Hello, friends. Happy Friday! It's supposed to hit 90 degrees in Boston tomorrow. Summer, here we come!
Summer TV and movies are heating up too, with lots of exciting releases in the next few weeks. Including:
- Wednesday, May 25 - My favorite food and travel show, Somebody Feed Phil, returns to Netflix! If you aren't familiar, Phil Rosenthal, the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond, travels the world in search of the best food, with a heavy emphasis on ice cream and gelato. His brother Richard is his camera man, which makes for some hilarious sibling moments.
- Wednesday, June 1 - The Real Housewives of Dubai premieres on Bravo. I can already tell that whatever I'm expecting this to be, it's going to be even more over the top.
- Tuesday, June 14 - A new documentary about Jennifer Lopez and her incredible career will land on Netflix. It's called Halftime.
- Tuesday, June 28 - Season two of Only Murders in the Building drops on Hulu. Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez will be reunited in Manhattan.
This week, Love on the Spectrum and Who Killed Sara both returned to Netflix with new seasons. David Letterman's fireside chat show also released new episodes, including interviews with Billie Eilish, Cardi B, Ryan Reynolds, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Will Smith (likely recorded pre-Oscars). I have a lot of streaming to do!
Now, onto this week's top picks.
1. The Wilds (Amazon) - It's impossible to talk about this new season without talking about season one, so if you haven't watched that first batch of episodes - SPOILER ALERT!
I loved The Wilds. When it debuted, it felt like a modern day Lord of the Flies. In the season finale, it was revealed that the girls were not the only group duped into a retreat and left to fend for themselves, there was also a group of boys.
Rachel Griffiths returns as Dr. Gretchen Klein, the evil mastermind behind this experiment. Sarah Pidgeon plays Leah, the member of the girls cohort who is determined to find out what's going on and expose Dr. Klein.
The stories jumps back and forth between present day (in their jail-like cells) and memories of the time on the island.
In season one, there was an incredible amount of time spent sharing the back stories of each girl. In this season, since the writers are juggling both the girls and the boys, we didn't get as in-depth a look at the boys as I would have liked. Zack Calderon plays Rafael, who gets the most screen time.
There are eight episodes in season two, each one hour long. My favorite was episode four, where the girls throw a golden birthday party for Dot, who turns 18 on July 18. Having had a golden birthday party myself, I was delighted by this particular detail.
The final episode absolutely left the door open for a season three and hope we get one!
2. Bling Empire (Netflix) - If you're looking for some escapism, Bling Empire will do the trick. Transport yourself to sunny Los Angeles where this group of self-proclaimed "crazy, rich Asians" are living their best life.
Season two has eight episodes, each are around 30 minutes. The full group from season one returns, with the addition of a few new faces, including a couple named Mimi and Don who live in Newport Beach and throw parties that would rival any celebrity wedding. In one of the early episodes, Mimi throws a butterfly-themed garden party that had my jaw on the floor. The floral arrangements alone probably cost more than I make in a year.
A major focus of season two is the budding romance between Kevin and Kim. Kevin is clearly interested, but Kim is having a hard time getting over Kevin's promiscuity. There's a scene where Kim stands Kevin up for a date that he planned that is so cringe worthy I wanted to hide behind the couch.
There's a new dynamic between Anna and Jamie that I would describe as couture mentor and mentee. The photo shoot they did together was fabulous. And of course, Anna and Christine are still battling it out for the title of richest Asian woman in Los Angeles. Though we did see a more humane side of Christine this season as she shared openly about the loss of her mother, and her desire to expand her family.
The show ended on a very weird cliffhanger in which Kelly's ex-boyfriend Andrew showed up at Anna's house. Kelly was barely on screen this entire season, so not sure why they thought viewers would care?
As an added bonus, there were some other reality TV stars who made cameos this season, including Julia and Batsheva from My Unorthodox Life and Steve Gold from Million Dollar Listing New York.
3. Workin' Moms (Netflix) - Catherine Reitman is the creator and star of Workin' Moms, a show about a group of women juggling work, romantic relationships, and motherhood. Reitman stars as Kate, a mother of two who owns her own PR agency. She spends most of her time with her colleague Sloane or her best friend Anne.
In this new season, Kate and her PR agency try to take down a MLM, Anne is forced into anger management classes, and Sloane considers having a baby on her own.
Kate and her husband Nathan also have to adjust after learning Nathan has a son from a previous relationship. When that boy's mother passes away, his son comes to live with them, which creates a new (and dysfunctional) dynamic.
This is season six and I have to say, I'm still enjoying it! All of the storylines about Kate's PR agency and her clients are highly relatable.
If you've never watched this show before, it's a great binge. The episodes are short and very funny.
There you have it! This week's top suggestions. Happy streaming!
*Images courtesy of Unsplash, Entertainment Weekly, Today Show and Romper.
