New TV to Binge, TikToks to Quote, and Deeply Unserious Dinner Party Ideas
A Raccoon Walks Into a Bar…
🛸 BIG NEWS
There may be aliens under the ice in Antarctica
Mule-riding Kentucky man accused of unleashing raccoon in bar after being turned away
Fake flight attendant cons his way into over a hundred free flights
A Man Proposed to his ai Girlfriend and She Said Yes. Mazel!
In related news, Broken Heart Syndrome is real and men are more likely to die from it
The winner of the Pedro Pascal lookalike contest is the Lighting Designer for The Daily Show
📺 TV WORTH WATCHING
People keep saying there’s nothing to watch, not true! There is something for everyone.
The Waterfront (Netflix)
Loosely inspired by a true story, This follows a once-respected family fishing business now teetering on the edge of collapse. With debts mounting and trust fraying, the family is forced to make impossible choices to stay afloat, morally, financially, and emotionally. If Ozark and Outer Banks had a baby and raised it on the docks, it’d look a lot like this.
The Gilded Age is back, baby!
Aunt Ada is rich now, Bertha is scheming to marry off her daughter, while Marian steals her son from under her. It’s like if Jane Austen wrote Dynasty with a lot of the same themes people are arguing about in The Materialists discourse. (HBOMax)
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders (Netflix)
From Cheer and Last Chance U director Greg Whiteley comes a behind-the-scenes look at the most iconic cheer squad in America. Yes, there’s glitter, Thunderstruck, and high-stakes auditions but this season also gets real. The women reckon with what it means to be beloved and exploited, learning how to show up, perform at 100%, and not let the pressure break them.
The good news? This week, they got a 400% raise and after watching this show, you’ll think they should’ve gotten more.
Underdogs (NatGeo/Disney+) Narrated by Ryan Reynolds, a fun look at the underdogs of the animal kingdom.
Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service (Fox/Hulu)
Hidden cameras, secret insiders, an owner with their head in the sand, emotional Gordon moments in the woods. Restaurant makeovers. Tears. Repeat. It’s basically “nice” Kitchen Nightmares with a surveillance van. Bless Ramsey & his people for their genius, this is their 4th show on the air right now.
NYC Next Gen (Bravo/Peacock)
Influencer kids of New York, some of whom are children of Real Housewives. Like Arielle, who started making money as an influencer at 14 years old and now it's all gone because her Mom (RHOA’s Kim Zolziak) stole it.
From the FYC files
I’ve been making my way through a bunch of the shows that submitted themselves for Emmy’s, for my consideration, and here are some gems I missed.
Dark Winds (AMC+)
X Files meets 1970s police procedural set on the Navajo reservation. Surprise cameos from Robert Redford, and George RR Martin, author of the Game Of Thrones books. Why, you ask? Redford and Martin are both Executive Producers of the show. Martin was a huge fan of the book series this is based on, Leaphorn and Chee, so he helped make the show a reality
Rebel Ridge (Netflix)
Better than the trailer. Just watch it.
Finales
Hundred Foot Wave Still goes hard. (HBOMax)
Adults It’s over. Catch up now. (hulu)
Still Watching
Below Deck Always (Bravo/Peacock)
9 Perfect Strangers This season is not as fun as the first one, but there's some reveals in this one, like that she’s crazy. (hulu)
Love Island (peacock) & Love Island UK (hulu) These are my treadmill habit stacks
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars (MTV/Paramount+)
🎬 MOVIES WORTH WATCHING
Theaters
28 Years Later Have you ever wanted to go to the movies in the middle of the day? This is perfect for that because it’s still light out when you get out.
Materialists Better watch it if you want to get in on the conversation. It is rare that a movie has both men and women discussing so fervently.
Streaming
Final Destination: Bloodlines Great deaths. Which are the unforgettable hallmarks of this series. (VOD)
Friendship If you don’t like cringey, awkward comedy don’t watch this but if you do you’ll love Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd. (VOD)
Minecraft The Movie Is Jack Black the greatest movie star of our days? Or Tom Cruise? Or the below?
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Keanu Reeves joins Jim Carrey this time.
📚 BOOKS WORTH READING
Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
This book is The Hunger Games meets Orange Is the New Black, but smarter and more brutal. Set in a near-future America where incarcerated people can fight to the death for their freedom on live TV. It’s dystopian, violent, and somehow still full of soul. You’ll root for the women at the center, then feel sick about why you’re rooting at all. If you liked Squid Game, this is your next read. But warning: it will mess with your head in the best way.
🎧 PODCASTS WORTH HEARING
Think Twice: Michael Jackson
Whether you're a die-hard fan or a casual listener, this podcast will have you questioning everything you thought you knew. Hosted by journalists Jay Smooth and Leon Neyfakh (Slow Burn), it revisits the life, legacy, and controversy around Michael Jackson with clarity and nuance. It’s not a takedown or a puff piece, it’s a thoughtful, uncomfortable, binge-worthy exploration of fame, fandom, and denial. Start it, and I promise you’ll end up texting someone about it by episode two.
🛍️ THINGS WORTH BUYING
Andy Cohen’s actual furniture is on 1st Dibs
Snoop here
Mini Book Totes are trending and I want one.
TikTok is blowing up Kendall Jenner’s boy’s Hanes tank top but if you’re old you remember them from Gwen Stefani. You can get 5 for $9
The Chloé Jelly Sandals are the fashion-girl shoe of the summer. Or just get these
🍝 FOOD WORTH EATING
Capri Sun made summer solstice tall boys
Another entry for drink of the summer:
Tangy Tongue Tingler. Yes, that’s really what it’s called.
The unbearable cringe of ordering “Mike’s Way” at Jersey Mike’s
I am very late on this viral Strawberry Spoon Cake recipe which is easy, fast, and good. I also love a crumble.
🎉 DUMB & LAZY SUMMER DINNER PARTIES
🦈 Bite Me: A Shark Week Dinner
Shark Week is July 5–15. Order sushi or DIY it. With these plates and this for decoration.
Sidebar: I feel strongly that there should be a Shark Week Bake Off show. Imagine the cakes! Am I insane or would you watch that? (They’ve already said no, just wondering what you think.)
🥟 Din Tai Fun
Make the viral cucumbers, add Trader Joe’s soup dumplings, potstickers, green beans & Mochi. Done.
💘 Can I Pull You for a Chat?
A Love Island breakfast for dinner party with neon signs, decor, personalized water bottles, cocktails, voting, and probably tears.
🎂 Serve this Cake
This one broke me
If you have any of these please, please, please send/post pictures! You can tag @extremelyhelpful, or just reply to this.
🕳️ RABBIT HOLES
🌱 You Better Say Something Nice What started as a girlfriend strongly encouraging TikTok users to compliment her boyfriend’s plants has turned into a 45-million-view viral moment and a brand-new format. .
🍼A baby named Chernobyl (yes, really) This baby shower invite went viral. According to the original poster the parents apparently had no idea about the name’s meaning “I have a feeling they don’t know what Chernobyl meant. I asked them where they got the idea from and said it just sounded nice????”
🤥“Lied about my qualifications” TikTok
🚬I said this in my very first newsletter. Smoking is back!
👨🎤Kylie Jenner’s daughter reaching to her blue hair era From the mouths of babes.
👖People are very unhappy about the wardrobe for the Ryan Murphy show about Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and John F Kennedy Jr.
🗣️ Bieber Linguistics “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business?”
In a now-iconic moment with paparazzi, Justin Bieber unleashed a fusion of Gen Z slang and the internet crowned him the “final boss of Gen Z linguistics.” The phrase has already been memed into oblivion, complete with Harry Potter AI voiceovers and a spot in the slang hall of fame.
💡 EXTREMELY HELPFUL TIP OF THE WEEK
I’ve been doing this wrong my whole life
🔚 AND FINALLY…
The state of Hollywood in one reel
✌️ BEFORE YOU GO…
Got a rabbit hole I need to fall into? A show I missed? Dumb Dinner party ideas?
Hit reply or drop it in the comments.
And if you liked this, tell a friend who’s been complaining there’s nothing to watch.
Your Substack is the best - thank you. When you go viral - I’ll be the one slow clapping from Oregon 💚🔥