From Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1 to The Strangers Chapter 1, Should You Add These To Your Watchlist?
From masked killers to hidden feelings, should you watch these new movies and shows? The writers of Pop Culture Planet reveal what’s worth the watch… and what isn’t.
Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1
Am I the only one a bit underwhelmed by this new season of Bridgerton? Season 3 Part 1 focuses on fan favorite wallflower Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) who has been secretly running the ton as the notorious Lady Whistledown. After pining over him for years, things take a turn when Colin (Luke Newton) — back from Europe with a major glow up — finally notices Penelope just as she goes harder on securing her own match.
While there’s some very sultry moments, like the carriage scene, I feel like Polin is mostly overshadowed by an overstuffed cast and too many romantic prospects. Colin is a little too slow at realizing Penelope is the girl for him that you almost start rooting for Lord Debling. There needed to be more pining from him! We do get to see more of Anthony and Kate’s relationship and the Mondrich family getting a shot at nobility, which I enjoyed. Meanwhile Francesca’s making her debut with a rather dull match, Benedict continues to get recycled storylines, and there’s even hints at romance for Violet. With so many people to focus on, it’s almost a case of too much and too little happening at the same time. I feel like it impacted the time spent on Polin’s connection. While we ultimately got a satisfying ending to part 1, I hope they up the ante in part 2 and really solidify their relationship.
Bridgerton is streaming on Netflix.
- Kristen Maldonado
Prom Dates
Prom can be a stressful time between finding the right dress to having the perfect date. Hannah and Jess feel that struggle in Prom Dates when they become single the day before prom and have to scramble between parties to find replacement dates.
I’m a sucker for a fun coming-of-age film and this one checked all the boxes! Antonia Gentry and Julia Lester play besties so well, even if, at times, it seems a bit dramatic. The film has a raunchy humor that definitely resonates with how teenagers talk to one another these days, which I loved. The quirky and wacky scenarios they run into is enough to keep you laughing in either confusion or ridiculousness. Even Kenny Ridwan as Hannah’s ex-boyfriend Greg is so hilarious to watch as a weeping mess and understanding partner. A standout to me was Lester bringing a lot of the emotional depth to her character’s journey in coming out and navigating the rollercoaster of emotions of it. It’s messy, funny, and all things chaos in Prom Dates and I couldn’t get enough!
Prom Dates is streaming on Hulu.
- Paola Cardenas
The Girls On The Bus
Four female political journalists cover candidates during the primaries on the campaign trail in The Girls on the Bus. Based on Amy Chozick's memoir Chasing Hillary, it arrives perfectly timed with the 2024 US elections. However, the show struggles to balance fiction and non-fiction, failing to be conversational. I wanted it to spark debates and push boundaries instead of presenting the familiar.
The main reason I continued watching was the casting. Melissa Benoist, Carla Gugino, Natasha Behnam, and Christina Elmore are a joy to watch together. Though their friendship seems forced, I enjoyed their connections and personal stories. Benoist's Sadie is personable and her love story with Malcolm is better than expected, with their chemistry growing stronger throughout the show. The moment she tells Kimberlyn she likes him is authentic and opens up her character without changing her fundamentally. Meanwhile, Behnam is the standout. She is hilarious, fiery, and a perfect representation of Gen Z. Her character felt necessary amongst these women and it’s the one part of the reporting storyline I can applaud because of its commentary on how social media is changing the way we interact with news. Her personality saves the first half of the season. But I can’t forget Gugino's character telling her daughter that the first line of her obituary will be her work and she'll be the last. It wasn’t until that point that I began to become invested in her story and, if it goes where I think it is, it will be very healing.
The show fails on the political angle but the cast shines, making the show worth the watch. While it's not a complete letdown, the show needs to hone in on personal storylines to save itself.
The Girls on the Bus is streaming on Max.
- Makkedah Ramsey
The Strangers: Chapter 1
Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez lead The Strangers: Chapter 1, a new standalone trilogy based on the original 2008 film. They play a couple who are terrorized by three masked people at a remote Airbnb cabin after their car breaks down in a small town.
While the first act of the film is visually appealing in its color palette and brings a layer of suspense, it quickly falls flat. The characters continually make dumb decisions that will have you yelling at your screen in frustration. There are barely any kills and the ones that are there are dull and uninspired. The masked villains don’t make a real impact and you don’t learn anything about them either. By the end of the film, nothing meaningful has happened and it feels like a waste of an hour and a half. This is a very uneventful set up to the next two movies in the trilogy, which begs the question as to why they didn’t just combine it all into one film.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 is playing in theaters.
- Kristen Maldonado
