The week in pop culture has been eventful. Mahershala Ali is our new Blade(!!!), Angelina Jolie is officially in the MCU, Big Little Lies delivered one of the greatest acting matchups in television history and one of the most disappointing season finales (justice for Bonnie!), and Beyoncé continued to be Beyoncé, the light of my life and purveyor of joy to the world. In between keeping up with all of that entertainment news, I’ve been juggling catching up on Stranger Things and avoiding Veronica Mars spoilers (I know someone dies, and if anyone I know spoils it for me, that someone will be them). To cap of a jam-packed week of consuming culture, I’m turning to Netflix to come through with content just as exciting as the above. Here are five things you should watch on Netflix Canada this weekend.
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There was about a month last year after I’d inhaled the first season of Spanish teen drama Elite where if you were fortunate enough to get into a conversation with me, all I would do was yell at you to, “WATCH ELITE!” Being my friend is fun. Money Heist features three of the principal cast members of Elite, Miguel Herran (Christian), Maria Pedraza (Marina), and Jaime Lorente (Nano). They had me at Nano. In the same month I was yelling about Elite, I was also creeping Jaime Lorente’s social media accounts daily. Even if you aren’t unhealthily obsessed with the young actors of Elite, Money Heist is worth your time. Now in its third season, the show follows eight thieves who break into the Royal Mint of Spain and take hostages while their boss manipulates the police into carrying out his criminal plan. As I say at least once a week, please inject this directly into my veins.
I think about Nicole Richie a lot. I think about how her digital show Candidly Nicole was so ahead of its time. (Each episode started with a tweet! In 2014!) I think about how she singlehandedly made The Simple Life a comedic hit. Sometimes, I think about how she should be a bigger sitcom star putting her impeccably dry delivery to good use. Every time I think this, I forget about Great News. Richie stars alongside Briga Heelan, Andrea Martin, and Adam Campbell in the comedy about television news. A producer (Heelan) has to deal with a demanding job and new intern, her mother (Martin). I was a television producer for 10 years. I would have lasted one day if I had to work with my mom, but it would have made for GREAT TV. Love you, Mom!
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Friday Night Lights is one of the greatest series of all time. It’s my favourite TV show of all time. It gave us Coach and Tami Taylor. I gave us Michael B. Jordan. We owe it so much. Since it ended, I’ve been searching for a show that captures the high emotional stakes and cinematic drama of football and life with the same nuance and compassion as FNL did. The only thing that has come close is Last Chance U. Every season will have you rooting for an underdog and tear your heart out and stomp on it by the harsh reality of how the game and America treats its players. There are some uplifting moments, though! Maybe! Season 4 is streaming now.
“Tacos. That’s it. That’s the pitch.” I assume that’s all it took to get Taco Chronicles green-lit by Netflix. Here’s the actual synopsis: “Many of the most popular taco styles have long, rich, little-known histories. Explore some of them in this eye-opening, mouth-watering food adventure.” That made me hungry, but all they needed to say was TACOS. The show focuses on the taco’s Mexican origins, while “confront[ing] the clash of imperial Spanish and indigenous food traditions, [and] correcting longstanding myths about the origin of certain taco recipes,” according to Newsweek. So, it’s educational food porn. Yes, please.
If you’re already terrified about how social media will impact the upcoming Canadian election and the 2020 U.S. election, maybe don’t watch The Great Hack. The documentary explores how data company Cambridge Analytica (remember when the whole world knew details about a data company?) impacted the 2016 U.S. election and how responsible it is for the current American administration and their reign of terror. You know, just a light watch for your summer weekend. Enjoy!