We can all wholeheartedly agree that 2017 was hilarious in its terribleness. Every day was another brick on the pathway to hell, and we usually woke up to new revelations that somehow eclipsed the horrors of the day before. Our natural resting states are a combination of anxiety, exhaustion, and white-hot simmering rage, and even our personal victories were quickly forgotten as the general state of the world seemed consistently worse.
2017, in short, was a tire fire.
But a few good things happened. A few good, nice pop culture-y things. And because sometimes I write specifically to shake myself out the “EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE” state of mind I’ve defaulted to, I’m going to share some of those good things here. Because damn it, sometimes we need a reprieve. And also, some things were nice.
Just know that as of writing this, I still haven’t seen Star Wars, Call Me By Your Name, or Ladybird. Or Wonder Woman. Or any new movies really. That’s what the holidays are for. Or not, because I’m tired and I do what I want. So get off my case.
The Crown
Are we human? Or are we Princess Margaret? (Both. We are both.) Because while I lived for The Crown‘s first season (and have watched and re-watched it to the point of knowing it by heart), special attention must be paid to the dramatic and soapy nature of series two. I refuse to give anything away but I will say this: if The Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes For You” doesn’t have an all-new meaning as you sit here and read this, you need to cancel your plans for the foreseeable future and hang with The Crown until it does.
My Favorite Murder
In which a podcast offers a blessed one and/or two-ish hour reprieve from the horrors of this world by, well, covering some of the horrors of this world. SSDGM forever.
Harry Styles
I only care about Harry Styles and his suits right now. If you somehow don’t care about one, I bet you’ll still care about the other. The boy is a drop of sunshine in the midst of a fog so thick we’re basically Nicole Kidman in The Others. I pray each night that he will take over James Corden’s late night show. And I bet James Corden does too.
Big Little Lies
Frankly, the only thing that can taint its perfect legacy is the fact that we’re about to get a second season despite it not making any sense because the show was based on a book and the book is over now. So just give me the gif of Reese Witherspoon saying, “I want more!” on repeat.
As long as we all know that quote doesn’t apply to a second season.
The Young Pope memes
I didn’t watch The Young Pope because I have the attention span of a gnat, but every Young Pope joke made me laugh in a way that’s rare and beautiful.
Mindhunter
Every TV show should be about figuring out how serial killers think, or at least star Jonathan Groff.
Rihanna (like, in general)
This year, Rihanna rapped (“Lemon”). She debuted another Fenty x Puma collection. And then, because she is our lord and saviour, she delivered Fenty Beauty and with it, an explanation to my building managers on why I no longer have enough money for rent. And reader, I regret absolutely nothing.
My Dad Wrote A Porno
When my friend Randi told me to listen to a podcast about some guy’s Dad’s porno novel, I was like, “Girl, why.” And then she told me it was British. And then she described a few of the scenes. And then I started laughing about it, and I listened to it and only it until I blitzed through its three seasons and my life was changed for the better. Spoiler alert: three inch rivets. The pots and pans industry has never seemed so interesting.
The Great British Bake Off/The Great Canadian Baking Show
When life turns to shit, you watch a bunch of nice and lovely people bake bread. That’s what you do. It’s therapy, my happiness relies on it, and I just want to live in a world in which trying to bake perfect biscuits is the biggest perceivable problem.
So there you go. Ten things I loved. I know I’m missing a lot of what you loved, and I’m going to get a lot of “BUT WHAT ABOUT BLAH BLAH BLAH” tweets but also, I don’t care. These were ten things that helped me survive 2017 and I won’t have any of you challenging them.
Adding to them, though, yes. And by “them” I do mean Young Pope memes.
