Tag: tv show
Keeping up and Catching up
by John Downey '23 on April 8, 2022
A&E Co-Editor
Arts & Entertainment
Keeping up and Catching up
The Kardashians Couldn’t Stay Away From Reality TV
Talia Rueda ’23
The “first family of reality television,” the Kardashians, is back and better than ever. After a leave of absence that gave the family a much-needed break from being surrounded by cameras for 15 years, they are returning to the small screen with a second TV series, The Kardashians, courtesy of a new contract with Hulu and DisneyPlus.
People may ask, why did the Kardashians leave television just to come back a year later? Or, why wouldn’t they renew their Keeping Up With The Kardashians contract with E! instead of signing with different providers? The upcoming series’ newly released trailer, which aired on March 14, offers some answers to these questions.
The trailer opens with a statement from Kourtney Kardashian. She remarks, “Life without cameras was a big change for us,” as a montage plays, featuring moments of her, her fiancé Travis Barker, and their kids. These clips immediately offer a sense of how the Kardashian family has grown and changed since we last saw them.
Then, Kendall Jenner explains that the series will show a side of the family that viewers have never seen before. This statement led many dedicated fans to wonder how it could be possible for them to see anything more personal than what they have been seeing for the past 13 years. However, Jenner is likely alluding to the fact that she may receive more screen time this time around, as many have said over the years that Khloé and Kourtney Kardashian carried Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
Maybe this time around, that will be Jenner’s job.
The trailer also explores how all members of the family have “kind of gone into their own world” in their time off, advancing in their personal lives. Notably, many of the moments that the Kardashians’ fans see on social media and the news will be openly discussed and addressed. One such life event will be Kylie Jenner’s second pregnancy, which was kept fairly private and low-profile.
Khloé Kardashian has always been just the opposite of private and low-profile, appearing extremely open about her hardships and triumphs over the years. Perhaps the most clear example of this is her relationship with Tristan Thompson and his very public cheating scandals.
In the trailer, Khloé Kardashian is shown expressing how she struggles to trust Thompson. Fans have seen Thompson’s cheating scandals play out in real-time from the outside looking in, and now, they can “keep up” with how Khloé Kardashian has handled the continuous betrayal.
The trailer also showcases more of Kourtney Kardashian and Barker’s relationship, from its beginnings to their more recent journey of trying to have a baby together.
Last, but certainly not least, the trailer hints at Kim Kardashian’s devastating, complex struggle with her divorce from Kanye West. While viewers are certainly aware of West’s recent actions by now and understand the clear reasons that Kim Kardashian would not be able to stay in a relationship with him, they will be intrigued to see how one of the most influential women in the world handles such a tribulation.
At the end of the trailer, the family reinforces the ways in which they stick together with an iconic remark, ”never go against the family,” which has been one of their key values throughout all of their successes and failures.
The Kardashians airs on Hulu and DisneyPlus on April 14.
Dearest Readers, Bridgerton Has Returned
by John Downey '23 on April 8, 2022
A&E Co-Editor
Arts & Entertainment
Dearest Readers, Bridgerton Has Returned
A Review of the Hit Period Drama’s Second Season
Caitlin Ariel ’24
After it was announced in April 2021 that the Duke of Hastings (played by Regé-Jean Page) would not be returning for the highly anticipated second season of Netflix’s hit period drama Bridgerton, fans were left puzzled for nearly a year as to how the show would continue without one of its debut season’s main characters. Bridgerton’s sophomore season, which aired on March 25, responded to this confusion by entangling fans in a new love story. With the absence of eldest daughter Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), now a duchess, the pressure falls upon the family’s eldest son Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), also known as Viscount Bridgerton, to find a wife.
Bridgerton’s second season details many of the same high-society rituals as its debut run, but keeps things fresh with some new faces. For instance, before throwing himself into a flurry of balls and promenades, Anthony meets a mysterious woman (Simone Ashley) while going for a morning horseback ride. The banter they share excites him, but he puts it out of his mind as he prepares for his first ball of the season.
At the ball, Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran) is declared “the diamond” of the season—as Daphne was in season one—and Anthony is determined to make her his wife. However, one roadblock stands in his way: he must win the approval of Edwina’s sister before a courtship can ensue. Unfortunately for Anthony, when he is introduced to Edwina’s sister, he realizes that she is the intriguing stranger from that morning, Kate Sharma, who overhears him remarking to his friends at the ball that he does not want to marry for love, but rather only to find someone to lead his family alongside him and have his children. Kate, who only wants Edwina to marry for love, becomes enraged, and she and Anthony quickly become mortal enemies.
Bridgerton’s second season also features the return of Lady Whistledown, the Gossip Girl-esque author of the series’ infamous gossip pamphlet. The Lady has new energy in the wake of the season one finale, in which viewers discover her identity. For one, she tries to evade the Queen (Golda Rosheuvel) and Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) as they become more observant in their hunt to discover who is behind the gossip that has the town buzzing.
The season also includes subplots with the Featheringtons and the other Brigderton brothers, but Anthony’s love story dominates the season. Notably, though, the hypersexual chaos of season one that made viewers avoid watching the show with their families is much more restrained in season two, as viewers experience a satisfying slow burn between Kate and Anthony. The epitome of the popular enemies-to-lovers trope, Kate and Anthony’s constant tension as well as love-struck Edwina’s naiveness make the eight-episode show difficult not to binge, and fans agree: according to Variety, the period piece scored 193 million hours viewed during its premiere weekend and continues to sit comfortably at number one on Netflix’s list of the most popular English-language shows.
Already renewed for a third and fourth season, the show is set to follow the eight-novel series on which it is based, ensuring many more balls, beautiful dresses, and classical versions of America’s favorite pop songs in fans’ futures.
Season two of Bridgerton is streaming now on Netflix.
“What Is ‘A Record-Setting Feat’?”
by John Downey '23 on March 3, 2022
A&E Co-Editor
Arts & Entertainment
“What Is ‘A Record-Setting Feat’?”
A Look at Amy Schneider’s Jeopardy! Success
Claudia Fennell ’24
Voted most likely to compete on Jeopardy! in the eighth grade by her classmates, Amy Schneider, a 43-year-old from Dayton, OH, amassed a 40-game winning streak during her recent appearances on Jeopardy!. She won her first game on the episode that aired Nov. 17, 2021, where she beat out Andrew He, who at the time had a five-day winning streak. In the 14 games that followed, Schneider only missed one “Final Jeopardy” question. Despite the incredible intelligence and kindness that Schneider showed on air, she received hate comments online for being a transgender woman. However, Schneider ignored the online trolls and continued her reign of success on the show, amassing a total prize of over $1.3 million.
On her final episode, which aired on Jan. 26, Schneider ended her winning streak with a grand total of 40 wins. This feat places her in second place for the most consecutive wins in the history of Jeopardy!. Matt Amodio previously held the second-place spot, with a grand total of a 38-game streak. Schneider was thrilled that she was able to achieve her goal of reaching the second-place spot and was hopeful about eventually winning first place, a spot currently held by Ken Jennings with a record of 74 consecutive game wins.
Towards the end of her winning streak, Schneider began to feel that the show was straining her mind and body. The life of a long-time Jeopardy!-winning contestant can be extremely taxing. The show tapes each week’s episodes—five in total—in one day, which makes for a tiring and stressful experience. Schneider reported to the New York Times that during her time on the show, she flew from her home base in Oakland, CA, to the Jeopardy! set at the start of every week. After taping the week’s episodes in one day, she would return to her hotel and “just sit and do nothing for an hour or so to give her brain a break.” In an interview she gave on the day that she finally lost her streak, she emphasized that “the fatigue of this taping was really starting to add up.”
Schneider was beat by a librarian from Chicago named Rhone Talsma. During the episode, she was performing well as usual, with a score far ahead of her competitors, until her opponents started to notice that she was choosing clues with lower price values. When “Final Jeopardy” came around, Schneider was ahead of Talsma by only $10,000, which was rare for her because she usually went into “Final Jeopardy” already certain of winning. The “Final Jeopardy” category was geography, and the prompt was to name the only nation in the English language that ends in the letter “h.” Contestants were given the hint that this nation is one of the world’s top ten most populous countries. Schneider was not able to come up with an answer to the question, whereas Talsma correctly responded with, “What is Bangladesh?” This “Final Jeopardy” question solidified Talsma’s victory, thus ending Schneider’s winning streak.
While Schneider reported that playing Jeopardy! was one of the best experiences of her life, she has also emphasized that she is glad to be rid of the stress that the show brought upon her life. She added that she was excited to return home and continue living with her fiancée, Genevieve, and their cat named Meep. Notably, on Feb. 25, Schneider took to Twitter to announce that she and Genevieve are engaged and looking forward to sharing an incredible life together.
Needless to say, the answer to the question of Schneider’s post-Jeopardy life is, “What is ‘a happy ending’?”
Struggles with Secrets and Lies
by John Downey '23 on February 10, 2022
A&E Co-Editor
Arts & Entertainment
Struggles with Secrets and Lies
Euphoria’s Unpredictable Second Season
Grace O’Connor ’22
HBO’s Euphoria is well-known for its fantastic character development and incredible set design, both of which led to a wildly successful first season. Season two of the hit show, which premiered last month, has once again pulled in a large audience—viewership is up nearly 100 percent from season one. According to Variety, the premiere, which first aired Jan. 9, has drawn 13.1 million viewers on HBO and HBO Max, with the rest of the season set to see similar numbers. This growth represents an increase of approximately 100 percent from the nearly 6.6 million people who tuned into Season 1 of Euphoria when it aired in 2019. These statistics affirm the audience’s loyalty to this beloved show and its hugely talented cast.
Season two of Euphoria dives deeper into its characters’ struggles and relationships with one another. Nate, for instance, is notorious for his abusive behavior, and his unhealthy relationship with Maddy in season one kept fans at the edge of their seats. Given his problematic history, fans were surprised and unsettled to see a budding romance form between Nate and Cassie early on in season two. This troubled love triangle is just one of the unexpected developments in Nate’s story. Season two also explores his father Cal’s hidden past, which Cal had long tried to conceal from his wife and children.
Another character who must grapple with secrets and lies is Rue, who is on the verge of exposing the fact that she has resumed her use of addictive drugs to Jules and her family. Notably, Euphoria portrays Rue’s battle with drug addiction in an authentic way. According to Forbes, “The tragic irony is that Rue has spent so many episodes striving for [a] relationship [with Jules], only to reduce herself to a state of dissociation, unable to feel what she desperately wants.” Season two masterfully brings Rue’s struggle in her personal relationships to light: she slowly learns to be vulnerable with others and upfront about what she is going through.
Despite the differences in the characters’ lives that make them individuals, there is one common denominator between them. As Forbes explains, “the characters strive to break free from the chains of morality and consequence, embracing their sinful desires, spilling secrets like body fluids.” The characters each risk their well-being to hold onto their secrets, and their struggle to do so makes for a narrative that is intriguing and entertaining.
Season two of Euphoria is currently airing on HBO and available for streaming on HBO Max.
TV Preview: Euphoria
by The Cowl Editor on December 11, 2021
Arts & Entertainment
TV Preview: Euphoria
The Hit Show Will Soon Return for a Much-Anticipated Second Season
Nikki Idelson ’22
The Euphoria season two trailer is finally here and, from the looks of it, the new season of the hit show will be even more dramatic and action-filled than the first one. For those unfamiliar with Euphoria, it follows the lives of six high school-aged characters, Rue, Jules, Nate, Maddy, Cassie, and Kat, whose individual lives, especially their issues related to matters of violence and addiction, intertwine with one another. The main character of the show is Rue, played by Zendaya, who struggles with mental health and addiction throughout the series.
Fans have been waiting quite some time for the show’s return. The first season aired back in the summer of 2019, with only a special episode released at the end of 2020 that, while offering fans some answers about the last episode of season one, left many questions unanswered.
The upcoming season will hopefully address many of these questions, although the trailer does not give much away. It does suggest, however, that the new episodes will deal with issues such as violence, partying, and trauma, with a scene depicting what is seemingly a police raid indicating the severity of the situations the characters will find themselves in.
Many of the characters from the first season will return alongside some new faces. These new characters are certain to become fan favorites, as many of the actors who portray them are already well-known in the entertainment industry. According to Elle, they include: “Friday Night Lights star Minka Kelly, who will portray a drug-addicted housewife, along with Indie singer Dominic Fike and rapper Lil Meech.”
Zendaya commented on the new season in a Teen Vogue article. She found that her character “represents a lot for so many people.” When pressed for details about the nature of the issues the Euphoria characters will grapple with overcoming this season, the actress remained vague, responding, “it’s gonna be hard and it’s gonna be devastating sometimes.”
Such realistic depictions of struggle are one of the main reasons fans found themselves drawn to the first season of the show, since many felt that they were able to relate to at least one of the issues that one of the six main characters faced. Needless to say, these fans are excited to see them return to the screen.
The new season of Euphoria will premiere on HBO Max on Jan. 9, 2022.
Maid Shines a Light on Domestic Violence
by The Cowl Editor on November 18, 2021
Arts & Entertainment
Maid Shines a Light on Domestic Violence
The Netflix Drama’s Authenticity and Hopeful Message
Talia Rueda ’23
Maid was released on Netflix on Oct. 1 and has since claimed its place on Netflix’s “Top 10 in the US” list.
While the show offers a multitude of heartwarming moments between protagonist Alex and her 3-year-old daughter, Maddy, this mother-daughter relationship also proves to be life-saving. At one point, 23-year-old Alex is shown escaping her abusive boyfriend, Sean, in the middle of the night, hours after she finished picking glass out of her daughter’s hair from his usual drunken outrage.
Maddy being put in danger is the final straw for Alex. She leaves the comfort of her home and the little money she has in order to protect her daughter. However, while Alex knows she has to take action to protect Maddy, she is not initially aware of what Sean had been doing to her. It is not until she is homeless with nowhere to go and reaches out for housing assistance that she recognizes that she qualifies to live in a domestic violence shelter.
“I would hate to take a spot from someone that has been actually abused,” she says as she is offered the shelter’s phone number. It is clear that Alex is not aware of what emotional abuse is; she believes abuse can only be physical, and that the people she would not want to take a spot from people who have bruises all over their body.
This lack of education regarding emotional abuse comes up several times within the show. For instance, the court denies that there is evidence that Alex’s boyfriend abused her because she has an unmarked body. Also, Alex’s dad sees Sean verbally force her to sit down and eat dinner when she is not hungry, but when Alex asks her dad to testify for proof of abuse, he insists that this instance was just “a young couple going through a rough patch.” The show clearly works to inform its audience of what emotional abuse is, while simultaneously examining the ways in which the concept of abuse can be misconstrued.
Other scenes detail the less-obvious tactics emotional abusers use. Sean controls Alex in a subtle and isolating way. He wants Alex to be under his roof. He gives her car away and refuses to change his work schedule, making it impossible for her to get a job and gain monetary independence. Alex falls subject to Sean in all of these ways, working tirelessly for the comfortability and normality of being with the father of her daughter in their own home, making it an incredibly accurate portrayal of emotional abuse.
In one of the first episodes of the series, the owner of the domestic violence shelter informs Alex that women may return to their abuser up to seven times. Maid does an astounding job of showcasing this somber fact when Alex returns home to Sean out of desperation, but also with the hope that he will change. Alex’s desire for him to change is ultimately less powerful than her goal of making a better life for her daughter, one without glass thrown across the kitchen or drunk outbursts.
Alex’s story ends more happily than many domestic abuse cases do, but there is nonetheless a commonality between her story and those of real women regarding the relationship between mothers and their children. These women do not often escape abuse for themselves, but for their sons and daughters. In the hardest moments of both Alex and Maddy’s lives, their mother-daughter relationship proves to save both of their spirits, and seemingly, their lives.
The Life of a Suburban Serial Killer
by The Cowl Editor on October 28, 2021
Arts & Entertainment
The Life of a Suburban Serial Killer
You Season Three Offers Entertainment and Horror
Claudia Fennell ’24
When the first season of the popular television show You began streaming on Netflix in 2018, over 40 million people watched its ten episodes in suspense. The plot followed protagonist Joe Goldberg, a bookstore manager in New York City, falling in love with one of his customers, Guinevere Beck, and beginning to stalk her. Viewers watched in discomfort as he stood outside her window at night, broke into her apartment, and committed horrible crimes against those closest to her that he perceived as standing in his way.
Yet, somehow, the audience was still rooting for him in an odd way. While he was a serial-killing stalker, he was kind to Beck when she needed it and was a father-like figure to the young boy that lived in the apartment next door to him. Chaos ensued as the season progressed, and while all the odds were against Joe, he somehow managed to evade arrest for his crimes and move to Los Angeles, a city he believes to be the antithesis of who he is, in hopes that no one will be able to find him.
A year later, in December 2019, season two began streaming on Netflix. It was watched by 54 million households and somehow involved even more twists and turns than the previous season. Joe presumes a false identity, introducing himself as Will Bettelheim to everyone he meets, and gets a job at an upscale book and grocery hybrid store called Anavrin. Joe begins to fall into his old patterns again and falls for one of his coworkers at his new job, a chef named Love Quinn. He even goes as far as to set up a telescope in his apartment so that he can watch Love in her home all day. The two eventually begin dating and Love starts to fall for him. Like in season one, he feels an overwhelming need to protect some of the people around him. He also begins stalking his teenage neighbor, who is involved with a suspicious older man, and ends up saving her from him. Despite all the negative things that Joe does, he somehow finds ways to redeem himself to the audience.
As the season progresses, viewers start to learn that Love and Joe have more in common than previously thought. Love has a dark side, just like Joe, and she ends up silencing a woman who was going to spill Joe’s secrets. When Joe realizes what she has done, he turns on Love and tries to harm her, but she exclaims that she is pregnant and Joe realizes that he cannot hurt her. The two move into a wealthy suburban area, get married, and all seems well until, in the final moments of the season, it is revealed that Joe is watching women in the neighborhood before he and Love even finish unpacking their moving truck.
Season three of You was released on Oct. 15 and has once again gripped viewers around the world. It opens with Joe and Love as new parents successfully assimilating themselves into suburban society as normal people. Love opens her own bakery and Joe gets a job at the local library. As usual, however, Joe continues to stalk other women. He also grows increasingly angry with Love when she makes the same dangerous choices when people wrong her as he does. While not all of the characters, new and old, make it out alive of season three, the producers and writers will definitely be able to create another thrilling season to captivate their audience. Netflix has confirmed that there will be another season coming soon, although its release date is still pending. Viewers can anticipate yet another installment filled with even more drama in a new location far removed from Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY alike. For those who have not seen You yet, it is a must-watch, especially during the spooky season.
American Horror Story Returns with “Double Feature”
by The Cowl Editor on October 7, 2021
Arts & Entertainment
American Horror Story Returns with “Double Feature”
Hit Show Promises To Scare Viewers in More Ways Than One
Olivia Riportella ’25
It has been two years since the hit series American Horror Story brought a new tale to the small screen. The much anticipated 10th season finally premiered earlier this year on Aug. 25 on FX and Hulu.
This season, producer Ryan Murphy has taken on yet another unique American Horror Story narrative. The season is split into two separate storylines—hence its name, “Double Feature.” While not much was known about the new “story” for quite some time, trailers teased the appearance of sirens and aliens, and viewers have seen these elements appear in the new season.
Many of American Horror Story’s most beloved cast members have returned this season. Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Finn Wittrock, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, and Leslie Grossman are some of the familiar faces that appear in its first part, “Red Tide,” which “takes place by the sea.” Many of them are also speculated to make an appearance in “Death Valley,” the second half of the season that takes place “by the sand.”
Interestingly, Macaulay Culkin, most famously known for starring in Home Alone, is making his American Horror Story debut in “Red Tide.” While Culkin is perhaps the most well-known addition to the cast, there will certainly be other new faces appearing on screen in this new season as well.
The first part of “Double Feature,” “Red Tide,” takes place in New England. It is set in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and follows struggling writer Harry Gardner (Finn Wittrock) who moves his pregnant wife Doris (Lily Rabe) and daughter Alma (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) to the beach town of Cape Cod to seek inspiration. Harry quickly discovers that there has been a series of disturbing murders in Truro, the next town over. Soon enough, the culprits, who are some of the town’s more chilling residents, begin to make an appearance.
It is speculated that this part of the season is inspired by true events that have taken place in New England. For instance, one of New England’s most famous serial killers, Antone Charles “Tony” Costa, committed numerous murders in Truro, the town referenced in Red Tide. Costa was dubbed the “Cape Cod Vampire” because he left bite marks on each of his victims. Similarly, in “Red Tide,” the Truro victims are left dead in seemingly animalistic ways. Such real-life horror stories make this season of American Horror Story all the more sinister.
The second part of the season, “Death Valley,” takes a turn into a 1950s black and white timeline, where President Dwight Eisenhower is confronted with an alien invasion and subsequent tests on the strange new species. Part two also depicts a group of present-day college students that is faced with the recurrence of these horrors decades later.
Although it has yet to air, the ending of “Double Feature” will certainly be jam-packed, since part two is restricted to just four episodes. The final episodes of the season will be released in the upcoming weeks of October, with “Inside” airing on Oct. 6, “Blue Moon” on Oct. 13, and “The Future Perfect” on Oct. 20. The season finale, whose title has yet to be announced, is set to be released on Oct. 27, so American Horror Story fans will have something spooky to watch right before Halloween.