Team women. If the Beckham drama has taught us anything, it’s how efficiently we pit women against each other. It’s not a Victoria vs Nicola Peltz catfight. It’s not bride vs MIL. Notice that there are men in this family. How come David or Brooklyn are emerging with their reputation spotless? How come they’re decorative lamps with no agency in this story? Question everything, conspiracy theorists!
Moaning softly. Dystopian thrillers and workplace dramas are feeling too real at the moment. Our escape: Competency porn. That’s just a sexy term for plots in which people do their jobs well. Star Trek, yes, but also The Pitt, The Paper, The Great British Bake Off even. Being good in a crisis is better than being good in bed, folks. Wanna come over and watch someone get promoted, babe?
On life support. Look, we love Corey Mylchreest and his posh accent, whether he’s playing a king with a double life or a poetry professor you’d like to see alone after class (ahem!). But why is he always on the verge of dying or getting untimely killed in his films? In the new Agatha Christie thriller Seven Dials, he’s gone within the first 20 minutes. Let the man live.
Opting in and out. Situationships and flirtationships are basic. Real serial daters are all about the Sunset Clause. They know it’s not gonna last forever. They know they’re only in it until the feels wear off. So why pretend? It’s a commitment workaround for self-aware people. Honestly, we want to sign up too.
In denial. At first glance, the O Romeo trailer is giving, “What if Animal and Kabir Singh had a lovechild?” It’s got the full toxic masculinity starter pack: Shahid Kapoor as the misogynist. Triptii Dimri as the doormat. Blood, biceps, guns and guts. But we’d like to believe it’s all satire. This is Vishal Bhardwaj, after all. The man gave us Maqbool and Haider. Don’t let us down now.
Shutting eye. Queer Eye S10 is the goodbye season. Honestly? Good timing. The press run has been messier than the “before” part of the makeovers they do. Karamo Brown says he was bullied and won’t promote the show. Jonathan Van Ness reportedly has rage issues. Former Fab Five member Bobby Berk is openly beefing with Tan France. We loved Queer Eye when it was warm and life-affirming. Let it bow out before it becomes bitter, awkward or — worst of all — irrelevant.
Heavy breathing. We grew up hiding dirty magazines under the bed and downloading porn off the family Wifi at night. Gen Alpha, however, is chastity-coded. Almost 50% of teens think there’s too much sex in movies and TV shows, claims a UCLA study. They prefer Stranger Things, Wednesday and SpongeBob SquarePants. Pop culture is going to look very boring a few summers from now. The best stuff will be under the bed.
Tracking the bots. All those YouTube recappers, summarising six seasons in 90 seconds, just to prep you for the seventh – they’re the best. Amazon saw them and said, “Hold my remote”. Their AI-driven recaps now sum up the plot points. Perfect for when new seasons launch after ages (Paatal Lok, Stranger Things). But less fun than watching some 14-year-old YouTuber jabber at the speed of light.
From HT Brunch, January 31, 2026
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