Bonjour mes amis!
Well.... Its been a long time coming! Almost a year since I posted anything on here but I decided to brush off the cobwebs of this little blog and write up some of my thoughts on my favourite tv shows I have been enjoying recently.
Ok so first up... is Shrill
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| Copyright of amazon.com |
This series stars Aidy Bryant and is based on the book: Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West. The series first aired on March 15th 2019 on Hulu and for the UK viewers like myself I was able to watch this on BBC iplayer. Aidy Bryant plays Annie Easton who is a young woman navigating through life in Portland, Oregon with her best friend/room mate Fran. Annie is an aspiring journalist working for a local magazine; juggling her life around an unfavourable boyfriend, a difficult boss and her tasking parents. Each episode is no longer than 30 minutes long so its perfect for a bit of quick viewing. I absolutely loved this! So much so I have watched both series twice.. there's everything to love about this series; the brilliantly scripted characters, the aesthetics, the costumes and the general cool vibe of the show. Annie and Frans' house is beautiful, I for sure wouldn't mind living there, it has lots of gorgeous greenery and very cool interiors. A personal highlight of this series is Annie's boss Gabe played by John Cameron Mitchell, he plays the role of Gabe perfectly and I cannot imagine anyone else in this role, the entertaining dynamic between Annie and Gabe is so amusing to watch.
Shrill gets top marks from me! I am praying they will do another series, which I think is very highly anticipated and would be very well received.
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Next on my list is... AJ and the Queen
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| Copyright of pride.com |
This latest offering from Mamma Ru (RuPaul Charles) is the fabulous AJ and the Queen. The last time I had seen RuPaul in more of an acting role and aside from RuPauls Drag Race was Girlboss; he played the role of Sophia Amoroso's neighbour and since then I have been eager to see him in another acting role and this did not disappoint. The series premiered on Netflix on the 10th of January 2020 and has 10 episodes with each episode running for approx 1 hour. The series follows Ruby Red played by RuPaul who is a highly successful drag queen with big dreams of opening her own drag club. A few bumps in the road and Ruby embarks on a cross country American tour of drag clubs with more than she bargains for when 10-year old AJ stowaways in Rubys RV in the hope of reaching her pop pop as she has recently been neglected by her mother and decides this is the best hope for her future. Ruby and AJ find themselves in a situation where they find some solace in each other and are able to teach each other things along the way, creating a loving impact on each other and the lives of others.
This series is heart warming, witty and executed brilliantly. I gorged the series in under a week and really found myself bonding to these characters and their journey, it touched my heart and leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling. As much of a RuPaul fan as I am, I was almost certainly going to enjoy this and it surpassed that, if you want a bit of feel good escapism with some killer drag then please watch it!
Ok, now for number 3 and drum roll please.... LIVE! WORK! POSE!
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| Copyright of bbc.co.uk |
Yes its Pose and it is everything I dreamed this would be. Pose premiered on the 3rd of June 2018 on FX in the US, I recently watched it on BBC iplayer which is available for people based in the UK. The series is based in New York City in the 1980s with season 2 in the early 1990s, the series is about the gender-nonconforming ballroom scene in NYC encompassing a largely African American and Latino LGBTQ community who compete in various categories such as dancing and modelling to win trophies and recognition from their peers. The community largely consists of chosen families which are known as Houses. Many themes are addressed within this series such as gender, nonconformity, the downtown social scene of NYC and HIV/AIDS. Pose can be quite hard hitting at times and a real wake up call to what life was like for these certain people in these times, coping with social rejection, poverty, disease and other struggles. The ballroom scene is an escape from the outside world and a place to truly be themselves and achieve recognition amongst the community.
I thoroughly enjoyed this series and loved the 80s aesthetic of the gritty NY downtown scene with the glamour and creativity of the balls. Some of the ideas and concepts around the costumes and what they bring to the balls is truly amazing! There are a lot of very strong characters each with their own interesting story to tell, you will not be disappointed for sure! Also the soundtrack is spot on :)
Lets move on to Series number 4 and for this one its going to be.. the one and only.. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.
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| Copyright of imdb.com |
Now I must admit that initially this did take me a little while to get into.. but once I was there I could not stop watching. The humour in this show is quite interesting and not something I was that familiar with, that's why I think it initially took me a little bit of time to settle in to the dialogue and the relationship between the characters. However, after minimal persistence I was loving this programme. The series is now on season 3 which I have watched entirely and I am desperate for another season, for which it has been renewed (a lot of excited Maisel fans here.) The series is based in New York City in the late 50s/early 60s, it follows the story of Miriam "Midge" Maisel played by the lovely Rachel Brosnahan who realises she has a blossoming talent for stand up comedy and decides to pursue a career in it. I love the 50/60s era of this series, the costume design is off the scale and the eye to detail in capturing the time period is wonderful. This show is witty, fashionable, heart warming and a bit tear jerking at times. If you're in the mood for something fun, vibrant and a good laugh then get on your amazon prime and hit up Mrs Maisel!
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Ok.. Here is the final one and its a Netflix original series called Spinning Out.
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| Copyright of imdb.com |
Unfortunately this series was not renewed for a second series however do not let that deter you from giving this a watch. The main character in Spinning Out is Kat played by Kaya Scodelario who is a young aspiring figure skater who unfortunately suffers a serious ice skating injury which jeopardises the future of her ice skating career. Kat is offered a chance opportunity to get herself back on the ice in the form of pairs skating with an unlikely partner Justin who Kat has a fiery relationship with. The pair embark on their hopes of realising their Olympic dream together. Battling a series of events that stack against them such as Kats own struggles with mental illness as well as it running in her family. Justin and Kat face financial sacrifices, physical and mental issues which all test them on their Olympic journey. The main story is focused around Kat and Justin although there are other stories running alongside this in the form of Kats family, her volatile relationship with her mum (played by January Jones) who also suffers from mental illness and her relationships with her fellow ice skating sister and friend. I really enjoyed this series as it not only focused on ice skating but touched on a lot of other serious topics, the ice skating is soo impressive and I loved watching the routines and glitzy costumes (it gave me serious doubts about why I didn't get into ice skating at an early age!)
So there you have my mini reviews of my top 5 series I have been watching lately, it may give you a little inspo for some things to watch seeing as we are mainly staying indoors for the time being. Just a quick run through of places to find these shows, if you are in the UK then Shrill and Pose can be found on BBC iplayer, I also think series one of Pose is streaming on Netflix. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is on Amazon Prime and AJ and the Queen and Spinning out are currently on Netflix.
Hope you enjoy! Stay safe everyone and let me know your thoughts if you happen to watch any of these. I am considering doing a similar review for podcasts in my next post so look out for that.
Lots of Love
A bisous!
Cheryl x
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