Entertainment & Fun

Hear ye, hear ye: The Crown season 2 is now available on Netflix. While the world was caught up with royal engagement fever, you probably forgot that the period drama was returning for another ten episodes. Here’s what you need to remember from season 1 and what we can expect from season 2 (spoilers ahead, but not really because it’s based on true events, you know?).

While the frenzy around it has cooled slightly, we are still very much living in The Golden Age of Television, aka Peak TV. And while I look forward to telling my robot grandchildren that I lived through the years when they put The Good Place on air, there is a downside to living in such a content-rich time, and that is having to say goodbye to some of our favorite (and not so favorite) shows.

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).

Now is the time when year-end book lists abound, hardcovers are gifted at family holidays, and your favorite writer announces that they’ve got something in store for 2018. But even if it feels like there are too many books and never enough time, that could actually be a good thing. “Antilibraries”, those collections of books we own but never get to, can keep us intellectually curious and humble.

Like many people, I fell down a Wikipedia rabbit hole while watching The Crown. So what’s a history nerd to do? Pull together a chronological watch list to help sort out the history of the monarchy in dramatic order, naturally. As a lover of costume dramas, I was well versed in period films and TV series depicting the British royal family long before Claire Foy and Matt Smith captivated the world with their performances as the young Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in The Crown.

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.

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.

There’s nothing worse for a bookworm than hearing about a must-read debut, only to find you’re the 105th person on the waitlist at your local library. In the interest of keeping you, and your bookshelves, ahead of the curve, we’ve outlined some of 2018’s most-anticipated releases and debut authors so you can start requesting your holds now.

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.

Sorry, creepers: Instagram is once again “borrowing” a feature from Snapchat. The photo app is reportedly testing a screenshot alert notification for Stories, so you can no longer save photos undetected. The feature was reported yesterday by TechCrunch when people took to social media to share the new feature. Good bye freedom to screenshot IG stories. ? Thank you, Instagram for the warning. pic.twitter.

Trading Spaces‘ Genevieve Gorder is prepping to trade some vows. And when the beloved TLC show returns to airwaves in April, her new fiancé will be making an appearance too. Just a few days ago, Gorder announced her engagement to designer and builder Christian Dunbar, PEOPLE confirmed. “It takes a pretty big love to interrupt a beautiful life…this one was undeniable,” said Gorder, 43. “So off we go to the dance again.

Everyone’s favorite ’90s working class drama is making a comeback, and to celebrate the return of Roseanne ABC is taking New York City commuters on a a nostalgic immersion experience — complete with retro afghan blankets — as a literal hype vehicle.

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.

For me, a new month means a new TBR pile, and I always look to my favorite bookworm, Reese Witherspoon, for what to add to my list. “Reese’s Book Club,” a community of almost 400,000 on Instagram, selects a new read each month and often brings in the author for exclusive interviews. Our March Book Pick, #EroticStoriesForPunjabiWidows, has something for everyone: It’s a mystery, a romance, a family drama… and yes, it’s ? ? ?!

Fixer-Upper superfans have been anxiously awaiting the news of Chip and Joanna Gaines’s fifth child’s sex, going as far to speculate that it’s a little girl named Evie. But the truth has finally come out, and it looks like it’s due to quick comment Chip made while at a golf tournament. “Alright, alright.. if we’re going to announce the gender of our #5th child. It might as well come from my new friend #Gage! Take it away my man.

As ladies around the world and the men who support them stand up in unison to celebrate International Women’s Day today, Google’s famed Doodle is doing what it does best — shining the spotlight on unsung but important stories through its homepage.

Louisa May Alcott’s famous novel Little Women is a moving story of four sisters—Meg, Joe, Beth, and Amy—growing up during the Civil War. The popular story inspired many adaptations, including movies, musicals, operas and children’s books. Now, to celebrate 150 years of the March sisters, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers has partnered with Tapas Media to give the beloved story a modern and more inclusive update.

Chloe Benjamin, who lives in Madison, Wisconsin, spent years writing her epic novel The Immortalists, an emotional story about four siblings who learn the exact dates of their deaths from a mysterious fortuneteller. As Varya, Daniel, Klara, and Simon grow up and grow apart, this knowledge drives distinctly different journeys and forces each to question whether we control fate—or fate controls us.

Leni Zumas’ novel Red Clocks is one of the most talked-about of 2018, celebrated for telling a complex, thoughtful story about five strong women grappling with motherhood in vastly different ways. Her central characters—a biographer, a daughter, a wife, an explorer, and a witch-like mender—find their paths intersect as reproductive rights undergo major governmental regulation.

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.

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.

Tonight is the series finale of Fixer Upper, and if you’re in denial, you’re not alone. Jo took some time today to reflect on the end of the show over on Magnolia’s blog. While the power couple aren’t exactly disappearing forever, deciding to end their hugely popular HGTV show last fall came as quite a surprise.

Grads everywhere may be thumbing through Oh The Places You’ll Go!, which is all well and good, but we think Gilmore Girl-turned-author Lauren Graham has written the next classic for high school and college graduates. Her small-but-mighty book, In Conclusion, Don’t Worry About It, was developed after she gave the commencement speech at her high school in 2017 and realized she had some valuable advice for young people on the cusp of new chapters.

If you haven’t yet caught up on Hulu’s original series The Handmaid’s Tale, you’ve got a couple weeks to check it out – season two starts April 25, when the first two episodes of the 13-episode season will drop. Episodes will air weekly after that, just like season one did. Because the new season takes place after the original source material—Margaret Atwood’s 1989 book—ends, we don’t know what’s outside of Gilead.

Look, I’m all about a complicated, deep, character-driven novel that makes you feel a range of emotions, most of them kind of dark, but that’s not what May is about. May is about finally being able to be outside (provided you’ve taken your allergy medicine) and enjoying long walks in the park, drinks in backyards, and light, fun books you can bring to the beach or the pool. And the book you should bring with you this month is Hey Ladies!

The recent saga around Brooklyn 99, FOX’s critically-acclaimed darling about a New York City police precinct, felt like a roller coaster for fans. The network cancelled it in advance of its sixth season, only for it to be scooped up at the 11th hour by rival network NBC. Fans rejoiced on Twitter, the platform on which they’d been cursing FOX for days prior. It’s a story with a happy ending (PS, NBC, can you resuscitate Happy Endings while you’re at it?).

One of the most intricate, continuity-conscious series out there is a former Disney Channel cartoon disguised as a children’s show. Gravity Falls ran for two perfect seasons between 2012 and 2016, centering around a fictional Oregon town with twin siblings, Mabel and Dipper Pines, and their great-uncle Stan.

Memorial Day is around the corner, so we’re officially allowed to start planning our summers, wearing white jeans… and updating our TBR lists. One of our favorite bookworm communities, Goodreads, used their 75 million members to compile the most anticipated books of summer.

When it comes to taboo life advice that one can actually use in their 20s and 30s, beloved humorist and author David Sedaris dishes out some of the best. (Hello, that cautionary-tale tip from Me Talk Pretty One Day that keeps us all from trying on thrift store jeans before they’ve been washed, amiright?) On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert this week, Sedaris shared a peek of the commencement address he gave at Oberlin College—and his strong feelings about candles.

Summer: the season where you neglect Netflix to spend more time outside—or, the time when it’s too hot, so you stay cool and comfortable on your couch. Either way, if any of your faves are on the list of July’s expiring titles, you might want to make a date with your (streaming) device. Sadly, the 1994 version of Alcott’s March sisters will snowball fight out of our queues in July, but it could be the impetus you need to check out the recent PBS/Masterpiece adaptation.

You may be tempted to cut down on screen time this season to enjoy the outdoors, but Netflix wants to make that as hard as possible. Here’s what’s coming to the streaming service in July. Everything leaving Netflix in July Everyone’s favorite rambunctious redhead returns for a second season of the Netflix/CBC reboot. Jerry Seinfeld is back, and picking up more comedians in cars to get coffee.

The latest celebrity engagement between Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande solidifies the official comeback of the disputed pear-shaped diamond engagement ring. On June 15, the Saturday Night Live star posted a black-and-white photo on his Instagram account with his hand positioned under Grande’s left hand and on her ring finger sparkled a $93,000 rock. His caption: “u know what you’d dream it be like? it’s better than that.

If you like puns, crafts, and craft-related puns, then we have a pretty great way for you to spend two minutes. In a video to promote their new crafting competition show, Making It, former Parks & Rec costars Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman challenge each other to a DIY-themed pun-off. “Y’all thready for this?” starts Poehler. “Don’t be spoolish,” Offerman dishes.

Harry Potter was different from other children—magical and muggle—for many reasons: Obviously there’s the whole “destined to defeat the Dark Lord and save the world” thing, but there are some other, less dramatic differences, too. Harry Potter did not look forward to his birthday and he dreaded coming home from school for the summer. Both of these facts make sense when you consider that Harry was (not) celebrating his birthday and living with the Dursleys.

Your grandma may still give you a card with a twenty dollar bill stuck in it, but things are bit different over at Buckingham Palace. According to the Daily Mail, the Queen has offered Prince Harry and Meghan Markle a luxurious property to add to their growing collection… of luxurious properties. This one is Adelaide Cottage, which is less of a “cottage” and more of a “sprawling mansion.

Attention crafters, makers, DIYers, and creators of all sorts of thingamajigs: there’s a magical new TV show called “Making It” that will delight you more than a trip to the craft store. “Making It,” NBC’s new crafts competition reality show, embraces all things handmade and it debuts on NBC on Tuesday, July 31 at 10/9c.

The long-awaited Gilmore Girls revival came out on Netflix almost two years ago, but from the minute that national binge-watched happened over Thanksgiving weekend, rumors have been flying about getting even more time with our favorite Connecticut brunettes. In July, the latest official Netflix comment on more Gilmore Girls came from the Television Critics Association when Cindy Holland, VP of Original Content, said the streaming giant is still a big fan of Stars Hollow.

September is fast approaching—don’t let Labor Day pass without catching these great beach reads. Amazon MEM by Bethany C. Morrow 18 Buy now Let’s start with a book that showed up around Memorial Day weekend, and now you can read it over Labor Day. In this inventive dystopian story, a scientific breakthrough means humans can have memories removed from their brains. These extracted memories, also known as Mems, experience that memory on loop until they expire.

Whether you’re on an eternal library waitlist for this year’s hottest novels, or you’re already through 2018’s most popular books, the reading doesn’t stop there. In fact, if you liked what you read this year, you’ll be happy to know that many of this year’s buzziest authors have written before! I’ve rounded up a few favorites.

Talk about the name that keeps on giving to its Muggle fans. Just in time for Halloween, Insight Editions is releasing new Harry Potter books that will add to the ever-growing brand. However, these aren’t just any ordinary books (as none of them are), but unique reads that you’ll love to make room on your coffee table for. Amazon Harry Potter: Creatures: A Paper Scene Book 29.

Great news, Potter fans: You no longer have to attend Hogwarts to feel like a wizarding student. Following the success of last year’s PBteen Harry Potter collection, Pottery Barn has announced its official home decor expansion that involves the company’s entire trifecta (Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and PBteen). The new whimsical products have us spellbound, to say the least.

In this muggle world, there are Harry Potter fans, and then there are Potterheads. And in the case of third grade teacher Tressa Bargella, her classroom layout makes it very clear where her wizarding loyalty lies. This year, Bargella decided to transform her classroom into Hogwarts 2.0, ultimately making her lucky students wizards-in-training. When approaching the classroom, you feel like you’re walking through Platform 9 3/4 with brick exterior and luggage perched in the corner.

Years before all of America fell in love with Making It‘s romantic, sensitive, and highly skilled quiet man Khiem Nguyen, the master craftsman who captivated judges and fans alike on Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman’s new TV competition for creatives on NBC, I was lucky enough to get to know Khiem and his now-wife Amanda McKeever as fellow DIYers, dog parents, and Boston to Austin expats.

We’ve found the luggage to bring to Platform 9 3/4, the home decor that will make your corridor feel cozy, and even the books to read in-between classes. But one thing we’ve yet to cover is how you can determine what House you’re truly meant to be in—until now, that is. Target has introduced the Real Talking Sorting Hats for their wizarding shoppers to invest in.

Kelsey Miller never expected to have room for a home office in New York City—at least until she was “rich and famous.” However, she and her husband lucked out on the apartment front, and now she has a small writer’s retreat all to herself. The author of the forthcoming book “I’ll Be There For You” takes us on a mini tour of her workspace, and shares what it’s really like writing a book about everyone’s favorite TV show, “Friends.

Bookworms rejoice: There are tons of ways to read your favorite books online for free. From old-school classics to brand-new bestsellers, the web is brimming with books you can binge read from your smart device free-of-charge. We’ve rounded up some of the best places you can find books online for free. From Amazon to the Library of Congress, check out these seven awesome websites where you can read books for nothing—from the privacy of your own sofa.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for season three of “Insecure.” In the finale of what Issa Rae calls a “starting over again” season of “Insecure,” our main character, Issa Dee, takes a look around her new-ish apartment on the night of her 30th birthday, unpacks those boxes sitting in the corner and finally starts to decorate her new space. Why now? Issa is finally starting to have clarity in a way that we haven’t seen before. Picture Issa Dee, season one.

As the weather cools down, more candles start to light up. There’s nothing quite like your favorite candle flickering on an evening when all you want to do is crawl under your favorite blanket and cozy up to your TV for the evening. For those binge-watching Harry Potter movies any night that you get to do so, do we have the candle to lift your spirits as if Wingardium Leviosa was casted upon you.

When bullet journaling blasted onto my radar a few years ago, it was because of all the Instagram-perfect Pinterest fodder from folks who were creating stunning works of art masquerading as calendars and trackers in their impeccable dot grid notebooks.

Last month, I found myself yell-whispering at my iPad. I had flipped on HGTV and stumbled upon an episode of House Hunters during a flight to Ohio. The house hunting couple decided to move to Costa Rica because the husband saw a YouTube video about sloths. So naturally, he wanted to have a sloth as a neighbor along with an ocean view as they searched the market for their budget-friendly dream home.

If you’re thinking about throwing out those old Beanie Babies stuffed in the back of your childhood closet, stop right there. Turns out those plush toys might be your ticket to making an online fortune (if they’re in good condition, of course!). Despite the growing popularity of other e-commerce sites (read: Amazon), eBay has remained the go-to place to buy and sell rare goods, including Beanie Babies.

We didn’t have any particular license to do a retrospective on 2018’s most joyful moments. But at the end of a pretty grim year, we felt like it. So we gave ourselves an excuse and decorated a whole bunch of miniature holiday trees in honor of them. Here are eight of the moments that made us pause, laugh, and connect. The result is a little weird, a little funny, and a little beautiful. Let us know what you think (and what you think we missed) in the comments below.

Today was an emotional roller coaster, to say the least: Everyone thought “Friends” was going to be ousted from Netflix starting January 1, 2019. But now the country can rest easy, because the popular sitcom is going absolutely nowhere. The rumored deadline was going to fall on the sitcom’s fourth anniversary of when it was first available on the streaming service, and fans expressed their outrage all over social media.

January is looking to be a great month for books—so much so that I’m preordering six novels right now. Here’s a little mystery, a little family drama, and a little dystopia to keep you occupied during your winter hibernation. There is a solar eclipse in Iran in 1979 and in France in 2012, and those two timelines run through the novel.

For many, a new year means a new reading list that you’re determined to get through in 365 days. To help you with your 2019 goals, some of our favorite celebrities shared what they read this past year—giving you an inside look as to what you should stack on your nightstand next. Regardless of whether they like eBooks or the real deal, almost all the well-known personalities we’ve spoken with are burying themselves in a good read.

Legendary organizational guru Marie Kondo is back in our homes thanks to the release of the Netflix original series “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.” The show’s debut on New Year’s Day came at the exact time when so many of us have resolved to be better versions of ourselves, because what better way to feel like a new person than (finally) decluttering your space?

Who hasn’t spent a day or two on the couch bingeing home improvement shows? Whether it’s HGTV or the DIY Network, we’ve all been sucked into the renovation zone via our TV screens. Now, the folks at Joybird have analyzed data to determine which programs are the most popular across the country. It may or may not come as a surprise, but HGTV’s “Flip or Flop” scored the number one slot.

Whether it’s “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” or “The Seven Year Itch,” the combination of lighthearted romance and witty banter between potential soulmates is intoxicating. Though while it’s a popular and fun form of escapism, romantic comedies stray far from the truth. Relationships rarely start with a meet-cute, and thanks to heightened airport security measures, it is really hard to reconcile at the gate.

It’s one thing to go down the line of your classic romantic comedies and pick your favorite couples, but what about the great debate over who had the best digs? Here to settle the score is the definitive ranking of romantic comedy heroine’s apartments. From Bridget Jones to Vivian Ward, here’s who decorated it best.

Let’s all be honest: The best place to spend Valentine’s Day is on your couch. Whether that means snuggled up with someone special, snuggled up with a half gallon of ice cream, or there by yourself because you are perfectly happy being single, it doesn’t matter. Plop down on that comfy couch turn on some holiday appropriate television and voilà—the perfect Valentine’s Day. Need some options as far as what to watch?

For the second time in the past several months, the internet is abuzz with an awful lot of *feelings* regarding the possibility of “Friends” leaving Netflix.

There’s no denying it. We all watch romantic comedies for one reason and one reason alone—escapism. Sure, maybe you and your S.O. actually did have a meet-cute, or perhaps you really do have a best friend whose only purpose in life seems to be helping you find yourself.

Yes, we know: Everyone says you have to read “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” before its adaptation arrives in theaters this August. But in case you’re looking for others, here are a few more to get through before they hit big (and small) screens near you. West’s hilarious and intelligent essay-collection-slash-memoir is being turned into a Hulu series starring SNL’s Aidy Bryant, coming out on March 15.

It’s about that time for your Netflix queue to come in like a lion and out like a lamb. This is what’s new on the streaming service for March, and what’s getting dropped. Catch Bradley Cooper in his most perfect role (outside of Jackson Maine), alongside other faves like Amy Poehler, Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, et. al. in this classic camp movie. Can you believe??

If you’re a loyal fan of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, you’ve probably gotten into a duel or two over which novel is best in the series. While each individual has their opinion, we got an inside look at the most Googled Harry Potter book by state—and the results might make you Moody, pun intended. Furniture brand Joybird released a study that showed the highest searched Harry Potter title in each state throughout the U.S.

We have strong feelings about a lot of things, but until recently, towel quantity wasn’t one of them. In a hilariously earnest social media post, writer Yashar Ali tweeted about bath towels, specifically the number of towels adults should ideally own. Fortunately, Yashar doesn’t have quite as many towel categories as Monica Geller, but he did start what became a wildly popular towel meme based on his suggested that there should be 50 towels per adult couple.

If you’re like me, you subscribe to a bunch of streaming services. While they’re not particularly expensive, those monthly fees can add up. But there’s some good news for the multi-streamers among us: Spotify Premium members can get Hulu for free. Yep, totally free. If you’re already paying the $9.99 to listen to Spotify ad-free, there’s a new perk. The Verge reports that you can bundle the basic Hulu plan into your account for no extra monthly charge.

“The Simpsons” is in its 30th season—and now holds the title of the longest-running primetime scripted series. Over three decades, we’ve seen hundreds of versions of the opening theme, ending with the family together on the couch, in a home most Americans would probably recognize. That said, Springfield (and its surrounding areas) has some other pretty awesome places to live. So here’s a selection of the coolest pads in “The Simpsons” universe.

Have you ever been forced to defend your TV viewing habits? One of the most grating examples of this is trying to explain why you keep watching the same shows over and over again. Honestly, if you don’t already know why I’m dedicated to rewatching “Nurse Jackie” every few months, then you might want to check out a new study from the University of Chicago. Long story short: Rewatching stuff you’ve seen a million times before just makes you feels good.

Since announcing their engagement in November 2017, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been nonstop busy with traveling the world, making public appearances, and building a life together. And with a baby coming around the corner (as in this month!), the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s lives are about to get a whole lot busier—and they just made it a million times easier for us common folk to follow along with their new Instagram account.

I think it was the famous father, donut lover, and American prophet Homer Simpson who said, “Mmm, I’m a toasty cinnamon bun,” while wrapped up in his bedsheets one morning. While that does sound delicious, when you do wrap yourself up in sheets like Homer did, you’re really more of a human burrito, right? That’s why I’m sure Homer would be the first in line (or online?) to buy the latest food-based item going viral: a literal burrito blanket.