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When fall is in full swing, at home, everything revolves around sports.
Like clockwork, my husband invariably takes control of the TV with a hearty “You know what time it is!”
Sundays are for college football and Mondays are for professional football. So I’m free to settle in with any of our other TVs and enjoy my own uninterrupted viewing time.
But thanks to John Stamos, I’m more of a basketball fan now, which brings us to what to watch this week.
‘Big Shot’ Season 2
John Stamos is back coaching a high school basketball team at an elite private all-girls school.
His character is still temperamental, but in the show’s second season, his team is now in a different division and – *gasp* — the boys arrived at Westbrook.
Stamos gets help in this sports comedy-drama from co-stars Yvette Nicole Brown and Jessalyn Gilsig, among others; it’s exactly what you’d expect from a series co-created by David E. Kelley.
“Big Shot” is streaming on Disney+.
‘The Watcher’
Ryan Murphy lives to scare us.
This time it’s with “The Watcher,” which is based on a terrifying true story: a family buys their dream home only to find they’re being stalked by someone obsessed with the home — and them.
In real life, the family never even fully moved in after being terrorized by threatening letters and ended up selling the property at a loss in 2019, five years after buying it.
But you won’t have to wait that long to watch the dramatized version of their story, because “The Watcher” is now streaming on Netflix.
“Halloween Ends”
Let’s continue with the spooky stuff because it’s Halloween month, of course.
Poor Laurie Strode. The iconic “last girl” played by Jamie Lee Curtis has been trying to stay out of the clutches of serial killer Michael Myers for decades in the “Halloween” movie franchise.
But as the new film’s title suggests, Curtis insists this will be his character’s final sleight of hand with the masked murderer.
“I now have to set her free and let her live on in the minds and hearts of the fans who supported her,” Curtis told Entertainment Weekly.
Does this mean that Michael finally killed Laurie? “Halloween Ends” is now streaming on Peacock – and in theaters.
In a new series of true-crime podcasts, reality TV star/entrepreneur/criminal justice lawyer Kim Kardashian shines a light on Kevin Keith’s 1994 triple homicide conviction in Ohio, as well as the tireless work which he and his family have since undertaken to prove his innocence.
“Sharing the stories of people who aren’t just on a roadmap will help people feel comfortable and understand where someone is coming from,” Kardashian told The Hollywood Reporter. “Usually you don’t hear the other side.”
Love her or hate her, Kardashian uses her huge platform to draw attention to those she feels have suffered injustice.
“Kim Kardashian’s System: The Case of Kevin Keith” is streaming on Spotify.
Speaking of platforms, “American Idol” judge Katy Perry is using hers to help people rediscover the magic of the late Elizabeth Taylor with the “Elizabeth the First” podcast, which explores the movie star as an original influencer.
“I’m inspired by his bold activism, his constant boss moves in business and through it all an unapologetic way of loving — all the things I try to live up to in my own life,” Perry said. in a press release.
Taylor, who died at age 79 in 2011, is an eternal icon, and I love to see her celebrated in this way.
“Elizabeth the First” is streaming on Apple.
By now, you’ve probably heard the story of comedian Ariel Elias getting a can of beer thrown on stage. What happened is a reminder that, despite the incivility of our society, it all depends on how you handle what life throws at you.
Elias was recently doing stand-up comedy at Uncle Vinnie’s Comedy Club in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, when an audience member began asking her if she had voted for President Joe Biden.
“I wasn’t talking about politics,” Elias told CNN. “It was like she was looking for a fight.”
The heckler was thrown out of the club, but the man sitting next to her threw a can of beer at Elias. He landed hard on a wall near where she was performing.
Rather than explode or turn the other cheek, Elias just took a sip of the remaining brew. This reaction and his determination to finish his set won him praise from all over.
Let me first preface what I’m going to say by stating that I’m a long-time fan of Madonna.
The singer got quite a few people talking this week when she shared a TikTok video that suggested she was dating as gay.
Others complained that the star, who has always been a big supporter of LGBTQ rights, was “queer-baiting”, alongside wider criticism of Madonna taking to TikTok at her age.
Madonna doesn’t like people who emphasize her age (watch her take the New York Times Magazine to task in 2019), and the entertainment industry is notorious for her ageism.
Still, it can be difficult for older celebrities to find a tone on social media that feels right for them. Some of them, like Dionne Warwick on Twitter, have mastered it – others may seem to cringe.
Not that Madonna has to disappear – I doubt she ever will – but she will probably always be judged by some, because her determination to live her life in her own way is ageless.
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