Netflix

Normal People is a masterclass in on screen nudity

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Normal People’s treatment of nudity and sex is a gateway to so much more .

By Abby Robinson

Sally Rooney’s hand is felt throughout Normal People, the BBC Three and Hulu co-production based on her critically acclaimed novel of the same name. The characters move and breathe as they do in all 266 pages of the book, the story of Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal) as captivating on screen as it in Rooney’s written word.

Even if you didn’t know that the Irish writer was an executive producer or co-wrote six episodes – Edgar-Jones described her as “very involved” and “overseeing everything” to Digital Spy and other press – you’d know anyway, because it shows.

Normal People is beautiful. It sweeps you up in its arms, capturing the very essence of the book – that all-encompassing love between Marianne and Connell that transcends the physical, the pair fascinated by the way each thinks and how they see the world.

It’s a series that would, without the perfect casting, have fallen flat. But Edgar-Jones and Mescal are breathtakingly good and there’s no other pair on earth that could have exceeded their performances.

normal people
BBC/HULU

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“The Dig” coming to NetFlix

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As WWII looms, a wealthy widow (Carey Mulligan) hires an amateur archaeologist (Ralph Fiennes) to excavate the burial mounds on her estate. When they make a historic discovery, the echoes of Britain’s past resonate in the face of its uncertain future‎. THE DIG stars Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, Johnny Flynn, Ben Chaplin, and Ken Scott.

In Select Theaters January 15 and on Netflix January 29

The Derry Girls on Great British Bake Off Is the Only Good Thing to Happen in 2020

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BY HEATHER HOGAN

Two of my top ten all-time favorite TV shows are Derry Girls and Great British Bake Off, so when Netflix dropped the holiday crossover special this week — which apparently aired in January in the UK and is why Sandi Toksvig is still bringing her gay joy to the tent — I hit play as fast as my fingers would go. I was not disappointed! In fact, I giggled so much out loud that Stacy was like, “I have never heard you giggle so much out loud in my entire life.” Which may or may not be true; 2020 has been stingy with the laughs. The episode features Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Erin), Nicola Coughlan (wee lesbian Clare), Jamie-Lee O’Donnell (Michelle), Siobhan McSweeney (Sister Michael), and Dylan Llewellyn (James), and they play off each other in real life as well as they do on the series. Siobhan McSweeney even Jim Halpert-ed the camera better than Jim Halpert himself. (Although, I guess in the UK you call it Tim Canterbury-ing the camera?)

“See, in Ireland, we love slime,” Siobhan explains when Paul and Prue say her trifle looks like an aquarium. “It’s traditional that we have slime for the New Year. So, please don’t dis the culture of my people.”

The signature trifle challenge is followed by a technical challenge of salmon and beetroot blinis and a showstopper of 3D cakes based on 3D cake based on their favorite decade. Jamie-Lee O’Donnell trying to coax a fondant Amelia Earhart to life is one of the most hysterical things I have ever witnessed. But listen, don’t just believe me. Twitter, too, has spoken!

Source: The Derry Girls on Great British Bake Off Is the Only Good Thing to Happen in 2020

So, You Want to Start Watching The Crown

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Can you dive into the Netflix series for the first time with season four? Sure! But there are some things you should know first.

The fourth season of The Crown is the first one to cover some of the most familiar stories about the royal family. It’s the first foray into Charles and Diana, it’s the first time the series gets into modern politics and the Thatcher area, and it’s also the first time that its central figure, Queen Elizabeth, resembles something closer to the monarch we know today. It’s also a great season of TV, with more energy and momentum than the show has had in previous years. It’s fun and gossipy, in its own deeply serious, painstakingly psychoanalytical kind of way.

So, let’s say you’ve never seen the show and are now interested in jumping in with season four. Will that work? Do you need to watch the beginning to know what’s going on? Can you just skip straight to the juicy parts?

Short answer: Sure, knock yourself out!

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