The "revolutionary" new TV series that I binged in a day.

Plus, Meghan's jam, Mad Men and a moving memoir.

Ok, let’s catch up:

• Dolly Alderton is writing the Netflix adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, starring Olivia Colman, Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden. Dolly called P&P “the blueprint for romantic comedy”, saying that it has been a joy to “find both familiar and fresh ways of bringing this beloved book to life”. Filming starts at the end of the year.

• Blue Origin, the all-female space flight funded by Jeff Bezos, will take off on Monday morning from a launch site in West Texas. Katy Perry has said that she and her crew mates are going to “put the ‘ass’ in astronaut” for the 11-minute trip.

• Our stay at The White Lotus Thailand has come to an end. The series finale of The White Lotus aired this week and it was a nail-biter (don’t worry, this is a no spoiler zone). There is truly no hotter show to be on at the moment. I’d love to know how many stars are calling Mike White about a cameo next season. (Check out this SNL skit, The White Potus.)

• In her third consecutive shoutout in Laz’s List, Meghan Sussex has officially sold out of jam! I mean, ‘Raspberry Spread in Keepsake Packaging’. Meghan’s first ‘As Ever’ product range, featuring wildflower honey and flower sprinkles, sold out in less than an hour last week.

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📺 Dying for Sex

On Disney+ now.

Dying for Sex is being called “revolutionary TV” and I have certainly never seen anything like it. I binged all 8 episodes of this show in an afternoon.

The show is inspired by the true story of Molly Kochan (played by Michelle Williams) and her friend Nikki Boyer (played by Jenny Slate). Upon receiving a devastating terminal cancer diagnosis, Molly ended her marriage and embarked on a quest to have as many sexual experiences as she could. The pair released the Dying for Sex podcast in 2020 where they discussed Molly’s sexcapades.

In the TV series, Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate have incredible on-screen chemistry as two best friends (like, soulmate level best friends). The character of Nikki is a flakey, struggling actor who gives up her life to care for her dying friend, and Molly certainly isn’t the typical patient, trying all kinds of kinks while in the midst of cancer treatment. As the Guardian says, “much, if not all, of human genital life is here”. Rob Delaney is excellent as Molly’s intriguing neighbour and Jay Duplass is perfect as the soppy ex.

Dying for Sex is edgy, confronting and funny, with a brilliant cast. The episodes are 30 minutes long, which is always a plus.

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📚 The Tell: A Memoir by Amy Griffin

Amy Griffin is someone who Gwyneth Paltrow and Reese Witherspoon will dedicate an Instagram post to on her birthday.

Amy is not from the Hollywood world though. She runs an investment firm and lives on the Upper East Side of New York City with her husband and four children. She is the kind of woman who answers “busy” when you ask how she is and runs in Central Park everyday. It isn’t until her body begins to give her a series of “tells” and she undertakes psychedelic therapy that she uncovers suppressed sexual abuse from her childhood.

The Tell: A Memoir is a compelling story, so much so that it was selected as Oprah’s Book Club pick for March. As always with memoirs, I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version read by the author. (This book deals with issues of sexual abuse and is very dark in parts, so take care.)

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Currently…

📚 Reading: Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley, heralded as the new Daisy Jones and The Six.

🎧 Listening to: Lauren Graham (aka Lorelai Gilmore) on Call Her Daddy. This is one not to miss for Gilmore Girls fans. (And no, she won’t answer whether she is Team Dean, Jess or Logan.)

🎬 Watching: Black Bag, the latest Steven Soderbergh spy thriller starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender. Not my favourite film I’ve seen lately, but their London house was design goals. In cinemas now.

📺 Watching: Hacks. The first two episodes of its fourth season have just dropped and “one of the funniest shows on television somehow keeps knocking it out of the park”.

🥃 Plugging a big gap in my CV: by watching Mad Men. I can’t believe I haven’t watched it before. The constant drinking and smoking, the blatant misogyny, the outfits and hairstyles. I am in Don Draper’s world now. (Speaking of which, Jon Hamm is everywhere again, according to his profile in this week’s NYT.) Tell me: what is a hit show that you are embarrassed you’ve never watched?

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