It’s Friday. Looking for something to switch up your weekend, or to give you an excuse to relax a little? That’s what the Weekend Reset is for. Each week we’ll pull together five things to get your weekend started. Could be something to read or watch, something to eat or listen to, or even something to do. Enjoy the weekend fellas.
WATCH: Succession Season 3
It’s been over two years since the second season of HBO’s King Lear-via-Veep tragicomedy Succession ended with a thunderous bang, and in that span of time, I’ve gone to YouTube to watch the last five minutes of the Season 2 finale (warning: SPOILERS!) several dozen times. It’s such a delightful, shocking twist, and one that sets the stage for an explosive intra-family feud in Season 3, for which early reviews have been through the roof. Whether its the weird sexual tension between Kieran Culkin’s Roman Roy and J. Cameron Smith’s Geri Kellman, the riotous banter between Tom and Greg, or the schemes of Logan, Shiv, and Kendall, this is a premiere I will be watching the second it drops. On HBO and HBO Max this Sunday starting at 9pm EST.
PLAY: Back 4 Blood
Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 were seminal games, co-operative shooters in which you and a band of friends could work together through an online campaign to beat back hoards of zombies that had taken over America. Back 4 Blood, designed by the same studio that made those two 2000’s classics, is their spiritual successor — only in Back 4 Blood, you’re no longer fighting back zombie invaders, you’re taking the fight to the Zombies. Featuring updated gameplay including iron sights shooting and a tense, brilliant campaign, this is a perfect way to spend a weekend night (or several) with friends. Out now on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Xbox Game Pass.
MAKE: Pasta alla Gricia
Pasta alla gricia is one of the four classic Roman pasta dishes, along with caccio e pepe, carbonara, and amatriciana. Gricia is sort of a combination of caccio e pepe and carbonara: it builds deep, smoky, spicy flavor from pecorino Romano cheese, guanciale (or pancetta), and lots of black pepper. If you’re looking to impress a date (or to impress your main squeeze on date night) this is both simple and utterly, completely delicious.
GO SEE: The Rescue
In June 2018, a soccer coach and thirteen boys on his team decided to go exploring a local cave system. But when they tried to leave, the cave had flooded. They were trapped. The Rescue is a remarkable, edge-of-your seat retelling of the massive, international effort to save those boys. Featuring terrifying first-hand cave diving footage and interviews with the participants, this is both a thriller and an optimistic story about the power of experts coming together and working towards common purpose. Currently in theaters.
READ: The Everything Shortage
The holidays are coming up. And the holidays means a lot of gift giving, and a LOT of shopping. Only this year is going to be very, very different. Forget Black Friday showdowns in Walmart — this holiday season, there might not BE much on the Walmart shelves to even fight over. As we’ve mentioned here before, America’s supply chains are, to use a technical term, completely and utterly f*cked. This Atlantic article is an up-to-date examination of the problem, and is valuable reading for anyone wondering why it’s so damn hard to get paper towels, or a PlayStation 5, or a new car or computer. Put another way: If you have a special gift you want to get for a special someone by Christmas… try to get it now. Because if you don’t, you probably will be celebrating Christmas in January. Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash.
About the author: Michael Robin is an LA-based television writer and tutoring company co-Founder. When he’s not working away on his latest pilot script, you can find him scuba diving, hosting Shabbat dinners, or goofing off with his goldendoodle, Biggie Lebowski.