Weekend Watchlist: What to Watch According to Professor Michele Palermo
In this series, we catch up with Columbia Film Professors and ask them to dish on what they’re watching right now, which movies and shows blew them away or didn't live up to expectations, and what it's like to watch through a filmmaker’s eyes.
Adjunct Assistant Professor Michele Palermo is this week’s guest and is here to share what her favorites of the past year have been.
Here are the shows she’s watching right now and why she recommends them.
Beef (starring Steven Yeun and Allie Wong) is about two people who let a road rage incident burrow into their minds and slowly consume their every thought and action.
Where to Watch it:
Netflix
Why Palermo recommends it:
"This show grabs you from the very beginning! It uses simple storytelling, but the depth and plight of the characters make you feel like your heart has been ripped from your chest! The way the characters are treated is interesting—because we are made to care about them and like them, despite them doing terrible things that make us feel uncomfortable. So we are always living in this gray area. The cast is fantastic, and the filmmakers really made LA feel like a character in the show.”
Palermo’s Takeaway:
"I really appreciate how they engaged the writer’s room from the very beginning of the creation of the show. In the second episode, you can see the other writers in the credits. That lets us know that the perspective of the show was built upon by many different people, not just one vision. We feel like there is a true shared experience and because of that, there is a richness to the show, and a fresh and subversive tone.”
Mary Richards is a thirty-something single woman who settles in Minneapolis after breaking up with a boyfriend. She lands a job as an associate producer of the evening news at WJM-TV, which happens to be the area's lowest-rated station. Her boss, Lou Grant, hates her spunk but often looks to her to solve newsroom (or even personal) problems.
Where to Watch it:
Amazon Prime, Hulu and Apple TV
Why Palermo recommends it:
“This show is a must watch for anyone wanting to write for television. This show was an integral part of the women’s rights movement. Originally, Mary wanted to play a divorced woman, but in the 60s, that was incredibly taboo. So instead, she plays a single woman—and she was adamant about her character being single. During the show, this was really the first time in the history of TV that we saw a woman come into her own sexuality—it was really provocative and groundbreaking. It is also the first time we see a gay character on TV. The creators of the show managed to get all of this in the show despite the strict guidelines of the studio, and thank God they did!”
Palermo’s Takeaway:
“The performances are brilliant, the writing is brilliant, and the genre is comedy drama. The writers so expertly managed to sneak in subversive content under strict rules, and they did it over and over again with each episode. I think the first five seasons are the strongest, and rewatching it now makes me realize all the things I missed when I watched it as a kid. I think it’s good for young writers to watch things that were made way before they were born and watch things you may not think you like because it could open up your mind.”
An all-star cast head to a resort and unleash their worst, most privileged impulses. The series is a sharp social satire following the exploits of various guests and employees of the fictional White Lotus resort chain, whose stay becomes affected by their various dysfunctions. A week in the life of vacationers is unraveled as they relax and rejuvenate in paradise. With each passing day, a darker complexity emerges in these picture-perfect travelers, the hotel's cheerful employees, and the idyllic locale itself.
Where to Watch it:
HBO Max
Why Palermo recommends it:
“I’m Italian and I spent summers as a kid in Taormina, the place where this season is set; and I have to say they captured the characters in that town perfectly—especially the two Italian girls who represent was townie girls are really like—but the writers also gave them a life and interesting relationship to each other. The show does feel like it’s taking us on a field trip and does it well. At first I was hesitant to watch because of the unlikeable characters, but certain storylines were very intriguing.”
Palermo’s Takeaway:
“The writers decided at the very beginning of the seasons that not everyone will like it but they were true to their storylines. By the end of the season when (spoiler alert), Jennifer Coolidge has her big moment on the boat (an instance that would be a common trope), they played that scene in such a delicious way that it gave us a real pay-off for her character. The one thing I will say is the cast is not diverse—and mostly white. It could have done with some diversity in the casting.”
Michele Palermo enjoys a career as varied, expansive and colorful as her life. A published and award-winning playwright, she’s developed network television projects with Peter Horton, with David E. Kelley, and, for Lifetime, The Mansion (an upstairs/downstairs dramedy set in a Governor’s mansion). Michele created, writes, directs and executive produces Middlehood, the multi award-winning half-hour single camera comedy-drama about the hilarious tragedy known as middle age. The first 8- episode season is currently finishing post-production and will be streaming soon. She has also written, produced, and directed two award-winning indie features, Ladies in Waiting (based on her play), and the mockumentary Unreel: A True Hollywood Story.