Best TV of 2022 (featuring Kelundra Smith)

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:31):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to Oh my Gosh. This is
the last episode of the year. This is our final
episode of and y'all know, I could not end the
year without bringing back my friend and a friend of
the podcast, playwright, theater critic journalist Colundra Smith is in

(00:54):
the living room with us. Y'all, y'all usten, Okay. I
invited Calundra the first time because I just think that
you're brilliant and we love talking TV and art and
stage things together. And then the second year, because this

(01:14):
this is our third year now I think right, Okay,
So the second year, I was like, that was fun.
I'm gonna ask Colundra again. And I really hadn't decided
what I was doing towards the end of the year
this year, and then Jesus and Mero had happened in
Colundra and I were tweeting to one another because I

(01:35):
was like, I was probably gonna ask Calendar anyways, but
now we have to come together during these difficult cultural times.
So I want to open up the episode right here.
We're gonna be talking about some of the best, maybe worst,
but mostly best TV things from two m But I

(02:00):
gotta begin with an ode to Jesus and Mero, because
I mean, how are you faring with the way things ended?
I'm not faring well at all. I'm not okay. I
just want to be vulnerable and share that I'm not
okay because I just don't know. Hey, we they made

(02:20):
us have to get through an election cycle without Jesus
and Marrow, which just feels disrespected. And and then it's like,
who is going to like actively take down Hotep, Twitter
and Instagram? Now you know what I mean? Like it

(02:40):
feels like and really, you know, not to be really
inappropriate in our conversation collundible? Also, who is going to
inappropriately mentioned anal sex as many times in a television
show as Miro did, like Soussio boys being I just

(03:02):
let me tell you how you know a show has
had such a vast cultural impact. I saw people of
all ages, races, you name it coming up with conspiracy
theories as to what may have happened that made Jesus
and Barrow go away. I ain't gonna lie. They sent
me down to Reddit thread because I was trying to

(03:23):
figure out on a on a money level, I was
trying to figure out how y'all mess up y'all money
like this because something like if two friends you know,
like say say if they was Amina and Calundra late
night show, it's like on on the very basis that
me and you getting money, and if you're getting showtime money,

(03:44):
it's like you get best, better money than a lot
of other money situations. Even if we don't rock, I
feel like we need to sit down and have a
meeting and be like how long are we gonna act
like we rock so we can get this money. I
don't fake the funk with you forever. I don't understand that.
I don't get it. I was like, some gotta be bad,

(04:06):
bad for y'all to ruin y'all's bags over this, Like
but like do you think it was? See, we're now
conspiracy theory because this is what happened. It also sent
me to following producers on Twitter figure out what happened
to Josh and Heaven. Okay, I'm out here about your two.
I'm out here too, Like maybe they was like, Julia,

(04:28):
what's going when I actually explain this? Explain it? So
I was like, is it that there's something personal between them?
Or is it the network? Like was the network putting
pressure on them to re for for math to show
in a certain way, and that didn't feel true to them,
and so they had creative differences. And you know, I

(04:51):
just it's they've left us with so many unanswered questions
and all, I mean, I guess I'm gonna have to
just find a chopped she used to comfort myself. I
don't know, I mean, and the way it left us
so abruptly, I still can't get over there. I'm like,
whatever beef happened, it wasn't like we was at the

(05:12):
end of a season. Was at the end of the season, Calindra,
and it just feels like it wasn't It felt like
they were about to go on a break, but not
the end of a season. And then they were basically like,
we ain't coming back from break. This is gonna be
the last episode. And I was like, did the Rihanna
baby shower? Do it? Like, I just don't know what

(05:35):
are the vibes like? And I'm sorry for those of
y'all that are like, what is y'all talking about. Jesus
and Meiro is a late night show and listen. If
you have never watched Jesus and Meiro, just gone go
back I know it's gonna it's gonna hurt your feelings
when you get to the end and you realize that
ain't no more but gone, and go back and watch
this because Jesus and Meiro have had their podcasts together,

(05:58):
the Bodega Boys, which parlayed into a deal with Vice
where they were initially a show on Vice and then
this late night show on Showtime, which some seasons was
once a week, and then some seasons it was twice
a week. I wish it would have been every day,
to be honest, it was one of the most unique

(06:19):
late night show formats number one and number two. We
know that late night historically has just been very white.
So to have these two men of color here giving
their very New York perspective, it was such a unique thing,
like the segments, and they had a New York Times

(06:43):
best selling a book called God Level Knowledge Darts, you know,
because the whole thing is that they met as teenagers
growing up in the Bronx. Disus is the child of
Jamaican immigrants, Marrow is the child of Dominican immigrants. They
meet in high school. Years later they are reunited. They

(07:05):
start just kind of doing these riots and commentary about
life and culture in the Bronx. But then what happens
is that they were so brilliantly made the Bronx and
microcosm of America and where we really get, you know,
the excellence of DeSUS and Marrow to me was in
the Pandemic when they had the little ticker tape that
would go across the beginning of every episode was like

(07:27):
commentary about what was going on. It is worth your
while to go back and just read the little ticker
tape that they did across those Zoom episodes because somebody
was writing comedic brilliance. Also, they did their own verses
as if it was like base proven verses versus Mozart,
and that was like utter and complete foolishness that like

(07:50):
was so delightful. And then on top of that z
Way show on Showtime as well, was a writer on
Jesus Meryl. So I'm just like, how did this happen?
I'm still I'm still clearly distressed. I'm distressed very much
like it feels. It feels like a gap. It was
always a gap in my life when they would be

(08:12):
like we're going on a break, or it would be like, oh,
the season is over and I would really be like disappointed,
and then something the one season when they went from
two episodes a week down to one, I was like,
what I'm supposed to do? What I'm supposed to do
that other night, Like it's a whole week of stuff
going by, Like what I'm I'm a miss out on
that I appreciated about the show. The characters that were
very much Bronx centric. The one man that would always

(08:36):
say take it ease, Oh yes, yes, what was this
remember his spain right now? I feel like it was
Joey or something. Oh my gosh. And then this anchor man,
good time, Tommy, good time, Yes, that's it. It was Tommy.
He would be on there doing we do It old school,

(08:56):
Oh my gosh. Like just that this anchor man that
they were just so obsessed with, Maurice Dubois and the news.
I don't even watch the news in the Bronx said,
I'm just like shout out to Maurice. Like the interview
that they did with David Letterman and the way that

(09:18):
I was like, there's a few moments that happened in
your life that I'm like, if that happens to you
and nothing else happens to you like you're all right,
like you good, like as a Late Nights Too Late
Night host David Letterman looking at them and being like,
this is what this the future right here, this the future,
and this is what Late Night supposed to be David Letterman.
David Letterman, I would have been like, you really can't

(09:39):
tell me anything about my life, Like David Letterman basically
looked at us and told us we genius. Is The
interview they did with Barack Obama President Barack Obama still
to this day, is one of the most wild things
AOC that interview. When AOC came out of the corner
time out your I was like like, and then made

(10:01):
them drinks at the bar she used to work at.
It was just like, what is happening here? And that
is truly the essence of that show. It was it
was like they would go find the wildest stuff that
nobody else was talking about, or they would get on
the streets and they would talk to the people and

(10:21):
get the real perspective about like what was happening. And
that's the thing no one else is truly like centering
working class people of color in anything, And that's what
they did and they didn't talk down to their audience.
They were like, no, these are people who like have

(10:42):
real opinions, what they feel and think matters, like this
is America, and I just I don't know. And then
we're losing travel Noah on the daily shows like it's
just the white out. I don't know we're supposed to
do now. I just I just wanna just hand to heart,
want to give a shout out to Jesus sa Meiro.
Obviously y'all listen to the podcast, and um, I just

(11:05):
I don't know what the beef was. I don't know
the details. I tried to read as much as I
could read, and I still don't know if it was
the truth. It's like, I really, on the one hand,
I want both of y'all to thrive, but I hope
one day y'all could squash this beef and selfishly come
back on television. But even if you don't come back

(11:26):
on television, I hope y'all squash this beef because this
was a friendship before it became a thing that we
got to consume, and y'all really like revolutionized something in television.
And if y'all can't come back and do it. I
hope y'all lay some groundwork. That's some other voices that
are picking up on people who are being left out

(11:47):
of the late night conversation can happen. But Jesus sa Meiro,
y'all are missed. I really, I don't know. I don't know, Calandra,
I still feel my feelings about this one. Oh same,
like I often on Sunday's Susio Sunday, Okay, Susio Sunday
and yours day. You know, I really I don't know.

(12:11):
It's it's it's a hole for me and no one
has filled it, and it makes me sad and I
just I don't know. It's there's no closure here. That's it.
It's like it's kind of like I still follow both
of them and seeing them do things separately, like it
makes my heart ache a little bit. Yes, the friendship

(12:33):
to me has to survive. I could be okay with
the show ending if the friendship survives, yeah, But if
I don't have the show or the friendship, I'm like, okay.
It's kind of like an Andrea three thousand moment, you know.
It's like I would love for Andrea three thousand to

(12:55):
be out here just making a gang of music and
performing and to run all over the place. How Beever,
it seems that Andrea three thousand has a happier life
when he just played his flute in the airport and
just meet up with random people at a coffee shop someplace.
So do I want his music? Yes, I would prefer
a healthy Andrea three thousand. And if a healthy Andre

(13:17):
three thousand just play the flute some places and he
don't never never make another record, then I'll settle for that.
And that is totally. I feel the same way about
Jesus and Merrow. It's like what I love to see
y'all at some point, like come back together and figure
some things out and redo some things. I would love
to see it. But more than that, I would just
love a little picture of y'all's timberlance together so that

(13:38):
we know y'all all right, y'all good with each other.
Weren't they supposed to have a line of tips? What
have they did? It was? Everything was short lived. Everything
coal even on because I'm not gonna be crying, but
just you know, Jesus Merro, y'all listening, We miss y'all. Okay,
let's talk about some happy news. I want to get

(13:58):
involved in best sitcom Calundra. I mean, are we drum roll?
Is it not Avid Elementary? I mean, I don't know
what the other option would be. Look, Quince it came
in and was like, I'm gonna take the most basic
thing that everybody in America does and like milk it

(14:21):
for as much content as possible, and she can, literally,
as far as I'm concerned, just get renewed for the
next fifteen seasons. Big, I'm in, I'm sold, I'm hooked,
I'm there. I mean, because okay, if I bring the
if I bring The Office into the Chat, which to
me is the last TV show that I remember watching

(14:44):
as an adult and at some point being like this
is going to be a classic. But I feel like
The Office was way more seasons in before that thought
was coming to me, like if I like when I
go back and rewatch The Office now, Like dang, this
was kind of this was kind of amazing from the beginning.
But from the beginning I was kind of like, man,

(15:05):
they're really just gonna do the show about people working
in the office. Like, I don't know, it was like
season two, season three before I was like, say what,
we got to make sure we home when the office
come on. Like I didn't feel like that right away.
Abbot Elementary really off of episode one had me like, yes, okay,
we're Wednesdays, We're Thursday. Is Tuesday? What day we're doing?
Because yes, Like immediately Quinta had me like, oh my gosh,

(15:27):
the ensemble, the teachers, the student. Yes, she had me
right away. Well, and she sucked millennials in because she
got Jesse from the parent trap who we loved with
Lindsay Lohan and what's his name, Jesse Tailland is it Williams? Yes, yes,

(15:49):
Chris got him, and then you got uh D from
Moitia Like she basically went and got our fades and
like was like, here's a workplace comedy that is going
to very smartly just dissect like the issues with public
school systems in America, but in a way that is lighthearted,

(16:12):
that's funny, And we're gonna centerr the most poorly dressed,
awkward black girl possible as our protagonists. And she ain't.
She's gonna have a boyfriend that is like YouTube rap
is like utterly useless. She has a most useless man.
If she was my friend, I would be like you know,

(16:33):
you know the skit that Janet Jackson did before what
have you done for me lately? When her girls was
talking to her. Her girls was like, but what has
he done for you lately? Like I would literally be
like that to Janine's character, I'd be like, Janine, what
do he do besides Millie Rock? What do he do

(16:54):
for you? Nothing? Terek is got to be And the
thing is, we didn't know this about to wreak from
the beginning, and that's part of the brilliance of the show.
We need to read. There's this outcry from the audience
of like, oh no, Janine's boyfriend is awful trash. It's true,

(17:18):
like we weren't ready, Like, she gotta be a teacher
on a budget, she gotta deal with all this bureaucracy
and all the terrible things going on just making teacher's
jobs hard. And her boyfriend she basically like supporting him.
He don't really do nothing for her child. I want

(17:52):
to thank Abbot Elementary for this low simmer of chemistry
between Janine and Gregory. Am I making it of that?
That is his name Gregory? Right? Okay? The chemistry between
the two of them at work, It is giving me

(18:12):
what I loved about Jim and Pam. It is giving
me the slow burn that made me just stick in
there for the office because really, it's like, after a while,
I was like, oh, snap, the Office is really about
these two people. Like I thought this was a comedy
about the people working in this corporate office, but it's

(18:33):
really about these two people, like falling in love. Well
they won't they. I love the way Quinta is giving
us these these little, these little moments of simmer. But
we are now in our second season and these two
people are still not together, and I'm gonna watch it. Colundra,
I'm gonna watch until they finally they got the kids.
We got to do something. We need something. But you

(18:55):
know what, She's built the characters in such a way
that she can drag this out. Because Gregory is an
oddball who hates food. Food. When he was in the
car hiding his little boring sandwiches he was eating, I cannot,
I can't. And then like Janine is like socially awkward

(19:21):
and oblivious to things, but also like super like bouncy
and all over the place optimists, even in the most
like not optimistic circumstances. Yes, yes, and then shout out
to Janelle James, who Honey made like the world's worst
principle the most endearing character. Yes, it's like it's almost

(19:46):
like it's not even a love to hate, because I
don't hate her. It's just like she fast her and
her her ability to choose to be inept fascinates me
because it's not like baby is not smart. It's not
like babe and understand the vibes of the job. It's
her choice to me, like it's TikTok for me and

(20:07):
not y'all jobs and what y'all need from me as
a boss. It's not that I'm choosing my TikTok hustle
over y'all. That's wild and they're setting us up for
the uttering, complete hot mess. That will be the moment
where Gregory chooses Janine and not Ava. Oh, she is

(20:27):
gonna be wrecked. She is gonna be like you choosing
this girl who can't even match a sweater with her skirt,
like you really, like you're really choosing her over all
this badass bitch, Like really it's her. Janine is giving
Laura Ingles wilder and Janine is somehow giving, like if

(20:47):
there was a rainbow or dots version of anthropology the store.
That is what Janine's character is giving us. And I
don't I've never seen that combination in until I looked
at her, like wow, this is wow. I don't even
know what call like it's gonna you know what it's

(21:08):
gonna be called. She's giving us sociology, but it's like
ge that's the store. It's like rainbow dots shoe warehouse sociology,
not cottage core for the broke. Okay, okay, I was like,

(21:36):
baby is mentioned these florals with these pastels and stripes.
I just and she's like four ten and the colors
don't coordinate, the clothes are wearing her. It's a mess.
It's a mess. And then of course we have um,
you know Melissa, who is always in leather leggings. It's like,

(21:59):
how are you like a mob boss teaching second grade?
And okay, okay, I was like, wait a minute, and
I I need I need to give I wish I
knew the actress's name. I'm gonna try to see if
I can find her name before and Walters Lisa and Walters.
And then this season she has a t a the

(22:20):
actress who is playing her t A who I first
encountered on the last season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and
she had me on Curb Your Enthusiasm. She had me like, Oh,
is this hilarious lady that I'm walked in to this
television show. So when they were like, you're about to
get a t A and they showed the little sneak

(22:42):
peek of the next episode, and I was like, that's
gonna be her t A. Yes, bring more hilarious people
into this situation. Let them interact together. Now, Melissa got
a t A that she gotta teach. She can't even
get just I'm adult to help. She got a teacher

(23:03):
how to be a t A? Whoa? Yes, Yes, love
to see it. I love to see it. Oh my gosh,
I'm gonna find her name before we hang up, y'all
because that girl had me holler. And I don't know,
are you a Curb your Enthusiasm person or does so?
I never. I was not in office or Curb your
Enthusiasm person. I was a parking recreation person. Okay, so

(23:26):
you know the Ben Leslie is the same as like
the Gregory you know, Janine or the Pam Jim You know,
and then I don't know what would be kind of
the other equivalent of Curb Your Enthusiasm always sunny is
probably a little too dark, but right, right, right, And
I was not a big Seinfeld fan, but I went

(23:48):
back to watch Curb Your Enthusiasm and was like, this
thing is hilarious. So now now Collins not have to
have a special group chat, but it's just the two
of us where I'm gonna be like, don't even watch
the whole show, just watch this episode so that she
can see this girl. Okay, her name is Kayla monte
Rosa Mahia. Kayla, I know you're listening to the podcast

(24:09):
since you're hilarious. Everything you do makes me laugh. Here
for it. Okay, let's also talk about Let's talk about
Cheryl because I feel like I am this Emmy moment
out here, this Emmy moment. She's our dream girl, and
that's just what it is. She's been our dream girl.

(24:32):
She remains our dream girl, like she walks as our
dream girl on this earth. The thing about Shirley Ralph
is that she's just been doing it for so long
and she's so seasoned and like so who she is
like and and then It comes through in the character Barbara,

(24:54):
who is also absurdly funny, but like in a different
kind of way. But Barbara, how are you gonna say
you're gonna start a garden in Kate Garden? Okay, the
episode where they have the bit where her character kept
confusing who was white and who was black. I thought

(25:16):
my stomach was gonna hurt from laughing. So, because the
wonderful part about this writing is I don't know about
other people because I'm black, but a lot of the
black people I know have at least a family member, yes,
or someone you are to church with. It's like somebody.
It's like people who are black have somebody else black
they know who always does a thing like this, that

(25:40):
like this some kind of names. They're gonna mix it up,
and you like Grandma, I don't think that when you're
saying that person name, like, I don't think that's who
you think it is. My person is my father. My
father thinks like when he says a person's name, I'm like,
it's the thing. You never correct them, but you know
who they're talking about us. It's like you have gotten

(26:01):
this person's name wrong. It's not who that is. My
father has killed many a celebrity. He swears they're all dead. Um,
just like that person is still alive. You're thinking about
the Robertson. I mean, it's like my mom at the
beginning of the pandemic talking about you know, I was
reading about this website where interracial couples to get on
that and they make it a lot of money people

(26:21):
just watching them eat food. Am I gonna tell my
mom that's only fans. I'm not gonna tell my mom
that she thinking about only fans, that that's why they're
watching interracial couples eat food. It's not a US interracial
only fans thing, a thing that apparently there are interracial

(26:42):
couples that have carved out a niche for themselves on
only fans where they are eating food. I don't know
if they're eating this food off of each other or
just eating food together. But it was like the way
my mom was describing it, I knew right away that
this is not a harmless this is not a family

(27:03):
oriented situation that we're doing. But I'm not gonna say
only fans. I'm not gonna say it. I don't want
we don't want that information out there with our parents no, no,
because I definitely don't want them to then explore what
it is and then be trying to like pass out
anointing oils. Okay, okay, extending their faith. Okay, no, no, okay.

(27:31):
You mentioned another sitcom that you love, and I was
very excited that you sent me this I want to
talk about. I love that for you. I need I
need to discuss it. Tell me the vibes, Calundra. So
first of all, let me just say shout out to
Jennifer Lewis hcause never man, will you come off for

(27:52):
seven seasons of a hit TV show on ABC, which
was Blackish, and then turn around on and give to
what is, to me some of the best acting she's
done on television with this ridiculous show on Showtime. I
love That for you. Let me just explain to the people,
because I feel like I Love That for You is

(28:13):
like one of those shows that's like in the back
corner of Showtime because like it got overshadowed by yellow jackets.
But like you need to get into this. So the
premise of this show is that this girl who had
juvenile cancer I used to watch the Home Shopping Network
to make herself feel better. And she her aspiration in
life was to be a host on the home shopping network.

(28:35):
Her dream comes true, but it don't come true in
the way that you're thinking. And that's all I'm gonna
say to that giveaway to wit the spoilers, but this
show is absolutely absurd. I hope they I think they
did get renewed, and that they get renewed. They can
also drag this out forever from period period. Sign me up. Okay, y'all.

(28:58):
First of all, y'all need to know that Colundral not
exchange notes before we do this these here episodes, because
I could literally talk to Colundra all day, okay, like
all day long. Like I could have an eight hour
episode talking to Collndra and I we would break to
eat and that's it. Okay, So we have to like
compare notes. So when I get her notes, I'm like, oh,
that's because then like I know, like I know the

(29:19):
shows that we both watched, and there will be some
shows that I'm like, oh, I didn't watch that one.
So I can't wait to hear like what Collndra is
gonna tell us. Listen, I love that for you. Y'all
need to get involved as soon as I saw Jennifer Lewis,
Molly Shannon, and Vanessa Bear. I was like, oh no,
not y'all putting all three of them on the same show. Huh, foolishness.

(29:43):
Molly Shannon is a nut, and like, I don't know
how she walks and exists in life being as ridiculous
as she is, because I'm like, this isn't acting. You
are this crazy? Y is Molly Shannon, and this show
is not being as like it's wacky, but not in

(30:03):
the way we're used to seeing her. It's a bit restrained. Yes,
it's like constrained wack job and and and it's like
you're what it's like a more of a slow unravel
of a character for her, where like you're watching her
character unraveled slowly You're like, oh, because because you're already
thinking to yourself with the premise of the show, people

(30:25):
who work at a home shopping like network, You're already like,
if your career is built on this, that that gives
us some things to know about you. Why if this
turned out to be your career. But the character that
Molly Shannon is playing, watching that thing unravel and get
like wilder and wild Yes, And I don't shout out

(30:48):
to the stylist whoever is doing wardrobe on that show Perfection.
Every single character has a distinct looked look anybody, Molly
Shannon send me a jacket. I listen, I love a
bold blazer. Please match with a different color bold pants.
They were not talking about people who are just wearing

(31:11):
a monochrome outfit here. These are magenta blazers with orange pants.
Like things are happening in this white Go Go Boot
said how it goes together really really well, like they are.
And then the chick who is supposed to be like
a spoof of a real housewife who got an HS

(31:33):
in show, I just I don't even know what's going
on with her and the character who I'm gonna call
Jerry Fallwell Jr. Yes, yes, yes, I thank you for
bringing that reference because it's there's an accuracy. Okay, yes, yes,

(31:55):
that wow. Like I saw the title and I was like, oh,
that's interesting, and then I was like, oh, they don't
mean like in the sense of like what is currently
slang to be like, oh I love that for you,
like I love that life for you that but also
with home shopping. I love this folk chinchilla blanket for

(32:16):
you as well. Y'all gotta check that one out because
that that that show there, it brought me a lot
of joy. And it is very wonderful to see Jennifer
Lewis in this like next, next move, next moment in
her career. It is wonderful to see her in that role. Honey, Okay,
unless she got a concubine shall okay the wait Okay,

(32:41):
before we move on, I need to speak to this
a little bit calundra, because I remember watching the first
few episodes of How To Get Away with Murder, for example,
and I was like, not Viola getting it like this? Okay,
this is me watching. Jennifer Lewis is getting it on

(33:03):
this show. Okay, she is getting some things she only
referred to, her character only referred to on black Ish.
She is getting it. It is happening on this show.
I also love that for her. Listen, I only aspire,
I can only aspire. Love that for you, Jennifer Lewis,
love that for you. Okay, let's talk about best drama.

(33:26):
You brought up a show that I haven't watched but
my husband watched. Can you discuss the merits of the Watcher? Okay,
So first of all, before I described The Watcher, let
me just say that I'm so happy Jennifer Coolidge is

(33:46):
having her Jennifer Coolidge is a special brand of human
being and I am just so happy to see her
having this like re emergence and getting all of these
like really interesting roles. So let's talk about the watch
The Watcher on Netflix based on a true story what yes, yes,

(34:09):
I don't think a true story. Okay, based on a
true story that happened in New Jersey. Um, And essentially
what we have is this family is moving into this
beautiful suburban New England home. They move in and the

(34:31):
neighborhood and the neighbors are not what they think. Huh.
There is a quote unquote historical society that is hell
bent on making sure that people don't make certain alterations
to these homes, which we find out is for very,

(34:53):
very terrifying, shady and a scrupulous rates. Wow. So all
I have to say is that dead bodies happen, secret
passageways happen, money laundering happens. It's it's all happening. This
me saying these things is not giving away anything but

(35:15):
what the core of the show is getting at is
the social conditions that people set up trying to like
kind of keep up with the Joneses, to keep appearances
or have a certain like protected suburban lifestyle and like
the cost of that, and it's real, real, But then

(35:36):
there's also this element of amina of like how policing
young women's body and like their purity is also mission
critical to like the preservation of like the white, suburban,
upper middle class nuclear family in a way that's like

(35:57):
very slick in there. I don't know the watcher is
it's something and it's it's a show that I could
watch again, m m and probably like pick up different
things each time you watched it. Mm hmm. If I
wasn't such a scarity cat, honey, you you, you might
would have got me. But I I looked at the

(36:18):
trailer for a little while and I was like, Nope,
that's nightmares for me. Nightmares for me. Let's talk about
a show that we both watched. We have talked a
little bit about it, but now we are second season
Best Drama for US P Valley, Oh down in the Valley,

(36:38):
when the girls getting I just almost want to write
a love letter to this show. I let it show
so much Collora, You and I spoke about this because
we both were into the first season. We were both
so excited to see this show also get renewed for
a second season. We are two seasons deep. What were

(37:00):
your thoughts about season two of P Valley seeing where
these characters developed? Tell tell me the vibes. So first
of all, let me just say shout out to creator
Tor Hall. Big facts. Yes, I actually shameless plug did
a profile of Tory Hall for the Bitter Southerner So

(37:21):
love it Owner magazine. We're gonna put it in the
show notes. Y'all gonna have a link to that article
in the show notes. Come on, journalists, Colndra Smithy. And
for those who were in Atlanta, know that you will
be able to see The Hot Wind King, which is
the play that is kind of a spinoff of P

(37:41):
Valley at the Alliance Theater in On. You want to
give us the tips and the tea today, Yes, yes, yes,
So if you were in Atlanta, look for The Hot
Wind King because The Hot Wind King is kind of
like a little bit of a spinoff of P Valley
and it's the play version. So anyway, talking about second

(38:03):
season of P Valley, Tori went places I didn't expect.
When you open the season with a makeshift strip club
car wash, I'm already listen, not ready, because because y'all,
some of y'all are not from the South. I know
there are strip clubs everywhere, but ain't no strip club

(38:26):
that strip club like the strip club in the South.
So to have this season open with how are strip
clubs in the South surviving the pandemic? Had me like wow, Wow, Yes,
continue a strip club car wash where you could also
get a tent piece wing dusted with THHC. Like so

(38:49):
much there, Let's let's break it down. So to then
have you know that, I will say the characters that
most fascinated me this season, we're Little Murder and Miss
Mississippi because we see Mississippi. First of all, the episode
they gave her, which I think is called Cinderella or

(39:11):
something like that, was like a Cinderella story or something.
The episode they gave her that gives us a background
of who she is and how she ended up in
that abusive relationship was just so well crafted. And then
we see her really have to figure out a way
out of this situation that like dancing can't get her
out of, and I think that's such a pointed moments,
like the pandemic and the situation and how it exacerbated

(39:33):
situations for people in certain um like I guess in
certain social socioeconomic situations, like it's like, yeah, you money
can't get you out of this necessarily, like it's something
more to it. And then with Little Murder, same thing
in a situation where it's like money can't necessarily get

(39:53):
you out of this floss and no matter what you do,
Like there's some real stuff going on here. The surp rise,
boyfriend love a brother I don't even know, Like I
just there there was a lot of layers to that
plot that, like I want to give a shout out
to Katri and the p Valley team for giving us

(40:16):
these layers of relationships between men and where a relationship
can can be romantic between men and also have this
very protective brother friend kind of. I mean the layers
of that relationship between Little Murder and his friend who

(40:36):
also then became a security I'm about to call him Diamond,
but that's that's somebody else. Why am I making up
name the security for the club? But what was his name? Batty?
Is am I making that up. Why can't I remember
his name? Child? They had a nickname they called him
in the show, though I think his government name was

(41:00):
the character's government name was that is, but they had
a nickname. They called him Little Murder's friend that he
knew from prison who had then come out of prison.
As Little Murder was going on tour, they were asking
him to be you okay, okay, Like the layers of
that relationship was just touching haunting. I feel like the

(41:26):
way could Tory plays around with the idea of what
can be haunting in this show that that is not
just the way we think of a horror film or
a scary movie. It's also the relationships that are gone away.

(41:47):
It's a grief that can be haunting. It's the life
we thought we were going to have and now we
don't have that life. I mean, there's just some way
she layered that that were just masterful to me. Oh yeah,
she was trying to be on her Tony Morrison honestly
um with that and then also shout out to the
streets Woodbine, Hey, I'm chuck a Lisa being a pastor

(42:10):
or hole. I've never seen anything like it. I mean,
the way she gave those people the sermon, and that's
where Conny I was for a split second collundry, and
you know, I don't think on to church like that,
but for a split second, I was like, is that
my pastard? Could I get a pastord that do that?
I want? I could kind of be into it. A
black woman who's gonna like, here's a little bit about Jesus,

(42:31):
here's a little twist of my booty cheek. It's just
something about those two things that really just came together
for me on a parade float. Let's let's give time,
place and manner, please. I want to give a special
shout out to Gayl Bean playing let in this show.

(42:56):
Many of you that are Insecure watchers remember her from
Insecure as well, right she was her She had a
character that was dating Lawrence and Insecure Tasha I think
may have been her name, and Insecure Gayl Being been
active for a long time, honey, So I'm very excited
to see Gayle Being getting her due out here. But
this the way she is playing Roulette on this show.

(43:19):
These gum pops that are happening when gum and she
is just popping gum and telling the people what they
need to know. I just I really am enjoying her
character and where her character is going to become. I
like it. I like to see it and then talk
about haunting her and is it what's the other girl whisper? Yes,

(43:39):
because it's kind of like day like a devil angel
kind of is the angel, but it is the devil creepy.
It's it's all the they're creepy together, but like in
a good way. I was very I was very like
a little bit afraid, but also fascinated, very fascinated. I'm

(44:00):
very excited y'all to see that p Valley was renewed
for a third season. What are your thoughts thinking about
what could be on this third season, Calundra, we know
that the actress playing Autumn Night is not returning, so
I'm curious. I'm curious about I'm just curious about quite
a few things. What can do with all of the

(44:23):
things that were left undone at the end of season two?
Mm hmm, Well, I where Katri has me a little puzzled,
but I'm excited about it is I don't know what
then becomes the thing that keeps them together because she
left us in a place where everything is splintering, and

(44:46):
so I don't know. So I think there's a possibility
that we have a lot of the same characters but
in a new place or in new circumstances. And so
that's exciting because it almost feels like the show was
starting over in a lot of ways. So we don't
get exhausted with the storyline, because there are a lot
of things that were left undone that needs to be

(45:08):
tied up, Like we don't know what happens to Mississippi.
We don't know how Mercedes gonna get out of this
situation with the coach and his wife's good lord, her daughter.
We don't know how that situation is gonna end up.
We don't know how Uncle Clifford and a little murder,
you know, resolve or failed to resolve, you know. We
just there's so many unknowns. But also the Pink is

(45:31):
still in jeopardy, right right, So I don't know. I
don't know. I think the casino opening represents a whole
different possibility, and it's kind of like it's not it's
not reminding me completely of The Wire, but of the

(45:51):
fact that as the seasons of The Wire went on,
there were all of these layers of corruption right that
in the wire It's like, okay, here we have corner
boys and we see you know, drugs. Okay, well, now
we see the police are also corrupt. But now we
see the government it's also corrupt. Right, So I'm interested
to see now that we've got this character who has

(46:13):
become the mayor of Chuck Alisa, and we have the
people who are fighting behind the scenes to see the
casino happen. Very curious to see how far up are
we about to see this corruption? How far are we
about to see what's light and what's dark and the
different ways you can define that as well. You know

(46:34):
it's gonna be fascinating. Coltore, give it to the people.
Give it to the people. Coltri Home, Okay, I've been
waiting to discuss this. We are talking about best new
TV series, Calundra. I want the Bear to enter the
chat right now because I have been waiting to discuss
this with you. You know that a girl is like

(46:57):
an amateur foodie in her life. You know, a girl
is involved in that. So I'm always here for a
foodie type of show. But the Bear, it just did
even more. It was just very sumptuous of a watch
for me, discuss your thoughts about the Bear, where you
surprised by it. Tell me the things The Bear to

(47:19):
me is stressful. I I've never felt such tension and
stress watching a show probably sense scandal like The Bear
because because what they have so brilliantly done is they
capture the pace of what it is to work in
the kitchen at a fast casual restaurant that's in the

(47:40):
middle of a rush, and but also it's a mom
and pop type place where there are there's family drama,
there's corruption, they're dealing with a pandemic. How do we
survive monetarily? There there's splinter family relationships, There's all these
things happening, and everybody has something at stake with the
bible of this restaurant, and so it just throws you in.

(48:05):
That's why it reminded me of theater in so many ways.
I've never seen a TV show that literally like they
drops you in and you feel like you are standing
in the kitchen in the middle of this restaurant and
you have your useless you don't know, you want to help,
but you can't. I mean, you trying to pick up
a skillet or chopping onion and there is nothing. And
they deal with generational differences, they deal with class differences,

(48:30):
they deal with educational differences, like and it's it's so
Chicago in a lot of ways, and my my dad
is from Chicago, you know, and so there are parts
of it that are so like, yeah, only this could
only be Chicago for me. Oof, Like I think you
described it so well that that feeling, in some ways

(48:53):
did feel like how a play can feel, because so
much of the show is in this tight little space
in this kitchen, whereas in a lot of TV shows
that were, you know, about a restaurant, there's all these
other places to go, and they really kept you for
a lot of the show sort of feeling stuck, as
we find some of the characters feeling stuck as well.

(49:15):
I was not. I was I was late to the
bear on a level, but I was seeing people tweet
about it, and I was seeing people tweet about how
they dated guys that were like the central character, and
I couldn't tell if that was complimentary or that was like,
this ain't the type of man. They were like, I

(49:36):
have dated this kind of chef, bro, and this ain't
what you want. So I was like watching them, you know,
and I was like, let me go check out this show.
Then I want to shout out the character Sydney being
played by io at a Berry. Um if there was
gonna be a spinoff, let it follow her because is

(50:00):
these bids this skin? I just everything. Yeah, her character totally.
I didn't see her coming. I did not see her coming.
Didn't no, very unexpected. It was it was like unexpected
to see her character, unexpected what world her character is

(50:22):
coming from into the world of this sort of mom
and pop show. And for those of you that have
not checked out The Bear, The Bear, I mean, tell
me if I get this right, Colindra, because sometimes I'll
be embellishing, okay, But basically to me, The Bear is
about a restaurant that was owned by a brother who
when he died, he left the restaurant to his younger brother.

(50:48):
But there was tension in that leaving because of how
the brother died, and there was also tension because the
little brother was never really welcomed in the restaurant at
like when the brother was alive. So it's a big
surprise that the brother would leave the restaurant to him.
But here in the little brother has become a bit

(51:09):
of a somebody in the food world. He is out
here with the Aoli. He is. He is of the
Aoli and not of the Mayo. Y'all know the vibes
if you're a foodie person. Okay, he is a person
who is talking about the Aoli, not the Mayo. His
brother got Chicago is like Chicago's down home food kind

(51:32):
of restaurant. So to see this younger brother coming home,
but kind of unwillingly coming home because he has to
under some sad circumstances and now meeting up against the
people who have been there holding down the restaurant all along,
and all that ensues from there. I mean, it was

(51:54):
a fascinating watch. And you know, as much of as
much as car me. The cidentral character, right, is a
questionable character. I will say that if I was in
that situation, the brother trying to bake the chocolate cake
in the back would have sent me over there. Right, Okay,

(52:14):
you serve Itagian beef. What are you doing? What you're
doing making tool? We don't need chocolate tool here, we
need braised beef. My guy, period, he put it sent
me over the edge. Good night, good night. Although Marcus
is a little tender heart, you know, and Marcus and

(52:36):
Sydney's characters a little you know. I don't know, I
don't know what they're trying to give us for season two,
but you know there there, you know, they had a
couple of moments that I was like, what's going on
here between y'all? What else is cooking? M No? I like,
what else is cooking? I like I did that? We
want to know. Okay, talk to me about our next

(53:00):
television show from Sa Ray. We have to discuss rap.
You know, if Instagram was a TV show, That's what
I'm trying to see. Is this a compliment colatr? Do

(53:24):
we like it? What are the vibes? Well? But that's
the thing about the show. It's like I think Issa
is simultaneously like celebrating an element of black culture and
also completely satirizing it and like poking fun of it

(53:46):
because she is using Miami and like this kind of
like hustle to get on as like a way of
showing how people spend more trying, more time trying to
like hustle and get around a thing than actually becoming

(54:06):
and doing the thing. But also like it's just ridiculous,
like Shanna as a protagonist is an absurd idea because
you've got this girl in her early thirties who is
a superwoke SoundCloud wrapper with five followers who circle, who

(54:29):
certainly sounds like she did spoken word at one time.
Like that was immediately the vibes. I felt like, oh,
this is a slam poet. I got it, okay, absolutely
queen of the open mic. And like she teams up
with basically a young Miami type lay very brilliantly by

(54:53):
chameleon Um, and they decide they're gonna get on and
become this rap duo. But like it really they havn't
to then question along the way, how much of themselves
they're willing to give up, how much of themselves are
willing to compromise to make it, and like, what are

(55:17):
they even aiming for to begin with? It's it's it's
very very it's smart, which we expect from Issa, but
also I think in a lot of ways, it's like
a takedown of Instagram culture. Hu. Now see, Calundra, you
don't brought a point out right there. You don't brought
a point out because I didn't even think about that.
But yes, yes, Calundra, and another thing I felt. I

(55:39):
felt this a little bit watching Insecure, that I knew
that the generation of black women that Issa was writing
about wasn't my generation. But I loved getting that, like
I feel like I'm sort of the tail end of
Gen X, right, And so I loved watching Insecure and thinking, oh,
these were similar thing things that maybe my girlfriends and

(56:01):
I were talking about when that was our phase of life.
But then also being like, oh, these things we were
talking about because that wasn't a thing we experienced, because
that is the difference, you know, in the generation. I
felt that even I felt even more separation watching Rap Shit.
Immediately felt like some things that's going on here that

(56:22):
I just know nothing about, let me watch and find out.
And this is a show that is loosely based on
the story of the City Girls, like the hip hop
group the City Girls, Right. So I was just fascinated.
I'm fascinated watching rap Shit, Like wow, okay, that's how
those lyrics got like that girl hit okay. As soon

(56:50):
as they did, I I around the house. We'll hit it,
so ty subdues, asky, please, we don't know where the
m is on the end, it's lost. You don't know.
It's a dudes asking that's it. That's it. I don't
know where the m is at, y'all ask ask, ask
your mama where the m is at? We don't know? Okay, Yes,

(57:11):
there are some good one liners too in that show,
like when she's on her little like Instagram or TikTok
videos and she's like, well, you a five star bitch,
you make them pay for every star. I was like,
it's not it's not me watching like that's right, girl,
Every star, every star, honey, every star. Okay, my last category.

(57:41):
We have to talk about this because you and I
both love a good old docuseries. Honey, Yes, I need
you to speak to me about Victorious Secret Angel and
Demons docuseries. So you know, as our call him my
love a scam you Mentory, Come on, Collin Jo bring

(58:03):
it back to the people. And there's no greater scam
than capitalism. And we wish she was telling a lie,
but it's the truth, Victoria's Secret Angels and Demons. If

(58:24):
you don't watch not but one scam, you Mentory, this
is the one. It's top tier. It might have if
we're ranking, if I'm if I'm thinking about the rankings
from last year. It may almost edge out Little Rich
almost for me, I can feel it though, I can
feel you uh huh, because the let me let me

(58:46):
just tell you my own personal experience with this. So
if you haven't seen Victoria's Secret Angels and Demons, it
is about Lex Westler, who is the man who acquired
Victoria's Secret. He's the he's the man who is at

(59:08):
the top of limited brands. Limited brands is Victoria's Secret
bath and body Works, and it was on Rebundell. So
what happens in this show is we see how the
Victoria's Secret fashion shows and the photo shoots and that
brand almost became like, um, a cover up for sexual

(59:34):
assault and sexual harassment with what was happening with the
models on these sets, and how all of these different
millionaires and billionaires include well I won't say any names
are like involved in this, but it's on well known
names on the list. There so well known names on
the list. It's some very Epstein adjacent stuff happening. So anyway, um,

(59:57):
what's so wild about this, Amana is what you may
not know about me is that there was a period
of time where I worked for Bathroom body Works and
I will tell you that when you work for Bathroom
when I worked for Bathroom body Works, this was about
ten years ago. The narrative about who Victoria was, and

(01:00:20):
the narrative about how this small town couple started this
lingerie shop for all women and then they got discovered
and it made Victoria this wealthy woman. And isn't this
so amazing? They told us that story. It's in the
on boarding. They don't tell you that, like, none of

(01:00:43):
this is true, all lies. There is no Victoria secret.
That's the secret. That's the secret, a Victoria like. It's
ingrained in the way they did the employee all boarding.
So as I'm watching this unfold, I'm like, hold up now, okay,

(01:01:07):
we're thinking we're working for a small business that got
acquired by a large corporation that has then expanded to
become a global brand, when in fact it's all just
made up. It's a brand narrative gone haywire. That's it.

(01:01:27):
That's it, and that's all I mean. I have I
have really enjoyed these brand takedowns, these brand takedown documentaries.
I want to give a special shout out as well
to White Hot The Rise and Fall of Abercrumbie and Fitch,
because you can't, like, you can't watch the Victoria's Secret
documentary without also sort of placing it in this historical

(01:01:51):
context of what was happening in the era. What were
the messages that women were being given at women of
different cultures and size, and like there's all these layers
there that you then place the messages of Victoria's Secret
into their I mean, we are currently watching Victoria's Secret,

(01:02:13):
honestly try to play catch up running behind Savage Finty
and Rihanna now, because Savage Finty was one of the
first brands to really push for that kind of true inclusion, right.
So to see this takedown of Abercrombie and Fitch, a
store that I passed by in the mall all the
time growing up, and was like, I hope those white

(01:02:34):
people enjoy that store. I hope they have a good
time in there, but that just seemed like a place
I should not go. I've never went in Abercromi and
fits like it's it's so interesting that you mentioned that,
because even as a kid, as a teenager, it was
like I would pass by it in that strong, horrible
colorI child, and it was I, but I always knew

(01:02:59):
I wasn't welcome, like it wasn't for me. So interesting
that message was very strong. So yes, shout out to
these docuseries. Oh my gosh, Colenda, talk to you forever
and ever. Thank you so much, Callundra for coming on
and sharing your thoughts with the people. I know that
you are doing a lot of amazing things. Tell the
people where can they find you? What's next for Calundra? What?

(01:03:23):
What are you? What are you out here giving the
people in the arts right now? Thank you so much
for having me. This is always so much fun. And uh,
they can find me. I'm Colundra Smith K E l
U N d r A last name Smith. I'm the
only one out there. If you find it is me.
If you find somebody else, that's a lie. So they

(01:03:44):
can find me at collundra dot com. On my website,
I'm on Instagram, I'm on Twitter. I'm not leaving. I
must witness the fall of Twitter in real time because
somebody must document it. Um on LinkedIn and all those things.
Um and you can see if you look at my
website and look at my social you'll see me post

(01:04:05):
about articles that I have coming out as well as
when my plays will have readings and shows. I've got
some things that are going on that i can't talk
about right now, but if you go to my website,
you'll be able to see when I announce it. Yes, y'all,
make sure I'll go to the socials follow Colundra there,
and we will make sure we link to some articles
as well so that people can click on those in

(01:04:26):
the show notes. Honey, Colundra, thank you so much, You're
the best. Thank You with Amina Brown is produced by

(01:04:46):
Matt Owen for Sober Fee Productions as a part of
the Seneca Women Podcast Network in partnership with I Heart Radio.
Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe, rate, and
review the podcast.