Coleman Spilde

Warner Bros.Fine, I’ll admit it: I was dead wrong.Let me clarify. There was a time, not too long ago, when Lady Gaga signing onto a Joker sequel was unfathomable. Years of fighting to prove her talent and worth to the general public culminated in the musician and actor being nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role in 2018’s A Star Is Born. (It was a nomination she lost, only to pick up the Best Original Song trophy later that evening.) After Gaga’s silver screen follow-up, House of Gucci, turned out to be a less-than-ideal vehicle for her star power, joining another big Hollywood production could be a risk. And when rumors about her joining the sequel to 2019’s controversial standalone Joker film began to swirl, many people–including myself—thought Gaga’s participation was incomprehensible. It was so strange and unlikely to me that I even wrote an open letter back in 2022, half-jokingly begging her not to take the role. With the amount of contention surrounding the first Joker film, it seemed unwise for Gaga to associate herself with the franchise.But time is a funny thing. In the two years since it was announced Gaga would join Phoenix in the Joker sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, Gaga has done quite a few things I wouldn’t have expected. The first and foremost would be teaming up with pharmaceutical overlords Pfizer to hock migraine pills, which I used to think was something relegated to Khloé Kardashian. Gaga, ever the LGBTQ+ activist, also spent most of last summer quiet after a season of legislative attacks on trans and gender nonconforming people put the health and safety of the queer community at jeopardy—a silence she later (vaguely) apologized for. While these haven’t been my favorite surprises that Gaga has pulled on the public in her long career, she certainly keeps us on her toes. That much has once again been proven too with the release of the first trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux. I’ll say it because I mean it: This movie looks really damn good.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/StarzAs light and fun as it can be, Mary & George begins with a thud. The first episode of Starz’s scintillating new limited series about Jacobean-era English schemers—led by Julianne Moore as Countess of Buckingham Mary Villiers and Nicholas Galitzine as her second son, George—opens by dropping poor baby George, fresh from the womb, onto the floor. “Who dropped him?” Mary asks her two chambermaids. She’s not expecting a reply; she’s expecting them to pick him up. George is, after all, still attached to his mother by umbilical cord, and Mary does not suffer incompetence, as we’ll soon come to learn.Things don’t bode well for poor George from the start. There’s a reason that Mary is less incensed by her staff’s mistake than she is purely annoyed. “Perhaps they should’ve left you on the floor to rot,” she whispers to George, cradled in her arms once more. “Do you know why? You are my second son. You will inherit nothing of value. What use are you to anybody?” It’s a tough sentiment—the kid’s still covered in bodily fluids, and already he’s getting a lecture from his mother—but not exactly an untrue one. During this period in English history, family and bloodlines were everything; if you were not a daughter who could marry into a wealthy brood, or the first-born son who would inherit a family’s estate, there was little intrinsic worth to your mere existence.That’s the spirit that drives Mary and the worry that nips at her back everywhere she goes. After narrowly escaping a lowly destiny of her own, she’s desperate to make sure that she never returns to that status. She’ll do anything to secure her family’s name in good social standing, but with her first son, John (Tom Victor), growing more violent and troubled, her prospects don’t look good. That is, until the opportunity to pimp George out to England’s King James I arises, and it’s a chance that Mary can’t possibly pass up. While George is less hasty to be objectified, this reluctance creates a push-pull dynamic that Mary & George lays its groundwork upon in its excellent premiere, with plenty of nasty schemes and sex to build upon by the first installment’s end.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Eric Leibowitz / FXSiobhan, Siobhan, wherefore art thou, Siobhan?When we last left Kim Kardashian’s dubiously named American Horror Story: Delicate character, Siobhan Corbyn—a high-powered publicist working to make actress Anna Victoria Alcott (Emma Roberts) the hottest celeb in the world—things had just taken a turn for the grisly. One of Siobhan’s other clients, a young, crimson-haired ingénue named Babette, had been decapitated.Naturally, this freak accident occurred after Anna received a mysterious phone call from Siobhan, following the Golden Globes ceremony where Anna lost her nomination to Babette. “Do you want an Oscar, do you want it as much as a baby?” Siobhan asked the pregnant Anna, whose gestation had been troubling Anna (to put it mildly). Sensing some dark machinations from her Armenian-Irish publicist that may work in her favor, Anna basically said, “Fuck it,” and told Siobhan, “Yes.”Read more at The Daily Beast.

Alyssa Moran / AMCThere are countless upsides to never seeing a single episode of Breaking Bad.For one, I get to tune out of those “best television shows of all time” conversations that people have at parties whenever they get to the Walter White of it all, and instead, ponder whether I’m responsible enough to invest in a large plant. Other times, I have the privilege of never having to care about what’s going on with Aaron Paul’s career. But the best part of not giving a single hoot about the meth show—or its spinoff, Better Call Saul—is that I have been able to avoid unconsciously pigeonholing Giancarlo Esposito. If I wasn’t able to see one of America’s finest character actors as anyone but Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul’s Gus Fring, I simply don’t know what I’d do.That reality would be a frustrating one, given that Esposito has been popping up everywhere lately. After a stint on The Mandalorian, major parts in two recent Netflix series (of varying quality), and some excellent voice work on Max’s animated Harley Quinn, Esposito is returning to the network that made him a notable face. His latest drama, Parish—which begins airing Mar. 31 on AMC—is a moderately gripping thriller that works best when it keeps the focus on its star. Esposito’s charm and verve help the six-episode season move at a crackling pace, which comes to a noticeable halt whenever he’s not on-screen. While those looking for Breaking Bad-level excitement from Esposito won’t be disappointed, anyone seeking a wholly impressive crime story will be let down by Parish’s imbalanced action.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Getty“Obviously no added sugar.” That phrase, printed on the box for Kylie Jenner’s new brand of canned vodka sodas, Sprinter, perplexed me. Obviously no added sugar? First of all, Ms. Jenner, do not assume you know what I am thinking. Being spoken to as if I am a child makes me irate; I worked hard for these forehead lines and dark circles! Sure, I may have a stunning, youthful glow despite them, but that doesn’t mean I deserve to be scolded for a conclusion I haven’t even made in the first place. I picked up this crate of eight canned vodka sodas two seconds ago, and already I’m getting a playful slap on the wrist? If it weren’t my job to taste these things, the box would’ve gone back on the shelf.Alright, that’s a lie. I have been dying to get my hands on some Sprinters since Jenner announced the brand earlier this month. If there is one thing I’ve always admired about the Kardashian-Jenner oligarchs, it’s their keen eyes for branding. Whether the products they make are good is of…some concern to me, of course—look at the article you’re reading!—but I’m far more fascinated by how those things will be marketed. Take, for instance, Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS shapewear and undergarment brand: I don’t wear shapewear, but if I did, I’d be inclined to buy it from the woman who made a cheeky, irreverent ad about some of her bras having visibly protruding nipples.I love the textured glass bottles of Kourtney Kardashian’s line of supplements and vitamins. I adore the fact that Khloé Kardashian had to incorporate her denim line (that is definitely not a money laundering front) into an ad she did for migraine pills. I worship the ghastly label of Kendall Jenner’s equally frightful tequila, simply because the design is so memorable. Whether the Kardashians and Jenners could be considered “artists” in the traditional sense is up for heavy debate, but they are certainly sculptors of their own relevancy. Fame is an art form, just like painting, music, or, well, I suppose even writing. I’ll have to delicately caress my reflection in a mirror to process that, but I’ll do it later.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Over the years, I’ve come to consider myself an arbiter of what is and is not real in reality television. But truthfully, to watch any modern reality show, you’ve got to put your big, cartoonish dunce hat on for a bit. The level of producer interference that goes on just behind the cameras while franchises like Real Housewives and Vanderpump Rules are filming can up the tension, sure, but it also manufactures it. Producers know how to best create a memorable moment, and they encourage the talent they’re overseeing to give a scheduled shoot day their all. There’s money, ratings, and livelihoods at stake, which means that the drama must be served on a silver platter.In Vanderpump Villa, a sort-of-but-not-really spin-off of Vanderpump Rules that begins airing April 1 on Hulu, that silver platter gets an upgrade to platinum. Lisa Vanderpump is doing a “trial run” of a new venture in her line of luxury hospitality businesses, this time at a remote French estate called Château Rosabelle, where guests are treated to the finest bespoke experiences during their stay. It’s clear that this “trial run” Lisa keeps talking about refers more to Vanderpump Villa than this hospitality enterprise itself—the chateau in question is a rented mansion where anyone can book an event. It’s almost too easy to spot the puppeteer strings while watching this show, but that’s what makes it so enjoyable.There is a degree of carelessness and forgery to Vanderpump Villa’s construction, one that nobody is trying to gussy up as authenticity. It’s nice to see a seasoned reality vet like Vanderpump drop the facade while still setting out to make an engaging show. At times, this plays almost like a televised experiment: Where is the line with reality TV believability, and how far can it be moved before viewers check out? Turns out: Pretty far! Vanderpump Villa is, by no means, the surefire organic hit that Vanderpump Rules turned out to be. But the show has legs, and a well-casted, ego-forward staff to boot. Block out some extra filming dates at the Château St. Joseph—er, Château Rosabelle!—because there’s a decent new entry into the Vanderpump Televised Universe on the horizon.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Sony Pictures There are roughly 47,000—oh, wait, a new Netflix Original just dropped; make that 47,001—TV shows and movies coming out each week. At Obsessed, we consider it our social duty to help you see the best and skip the rest.We’ve already got a variety of in-depth, exclusive coverage on all of your streaming favorites and new releases, but sometimes what you’re looking for is a simple Do or Don’t. That’s why we created See/Skip, to tell you exactly what our writers think you should See and what you can Skip from the past week’s crowded entertainment landscape.Skip: Ghostbusters: Frozen EmpireRead more at The Daily Beast.

NeonIf you take a close look at the promotional material for Immaculate, the new nunsploitation horror film starring Sydney Sweeney, now in theaters, you’ll notice a pattern forming. The online advertisements are specifically talking up the movie’s ending, parroting quotes from early reviews about “twisted, gory violence” in its final act, which “solidifies Sweeney as a top-tier final girl.”Focusing on the latter half of the movie is a wise decision, considering that the ending of Immaculate is the best part of the entire 89-minute film. The movie’s first 70 minutes are spent recycling predictable jump scares and dealing out trite religious horror tropes that you’ve undoubtedly seen done better somewhere else. For a movie that practically touts itself as the resurrection of religious horror, these monotonous beats feel more like the Old Testament. That is, until an equally foreseeable twist gives way to a thrilling conclusion that almost redeems the film entirely. This final bit of savage brutality can’t quite save Immaculate from its own crucifixion, but it does make for an undeniable showcase of Sweeney’s talents, and demonstrates just how much a great ending can do for a terrible film.(Warning: Spoilers for Immaculate below.)Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/MTVMore and more, I am interested in what happens when we abandon social niceties completely. I don’t mean going wolf mode and acting feral in every situation—though I do find that to be a deranged call of the wild that I am increasingly drawn to. Rather, what will happen if I don’t actively make space for groups of three on the sidewalk, who don’t bother to condense their party so I, too, can enjoy the public concrete? What if I just plopped down in the person-sized space between the thighs of manspreaders on a crowded subway?My moral compass doesn’t allow me to act on these fantasies where I silently admonish society’s bad actors, because I am from the Midwest, which makes me physically incapable of not defaulting to being the better person. But that’s all right, because I’ve been vicariously living out my disturbed dreams watching RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16, where the queens are all too happy to keep a sourpuss on their lined lips whenever something doesn’t go their way.Season 16 has been rife with these moments thanks to queens Q (just “Q,” like the 1982 monster movie, fitting for her mercurial personality) and Plane Jane, who make no efforts to conceal their fervent desire to win. In last week’s episode, both queens lost a team challenge that they felt they excelled at, and Q’s visible disgust after Judge RuPaul’s ruling was one of the most hysterical things I’ve seen on Drag Race in some time. As the years go by and the show’s jokes get recycled into memes and merch, every queen has tried to throw out a catchphrase-worthy line that will stick. It’s utterly refreshing, then, to see someone be so funny without trying. Q’s disgust is a throwback to when Drag Race was a little edgier, a lot nastier, and much more consistently fun.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/Apple TV+There are roughly 47,000—oh, wait, a new Netflix Original just dropped; make that 47,001—TV shows and movies coming out each week. At Obsessed, we consider it our social duty to help you see the best and skip the rest.We’ve already got a variety of in-depth, exclusive coverage on all of your streaming favorites and new releases, but sometimes what you’re looking for is a simple Do or Don’t. That’s why we created See/Skip, to tell you exactly what our writers think you should See and what you can Skip from the past week’s crowded entertainment landscape.See: Palm RoyaleRead more at The Daily Beast.