Looking for something to entertain you? Here you go:
“What We Do in the Shadows,” the TV version, is in its fourth season and has gone full goofball. There is still a plot and continuity, but the jokes come at “30 Rock” speed - you don't need to know what's going on to have a good time watching it. (Also, is this the first year that FX has allowed swear words? Because WWDITS uses all the best ones now.) Here's a song the show played over an episode's closing credits last year that changed my life. -Katherine Spiers
“Only Murders in the Building” is back with a new murder, which naturally means new hijinks. Come for the satire of the true crime genre, and stay for the standout chemistry between its three amateur podcasters (and even more amateur sleuths) played by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. This season has the trio trying to clear their name after being framed for homicide. Podcasts are bigger than ever, so it was inevitable that a television series would turn to the popular form. It’s delightful. Take it from people who make podcasts professionally. -Jackie Johnson
I recently burned through both seasons of “FBoy Island” on HBO Max with a friend. I know - I KNOW - reality love competitions are gross and fake and full of all the reasons you shouldn't watch. (Hello, body dysmorphia!) All that being said, the show holds a mirror up to our own bad dating decisions. Halfway through each season, the three women learn which of the men are there for love and who is there for money - and some pursue the men who are there for money, certain of their own ability to "change him." Definitely watch with someone who knows you well enough to say, "Like you do any better." -Glen Lakin
People who listen to Gayest Episode Ever have heard Glen and me discussing “Mama’s Family” more and more, and while I’m happy to say that we have picked a Mama’s Family to cover when GEE comes back in September, it’s reminded me that before Mama’s Family there was 1982’s Eunice, a CBS TV movie about the Harper family that works like a bizarro alternative version of the sitcom wherein Vinton is queer-coded, characters die, and you see Vickie Lawrence, Carol Burnett, and Betty White act the hell out of what amounts to a flea market Tennessee Williams play. Would recommend. -Drew Mackie
It’s me, Sam Pancake, and I’m doing my new solo show September 4 and 6 at the Cavern Club Celebrity at Casita Del Campo in Silver Lake. It’s called PANCAKES FROM THE EDGE and it’s an evening of characters, videos and stories inspired by my obsession with the Carrie Fisher-written, Mike Nichols-directed 1990 MASTERPIECE film “Postcards from the Edge.” Even if you haven’t seen the movie, (and for Lord’s sake why haven’t you!?) I’m sure you will get a kick out of it. “Take your broken heart and turn it into art,” as our beloved Ms Fisher said. I can’t guarantee this is art, but I can guarantee a fun evening! -Sam Pancake
Oh and also we’re doing “Golden Girlz Live” again the last two weekends of August! The phenomenon keeps rolling on. Many of the shows are already sold out so jump on these tix fast! -Sam
Sometimes I listen to podcasts that are not TableCakes podcasts, I’ll admit, and one that has most recently gotten my attention is Brain Rot, which focuses on horror from the 1980s and 1990s, from the perspective of British trash enthusiasts. Host Stevie Webb brings a queer perspective to the days of the infamous Video Nasties: films banned by the British government in 1984 for being too violent, too disturbing, and unfit for public consumption… which only made them more attractive to young horror fans, of course. Thanks to some crossovers, it plays out like the weird gay cousin of Evolution of Horror, another good horror history pod that I’ve been enjoying but one that looks at more conventional fare: The Exorcist and The Omen, for example, instead of Brain Rot’s selections of Basket Case, The Gate and Death Spa. -Drew
I have been painting my living room, which is not a thing I’d recommend anyone take on during the hottest part of the year. However, while doing this activity, I’ve had the chance to put on a variety of movies that I otherwise would never have watched. Foremost among them is 1984’s Ninja III: The Domination, a fantastically clunky film about an L.A. aerobics instructor possessed by the ghost of a ninja. Directed by Sam Firstenberg, who directed Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo the same year, the film gleefully shrugs off logic, and it’s all the better for it. The bit of it I’d give to the world as an example of how bonkers it can be would be the video I tweeted of it, which is not of any of the film’s martial arts sequences but instead star Lucinda Dickey becoming the first and only actor in cinema history to seductively spill a can of V8 all over herself. It really must be seen to be believed. -Drew
S.S. Rajamouli’s newest film RRR is one of the most expensive Indian films to date. After watching the film twice in the span of two weeks, I can say with confidence that the money is well spent. This film is BANANAS! What sets RRR apart is how it leans into its own extravagance; it’s where maximalism meets technical prowess. -Jackie
(Sadly, Paddington is not in this film.)
TableCakes Productions is a Los Angeles-based, woman-owned production company. Currently we make podcasts, newsletters, websites, and videos.