are. New cast member Monica Garcia got choked up while confessing to her mother that she had splurged on a Louis Vuitton bag that she could not afford. She felt inferior to the richer women in the cast, who are always flaunting designer brands, and wanted something to make her feel like she belonged. It was really touching and relatableâand finally an acknowledgment of the ludicrous wealth that the women on these shows are so typically nonchalant about. Later in the episode, Monica confides in castmate Heather Gay that she was excommunicated from the Mormon church after admitting to sleeping with her brother-in-law for 18 months, and then spends an hour digging through the trash and tampon disposal bin in a public bathroom searching for [Lisa Barlowâs $60,000 lost ring](. This is what you call a stellar Housewives debut, Bravo fans. Iâm obsessed. Words to Live By From the people who brought you the iconic [Kim Cattrall quote and headline]( âI donât want to be in a situation for even an hour where Iâm not enjoying myselfâ comes a new mantra, this one courtesy of [Fleabag star Andrew Scott](: âWe need a bit more of people not liking things.â Amen More From The Daily Beastâs Obsessed Chris Evans, who is 42, married a 26-year-old, and the worst people on the internet have the most misguided takes about it. [Read more](. NSYNC reunited at the MTV VMAs, and the headline news is how egregiously boring the whole ordeal was. [Read more](. Emma Stoneâs wild new movie Poor Things is now the Oscars frontrunner. [Read more](. [See This] - Theater Camp: One of the [most delightful movies of the year]( can now be streamed at home. (Now on Hulu) - El Conde: Pablo LarraÃn imagines if Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet [was a vampire](. (Now on Netflix) - American Horror Story: Delicate: No oneâs seen Kim Kardashianâs American Horror Story debut yet. But good or bad, it will [definitely be fun to watch](. (Wed. on FX) - Sex Education: Itâs the final season! I just [love this show]( so much! (Thurs. on Netflix) [Skip This] - Wilderness: Not even Taylor Swiftâs music [can save it](. (Now on Prime Video) - A Haunting in Venice: Please put an end to [these Poirot movies](! (Now in theaters) Like our take on what to watch?
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