Recs #36: The best new show, group chats, and hot Shakespeare boyfriends

Plus some thoughts on not posting the pic.

This is the Friday post, a weekly roundup of recommendations and delightful distractions.

Reminder: We have a February subscriber chat where you can share your current obsessions and/or ask for recommendations! Paid subs can see it on the web here or in the Substack app.

Happy Friday! How was your post-Lunar New Year, post-Super Bowl Valentine’s week? It’s been a bit chaotic here, and not because of the aforementioned events. I’ll share a short life catch-up with paid subs soon, but it’s been a week of just rolling with the punches and embracing the happy chaos.

One of us is a dumpling; the other one *ate* many dumplings last week.

Today’s issue is jam-packed so I’ll get on with it. I hope you enjoyed a week filled with festivity, love, and good chocolate. —Alisha

Read on for…

• The BEST romantic drama I’ve watched in years

• A coffee-adjacent treat

• A new pop culture section I’m testing out 😎

• February book club meetup info for 19+ cities (and on Zoom) to discuss Good Material by Dolly Alderton

• A giveaway for tickets to see Dolly in person for D.C. readers 🎉

This is a long email and it might clip. You can click “view in browser” or see it on the web here.

This was a weird week with [ironically] not much downtime, so I really just have one big recommendation for you…

📺 Watch: One Day on Netflix

Based on the novel of the same title by David Nicholls published in 2009, this show is a must watch.

Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew are students at the University of Edinburgh when they meet on one fateful, feted night during their class graduation party. Emma is a nerd, self-conscious at times and self-assured during others. Dexter is the Edinburgh golden boy, having grown up with the full package of wealth, charm, and good looks¹. The two are seemingly at odds with one another, yet they’re brought together by some mysterious magnetism. Emma and Dexter both see the other perfectly for who they truly are, a recipe for falling in love and driving each other mad. The show documents the same date, July 15th, over the course of many years, in which the pair fall apart and come together (and again and again) as they navigate their journey into adulthood.

This is a romance without romanticizing. The show spotlights the quotidian stuff of life that’s actually the big stuff. There are no grand montages of either of these characters magically achieving their big career goals or following a clean, upward trajectory into a perfect grown-up life. Their story is messy. Emma and Dexter make bad decisions that snowball into reckless, lost chapters. They’re figuring life out, with all its ups and downs, but are rarely in sync (much to the viewer’s dismay). I won’t ruin the ending, but their inevitable romance doesn’t quite come together in the way you might expect. Have tissues ready.

Also, this casting! Actor Leo Woodall’s performance ( who played the “nephew” in The White Lotus) is full of heart and heartbreak, which is needed to play a boy who has everything, yet is in a clear free fall after his mother’s terminal illness diagnosis and his resulting addiction. I was less familiar with Ambika Mod, who plays Emma, but consider myself charmed. The first few episodes made me doubt the chemistry between these two, but they find their footing with another. The banter is believable and endearing.

One Day mixes the bittersweet romance of Normal People with the deadpan comedy of Fleabag, with a perfect soundtrack to boot that directly correlates with the years depicted (e.g. Elliott Smith for 2002). The episodes are short and perfect for an evening when you just want to melt into the couch, light a candle, and feel a full range of emotions—including utter devastation.

Have you seen this yet? Read the book? How does it compare to the 2011 Anne Hathaway movie? Sound off in the comments.

Introducing a section of new-to-me products (discoveries) and pop culture news/celebrity gossip (distractions) that’s crossed my radar I want to gab with you about…

⭐️ Discoveries

• This coffee cake sugar for sweetening up the coffee ritual (recommended by my friend Zoe)

• Genius or unnecessary? A nut butter tool.

• One of my favorite brands just launched denim and I was gifted a pair of these high-rise jeans. They feel like butter, yet still have enough structure to hold me in. The straight cut feels very of-the-moment. If you’re above 5’4”, they’re going to look amazing on you. I have to get mine hemmed :)

  

  need this whole outfit…

• This new haircare brand is getting high praises from all the people in the know. Has anyone tried it?

🫣 Distractions

Paid supporters of the Downtime newsletter get access to the full version of every Friday newsletter. Subscribe for $5/month if you’d like to join in.