Benny Drama's TV Show, 'Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' is Back, and An Inspiring Emma Grede Interview

Recommendations for your weekend!

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FYI, I was back on “Vanderpump Rules” star Scheana Shay’s podcast “Scheananigans” this week—listen here!

Read

• The Real Housewives on Bravo’s “Love Hotel” spilled a bunch of their relationship advice, and the resulting article is a very fun read. (Louis Staples for The Cut)

• This summary of Cassie’s first day of testimony in the Diddy trial is shocking and heartbreaking. Incredibly brave of her to get up there and share her story with him sitting right in front of her. (Victoria Bekiempis for Vulture)

• Similarly, have you read Kim K.’s testimony in her Paris robbery case? Harrowing. (NBC News)

• It’s kind of crazy how many of the film industry’s current breakout stars were featured in bit roles in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood”—and the story behind that from the casting director’s perspective is a total romp. (Nate Jones for Vulture)

Listen

Emma Grede on “The Diary of A CEO”

I’d never listened to this podcast before, but I saw someone I trust recommend this specific new episode featuring Emma Grede, the woman behind many of the Kardashians’ successful brands who I’d always been so intrigued by, so I gave it a listen. Turns out, she’s fucking legendary. There’s so much more to Emma than what I’d ever heard about her (and I’m saying that as someone who pays close attention to the KarJenners), and she’s full of invaluable wisdom, advice and stories. I have immense respect for her hustle and discipline, as well as how long she sat back and allowed others to shine in the spotlight as she built her business. She’s no bullshit in a healthy way, and I think we could all take a page from her book.

Watch

“Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” - Season 2 (Hulu)

OBVIOUSLY! Hulu dropped all 10 episodes of season 2 of “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” yesterday, and I’m slowly making my way through them, because I can’t be rushing through this one. Two episodes in, and it’s already blowing my mind. This group was made for this. I would’ve liked a weekly drop of several episodes for this one to prolong the fun, but beggars can’t be choosers.

I’m sharing my thoughts on this season stream of consciousness-style for paid subscribers of the newsletter here! Testing out Substack’s live chat function for the first time… let me know what you think! (I’m also interviewing some of the cast next week for my podcast, so if you sign up you can submit some questions you might want me to ask them in the chat…)

“Overcompensating” (Prime Video)

I had the privilege of seeing the first two episodes of Benny Drama’s debut show a couple of weeks ago, and I was immediately obsessed with it. “Overcompensating”—which is based on his experience as a closeted former football player in college—resonated deeply with me and is full of nostalgic millennial touch-points, from the music to its pop culture references. The opening song montage alone was enough to get me hooked, but the show’s overall tone deftly balances humor and crude bro jokes with emotional, sweet moments that tug at your heartstrings. Benny is fantastic, but so, too, is the supporting cast, which is full of emerging comedians. I can’t wait to watch the rest of the episodes.

Self-Promotion

Chatting “The Valley,” “Real Housewives” and MLMs

New York Magazine writer Bridget Read returned to the pod on the heels of the release of her new book “Little Bosses Everywhere: How The Pyramid Scheme Shaped America,” to chat about how MLMs intersect with pop culture and Bravo before we jumped into a bunch of chat about “The Valley.”

Listener Mailbag: “RHONY” Cancellation Confusion, “Summer House” Spinoff Chances, “Real Housewives of Rhode Island” Gut Check & More!

I answered a bunch of listener mailbag questions about hot-button Bravo topics like WTF is happening with “The Real Housewives of New York,” all of those new show announcements and what the future looks like for the “Summer House” cast we know and love.

Currently

At home in NYC this weekend preparing for over two weeks overseas for a couple of weddings and a bunch of exciting travel coming up…!