Is Happy Valley one of the greatest shows of all time? I think so.
The third and final season was just released. The writing is excellent, the characters are fascinating, and we have a main character who is complex but not a drug addict or secret alcoholic. I’m all up for good/evil characters but am a bit sick of cop shows where the ‘good’ main character is also a murderer or dealing with substance abuse problems. Would recommend if you love Line of Duty, Luther and Broadchurch. Happy Valley is on Binge. Britbox and Stan in Australia.
Aftersun is beautiful.
I still think about the final shot and so many other shots in it. At one point I was wondering if Paul Mescal was just playing himself, but I think the acting is that good. Reminds me of The Farewell, The Lobster, The Banshees of Inisherin and any other film where you question if anything actually happened, but it did. I’m pretty sure it’s still in cinemas, no streaming services just yet though.
I’ve been leaning into feel-good viewing and Better Date Than Never is exactly that.
From the producers of Love on The Spectrum, it follows a range of people on their dating journey. And I’m obsessed with everyone on the show. This then led to a desire to watch Love on The Spectrum again, so I ventured into Love on The Spectrum US which I was relieved to hear had the voice of Cian O’Clery (the producer/director and voice you hear on the Australian show). Employable Me is another show to check out if you like shows in this genre. You can find these shows on ABC iView and Netflix.
Cunk on Earth is having a moment and I totally understand why.
The mockumentary, hosted by fictional character Philomena Cunk (played by Diane Morgan), looks at the history of Earth in five half hour episodes. It’s so sharp and well written. It’s written by Charlie Brooker, who also created and wrote Black Mirror. I feel like this genre is something a lot of people would like to achieve but don’t necessarily get to. It reminds me of the work of Australian comedy duo Lano and Woodley, Nathan Fielder and Sacha Baron Cohen. I read a review of the show that said it was too irreverent but whatever. Cunk on Earth is on Netflix. I’m going to try and track down Cunk on Britain.
Stacey Sleeps Over USA is great.
The episode Transgender Mum and Dad was beautiful and the episode about the nine-year-old who loves guns is bonkers. This is a lazy comparison but if you love Louis Theroux, check it out. You can watch it on SBS in Aus.
Your Place or Mine is a terrible romantic comedy.
How disappointing. But it’s on Netflix if you’re interested.
Whenever I mention romantic comedy books, I wonder if they’re all over TikTok and I have no idea. So if Do I Know You? and Just My Type are, I would encourage you to check them out. The fact that Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegmund-Broka are married and write books together is fascinating to me. The story follows a couple whose marriage is struggling so they pretend to be strangers on holiday. I wasn’t mad about Fallon Ballad’s first book, Lease on Love but Just My Type is fun. There is an ex-lovers, enemy to lovers thing happening. Neither of these books are particularly surprising in the development of the story but they’re great. If you like Mia Sosa, Emily Henry, Kerry Winfrey, Christina Lauren and Elissa Sussman you might like these.
Big call but I think Peril at End House is my favourite Agatha Christie.
I recently reread it and it confirmed this. I adore a good detective mystery series, both in TV shows (as evidenced above) and by the fact I talk about them a lot. To scratch that itch, I bought Mystery in Provence by Vivian Conroy. From what I understand, this is the first in the Miss Ashford Investigates series. I liked it, I didn’t see the end coming but I just found it too long. But I’ll probably read the second because I didn’t hate it. I have also reignited my love for the Inspector Montalbano series. They’re a bit sexist though.
This month I saw humourist David Sedaris, a humourist! What a job title. I bought tickets early, and my sister and I found ourselves in the first row. It was funny and there was a poet who was funny. If you like Jon Ronson, you may want to check out Sedaris’ work.
I went to the Harry Styles concert but more on this later in the week.
Insert Y/N Here (Spotify) and Insert Y/N Here (Apple) is my little sister’s new podcast. It’s on fan fiction and really good! The hosts have a screenwriting background so it’s an interesting lesson in story structure as well as fan culture.
I’ve been at home sick and I don’t even feel like the phrase, I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube adequately explains how much YouTube I’ve been watching. Really into jnaydaily.
Some online reading reccs:
Image of Happy Valley from here.
Love love loved Happy Valley. Everything about it was brilliant