Month: June 2021

“Is it a comedy or a drama?”

That’s a question you’ll never have to ask while watching any of the shows on this list because each series toes the line between the two genres, almost effortlessly. That means that animated shows about celebrity horses double as deeply poignant meditations on grief and depression while stories about a hired hitman and women in prison lighten things up with the kind of absurdist humor you’d typically find on a late-night sketch series. These are dramedies, the shows that exist in the in-between, delivering the best comedy and drama has to offer and they’re all good.

Who says you can’t have it all?

Fleabag

2 seasons, 12 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a household name now – one synonymous with a certain Barack Obama-inspired masturbation scene – and it’s because of this irreverent British comedy series that was born on the stage. Waller-Bridge plays the titular Fleabag, a young woman navigating life in London who often turns to sex to cope with her grief and nihilistic depression. The first season is excellent, the second is some of the best television we’ve seen in years complete with a Hot Priest (Andrew Scott) and Sian Clifford who gives a breakout performance and manages to pull off a truly tragic haircut while doing it.

Barry

2 seasons, 16 episodes | IMDb: 8.3/10

For fans who only know Bill Hader from his Saturday Night Live days, his HBO dramedy Barry might be a bit of a shock. We’re a long way from Stefon and the Weekend Update desk, but the change in venue has opened up Hader’s comedy in an exciting, disturbingly twisted way. He plays a Midwestern hitman who travels to Los Angeles for work and ends up immersing himself in a local acting class that challenges his own weird status quo. Henry Winkler plays his no-nonsense acting coach and the two have some brilliant chemistry on screen, but the real treat is watching how Hader manages to make us care about his moral black-hole of an antihero.

Better Call Saul

4 seasons, 40 episodes | IMDb: 8.7/10

Breaking Bad is regarded as one of the most influential dramas of the past decade but its successor, Better Call Saul, is something different. A hybrid of laugh-out-loud comedic antics and jarringly emotional drama, Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould have proven they’re capable of once again creating complex characters driven by a dichotomy of motivators by making Bob Odenkirk’s titular character a sympathetic, problem-causing antihero. Reveling in Saul’s self-destruction is equally as fun as rooting for him to win.

Pushing Daisies

2 seasons, 22 episodes | IMDb: 8.3/10

This fantasy mystery about a pie maker with the ability to bring the dead back to life was way ahead of its time – and not just because it manages to perfectly blend the genres of comedy and drama while also delivering entertaining musical numbers and trippy visuals. It’s the kind of niche fare you’d expect to find as a web series, or a Netflix special, not a show on ABC. And still, for the two seasons, it was on, it worked. Not only did it work, but it also gave us Lee Pace as a well-meaning baker who becomes the hero of this forensic fantasy by bringing murder victims back from the dead to solve how they died. It’s the kind of quirky, romantic show we’ll probably never see again.

Hacks

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10

Jean Smart is dominating the content over on HBO and HBO Max but her best work is undoubtedly this dramedy adventure. Smart plays Deborah Vance, a legendary stand-up comedian on her last leg whose Vegas show needs some help. Enter Ava (Hannah Einbinder), a young, up-and-coming comic in need of an image makeover. Their odd-couple dynamic is the draw here as their personalities and generational divides clash backstage. Einbinder more than holds her own, which is high praise because Smart’s never been better.

Dead To Me

2 seasons, 20 episodes | IMDb: 8/10

This Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini-starring dramedy might be the show responsible for ushering in a new genre: the grief-com. Applegate plays a woman whose husband is killed in a terrible hit-and-run accident. She’s mad as hell – that he’s dead and that their picture-perfect life turned out to be a lie. Cardellini plays her sunnily optimistic new friend, a woman she meets in her grief group who helps her get over her grief before revealing she’s the cause of it. The two go on a wild adventure filled with criminal coverups, more murder, and lots of wine but there’s some surprisingly thoughtful story beats hidden below all that bleak humor that helps this show pack a punch.

You’re The Worst

5 seasons, 62 episodes | IMDb: 8.1/10

We like to define this criminally underrated FX series as “a show that will kick you in the balls and then pass you a mimosa.” If you’ve seen it, you’ll understand. If you haven’t … well, do you need more incentive than that tagline? Really? Aya Cash and Chris Geere play a laughably toxic couple who you kind of root for over the course of five seasons. We say “kind of” because both of them are the human equivalent of “trash juice” and they consistently make terrible life choices that end up hurting their friends and each other. Still, there are few comedies that so aptly mock modern habits of adulthood while still treating their characters with compassion which makes this show really stand out from the heap of other millennial-driven comedy series.

Atlanta

2 seasons, 21 episodes | IMDb: 8.6/10

To understand the genius of Donald Glover’s sometimes-comedy series, you simply have to watch it. The show follows Glover’s Earn, a young black man living in the titular city who starts off as basically homeless, struggling to manage the rap career of his cousin, Paper Boi (and excellent Brian Tyree Henry). Over the course of the first and second season, Earn wrestles with issues of race, classism, and his own sense of self-worth. It sounds heavy, it often is, but there’s just enough humor here to help things digest smoothly.

BoJack Horseman

6 seasons, 77 episodes | IMDb: 8.7/10

BoJack Horseman is not what you think it is. An animated comedy about a talking horse trying to recapture his early days of fame in L.A. is what you think it is, but that’s just the veneer – the hook to grab you and reel you in before the show drops its very funny, often devastatingly sad meditation on depression, anxiety, regret, loss, and the consequences of childhood trauma. It’s an animated sitcom about a washed-up horse, and somehow, it’s also an incredibly profound look at the grittier parts of life. It’s like nothing you’ll find on TV right now.

The Great

1 season, 10 episodes | IMDb: 8.1/10

Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult star in this period dramedy that riffs heavily off the vibe of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Oscar-nominated flick, The Favourite. Hoult has a hell of a lot of fun playing a sadistic sociopath who just so happens to be the Emperor of Russia. Fanning is his hopeful bride-to-be who comes to the palace looking for love and ends up launching a coup and a plot to murder her new husband. It’s a deliciously fun show filled with absurd characters and too many memeable quotes to count.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

3 seasons, 26 episodes | IMDb: 8.7/10

Amy Sherman-Palladino is a pro when it comes to crafting heartfelt dramedies with edge and she proves that with this Amazon Prime series starring Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein. Both women are at the top of their game with Brosnahan playing Midge Maisel, the perfect upper Westside housewife who decides to pursue her dream of stand up after her husband leaves her. Borstein plays Susie, her tough and scrappy booker who helps her navigate the male-dominated, heavily sexist scene. There’s a lot of fast-talking, quick-witted comedy that disguises the heavier dramatic moments and makes them land even harder.

Patriot

2 seasons, 18 episodes | IMDb: 8.3/10

On its surface, Patriot is a spy dramedy, a show about a man named John Tavner (Michael Dorman), who works undercover for the CIA. His cover is as an engineer for a pipe company. His real mission is to transport materials and money for the agency. He’s good at one, not so great at the other, and plenty of mishaps derail his driving goal along the way – think murder investigations, unruly co-workers, and, oh yeah, his dad. It’s a fairly dark comedy and it might not be for everyone, but it definitely deserves a place on this list.

Ramy

2 seasons, 20 episodes | IMDb: 8.1/10

Ramy Youssef has a gift for taking the most singular of experiences – growing up Muslim in the post 9/11 age while straddling the line between his millennial generation and his immigrant roots – and somehow making it universally relatable. His semi-autobiographically dramedy that follows his character, Ramy, living in New Jersey, searching for his purpose and a deeper connection to his faith, only gets better with more seasons, and more focus on his family members. There are some really outrageous comedic bits sprinkled throughout, but there are also some seriously heavy storylines that should probably come with a warning before viewing.

Shameless

10 seasons, 122 episodes | IMDb: 8.7/10

This long-running Showtime series is one of the few incidences where an American adaptation of a cult-favorite British TV series actually does its material justice – and then expands on it, giving us an unreservedly honest look at how hard it is to live in poverty. That’s where the Gallaghers are when we meet them, a screwed-up brood of abandoned kids trying to make ends meet while facing everything from drug addictions to mental illness and an absentee father who can’t help but make their whole situation worse. It doesn’t sound funny, but it is … sometimes.

What We Do In The Shadows

2 seasons, 20 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

Yes, this is a mockumentary about a group of thousand-year-old vampires rooming together in a Staten Island mansion. Yes, it’s from the comedic geniuses known as Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement. And yes, at one point the characters mistake a Super Bowl party for a Superb Owl party. But despite the rib-tickling antics of its main cast — Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), and Laszlo (Matt Berry) rep for the undead while Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) serves as their familiar and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) sucks the life out of every room he’s in, quite literally – there’s still the heart and high stakes here to qualify it as a dramedy in our eyes.

M.A.S.H.

11 seasons, 256 episodes | IMDb: 8.4/10

M.A.S.H. is one of the first TV shows to toe the previously well-defined line between comedy and drama and even decades later, the dichotomy of its premise still holds up. Following a group of doctors and support staff stationed in South Korea during the Korean war, the series tackled everything from patriotism and a sense of duty to criticism of America’s role in various world wars. It’s one of the most beloved, most-watched TV series of our time for a reason.

Scrubs

9 seasons, 182 episodes | IMDb: 8.4/10

There are a lot of medical dramas on TV but, oddly enough, none of them hit the deeply emotional notes as well as this NBC series. We know you probably thought it was a strict comedy because the episodes that get quoted and the memes that are generated now often focus on its absurd humor. There’s plenty of that, but there are also some of TV’s most likable characters forming friendships, navigating work-life balance, and teaching us life lessons along the way.

Freaks & Geeks

1 season, 18 episodes | IMDb: 8.8/10

One of the worst decisions some nameless TV executive over at NBC ever made was to cancel this coming-of-age dramedy from Judd Apatow after just one season. It’s been 20 years since the show first aired and somehow, it still holds up. That’s because of its cast and creators – names like Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Paul Feig, Busy Phillips, and more who now rule the comedy game but back then, convincingly played a group of high school outcasts surviving painfully relatable rites of passage. It’s also because the stories, while inherently funny, are also authentic and timeless, a fairly complicated formula this show somehow nails on its first try.

Orange Is the New Black

7 seasons, 91 episodes | IMDb: 8/10

This Jenji Kohan-created prison dramedy was one of the first stellar offerings from Netflix when the streaming service first broke ground. It’s also still one of the best original shows the platform’s given fans. Progressively smart, bitingly funny, heartbreakingly sad – OITNB storylines run the emotional gamut, but they all work to humanize people we too often throw away.

Fargo

4 seasons, 41 episodes | IMDb: 8.9/10

When you’re adapting one of cinema’s most beloved crime thrillers, one crafted by the Coen Brothers no less, you’ve got to take some risks. Noah Hawley does that. His version of Fargo calls back to the film’s premise in the small details but it’s chock full of surprising storylines, shocking violence, prestige talent, and some wildly original character names. It’s eccentricity married with bloody melodrama – the best of both worlds for dramedy fans.

Made For Love

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 6.9/10

If the team from Black Mirror tried to do a rom-com, it’d look something like this. Cristin Milioti (Palm Springs), plays Hazel, a thirty-something woman on the run after 10 years in a suffocating marriage to Byron Gogol (Billy Magnussen), a controlling tech billionaire. But escaping her bad relationship is kind of hard with your Silicon Valley lover has implanted a chip in your brain. The show tackles some serious themes – emotional abuse, grief, how tech isolates us, etc – but it always does it with a healthy dose of ridiculousness.

Ballers

5 seasons, 45 episodes | IMDb: 7.6/10

There’s a reason Senator Elizabeth Warren stans this sports dramedy series starring Dwayne Johnson. Not only is the action star at his comedic best playing Spencer Strasmore, a former NFL player who embarks on a new career as a financial manager to pro athletes in the show’s premiere, but the whole vibe of this show is Entourage on steroids. In other words, get ready to laugh your a** off at some raunchy, physical humor and witty one-liners while ogling expensive suits, fast cars, million-dollar mansions, and a yacht or two.

Casual

4 seasons, 44 episodes | IMDb: 7.5/10

Michaela Watkins does not get the credit she deserves which is one reason why we were adamant about praising this Hulu dramedy. She’s terrific in it, after all, playing a forty-something mom whose husband just left her so she and her daughter move in with her womanizing brother – the co-creator of a dating website. There’s an organic, improvised feel to the series, which alternates between funny and heartbreaking as it seeks to find the humor in the devastation of loss and the awkward challenges of finding someone new.

Insecure

4 seasons, 30 episodes | IMDb: 7.9/10

The premise of this HBO gem – which began as a popular web series – isn’t especially inventive. It’s just the story of an unsure, twenty-something Black woman trying to have it all. And yet, Issa Rae manages to infuse just the right amount of authentic melodrama and absurd situational comedy to make it feel refreshingly different. Come for Rae, stay for the witty insight into female friendship.

Fox News making up a controversy to kill time is as American as apple pie, especially if the controversy is about apple pie.

Recently, academic and author Raj Patel wrote an article for the Guardian about “today’s food justice fights” using apple pie as an example. “Resting on gingham cloth, a sugar-crusted apple pie cools on the window sill of a midwestern farmhouse. Nothing could be more American,” Patel wrote. “Not that apples are particularly American. Apples were first domesticated in central Asia, making the journey along the Silk Road to the Mediterranean four thousand years ago.” He also traced back the “bloody and international origins” of sugar and the recipe itself, writing, “The apple pie is as American as stolen land, wealth, and labour. We live its consequences today.”

Patel is not trying to “cancel” apple pie. He’s making a point about how many things we think of as being quintessentially American have a complicated past. You can agree or disagree with the article, but please don’t do what Tomi Lahren did and make it about cancel culture. “Cartoon characters, patriotic and historic symbols, statues, names, food brands, and now apple pie,” the conservative commentator said during her “Final Thoughts” segment on Fox Nation. “In 2021, it’d be easier to name off the things the Left doesn’t find racist.” Then came the bumper sticker-worthy kicker: “Keep your cancel culture paws off our apple pie!” As far as manufactured outrages go, it’s no Potato Head.

Lahren also tweeted about the pie discourse (Homer voice: “Mmm… pie discourse”).

Not even Don McLean’s favorite pie is “American pie.”

Bridgerton (which John Oliver labeled as the “jizzing in blankets” show) will bravely press on for a second season without The Duke, Regé-Jean Page, and all of his endless charisma. His publicly issued stance (that he’d only signed on for a one-and-done season) did stand firm despite creator Shonda Rhimes putting it out there that he was invited for some follow-up cameos, but Page is a busy guy. He previously described his time on the show as “he ride of a life time,” and “it’s all been beyond anything I could have imagined.” Ahead of his upcoming roles in The Gray Man and Dungeons & Dragons, Page sat down with Variety for their Actors on Actors series with The Crown‘s Emma Corrin.

As members of Netflix royalty, the pair had plenty to say about the enormous ratings for both of their shows, but when it came to discussing masculinity on Bridgerton, Page compared it to a hamburger. First, he admits that he wanted the show to contribute something beyond being Jane Austin-esque, since “we’ve got like five or six waves of feminism since,” so he wanted to make sure that Simon’s not simply an “archetype that already exists,” like Mr. Darcy or Heathcliff, but a new twist on this expression (and, hopefully, an evolution) of masculinity. When Corrin declared that The Duke is an “unpacking” of masculinity, here’s what Page offered:

“… the idea of romantic heroes. When you say the word ‘hero,’ it implies it’s someone you look up to. We talk a lot with ‘Bridgerton’ about it being female-centric, but also, what are men looking up to? What am I doing with this icon of masculinity? What’s making this meal actually worth eating? I think of ‘Bridgerton’ as a Happy Meal but with secret vitamins put in there. It’s like a secretly healthy, organic burger.”

Secret vitamins are the best vitamins, right? Also, the Netflix audience found the burger to be tasty one, served up to around 82 million households within one month (which makes it the show’s most popular series ever), so it’ll be interesting to see whether The Duke will be missed enough next season to impact that number. Season 2 will focus on the love life of Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey), which goes along with the plan of Julia Quinn’s second series book, The Viscount Who Loved Me.

(Via Variety)

In late May, Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen released their debut collaboration, “Like I Used To.” The song has gotten a lot of exposure since then: The duo performed it on The Tonight Show earlier this week, and now it has gotten its first high-profile cover, courtesy of Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy.

Tweedy performed the track at the start of the latest edition of The Tweedy Show, his ongoing series of Instagram Live performances. Backed by his son Spencer on drums, Tweedy turned in an intimate take on the anthemic song, which was nicely suited for his distinct and gentle vocals.

Van Etten was thrilled about the cover, as she tweeted, “I cannot believe this is happening ! I am floored beyond belief seeing @JeffTweedy and his son Spencer cover Angel’s and my song ‘Like I Used To’… Huge hugs to the Tweedy family. Cannot wait to see you live again. X.”

Van Etten previously said of the song, “I have loved [Olsen’s] music for a long time. I have been to her shows and cried in the audience. I have cheers’d her post show on the road. She has sent me inspirations and support in my high and lows along the way. I never thought I would get the courage to send her an unfinished song and ask her to do a duet with me and here we are. Thank you, Angel, for calling my bluff and lifting me up, and making this song better than it ever could have been. I hope you all enjoy this collaboration that has spanned a year in the making. I am so happy to share it with you.”

Watch Tweedy’s full performance above.

Over the past year, I’ve been on a quest. Exploring the deep reaches of the fast food universe to rank everything from the best chicken sandwiches to the best double cheeseburgers. French fries, shakes, and even napkins have fallen under my gaze.

It’s been a wild journey, and in my travels, I’ve noticed a few trends. Foremost among these being that Burger King, home of the world’s creepiest fast food mascot (which is saying something when you have Ronald McDonald, who is not only a clown but frighteningly tall ), consistently ranks near the bottom. Every time.

Does that mean I have something against Burger King? No, not at all.

In fact, I actively root for BK, hoping to be surprised to find that they’ve actually done something right. I long to have my preconceived notions upended. But it hasn’t happened yet. Burger King is bad at almost everything. Even shakes, which… how?! So when my editor called me on the first day back from a brief vacation to alert me that Burger King had just unveiled a brand new chicken sandwich and I’d need to return from my self-imposed fried chicken sandwich eating retirement to tackle one last job (last, who am I kidding), something broke inside of me.

Once I hit the internet, I found out that it’s actually not one sandwich but two (four, technically). The Ch’King sandwich, which is topped with pickles and sauce, and the Spicy Ch’King, which has pickles, sauce, and a hot glaze, and two deluxe versions of those sandwiches featuring lettuce and tomatoes. This news reignited a passion in me for fried chicken sandwiches that I thought was lost forever, like Laika the dog (it’s a grim reference, don’t click the link).

Why did it get me hyped? You mean to tell me that Burger King felt so confident in this new sandwich, that they doubled down? Count me in!

Then I watched the commercial, titled “Nightmare” featuring narration from Paul Giamatti. And, cool as a Giamatti cameo is, I was right back to thinking Burger King doesn’t know what the hell they’re doing. Sometimes I feel like these fast food companies forget that they’re supposed to be selling us food, not making weird internet content. Why are you advertising a chicken sandwich with this f*cking image?

Fever-dream-and-vaguely-Get Out-inspired commercial aside, at least the internet got this sick Chick-fil-A burn from Burger King’s Twitter account out of it.

Got ’em Burger King! Donating the money first and not tying it to the sale of a chicken sandwich would’ve been better, but hey, as far as shallow gestures from big corporations during Pride month go, this one was at least suitably petty.

Without further ado, let’s get into these sandwiches and see if Burger King has finally done the thing and introduced a new food item that we can actually proudly recommend you spend your money on. Though again, judging from that commercial I didn’t go into the ranking optimistic.

In fact, I was downright frightened.

Crispy Ch’King Sandwich

Calories: 800

Price: $4.99

The Sandwich:

The Crispy Ch’King consists of a hand-breaded chicken breast filet, thick crinkle-cut pickle chips, and a smattering of savory sauce on the top and bottom halves of a potato bun. So far so good, at least on paper, and while the actual sandwich doesn’t look quite as grand as the way Burger King pretends it looks in advertisements, it’s pretty damn close. Visually, I’m happy with this sandwich, it doesn’t look quite as presentable as a Chick-fil-A sandwich and doesn’t have that mouth-watering eye-candy quality of Popeyes, but it looks good, if not a bit overcooked.

Biting into this thing I’m welcomed by a pleasingly audible crunch, thanks to the thick batter the chicken is encrusted in. It’s noticeably crunchier and more flavorful than Burger King’s old Crispy Chicken Sandwich. I wouldn’t say you could tell that it’s “hand-breaded” but it does feel like some definite attention was put into it — it’s the highlight of the sandwich. The chicken, on the other hand, was a bit on the dry side. The meat flaked apart like dry breast meat tends to do. I don’t know if this was a result of my sandwich being left in the fryer a bit too long, but after you get that initial flavor of black pepper there was little else to hold onto.

I’m assuming BK is aware of this, which is why they double sauced their buns, spreading a mayo-based “savory” sauce on both ends to create the illusion of juiciness. As far as I can tell, this doesn’t taste too different than your standard mayo, it has a slightly sweetened vibe to it but if I didn’t know it was “savory sauce” then I would’ve just assumed it was mayo. Get wild Burger King, put a dash of Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and garlic in there and you’d have a sauce worthy of putting on both buns. This sauce just seems uninspired.

I have to commend Burger King on their pickles though, it’s really easy to half-ass a pickle and while I think the sandwich could do with more, the three pickles I received all added a tart bite that paired well with the crunchiness of the sandwich.

The Bottom Line

This sandwich is halfway to being a great chicken sandwich, it has a good crunchy batter with a nice pepper-forward flavor, but it’s a bit one-note. It’s begging for some complexity.

Spicy Ch’King Sandwich Deluxe

Calories: 1,052

Price: $5.69

Spice Level: 2/5

The Sandwich

For the spicy version of this sandwich, I went with the Deluxe over the standard, which meant no pickles but you get lettuce and tomato. Let me say this right off the bat — don’t get the Deluxe. It’s a waste of time, Burger King’s lettuce is sad and wilted and their tomatoes have to be the palest shade of red I’ve ever seen from something that grows on a vine. I think had I gotten pickles, this sandwich would’ve provided an even better experience because I like this one, a lot.

It’s not going to make Popeyes, Chick-fil-A, or Wendy’s flinch and have to innovate to keep their top-tier sandwich status, but it blows my mind that something this flavorful came from Burger King.

It’s easy to say a spicy sandwich beats a non-spicy sandwich, this sandwich has an extra flavor component to hang on to thanks to the spicy glaze that is brushed on the chicken, but I wouldn’t exactly classify this sandwich as “spicy.” The pepper glaze just compliments the batter’s already black pepper dominant flavor, adding a bit of sweetness to the earthy peppercorn aftertaste that lingers nicely on the lips and tongue. It isn’t spicy so much as it suggests spice, which is kind of interesting and offers a unique opportunity for people who can’t handle spice to pretend that they’re fun. I only wish there was more of it, Burger King’s promotional material would lead you to believe this chicken is bathed in this spicy sauce — it’s not, it’s merely brushed on. Haphazardly, I might add!

The “savory” sauce makes a return here and overall the flavors just compliment each other better, you get that nice crunch leading to that pepper-forward flavor and subtle sweet chili heat, which is reigned in by the double serving of sauce — the more you chew the more the flavors get married together. An easy improvement on this sandwich would’ve been the inclusion of cheese, or you know, probably pickles. But I made the mistake of getting the Deluxe.

Had Burger King provided us with something a little more exciting than a potato bun (it’s an okay choice for this sandwich, but again — not so special) and put just a bit more effort into the sauce, they could’ve had a real winner here. Three chains released new chicken sandwiches this year — McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr, and Burger King — and of the three this sandwich is by far the best. Burger King did it, they made a good chicken sandwich, but if they want to compete with the GOAT, they’re going to have to head back to the lab and make a few improvements.

The Bottom Line

This is easily Burger King’s best menu item. Order the Spicy Ch’King sandwich (regular not deluxe) over the regular crispy version, even if you think you don’t like spice.

The Burger King Ch’King sandwiches are available nationwide. Find your nearest Burger King here.

One of the most touching moments in Disney’s “Toy Story” series is in the third film when 17-year-old Andy goes off to college, leaving his beloved toys behind to a young girl named Bonnie. It’s the moment when he’s forced to put the things of childhood behind and make his way in the world as an adult.

Before driving off in his car, he gives Bonnie his favorite toy, Woody, and the two play together with his toys for one last time. While he’s excited to move on to go to school, his heart is clearly heavy with the knowledge of everything he’s leaving behind.

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“Thanks, guys,” Andy says as he starts the ignition on his car and drives away.

“So long, partner,” Woody says.

Toy Story 3 – So Long Partner

www.youtube.com

A mother and son in Somerset, Texas recreated the heartfelt moment in a Twitter photo that has gone viral. A family friend captured a photo of Josiah Robles walking away from his home with his toys, including Buzz Lightyear and Woody, wishing him a fond farewell.

Robles is heading off to Baylor University to study mechanical engineering, where he will go “to infinity and beyond.”

“We thought it would be a good idea to do it with ‘Toy Story’ toys considering that I will be going off to college, like kind of what Andy did when he left the toys in the movie,” Robles explained.

so long somerset. 🎓🐻 https://t.co/IeR6QKPk6S

— Josiah ✞ Robles (@jojo_xcviii)
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The photo is reminiscent of a shot that went viral in September when a father in Leicestershire, England commemorated his four-year-old’s return to school after a sixth-month lockdown due to COVID-19.

In the photo, the young boy heads off to school while Buzz Lightyear, Rex, Slink, Jessie, and Woody wave goodbye to him in an homage to “Toy Story 3.”

An English boy’s first day of school has gone viral after he recreated the iconic goodbye scene from the Pixar movi… https://t.co/4Qw5iYFKda

— HIBster (@EDS_HIBster)
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“We decided to recreate the moment in ‘Toy Story 3’ where Andy leaves his toys behind when we did the traditional back to school photo,” the father, Sean Donnelly, told The Daily Mail.

“I think that story connected with the picture is one people can identify with too. If you have got kids you kind of know that feeling,” he added.

“Lots of people found it emotional and that it made them cry. I tried to make it look dark inside where the toys were and light outside where he was,” he said.

Both photos are a great way of marking a very specific moment in a child’s life when they go through a major transition. However, their greatest importance may be as a reminder to parents.

One of the most powerful realizations of being a parent is just how quickly our children grow. One day they’re playing with a pacifier, the next they’re playing with dolls. A few years later they’re knocking around a volleyball or basketball, and then, they’re leaving home.

You can’t put time in a bottle but you can do your best to be there, be in the moment, and appreciate the wonder of their childhoods, because it’ll be over before you know it.

Laura Wilkinson was first woman to have won three major diving world titles, including the Olympic gold medal in the 2000 Olympic Games. She was 22 then. Now she’s 43, a mother of four, and 13 years post-retirement—and she just qualified for this weekend’s women’s platform finals in the U.S. Olympic trials.

“I never thought I would get to come back and dive again after I retired 13 years ago,” she told NBC Sports. “So this is really a gift, every dive is a gift. I love doing it and this is really special.”

When Wilkinson took home the gold from the Sydney Olympics, she was the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in platform diving in 36 years. No U.S. woman has medaled in the Olympic sport since then. Against all odds, Wilkinson is looking for another medal shot in what will be her fourth Olympic games, if she makes the team.

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Wilkinson explained on TODAY, “When you feel called to do something and you’re passionate about it, you just want to be all in. It’s the drive, it’s the love, and I love that my kids get to watch me do this, not just by telling them how to live their lives. But they’re seeing me, the blood, sweat and tears that it takes to actually get there.”

Wilkinson underwent surgery on her spine in 2018, a procedure that has enabled her to return to the sport that she loves.

“I’m kind of just surprised I’m doing it, honestly,” Wilkinson told TODAY. “When I retired at 30 I was old back then, so this whole journey has just been a crazy, fun road.”

At 43, Wilkinson is not ancient by any means, but competitive physical sports are a young person’s game. Even athletes in their 30s are considered past their prime, so even qualifying for Olympic trial finals is an impressive feat.

“It’s never going to be an easy road,” Wilkinson said, “but that’s what makes the journey worth it. When you get to the other side, whether you achieve all your goals and your dreams or you don’t, going through all of that, it refines you as a person, it’s walking through that fire, and you become better in that process.”

Dara Torres made Olympic history in 2008, winning three silver medals in swimming at age 41. The oldest Olympic gold medalist ever was Sweden’s Oscar Swahn, who took home the gold medal in shooting at age 64, and still competed in the Olympics at age 72.

While aging inarguably makes physical competition harder, athletes like Wilkinson prove that you don’t have to stop competing just because you reach a certain date on a calendar. Congrats and kudos to her for chasing her Olympic dreams for the fourth time, and for showing the world what’s possible with dedication, perseverance, and support.

Watch her interview with Houston’s KCRP 2 the day before she qualified for the finals, which take place on Sunday evening.

Diver Laura Wilkinson ready to go for gold

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Morena Baccarin continues to be one of the hardest-working actresses on TV. The star who’s had high-profile roles on Homeland, Gotham, and the cult-favorite, Firefly, has signed on to a new bank heist drama for NBC alongside First Wives Club alum Ryan Michelle Bathé. The untitled series will reportedly be directed by Justin Lin who’s also in hot demand thanks to his work on the blockbuster Fast and Furious franchise. Via Deadline:

Written by Wootton and directed by Justin Lin, the Untitled Nick Wootton/Jake Coburn Project is a high-stakes two-hander about Elena Federova (Baccarin), a recently captured international arms dealer and brilliant criminal mastermind who orchestrates a number of coordinated bank heists throughout NYC for a mysterious purpose, and Val Fitzgerald (Bathé), the principled, relentless and socially outcast FBI agent who will stop at nothing to foil her ambitious plan. The sexy and twisted heist show reveals how far some people will go for love, justice and the most valuable commodity in the world: the truth.

Like Baccarin, Lin is no stranger to television. He’s directed episodes of HBO’s True Detective, and he recently revealed that Fast Five was inspired by his love for one of the greatest TV shows of all the time: The Golden Girls. So with that experience alone, Lin is clearly the best man to direct a show that combines sassy women and high-stakes heists. It’s practically his signature move now.

(Via Deadline)

“The Bum Out Front,” the 14th episode of the CBS series Frank’s Place opens with a character fearing for his life and closes with him silently pondering the nature of life itself. Centered, like every episode, around the New Orleans restaurant Chez Louisiane —known simply as The Chez, pronounced “shez,” to its regulars — its 22 minutes detail an ongoing confrontation between the restaurant’s owner, Frank (Tim Reid), and a rag-clad homeless man (Abdul Salaam El Razzac) who calls himself simply a “bum” and takes up residence in the alley behind the Chez.

Startled by the visitor’s noisy late-night arrival, Frank calls the police on him, only to watch in frustration when the bum returns the next day and begins singing (if that’s the right word) outside The Chez during its lunch rush. Unsure what to do, Frank turns to his employees for advice then watches every possible tactic fail, from a threat of legal action to the suggestion of physical harm to an offer of employment to bribery — each attempt staged with expert comic timing by Reid and the series’ talented and deep supporting cast. Resigned to the situation, Frank ultimately begins feeding and talking to the bum, who accepts but doesn’t exactly welcome the overture. Then the bum disappears, and Frank finds himself just as troubled by the absence as the ongoing campaign of harassment. After belatedly recognizing the bum’s voice coming from a customer dressed in white, Frank hurries back to the restaurant’s bar to discover the man has vanished. Stepping outside, Frank finds only an empty street and a familiar-looking scrap of rag. He dusts it off then walks back inside The Chez.

One of Frank’s Place’s best episodes, “The Bum Out Front” aired on CBS on January 4, 1988. Though it looked far removed from the more traditional fare surrounding it, it wasn’t a particularly unusual episode of the series, a single-camera comedy that freely incorporated dramatic elements, sometimes forgetting comedy entirely. Created by Hugh Wilson and executive produced by Wilson and Reid, who’d previously worked together on the Wilson-created sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, the show featured a diverse but mostly Black cast that reflected the make-up of the city in which it was set. It was funny without ever straining for laughs — Wilson originally told the network he’d include a laugh track but later admitted he was lying — poignant without ever becoming maudlin and shot with graceful camerawork in umber tones then associated more with movies than television. It was a great show, but one seemingly doomed from the start. By the time “The Bum Out Front” aired, the series was already struggling in the ratings. In many ways, its run was defined by struggle. A show embraced by critics and largely ignored by viewers, it lasted a single season before cancellation.

It’s now easy to call Frank’s Place, a series whose stylistic and thematic ambition anticipated a more creator-friendly TV era, ahead of its time. Except, in some ways, it was very much of its time. In the fall of 1987 network TV was ready to make some changes — or at least thought it was. Fall TV previews buzzed about the coming of the “dramedy,” a hybrid format that broke with the set-up/punchline/everybody-hugs-at-the-end format of the standard sitcom, bringing cinematic touches to half-hour shows that mixed elements of comedy and drama. Where once there were no dramedies, suddenly there were many, shows like The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Hooperman, and The Slap Maxwell Story that resisted easy definition but attracted a new label.

The turn “dramedy” had been around for a while, even if it had never really taken root. Lucille Ball used it to describe her acting style and ABC briefly tried to use it to describe the short-lived ’70s series FutureCop, in which Ernest Borgnine played a human police officer partnered with an android. In 1987, however, the term was suddenly everywhere. “I don’t think any of us had a summit conference and colluded to come up with this kind of trend together,” NBC Entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff told the New York Daily News. But it could feel a bit like they had. Tartikoff also admitted that the search for something new had much to do with a sensed threat from cable, saying “There are clear signals that just putting on the same old shows is only going to exacerbate that problem.” Nonetheless, the dramedies of ’87 all struggled in the ratings. (The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd enjoyed a five-season run, but only after moving to a cable network.) In some ways the format outlived the term, paving the way for shows like The Wonder Years and Doogie Howser, M.D. that didn’t make a big deal about labels.

Paving the way for the future did little to help Frank’s Place during its run, of course, but its short existence hardly diminishes its accomplishments. The series used a familiar fish-out-of-water premise as a jumping-off point for seemingly any sort of story Wilson and a writing staff that included playwright Samm-Art Williams and well-traveled sitcom veteran David Chambers wanted to tell. That ranged from a raucous holiday episode in which Frank joins his lawyer and friend “Bubba” Weisberger (Robert Harper) for a fraught Hannukah celebration to a flashback episode detailing the triumphs and temptations of The Chez’s resident man of God/hustler, Reverend Deal (a showcase for series standout Lincoln Kilpatrick), to the Emmy-winning “The Bridge,” in which a customer’s seemingly-drunk driving accident threatens the restaurant until later revelations spotlight some of the indignities of growing old and sick without money in a country with a clear-cut divide between haves and have-nots.

A Boston professor who inherits the bar from the father he never knew, Frank provides an outsider’s perspective on the show’s colorful but never cartoonish depiction of New Orleans. Though he only reluctantly takes over the business — pushed by a voodoo curse organized by The Chez’s elderly waitress emeritus Miss Marie (Frances E. Williams) — the place quickly wears down Frank’s resistance. The presence of Hanna Griffin, a charming mortician played by Reid’s real-life wife Daphne Maxwell-Reid doesn’t hurt, nor does the staff’s eagerness to adopt him as one of their own, even as they laugh at his naïveté about New Orleans and the restaurant business. The supporting cast includes everyone from Charles Lampkin, an actor from the earliest days of TV in his final role, to Don Yesso, now an experienced character actor, then a Louisiana high school football coach Wilson took a liking to after meeting him on an airplane.

Despite being championed by critics, the show never found its footing. CBS bounced it around on the schedule and pulled it for weeks at a time. Wilson came to see its end as inevitable. Speaking to the Television Academy Foundation in 2015 he recalled, “I knew it was coming. You can only have the New York Times write so many things about you.” Reid, however, tells a slightly different story in the book Tim & Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White. Though it primarily focuses on Reid’s early-career partnership with white comic Tom Dressen, the book includes Reid’s account of a conversation with CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite who revealed that it was the series’ final episode — “The King of Wall Street,” in which a junk bond trader laments the sorriness of his profession during a trip to The Chez — that sealed its fate, thanks to CBS CEO Laurence Tisch’s taking offense thanks to his own Wall Street career.

Tisch may have killed the show, but time and copyright law have virtually erased it. Frank’s Place reruns aired on BET for a while in the ’90s but the series never made the leap to DVD when seemingly every show ever made was receiving full-season box sets (even Hooperman). And apart from some VHS-quality YouTube uploads, it’s never been available on a streaming service, held up by music rights issues. (Similar problems plagued WKRP in Cincinnati.) You could think of it as a missing link between what TV was and what it became, but that too seems unfair. Frank’s Place was determinedly its own show for as long as it lasted. Then, like the Chez’s uninvited guest, it disappeared, leaving those who remembered it to puzzle over where it went, what it meant while it existed, and what might have happened if it had stuck around a little bit longer.

To the delight of fans the world over, Lorde made her return today with the new single “Solar Power.” To some listeners, the song sounded a bit familiar, and now Lorde has confirmed that her single is indeed inspired by a song from a beloved band.

The song in question is Primal Scream’s “Loaded.” For those not familiar, Primal Scream is a Scottish band that formed in the 80s and had their biggest success with the 1991 album Screamadelica (on which “Loaded” appears), which has gone on to be recognized as one of the decade’s finest releases.

Lorde spoke about it with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, saying:

“I had never heard Primal Scream in my life. I’d been told to check them out. I wrote this song on the piano and then we realized, like, this sounds a lot like ‘Loaded.’ It’s one of those crazy things that, like, they just were the spiritual forebears of the song. I reached out to [Primal Scream singer] Bobby [Gillespie] and he was so lovely about it. He was like, ‘You know, these things happen. You caught a vibe that we caught years ago.’ And he gave us his blessing. So let the record state ‘Loaded’ is 100 percent the original blueprint for this, but we arrived at it organically and I’m glad we did.”

“Solar Power” actually isn’t the only new Lorde song of the day, by the way, as she guested on Clairo’s latest, “Blouse.”

Listen to both Lorde’s “Solar Power” and Primal Scream’s “Loaded” below.