Rich Text

This week on the pod — Claire’s first official week back from maternity leave! — we dig into the latest season of the Netflix show about the Oppenheim Group, a luxury L.A. real estate brokerage where maternity leave is grounds for removal . Back in the fantasia of Calacatta marble countertops and glass pocket doors that is the Los Angeles luxury real estate market, our gals are still clacking arou...

There is a particular pleasure in listening to other people give relationship advice. This is why I keep podcasts “Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel” and “Dear Shandy,” — shout out to our brilliant friends Sharleen Joynt and Andy Levine! — in my regular listening rotation, and can’t get enough of reading Heather Havrilesky’s Ask Polly and Alexandra Hayes Robinson’s Hello Hayes columns. It’s...

As a girl in the late ‘90s and early aughts, few figures loomed larger than Britney Spears. She was IT. Her blonde waves, her sugary sweet voice, her sexy-but-virginal winking public image, she represented an ideal I knew I was supposed to strive for and also knew I’d fail to achieve. I choreographed dances to “…Baby One More Time” in my best friend’s room, tying our shirts up in knots in a paltry...

Houston, we had a problem. We continued to have problems. The problems spun out far beyond our TVs — like this lawsuit — and now the problems have ended. That’s right, baby, “Love Is Blind” season 5 has come to a whimpering end. We got two weddings, one double “I Do,” and a shockingly calm and mature reunion episode. (Raise your virtual hand if you were SO relieved that Vanessa didn’t pressure any...

Season of 5 of “Love Is Blind” continues to be an absolute mess, top to bottom. Episode 8 was full of hard-to-litigate conflicts (Johnie and Izzy, Uche and Lydia, Johnie and Stacy, Uche and Miriam…), and then episode 9 was like emotional whiplash as we prepare for the two — only two! — weddings we will see in the finale. We also saw our final two couples — Izzy and Stacy, Milton and Lydia — face s...

This season of “Love Is Blind” is less about rooting for any of the couples, and more about watching with fascination as relationships fall apart and — maybe — come back together. And this week, the couple that did NOT defy the odds, is horny-for-Americana J.P. and sweet kindergarten teacher Taylor. After forcing his partner to endure three days of painful awkwardness, in which he answered every q...

My main reaction to the first four episodes of “Love Is Blind” season 5? OY. There are certain conventions of “Love Is Blind,” as there are with every dating show, that we’ve grown to understand and, in a sense, feel comforted by. There will be a Golden Couple who emerges as a sure thing from episode one. There will be at least one major love triangle. By the end of the first drop of episodes, the...

In my humble opinion, few things feel as good as a promising, burgeoning friendship. As inept as I’ve historically been at finding great men to date, I excel at making new friends. We all have our strengths, and that’s one of mine. Friendships have been the building blocks of my adulthood. I reached 36 as an unmarried, childfree woman with a solid career and a full life. For the last decade and a...

Editor’s Note: The audio quality on this episode is worse than normal because we had to use our backup Zoom recording. Apologies for this! Emma is running an operation of one while Claire is on leave. Is “Love Is Blind” season 4 the most functional cast in LIB history? After watching the three-part “After The Altar” special which dropped on September 1, I think the answer is yes. Often a reality d...

While I was watching episode 8 of “And Just Like That’s” second season, I texted Claire an important question: Do I have Stockholm Syndrome, or has this show become significantly more watchable? After a much-needed nearly two-hour breakdown of the back half of the SATC spinoff’s sophomore season with Claire herself (!!!), my conclusion is that the answer is both. There were some real delights in e...

I have a love-hate relationship with “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” Jenny Han’s 2009-2011 trilogy turned Prime Video hit show. There were so many things I adored about the first season: the idyllic setting of (fake) Cousins Beach, the adult friendship between Belly’s mother, Laurel, and her college bestie Susannah Fisher, the Taylor Swift-heavy soundtrack. But, as Claire and I discussed last year ,...

“Red, White & Royal Blue” is the streaming summer rom-com I’ve been craving. A sexy prince! A sexy First Son! Sexy chemistry! It’s all very sexy and very hopeful and very full of the kind of political wish fulfillment that feels oh so good as we stare ahead at our next presidential election cycle. I wouldn’t call this movie a Great Film but I would call it a whole lot of fun if you can let go...

I may not have been an OG fan of “The Real Housewives of New York City,” but I was a dedicated one. I watched Countess Luann incessantly discuss her cabaret show, I knew all about the fish room and the lower level, and I couldn’t wait to watch the boat ride from hell. And yet, in 2021, deep in pandemic-land, I found myself dreading watching RHONY. The once vibrant show’s 13th season was… a total b...

The first thing I noticed when I stepped into a Brooklyn movie theater at 4:30 p.m. on a Thursday, the day before “Barbie” opened nationwide, was the palpable buzz of anticipation. Before the Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” even began, you could sense the hunger of the audience; the sense that we had been waiting for something just like this. When the lights came up about two hours later — after watching...

We’re back to recap the second batch of episodes of “And Just Like That,” a show that we love to watch and also love to obsessively critique. And boy did a lot happen in episodes 3-6. We got breakups, breakdowns, a Gloria Steinem cameo, an odd amount of petty crime, a particularly creepy scenario which involved a MILF list and grown-ass women checking out a teenage boy (no thank you!), and Carrie’...

“The Bear” season 2 deserved better than what it got. After a highly acclaimed and buzzy first season (which just snagged 13 Emmy nominations), the FX culinary comedy/drama released its whole second season on Hulu in one drop. Instead of savoring one new episode a week — and having a whole day or more of discourse about standout episodes, like the celeb-studded anxiety attack “Fishes” or the medit...

This is part two of our two-part Q&A about motherhood and non-motherhood. You can listen to part one here . CW: In this podcast, we discuss pregnancy and having children, and our own personal experiences with those topics. We know these are difficult topics for many people. If you’re struggling with infertility, or have suffered miscarriage, or have lost children, we know that questions around...

CW: In this podcast, we discuss pregnancy and having children, and our own personal experiences with those topics. We know these are difficult topics for many people. If you’re struggling with infertility, or have suffered miscarriage, or have lost children, we know that questions around pregnancy and “choosing” to have children can be particularly painful. If this is the case for you, this may be...

And just like that… we’re back in the saddle with Carrie & Co. Carrie is experiencing the instability of the podcasting industry, Miranda is in Los Angeles with Che (yes, Che Diaz is still around), Charlotte is grappling with her role as a mom now that her children are bonafide emo teens, and Samantha is still absent (but going to make a one-scene appearance!) Our new leads are finding their f...

After Emma’s meticulous crash course in “Vanderpump Rules” and, more specifically, the Scandoval, we were both feeling prepped and ready as hell to watch a finale and three entire reunion episodes about the wild on- and off-screen events of the past season. The finale kicks off with Ariana and Sandoval’s raw on-camera confrontation about his affair — featuring Tom’s weak excuses and Ariana’s entir...

We are GOING ON (mini) TOUR! If you live in the Philly , Boston or New York City areas, come hang out with us and see Love To See It LIVE! We’ll be recapping an iconic — and hilarious — vintage episode of “The Bachelorette” with some very special guests: “Normal Gossip” host Kelsey McKinney, BIP alum Jill Chin and comedian Arden Myrin. Get your tickets here. This week, we took a quick break from w...

We are GOING ON (mini) TOUR! If you live in the Philly , Boston or New York City areas, come hang out with us and see Love To See It LIVE! We’ll be recapping an iconic — and hilarious — vintage episode of “The Bachelorette” with some very special guests: “Normal Gossip” host Kelsey McKinney, BIP alum Jill Chin and comedian Arden Myrin. Get your tickets here. Content Warning: In today’s podcast, we...

The big headline about season 6 of “Selling Sunset,” the real estate docusoap set amidst multi-million-dollar mansions in Los Angeles, was the departure of the long-time series villain, Christine Quinn. After five seasons of antagonizing doe-eyed heroine Chrishell Stause and systematically burning bridges with the rest of the Oppenheim Group — many of whom had been her friends for years — Quinn wa...

Note: Because of all of the clips and photos, if you’re receiving this in your inbox, you will have to click “view entire message” at the bottom of the email to see the full post! For “Vanderpump Rules” fans, “Scandoval” was the culmination of a years-long commitment to the dramatic ups and downs of a group of Los Angeles strivers. For everyone else, it was a chance to ask… Who the hell are Tom Sa...

This is the free edition of Rich Text, a newsletter about cultural obsessions from your Internet BFFs Emma and Claire. If you like what you see and hear, consider  becoming a paid subscriber . Rich Text is a reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors! Twenty years ago, Hilary Duff cemented her status as a Disney Channel icon by starring in the first-ever Disney series movie spin-off released in...