Hi, friends! Happy Friday. It's October 15 and I officially have bowls of Halloween candy in every room of the house.
The weather here in Boston has gotten crisper with each passing week, which makes for excellent streaming weather, especially in the early hours of the morning on Saturday and Sunday.
Here are some things coming up:
- Monday, October 25 - Below Deck returns to Bravo. This time the charter boat is helmed by Captain Lee. Below Deck has been my MVP show during the pandemic. It's escapism at its best.
- Friday, October 29 - Amazon Prime Video is debuting a series called Maradona: Blessed Dream about the Argentine soccer player Diego Armando Maradona. My uncle is from Argentina and when Maradona passed away in November 2020, the entire country mourned.
Ok, onto this week's picks.
1. Maid (Netflix) - If you haven't had a chance to watch Maid yet, prioritize it for this weekend. It's a 10-part series inspired by Stephanie Land's memoir, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive.
In real life, Stephanie and her daughter, Emilia Story (nickname Mia), leave an abusive home and move to Missoula, Montana. In the fictionalized version, the main character's name is Alex and her daughter's name is Maddy. Alex is played by Margaret Qualley and her boyfriend, Sean, is played by Nick Robinson. You may recognize Robinson from Love, Simon and A Teacher.
The cast of this show is amazing. Andie MacDowell plays Alex's mother, Billy Burke plays her father, Raymond Ablack plays a daycare dad interested in her, Anika Noni Rose plays one of her cleaning clients, and Aimee Carrero has a memorable role as her first friend in the domestic violence shelter.
My heart was in my throat every minute of all 10 episodes. The writers and directors did an incredible job of making you feel the sheer panic Alex is feeling every single day. Whether it's fear her partner is going to hurt her, anger that her mother is so unreliable, or desperation that her bank account is empty - you feel it all.
The acting is brilliant, the cinematography is perfect, and the final five minutes of the last episode had me ugly crying. Keep the tissues close by for this one!
The show has been such an instant hit on Netflix that it's not only in the top 10 shows being watched in the U.S., but it catapulted Land's book back onto the New York Times bestseller list, putting her in the #8 spot. Pretty amazing!
Land has been sharing photos and answering questions from fans via her Instagram account, @stepville. Definitely worth a follow if you were moved by the show.
2. Dear White People (Netflix) - I have loved this series since it first debuted and was excited when season four was released a few weeks ago. I was delayed starting it (because Maid sucked me in!) but finally watched this past weekend.
In this new installment, we flash forward to the future, where our college pals are living their adult lives and catching up on Zoom. They're talking about their senior year, which we then experience via flashbacks. Each episode also has musical numbers, which I found very strange.
While I still adore the characters (especially Coco), I had a hard time staying excited this season. If you watched, I would love to know if you felt the same.
Fun fact: Karamo from Queer Eye joins the cast this season as a guidance counselor. I screamed when I saw him and his gorgeous, bald head.
There you have it! Have a lovely weekend.
*Images courtesy of Unsplash, Marie Claire and Netflix.
