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Meryl Williams

Meryl Williams is an Ohio writer who loves Rilo Kiley and roller derby. Sign up for her awesome TinyLetter.
    13 Thanksgiving Movies and TV Shows to Stream This Week
    Featuring classics, new favorites, and more to watch with your friends and family.
    Meryl Williams
    Nov 21, 2022
    5 Things Netflix’s ‘Tuca & Bertie’ Gets Right About Renting
    The show gives a surprisingly detailed, real representation of renting in a city.
    Meryl Williams
    Jul 29, 2020
    The Best Thanksgiving Movies to Stream on Netflix, Disney+, and More
    Have some pie and stream some seasonal films.
    Meryl Williams
    Nov 25, 2019
    Another Margaret Atwood Book Is Becoming a TV Series Thanks to Netflix
    Netflix recently released a new trailer.
    Meryl Williams
    Jul 25, 2019
    MTV’s New ‘Daria’ Spinoff Was Announced—and More Could Be on the Way
    Last summer, MTV hinted that they were interested in more stories from the Daria universe, and now we know what’s finally coming: A spin-off about Jodie Landon, Daria’s best friend, who will be voiced by “Black-ish’s” Tracee Ellis Ross. “Jodie” will take place years after high school and will follow the title character’s career at a start-up.
    Meryl Williams
    Jun 17, 2019
    Is ‘Big Little Lies” Madeline a Good Real Estate Agent?
    Spoilers for Season 2, Episode 1 of “Big Little Lies.”“Big Little Lies” is back, and with it are some updates on what our favorite women of Monterey, California have been up to—including some new career moves. Way back in the pilot, Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) lamented that she wanted a second chapter in life, since her kids were becoming more independent.
    Meryl Williams
    Jun 14, 2019
    “The Good Place” Has Me Imagining What My Afterlife House Would Look Like
    In case you missed it, NBC’s The Good Place wrapped up its first season last week with a pretty unexpected finale. If you’ve been sleeping on this new comedy, now’s the time to catch up—even if it’s just to check out the set design. Come for the aesthetics, stay for the surprisingly solid philosophy jokes! The Good Place is about Eleanor (Kristen Bell), a bad person who’s mistakenly sent to a section of the afterlife intended only for humanity’s best.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Valentine’s Day for Couch Potatoes: Best Movies to Stream if You’re Spending the Night In
    If you don’t have plans to go out tonight with your significant other, consider yourself lucky: You’ve got someone in your life you like at least a little bit, and there are tons of movies streaming right now that, when paired with a cheap bottle of wine and some take out, can equal a pretty successful (and low-pressure) celebration in. You may be broke (or just want to avoid the V-Day craziness), but you’ve still got style. Here’s a rundown of some of your options.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    A Love Letter to My Library
    Valentine’s Day isn’t the only thing happening on February 14—it’s also a day to pay some respect to your local library by celebrating Library Lover’s Day. We don’t observe every random holiday around here, but libraries are definitely worthy of our affection. I am the product of two nerdy librarians, so my love for them runs deep. I’m especially enamored with the Columbus Metropolitan Library, my local system.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Fantasy Real Estate: Questions I Have About the Homes in Big Little Lies
    Have you caught up on Big Little Lies, the seven-part HBO miniseries everyone from your mom to your hair stylist is talking about? The one starring Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley, even though she seems a little too young to play the mother of a first grader? If so, let’s dish, and if not, maybe bookmark this for later – this contains mild spoilers.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    You’re Probably Missing the Funniest Jokes on BoJack Horseman
    Netflix original series BoJack Horseman is coming back for season four tomorrow, September 8, and if you haven’t caught up on the show just yet, it’s well worth your time. The animated show about a washed-up 90s sitcom actor (who also happens to be a horse) is a little bit Mad Men with some dark Simpsons, plus a heaping dose of existential crisis. Watch it closely though, because a lot of the best jokes are woven deep into the show’s design.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    5 Fresh Podcasts Worth Listening To This Fall
    While obviously listening to amazing podcasts is a year-round activity, now that fall is here, there are five in particular that I’ve been loving while walking to work. Grab a cute knitted hat and some earbuds and give these shows a listen. Fall means nothing if not new TV shows, and Appointment Television is my very favorite podcast dedicated to the small screen. Three Kenyon College grads (Margaret H.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    True Crime Fans, Netflix’s New Mockumentary Will Crack You Up
    An unexpected sleeper hit in the form of a true crime parody came out on Netflix earlier this month, poking fun at huge hits like The Jinx, The Staircase, and even the streaming giant’s own Making A Murderer. American Vandal is a mere eight episodes long and centers around a group of high school students, teachers, and administrators. Unlike the documentaries it plays off of, the seriously-not-serious crime in question throughout American Vandal hardly matters.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    What the Homes In Stranger Things 2 Tell Us About Their Inhabitants
    If you’ve already binge-watched Stranger Things 2, then you know the new season gives its audience a wider view of the inner lives of some of the characters, which didn’t see so much of back in season one. If you remember, the first season centered mostly around the homes of Will Byers and Mike Wheeler, despite the fact that Will is largely absent throughout the entire original run.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Gilmore Girls Fans, Rejoice: Amy Sherman-Palladino Has a New Show
    If you’ve been missing your dose of witty brunettes full of snappy comebacks since her other shows wrapped up, worry not – writer and director Amy Sherman-Palladino is back with something new. The mind and voice behind Gilmore Girls and Bunheads brings us an Amazon original called The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and season one drops Wednesday, November 29.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Netflix’s A Christmas Prince Is So Bad, It’s Good
    If you love Hallmark movies during the holidays and Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas, you need to know about A Christmas Prince, Netflix’s new holiday rom com that’s so bad, it’s good. This movie about an American woman falling in love with a super hot member of a royal family technically came out days before Prince Harry proposed to Meghan Markle, but we’ll take an American princess fairytale anywhere we can get one.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Has Mid-Century Style In Spades
    If you’ve been missing the on-point mid-century aesthetics of shows like Mad Men and Good Girls Revolt, you might want to watch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel strictly for that. The new Amazon show from Amy Sherman-Palladino takes place in the late ’50s and shows us the best apartments the Upper West Side had to offer at the time.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    We’re Going Back to Monterey Because Big Little Lies is Getting a Second Season
    Remember that one week when all your friends watched Big Little Lies together and wouldn’t stop talking about it? You’ll be glad you caved to peer pressure and subscribed to HBO Now (and keep forgetting to cancel it), because our favorite moms of Monterey are coming back for another season full of mystery and (presumably) murder.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Hear Will Smith Motivate You on Netflix’s Nostalgic Moviefone Hotline
    A new Netflix original movie is coming December 22, and the streaming giant launched an unusual marketing campaign to promote it. Bright stars Will Smith, where plays a cop in a fictionalized version of L.A., one in which “interspecies tensions” are abundant. His partner is an orc (played by Joel Edgerton) and the trailer shows him batting a fairy away from his porch, so there’s definitely some magical realism at play here.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    I Watched Netflix’s Latest Holiday Movie, Christmas Inheritance, and Here’s What I Thought
    Netflix quietly handed us all another gift in the form of Christmas Inheritance, their latest original holiday movie, starring Eliza Taylor (The 100) and Jake Lacy (Carol, Obvious Child). If you were pleasantly surprised by last month’s so-bad-it’s-good A Christmas Prince, you might be able to get into the spirit of Inheritance. Taylor plays Ellen Langford, the daughter of a wealthy retail owner (What do they sell? Gifts. There’s no need to be any more specific than that).
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    These Are The Most Popular Holiday Movies, According to Google Searches
    Google sees you when you’re sleeping and knows when you’re awake – or at least, it knows what holiday-themed movies you’re trying to find online every December. A new graphic from the team at Treetopia shows the 15 most popular holiday movies, according to Google search interest data collected over the last five years.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    I Watched Both of Meghan Markle’s Hallmark Movies, and This One Is The Clear Winner
    You already knew Meghan Markle is famous for her role in Suits, but did you know she also starred in not one, but two, Hallmark Channel movies? While sadly neither takes place around the holidays, 2014’s When Sparks Fly and last year’s Dater’s Handbook are both available to rent on Amazon for when you need something to watch with your family this month. You don’t need to pay too close attention, because I already watched them for you.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Stream Golden Globe-Winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel This Weekend – Even if you Don’t Have Amazon Prime
    Amazon’s new original series darling, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, just took home two Golden Globes, and this weekend, you can watch the accoladed series for free – with our without an Amazon Prime membership. Per the retail and streaming giant, anyone can watch the series at no cost starting this Friday at 12:01 a.m. local time, right up until 11:59 p.m. local time Monday.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    How Black Mirror Uses Color to Set Two Very Different Tones
    An episode from the most recent season of Black Mirror makes excellent use of color and light to signify tone – all while making viewers feel wildly unsettled. If you haven’t seen “U.S.S. Callister,” the first episode of Black Mirror’s fourth season, go watch it and come right back. It’s impossible to talk about without spoilers. “U.S.S. Callister” has been written about a lot since it came out last month.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Hulu Released The Handmaid’s Tale Season Two Trailer, And Things Are Looking Grim
    The show that just took home the Golden Globe for Best Drama TV Series doesn’t come back until April, but Hulu recently dropped a teaser trailer for season two of The Handmaid’s Tale. Here’s a breakdown of what might be to come for Offred and company in season two, based on a cruel, less-than-90-seconds of footage. As is to be expected, below are spoilers for season one.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Zach Braff Returns to TV in a Show Based on a Podcast
    It’s almost time for mid-season replacements, that wonderful time of year when all the second-string sitcoms sub in for the ones that got cancelled already. Over at ABC, they’re taking a chance on Alex, Inc., a show based on a podcast. The whole thing may sound very meta, but get used to the small screen borrowing from its increasingly popular audible cousin. After all, 2 Dope Queens just landed a series of HBO specials. Alex, Inc.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Grace and Frankie Season Four Hits Netflix Today
    If you’re thirty going on seventy, you may have already binge-watched the first three seasons of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie. Blend up some green smoothies and/or a pitcher of margaritas and kick back this weekend, because the show starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin airs its fourth season on Netflix starting today, January 19. If you haven’t seen it, you may think this show is more your aunt’s speed and less yours, but I implore you to try it all the same.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    The House In ‘Winchester’ Is a Real Place, And It’s Gigantic
    A new Helen Mirren movie about a rich heiress who builds a strange mansion is based on real events. While it sounds like the real house it centers around was less about ghost stories than Hollywood makes it out to be, the place is still imposing. Winchester’s trailer shows Sarah Winchester, the widow of rifle magnate William Wirt Winchester, as she builds room after room onto her mansion, trapping inside each of them the ghosts of those who died as a result of her husband’s firearms.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Inside The Vermont Ski Resort That’s Home to The Bachelor Winter Games
    While everyone else is flipping out over USA gold medals in Pyeongchang, Bachelor Nation is fired up over a whole different set of winter games. To compete with NBC’s Winter Olympics audience, ABC debuted its first-ever Bachelor Winter Games. In lieu of the famous California mansion, 26 athletic competitors from previous seasons of the international reality show franchise are cozying up in a private, 1,400-acre ski resort in southern Vermont. Per Boston.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Owning a Famous Property Has Its Downsides: American Horror Story House Owners Suing Over Tourists
    Have you ever thought how cool it would be to own a famous house recognizable from popular culture? Maybe think again. The current owners of the L.A.-located Rosenheim Mansion, AKA the famous haunted house featured in the initial season of American Horror Story, are way over the novelty. In fact, they’re suing the previous owners for not giving them a heads up about how often the house is visited by fans of the horror anthology.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Netflix’s Everything Sucks! Captures the ’90s in All its Flannel, Alt Rock Glory
    Netflix recently capitalized on America’s need for more 90s nostalgia in its new original series, Everything Sucks. Taking place in Boring, Oregon (a real-life place, near-ish Portland), the show centers around the teens attending Boring High, as well as the adults working there. It’s a pretty accurate flashback in terms of soundtrack and setting, and especially wardrobe – so much flannel! Buckle up, it’s 1996!
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Stream these Women-Led Shows to Celebrate International Women’s Day
    March 8 is International Women’s Day, and it’s a great opportunity to support an organization that helps women, such as Kiva, WAGGGS, or another great non-profit. Once you’ve done your part, relax with some women-led TV. While the Oscar winners this year were still pretty dude-heavy, you can lift up women’s profiles in TV by streaming and supporting women-helmed projects. Cinematography work by women is amazing, but rare.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    If You Love Renovations and Mysteries, These Hallmark Movies Are For You
    Did you know one of America’s most loved 90s pop icons is at the helm of her own Hallmark Channel movie franchise? Jewel, who continues to successfully pull off going only by her first name despite transitioning into an acting career, is the lead in her third Fixer Upper Mystery, which premiered this month, following two previous 2017 movies in the series.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Explain It All: Why Was it So Easy for Sam to Climb into Clarissa’s Window?
    By now, you already know that Melissa Joan Hart and company are in talks to reboot Nickelodeon’s 90s hit, Clarissa Explains It All. As the Hollywood Reporter said of the project, the new show would see former star Melissa Joan Hart reprise her role as Clarissa Darling, but this time, she’d play the mom of the family. How very Girl Meets World of them!
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    Can You Make It Through The Scariest Movie on Netflix?
    Netflix can be pretty tight-lipped on their viewer data (with the exception of occasionally trolling its users on Twitter), but now they are reporting that there’s one horror movie on the streaming platform that many viewers are just too scared to finish. The 2017 horror movie Veronica is one of the scariest movies on Netflix. Set in 1991 Madrid, Veronica is about a teen girl who finds herself besieged by an evil supernatural force after she plays Ouija with two classmates.
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019
    The Roseanne Reboot Sourced The Sofa From (Where Else?) Craigslist
    Last week, the premiere of the Roseanne reboot astonishingly landed 18.1 million viewers after the initial run ended 19 years ago. While ratings dipped somewhat in week two, it’s clear America still cares a lot about what the Conner family has been up to since 1997 (it’s already been renewed for a second season, despite the controversy that swirls around Roseanne the person).
    Meryl Williams
    May 3, 2019