This week:
- I broke my cardinal rule and went outside. My sunburn is my punishment. I’m on vacation this week, so my Daily Beast colleagues are helping me out. I gave them a prompt—what is the best thing you watched this summer?—and their responses are a perfect mix of great TV shows and movies, hilarious memes and viral moments, and hits from the past they’ve finally caught up on. Altogether, it’s a perfect summer playlist to keep you from making the same mistake as me: Stay inside, folks, and enjoy!
The Invite
The Invite is one of those movies where there’s a certain, unidentifiable point when you start to feel yourself electrified by what you’re watching. You’re rapt. You’re surprised. And everything that is happening on screen has you what I so eloquently describe as “hootin’ and hollerin’,” both inside and out. Olivia Wilde’s film is an intimate relationship rodeo staged within the walls of one apartment, with herself, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton taking what appears to have been the prompt, “Do Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, but more psychosexual,” and going buckwild. The number of times I have said, “Jamón?” this summer… - Kevin Fallon, Editor-at Large, Obsessed
Furious
During a summer that seemed like it would be lighter than usual in quality TV, Hulu’s Furious seemingly came out of nowhere to become—in my opinion, at least—the show of the summer. I should have known, given that it’s created by the prolific Liz Meriwether, who broke through with New Girl and then showed her surprising versatility with the Elizabeth Holmes series The Dropout and the excellent cancer/sex comedy(?) Dying for Sex. But the true revelation of her new crime thriller is the three performances at its center: Emmy Rossum, Lola Petticrew (from my beloved Say Nothing), and a truly knockout performance from the relatively unknown Quincy Tyler Bernstine as FBI agent Nora Washington. If you’re as Obsessed as I am, check out Kevin’s fabulous interview with Liz Meriwether on (where else?) Obsessed: The Podcast! - Matt Wilstein, Editorial Director, Obsessed
Office Romance
There’s something about a hard-R romantic comedy with nudity and cursing that hits differently. There’s only so many times I can suspend disbelief that not a single person in the girls’ chat about getting laid is dropping an f-bomb. Office Romance was such a delightful change of pace. Brett Goldstein and Jennifer Lopez were totally buyable as super successful people willing to throw their careers away to boink each other (see what happens when you can’t curse?). J. Lo is staggeringly hot, per usual. The supporting cast was stacked with faces from funny projects. And the comedy was actually comedy, not just a nod to a lighthearted tone. Five stars; would make out recklessly in an elevator again. - Emily Levin, VP Marketing
The Rivals of Amziah King
Few movies have brought me more summertime joy than The Rivals of Amziah King, a raucous, surprising, harrowing, and ultimately uplifting Oklahoma fable about a beekeeper, his former foster daughter, and the community which strengthens them even in the face of unexpected misfortune. McConaughey is simply phenomenal as a honey-selling musician who’s as comfortable at a potluck as he is with a banjo, and director Andrew Patterson has such an intrinsic feel for this environment that the film buzzes with warmth, humor, and grace. It’s really unlike anything else in theaters right now (or ever), and a month after seeing it, the thought of McConaughey’s backwoods iconoclast rocking out at a restaurant’s outdoor tables continues to put a smile on my face. - Nick Schager, Entertainment Critic
The QVC, Um…‘Blowout’
I wish I had sophisticated taste and could share the beautifully scripted show I most enjoyed, but my true best of summer was very much unscripted. Enter QVC’s Toni Brattin. Her live wig demonstration was by far the most entertaining wording slipup of the season. An internet star was born the moment she accidentally uttered the word “b---job” (instead of blowout). The genuine mortification she displayed while whispering “oh my god” with her back to camera reminded me that the internet can be so much more than doomscrolling. - Lindsay Speros, SVP Marketing
The Summer House Bombshell
It was the gasp heard round the newsroom when Amanda Batula and West Wilson dropped their Instagram announcement of their torrid romance (dare I say affair). As Ciara Miller was photographed in distress just down the street from the Daily Beast’s office, I felt it was my duty to binge all of Summer House just so I could gossip with my coworkers. Thus began my 10-season marathon of a show so divine, I struggle to understand how I could have spent a decade without it. - Elizabeth Brockway, Editorial Visuals Director
Captain Sandy Yawn on Below Deck: Mediterranean
BravoBelow Deck: Mediterranean
“The Best Thing I Watched This Summer” is hard to pick. I binge-watched—and laughed out loud—to Colin From Accounts and Loot, got my reality fix with The Real Housewives of Rhode Island and Below Deck Mediterranean, and was a little late to Dexter: Resurrection. But I was pleasantly surprised to see the series back to its best after the disastrous Dexter: New Blood. - Mathew Murphy, Managing Editor, Breaking News
The Wild Trailer for Wicker
If there are two words that can sell me on rushing to the cinema to watch a movie rather than wait for streaming, they are: Olivia Colman. (Yes, I was one of the 12 people who saw The Roses.) And now that the trailer for Wicker has dropped, I’ve learned that the prospect of watching Colman getting properly boned by a basket (yes, a basket) made of Alexander Skarsgård is the movie I have been waiting my whole life for but never knew I needed. Splinters be damned! (Apologies/you’re welcome to the many fellow Beasts I have shared this trailer with.) — Jenn Wood, Night News Editor
Opens in new windowThe Odyssey Memes
While cinephiles, classics majors, and people who have decidedly not seen the movie debate how good it is, there’s one thing we should all be able to agree on: The Odyssey was Olympus-tier meme fodder. From turning household chores into Homeric feats to reimagining the film’s most iconic scenes with zero budget and infinite imagination, the internet answered the muses’ call with a commitment that would make Christopher Nolan proud. Who needs 70mm when you have a smartphone? (And who needs Odysseus when we have Iguodala?) - Aazim Jafarey, Associate Director of Creative Strategy
Obsession
I’m utterly obsessed with Obsession (very much pun intended). I saw it a little late, so I’d already heard all the hype and thought there was no way it was actually going to be as good as it was—but boy do I love being wrong. Never did I expect us to get a horror movie in today’s political climate that truly showcases every woman’s worst fear: no bodily autonomy at all. And done on such a small budget? Mwuh. Master class. I’m definitely obsessed, although a friend of mine has seen it seven times so I guess not that obsessed. - Georgina DiNardo, Community Manager
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
The best thing I watched this summer so far has got to be the entirety of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. I’ve watched other seasons of Housewives before, but nothing beats this one. Just top tier reality TV. I’ve also been watching House of Stassi, and tbh, it’s so good because it isn’t filmed like any other reality show that I’ve seen. It almost feels more like a documentary. Aside from my disgusting obsession with reality TV and rewatching Glee for the seventh time, I also really enjoyed watching I Will Find You, which was just a hoot. So thrilling and you literally are sitting on the edge of your seat the entire time.- Rachel Passer, Senior Content Producer
Moonstruck, for the First Time
I just saw Moonstruck for the first time, even though it came out in 1987, and I’m hooked. Loretta Castorini (Cher), an Italian New Yorker, agrees to marry a dud of a guy before falling in love with his estranged younger brother, Ronny (Nicholas Cage). The story unfolds over a few days in a New York City winter; Cage is somehow always sweaty, and Cher’s hair is always perfect. Cher cries at the opera. Cage flips a few tables. Everyone looks gorgeous in sporadic moonlight. Watching a Christmas movie in August might seem like a weird call, but my apartment lacks central air and on-screen snow is necessary form of escapism. Seasons are just a state of mind. - Dana Herstadt, Editorial Intern, Obsessed
Jujutsu Kaisen
While this was released early in 2026, I didn’t get around to finishing the third season of Jujutsu Kaisen until summer. It’s an anime about a teenager named Yuji who swallows a finger, gets possessed by a powerful curse named Sukuna, and enrolls in a school for sorcerers who fight monstrous curses born from human negativity and trauma. Season 3 follows Yuji and his friends trying to free the strongest sorcerer in the world, and their teacher, Satoru Gojo. The animation is in a league of its own: My two favorites are the scene where Yuji meets Hakari (it uses rotoscoping!) and a fight scene that pays homage to Kill Bill. Even Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu is a fan. - Davon Singh, Creative Strategist
Pirates of the Caribbean Binge
I’m having a serious pirate obsession phase right now, so I’ve been binging all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and enjoying every second of them. Nothing will ever top the torturous yet lustful love story between Will and Elizabeth. And do I even need to mention just how hilarious Johnny Depp is as Jack Sparrow? From his one-liners to his drunken rum-fueled run, I love it all. - Tara Goldstein, Community Manager
Critical Role
Hands-down the best series this summer has been Critical Role’s newest campaign led by Brennan Lee Mulligan. It’s been great to see Matt Mercer have an opportunity to shine on the other side of the table. If you’re looking to get misty-eyed alongside a range of fallible heroes played by some of the greatest voice actors in the industry, there’s no better place to be. And if you start now, you won’t be too far behind when the campaign comes back from its summer break. - Benjy Wilson, Head of Social Media
More From The Daily Beast’s Obsessed
Oscar nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor told me about her role in the new series Lucky, her thoughts on the Will Smith slap, and a Denzel Washington story I’m still laughing about. Watch here.
How sex-fearing prudes what should have been a raucously fun and saucy new rom-com, One Night Only. Read more.
This Avengers-like mash-up series is everything Real Housewives fans could hope for. Read more.
What to Watch This Week
The End of Oak Street: The Year of Anne Hathaway rages strong. This time, with dinosaurs! (Now in theaters)
Coyote vs. Acme: Warner Bros. tried to kill this movie. Thank god they failed. It’s so fun. (Now in theaters)
The Rivals of Amziah King: It’s the McConaissance…assaince! (Now in theaters)
What to Skip This Week
Ricky Gervais Alley Cats: We’re exhausted. (Now on Netflix)
