Television

Every now and then a new series comes along that reminds me why I love television. Ride or Die is one of those shows. From the very first episode, I was hooked—not just by the action or the mystery, but by the friendship at the center of it all.

Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer (The Help) and Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) are absolutely brilliant together. One is living what appears to be a normal married life, while the other is hiding an unbelievable secret—she’s an assassin. That twist alone is enough to get you watching, but it’s everything that follows that really makes this series shine.

The series also looks fantastic. Whether it’s elegant parties, political events, beautiful homes or high-stakes action sequences, every scene feels cinematic. There’s a real sense of style without it ever overshadowing the story. The supporting cast keeps adding new twists, making it hard to know who to trust from one episode to the next.

What I enjoyed most, though, is that beneath all the mystery, suspense and action is a story about friendship. It’s about standing by someone when life takes an unexpected turn, discovering who you really are, and realizing that the people closest to you may still have secrets waiting to be revealed.

Ride or Die is smart, funny, suspenseful and incredibly entertaining.

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The Five-Star Weekend is a new drama series streaming exclusively on Peacock about a newly widowed food blogger who treats her friends to an elaborate weekend of beautiful scenery and much-needed girl time.

Taking place on Nantucket, the eight-episode series is an adaptation of the 2023 novel by author Elin Hilderbrand (The Perfect Couple). During the trip, the women rediscover the meaning of friendship and overcome their personal struggles as secrets are revealed.

Hollis, played by Jennifer Garner (13 Going on 30, Alias), invites her friends from various stages of her life to spend the weekend: Tatum is her best friend from childhood; Dru-Ann is her former roommate from college; Brooke is from her “prime of life” as they raised their children together; and Gigi is a woman Hollis met online through her blog.

In addition to Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild-winning actress Garner, The Five-Star Weekend stars Chloë Sevigny (Feud: Capote vs. the Swans), Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians, Don’t Worry Darling), Regina Hall (Scary Movie) and D’Arcy Carden (A League of Their Own).

“Having a book as a backstory… for an adaptation or for a job… fills in the blanks, because… a book has time to expand more and be more internal, so you… get to hear what the character’s inner monologue is as you’re playing it,” Garner has said of her role in the series, adding, “I take the author’s intentions to heart and try to be really respectful of them.”

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When I heard about the new Ryan Murphy series The Shards, based on the delicious Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same name, I was essentially foaming at the mouth.

Ellis’s novel The Shards focuses on the serial killer craze of the 80s from the perspective of a privileged LA private-school teen. The story twists, turns, and doubles back on itself until the reader isn’t sure who to believe. And most intriguingly, it’s told from the perspective of a teenage protagonist named Bret Easton Ellis.

Yes, that’s right; the story is fundamentally, undeniably based on Ellis’s own experience. The author himself grew up attending a private school (Buckley, for those in the know) in Los Angeles in the 80s, and many events have been theorized to be drawn from his own life. This messy, personal aspect makes the reading experience all the more juicy, and we can hope that the same will be true of the series.

The story focuses on a serial killer called “The Trawler” (loosely based on the real-life West Side Rapist) who targets teens in the Hollywood Hills. Bret begins to suspect new classmate Robert Mallory of being involved in the killings, but his theories quickly grow out of control as their community is threatened.

The Shards premieres on Hulu/FX on August 5th. Bring your popcorn, bring your fake blood… just don’t bring your knives.

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If Heated Rivalry awakened a love of hockey in you, you might find your next fix in Prime Video’s Off Campus, streaming now.

Off Campus is based on the successful Elle Kennedy series of the same name. If you’re not familiar with how a hockey romance series works, it usually follows members of the same team (or league) in their individual journeys to love. Kennedy has five books published under the Off Campus line, with two spinoff series, Briar U and the Campus Diaries. If you’re a newcomer to the Kennedyverse (or to interconnected romance novels in general), don’t worry; it’s not hard to pick up. As long as you pick your favorite trope and pair of protagonists, you’re set, and can expect to keep seeing them show up throughout the novels as they continue.

The streaming series has proven to be every bit as addictive as the books, landing with a splashy 8.2 average rating on IMDb. Season 1 follows Garrett and Hannah, captain of the Briar Hawks and a music major who agrees to tutor him when his grades slip in exchange for a fake-dating scheme, with added focus on Dean and Allie, the philandering playboy of the hockey team and a theatre major who begin to become “casually” involved after Allie’s breakup. Season 2, focused entirely on Dean and Allie, has already been announced.

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