if you're reading this it's for you
This one goes out to all my people who don’t watch Game Of Thrones, and not in the performative, I would never watch that garbage way. Just in the way that’s like, it’s not for me! The show will be consuming the lives of everyone you know for the next… uh, 8? weeks? Maybe 10? I don’t know how long these seasons run.
Here’s a little digest of stuff I’ve been enjoying that you can consume on Sunday nights if you don’t want to go to Thrones watch parties because you know you’ll just be like, “Who’s that one?” every three seconds.
Veep
So maybe you do find yourself at a Thrones watch party. You sit quietly in the corner praying that one of the dudes on the show hangs dong. It doesn’t happen, but now the episode is over and you can now cajole your friends into watching HBO’s other Sunday night masterpiece, Veep. The show is still great and mean and laugh out loud funny. What did we all do to deserve being alive at the same time as Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Oklahoma!
Stay with me here. The revival of Oklahoma! that is one of the most exciting pieces of theatre I’ve seen on Broadway since… maybe ever? Oklahoma! is rightfully known for being a hokey, all-American musical that’s safe for even the most conservative high school productions. This new version is the exact opposite. It’s sexy and violent, and not just for the sake of being sexy and violent. I quietly wept four times.
There’s much to be said about what this production says about ~America~, but people much smarter than me have already done that. I’m here to tell you that it’s also FUN. They give you chili and cornbread at intermission! It’s DEEPLY horny! Damon Daunno as Curly is my entire sexuality!! Save up some cash, find a sugar daddy, trick your parents into paying you a visit, do whatever you have to do to go see it.
Plano
Another play rec (shoutout to my BFA) for my New Yorkers. This one is cheaper and takes place a couple hundred miles south of Oklahoma. This Clubbed Thumb production of Will Arbery’s play is so funny and weird and features a faceless ghost man. Three sisters in Texas are all Going Through It and then shit gets super weird. There’s not much to spoil here, but I think the less you know going into it the more fun you’ll have. This is a cheaper ticket than Oklahoma! and it’s a cool 90 minutes no intermission (the greatest words in the American theatre).
The Bold Type
This dumb show is my personal Game of Thrones. The plot makes no sense, there’s always someone where I’m like “Wait, what’s their deal again,” and it exists in a fantasy world where young media professionals can get uppity about being forced to write for the web instead of print. It’s in its third season now but honestly you can just watch from any point and have a good time. In the first episode of this season the man they bring in to run the digital side is revealed to have shown his dick at a meeting but it was for gender parity so it’s like… ok? I would die for every idiot on this show.
You’re Wrong About
Maybe you want a podcast you can listen to while you fold laundry on Sunday night. I’ve been obsessed with You’re Wrong About for the past few weeks. Two journalists with nice speaking voices take turns explaining major cultural and historical events that we have a collective misunderstanding about. You may think you know about Enron or Anna Nicole Smith, but the story goes deeper than what we all remember! I love being told why I’m wrong!
If you have any recs for what I should be doing on Sunday evenings instead of taking part in the biggest cultural moment I might ever be around to witness, please send them my way.