The Daily Zeitgeist - Best Movies & TV In 2021

Episode Date: December 27, 2021

In this holiday special Jack, Miles, Anna and Becca talk about the best movies and television in 2021. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Jess Casavetto, executive producer of the hit Netflix documentary series Dancing for the Devil, the 7M TikTok cult. And I'm Clea Gray, former member of 7M Films and Shekinah Church. And we're the host of the new podcast, Forgive Me for I Have Followed. Together, we'll be diving even deeper into the unbelievable stories behind 7M Films and Shekinah Church. Listen to Forgive Me for I Have Followed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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is a new horror thriller from Blumhouse Television, iHeartRadio, and Realm. Listen to Dream Sequence on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, the internet, and welcome to this special year-end episode of... Your Daily Zeitgeist! Yeah! Or, Miles, you pitched a new intro for these year-end episodes. Let me hear it.

From the nutty professor. Let's get busy! Yeah. Nope. Let's recap this year. This is the episode where we look back at the year that was in movies and TV. I guess I understand why we separate them, like at first, a lot of the separation was happening because TV was just seen as less than. But like now, many of the performances happening in TV are just as good as the performances happening in movies.

So we think the Oscars should also take a look at TV. But that's how we're going to approach this one as things we watched in 2021. Mostly it's TV and not movies. Well, I feel like this time you've been coming and be like, I saw this movie. I've seen this movie. I know about that movie. To make up for my utter lack of film awareness this year, I only watched Red Notice. So a total waste of my time in that department.

But TV, I got fucking time for the tv shows all right well we are thrilled to be joined uh as always for these year-end episodes by super producer anna hosnia what's up yeah every time you like throw the toy and I run over there that's fun yeah yeah that's how we do it I'm actually the eldest son of Jax not that Jax Jax you don't even know my name Jax

Jim I told you this isn't Jax from Vanderpump Rules it's Jack O'Brien although I am getting those jawline implants. Oh, nice. Give me the Jax. You go by Mac now. Got it.

That's right. Anyways, what a year. Am I right, you guys? Yep. Anna, you are the queen of Streaming Corner. Anna's Streaming Corner. We do rely on you to watch everything and you never let us down. So I guess, I don't know, should we start with TV stuff since that's, or streaming stuff

since that's what most people- Yeah, I feel like there's more, there's some more substance at least for us to have some opinions on for sure. Yeah, yeah. us to have some opinions on for sure yeah yeah so i just like kind of combed through the metacritic compilation of people's top 10 lists just to jog the old memory uh reservation dogs was uh number three that is a show that we have all watched uh we're planning to do a streaming corner on uh we'll still do that streaming corner. But do you guys want to talk about Reservation Dogs here?

Yeah. It's called thank God when you entrust a culture to write about themselves, perform as themselves, direct themselves. There was just something. I don't know. the show was so fucking refreshing on so many levels but one of the biggest things that like was just so clear to me was just in the writing and the performances that like we were like that room was really drawing on real authentic experience rather than like some guy was like you know i like i was i was like driving through a

reservation i got this idea for a show like what it would be like and know i like i was i was like driving through a reservation i got this idea for a show like what it would be like and so i consulted with other people like no this felt just so authentic and i think that's why for me at least i was so just drawn in by just how authentic it felt and just how again how like these performers how good they were seemingly out of nowhere so yeah all four of those kids i feel like are gonna be in like are gonna have big careers like from from this point forward right like they or they absolutely should yeah i can't imagine they wouldn't if they didn't want to but it had every i mean like it was funny it had heart it gave you some historical context just like i don't know i i that shit made me feel

better than ted lasso to be honest oh yeah like i didn't get the diet therapy of like like you know appeal of ted lasso i mean i get why people like enjoy it but there's like reservation dogs was much more like life affirming of an experience to watch. I feel like. Absolutely. I would 100% agree. I did watch two episodes of Ted Lasso on an airplane, but it wasn't this season of Ted Lasso. So I don't, can't speak to that. Can't speak to why people are putting it on their top 10 list. But I do feel like it's kind of uniform, like the whole thing kind of has the same vibe and it seems fine it seems like america is going through something and that is why ted lasso uh had the impact it did more so than like this is the this is the best show it seems like we're we're going through something yeah um and uh your

thoughts on reservation dogs and ted lasso i know you're a big Lasso head. Yeah. No. Big Lasso. I think I tried to watch the first episode of Ted Lasso, and it didn't really do it for me. Are we dead inside? Is that why it doesn't resonate?

No, I think it's more just like there's a certain... Wow, the way I was about to describe this does really feel like we were dead inside there's a certain type of person who like yeah likes to take in that sort of like good-natured positive um comedy but to me i was like not too happy bye not dark enough gotta go i think it's like it too happy, but the jokes just weren't hitting quick enough for me. Yeah, there didn't seem to be that many jokes, as far as I could tell.

Also, I grew up with a positive coach who was like, you know, my dad's a basketball coach. He's all about positive positivity. Positive positivity. I was like, yeah, no, I get i get all i've seen all this i get it uh it works some of the time um i've seen this all before yeah i get it lasso it gets you chased

out of dayton that's where it gets you fuck this guy i've seen this a hundred times man he's getting chased out they're gonna get chased out watch yeah watch just watch just watch wow i told you they lost i knew it i'm like way too just watching it unlike anybody else it feels like you're projecting a lot on it no no no no i'm good i'm good good yeah so anyway reservation dogs real, a classic already. So many great like characters, so much just great writing of the experience of these kids living in this town, in this reservation where they're, you know, I feel like we got like an actual true experience picture of what it's like. And like also great casting, like everyone felt like they were absolutely perfect for

the role from like the adults to the cop to the kids just everyone was so just in it and i just thought it was such a great show and i can't recommend it enough yeah i would say it's my show of the year it's number one on my list um i thought it was the best thing i saw this year maybe i think in terms of like where i feel like entertainment should be going like i think in terms of like where i feel like entertainment should be going like i think i would also give it that distinction that or like we are lady parts too i think just i liked that show was fucking hilarious just so fucking good too um and i just like i just want to see more you know underrepresented communities get their like full like just like the latitude to create

the show that they need to that encapsulates what their lives are about because when you do that it's so it's just so fucking it's like that's what's the bar is so low right now because everything just feels just so one note or similar in tone or coming from like the same three production companies with the same few showrunners that those shows to me are like i think giving me the imagination to be like yeah see look what happens when you tell fucking stories of other people people's number one show of the year which i was a little surprised to see i haven't finished it myself but i have had uh the last three episodes uh described to me by uh one anna hosnia so it's basically the same uh succession the critical darling of the year even though i felt like a lot of people were like okay this season is starting

to feel like we're being pulled back into the same same old same old but I guess they stuck the landing yeah I believe so I was always in it I was always in it to win it because I knew something was coming that's how succession works yeah I think I started it's not called falchion it's called succession thank you that is something

that I learned from my dad alright so thanks for tuning in, guys. What else can be said after that? But no, this, I don't know. I think it, I thought it was slow in the beginning, but then once I got all the stakes, I was like, okay, here we go. I see where we're headed.

And that's typically the flow, I guess, for me getting, and like invested enough in succession, here we go i see where we're headed and that's typically the flow i guess for me getting and like invested enough in succession because it's sometimes so much fucking big business capitalist talk that i'm like what you're what like what's i know they love that they love their like inner what's the game play what's the play here so much to a point where i'm like yeah i'm like huh yeah like could you imagine living a life where you're constantly worried someone's trying to one-up you on something that you're constantly worried that someone your own sibling is is it got a play going on behind your back without you

realizing and is working to destroy you yeah it's not uh it's not fun at all i mean i think i i guess basically because it's our most consistent prestige show, that's why people are saying it's the show of the year. But it's not. It's not the show of the year. It's great. Had a great season, but not the show of the year. Yeah.

And I just couldn't get past. I will eventually, but could not do Kendall's 40th birthday. Just too upsetting. But I think, isn't that that I think that's almost the majesty of the show is that it's on so many levels hitting really hilarious points to really dark points to really like I feel uncomfortable and sick points watching this like the 40th birthday the last scenes in that episode made me feel genuinely not well right like i already feel take it in through yeah sure but you need to learn to compartmentalize jack seriously come on it's 2021 you're not going to be able to watch all this tv yeah like what are you doing

anymore like come on dude stop trying to like feel it all you know right this isn't an adele concert okay it's just the throwback but anyway um i just i don't know i think that show has many levels and to think it's like a jesse armstrong production like it's like a you know peep show like it's like that that those guys i don't know it's just like interesting to me you know yeah i like it a lot is what i'm trying to say and if you ever come for it again like that and not say it's the greatest show of the year i'll know that you guys are up to something like what's your greatest show of the year i'll say what's your play here miles what's your play my play here is objectivity based on my own biases so it's not objective at

all but i think that's just like what you're saying and is like it it's different than sopranos right because i'm not rooting for these people ever not like and maybe in a very like you know narrative sense I'm like oh that would be nice if the narrative played out for this character but I think what succession is doing is like like you're saying it's the like wealth at this level and power at this level and the culture around this is so absurd in and of itself that it's just merely being like this is how absurd this shit is and it's everything at once it will disgust you you'll laugh you'll be so fucking bummed out and i think that's uh yeah that's where who are you rooting for in the sopranos oh like always always polly

always you know whoever because like you always just be like oh man christopher sucks but you're like but then there are times you're like oh man i really wanted that for him but he's you know yeah yeah uh and that like and that's where you're like what the fuck's wrong with me like i'm rooting for a murderer yeah in succession you're just like oh it's a car crash but you love watching that sound that you just made reminded me of, I think you should leave season two. It's probably the only piece of culture that I consumed. I was hungry and it was like a meal.

I was just like, I just gobbled that shit up and really enjoyed every second of it. Yeah, that actually, I was going to say, it's good that this wasn't really a time where you could be in public because you can't control yourself while watching that show in public okay yeah that's a good quarantine show for you of all people who don't know how to act when watching i think you should leave we switched spots because when season two came out i was on a plane and i was freaking people

out because as soon as i saw the hot dog sketch you know it's the first scene i was just like i literally went oh fuck and i like i yelled it out and like her messy elbows me like yo you're screaming on the plane i'm like you gotta and i'm like take my airpod you need i'll start it over but we're doing this together um yeah and is referring to a time that we were on a flight together and i was like i had tears streaming down my face laughing at the first season and i had seen it like five times already i was just like this just makes me feel good i'm gonna watch it while i'm sitting here i think it's important to know the flight hadn't taken off yet there were people still boarding so you were already like in it right and there was a i was at

the window jack was in the aisle and there was a poor soul between us trying so hard not to make eye contact with either of us as jack cry laughed and i kept doing that signal around my neck being like jack jack jack jack jack jack you're in public then i started texting miles like this fool i'm like i'm not looking i'm gonna turn around and have them think we're all together i wish i had footage because you looked maniacal almost immediately how hard you were laughing it the well also trying to choke the laughter back yeah it was also a sight too where it looks like you see like you know that meme of like that kid who's like eyes like like eyes bulging out was sort of jack trying to fight the laughter back and i was like oh this shit this show must be fucking good i have a picture of my mind i can see you still

in that moment and your face is almost apologetic of like i can't control it it's so funny that's how i felt i felt right i mean like you can't stop pissing everywhere it's like i'm sorry this is happening they know i mean Going back to that Coach Dad thing, you know? I was taught not to hold all the emotions back and then once I see it, think you should leave. All comes pouring out of my face.

There's nothing I can do. But anyway, season two, also very funny. Let's take a quick break and then we're going to come back, talk White Lotus. We'll talk M mayor of Easton. I feel like all the shows we've talked about so far are probably better than most of the movies I saw. Reservation is probably the best,

better than any movie I saw this year. This was the year of television. Yeah. There's only one or two movies I actually enjoyed this year. If I really even enjoyed them. Right. All right. So, uh, we're going to talk more TV and then I'll tell you about a couple of movies I actually enjoyed this year if I really even enjoyed them right all right so uh

we're gonna talk more tv and then I'll tell you about a couple movies I saw this guy saw a movie stupid I'm Jess Casavetto executive producer of 7M Films and Shekinah Church. And we're the host of the new podcast, Forgive Me For I Have Followed. Together, we'll be diving even deeper into the unbelievable stories behind 7M Films and LA-based Shekinah Church, an alleged cult that has impacted members for over two decades. Jessica and I will delve into the hidden truths between high control groups and interview dancers, church members, and others whose lives and careers have been impacted, just like mine. Through powerful, in-depth interviews with former members and new, chilling, firsthand accounts, the series will illuminate untold and extremely necessary perspectives.

Forgive Me For I Have Followed will be more than an exploration. It's a vital revelation aimed at ensuring these types of abuses never happen again. Listen to Forgive Me For I Have Followed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Gianna Pradente. And I'm Jemay Jackson-Gadsden. We're the hosts of Let's Talk Offline, a new podcast from LinkedIn News and iHeart Podcasts. When you're just starting out in your career, you have a lot of questions like, how do I speak up when I'm feeling overwhelmed? Or can I negotiate a higher salary if this is my first real job? Girl, yes. Each week,

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I had sort of had my first sexual experience. If you're in your señora era or know someone who is, then this is the show for you. We're your hosts, Diosa and Mala, and you might recognize us from our flagship podcast, Locatora Radio. We're so excited for you to hear our brand new podcast, Señora Sex Ed. Listen to Señora Sex Ed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. or wherever you get your podcast. And we're back. And so should we keep going through like this kind of consensus top 10 of critics?

You got your white lotuses, your white lodi, your mayors of Easton. Yeah, that's right. Easton. That was, I think, the best performance I saw anywhere this year was Mare. What about Armand in White Lotus? Armand in White Lotus is pretty incredible. It was really, it was really, I've talked about this before,

but the degree to which she made me forget she wasn't a lady from Philly who could be my aunt uh and then they cut to like her interview and the like making of documentary that like follows the episode like and i felt like jock the thing you need to understand right paying this role and you're like uh wait what like there's not gonna be a performance that was better than that for that like when's the award that was what about jennifer coolidge and white lotus i mean oh fantastic and i'm glad she got nominated too for golden globe because i was like that was also so fucking good too she's just like a sleeper genius half the time but yeah maybe i think we do need to

talk more about just how just she fucking kills it every time yeah yeah the most i was into a show at any point was probably like the first four or five episodes of squid game but then it like for me i feel like it didn't really stick the landing that much in the last couple episodes white lotus also was like it didn't it didn't like kind of go down in my estimation quite as much in the final episodes but like i i just felt like it didn't like absolutely nail the landing um and mayor mayor of east town was probably the one that I most enjoyed while it was happening. And then like disliked the last episode and like the resolution the most. Yeah.

White Lotus. I think the strengths were in the performances and not the writing. Yeah. For sure. Because there's just a lot of like, huh? Really? Yeah. But again, like, you know, Steve Zahn and many others.

I was like, this was pretty solid actually from the performance aspect yeah uh let's talk we are lady parts which is one that we actually did do a streaming corner on another one that i feel like this is what tv should aspire to both finding great performers who you haven't heard of or hadn't seen maybe and like telling stories that you probably haven't seen when was the last time we heard about a band like this and just like normalizing being part of a demonized religion and also just being a normal person right and then like yeah and just like the struggle within that to be like how do i fit into this like how do i be loyal to my family but also honor my own desires and my own need to like express myself i just man

it was just so that was just another fun show too with the and i think with that one the writing was so good just some of the exchanges like the verbal like the dialogue exchanges were so on point and the music budget incredible work yeah what the fuck how did they get that because they were using some of the most like prominent from like radio head to system of the down like music that we all grew up with and like really spoke to us that like i was very i i was like that's amazing whatever this music budget was incredible also great use of that music music to kind of paint a picture of what it's like to kind of be this like angsty Muslim kid growing up within, you know,

like pop culture. That's not necessarily of your family's home country, but you know, things that you understand that maybe your family doesn't understand, but experiences you've had, you know, just like all this sort of, I don't know, just great use of music to kind of paint a picture of what it's like to grow up as this type of person yeah um all right uh so up next we have a bunch of shows i haven't

seen so i'll start sprinkling and movie takes with you guys's show takes like hacks i have not seen you didn't watch hacks you'd like it here we go you'd like it you okay first of all did you enjoy jean smart and mayor of easttown no didn't like her at all okay well you don't even like mayor maybe you're a liar boo she's incredible i loved hacks totally based on not having having time at that point it's a it's a fun treat because you're also you have enough proximity to comedy and the entertainment industry for a lot of the weird like the like some of the nuance to hit particularly hard just because like the way the story is that's like laid out and the power dynamics within the show as like are so so

fucking funny yeah hacks well worth the hearty laughs for me yeah power of the dog would be the movie i would definitely unquestionably suggest people check out that and house of gucci which isn't like the best movie but also like among the most fun times i've had watching a movie once i'm able to see it oh i'm gonna to black out an entire daily Zeitgeist Day. And we're going to talk about just House of Gucci. What do you mean? Like you're going to take a bunch of edibles and miss a recording? No, no, no.

Like we're not doing any news, baby. I'm going to show up and we're only talking about House of Gucci. And we're only going to do it in the accents. Can I black out? She blacked out the whole day. I canceled everything. I had five doctor's appointments. Can't do it in the accents. Can I black out? She blacked out the whole day. I canceled everything. I had five Doctors Women's. Can't do it. Sorry. It's House of Gucci day. Dude, she took down all the old episodes from the archives. Like, we're starting over. There's only one episode. It's the House of Gucci episode. No one's allowed to listen to anything else.

Those are both movies that have great performances by people doing horrible accent work. Benedict Cumberbatch in Power of the Dog is you just have to be like, all right, we're going with it. His performance is great. He sounds like Hans Gruber trying to pretend he's an American guy in that part in Die Hard. Like, it's just not uh a believable american accent but sure why not and then hasaguchi uh is just creates new colors of bad accents with with i guess you know the only way we're gonna see it we gotta go to the fucking theater because there's really no plans for this thing so plan accordingly strap on the old gas mask and uh go to theater yeah and i think it's doable as long as you try and go to a showing that clearly is going to have less people and then wear your mask the

whole time don't eat or drink in there and we will hopefully survive monday at 9 45 that is really what we'll have to do to feel comfortable or you can put a handful of popcorn inside the mask and then just actually what okay jack stop what is our budget for renting out a theater uh i don't know do we have one there is none you're the producer okay well i'll let me know great we'll rent out hold on you rented out miles and i sitting so far away from each other just to watch this movie. And Becca and Justin and Brian, whoever else wants to come and be a part of the extravaganza. Yeah, Becca, fly out.

Becca, please fly out. Thank you. What's the budget to fly people out? $17,000. I'm just looking at some of our ad revenue stuff. We can spare $9,000 for this. Okay, cool. And then we'll be solidly in the red.

Okay, great. What we do in the shadows, I did watch the first two seasons of that, I think. Great show. Maybe first one season of that, but it is a great show. I didn't watch the most recent, but hell yeah.

Oh, you got to watch the new season. Right. That's on my list too. All sorts of good stuff happening. WandaVision. Who saw that i did liked it you guys didn't watch it no i don't watch i don't i'm not up on marvel stuff i think famously i think at this point people know that they have a lot of good television series except for the like

captain america one whichever that one was the captain falcon one yeah that one wasn't as great but the others have been great. Like, I really enjoyed Loki aesthetically and story-wise and WandaVision, great. Great writing in WandaVision. And are you a Marvel, like you go to the Marvel movies

when they come out? No, why would I do that? You've seen most of the Avengers films, right? I've seen a few here or there. Look, guys, I watch TV. You put it on TV, I'll watch it, okay? I'm not here trying to watch no movies, okay? He's like, I hate Star Wars, but I've seen all of the Mandalorian.

All of the Clone Wars. Because it's got to be on TV. If it's a television show, I will watch it. I'm not really like, I'm not too worried. Like, yeah, I'll watch a movie. The thing is, I got into Marvel much later because my boyfriend's into it. And he had to really kind of force me to watch like Iron Man because I have such low attention spans for films unless I'm in a movie theater. But I try to watch some.

Usually if Taika Waititi directs it, I'm in. Right, right, right. Or if it's affiliated, that's a typically a good marker of quality. Yeah. So I don't know. Maybe one day i'll watch the rest who knows we'll see anyway if you put on tv i'll watch it was there a marvel movie out this year that i saw i can't i can't remember oh the widow one black widow oh i didn't see that

like that was at a covid trough where i had enough time to go to one movie and i chose f9 me too over black widow and i will not regret that decision f9 fucking ruled i was like oh man i really missed going to the movies turns out i just really fucking liked that movie because then once things slowed down a little bit more and i went and saw dune i was like okay you saw theaters? Yeah, bro. This guy's out here watching movies. That's weird. They're easier. I don't know why. Okay.

Okay, let's talk about Only Murders in the Building. Okay. Sleeper hit. Was it Sleeper, you think? I felt like people talked about it a lot. Really? I feel like I wasn't hearing a lot of people talk about it. Maybe not in our Twitter sphere,

but I felt like the write-ups from the mainstream like media felt very like they were in for it but yeah i liked it a lot more than i thought i would especially as a podcaster especially as a podcaster same i mean the new uh sex in the city reboot uh also about podcasters. Very good. Really nails the handling. Is she a podcaster or something? She's like on a podcast and she's like, have to go be on a podcast. It's the new jury duty. It's just all old people like jokes about podcasts and how they're annoying and dumb.

Well, you know, I love i love the the take that only murders in the building gives it because it was yeah good you know it's just mystery shit you just keep kind of tuning in for stakes are low the performances are really good and you realize you're also just like damn steve martin is still hitting that physical comedy at his age and you're, so grateful as a person, it's like an audience member. South side, HBO max is South side,

formerly comedy central South side, still great television. Really recommend if you guys love half hour comedies, I can't get enough of that show. It's like also a great working class comedy. You know what I mean? We're like, it's about like working class people and it has like

the authenticity and the jokes and like the topics that you're like yeah man like someone who's been wealthy for 10 years couldn't have written this show yeah it's just impossible like it's just because it's just hidden oh authentic i love it speaking of hbo max i spent i think it took me five viewings to watch the entirety of kong. Godzilla, which I think came out this year. I watched that movie as though it were a TV show and feel like it was fine. It was fine. But that did make the top 10 at the box office. Oh, yeah, that makes sense.

It's like not much thought needs to be put into that viewing experience yeah that we might as well talk about the uh worldwide bo worldwide box office because so this was a year um that china like had two movies at one and two that were way above the third, fourth movie. So this movie, The Battle at Lake Shenzhen made $902 million. A movie called High Mom made $822 million. The Bond movie, which was playing everywhere, made $771 million. And F9 made $726. So like pretty significantly, like those two movies dominated the competition without any like us box office. So that's,

I don't know, like from a impact perspectives, I think those are probably pretty underrated. The battle at Lake Changjin is a movie about a Korean War battle in which Chinese volunteers defeat, you guessed it, the U.S. military. And the U.S. is the bad guys. And I think it's an interesting trend to follow is sort of animosity towards the U.S. building up there. And then Hi Mom is just the premise from Back to the Future. But a woman time travels back and like hangs out with her mom in high school.

Oh, cool. Hi, Jason, too. All right. Well, what's up next? Oh, How To With John Wilson. Great television show if you guys have never engaged. I haven't watched the new season yet. I just heard about the first couple episodes.

The first season, I fucking could not believe what I was watching because it was so up my alley. It's like the best parts of like fucking Tom Green and like weird man on the street bits from wonder shows. And it's just got like, I don't know. It's it's got it all this show and like nathan for you yeah it's yeah if you like that like sort of the absurdity of reality type of a show that i think you have to you have to watch how to with john wilson and also the absurdity of city living yeah and his voiceover over like these just random video that he captures just walking around the city are like some of the best i don't know it's like the most unique thing and like so

perfectly written i feel like he's one of the more like kind of exciting new kind of writers on the scene yeah because what was the deal was he just like did nathan fielder bring that developed this show yeah i think that's right yeah like it really has that feeling um but also in like it it's it has truly its own identity uh as well and yeah it's just someone who like has this much footage and knows how to assemble it like is really just a skill and i think that's kind of the genius of this show because it's like seemingly mundane clips a lot of the times he's like stringing together for great montages but then his like his own curiosity to keep mining a thread and seeing where it goes is also the other fun of it yeah uh all right speaking of like a exciting new writer z way uh her show debut um and

i did not see it what did you guys think great some of those interviews again i just like when we see people get to do whatever the fuck they want to do and we just trust people's voices uh and yeah that's that's definitely the i think the refreshing part of z-way is like a talk show yeah yeah yeah i mean great work great team that she had just like a very entertaining show i mean there's only six episodes i'm excited season two is coming through so well she's also got another show, right, that she's doing with Prime or something? Yeah. A scripted show that she sold?

She's coming up, and it's actually very exciting to watch because she's such a great mind. Yeah. And she's about to basically eclipse Bodega Boys, who put her on first. That was the pipeline from being on a Showtime show, being like, okay, I'm too big for this writer's room and now I have my own show on the same network. Thank you very much. All right, Anna, it's time for you to tell us what was the best of reality TV this year. Yes, so we talked briefly ahead of this,

Selling Sunset, great television, Miles. I know you had some thoughts. No, blessed. I mean, it's one of the few shows Jamie Loftus really loves. Whenever there's a new season, I get a text from Jamie saying, New season of Signing Sunsets here! And it just doesn't disappoint because it's just, again, it's sort of like succession also because we're looking at the absurdity

of these just opulent real estate uh agents and like like multi-million dollar homes and like the concerns these people have in the real world and you're like this is fucking not real but a little bit of sloppy escapism i know a lot of people were talking about christine's diamond chair uh that got a lot of discussion right but um the use of the filter that completely washes them out in a way that makes them look like they're glowing is really funny to me like they're not even trying to pretend yeah they could ever possibly have a wrinkle fascinating or a nose or cheeks because you become like a drawn out your two-dimensional version of yourself at that point everything's been flattened they're like the only way we'll

do this show is if you glow us the shit out and it's incredible i would love that filter on my everyday life please don't look at me without my glow filter on it's like they facetune the footage right it's incredible it is but i mean that's like that's the precedent that many of the like housewives shows and sort of reality that features people that are much more image conscious than like you know back in the day i was like scumbags um this is definitely the shift exactly Exactly. Now, I will say Bravo had an... I know everyone's like, oh, no. Bravo had an incredible, incredible year this year. We had Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Erika Jayne going through her situation with her husband, Paul... Tom. Tom Girardi. Sorry. He's kind of a blur to me of a human being. Paul Tom... What's his name? Tom Girardi. I watch this show, too. I have me of a human being. Paul Tom. What's his name? Tom Girardi.

I watch this show, too. I have no idea what his name is. I watched the crime documentary about him, but yeah. Tom Girardi. Oh, my gosh. So it's all happening in real time on this year's season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Erika Jayne can't keep her story straight. There's stories all over the place.

Incredible television in the sense that you're like why are you on reality tv right now as your husband ex-husband is now going through a really high profile case where he clearly stole a lot of money from plane crash victims and burn victims oh yeah damn yeah and this is the guy who is the lawyer from aaron brockovich he helped those pg and e victims yeah yeah so i'm like what's going on here so high profile she's still on the show being like look honey you don't know what i'm going through literally that's all she says the whole time uh and then cut to real housewives of salt lake city we have jen shaw indicted for committing fraud against the elderly, taking advantage of the elderly and having these like, you know, marketing schemes that she does. We literally see on camera.

Her being based. Well, we don't see her get arrested, but we see the Homeland Security, NYPD and the feds show up to arrest her and barely miss her because she got a call tipping her off right before and she bounced and we see her. And that that episode is probably one of the greatest episodes of reality television I've ever watched in my life. It is the darkest in the sense that you have to actually watch ring footage of her sons being held up by AR-15s in their home by the police, which is not something any child should have to experience, let alone a person of color's children who shouldn't have to be anywhere near the police.

So there's so many levels and emotions going through that. I'm like, first of all, how do they even air this footage? How is this real? Why do these people continue to stay on reality TV? And that's the most fascinating part because they just let that they let it's almost as if they're addicted to letting their lives, even their deepest, darkest traumas play out on television, regardless of how it actually makes them feel and hurts the people around them. It's a very wicked cycle, but also you're like, oh, that's right. Pride comes before the fall, especially in the cases of people who are like like you're criming out here and you're on okay yeah go ahead i mean i don't mind i like to see people sweat on tv so let's go for it the lying the i am innocent and you're like well okay i can like see the evidence

we just watched an episode where you did the whole thing someone laid out the whole scheme but okay yeah yeah whatever you're going through and i think that's the fun too is you watch someone who you know is guilty like this is how they're gonna act this is how they're gonna act okay america literally like you just don't give a fuck it's incredible it's really incredible i'm gonna take a quick nap yeah i got too excited what a time i i'll i'll go with uh the movie i can't tell if i watched or not this year a quiet place too i think i might have seen this what do you mean i i think i might have watched on a plane or something but like i it also i might have just like watched a couple trailers um so i have no no idea i think i took ben and drill and watched a weird episode of the office

I have no idea. I think I took Benadryl and watched a weird episode of The Office. Yeah, this year's kind of a blur. So the number one at the box office internationally besides the two movies that we talked about that like blew up in China is the latest Bond movie, Super

Producer, Anna Hosnia. You saw it. Which first of all you just acted like me seeing Dune in a theater was like the wildest thing you've ever okay okay okay I'm not a theater dweller no I'm not going I'm not leaving my couch yes so this is actually

a very interesting thing to me because I actually really have always loved Bond movies and it stems from the fact that my dad really loves Bond movies so we kind of bonded on that a lot of times growing up his favorite are you on your goddamn mind this is my moment i'm sorry okay anyway no time this is no time for bits james bonded yeah so are you just gonna keep doing that okay so my dad loves sean connery blah blah blah he loves bond movies i watched bond movies my whole life so daniel craig i will

admit i was disappointed when they chose him originally back to star in casino royale turns out great bond actor and there's almost like a the period of when he became bond it was like i was really it was like a very coming of age moment for me of being like i was young i was like getting really into culture and movies and television. And now I'm seeing like, now that it's the end, it's like, I'm an adult now. It's like the end of my aging, my growing up has started to come to an end. And I'm seeing it in like the start and end of Bond movies. I was thinking about this the other day, quite critically, if you will. I'm so smart, but I, i um i was actually quite sad by this bond movie

realizing it was the end of an era of daniel craig i mean i know he had all those quotes about wanting to slit his wrist so i'm glad he's free but like it's kind of sad and this movie actually made me i was sad when it ended and just there's a certain way it ends that might if you have or haven't seen it but you know while there is a bit of a you know like i don't need the bond movies to be good i just need them to hit the tropes you know of like adventure fast cars aston martin oh that's a tricky little device you got there and then like hot girl that bond bond fucks so much very funny to me like jeez so everyone who gets close to him dies or whatever i don't know it seems like there seems to be some themes like that so i i actually really enjoyed it for what it was um the end of an era

the thing with daniel craig as as James Bond is there's almost like a hotness about him that is like hot. Okay. That's cool. You nailed it right there. Yeah. My expert opinion, there's almost like this hotness about him.

Alright, we are bringing in the newest producer on the LA studio. She is the brilliant and talented Becca Ramos. What's up, Becca? Welcome, welcome. So you had some picks. You had an underrated, overrated. Hit us with them.

Yeah. You know, I really love movies, TV. I'm not as versed as Anna over over here who's a tv connoisseur damn movie gang thank you it exhausts me a little bit i'm very much an all or nothing person so the idea that i have to binge hours of television is a little anxiety driving so i love a movie quick bit you're in you're out but my underrated for the year was uh Tick Tick Boom I am gonna put it out there I wasn't sure how it's gonna go but everyone killed it Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial debut was and Andrew Garfield I didn't realize he had that type of musical prowess in him. So that was dope.

I am a Marvel fan. So I did go see Eternals, Black Widow and Shang-Chi. And I will say Shang-Chi. Well, I guess properly rated. It was well received. People liked the movie. But when you look at the box office, like it is the number one movie in America, like which I feel like, yeah, it was the number one domestic box office in America, like over Venom, Black Widow, F9. But I feel like people didn't fully like publicize that because Hollywood doesn't like to acknowledge when movies about people of color do well.

Absolutely. knowledge when movies about people of color do well absolutely i do want to say real quick it's because um the star of shangli was uh he made an appearance in um selling sunset yes he did and that was a great episode they promoted him heavily it was so funny um but the internals of black widow overrated honestly black widow was one of the worst marvel movies i've ever seen i was absolutely baffled at how bad it was how boring it was i had to try to watch it two different times because i fell asleep it was so boring damn um and my other big underrated pick was candy man i feel like it didn't get the recognition it deserved as like a thriller horror and just kind of fell through the cracks. But it also goes to say like black women don't get the recognition they deserve and lots of things about not promoting POC movies.

So I think it's a great like thriller adjacent to Get Out. like thriller adjacent to get out um it wasn't super scary by any means but it was just such a like beautiful eerie film yeah my tv underrated i didn't watch a lot of tv but i just finished scenes of a marriage and if i were either of their partners i'd be upset the chemistry between jessica jastain and oscar isaac is uncomfortable because it's beautiful and haunting right i love a beautiful and haunting on-screen relationship if you see any of their press you're just like oh yeah oh no like their partners must be quaking because it's video it's like uh like you're like i'm watching something that's supposed to be behind closed doors that's what it feels like watching their press tour lady gaga bradley cooper-esque absolutely 100

they had that one video go viral on the red carpet of him kissing her shoulder her inside her arm yep i thought they just had another one go viral of them walking together and she's like talking about because she just got on tiktok and so she's like i'll show you some funny videos oscar and then she like leans her head on his shoulder and everyone's like i would be throwing up and puking right now if i was his wife absolutely not the marketing around that was the thing that like jumped out to me so first of all candy man is the movie that like i was most excited about and then i forget if it was like during a spike in covid or if it was just the fact that like the culture just like completely like mainstream culture just completely ignored it it was just like it didn't come out like when premiere or not premiered but it was promoted

and then it was like delayed and it's released right because of uh covid so i feel like it just never got the proper marketing that it deserved especially because i don't think it got released around halloween right so it just yeah i think it was like in august or something yeah so it just kind of missed its window yeah and then scenes from marriage i feel like the thing i know it most for was the chemistry i've never seen better chemistry on a billboard but the chemistry between the two of them on these billboards that were everywhere in los angeles was like distracting and i am ready for the house of Gucci discussion. I just saw it on Monday.

What'd you think? I loved it. I feel like people were giving a lot of shit to the movie because of its campiness, but it definitely wasn't as bad. And if you're going in knowing it's not going to be an Oscar award winning movie, it's just going to be a fun movie. You're going it's just gonna be a fun movie you're gonna have your time it's a little long though it's definitely like i'm not

gonna watch it again but i enjoyed it for what it was see that yeah that tracks with what i hear about it fun movie uh that's not going to be an oscar award-winning movie uh wherein everybody who was involved thought it was going to be an Oscar award winning movie and that adds like this element of everybody just fucking going for it which is very fun. I will say it does feel like Lady Gaga is in a movie

that no one else is in. Oh I love that. Okay. The performances everyone's giving they're all in different movies. They all don't know what the movie is. Is it a drama? Is it a camp? Comedy?

Like, they don't know where they're going. But in the promotional materials, it is very much like, we're winning an Oscar for this. Right, right. Yeah. Just only watch my lines as the movie and nominate me. Also, just for fans of comedy, I would say Barb and Star, Go to Vista Del Mar was really funny.

The Girls 5 Eva on... Peacock, I think. Peacock, yeah, Peacock. That was really strong joke density, really funny jokes in there. I will say Nora from Queens.

Underrated. Oh, really? I really love it. Okay. I mean, Bowen Yang. I know Awkwafina is a hot, debated topic, I think, amongst people of color in Hollywood. But nonetheless, great writing. With a light black sentry.

Is she doing black sent Nora from Queens? A little bit. But it's my dad's favorite show. I mean, he loves Awkwafina. Anything she's in, he texts me about it. He's like, hey, Awkwafina's in a new thing. Aren't you excited? Holy shit.

Okay. He's like, ever since the web series he was in. He has very niche people he likes. He loves Lady Gaga. He was like, since the web series he was in. He has like very niche people he likes. Like he loves Lady Gaga. He was like, we have to go see House of Gucci. And then he loves Harry Styles. Well, he loves One Direction, which is a confusing thing for a father, but.

Your dad could be on the show as a guest. He loves pop culture. Defend Awkwafina, dad, go. He loves movies. Yeah. Oh, also one underrated the other two yeah our fave welcome to pat tacto with tick dubeck she messed she's so tired pat is so tired she's working too hard she can't even speak um yeah sorry what were you saying about oh yeah pat what was it in barb um yeah sorry what were you saying about oh yeah pat what was it in barb star barb and star go to vista del mar uh felt like it's more mcgrubery than i think i was led to believe by like the

coverage around it which is the ultimate compliment i can pay if you if you liked the mcgruber movie which i thought was very funny apparently the, the show is very funny, too. Nice. And on some overrated, trashy, actual television, not reality TV, I will say you got a little too crazy for me. I was in it. Seasons one and two. Oh, you.

I couldn't finish. Me? I didn't show you. And then Riverdale. I talked about this? If y'all have ever watched riverdale the writers have gone off the wall i don't know if they're just like high and more so than normal it just like i started the beginning of riverdale right right now it's like they brought in the sabrina

the teenage witch universe doesn't make sense sense. She's dead, according to last season. They now have made characters immortal. Some of these teens are like murdered in jail. It's just it's every episode you're like, no, that's not real. Like, right. Not that it's supposed to ever be rude in reality, but it's like so far from where they started. You're like this. Who is this for?

What audience? Who are they grabbing? Is it just like they spin a wheel and it's like a Mad Lib, it feels like, is what it's become. Just do it to inspire takes and write-ups. That is another way to get your show talked about. So maybe that's what's going on. It's fun, but I watch an episode and I'm like, what did I do to myself today? All right.

Well, this has been our look back at things we watched in 2021. It was a lot. We watched a lot. It was longer than all the other recap episodes. But when you try and combine TV and movies, that makes sense. Well-deserved on our part, I guess. So that is going to do it for this year-end episode. We will be back with more year-end stuff.

Probably. I don't know what order we're releasing these in, but, you know, you'll figure it out. All right. Happy holidays, everyone. Hope you're having a good one. Bye. Later. I'm Jess Casavetto, executive producer of the hit Netflix documentary series,

Dancing for the Devil, the 7M TikTok cult. And I'm Clea Gray, former member of 7M Films and Shekinah Church. And we're the host of the new podcast, Forgive Me For I Have Followed. Together, we'll be diving even deeper into the unbelievable stories behind 7M Films and Shekinah Church. Listen to Forgive Me For I Have Followed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese

Every great player needs a foil I know I'll go down in history People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports Listen to the making of a rivalry Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts soon women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry, Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One,

founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. Hey, I'm Gianna Pradenti. And I'm Jermaine Jackson Gadsden. We're the hosts of Let's Talk Offline from LinkedIn News and iHeart Podcasts. There's a lot to figure out when you're just starting your career. That's where we come in. Think of us as your work besties you can turn to for advice. And if we don't know the answer, we bring in people who do, like negotiation expert Maury Tahiripour. If you start thinking about negotiations as just a conversation, then I think it sort of eases us a little bit.

Listen to Let's Talk Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way

we consume women's basketball. And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. Kay hasn't heard from her sister in seven years. I have a proposal for you. Come up here and document my project. All you need to do is record everything like you always do. What was that?

That was live audio of a woman's nightmare. Can Kay trust her sister, or is history repeating itself? There's nothing dangerous about what you're doing. They're just dreams. Dream Sequence is a new horror thriller from Blumhouse Television, iHeartRadio, and Realm. Listen to Dream Sequence on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.