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 Mustache’ (the latter of which Timothée Chalamet wins by a landslide). May the best, worst, boldest, and weirdest win. 

Favorite New TV Detective: RJ Decker

^{ABC via YouTube}

ABC has a killer roster lined up, with Nathan Fillion anchoring The Rookie and Kaitlin Olson starring in High Potential. We can now add another one to the list: Scott Speedman as RJ Decker. The show, based on Carl Hiaasen’s novel Double Whammy, stays true to the whimsical, wild world of Florida that Hiaasen depicts in his novel. In the second episode alone, Decker’s biggest lead in a case is a person dressed as a pickle mascot, which adds colorful character to the procedural drama, a genre that can often lack zany ideas. But the biggest asset is Scott Speedman himself, who really embodies the disheveled-but-determined state of private investigator RJ Decker. Yeah, his life is kind of a mess–he’s a disgraced former photojournalist who was unjustly sentenced to 18 months in jail due to false testimony provided by attorney Emi Ochoa, who he may or may not have had a romantic relationship with. But Decker is surrounded by people who root for him, including his ex-wife Cathy and her new wife Mel, as well as his friend Wish. The whole show is filled with such great performances, characterization, and compelling cases, it’s easy to root for–and hope for a season 2 renewal.

SNL Musical Guest I Want ASAP: Zara Larsson 

^{PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson via YouTube}

Live, laugh, love, lush life. That’s the saying, right? Well, it certainly should be with the year Zara Larsson is having. Often going viral for her online pursuits such as making a plea to the public to stop changing her Wikipedia photo, Zara Larsson should be the next musical guest–or even host. She’s fun, funny, and in the middle of an uber-successful tour after debuting her critically acclaimed album Midnight Sun last summer. Plus, she has the hottest remix out with her and PinkPantheress’ “Stateside” collab, which went viral after Alyssa Liu’s skating routine. Really, Zara Larsson should be everywhere because she is so cool, and I absolutely called it when I made my own music video to her song “Lush Life,” which was somehow (*checks calendar*) ten years ago. And the fact that “Lush Life” has recently made a resurgence on the Billboard charts makes her recent breakout feel pretty full circle.

Best New Harry Styles Song: “Ready, Steady, Go!”

You might of heard that the One Direction alum dropped his fourth album Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally this past month after a four-year, marathon-filled hiatus. Though the album should probably be called Kiss All The Time. Disco, Questionable, there are some undeniable bops such as “Dance No More” and “Pop.” My personal favorite is “Ready, Steady, Go!” which sounds like a cousin of fellow 1D alum Louis Tomlinson’s “Written All Over Your Face” (which was my second-most listened to song on Spotify last year). 

Most Questionable Lyrics: “Ready, Steady, Go!,” Harry Styles

The lyrics “But you call Leon/You call it only in my head” raise many questions. Who is Leon? Why are we calling him?? Why are we only calling him in our heads??? Does this even make any sense???? The only question that can be answered definitively is the last one with a resounding no, but hey–the song is still a bop. 

Worst Zoom Interview: Archie’s Zoom Call for BBC, Rooster 

^{HBO Max via YouTube}

Hey, here’s a novel idea–maybe don’t cheat on your wife with one of your graduate students who becomes pregnant and then act blasé about the entire ordeal. Especially when your wife is also your co-worker, who then (accidentally) burns down your house in an attempt at revenge. Bill Lawrence’s new TV show Rooster is insane from the start, all anchored by the glorious Steve Carell, who attempts to help his daughter Katie (Charly Clive) through the revelation that her husband Archie (Phil Dunster) had knocked up a much younger woman that also happens to be very much in love with him. Though Carell’s Greg knew Archie cheated from the beginning of the series, it wasn’t until the end of the second episode he learned that he had gotten grad student Sunny (Lauren Tsai) pregnant as well–and he just so happened to find this out while Archie was being interviewed on BBC for his work as a professor. Cue Greg entering the room, yelling at him, and beating him to a pulp. It’s all such a silly bit of physical comedy, highlighted by Carell and Dunster embodying each character’s emotional states so well, and it proves how good it is to have Steve Carell back on our screens. Now please, please, don’t kill him off.