Dry January has turned seamlessly into Lent, but we can't give up everything fun, can we? Here's some fun viewing to keep you sated.
(photo: Peacock)
Fab five
"Girls5eva" is a musical comedy series that first premiered in May 2021 on Peacock. When a one-hit-wonder girl group from the '90s gets sampled by a young rapper, its members reunite to give their pop star dreams one more shot. "Girls5eva" follows the four women, past and present.
This series had two great underrated seasons and then disappeared, but now there's a new season. The cast is awesome, including a lot of singers with receipts: Grammy-winning Sara Bareilles is Dawn, the "chill one" of Girls5eva, who now works at her brother's Italian restaurant and has a son with her husband. Busy Philipps is Summer, the self-proclaimed "hot one" of Girls5eva, now married and neglected by her husband. She lives in a mansion with her daughter, Stevia (yes, Stevia).
Former "Saturday Night Live" writer Paula Pell is Gloria, the "always working one," now a dentist divorced from her wife, Caroline. Caroline is played by Janine Brito, a San Francisco stand-up comedian and on-air correspondent for "Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell," who is also Pell's real-life wife. Tony winner Renée Elise Goldsberry is Wickie, the "fierce one," who pretends to have a glamorous life, but is scraping by as an airport employee.
In addition to Pell and Brito, there are other gays in the cast, including multiple Tony and Grammy nominee Andrew Rannells. There's singing, dancing, drama-ing and it's all pretty hilarious. Catch up on the first two seasons before the new season drops March 14 on Netflix and Peacock.
Swingers
"I'm bisexual and he's more of a 'don't knock it till you try it' sexual," says one of the men in a male couple on Peacock's new striving-for-edgy series, "Couple to Throuple." The new dating series has couples looking to expand their relationships by adding a third person and dipping their toes and more into the world of the ménage.
To help "get your poly on,"' the couples will choose from one of 14 frisky options to play with. Expect a lot of mixing, matching and bicuriousness. And yes, everyone is young and hot and there are bathing suits galore.
Hosted by Scott Evans and guided by Sex and Relationship expert Shamyra Howard, these four curious couples navigate the world of polyamory. Set at a remote tropical resort, the couples will meet, mingle, and date a group of singles, many of whom are experienced in polyamory. With three times the fun, the feelings —and of course the drama— these relationships are put through the ultimate test to see if they are the perfect match.
Safe words are set, boundaries are delineated, and couples discover what they can and cannot handle. At the end of their time in this fantasy paradise, the couples will decide if their hearts have room for more than just "the one" and commit as a throuple, go home as they arrived, or leave separately. The ten-episode season will roll out in weekly batches of three, naturally.
Jon gone
We know a lot of people claim to be excited that Jon Stewart is back on "The Daily Show" on Monday nights. We are not among them. We never thought he was more than occasionally funny and think he's even less funny now, nine years later. And to be honest, we're exhausted by the "Biden's old!" jokes. Yeah, he's old. He was old in 2020 when there were 26 Democrats running for president. (www.epgn.com)
Meanwhile, Trump is a racist maniac and rapist who tried to subvert the Constitution, incited a mob to storm the Capitol and has said repeatedly he intends to be a dictator. He was just found liable for fraud and fined $354.9 million in yet another trial and banned from doing business in New York for three years. Also, Trump was the most egregiously anti-LGBTQ president in history, as we detailed on www.epgn.com.
Stewart kicked off his Daily Show Monday night residency by joking about "America's two chronologically challenged presidential candidates." If you think Biden and Trump are the same, you probably will find Stewart funny. Welcome to 2016 2.0. Watch if you want. But sleep is better.
Taylor, made
If you want to stay up late for laughs, watch the only woman on late night, Taylor Tomlinson, on her new CBS late-night show "After Midnight," after "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
Tomlinson also has a new Netflix special, "Have It All," in which she talks about dream jobs, finding a perfect partner and dealing with anxiety, while asking the age-old question: "Can you really have it all?"
Tomlinson also talks about bisexuality and exploring sexuality, and dives in by querying, "So, anyway, I've been trying to figure out if I'm bisexual, or if I just binged 'Euphoria' too fast."
Yes, she's funny.
That tracks
The new CBS series "Tracker," which debuted after that monumental Super Bowl, has the butchest lesbian on TV as one of the main characters: Abby McEnany used to identify as a lesbian, but now refers to herself as a "queer dyke" and she plays PI Velma Bruin. More on this series next time, but it's worth a look. Star Justin Hartley, who plays bounty hunter Colter Shaw, is the hottie actor of the triplets from "This Is Us."
Casting Society announced Emmy Award winner and out queer actress Niecy Nash-Betts will host the 39th Artios Awards in Los Angeles Thursday, March 7. The annual awards celebration honors the contributions of casting professionals in film, television (scripted and unscripted), commercials and theater.
"We are honored and excited to have Niecy as our esteemed host in Los Angeles," said Destiny Lilly, CSA President in a press statement. "Her dynamic presence, charm, and boundless energy promise to infuse the evening with laughter and heart. Niecy has consistently been a huge advocate for the work we do as casting professionals, so it's a privilege to celebrate the most important night of the year for us with her."
Nash-Betts currently stars in Ava DuVernay's feature film, "Origin," an adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson's book, "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent." Nash-Betts is also the host of Fox's game show "Don't Forget The Lyrics," which recently wrapped production on its third season, and lends her voice to the second season of Netflix's "Human Resources."
Nash-Betts recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her portrayal of Glenda Cleveland in Ryan Murphy's Netflix limited series, "Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer" based on the life of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
This is a powerful discourse between Nash-Betts and filmmaker Ava DuVernay; perfect Black History Month viewing.
Amy faces it
Finally, "Life & Beth" star c back with a new season of her series, is talking about her endometriosis diagnosis and body shaming.
Schumer said, "Thank you so much for everyone's input about my face. I've enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years. And you're right, it is puffier than normal right now. I have endometriosis, an autoimmune disease that every woman should read about."
She added, "There are some medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now, but I'm okay. Historically, women's bodies have barely been studied medically compared to men. The book 'All in Her Head' does a good job explaining this."
It was still a painful commentary as she said, "I also believe a woman doesn't need any excuse for her physical appearance and owes no explanation. But I wanted to take the opportunity to advocate for self-love and acceptance of the skin you're in. Like every other women/person, some days I feel confident and good as hell, and others I want to put a bag over my head." (www.cnn.com)
Amen. So, for the Sturm and the Drang, you know you really must stay tuned.
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