 with Kevin Fallon Everything we can't stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture.
This week:
Abbott Elementary, the Absolute Delight We All Deserve Sometimes, even with these wintry temperatures keeping us housebound and lonely in year 47 of an isolating and traumatizing pandemic, you all do something that melts my icicle-caked heart.
That frost is a preservation tactic—a protector against crushing disappointment; a defense mechanism that has crystallized after expecting the worst for so long.
Yes, I could be talking quite seriously about, well, pretty much anything you see when you click on any news website. (Might I recommend a scroll through thedailybeast.com?) But I'm more selfishly referring to what I try to do: peruse through endless options of entertainment in order to point you toward something genuinely worthwhile so that you may experience joy, emotional catharsis, and sometimes even greatness to fulfill you while everything else around us is so bad. And then what happens instead: you all watch Too Hot to Handle on Netflix.  But this thawed heart of mine is fluttering like a hummingbird in spring, like a fairytale princess' eyelashes after being awakened from an enchanted slumber by a kiss, like my gay friends' excited applause when we learn that bottomless mimosas at brunch are only $10 extra.
It was reported this week that one of this TV season's most precious gems, a small network comedy that I was all but certain, based on viewership trends, would be completely ignored and quickly forgotten about—despite the fact that it is so funny and smart—is actually being watched by people. By a lot of people. You all are turning ABC's Abbott Elementary into an actual hit!
The Office-inspired comedy series, about teachers at an inner city school in Philadelphia getting by in spite of a lack of resources, has aired five charming, laugh-out-loud funny episodes so far. What began as quiet word of mouth praising the series—"Hey, this show is pretty good!"—has grown into a screaming obsession. Or, at least, the 2022 equivalent thereof: everyone on social media seems to be posting about it.
Unlike other broadcast hits, Abbott Elementary doesn't star big names and isn't a spin-off from any legacy brand (like Young Sheldon or The Conners). There's no edgy provocation or convoluted high concept used to attract viewers. It's so much simpler than that. It's an impeccably cast show with sharp writing and a lot of heart that, without being patronizing, feels incredibly current and resonant. Teachers deserve our attention! And, as Abbott Elementary makes the point week after week, much more respect and a lot more resources.
Deadline reported this week that Abbott Elementary is ABC's first series to quadruple its ratings in the span of 35 days, at least in the years since that metric has been measured. Sure, even the show's creator and star, Quinta Brunson, wasn't exactly sure what the specifics of that stat means—"I had to google MP35, too," she tweeted—beyond the fact that this is obviously great news: "Thank you so much for watching everyone!"
I normally like to remind myself that what I'm seeing on my social media feeds is, usually, a curated echo chamber of my own tastes and interests. So while I've delighted this past month in seeing more and more screenshots of funny moments from the show and tweets recommending it, it was unclear until now if that enthusiasm translated into real life.
It's one thing when everyone on Twitter is losing their minds over Succession. It's another when they're all collectively going apeshit for a TV series in which one episode's major plotline was teachers desperately trying to get new rugs for their classrooms.
A few choice moments memorialized by Abbott Elementary fans in recent weeks?
The hilarious plot from this week's episode, in which Chris Perfetti's Mr. Hill has his ego bruised when his students keep roasting him:  Nearly everything said by Janelle James' Principal Ava Coleman, an aspiring TikTok star who arranges students' files by their dads' sexiness and forgets important information if they're told to her during Essence Fest. (Her reaction when she thought Janine looked "pale like a zombie" is seared into my brain: "You know, they eat the hottest people first. Let me back my tasty ass up.")  And even just cute moments that seize on the specific hilarity of what it means to be a teacher:  Then there's the growing chorus championing a cause I think we can and should all get behind: That the legendary Sheryl Lee Ralph zooms to the top of anyone's list of award-worthy performances that should be considered at the next Emmy Awards.
She plays Mrs. Howard, a teaching veteran and proud, classy Black woman who both stands in defiance of—but is amused and even encouraged by—the younger teachers' pursuit of reform and validation. She moves comedic mountains with a pursed smile and a raised eyebrow, and she's got the crack timing and, especially important on this show, the warmth of a seasoned pro.
(Search "Sheryl Lee Ralph Emmy" on Twitter and prepare for an endless scroll.)
I think, especially now, we're all seeking out nice things. We're certainly yearning for nice things. It's why it's been so confusing and frustrating that, so often when they're sitting right there, the masses tend to ignore them in favor of something buzzier and worse. Abbott Elementary is a genuine, earnest, heartfelt comedy, with a Black female creator and predominantly Black cast, about the experiences of teachers and students in a Black community that is never exploited or patronized.
It's so nice that I was certain everyone would ignore it. I'm so glad you're not.
The Very Best of Sundance 2022 (aka Movies to Get Excited For) The hottest, sexiest, most star-studded venue in Hollywood these last two weeks was, as it should always be, my couch.
Well, it was a multi-venue affair. My colleagues Marlow Stern and Laura Bradley's sofas were pretty bumping, too.
The three of us stalwartly covered the 2022 virtual Sundance Film Festival, which, for the second year in a row, traded the thrill and exhilaration of sampling what may be the next year's most exciting films while gallivanting around Park City, Utah, for the challenge of trying to gauge what might get people talking while… not being around other people who are talking.
But that won't stop us from sharing our personal favorites.
I swooned hard for Emma Thompson's sensational performance in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, one of the frankest films about sexual shame and regret—and then one of the most refreshing and cathartic about what happens when you free it—that I've seen. The arguable Queen of Sundance was Dakota Johnson, who triumphed over a bizarre story that's gone viral about her allegedly once locking customers in a coffee shop (???) with two standout performances in Am I OK? and Cha Cha Real Smooth. Both also happen to be maybe the most crowd-pleasing entries at the fest, with the latter scoring the biggest sale (so far) of $15 million to Apple.  And while they've already played at other festivals, the features After Yang and The Worst Person in the World, which both pulse with tender, complicated emotion and some sensational abs, are absolute standouts.
While it tends to seem like decades pass between when you read critics like us talking about these movies at festivals and when you can actually see them, the horrifying, transfixing, and absolutely must-watch docuseries We Need to Talk About Cosby premieres Sunday night on Showtime. I promise you, as difficult as the subject matter is, it's far more fascinating and enlightening than you may expect.
Marlow was also big on the documentary slate this year, starting with Sara Dosa's Fire of Love, which sold for a seven-figure deal to NatGeo. "It's a fascinating excavation of the love, lives, and passions of Katia and Maurice Krafft, two of the world's leading volcanologists (and a couple) who died during a volcanic eruption," he says. "The stunning archival footage, coupled with Dosa's soft narration, provides a borderline hypnotic experience."
He also singled out Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee's Aftershock, "a vital exploration of America's maternal health care crisis—and more specifically, how Black women are being failed by a system that discriminates against them at nearly every turn."
Both Marlow and Laura fawned over Sirens, which profiles the first (and only) all-female thrash metal in Lebanon, Slaves to Siren. It "will make you fall head over shit-kickin' boots for these righteous rebels pushing back against the rigid status quo," Marlow says, while Laura echoes, "I'm allergic to the word 'badass' in the year of our lord 2022, but if anyone's earned the label it's these rebellious young women."
Laura also recommends Phoenix Rising, in which Evan Rachel Wood details her harrowing allegations of abuse against Marilyn Manson, and Framing Agnes, about a push for a more complicated kind of trans representation.
It was an "embarrassment of riches for horror fans," she says, singling out Goran Stolevski's You Won't Be Alone and Hanna Bergholm's Hatching. "And if you're looking for a good laugh with some seriously tragicomic undertones? Look no further than Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall playing a megachurch super-couple on the brink of collapse? Hallelujah!"
As someone who also was a fan of the film, and will ride-or-die for any strong Regina Hall showcase, I echo that with a hearty, "Amen."
Crying to This Is Us: It's Been a While! It's been a season or two since I religiously watched This Is Us each week. (The current world makes it so I can rely on one or two good weekly sobs without watching it, so, like most people with most long-running shows, I kind of fell off.)
 I guess these are light spoilers, so look away if shielding yourself from what happens on This Is Us is the angry hill you're going to die on (though death is very on-theme for this show!).
The short version is that Jack's (Milo Ventimiglia) mother, back in the timeline when that character is still alive, dies. Apparently, it was just as they were starting to be back in touch. When he goes back for the funeral, he is startled to discover how much more connected he was to her than he thought, and how much of his new life's fulfillment he owes to her influence.
There's a eulogy, which scores 10/10 technical points on the Make Kevin Cry judging scale. But then came the scores for artistic merits: in a beautiful scene, Jack recreates a favorite childhood memory with his mother for his kids, and then breaks down sobbing. Gold medal on the spot. I'm still crying. Will never stop crying. This show can still get it. (My pandered-to and emotionally-manipulated tears.)
This Is What They Mean By 'Must-See TV' It has come to my attention this week that Paula Abdul co-executive produces a Judge Judy-style courtroom series called Caught in Providence that airs in syndication. (Hat tip to Ryan Bloomquist on Twitter for flagging this/changing my life.)  It is exactly what it sounds like—a hyper-local, low-budget reality show about petty Rhode Island legal matters adjudicated by a wisecracking judge. I do not know why Paula Abdul is involved in this, nor do I care to know. The mystery is the pleasure.
A clip circulated this week of Abdul stopping by the court and, essentially, playing guest judge during a case in which someone ran a red light. "I'm in a good mood today," she teases the defendant, saying that he should just get a warning. The judge agrees… as long as he can name two Paula Abdul songs.
I will not rest until all of America is watching and talking about this show.
Euphoria's Utter Rudeness Against my better judgment, I took a harrowing trip to Euphoria High this week to mingle with its terrifying youths and, as a person whose proudest high school achievement was starring in his senior-year production of Oklahoma!, I have never felt so bullied and personally attacked. 
What to watch this week: Janet: This is a two-part documentary about Janet Jackson, of course I demand that all of you watch. (Fri. on Lifetime) The Afterparty: A ton of famous funny people are in this murder-comedy (Tiffany Haddish, Sam Richardson, Ilana Glazer), and that's reason enough to watch. (Fri. on Apple TV+) We Need to Talk About Cosby: This isn't "fun," per se. But it's so well-done and necessary. (Sun. on Showtime) Pam and Tommy: A series about the Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee sextape! Cast credits include "Jason Mantzoukas as the voice of Tommy Lee's penis!" (Wed. on Hulu)
What to skip this week: The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window: The name, sadly, is the funniest part of this satire. (Fri. on Netflix) Celebrity Big Brother: After outrageous rumors about participants (Erika Jayne! Tiffany "New York" Pollard! Hope Hicks!), the actual cast is an absolute flop. (Wed. on CBS)
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Lisa Kashinsky and Kelly Garrity's must-read rundown of what's up on Beacon Hill and beyond. Jan 09, 2024 View in browser By Kelly Garrity and Lisa Kashinsky MAKING ENDS MEET — Gov. Maura Healey’s plan to slash $375 million from the state budget to help plug a $1 billion revenue hole came as something of a surprise after she initially said she had no plans to scale back spending. But some budget watchers say the move to control costs was inevitable — and that the governor...
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