This week, on the one-year anniversary of the release of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Netflix dropped news about the rom-com's sequels. Yes, sequels plural. Lana Condor and Noah Centineo aka Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky will be back for not one, but TWO movies that will destroy my productivity and reignite my unhealthy obsession with this teen franchise. The sequels aren’t a surprise since there are three books of material to pull from (I have read all three multiple times of course, thank you Jenny Han) but the shock came from the reveal that the second installment, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, and the third, To All the Boys: Always and Forever, Lara Jean, were in production at the SAME TIME.
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To celebrate this news, I recommend a re-watch of the OG injection of pure joy that is To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. The sequel isn’t coming until February 12 so reacquaint yourself with Peter Kavinsky before we’re introduced to John Ambrose McClaren (played by Jordan Fisher!!!) and the greatest love triangle this streaming service has ever seen. I am counting down the days. While we wait, Netflix has some other titles to keep us entertained. Here are my picks for what to watch this weekend.
This one isn’t exactly a sweet rom-com. Scratch that, it’s nothing like a sweet rom-com. The story starts out like a gender-swapped version of While You Were Sleeping — sort of. Brenda Song plays Jennifer, a woman who wakes up with amnesia after a car accident. Mike Vogel is the dude claiming to be her doting and handsome husband. If you watch the trailer, or infer anything from this film’s title, you know where Secret Obsession is going. Handsome husband isn’t who he says he is. Terror ensues. Dennis Haysbert (TV’s first Black U.S. president) plays a detective who probably cracks the case on the creepy guy claiming to be married to a woman with amnesia. Why was this cute when Sandra Bullock did it?
I feel conflicted recommending this show. It’s riveting, well-written, expertly acted and rife with teen drama. All of the above are extremely my shit. On the other hand, I agree with the critics who knock 13 Reasons Why for glamourizing suicide. Season 2 was especially guilty of this harmful narrative when Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) was essentially immortalized and revisiting her ex-crush from the dead. It was a hard storyline to justify. This season, the impact of Hannah’s tapes lives on but the mystery is all about who killed Bryce Walker. Yes, the rapist monster of Liberty High is dead. That’s a storyline I can get behind. The season dropped today so if you’re into the hard watch that is this show, and you’re an expert binger like me, put your hours in this weekend and hit up our season recap when you’re done.
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Entertainment Weekly says, “you should stop everything and watch Derry Girls on Netflix right now”. I mean, that’s a little aggressive but OK sis, I’ll give it a shot. Refinery29 has been on the Derry Girls tip since Season 1, and we even spent a day with the cast ahead of Season 2. The UK show about a five teens growing up in Northern Ireland in the '90s has captured the attention of Netflix bingers worldwide. The references (and accents) may be specific but the life experiences, and the relatable crushes, are universal. The number-one piece of advice I’ve gotten about delving into this show? Use subtitles.
This show had been relegated to the list of shows that are TOO SCARY for me. But I make an exception to my scaredy-cat rules when a series or movie crosses over into the zeitgeist so much that I can’t ignore it. Mindhunter is sitting at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and if you’ve got a Twitter account, you know there’s no escaping it. The series, which follows the early days of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, where FBI agents (Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany) and a social-science professor (Anna Torv) interview notorious serial killers, has been hailed as one of the best shows on Netflix. If you need a recap of Season 1, we’ve got you covered. Season 2 is more serial killers and more mindhunting! I’m too scared to Google any more details. Watch at your own risk.
Let’s bring it back to rom-coms, as I always do. Brand strong. Sometimes, you just need a throwback comfort film on a Saturday night. (Best paired with PJs, pizza and a glass of wine.) That’s going to be Bridget Jones’s Diary for me this weekend. The classic romance is now streaming on Netflix (finally!) and features Renée Zellweger in her best performance to date (strong second is Roxie Hart in Chicago, and a potential frontrunner is her upcoming turn as Judy Garland in Judy coming to the Toronto International Film Festival next month). Bridget Jones’s Diary is still a delightful watch all these years later even though it makes me feel old that I am now almost the same age as Bridget is supposed to be in this movie. Let’s ignore that and focus on Mark Darcy.