Worth Watching

Television been on my mind a lot lately for various reasons. First, I recently submitted the manuscript for my book Broads Sisters Exes: Millennial Feminist Television forthcoming in spring 2025. Second, I’ve simply been watching a lot of it including catching up with established shows and discovering new ones.

On July 17 the folks who award the Emmys (the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences) announce their nominees for the individuals and programs they deem as the best in the industry from the past year. Like many awards shows their schedule is not based on the calendar year but rather a specific internal timeframe (June 1, 2023-May 31, 2024 to be exact). For example, though season three of last year’s Comedy Series winner The Bear dropped on Hulu on June 27, 2024 the Emmys would be nominating episodes and performances from season two which aired a year ago.

While there are many clear favorites expected to reap multiple nominations including The Bear, Hacks, Shogun, and True Detective there are always series less visible (“or buzzy”) that warrant attention. I highlight my favorites below:

Big Mouth (Netflix)

Even though this cartoon is in its seventh season few shows in any format are as authentic, imaginative, or funny as this romp through the awkwardness of adolescence. As the students of Bridgeton Middle School prepare to transition from middle to high school we can relate to newfound revelations about their new learning environment, changing relationships to their families and friends, and bodies. It might be a surreal cartoon but it is just real enough, emotionally, to invoke a few pings of nostalgia.

Black Cake (Hulu)

Hulu’s juicy adaptation of Charmaine Wilkerson’s 2022 novel tells a very layered and engaging story about a woman who has sacrificed her identity for her survival. The episodes vacillate between the present day after matriarch Covey (played masterfully by Mia Isaac) dies and flashbacks depicting her clandestine journey from Jamaica to the U.K. before making a home in the United States. Her death prompts a series of discoveries by her troubled adult children Benny (Adrienne Warren) and Byron (Ashley Thomas) who gradually realize how little they understood about their mother’s complicated past.

Girls5Eva (Netflix)

This profoundly goofy sitcom chronicles a one hit wonder girl group from the 1990s whose middle-aged members decide to reunite and reignite their careers. After airing on Peacock for two seasons Netflix broadcast the third season focused on the group’s ramp up for a new album and tour. Highlighted by stellar performances by lead singer-diva-narcissist Wickie (Renne Elise Goldberry) and the plucky lesbian dentist Gloria (Paula Pell), this sleeper deserves a watch.

John Early: Now More than Ever (HBO)

Early is a delightfully obtuse, off-beat comic whose sly sense of humor, bold sensibility and musical prowess are on full display on this comedy special. In the same vein of recent specials by Hannah Gadsby and Jerrod Carmichael he pushes the stand-up form in more expansive and idiosyncratic directions.

Reservation Dogs (FX on Hulu)

In its third and final season Reservation Dogs continues to take us inside the lives of a group of teens, Elora, Bear, Cheese, and “Willie Jack” figuring themselves out among the elders in their quirky indigenous (Muscogee Nation) community in Oklahoma. As much about attitude and adventure as “plot” the season’s highlights include an eventful trip to Los Angeles; Bear (D'Pharaoh Miskwaatez McKay Woon-A-Tai) meets the disturbed Maximus played with delicious ferocity by Graham Greene; the mythical “Deer Lady” confronts the horrors of an Indian boarding school; and Elora (Devery Jacobs) has a turning point including meeting her father (Ethan Hawke) and preparing to leave for college. Embedded in each episode are intricate little moments written and delivered with great care and intelligence.

The Righteous Gemstones (HBO)

Season three of Danny McBride’s tragicomic series finds the prominent televangelical family the Gemstones primarily confronting the tensions between their affluent status and the far more modest lifestyle of their relatives. Patriarch Eli Gemstone’s (John Goodman) sister May-May Montgomery (Kristin Johnson) and her rageful husband Peter (Steve Zahn) declare war against the Gemstones which ignites a series of personal revelations within the family yet also unites them against a common enemy. Few comedies balance between comedy, drama, and absurdism as seamlessly and explosively.

Survival of the Thickest (Netflix)

Actress and comedian Michelle Buteau finally gets a vibrant showcase of both these talents on this delightful Netflix comedy. As aspiring stylist Mavis Beaumont she’s a messy gal getting her act together. After discovering her cheating boyfriend, she moves out, embraces new professional opportunities, and tries to open herself up to a new relationship with Luca, a dreamy Italian. Like many contemporary single women living in New York she has an eclectic group of friends including Khalil (Tone Bell), Marley (Tasha Smith), and Peppermint (Peppermint) who support her, and check her when needed. Stylistically it fuses elements of Broad City, Girlfriends, and Insecure, with Buteau’s unique brand of humor which is bawdy, personable and unapologetically queer.

The Music of 2024

We’re more than half way through the year so I thought it would be interesting to pause and share a few thoughts on some of the more noteworthy music released so far this year.

What Now? (Brittany Howard)

Brittany Howard, best known for her role in Alabama Shakes, Thunderbitch, and as a soloist, released the raucous funk-rock masterpiece What Now in February and I can’t stop listening. Drawing from the wells of Prince, 70s soul, psychedelic rock, synth pop, rock, and house it’s a textural feast that fuses the probing lyrics of a troubadour with the kind of beats that make you want to shake your ass. The title track is a searing torch song that screams and rocks simultaneously, “Prove it to You” is a throbbing danceable plea-declaration to a lover, and when she slows down you feel her whether she’s asserting the need for social harmony (“Another Day”) or owning her romantic vulnerability (“Power to Undo”).

JPEG Raw (Gary Clark Jr.)

Though Gary Clark Jr. is labeled as a “blues musician” he can do anything. On JPEG Raw, released in March, he moonlights as a 50s style romantic crooner (“To the End of the Earth”), a psychedelic funkster (“Funk Witch U” recorded with George Clinton), and stirring singer of anthems, notably on “Maktub” which urges us that its “Time for a new revolution,” and a satisfying duet with Stevie Wonder on “what About the Children.” He remains a guitar whiz in a variety of meetings including a folk flavored romp “Don’t Start” recorded with Valerie June, and soulful tracks like “Hearts in Retrograde.”

My Stupid Life (Brittney Spencer)

As I noted in my previous blogpost on Black artists in country music Spencer’s album is a highly soulful and assured debut from a genuinely notable new voice. “Bigger than the Song,” II Got Time,” “Night In,” and “Reaching Out” are standouts on an album brimming with well-crafted Spencer scored her first major radio hit with her vocal on Beyoncé’s hit cover of “Blackbird” and in addition to touring and performing on various country music award shows she was invited to sing on NPR’s iconic tiny desk concert series in honor of Black Music Month. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov882wRp12Y

Cowboy Carter (Beyoncé)

Underestimate Beyoncé at your own peril. After 20 years of becoming a defining voice of the era she makes her boldest choice yet embracing elements of country and Americana, in concert with a broader range of inspirations ranging from surf rock to hip-hop. The result is a satisfying mélange whose ingredients gel into a thrilling whole. Well after you take it in as a whole certain melodic phrases, lyric fragments, and textures linger and pull you back in for more. My favorites include the hit “Texas Hold ‘Em,” “Bodyguard,” “Ya Ya,” “Sweet *Honey*Buckin” and her cover of “Blackbird.”

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (Chappell Roan)

Though released in fall 2023 Roan’s saucy 2024 hit “Good Luck, Babe!” has renewed interest in Roan’s major label debut. Roan is a chameleon gifted at both the playful and the angst-ridden. While listeners will detect traces of Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Rodrigo, and Mika, with traces of Kate Bush and Alanis Morissette, songs like the awesome anthem “Femininomenon” and the nervy new wave tune “Hot to Go!” are the product of a singular sensibility.

A summer interlude: Some notes on award-worthy television and the best music of 2024 so far.

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