Enthusiasms — What to look forward to 7-26-24
Welcome to Enthusiasms. Your reminder to always be looking forward to something. Pulltab Sports Editor-In-Chief, John King, points you in the right direction.
SUITS SEASON 9 HITS NETFLIX
Most people watched Suits long after Meghan Markle (Rachel Zane) became Duchess of Sussex. The series, which first ran on USA Network from 2011 to 2019 has had a second life on Netflix these last couple years. At the center of this euphoria is main character Harvey Specter played by Gabriel Macht. The greatest attribute of a great TV character is consistency. And on Suits, Harvey Specter is as consistent as his perfectly tailored, yes, suits.
I must admit I didn’t even realize Suits had a ninth season that wasn’t initially included on Netflix. And when I did finally click on Season 9, the first episode had me worried. It was a bit like watching one of your favorite aging rock bands become a caricature of themselves.
But after a couple episodes, all that Suits magic came roaring back. To be clear, while this is undoubtedly the era of prestige TV, Suits has more in common with the network procedurals of the past (see Law & Order, CSI, etc.) than it does, say, The Bear or Hacks. Yet there is something soothing about the structure of a well made and predictable procedural like Suits. And in Season 9, Harvey is Harvey, Louis is Louis, Donna is Donna, and so on. We love these characters, and Netflix has given us more to love.
I haven’t completed Season 9, so I don’t know if Duchess Meghan herself makes a cameo, but I do know if you’re among the millions that picked up Suits late on Netflix and loved it, you’re going to love Suits Season 9 as well. The biggest difference is Season 9 picks up with Harvey and Donna operating as an out-in-the-open couple at the law firm. This is about as dramatic a change as the writers could possibly have made as the other 8 seasons were essentially a cat and mouse game between Harvey and Donna filled with longing, but no real closure until Harvey showed up at Donna’s place in the last scene of what many Netflix viewers likely assumed was the series finale.
If you haven’t watched Season 9, just hearing that Harvey and Donna are a couple might sound like it wouldn’t work. The dog can’t catch the car, no one catches their shadow. Well, I’m here to tell you, it does work. Harvey and Donna as a couple is just plain adorable, if you can still be adorable in six-inch stilettos. Somehow having Harvey and Donna standing atop the Suits cake makes Season 9 the desert we all needed after binging the first 8 seasons two years ago. The same writers that made us long for Harvey and Donna to eventually hook up, now have given us a power couple so lovely the anxiety has transferred to worrying about them breaking up. If Harvey Specter settling down is a nonstarter, remember even Derek Jeter got married, folks.
Notably Suits Season 9 is worth watching just to see Louis Litt pretend to be Harvey for an entire episode—wig included, it’s a virtuoso performance and an all-time episode.
Once you get past the first episode, the rest of Season 9 will blend together like one giant NEXT EPISODE button. Which, let’s be honest, is what we all love about a well-crafted procedural in the first place.
THE RED CLAY STRAYS AT THE BASILLICA BLOCK PARTY
It’s no secret the Twisters soundtrack is as big a blockbuster as the movie. Snuck in between streaming giants like Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, and Chris Stapleton—you’ll find a delicious throwback band from Mobile, Alabama—The Red Clay Strays. The band’s song “Wondering Why” went viral on Tiktok because of their Live AF performance.
It goes without saying the cool factor of The Red Clay Strays is all conference from their musicianship, their look, to frontman Brandon Coleman channeling a little Elvis Presley. Things should only get better for The Red Clay Strays who recently signed a record deal with RCA and brought in producer Dave Cobb for their second studio album dropping today. Music fans will know Cobb for his work with the likes of Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, and Whiskey Myers to name a few.
Lucky us The Red Clay Strays will be in town for the day 1 of the Basilica Block party on Boom Island on August 2nd. And while the tickets aren’t cheap, by all accounts The Red Clay Strays look to be worth the price of admission.
BIKERIDERS WILL GIVE YOU ALL THE SCORSESE FEELS
Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, and Austin Butler star in the film The Bikeriders based on a photo book of a real motorcycle gang from the 1960’s. The film is narrated by Comer’s character and is reminiscent of Scorsese films like Goodfellas and The Wolf of Wall Street.
The Bikeriders is a movie like the movies used to be. Or perhaps better said, a film like films used to be. The acting is stellar with Hardy doing his best Brando and Butler his best James Dean. In the end it might be Comer who steals the show, but you won’t be able to tell because The Bikeriders is an ensemble joy ride, an Outsiders for the 2020’s. And while it may seem odd to tell you to spend $20 to stream it at home to remind yourself why we used to love going to the movies, that’s exactly what I’m telling you to do.
SPICY QUESO FUNYUNS MAY SAVE WORLD
It’s no secret these haven’t been the easiest of times. global conflict, assassination attempts, and routine talk of a civil war and the end of democracy. Well, you know what can solve all that, Spicy Queso Funyuns.
Released last Fall, but rarely seen—Spicy Queso Funyuns are a game changer, and I’m presently nominating Frito Lay for the Nobel Prize. When my buddy stumbled into a bag recently and texted us about them the group text included praise like this:
“Sell your gold and hide your cigarettes”
“Think how good those would taste after 12 Jamos, a chew, and silver scratch off savings under your fingernails.”
“Funyuns Queso might have finally figured it out, Steven Segal can finally rest in peace.”
So, basically, everything is going to be fine now. If you look closely, you can even see a peace sign.
