X Degrees of Separation
Little America-The Underground Railroad-The Woman in the Window-The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Over the last month I unintentionally watched films and television shows that shared the same actors. I would watch one thing then watch something else a few days later and recognize the same actor, and then watch another thing and recognize another actor from the thing I had just watched. During the first week of May, I watched the Apple TV+ series Little America, an anthology series based on true stories of American immigrants. Episode three “The Cowboy,” featured genius child actor Chase W. Dillon in a minor role as the younger version of the main character. Then, starting on May 14th, I started watching the Amazon limited series The Underground Railroad, based on the Pulitzer-prize winning novel of the same name by Colson Whitehead, which depicts an alternate history in which the Underground Railroad is an actual underground railroad. This time, Chase W. Dillon plays a major role, and he’s, quite frankly, unforgettable here. The series also features Fred Hechinger playing a younger version of a major character. I recognized Hechinger when I watched the Netflix film The Woman in the Window, also based on a novel by A.J. Finn, in which he has a major role. I was surprised to find Anthony Mackie and Wyatt Russell in this film, as I had just finished watching them in March and April in Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It’s not a big deal, but I found it interesting how watched films and television series from four different streaming services and found the same actors playing major roles in each. Maybe Hollywood isn’t so big after all?
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IS A MASTERPIECE
I’m still thinking about the opening minutes of this show. Amazon released all ten episodes of The Underground Railroad in May 14th, and, to be honest, they did the series a disservice by releasing the entire series all at once. This is a heavy series, one that requires you to sit back after an episode viewing to relax, contemplate, and take it all in. Academy Award-winning writer/director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight & If Beale Street Could Talk) agrees, encouraging viewers to watch one episode at a time instead of finishing it in one or two sittings. It took me ten days to finish all ten episodes, and I’m glad I spaced it out. It allowed me to treat each episode (which range from 20 minutes to 77 minutes) as an event, to think about what I had just watched as well as look forward to what’s to come. It’s a show that leaves me devastated, hopeful, or both after each installment.
If you’re a fan of Jenkins’s previous works then you’ll know what to expect here: a beautiful story—both visually and textually (including Jenkins’s signature shots of characters looking directly at the camera). Jenkins’s frequent collaborators are also here, with James Laxton’s gorgeous cinematography (so many projects don’t know how to set up proper lighting for Black actors, but Laxton avoid this pitfall), and Nicholas Britell’s brilliant score. When the project was announced, many were rightly concerned about it being another case of Black trauma porn (just look up the controversy surrounding Amazon’s other newly-released series Them, or last year’s Antebellum, or recent Oscar-winning short Two Distant Strangers). But Jenkins avoids such controversy by showing deep care for the story and its characters (just look at the positive critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic), as well as its cast (he had a counselor on set at all times (more productions about traumatic events need to do this!). If this series doesn’t sweet at the next Emmy’s I will riot!
PS: Though Jenkins recommends watching one episode at a time, here’s his other recommended viewing order: Episode 1, 2 and 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, 8, 9, 10.
Also read:
Polygon: Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad is a full-force triumph
Town and Country Mag: How Barry Jenkins and Colson Whitehead Made The Underground Railroad
Vulture: The Underground Railroad is the cinematic event of the year
I LOVE NBC COMEDIES
NBC comedies have a special place in my heart. My teens and early 20s were spent with shows like The Office, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, and Community. After these shows ended I enjoyed Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (the show was originally developed for NBC before being sold to Netflix, hence why season 1 feels so different compared to subsequent seasons), Superstore, and The Good Place, though I didn’t love them as much as the former shows. There’s just something about NBC shows that I find more appealing and funnier than more popular shows like The Big Bang Theory or Modern Family. It may be due to the the fact that many of these shows I enjoy are from the same creators: Tina Fey created 30 Rock and Kimmy Schmidt; Mike Schur produced and wrote for The Office before creating Parks and Recreation and The Good Place (as well as Brooklyn Nine-Nine); and Justin Spitzer created Superstore after serving as an executive producer and writer for The Office. Hence why I was excited when I learned some of these same creatives recently created new shows, this time on NBC’s streaming service Peacock.
Girls5eva, created by Meredith Scardino and executive produced by Tina Fey, is a musical comedy following a quartet of middle-aged women who used to be part of a pop girl group in the early 2000s. Though the show isn’t directly created by Fey, it feels exactly like her other shows (30 Rock and Kimmy Schmidt). The jokes are still rapid-fire, the humor is zany (I found myself saying “oh my god” several times due to the sheer ridiculousness of some of the jokes—in a good way), and the music is catchy. Renée Elise Goldsberry (Angelica from Hamilton) is the breakout star of the show, portraying Wickie, the most selfish, outlandish, and funniest character in the show (think Jane Krakowski in 30 Rock and Kimmy Schmidt and you get the idea). The series also stars Sara Bareilles, Busy Philips, and Paula Pell.
Rutherford Falls is the latest show from creator Mike Schur, which follows two lifelong friends Nathan Rutherford (played by Ed Helms, of The Office fame) and Reagan Wells (played by newcomer Jana Schmieding) “whose relationship is tested when a crisis hits their small town.” The show isn’t as ha-ha funny as some of Schur’s other shows (namely Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine), but it’s still an enjoyable show with a lot of heart. What makes the show stand out from the pack is the rarity of what we’re seeing in front of the camera, as well as behind the scenes. The show is co-created by Sierra Teller Ornelas, a Native American filmmaker, and consists of one of the largest Indigenous writing staff on American television. In fact, star Jana Schmieding was hired as the show’s writer before being promoted as its co-lead. Indigenous actor Michael Greyeyes also stars as Terry Thomas, a CEO of a local casino, and he’s phenomenal in this role (I hope a lot of nominations and wins are in his future). And non-binary Asian American actor Jesse Leigh portrays Bobby Yang, a non-binary character. In addition to being a great show, it’s also simply refreshing to see characters and stories we don’t often get to see in mainstream media. More of this please!
Also read:
The New York Times: A ‘Hamilton’ Star Discovers Lunatic Comedy With ‘Girls5eva’
Polygon: Rutherford Falls is the show Parks and Recreation never found the time to be
Variety: ‘Rutherford Falls’ Boss on Building Diverse Native American Team for Peacock Comedy
New Now Next: Jesse Leigh Is the Witchy, Nonbinary Bestie We All Need in Our Lives
I CAN’T BELIEVE I HAVE TO SAY THIS: TRANS WOMEN ARE WOMEN
On May 1st I got into another one of my infamous Facebook arguments, this time with several friends. It started when I shared this article about Caitlyn Jenner stating she’s against trans girls competing in sports against cis girls. Unfortunately, and surprisingly to me, people replied to my post with transphobic remarks, saying it’s unfair to “girls” if we allow trans girls to compete because “they’re built differently.” One of the solutions they proposed was a third category, not men nor women, where trans people can compete. Separate but equal—where have we heard this before?
My rebuttal really isn’t that complicated. You either believe trans women are women and trans men are men, or you don’t (hint: they are). Also, there is no data that supports this theory that trans women are inherently better at sports than cis women.
Further reading:
Scientific American: Trans Girls Belong on Girls’ Sports Teams
The Washington Post: We celebrated Michael Phelps’s genetic differences. Why punish Caster Semenya for hers?
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee: Republican Attacks on Trans Athletes Are Escalating
NPR: Wave Of Bills To Block Trans Athletes Has No Basis In Science, Researcher Says
THE NYC MAYORAL RACE IS A HOT MESS
There hasn’t been much polling for the New York City mayoral election, but former presidential candidate Andrew Yang has been the Democratic frontrunner ever since he entered the race earlier this year. Thankfully, it no longer looks like his race to lose. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this will be a year in which progressives will finally take the office of one of the biggest cities in the world. Scott Stringer was deemed the most electable of all the progressives running, but his campaign got derailed by sexual assault allegations against the candidate. Dianne Morales, a former nonprofit executive, and Maya Wiley, former counsel to current-NYC mayor Bill de Blasio, are the other two progressives in the race but they’re polling at much lower numbers. And this past week, Morales’s campaign got derailed by the firings and resignation of several campaign staffers due to the campaign’s alleged union busting efforts and toxic work environment. All I know is Maya Wiley has been my top choice since the start of this race (ever since I saw her appearance in the Showtime docuseries The Reagans late last year) and so far she’s the only progressive running a scandal-free campaign. What makes this race even more interesting is this is the first mayoral election in the city to use ranked choice voting (the most democratic voting method!), so candidates can’t just win by simply a plurality of the votes, they’ll need the actual majority. I don’t know why I’m so invested in NYC politics when I don’t even live there but I do!
PS: Please don’t elect Andrew Yang!!!
Also read:
New York Magazine: Andrew Yang’s Insider Campaign
Teen Vogue: Andrew Yang Is Leading the New York City Mayor’s Race, But His Policies Are Off Base
DANTE BASCO WROTE AND DIRECTED A NEW FILM AND I CAN’T WAIT TO WATCH IT
Dante Basco (Hook & Avatar: The Last Airbender) wrote and directed a new film inspired by his family, and starring his real-life brothers, called The Fabulous Filipino Brothers. I’m excited to see this! Watch the trailer here.
Also read: Hollywood wouldn’t cast a Filipino American as a leading man. So Dante Basco made his own movie
MORE READS
The Atlantic: Democrats Are Running Out of Time
The New York Times: An ‘Army of 16-Year-Olds’ Takes On the Democrats
The New Yorker: The Invention of the Police
The New Yorker: The Emerging Movement for Police and Prison Abolition
The Huffington Post: Unemployment Benefits Are Not Creating A Worker Shortage
Vulture: Hong Chau Doesn’t Need Your Approval
Variety: Marvel Studios’ Disney Plus Shows Don’t Use Showrunners, and That Has Some TV Writers Worried