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FRIENDS: THE REUNION

• By RICH ANDREW
• Photo Courtesy of HBO MAX

Creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman broke all records with their television hit that would ultimately go down in history as one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. And in the one where our friends said goodbye, Ross and Rachel finally affirmed their love. Monica and Chandler moved their newborns to the suburbs. Phoebe got hitched to Mike. And Joey took off on his own to act in LA. But unlike other recent reboots of popular ‘90s tv shows, to the dismay of many fans, this reunion special of Friends won’t be a newly scripted episode that picks up where these beloved besties left off. Instead, it will be a celebration event where cast mates Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer share a few more laughs together inside that iconic apartment and perky coffee shop. And if that wasn’t enough of a treat, joining in on all the fun will be some very special guests, featuring Reese Witherspoon, Tom Selleck, Maggie Wheeler, James Michael Tyler, Lady Gaga, Kit Harington, and David Beckham to name a few. The cast will reminisce, reenact some of their best lines, reveal behind-the-scenes footage that we’ve never seen, and test their own trivia of the people they brought to life for ten years who turned them into superstars.

 “Friends: The Reunion” streaming on HBO Max.

HALSTON

• By RICH ANDREW
• Photo Courtesy of NETFLIX

Executive producers Sharr White (Generation), Ian Brennan (Ratched), and Ryan Murphy (Pose) have adapted the novel Simply Halston by Steven Gaines into a juicy drama about the fiery American fashion designer. This limited series tracks Halston’s temperamental rise from unknown hat maker to renowned style mogul, which all started when millions of people saw the pillbox hat that he made for Jackie Kennedy. Halston was then able to license his name into a brand known for its luxury, even rivaling some of the biggest houses in the international fashion world. Along the way, he became besties with Liza Minnelli, fell in love with a hustler, and despite his unmanageable cocaine habit that cost him his inner circle, he managed to land one of the most lucrative deals designing for J.C. Penney. Donning the signature black turtleneck of this legend is the charismatic Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), who nails every one of Halston’s eccentric mannerisms, proving no role is too challenging for this consummate actor. With an all star cast that also features Rebecca Dayan (Tesla), David Pittu (The Plot Against America), Krysta Rodriguez (Daybreak), Sullivan Jones (The Gilded Age), Gian Franco Rodriguez (Dysthymia), Mary Beth Peil (Katy Keene), Jason Kravits (B Positive), Vera Farmiga (Hawkeye), and Bill Pullman (The Sinner), this show, just like its namesake, reaches the height of success.

“Halston” is now streaming on Netflix.

CRUEL SUMMER

• By Paige Petrone
• Photo Courtesy of FREEFORM/HULU

Summers in the 90s are only too memorable for me – showing my age here – and Cruel Summer (on Freeform to Hulu) really brought me back to those times. The show is set strangely and yet told very cleverly over three years – 1993, ‘94, and ’95, all leading up to the Fourth of July. Think Mean Girls and you will get an idea of the feel of Cruel Summer. It’s filled with accusations, revenge, and envy, and is super dark and twisty for a tween series. The story is the usual … sleepy town heats up after an abduction … nerdy girl wants to be cool and does something wrong … she lives with the consequences. Then of course there is high school peer pressure and young love, and so on, but what is the most fun about this series is all the over the top (very well done) 90s nostalgia. No cell phones and no internet – it’s interesting to be reminded how old-fashioned rumors were told … by talking, not posting! The fashion and styles are over the top and on point. Oh, and there is a Walkman! I loved mine.

Cruel Summer is produced by Jessica Biel (The Sinner), and stars Olivia Holt (Kickin’ It), Chiara Aurelia (Tell Me Your Secrets), Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy), Harley Quinn Smith (Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood), and Allius Barnes (pen15).

Now on Hulu, click here.

CRUELLA

• By QUENDRITH JOHNSON
• Photo Courtesy of DISNEY

Here’s why we need an origin story for what Glenn Close, producer on the new CRUELLA and a memorable Cruella de Vil herself, calls this breed of “Disney witch.” Absent the stunning transformation from 1970’s punk con artist to Evil world-wrecking clothier, Emma Stone’s “Estrella” would merely blaze to screens this month, as a wicked fashionista courtesy Mad Max: Fury Road genius costumer Jenny Beavan. Poof, the white wrap goes up in flames to reveal a siren’s fire-engine red frock and a whole lot of attitude. But wait, there’s more. In this Birds of Prey meets Joker revenge tale make-over, Stone peels back the eyelids of one Baroness Von Hellman, a vicious-delicious Emma Thompson, who backs her mad scheme to incorporate rare pelts. Demure Emma Stone cranks up the crazy, sets her scenes to broil with She-devil rage worthy of the finest Disney bad girls. Teamed up with Dickensian thieves in this CRUELLA directed by I, Tonya’s Craig Gillespie, Stone reupholsters not only the 101 Dalmatian puppy story of Pongo and Perdita, but gives Disney’s family image a kick in the head.

Otherwise? It’s once upon a time there was a novelist named Dodie Smith who actually owned Dalmatian dogs and wrote a book about same back in 1956. How far this litter of black-and-white fire truck dogs named after the Dalmatian Coast in Adriatic sea has come.

Visit here for more, if you dare for dog day afternoon May 28.