Feature image photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Y’all I got my wife the most fun stocking stuffer for Christmas this year. She gets her best writing ideas in the shower so I bought her some WATERPROOF notepads and pens like what park rangers use in all-weather so she can make notes when she’s showering! Anyhoodle, happy holigays and here’s your first Pop Culture Fix of the week.
+ On Instagram, Brittney Griner posted the sweetest photos of her homecoming with her wife, Cherelle, and also the news that she absolutely plans to play this WNBA season. She thanked Cherelle and all of the activists and lawyers who worked to get her home from her wrongful imprisonment in Russia, and closed with: “I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon.” Sending you all our love always, BG, and we can’t wait to see you back on the court!
+ One single piece of good news from HBO in 2022: They’ve renewed Sort Of.
+ Update! Two pieces (only!) of good news from HBO in 2022: The Sex Lives of College Girls has also been renewed.
+ Also renewed? Yellowjackets for a third season already!
+ Apple TV+ has ordered a Mythic Quest spinoff from Ashly Burch.
+ The CW will launch Gotham Knights on March 14th.
+ Here’s the red band trailer for The Legend of Vox Machina season two.
+ Why no singer has replaced Lady Gaga.
+ How The White Lotus breaks all the norms of straight sex culture.
+ The golden age of the streaming wars has ended.
+ Aisha Dee is heading back to TV in Fox’s Accused.
+ And here’s Jasmin Savoy Brown and Jenna Ortega in the Scream 6 teaser trailer.
Link to the waterproof pad and pen?? I like to have therapy sessions by myself in the shower.
Novelist Emily St. John Mandel has a girlfriend! She did an interview with Slate specifically mentioning her divorce from her ex-husband+her girlfriend because Wikipedia editors were being their typical anal selves about correcting the personal life section of her page:
https://slate.com/culture/2022/12/emily-st-john-mandel-divorced-wikipedia.html
Renewals are being thrown out left, right and centre.
So where’s the renewal for ALOTO S2? I mean, I can’t be the only one wanting more Carson, more Greta, more Max, more crying in baseball, right?!
Yeah I’m sure many of us have been wondering about this too – it’s four months since S1 aired! Which doesn’t look too good. It seemed to me that it did well critically and commercially, and received a lot of attention – had it been released some years back, I’d have little doubt about it returning. But reading the article linked here on the end of the streaming wars it makes sense as to why it might not. But fingers crossed 🤞 I really hope it gets renewed.
I am pretty troubled that Autostraddle hasn’t provided any coverage about the ongoing Tory Lanez trial. Megan Thee Stallion, one of the most popular musicians out right now, is also bisexual. I don’t believe that if Hayley Kiyoko or Halsey or another queer pop star was shot, Autostraddle would be mum on the subject. I think y’all need to have some difficult internal conversations about why a queer, feminist outlet has overlooked this seismic event.
Hi Lolita,
First I wanted to thank you for voicing your concern! I’ve been following Tory Lanez’s case closely, like a lot of people (especially, I’m assuming, Black folks, or at least the Black folks in my community/on my social media). I’ve also included links about Meg and Tory over the two years since the original shooting took place in my Also.Also.Also. news roundup column, because you are right, it is important. In fact, we did not run an edition of Also.Also.Also last week Thursday, but if we had — as online conversations around Tory Lanez’s trial heated up, it absolutely would have been included. And it’s slated to be included in today’s edition.
As I’m sure you know, Autostraddle operates with a very small team, which doesn’t leave space for daily trial reporting that you might see in other outlets. We put our resources towards writing pieces that give longer views, looking in depth at major news incidents (like this trial) as a whole. Those pieces don’t come quickly, and need time to develop well. I recognize that as a reader, in the moment, this can feel frustrating or as if Autostraddle is “keeping quiet” on important, ongoing subjects.
Just to lay it all on the table — I wanted to hop in here because I know it can feel as if we are maybe treating Megan thee Stallion’s case differently because she’s Black or maybe because she’s a rapper as compared to different kind of pop star. We took this same long view approach to the Amber Heard/Johnny Depp trial earlier this year (and heard similar frustrations in our comments). We also haven’t covered in depth Angelina Jolie’s ongoing legal proceedings with Brad Pitt. In fact the only ‘trial’ we covered in depth this year as it was ongoing, was Brittney Griner’s wrongful detention in Russia. That was also part of a recognized activist strategy to keep her name in headlines as much as possible with the goal of increasing pressure to bring her home. It’s reporting that we are all very proud of (and grateful she’s back with her loved ones).
I wanted to pull back the curtain of what happens behind the scenes a bit because I know that when you can’t see what’s going on, it can feel hurtful or that there’s negligent or harmful intent. We are always working to balance our aspirations with our resources, and while we do not always move as quickly as other outlets, we strive to move with intention, so that when we provide coverage of current events, we’re proud of and can stand behind our work. We’ll continue to do our best to provide important, comprehensive content, as well as author support and compensation, given the limitations of our reality.
Thank you for this thoughtful response, Carmen. I appreciate it very much.
No problem at all
I am thrilled to see Brittney Griner will be back playing for her team soon! Her smile in that photo of her getting off the plane fills my heart with joy.
I follow an astrologer who recommended Brittney stay off the court for the next two years. This particular astrologer has been right about many things. I hope that Brittney’s return goes well despite the astrologer’s prediction.