-Minari star Steven Yeun gets the GQ cover star treatment, which feels long overdue. The interview is great but I don’t know why they used that photo for the cover when this shot was right there!
-We knew Oprah‘s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was going to be good based on the promos, but this was a rare instance where the promotional material actually undersold the finished product, which went broader and deeper than anybody expected. Here are the 10 biggest revelations.
-I liked Lainey’s piece on how strategic it was to have Harry be the one to dunk on his family.
-Honestly, I’m most happy that they revealed they had a secret ceremony before the big wedding, which is a plot twist straight out of the Fug Girls’ novel – which is loosely based on them.
-CBS This Morning released more clips from the interview. Highlights include Meghan talking about her father’s betrayal, Harry calling the UK press racist, and how the Queen was pressured to rescind her invite to the couple to visit her. Meghan also said she hadn’t seen her half-sister in nearly a decade, but she “changed her last name back to Markle only when I started dating Harry. So I think that says enough.” But the biggest post-interview revelation was Harry’s clarification that the skin colour conversation did not happen with Queen or Prince Phillip (leading to lots of speculation it was Charles).
-The ratings were huge – 17.1 million people watched it. I’m guessing a lot of west coast people tuned in after seeing us east coasters lose our minds on Twitter.
-Proportionally, the ratings were even stronger in Canada.
-Oh, there was also an award show last night! The Critic’s Choice Awards, which led to some excellent moments, including the kid from Minari suddenly sobbing during his acceptance speech, Jason Sudeikis thanking his ex Olivia Wilde, and this perfect picture from when Ted Lasso won.
-Kim’s Convenience, which found a global audience on Netflix, will be concluding its run with its current fifth season.
–Camila Mendes said she started having panic attacks while filming Riverdale amid covid. “When we first started shooting season 5, I started having panic attacks, which was strange for me. I think it was because I was in Vancouver and borders were closed—no one could visit us. You start to miss your home and your life, and you don’t have your friends or community with you.”
–Charisma Carpenter wrote a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter on how to be an ally for victims of abuse.
-I mostly liked the WandaVision finale (coulda done without the action scenes but Marvel is gonna Marvel), but I especially liked that the show stuck to its guns about what it’s really about.
-I also very much agree with this thread about how mystery box shows have ruined audiences’ abilities to understand what the narrative is trying to tell us.
-The fact that the big cameo Paul Bettany was teasing was actually himself is the best trolling ever.
-A guy from Mumford & Sons is in hot water for praising a controversial right-wing author.
-There is a lot of conversations happening about colourism and Lovecraft County. The show has apologized after an extra claimed that the show’s makeup artists darkened her skin for an appearance on the series.
-Netflix released a promo for the next batch of Lupin episodes.
–Colin Farrell and Tye Sheridan star in the Voyagers trailer.