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What's Making Us Happy: A guide to your weekend viewing and reading
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This week, speculation over casting the candidates continued, the Yellowstone sequel got its star, and we learned more about a movie about a show.
Here's what NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour crew was paying attention to — and what you should check out this weekend.
The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman
You might know Lev Grossman as the author of “The Magicians” trilogy, which was made into a TV series. The Bright Sword is his new novel. I went through a massive, all-consuming King Arthur phase when I was in middle school, and so I was very excited to get my hands on this book — and it did not disappoint. It takes place after Arthur has died. Guinevere has noped off to a convent. The Round Table is in disarray. There's a ragtag, skeleton crew of knights left, and they're figuring out what they should do next. It's a really nice mix of just goofin’ — there are quips that made me laugh out loud — but also some really profound stuff: What does it mean to seek out the divine? What's my purpose? What should I be doing? I recommend it whether you are a huge King Arthur head or not. — Wailin Wong
Blue Ribbon Baking Championship, streaming on Netflix
Netflix has a new baking show called Blue Ribbon Baking Championship. People who have won blue ribbons at different baking competitions come together and do fair food challenges – like, things on a stick, or, make a pie. It’s hosted by Jason Biggs from American Pie and Sandra Lee, who used to host Semi-Homemade Cooking. (She was famous for the Kwanzaa cake, which went viral.) She's perfectly OK here. Other judges include Bill Yosses, who is a former White House pastry chef, and Bryan Ford, who's a really cool artisan baker. Everybody's kind of in their element, and I think it works quite well. — Linda Holmes
Aya Nakamura’s performance at the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony
I'm still kind of stuck on the Olympic Opening Ceremony. One of the performers was Aya Nakamura, a French singer of Malian descent. She’s a really popular international singer but there was a lot of pushback about choosing her for the ceremony. She’s from the greater suburbs of Paris, which are looked at as low class. She's viewed by many as an immigrant, even though she has French nationality. And the way she speaks and sings in French is very localized, and vernacular. So a lot of people have said: We don't understand what she's saying — is she even from France? She responded to those complaints with a lyric in a medley of her hits. She sings — loosely translated — “I'm going to choose my words well to make you happy in proper French.” She’s pointedly mocking the people who have been criticizing her for the way that she speaks French — and she integrated that so well into the performance. — Shamira Ibrahim
More recommendations from the Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter
by Linda Holmes
I had mixed feelings about Mr. Throwback, the new Peacock comedy starring Adam Pally, Ego Nwodim and Steph Curry. It's from some of the creative team behind Happy Endings, and you can see some real moments of sparkle. But I think it could have used a stronger take on Curry; playing himself, he's mostly just affable and nice, and it perhaps needed more of an angle. But it's fun enough to check out, particularly if you're a fan of any of the leads.
I am midway through the audiobook of Sarah Manguso's Liars, and let me tell you, this book is not messing around. A story of a suffocating, unhappy marriage through the recollections of a wife who never wanted to be "a wife," it gripped me from the very beginning.
I went back this week and watched my favorite episode of ER. From the fourth season, "Exodus" centers on a chemical spill that leads to the ER’s contamination from benzene (the dangers of which are helpfully pointed out by Mickey Rooney!). Everybody begins to get sick, an evacuation has to happen, and with Weaver (Laura Innes) incapacitated, Carter (Noah Wyle) takes charge. I've always seen the show as about Carter more than any other character, and this is his moment of transformation from student and learner to teacher and leader. It's a great mix of sad and thrilling, with Ross (George Clooney) and Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) trying to keep a girl alive in, you guessed it, a stopped elevator. Love it. As of this writing, it's on Hulu.
Beth Novey adapted the Pop Culture Happy Hour segment "What's Making Us Happy" for the Web. If you like these suggestions, consider signing up for our newsletter to get recommendations every week. And listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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