This is a preview of our pop culture newsletter The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, written by editor Kevin Fallon. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox each week, sign up for it here.
This week:
- The greatest television series of our time.
- A requiem for Rinna.
- My favorite performance of the year.
- The most deserved f-bomb ever.
- The sexiest sex talk.
We’re Owning It
I’m trying to figure out how to characterize how big of a deal the news about Lisa Rinna is to people who don’t care.
Rinna leaving The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills feels like when Steve Carell left The Office, and the show continued. That’s actually not momentous enough. What if Barack Obama called it quits halfway through his term? What if, halfway through church, God appeared and said, “Nah, I’m over it”? What if you were listening to Renaissance, and at a random point in a song, Beyoncé just stopped singing?
This is the gravity that Rinna’s departure from RHOBH has for reality TV fans.
You know that you’re a survivor of trauma when, after People.com announced that Rinna was exiting the show, you felt sad. That was my initial reaction: heartbreak. I’m torn about it.
As a loyal viewer of RHOBH, I am fully aware that Rinna has been a nightmare for the last two seasons. Her treatment of Denise Richards amidst rumors of Richards’ affair was inexplicable. Her bodyguarding of Erika Jayne against all reason and logic has been confounding. Sometimes, it’s really gratifying to watch a soap opera veteran act the hell out of her scenes on a reality show. Other times, it’s exasperating.
I may be the last remaining Lisa Rinna stan, as I learned while sitting in the audience of BravoCon and hearing thousands of people boo her when she arrived on stage. I remember when she joined the show and really rejuvenated it. I’m in denial that she has since become its biggest problem.
Generally speaking, I hate when Bravo parts ways with veteran cast members. I naively think that, if given one more chance, a Housewife could learn a lesson and redeem themselves after a bad season or two, which Rinna certainly has had.
I also think that shows suffer when they lose a longtime star. Yes, Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge needed a timeout, but Real Housewives of Orange County suffered so greatly after they were gone that Bravo is now bringing Judge back. The network seems to be finding any excuse to bring Cynthia Bailey back into the fold, and Real Housewives of Atlanta already rehired Sheree Whitfield. And is there any fan of Housewives who, while acknowledging that her behavior in her last season was not great, thinks that Real Housewives of New York was better after it didn’t include Dorinda Medley? That season was such a disaster that it ended the show.
I’m the idiot you hear about that really does think of these people as my own friends. So I find it jarring when, for so many years, I see my pals hanging out with a person on TV, and then all of a sudden that person is not there. Friendships shouldn’t be dictated by TV contracts.
I think Rinna has gifted us with iconic moments in television, from being a pivotal part of the dinner altercation in Amsterdam to her perfectly delivered purr of “you’re so angry…” to Richards.
One of my biggest gripes about the Housewives franchise is when it’s so clear that the women aren’t friends and would never hang out in real life. RHOBH is the one iteration of the show where that isn’t the case; as we see on Instagram, these women have genuine relationships and hang out. It’s not great when fans of a show call that friendship an “alliance,” which is what’s happened with Rinna and her co-stars that are referred to as the “Fox Force 5.” But it’s nice to know that what you’re watching on screen is believable.
My apologies to everyone who, at 6:20 pm ET on Thursday, had their eardrums blown out by my shriek of surprise after learning of Rinna’s departure. I really believed that the only things certain in life were death, taxes, and Lisa Rinna stirring up shit on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I’m so curious where the show goes from here, without Rinna “owning it.”
It’s the Hong Chau Moment
As a disclaimer, I am a huge proponent of seeing films in theaters. There’s no replicating the added, almost indescribable energy that exists when you see a movie with other people, sharing their reactions. That said, one of my favorite films of 2022 is now available to stream at home, and I hope you watch it.
I saw The Menu, which was released on HBO Max this week, in a packed cinema, and the audience was riotous. I don’t know how it will play on a TV screen while you’re scrolling through Instagram and folding laundry, but I am fairly certain about one thing: You’re going to love Hong Chau’s performance.
The movie is a hybrid horror/comedy that is a comeuppance for privileged assholes. Chau, who plays the hostess/manager of a restaurant where all of the film’s wildness happens, is the conduit for that comeuppance. She is so funny. She is chilling. She delivers some of my favorite line readings of the year.
Chau is in the supporting actress race this Oscar season for her performance in The Whale. She is spectacular in that movie, which, while I loathe it, I can appreciate how breathtaking her and Brendan Fraser’s performances are. (But, my God, do I hate that movie.) That said, I wish it were her role in The Menu that garnered attention instead. It is the epitome of a perfect scene-stealing supporting performance. Go watch it now, and plan to order a cheeseburger for after. You’ll thank me later.
Andy Cohen’s First F-Bomb
People have different rituals that they use for self-care. Some take baths. Some light candles. Some see therapists. I put on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.
The talk show is the perfect combination of chaos and ridiculousness for me, a person whose life is chaotic and ridiculous. It’s cathartic to watch each night, as Cohen plays silly games with a bizarre combination of Real Housewives and esteemed Hollywood players—typically the exact spectrum of my interests.
So as a loyal viewer of WWHL, I was shocked to learn that Cohen had never broke and said the word “fuck” on the show before. It happened for the first time this week, when he was ranting about how disgusting it was that Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance’s son participated in that vile TikTok trend of pranking parents by telling them a celebrity died. (I will not link to it, because it’s gross.)
Cohen was so reviled that he let the f-bomb slip, and, honestly, if there was ever a reason to do it, it was talking about that trend. Fucking good for you, Andy.
Let’s Talk About Sex
I will be thinking about this exchange between Emma Thompson and Colin Farrell in a recent Vanity Fair interview roughly every three minutes until the day I die.
What to watch this week:
RuPaul’s Drag Race: The best reality TV competition that isn’t called Top Chef arrives with a new season and a new home, on MTV. (Fri. on MTV)
Golden Globe Awards: I saw a preview of host Jerrod Carmichael’s stand-up comedy working through his complicated feelings emceeing this year’s ceremony, and it’s going to be good. (Tues. on NBC)
M3GAN: It’s rare for a movie to be so insufferable in its incessant marketing, yet also be this good. (Fri. in theaters)
What to skip this week:
Mayfair Witches: You’re better off watching the other recent Anne Rice adaptation, Interview With a Vampire, instead. (Sun. on AMC)
