In this, our newest recurring feature, SheWired editors will get you the low-down on all the can't-miss, female-centric entertainment highlights coming up this week. Just think of it as our list of Totally Awesome Things That Will Remind You Why It Rocks To Be A Woman. Don't worry, you can thank us later.
10. TV: The Blacklist
There are dozens of reasons why you should watch NBC’s The Blacklist. It’s a smart, twisty thriller, and, for those of us Gen Xers who were fans of Pretty in Pink, it’s nice to see that the bad guy, James Spader, is now older and bald. (Factoid: the other two main actors in that film, Molly Ringwald and John Cryer now play, respectively, a lesbian and a guy with a sugar daddy whom he’s been clear he’d be willing to go gay for. Just saying.) But we can’t take our eyes of Megan Boone (pictured), who looks vaguely like Ellen Page and who plays FBI agent Elizabeth Keen, a smart and gutsy rookie who goes toe-to-toe with Spader and anchors the series. Turns out she has secrets even she doesn’t know about, and though she has a husband in episode one, we can always dream that down the line, she’ll discover her sexy Sapphic side. Here's a link to the DVD.
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9. MUSIC: Meshell Ndegeocello’s new video, “Suzanne”The legendary bisexual crooner (the first woman to be featured on the cover of
Bass Player magazine) is back with a new video for the song “Suzanne” off her critically acclaimed album
Pour une Âme Souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone. “Suzanne” was originally written by the great Leonard Cohen, and covered by Nina Simone on her 1967 studio album,
To Love Somebody. Now Ndegeocello has recorded her own version of the song to include in her homage to Simone. The video is a fan collaboration, inspired by the song’s lyrics “place by the river.” Ndegeocello had fans submit photos of their own such places in the world, creating the visual backdrop of the world's ever-changing landscape for the video. Gotta give her big feminist props, too, for including some amazing musicians on the album like Sinead O'Connor, Tracy Wannomae, and Toshi Reagon. Buy it here.
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8. MUSIC: Lovers, A Friend in the WorldThe feminist rockers known as Lovers — Carolyn Berk, Kerby Ferris, and Emily Kingan — offer an intimate portrait of female friendship and sexuality on the group’s seventh album,
A Friend in the World, out Tuesday. Check out the video for track “Girl in the Grass” below, and find out more info on the band,
including tour dates, here.Girl in the Grass from Dusty Coats on Vimeo.
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7. MUSIC: The Garden, The ShondesPlenty of adjectives exist to describe The Shondes — queer, Jewish, transgender, Riot Grrrl — but the Brooklyn quartet's fourth album,
The Garden, defies the need for anything other than open-eared appreciation. Released on September 17,
The Shondes, as always, provide energetic yet carefully orchestrated songs that capture emotion in its most sincere forms. Though their name is Yiddish for "disgrace," the band's fourth album does nothing of the sort; each song has its own spirit that will break your heart and then effortlessly mend it.
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6. TV: Jersey StrongIf you haven't been watching
Jersey Strong on the new cable network, Pivot, episode two is your chance to get in on the action. The docu-soap follows two contrasting Newark, N.J. families, including lesbian attorney-couple Brooke and Maggie, as the families deal with gangs, raising children, and making career changes.
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5. DVD: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: The Thirteenth SeasonThere are a lot of reasons why the original
CSI, a show that changed the TV landscape, is still going strong and Elizabeth Shue (so sexy and sassy in middle-age) is among the tops. Sure, the DVD set has the whole season of hot investigators scouring the scene, collecting evidence, solving mysteries and a ton of extras around talking heads and guest stars (Ozzy Osbourne, Chris Evert) and two must-sees:
The Extended Family, which follows the smaller characters on the series, and
Drawing Blood, real crime scene experts on creating realistic scenes. But the real reason any lesbian worth her salt still watches
CSI: Jorja Fox. Buy it here.
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4. DVD: Dark GirlsA new documentary looks at the very divisive topic of skin color — among women of color.
Dark Girls explore the prejudices dark-skinned women face throughout the world. The thought-provoking doc explores the roots of classism, racism, and self-esteem across the country and around the world through women's personal stories. It's a must-see.
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3. BOOK: My Brother's NameIn her poignant and powerful debut novel, author Laura Krughoff’s protagonist Jane Field is overtaken by her brother’s schizophrenia, attempting to navigate the disorienting landscape of health care and family support as she begins to suffer a shared psychosis. As she adopts her brother's identity in an effort to preserve the idealized memory she has of him, Laura discovers that while trying to save her brother, she might just lose herself. The novel touches on themes of gender and perception, ultimately posing the question, "do people see what you tell them to see?"
My Brother's Name is now available through Scarletta Press.
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2. GRAPHIC NOVEL: Blue is the Warmest Color The live-action
French film about growing up, falling in love, and
coming out is so good it won the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, and will be released in the U.S. Oct. 25. Get a jump start on the story, though, with the graphic novel that inspired it. Author Julie Maroh’s first graphic novel,
Blue is the Warmest Color (
Arsenal Pulp Press) is a brilliant and bittersweet look at lesbian youth and the beauty of love, desire, and rebellion. A must-read that you’ll cherish long after the story is done.
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1. TV: Rosie O'Donnell Joins The FostersAfter tweeting her appreciation for the ABC Family's
The Fosters, Rosie O'Donnell was asked by the show's creators to join the cast. A foster parent herself, the out actor will have a recurring role in the new season of the critically acclaimed lesbian family drama, according to a release from the network. O'Donnell will take on the role of Rita Hendricks, a tough but compassionate woman working in the foster care system who builds a mentor relationship with one of the foster kids under Stef (Teri Polo) and Lena's (Sherri Saum)'s multiracial, blended family roof. The second half of the first season of
The Fosters will start shooting in October, and air on ABC Family beginning in January 2014.
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