Dr. Juli Fraga
Never Have I Ever
A fresh coming-of-age dramedy, Never Have I Ever depicts how the death of a loved one can impact teens’ mental health, as well as a parent’s wellbeing. Families enduring similar struggles will find relatability and reassurance to know they’re not alone.
Stepmom
A classic that addresses tough topics like blending families and how to cope with grief, Stepmom can also serve as a kind of road map for how to broach tough topics like a terminal illness.
Dead to Me (S3)
A form of cinematherapy, Dead to Me’s final season brings a big plot twist, one that can be emotionally provoking as well as a cathartic and entertaining conversation starter.
In Treatment (2021)
A timely reboot that depicts the vital relationship between a therapist and patient, and the meaningful role it plays in fostering growth and change.
Maiden
A lesson in surviving childhood trauma, channeling energy into a worthy cause, and fighting to win — even when the majority says victory is impossible.
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
At first glance a true crime story, the film is actually a look at how poverty, loneliness and imposter syndrome can seduce someone into creating a false reality.
Inside Out
With so many of us facing unfamiliar, anxiety-ridden situations today, Inside Out can serve as a useful prompt for the entire family to acknowledge our emotional experiences — sparking insight and helping us cope with change.
Workin’ Moms
When you can’t make it out of the house to attend a support group for new moms, this can be a great substitute. By showing the human side of motherhood, the series helps normalize maternal ambivalence, “mommy guilt,” and the pressure many women feel to be “perfect” moms.
Serendipity
A lesson in authenticity, the power of friendship, and acting on your gut feeling, even when the odds are against you.
What to Watch on Disney+
Not everyone can be an early adopter, especially when it comes to streaming platforms. Maybe you were waiting for a particular movie or show to premiere. Maybe you just got a subscription for Christmas. If you don’t know where to start, The Watercooler is here to help. We’re running down our must-watch shows and films
Giving Voice
A timely documentary full of hope, joy, happy endings…and a gut-wrenching John Legend song. It will inspire kids who could use some encouragement to realize they, too, could share their voice.
Wonder Woman 1984
At its best when it explores the motivations behind the humanity of its characters, Wonder Woman 1984 is also funny, nostalgic and heartwarming — with terrific special effects.
Take a Vicarious Vacation: Binge Watches That Will Transport You
Any other year, we’d be wheels up by now, escaping the pressures and routines of daily life with that long-awaited holiday break trip. This year? Our best bet is a transporting TV series or movie that can take us away…and drop us into an exotic, far away world. We tapped the Watercooler’s recommendation engine and
Best of 2020: The Algo-Driven Holiday Movies
Does it feel like 2020’s holiday movies were created by an algorithm? That’s because they were. We got our hands on the holiday movie generator and here’s the slate it spit out.
The Favorite Shows of 2020…and Gift Ideas for Fans
We’ve rounded up some of our favorite Watercooler recommendations of the year and paired them with gift ideas that ought to please any fan.
Promising Young Woman
The surprise Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay, Promising Young Woman challenges assumptions as it upends our expectations.
The Great British Baking Show: Holidays
Whether you’re looking for decorating or recipe ideas, or just want to bask in the joy of the creative process, these holiday specials absolutely hit the spot.
I’m Your Woman
An intriguing if slow-moving take on the noir crime drama that focuses on the outlaw’s wife. Starring Rachel Brosnahan.
Universal Language
An absurdist dramedy about the clash of two worlds, Universal Language entertains as much as it motivates. Beyond the madness lies an urgent plea for unity, an appeal that resonates with people hoping for a better, more harmonious future.
Industry S1
Industry is a series fueled by greed, drugs, sex, and money, and provides all of these ingredients in Federal Reserve-sized quantities. There’s never a dull moment.
Minx
The streaming series about the intersection between feminism and smut could endear even the most skeptical. And what it might lack in delicacy, it certainly makes up for in swagger.
The Sympathizer
Told through the perspective of a conflicted hero with contradicting loyalties, The Sympathizer is an ambitious examination of a spy who can’t help but sympathize — hence, the title of the series — with the enemy. It might make you rethink everything you were taught about the Vietnam War too.
Robert Redford’s Impact: Four Films to Watch
He was “one of the lions,” as Meryl Streep put it, an American touchstone who changed filmmaking and opened the gates for new generations of storytellers, becoming a central force in independent cinema. To understand the impact his films have had – on previous generations, on our culture, on so many other films – we’ve
Itaewon Class (Itaewon Keullasseu)
A colorful, ultimately inspiring tale for budding entrepreneurs, restauranteurs, and empire-builders. It also works as a vicarious adventure in Seoul.
The Back-to-College Binge Watch Playlist
Remember when you could sleep until noon, stumble to class in pajamas, and stay up until 2am watching weird art films? Fall is when many of us become wistful about that bumpy chapter of extended adolescence, when you start to discover who you truly are and make some truly regrettable choices. In honor of all
Eddington is a pandemic parable. But what is it trying to say?
Set in May 2020 in a fictional New Mexico town, Pedro Pascal and Joaquin Phoenix’s new film Eddington draws some parallels to two of the biggest breakout shows of the past decade: The Last of Us and The Walking Dead. It’s a story about a virus that’s less about death and more about exposing the living.
A Watercooler Watch: Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything
Before social media and podcasts, there was one undeniable truth about news-making interviews: if a story mattered, Barbara Walters would be the one to tell it. Landing a one-on-one with her didn’t just mean publicity, it meant you had become part of a national conversation. But while the interview signified that you had made it,