Every week, The Lemur’s editors-in-chief handpick a few things worth holding onto this week. Consider this your quick break from the incessant pull of Instagram Reels.
🎬Watch
The X-Files (1993)
It’s the perfect time to revisit The X-Files, as Ryan Coogler (of Sinners fame) has just wrapped the pilot for a new-cast revival on Hulu. The show’s innovative, standalone-serialized hybrid style holds up, and Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny are pure magic. —CE
Severance (2022)
The days are long, the weeks are short, but Ben Stiller is here to stay. Severance, in all of Patricia Arquette’s topsy-turvy glory, reconsiders how we approach friendship and corporate America. If you want a mind-bending dark comedy and a long conversation with Frank at the front office, Severance might be for you. —AND
📖Read
“The Loneliness Influencers” — (The Cut)
There’s a profitable niche on TikTok and Instagram Reels in which young women narrate their solitude by filming it for the public (i.e., eating dinner alone; a video concept that is somewhat paradoxical and inherently bizarre). The Cut’s Rachel Pick explores this genre’s “luxurious tedium.” Do these videos really capture pure loneliness, or rather a kind of perverse connection? For anyone interested in how content shapes culture, it’s worth a read. —CE
“With 32 World Cup teams left, who has best route to the final and can Messi beat goals record? Day 17 recap” — NYTimes/the Athletic
What’s pop culture without the pride of millions of fans hinging on the biggest football (sorry, not sorry, Americans, we don’t do soccer around here) tournament in the world? I have been obsessed with football, and the post-game breakdowns the NYT does. If you aren’t caught up with the tournament, The Athletic has got you covered. 32 teams now stand on the precipice of success or failure, and will shape generations of sports fans to come.
There’s your Sunday. Keep an open mind and let us (or, better yet, a friend!) know if anything resonates. No Lemur is an island. We’ll see you next week.
