The Pop Culture Pundit

Kate’s Greats are awards given to movies, TV shows, and music that the author has viewed and/or listened to over the past month. These awards may celebrate underrated, overlooked, or obscure moments of pop culture that may not otherwise get the attention they deserve. Other times, they will celebrate the buzziest pop culture–but will always have a fresh take. Award categories may include, but are not limited to, ‘Goofiest Thriller’ and ‘Tiniest Moustache’ (the latter of which Timothée Chalamet wins by a landslide). May the best, worst, boldest, and weirdest win. 

1. Book that Should Actually Be Published: Carrie’s untitled book about “The Woman,” And Just Like That 

The woman wondered when Carrie Bradshaw’s latest best-selling book would be available at Barnes and Noble in real life, and that woman was me. Carrie has had many writing lives: first, a sex columnist. Then, a memoirist. Now…a novelist? Carrie’s latest writing is about a mysterious woman (THE woman™) who seems to spend a lot of time deep in thought, staring out of windows, and thinking about the ghosts of relationships past and present. In other words, the woman she’s writing about is totally mirrored on her own life–she does stare out of her vintage French glass windows a lot, thinking about how much Aidan sucks (okay, maybe that’s me), and then how much she wants to be with Duncan after breaking up with Aidan (finally, a new man for Carrie to date!!!!!!) Other books in TV have been de-fictionalized before, including Selina Meyer’s memoir from Veep and The Bro Code from How I Met Your Mother. Now all Carrie’s book needs is a title–maybe Little House on the Carrie? She has been into prairie-core after all. It’s the least that could happen after the show was tragically cancelled even though it deserved to go on for 30 more seasons. Sarah Jessica Parker does have a book club! 

2. Best Songs That Sounds Suspiciously Similar: “Till the World Ends” by Britney Spears (2011) and “Around the World” by Justin Bieber (2012)

^{Britney Spears/via YouTube}

The year was 2011, and the world was going to end in a year’s time. What does one do with an impending apocalyptic catastrophe? Keeping on dancing till the world ends, of course. Britney Spears released the world-ending dance club banger in 2011, promising that if we were to die, we would go out with a bang and dance the night away. Meanwhile, in the year the Earth was supposed to explode, Justin Bieber released his suspiciously similar-sounding “Around the World,” singing that if we were facing a world ending zombie apocalypse, he would travel Around the World to make our worries disappear. (Well, he didn’t specifically sing of a zombie apocalypse, but World War Z was just around the corner). Of course, the world did not end, and Spears and Bieber continued producing club-ready bangers. But for these two songs specifically, both Spears’ and Biebers’ tracks utilize a chorus filled with octave-spanning “woah-oh-oh-oooohhhsss,” and though they didn’t have the same producers for the project, they were certainly both influenced by the popular of EDM music at the time. Similar sounding songs are always fun to come by–you’ll never listen to Backstreet Boy’s “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back”) and NSYNC’s “Want You Back” the same way again. 

^{Justin Bieber/via YouTube}

3. Best Extension of Brat Summer– . (period), Kesha

^{What the covers of Kesha’s album would look like as brat (standard edition) and brat (deluxe) (Screenshots/Kate Jakubowski)}

Last month, I wrote about the resurgence of the brat sound with Addison Rae’s Addison and Lorde’s Virgin–and this month, I’m happy to report the trend is alive and well. Kesha, who was brat before brat, released the new album, . (period) – and though it sounds like the party animal Ke$ha from 2009 (who made “TikTok” before TikTok), there’s a deeper meaning behind it all. It’s her first album made on her own terms with her own record label (aptly named Kesha Records) after finally finishing her old album contract and settling a years-long legal battle with former producer Dr. Luke. There’s a reason the album was released on the 4th of July and that the first song is called “Freedom” – because she finally is, and you can hear the joy in her voice. Standout tracks include the aforementioned “Freedom,” “Joyride,” and the “Boy Crazy” remix with JADE. One wonders why Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” is still topping the charts when Addison Rae, Lorde, and Kesha have been putting out extraordinary tracks. 

4. Best Surprise Emmy Nominations: The Cast of Presumed Innocent 

^{Apple TV/via YouTube}

Emmy nominations for the September 14, 2025 ceremony were announced a few weeks ago, and as usual, there were both snubs and surprises. Snubs include Abby Elliot for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Comedy Series for The Bear, Natasha Lyonne for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for Poker Face, and Bradley Cooper for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for The Righteous Gemstones (though it should be mentioned in the latter category, 5 out of 6 Emmy nominations went to those appearing in Apple TV+’s The Studio, meaning Timothée Chalamet’s phenomenal SNL episode was also overlooked). However, there were many surprises as well, and the biggest one I was delighted by was the multiple acting nominations for Apple TV+’s outstanding thriller Presumed Innocent. A remake of the 1990 Harrison Ford film, Presumed Innocent was released as a limited series alllll the way back in June of 2024 and starred Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role of Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor accused of killing his coworker whom he was secretly having an affair with. Gyllenhaal, along with Ruth Negga, Peter Sarsgaard, and Bill Camp, all received acting noms for a total of four potential awards it could win. My only complaints are that it didn’t get a nomination for Best Limited Series, and the orange cat totally got snubbed. He would’ve made a purrrfect Emmy winner!

5. Best Is It Cake? Cake: Frank Cake, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Genius playwright William Shakespeare once wrote: to be cake, or not to be cake? OK, maybe those weren’t his exact words, but surely the Bard would be pondering this today. It seems that the gang on It’s Always Sunny is–and Frank (Danny DeVito) chooses the former option. After the gang claims they can distinguish the cake from the real object while watching the show Is it Cake?, Frank decides to test their abilities by faking a coma, pretending to lay on the cusp of death while secretly watching in glee as the group spirals out. Even worse, the gang doesn’t realize this for days that it’s a cake laying on a bed and not Frank. At least the Frank cake was delicious.