Kevin Fallon

Kevin Fallon

Why Is There So Much TV Right Now?

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/FX/Apple TV+/NetflixThis week:There’s So Much to Watch Right NowIt’s the time of the year when each week there are seemingly two dozen new TV series or seasons dropping. DVRs are short-circuiting. Bank accounts are drained from streaming service subscriptions. And when people ask me what to watch, there are so many options that my brain goes blank and I just say, “I don’t know.” The reason for this is that the deadline for Emmys consideration is the end of May, so studios are rushing to release their contenders in time. That also, theoretically, means the options are good. That’s, uh, not the case for everything. But should your body’s reaction to spring weather be like mine—throat closes, eyes go dry, incessant sneezing and runny nose—there’s plenty out now making the case for you to spend the coming months indoors.Read more at The Daily Beast.

A New ‘Top Chef’ Is Here to Make Everything in Life Better

BravoChristmas; the only day where it’s actually spring weather in New York City; being asked out on a date: There are certain things that happen once a year that I look forward to. None of them compare, however, to my excitement over the return of my beloved Top Chef.Season 21 of Bravo’s cooking competition premiered this week and, like many of us when we reach that milestone age, is going through some changes. Emmy-nominated host Padma Lakshmi’s decision to leave the series after its best-ever outing last year—a globe-trotting season featuring all-stars from franchises airing all around the world—was earth-shattering for me. In Kevin Fallon pop culture history of terrible events, it goes: Spice Girls breaking up, Josh Charles leaving The Good Wife, and Padma Lakshmi ending her tenure as Top Chef host.While I’ve dabbled in a passionate obsession with other reality series—So You Think You Can Dance, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and whatever Real Housewives franchise is actually good at the moment have all had eras—Top Chef has always been the big one for me. Especially in recent years, where gimmicks, garish bombast, and “celebrities” dressed as rapping teddy bears have poisoned the genre, Top Chef has maintained its perfect flavor balance of entertainment and class. So much of that was owed to Lakshmi’s hosting style.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Diane Warren Knows She’s a ‘Pain in the Ass’—and Isn’t Sorry

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty“How about that Diane is nuts? Can we start with that?”The first voice you hear in the new documentary Diane Warren: Relentless is unmistakable. Before her face even appears, you know it’s Cher. It’s quite the unfiltered start to a documentary, especially one about the prolific songwriter Diane Warren, who this past weekend competed for her 15th Oscar nomination.“Nuts. Cheap. Unrelenting. Optimistic. Sweet. Just crazy, oh my God,” Cher continues, smiling as she describes the woman who wrote one of her biggest hits, “If I Could Turn Back Time,” and who has since—despite this string of adjectives—become one of her great friends. “But she writes great songs.”Read more at The Daily Beast.

Why ‘Oppenheimer’ Will Win Everything at This Year’s Oscars

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/UniversalThis weekFill Out Your ScorecardsThis is a rare year for the Oscars. Not only are the nominees—this never happens—actually good, but every detail we’ve heard about the show makes me excited. (Former winners as presenters! Ryan Gosling performing!) We’re so conditioned to complain about the Academy Awards telecast. This year, it might actually be fun!Read more at The Daily Beast.

Why ‘Oppenheimer’ Will Win Everything at This Year’s Oscars

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/UniversalThis weekFill Out Your ScorecardsThis is a rare year for the Oscars. Not only are the nominees—this never happens—actually good, but every detail we’ve heard about the show makes me excited. (Former winners as presenters! Ryan Gosling performing!) We’re so conditioned to complain about the Academy Awards telecast. This year, it might actually be fun!Read more at The Daily Beast.

Whoa! The Oscars Really Might Not Suck This Year

The Daily Beast/Getty/Apple TV+/AmazonMGMThis week:The Oscars Just Might Be Good This Year…Being obsessed with award shows is strange, because it often involves complaining about and even hating award shows. Common gripes include: voters making ridiculous choices with nominees and winners; hosts bombing; and, chiefly, producers grossly misunderstanding what makes an award show telecast good.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Jonathan Bennett’s Wild Journey From ‘Mean Girls’ to Broadway’s ‘Spamalot’

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/Food Network/Hallmark/Andy HendersonThere are certain dates that are heavily associated with individual people. Presidents’ Day, of course, is tied to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, whose birthdays are being celebrated. Christmas Day gets Santa Claus—and, uh, Jesus. And then there’s Oct. 3, a seemingly innocuous date that has become hallowed among pop culture fans. That is the day that everyone thinks of actor Jonathan Bennett.Bennett starred as high-school heartthrob Aaron Samuels in Tina Fey’s 2004 comedy hit Mean Girls. A throwaway line from the film in which Lindsay Lohan’s character, Cady, who has a crush on Aaron, asks him the date. Aaron smiles and says “October 3.” Now, every Oct. 3, we celebrate Mean Girls Day—and fondly think of Bennett in that scene.Of course, there are plenty of reasons to think of Bennett on the other days of the year. The actor is a fixture on the Food Network, where he’s hosted baking competitions Halloween Wars and Cake Wars, and the Hallmark channel, where he starred in the network’s first Christmas romance featuring a gay couple, 2022’s The Holiday Sitter. Mean Girls is back in the zeitgeist, with a new movie musical that was released last month, though, as Bennett tells me, “I don’t think Mean Girls ever left the conversation.”Read more at The Daily Beast.

Anne Hathaway Sobs at Barbra Streisand’s SAG Win. Relatable.

Twitter screenshotBarbra Streisand was presented with the lifetime achievement honor at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards. It’s an appropriate year for such a victory lap, with Streisand’s memoir, My Name Is Barbra—and its 48-hour audiobook running time—being such a cultural moment. And with Barbie’s box office dominance and Greta Gerwig’s Oscars snub for Best Director in the zeitgeist, Streisand’s role as a trailblazer for female directors and her history of being overlooked by the Academy is at top of mind.Given the significance behind honoring Streisand at this time when her legacy is such a major part of the discourse, there was only one appropriate reaction to her appearance at Saturday’s ceremony: crying.Jennifer Aniston and Bradley Cooper may have presented Streisand with her trophy, delivering passionate tributes. But it was Anne Hathaway who stole the show, because she represented all of us in that moment. She was practically sobbing at the mere sight of Streisand going to accept her award.Read more at The Daily Beast.