OH MAYA
Plus One has all the attributes of a typical rom-com. Two college friends agree to be each others' dates for weddings, and along the way they realize they (might) have feelings for each other. Nothing new under the sun, right? Except that Maya Erskine brings hilarious attitude, joyful inappropriateness and genuine emotion to her role as Alice, a woman from a large Asian-American family who is navigating not only a recent breakup and a new maybe-relationship with Ben (Jack Quaid), but the impending wedding of her (gasp!) younger sister. Plus One is 90 minutes that won't make you feel dumb for watching it when it's done. Now streaming on Hulu, home of the hilarious Pen15 coming-of-age sitcom Erskine co-created and stars in with Anna Konkle. (DAN NAILEN)
DANCE, BILL! DANCE!
Twitter is so often a political and ideological battleground it's refreshing when somebody disrupts it with some dumb fun. The account "bill hader dancing to" (@billhaderdancin) is predicated on a simple gimmick: It takes footage of Bill Hader awkwardly busting a move in an unaired 2015 Saturday Night Live sketch and sets it to popular songs — Smash Mouth's "All Star," Rihanna's "Disturbia," OutKast's "Hey Ya!" and more. And that's it. And it's funny every time. "im pretty sure you're all getting sick of these videos," the account's moderator tweeted a few weeks ago, "but im gonna keep doing them anyways." (NATHAN WEINBENDER)
disturbia- rihanna pic.twitter.com/iZBmdrlmVc
— bill hader dancing to (@billhaderdancin) October 23, 2019
REEDUS 'N THE FETUS
Death Stranding is so bizarre, you can't help but fall in love with it. In this new game recently released for PS4, you play as a delivery man of sorts, connecting various settlements in a Black Mirror-esque fantasy world that blends a virtual world with a supernatural one. You also carry around a small baby in a jar. It's complicated, but interesting! This is Hideo Kojima's first title from his independent studio, Kojima Productions, and he wasn't pulling any punches. Norman Reedus stars as the main character, alongside other A-list talent on the bill. (QUINN WELSCH)
LAUGHS LOGGING OFF
In the opening of Silicon Valley's sixth and final season, the scene is utterly familiar: Tech industry giants in Washington, D.C., to testify about internet-user data collection and their monopolistic grip on the industry. Among them is Richard Hendricks (Thomas Middleditch), idealistic CEO of Pied Piper, a company striving to create a new decentralized internet. He gives a speech about his idea, only to discover his company is knee-deep in data collection. Featuring high-caliber witty humor, this season stands to address the dark question currently roiling the real-life tech industry: Can ideals like democracy and internet privacy withstand greed? Now streaming on HBO. (JOSH KELETY)
THIS WEEK'S PLAYLIST
Some noteworthy new music arrives online and in stories Nov. 15. To wit:
Juliana Hatfield, Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police. The title is pretty spot on — and I'm really glad she's doing "Canary in a Coalmine."
DJ Shadow, Our Pathetic Age. De La Soul, Run the Jewels and a pack of Wu dudes guest on what should be an old-school hip-hop delight.
Frozen 2 Soundtrack. Props to the parents who will be listening to this nonstop for the next year or so. (DAN NAILEN)
