by Claire Star
This Is Us premiered last month to critical acclaim and I definitely see why. Each character is likeable yet flawed, and the challenges they face are relatable to the experience of growing up. The cast is strong and includes Milo Ventimiglia, better known to Nicole and me as Jess from Gilmore Girls (which returns this month!). Watch This is Us on NBC.
About the royal family just as Queen Elizabeth was coming onto the throne, The Crown is sure to please fans of period pieces like Downton Abbey or Call the Midwife. It’s beautifully filmed and, as is to be expected, the costumes and settings are gorgeous. Plus, John Lithgow, voice of Lord Farquaad from Shrek, plays Winston Churchill, which I’m getting a kick out of. Watch The Crown on Netflix.
A mockumentary from the creative geniuses Seth Meyers, Fred Armisen and Bill Hader, each episode of Documentary Now! covers a new (fictitious) documentary subject, presented by Helen Mirren(!). My favorite episode, “A Town, A Gangster, A Festival,” is about an annual Al Capone festival that takes place in an Icelandic village 40 miles outside of Reykjavik. Who will win the Al Capone look alike contest? The woman? The incumbent? Or the newcomer Iranian immigrant, played by Armisen, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the real Capone? The hints of true Icelandic charm made me want to go back and the Al Capone theme had me nostalgic for the visit Nicole and I took to the Eastern State Penitentiary this summer. (Yes, we are strange tourists.) Watch Documentary Now! on IFC and Netflix.
Are there any shows you'd recommend? We'd love to hear!
// Photos via The New Yorker, NBC, Wired, and Entertainment Weekly
Tags: by Claire, Art, Culture, Watch