Playing House & more
As the lead role in the consistently wonderful TV series Jane the Virgin, Gina Rodriguez is a star, infusing confidence, vulnerability and humor into the show's titular character. Before landing a role on The CW, Gina (a Chicago-native!) appeared in a number of TV shows and films, including a re-occurring role on the soap The Bold and the Beautiful and the movie Filly Brown. But she's best known for the role of Jane -- she was the third person to audition for the part, and she nailed it. Jane the Virgin is based on a Venezuelan telenovela series, and it tells the story of a woman, who is accidentally artificially inseminated. The show is filled with romance, heart and laughter. Jane is a relatable perfectionist, who thought she had everything in her life together. Throughout the series you watch her struggle as things don't go as planned, but she strives to do the right thing and achieve her dream of becoming a romance writer. Her relationship with her mom and her grandma is naturally filled with ups and downs, but the three Villanueva women are always there for each other and often have heart-to-hearts sitting side-by-side on their front porch. The writing, supporting cast and music are all amazing, but the show would be nothing without Gina's take on Jane. On Friday, she'll make her directorial debut when she helms season four, episode 10 of the series. In the weeks leading up to this episode it's been heartwarming to watch the cast get equally excited for her to take this step. Gina she said she hopes this will encourage other women to ask about directing as well; she credits Eva Longoria, who directed an episode during season three, and Jane showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman for inspiring her to ask for this opportunity for herself. While it seems likely that the show will be wrapping up within the next year or so, Gina is already preparing for her future. She started her own production company: I Can and I Will Productions (the name is explained in her 2015 Golden Globes speech), where she is working on a TV project for CBS and one for The CW. Both shows tell stories related to immigration. Gina is also appearing in a number of films that will be released in 2018 and she's voicing Carmen Sandiego in the upcoming Netflix series. While most red carpet interviews are filled with empty banter (obviously I still love to watch them though), Gina took her moment at this year's SAG Awards to advocate for increased representation of Latinos on the big screen and penned an essay for Variety echoing these thoughts. While I'll of course be sad when Jane comes to an end, I know Gina will be off to even bigger and better things.
Bonus Pick: If you're looking for more about Jane... The series' narrator, voiced by Anthony Mendez, ties the whole show together with his hilarious commentary. NPR did a wonderful story about him and his process back in 2016. Another look at the series can be found in this AV Club interview, which focuses on showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman, the origins of Jane, the casting journey and the process of creating the show's "feel" with the right music, costuming, sets and lighting.
As Seen on TV
I'm not a fan of the month of January. It's filled with the post-holiday blues, and weather-wise, it tends to freeze up without any actual snow. I've noticed myself and a number of friends and family enter into a January-funk. But fear not! It's February now, and if you need something to pull yourself out of the winter doldrums, I have just the cure. Playing House is a show created by hilarious duo (and real-life best friends) Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair. It aired for three seasons on the USA Network (where you can watch it now), before it ended late last year. I could write about how the show was cancelled too soon, how it would have thrived on another network or how it didn't get the media buzz it deserved, but I won't do that. Instead, I'll let you come to that conclusion on your own as you discover this treasure of a series. Lennon and Jessica star as Maggie and Emma, respectively, two best friends who come together to help raise Maggie's baby, when she discovers her husband is having an affair. If you watch or read any interview with the pair, you can tell that the show basically takes their friendship and broadcasts it on-screen. Their banter is so natural and feels like conversations that I have with my best friends. Maggie and Emma go through tough times too: Maggie's pregnancy and doubts about being a mother, Emma's strained relationship with her own mom, failed romances and Emma's breast cancer in season three (a storyline based on Jessica's own diagnosis -- and handled in a way that feels so true to life), but they tackle every situation together and with a sense of humor. Because they're hilarious. It's hard to find a show written and created by women, where they are front-and-center and get to earn the big laughs. The series also boasts a talented supporting cast, with MVPs Keegan-Michael Key and Lindsay Sloane and Zach Woods. I know, I know, does this mean you have to go all the way to the USA Network website to watch this incredible show? Yes. Know that I would never recommend doing that, unless it was truly worth it. And it is.
Bonus Pick: If you want to read more about Lennon and Jessica, check out this Vanity Fair interview about the show and their friendship. If you want to hear them argue about Gilmore Girls, you can do that here.
Haven't You Heard?
Singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles, the brains behind the music of Waitress, is currently starring in the show on Broadway for an eight-week run. For those of you who can't make it to NYC to watch her perform live or for those of you who don't have the money to drop on tickets (me), Sara released What's Inside: Songs from Waitress back in 2015. Before the show launched on Broadway, Sara went ahead and recorded versions of herself singing all of the songs from the musical, along with additional commentary about her writing process to coincide with each tune. A surprise on the album includes the song Door Number Three, which didn't make it to the stage and was eventually transformed into What Baking Can Do. You'll also notice slight lyric changes that were made along the way, providing some fun, hidden insight into the journey to Broadway. Now you can listen to Sara's versions of the achingly beautiful She Used to Be Mine, the showstopper Bad Idea (recorded on this album with Jason Mraz, who also ended up in the Broadway cast) and the inspirational Everything Changes, all from the comfort of your couch.
Required Reading
Two more recommendations for the week:
Number one: The Super Bowl happened! Go sports! I was mostly paying attention to Justin Timberlake (and pondering his outfit choice) and the anticipation surrounding This is Us. But in the middle of this year's game, Netflix made a play for the attention of the pop culture-focused crowd. They released a commercial pushing viewers to tune into Netflix for the release of The Cloverfield Paradox immediately after Sunday's game. Since the streaming provider doesn't release viewing numbers, it's hard to tell how this affected primetime TV's post-game line-up. Vulture wrote an interesting article about the 10 most significant lead-out shows in Super Bowl history. This year This is Us did clock in with the highest post-Super Bowl numbers since The Voice in 2012, so I'm guessing Netflix's strategy and this year's NBC triumph will gain some attention on future lists.
Number two: To end on a cozier note, I want to point you towards one of my favorite pieces of writing, an article published in The New Yorker in 2006. In it, the legendary Nora Ephron writes about falling in love with an apartment building in New York City. It's beautiful and poetic and one day I hope to feel the same way about where I live.
