CULTURE DIGEST 08: Oscar noms, Lynch time, and staying above water
Monthly recommendations from the team behind the TV Foundation and Edinburgh TV Festival.
Well, we did it. We (somehow) made it to the end of January. While each day brings fresh news of impending doom, why not take a break—whether that means turning your brain off or tuning in. Here’s what our team has been consuming this month.
Film
The Academy announced its Oscar nominees earlier this week, with The Brutalist (nabbing an impressive 10 nominations), A Complete Unknown, and The Nickel Boys all making the cut for Best Picture. All three are now in UK cinemas.
Notably absent from the Best Picture category? Sing Sing and A Real Pain — two staff favourites that deserved better.
Other films worth your time: Between the Temples and Babygirl (milk, sadly, not included in your ticket price). Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl also delighted audiences and landed a nomination for Best Animated Feature. And fret not, gentle readers, the film studio has assured us that it has no plans to stop production any time soon.
Saturday Night also finally sees its cinematic release for UK audiences. Pair it with Ladies & Gentleman... 50 Years of SNL Music and you’ve got yourself a weekend’s worth of tribute to one of the most iconic shows of all time.
TV
This month saw the long-awaited return of Severance (Apple TV+) — which launched with an incredible publicity stunt featuring the cast at NYC’s Grand Central Station. Meanwhile, Queer Eye is back to make us cry over home renovations, and we’ve been hooked on The Breakthrough and Manhunt.
Alice in Borderland is also a fave amongst the office, with death scenes rivaling even those of Squid Games. And while it’s definitely a late watch, Desperate Housewives continues to delight.
And yes, obviously, we’ve been glued to The Traitors.
If you're a telly nerd like us, we highly recommend these deep dives into some industry insider stories:
📖 Pandora’s Box: The Greed, Lust, and Lies That Broke Television – Peter Biskind
📖 Like Brothers – The Duplass Brothers
🎥 The Man Who Definitely Didn’t Steal Hollywood – a breakdown of one of Hollywood’s greatest scandals
Podcasts
🎙️ Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud – A fantastic format for meandering creative and personal conversations. The Zadie Smith and Jonathan Anderson episodes are must-listens.
🎙️ Human Intelligence (BBC Sounds) – The Mary Wollstonecraft episode was particularly fascinating — feminist icon!!
Music
🎵 DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS – Bad Bunny
🎵 Alligator Bites Never Heal – Doechii
In Memoriam: David Lynch
January also marked the loss of screen legend David Lynch. If you’re looking to pay tribute, dust off your Blue Velvet VHS, revisit Twin Peaks, or check out NTS’ beautiful sonic tribute.
Must-Reads
📖 Mike Nichols: A Life – A brilliant biography by Mark Harris. More on Deadline
📖 What an Insomniac Knows – A compelling read in The New Yorker. Read here
📖 The Insidious Charms of the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic – Another great New Yorker piece. Read here
Online Creators We’ve Been Enjoying
📹 BASQUIAT’s Work Ethic – A short but fascinating video essay by Make Art Not Content.
That’s it for this month’s roundup — hopefully, there’s something here to keep you entertained (or at least mildly distracted) as we trudge through February. Let us know what you’ve been watching, reading, or listening to — we’re always looking for our next obsession.