We’re less than two months away from saying bon voyage to 2015 and welcoming 2016 with a series of resolutions that will likely be broken by January 2nd. But 2015 refuses to go gentle into that good December 31st night and continues to vie for future hashtag status of BestYearEver followed by the fist bump and party horn emojis.
This year Chris Pratt said goodbye to Andy Dwyer and hello to action figure and box office gold with Jurassic World. We all fell in love with The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and proved that you don’t mess with classic Saturday morning cartoons. (I’m looking at you, Jem and the Holograms. Even if one person reads this post, it will still have a larger audience than that movie did in the two weeks – not an exaggeration – it was in theaters.)
So, what’s in the pipeline for the rest of 2015? Here’s just a sampling of what to look forward to as 2015 calls it a wrap.
Master of None
To be honest, I feel that this television season has been lacking a certain je ne sais quoi. My favorite comedies have fallen flat on the laugh scale, dramas are feeling like Kardashian scripted storylines, and don’t even get me started on the fact that New Girl isn’t coming back until after the new year.
Enter Aziz Ansari and his Netflix series Master of None.
The premise sounds simple: a single New York actor deals with the neverending complications of career and relationships. But the show is anything but a mindless, half-hour comedy. It combines humor with an honest look at societal issues: race, immigration, and even gender roles.
Hands down, Aziz Ansari is one of this generation’s greatest comedians. If you don’t believe me, watch the first ten minutes of Master of None. You will never look at pasta the same way again.
Adele’s 25 (Nov. 20)
The voice. The lyrics. The eyeliner. The songs that rip out your heart and make you post fifteen second Instagram videos of you crying while listening to “Hello” on repeat.
Unless you’ve given up all technology, moved to a remote forest, and can only communicate through trained pigeons – you know that Adele is back with her third studio album, 25.
And if the over 200 million views of the album’s first video is an indication, 2015 and 2016 will be the year of Adele. Plenty of time for you to practice your winged eyeliner skillz.
And for those who need an Adele refresher, here’s the song that made me fall in love with the voice from Londontown.
Go ahead and sing along: that’s a side effect of Adele. We all become Adele.
Sisters (Dec. 18)
The dynamic duo of Fey and Poehler grace us with their comedic presence this holiday season. But rather than telling us this week’s news on SNL, attending lamaze classes in Baby Mama, or making Taylor Swift super uncomfortable at the Golden Globes, they’re sisters in the aptly named comedy Sisters. Brilliant.
Here’s a quick run down:
“Tina Fey and Amy Poehler reunite for SISTERS, a new film from Pitch Perfect director Jason Moore about two disconnected sisters summoned home to clean out their childhood bedroom before their parents sell the family house. Looking to recapture their glory days, they throw one final high-school-style party for their classmates, which turns into the cathartic rager that a bunch of ground-down adults really need.”
Wait, the guy who directed Pitch Perfect is behind the scenes for this one? Please Lord, let there be a sing off at the house party and may the song be the Sarah Palin rap. Amen.
Also, I know – the film is up against this small, independent film about a galaxy far, far away, but what better way to complement The Force Awakens than spending time with Liz Lemon and Leslie Knope. Winning!
Anything for You (Dec. 29)
Well, I know what I’ll be doing on New Year’s Eve.
Kristan Higgins’ Blue Heron Series returns with the fifth installment featuring one of my literary boyfriends, Connor O’Rourke. (Yes, I have a few. I’ll be the first to admit it: I wholeheartedly believe in literary polyandry.) Connor is hot, owns a restaurant, and wants to settle down with one particular woman. And no, dammit, it’s not me.
This is not the first time I’ve suggested the Blue Heron Series, and chances are it will not be the last. The books go beyond the traditional romance novel, and showcase Higgins immense talent of creating authentic characters and seamlessly blending both humor and poignancy in her storylines.
Plus it centers around a family vineyard, and I haven’t been this excited about how wine was made since Keanu Reeves took off his socks and danced in a vat of grapes in A Walk in the Clouds.
Realistic storylines, strong women, hot men, and wine? That’s my kind of wine tour.
What are you looking forward to as 2015 says au revior? What’s going to be in your DVR, on your playlist, or even on your bookshelf to read before the year is over?
