This Week:
- I think I love superheroes now?
- The Dolly cameo you should watch.
- The TV casting news that made me scream with delight.
- All thirst traps should be this funny.
- Justice for Stockard Channing.
Who’d Have Thought I’d Love This Show?
Turns out that all it takes to make superhero haters care about a new superhero show is to cast Kyle Chandler in the lead. Clear eyes. Full hearts. Kill aliens?
The truth is, I’m having a bit of an existential crisis. First with Spider-Man: Brand New Day and now with HBO’s DC Comics series Lanterns, I’ve been loving superhero movies and TV shows this summer. My whole stubborn identity was built around rolling my eyes and scoffing at this kind of pop culture, like a holier-than-thou cinephile elitist. Who am I anymore?
While I wait for my therapist to return my call, allow me to explain to you why Lanterns is so good that even people who’d never imagine they’d like a show like this are already addicted.
I’ve seen a lot of people describe Lanterns as a cross between True Detective and Watchmen, which, beyond a pretty lofty pedigree to live up to, is an insane-sounding mashup. But that really is an accurate way of labeling Lanterns’ secret sauce.
It is rife with comic-book lore and mythology that gets oh-so-close to crossing the line to insufferable and too silly to take seriously—and this show is so self-serious about it. But what saves it from alienating, pun intended, skeptical viewers, beyond the incredibly fun lead performances from Chandler and Aaron Pierre, is that, at its core, Lanterns is basically a classic HBO mystery series.
Sure, the mystery is what role aliens played in a mass murder in rural Rushville, Nebraska. But the show does a remarkable job of normalizing the extraterrestrialness of it all, so that you quickly resist giggling every time they’re mentioned.
Maybe I’m the fool for being a doubter. Of course, Lanterns pulls off the magic trick of setting a gripping detective series in the superhero world of the Green Lantern; Damon Lindelof is one of the co-creators. Damon Lindelof made Lost, The Leftovers, Watchmen, and Mrs. Davis. Damon Lindelof specializes in harnessing outrageous, ambitious concepts into gripping, grounded series. Damon Lindelof doesn’t make bad TV.
Kyle Chandler doesn’t make bad TV either, for that matter.
The Emmy-winning Friday Night Lights star plays Hal Jordan, known to the world as Green Lantern, the Air Force veteran who becomes an interstellar peacekeeper thanks to a green ring that grants him extraordinary powers. I hadn’t realized that I’ve been craving to see an actor like Chandler as a superhero.
It’s incredibly gratifying watching a gruff, cranky, and tired 60-year-old man replace the chiseled Adonises normally in one of these roles. Chandler’s Jordan has the wise-cracking charm and ego of any other dude in spandex, but he colors it with a world-weariness that fits the character as he approaches retirement.
To that end, he is training John Stewart, played by Aaron Pierre (proving that if you pay your dues suffering through the insanity of a thankless The Morning Show arc, the TV gods will reward you with a great part), to be his replacement. Yes, I did have to rewind to make sure I heard correctly when they said the person entrusted to save the world is named John Stewart.
John and Hal have a very Karate Kid Daniel/Mr. Miyagi relationship (I’m an old-ass millennial; these are my references). Hal’s unorthodox training methods and refusal to let John learn things until he’s ready frustrates John; it doesn’t help that Hal has no desire to endear himself to John either.
Almost everyone Hal encounters is put off by his hubris, understandably, but he’s hilarious for viewers. In fact, there’s a surprising amount of wit in Lanterns. Hal using one’s fondness for Kelly Clarkson as the litmus test for whether a suspect is an alien was my “you had me at hello” fall-in-love moment with this series.
Both of the episodes that have aired so far end on jaw-dropping cliffhanger twists, the kind of exhilarating TV moments that keep you awake much longer than you were planning on Sunday nights because you’re then full of adrenaline.
It’s always a pleasure when a TV series thwarts expectations and makes you confront your own perhaps unjustifiable biases. The best thing I can say about Lanterns is that it shamed me. Why should I assume that anything superhero-related would be “for me”? I contain multitudes, don’t I?
Did I expect to like the Kyle Chandler superhero space cops TV show? No. But now I can’t wait to find out what’s going to happen to my new alien friends (and enemies).
My Favorite Dolly Parton Cameo
There was no better treat than when Dolly Parton would randomly pop up on a TV show. My absolute favorite example of this is when she appeared on the CBS sitcom Designing Women. (A foundational text for me.)
She appeared as the “guardian movie star” for Charlene, played by Jean Smart. It’s New Year’s Eve 1989, and Charlene is about to give birth to her first child. She falls asleep and, in her dream, Dolly Parton appears. “As far as I’m concerned, Miss Parton, you’re the greatest hick who ever lived,” Charlene, who also grew up a poor country girl, fawns.
Dolly reveals to Charlene that her baby is going to be a girl, and it’s going to be born the next day, “the first day of the last decade of the entire 20th century.”
What follows is a really moving monologue from Dolly brimming with optimism and hope about what’s coming next: “Oh, it’s just so exciting, Charlene. Everything is changing. The whole world is just opening up. That young one could be anything.” She also delivers a faith-filled reassurance that Charlene’s daughter will be known by her loved ones who’ve passed away: “Everybody in your family that’s gone on before you, everybody you loved, you’ll see them in her eyes and her smile and the way she walks. And when she takes her first step and says her first words, they’ll be there.”
If you were a Designing Women fan, Dolly’s guardian angel-esque appearance was particularly profound. The characters’ commitment to faith and God, but also their complicated relationship to them in a changing world, was a remarkable part of the series. So it was fitting for Dolly to serve this pastoral role for Charlene.
Dolly was evangelical about her faith in a way that was inviting and inclusive, rather than ostracizing or damning. Whatever spirituality and faith meant to her didn’t have to mirror what it meant to you. Her mission was to help you nurture whatever it is, and trust it will lead you down your path. It’s just one more thing I’ve always admired about her.
Two last Dolly Parton thoughts for this week: Jane Fonda’s tribute was perfect, and, you know, Dolly would have actually loved this:
The Best Casting News Ever
Dolly is already up there collaborating with God to make things better down here. I know that because a casting miracle was just announced: Leah Remini is joining the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
The hilarious actress—King of Queens superfan coming out of the closet here—may now be best known for leaving Scientology and exposing the organization’s secrets in the Emmy-winning Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.
Even the most devout Bravo fans will admit that RHOBH could use a spark, and Andy Cohen just arrived with a bundle of dynamite with this Remini casting. You think Remini can go toe-to-toe with Kyle Richards and Dorit Kemsley? The woman is ending Scientology. Invitations to a book cover unveiling party are peanuts.
I can’t believe I get to live in a timeline where a Real Housewives franchise is going to find Shelly Miscavige.
Make More Funny Thirst Traps
Every time I learn that the reason someone has an amazing body is that they work out a lot, it’s devastating. Truly soul-crushing. You mean to tell me that ordering a salad instead of French fries as the side of my meal once isn’t going to magically give me a six-pack?
The harsh lesson came again after a summer of lusting over Office Romance, Ted Lasso, and Shrinking star Brett Goldstein, who detailed his exhausting-sounding fitness routine for Men’s Health magazine. Even if it was a bummer to find out you need to lift heavy weights to look like that, I was cheered up by his shirtless photo shoot, which featured what I think might be one of the funniest thirst traps I’ve ever seen—only making me love Goldstein more.
Opens in new windowJustice Must Be Served
This is so important to me.
Like most people, I’m a huge fan of the movie Grease, practically wearing out our family’s VHS tape of it growing up. That means for my entire lifetime, I’ve been bothered—nay, outraged—over the cartoon drawing of Stockard Channing as Rizzo that haunts the opening credits. Why did they do her so dirty?
The 82-year-old actress (holy hell, she looks great!) finally addressed the wrongdoing in an interview while promoting her return to the screen in Practical Magic 2. Even co-star Dianne Wiest was aghast on her behalf.
Opens in new windowMore From The Daily Beast’s Obsessed
My tribute to Dolly Parton, the last person who everyone—and I mean everyone—loved. Read more.
On Obsessed: The Podcast, RFK Jr.’s sister compares his incompetence to Boeing crashes. Watch here.
The breakout star of summer’s best TV show, Furious, spills all about her performance. Read more.
What to Watch This Week:
Dark Matter: I’m starting to think Apple TV may be the streamer that has the best shows. (Now on Apple TV)
Coyote vs. Acme: We owe it to all Looney Tunes to make this movie a hit. (Now in theaters)
Adults: The show may be the Gen Z version of Friends, and I am 100 percent endorsing that. (Now on FX and Hulu)
What to Skip This Week:
The Whisper Man: Even Robert De Niro sometimes makes bad movies. (Now on Netflix)
The Dog Stars: Ridley Scott, too! (Now in theaters)
