Pop Culture Mondays/8.17.20. The “US POSTAL SERVICE” Edition
By: Brooke Hammerling
Tags: Lovecraft Country, Obama, Postal Service, Selling Sunset, Pop Culture

HIGH BROW and LOW BROW

CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT:

**** THIS IS UPDATED DUE TO AN UNEXPECTED TWIST:

We are all starved for content I know I know. I mean I actually had the Avengers on TV this weekend that was playing on USA on my Hulu Live with like 25 minute commercial breaks but it just felt soothing to have it on. What else is soothing is GARBAGE TV. And that my friends is the perfect lead in for Selling Sunset. I mean when I think of trash TV, and I think of this often, this show TOPS the list. It is a perfect glimpse into a pre-Covid world with a cast you can’t stop watching. I watched every second of it. The premise is that these identical twin brothers have a real estate agency (incidentally just down the street from me in West Hollywood) where they seemingly ONLY hire amazonian beautiful women with insane clothes. At the end of the day, it is sold as a real estate show which appeals to real estate porn fans like me…the first season centers around a ridiculous $40 million home they are trying to sell which is literally down the street from where I live now (DEF NOT MY house) and it was apparently ultimately bought by a self help guy who wears tshirts that say “The Matrix was a Documentary” and has a yappy dog that barks at 🥔 the dog every time we walk by (because despite the price tag of $40 million it is off the street and I can hear them talking when they are poolside). BUT really this show is about the “personal” lives of the realtors each trying to outdo one another in fashion and drama and mean girls BS and it’s a lot. It will probably kill a lot of brain cells BUT that said, it is FUN and juicy and distracting.

AND OMG UPDATE: My neighbor found a doggo this afternoon and gave it to me because I am obviously a dog person AND ALSO I fancy myself a Nancy Drew of sorts…so after some sleuthing and going to the vet and getting the dog scanned for a chip and some other detective work found the owner who is Christine, a star on the SHOW and she was beautiful and sweet and so happy to have her dog back and apparently the dog is on Season 3 as a dog who likes to run away so this dog was ALSO a famous doggo like 🥔 the dog and THAT MY FRIENDS IS A TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY.

….and then WE HAVE THIS MAGNIFICENT NEW SHOW:

And all I can say is THANK YOU HBO or HBO Max or whatever you are called this week but really, thank you. It’s been a long time since I was at the edge of my seat with a show and I didn’t even look at my phone ONCE during it and OMG I needed a drink or two or three or some Valiums and by some I mean a boatload but it was a GOOD stress. OK SO… “Lovecraft Country” is based on novel by Matt Ruff (buy it here) of the same name. It takes place in Jim Crow America in the 1950s which is produced by Jordan Peele and J.J Abrams and show runner Misha Green and IT IS SO GOOD. It is also perfectly timed with the moment we are in in 2020. IS it horror? I mean yes. Is it also a brilliant look at monsters — both actual monsters and the monsters our racist society produces. Also among the incredible actors, there is Michael K. Williams who played Omar on “The Wire” maybe one of the best characters of all time.

Here’s a glimpse:

My only complaint — is that I cannot binge this show and have to wait ‘til next week for the episode 2. DAMN YOU HBO whatever…but actually I am ok with it because if I binged it all at once A. I would never sleep again and B. I wouldn’t be SO looking forward to NEXT Sunday.