Hyperfixations for the week of Aug. 11, 2025
A list of pop culture that I can't stop thinking about
I haven’t watched a season of Project Runway (2004) since Mondo was runner-up on season eight.1 But for the past week, I’ve seen the (gender-neutral) girlies on the socials talking about how celebrity stylist/image architect Law Roach has been absolutely READING this season’s contestants. Never one to avoid drama, I started this season (the show’s 21st!), and BAYBEE — I’m so glad I did. The (gender-neutral) girlies were right about the outspoken Roach, who brings curt and cutting critiques that liven up the judging panel.2 And watching Project Runway again feels like catching up with an old friend. The elements that made me a fan back in the day are still there: petty, low-level drama; contestants (in a medley of jaunty hats) who are actually talented; and, most importantly, fashion with a capital F.3 My early favorites are Ethan (aka Utica Queen from the 13th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race), Joan, Belania and Joseph McRae.
Soap operas make me think of childhood: naptimes at daycare when the teachers watched All My Children (1970) while I pretended to sleep; snow days when the soaps that came on after the noon local news were my signal to change out of my pajamas; catching the tail end of a close-up of Victor Newman on The Young and the Restless (1973), my mother’s favorite soap, when I’d come home from school. New daytime soap operas come around less often than Halley’s Comet4, so I always give newbies a chance. Beyond the Gates (2025), that’s your cue:
The first major daytime soap in 25 years,5 AND it features a majority-Black cast? SIGN ME UP IMMEDIATELY. This show has everything: gorgeous actors with beautiful hair, wealthy characters, queer couples, THEE Tamara Tunie in her matriarch era. And in this era of streaming, you don’t even have to watch soaps live — I’ve been catching up on Beyond the Gates on Paramount+.
I love women in STEM, specifically the ladies on TikTok who’ve been cosplaying as Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton from the musical Hamilton.6 In case you’re not chronically online, these content creators have pulled out their Founding Fathers jackets, IKEA lanterns and eyeliner goatees to reenact the Best of Wives and Best of Women interlude. But in their versions, Hamilton is a guy who absolutely can’t stand his wife and is trying to sneak out of the house. This is my favorite of the genre:
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Recently, I’ve been going through thriller novels like they’re going out of style. A recent standout on my reading list is Fog and Fury by Rachel Howzell Hall. Imagine a classic private eye/whodunnit story, but the investigator is a Black woman/former LAPD detective who fell from grace in the age of social media. Add in a beautiful California Pacific Coast setting, and I was HOOKED. Fog and Fury is the first of a two-part series, and the second doesn’t come out until next year, so I’ve turned to the rest of Hall’s catalogue to satiate me until 2026. I highly recommend her work if you’re looking for a quick and exciting read.
Friendly reminder to preorder the book The Golden Girls: Tales from the Lanai, an academic yet approachable and fun anthology about the seminal sitcom. I’m proud to be amongst an impressive list of scholars and writers who explore different cultural threads from the show. Plus, there are interviews with folks who were directly involved in the show.
Tales from the Lanai, which was edited by Taylor Cole Miller and Alfred L. Martin, Jr., comes out on Rutgers University Press on Sept. 9 — just in time for the 40th anniversary of The Golden Girls premiere. Reserve your copy from (amongst other places) your favorite local bookstore, Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble or Jeff Bezos and nem. If you’re located in Louisville, I’ve gotten confirmation that Carmichael’s Bookstore, Set & Setting and Foxing Books will have copies in store. Talk to me nice, and I’ll sign your copy!
Y’all remember the challenge when they had to design a pattern, and Mondo made a pattern based around plus signs to reflect his HIV status? That was some good (and surprisingly earnest) television.
The contestants have been clutching their pearls when Roach hands down judgements, but there’s truth and reasoning behind his criticisms — even if it’s delivered with a lot of spice.
Both (complimentary!) and (derogatory!)
Did y’all know this was how you spelled the name of this celestial body? EYE did not.
Shoutout to Passions (1999), the last new soap on the broadcast block that I watched every day after school. The show’s characters included a witch played by Juliet Mills and doll named Timmy who came to life. What a time!
I'm also a big fan of the Hamilton ladies