Certain Sips: The Weekend Brew
Five Hot Minutes ☕ March 22, 2025
A weekly cultural and political brief—Certain Sips: the Weekend Brew
America’s resemblance to anything even remotely close to a functioning, healthy democracy is over as we know it. It’s a wrap. Climate change is past the point of habitable return, and it’s only a matter of time until something far worse than COVID hobbles a species somehow less equipped to manage pandemics than we were five years ago.
But at least the TV is good.
In fact, this week gave us the best TV we’ve had in a long, long time. Everything’s in flames, but the content is fire.
Good Viewing
I don’t especially care for sports, but even a hater like me can appreciate the special spectacle of the annual NCAA March madness tournaments. Still amateur yet highly skilled and extremely competitive, the combination of human drama and elite athleticism in win-or-go-home college basketball makes for phenomenal viewing. The added layer of March Madness bracket challenge participation only intensifies the excitement of this past week’s opening round of televised championship basketball.
Then there’s Severance, Apple TV’s hilariously bizarre and devastating sci-fi thriller. The season two finale dropped Friday, and I can’s spoil it for you, but I will say: there is dancing. If you haven’t watched Severance, oh boy are you in for a treat. Both seasons are spectacular, and this week’s finale is one of the most moving and memorable episodes of television I have ever seen.
Severance Executive Producer and frequent Director Ben Stiller appeared Wednesday on the second weekly installment of John Mulaney’s delightful talk show Everyone’s Live with John Mulaney. I wrote about Mulaney and the first iteration of this show, a daily experiment which in its new incarnation exudes all the same magnificent juice as the first one. Like the Emmy-winning Severance, nothing like it exists on TV. Through all the discomfort, authentic awkwardness, self-deprecation and wacky bits, Everyone’s Live creates a sublime experience for the viewer. This clip from the season premier made me stand up and applaud in my own living room when I watched it last week:
I haven’t watched this season of White Lotus, but I hear very good things. I look forward to binging it soon, but the loyal weekly viewers are now halfway through the third season with this Sunday’s release of episode 5.
Yes, the world is going to hell in a handbasket. But at least we have every genre of fantastic television to enjoy while it burns. Enjoy it while it lasts, old sport. See you next time.
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Mulaney’s style is disturbingly and intriguingly unrecognizable. Each live performance is earnest and structured, but unscripted–loose and happy to be lost. Reveling in the nonchalant disorder and surrealism of the whole experience, a joyfully confused Jon Stewart marvels, “I feel like this entire show is a Banksy.”
Certain Sips: The Weekend Brew—Deep Cuts Edition
Incidentally death, loss, and legend are core themes of the second season of Severance, a dark and mysterious comedy executive produced and at times directed by the aforementioned Stiller. In his TV and podcast rounds to promote Season 2 of the show, Stiller has been asked about some of his earlier work, including Reality Bites and the beloved Zoolander. I have yet to hear any conversation cover the lesser known 1998 Stiller feature Zero Effect.
Gotta get this show on the road
I’m really here for the Tuesday Treats and an occasional Manifest Monday. 🙊