With calendars quiet and inboxes slowing down, the Boardroom team finally had time to press play. Here’s what we watched during the holiday slowdown, and what’s still on our minds.
We are so back!
This marks the first edition of this column for 2026, and there’s a lot to catch up on. The holiday slowdown gave many of us guilt-free time with our TVs and streaming apps. Many of us spent the last month binging the most-talked-about series from 2025, while others dabbled in some classic movies and old favorites.
Alright, let’s jump into what the team has been watching lately. Kicking things off with yours truly.
Boardroom’s Picks
Michelai Graham, Senior Editor, Entertainment
The holiday slowdown finally gave me the one thing the rest of the year never does: consecutive, guilt-free days to rot on the couch and binge everything I’ve been itching to watch. Once the calendar quieted down, I got busy.
Sarah Snook is absolutely brilliant in All Her Fault. The show is controlled, unsettling, and endlessly watchable. What I loved most was the uncertainty: there was never a moment when I felt ahead of the story. It kept me guessing in a way that felt intentional rather than manipulative. This is one of those limited series that would genuinely piss me off if it got another season, because the series was done so well. Enough loose ends are tied to feel satisfying, and enough is left for the audience to sit with and ruminate on. We need more art like that; confident enough to end.
Now, Heated Rivalry? Completely different energy, and I need more of it immediately. Yes, the sex scenes are really hot, but that’s not why it stayed with me. What got me was the tenderness of an untraditional love story that really shouldn’t feel untraditional in 2026. I started this show giggling and hiding behind my pillow, and by the finale, I was full-on sobbing, hoping a love like that finds all of us. I also love when a show fully takes over pop culture, and I’m rooting so hard for Connor Storrie and Hudson Wilson. This feels like the beginning of something big for both of them.
Not everything hit, though. I was genuinely disappointed by Apple TV‘s Invasion Season 3, which never quite found its footing, and I’m still emotionally recovering from the ending of Stranger Things 5.
I haven’t watched many movies lately — ashamed to admit it — but I’ve built a hefty watchlist, so more on that soon. And with the return of The Traitors, The Pitt, and Tell Me Lies, my life is about to become very simple: eat, sleep, work, and melt into my TV screen. Don’t invite me anywhere. Thanks.
Matthew Strickland, Video Editor
“Over a very sad weekend, my wife and I had to say goodbye to our beloved cat, Tito, and we consoled ourselves with two charmers of the New Hollywood era. We began with Paul Mazursky’s 1974 film Harry and Tonto, a story about growing old and loving your cat. Art Carney’s lead performance is routinely mentioned as an Oscar travesty having beat out both Al Pacino’s in Godfather Part II and Jack Nicolson’s in Chinatown, and while it may not be as good as either of those, it’s too bad it’s become the headline of the film, because it’s the kind of performance that weasels it’s way into your heart and stays there. Carney plays an elderly man pushed out of his New York apartment building to make way for a brand new parking lot. He takes the opportunity to head west with his cat Tonto, meeting hippies, scamps, and scoundrels, getting arrested, and getting laid for the first time since 1957. The film reminds you that you can begin again and make new friends at any age, and though time spent with friends or cats may be cut short, it’s meaningful nonetheless.
The other ’70s film we watched was Hal Ashby’s masterpiece Being There. While Harold and Maude might be his most beloved film, and Coming Home might be his most decorated, Being There is Ashby’s crowning achievement. It contains the single greatest Peter Sellers performance, the single funniest Jack Warden performance, and the single best use of Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra. The story of the mentally disabled Chance the gardener (a.k.a. Chauncey Gardener) bumblingly rising through the ranks of Washington’s elite until he is the economic advisor to the president has shades of Forrest Gump, and yet it is both more acerbic and more tender. Ashby has disdain for the elites who use Chance as a mirror for their own desires and insecurities, and yet he never lets them lose their humanity. Chance becomes a childlike cipher through which society reveals its own vapidness. And it’s funny!”
Ellis Buery, Coordinator, Audience Development and Analytics
“Right now, I am watching Silicon Valley. I had never seen it before, but I kept seeing clips of the show everywhere, and it really got me interested. I am currently on Season 2, and it is absolutely hilarious. The same goes for Blue Mountain State. I am about to finish Season 2, and the show has managed to consistently crack me up. After only really seeing Alan Ritchson in Reacher, watching him play Thad Castle in this raunchy comedy show has been super interesting to see. I can’t wait to finish the show and get to the movie!”
Jess Steitz, Senior Manager, Membership Growth
“I think I’m officially in my Peacock era. I don’t know what it is, but I get home from work and automatically open the app. I blame bingeing The Office for the umpteenth time — my brain just defaults to it now. Bugonia was just added, and it was… completely unhinged.
Over the break, my family and I did a full Quentin Tarantino marathon. Kill Bill remains my all-time favorite. I also, of course, rewatched the Harry Potter movies.
I’m new to the Boardroom office, and everyone has their show. I have a lot to catch up on if I want to keep up with all the good recaps and daytime debriefs, even though I’m very much a repeat-watcher at heart.”
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Shlomo Sprung, Senior Staff Writer
“I was transfixed by Watch Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story on Netflix. I read the book about the Franke family and the vice grip Jodi was able to amass, and it was both a fascinating and frightening read and watch. I was hooked, and you’ll be too if you tune in.”
Bernadette Doykos, Vice President, Partnership Strategy and Marketing
“Recently, I took down the two seasons of Tokyo Vice, a 2022 HBO show that is based (I’m going to guess, somewhat loosely) on the real story of an American who secures a coveted spot as a reporter at a Japanese newspaper, only to have his life intertwined with the Yakuza. Think: Sopranos: Tokyo. It’s a fun ride, but it definitely took me a few episodes to get into due to the hybrid English/Japanese. It’s definitely intense, but goes down smooth.
I was enraptured by Pluribus, but didn’t even realize that the finale was the finale. Curious to see how this show progresses — and thrilled to consume all of the corresponding cultural commentary of what it may represent.
Landman is so horrible this season — the depictions of women are absolutely outrageous and contain none of the chutzpah of a Beth Dutton or the women of Lioness, and are downright insulting. Yet, I continue to hate-watch each week, whilst shaking my fist at the TV screen.
Lastly, I’m not much of a movie person because of my limited attention span. However, I sat down to One Battle After Another recently. Throughout the two and a half hours, I looked at my phone zero times and didn’t fall asleep once, which is a massive feat. 12/10 recommend.”
Vinciane Ngomsi, Senior Editor
“I’m sure I’m not the only one at Boardroom watching Heated Rivalry, and I’m thoroughly entertained! I haven’t read the books yet (I plan to), but it’s so nice to see YA projects still capture such a large audience with a fun sports angle. I’m also rejoicing at the return of The Traitors, especially since I can never have too many Housewives on my screen. Finally, I admittedly hadn’t tapped into the popularity of The Pitt, but I must say, I’m hooked after the first couple of episodes of Season 1. I can’t wait to catch up to Season 2 and watch along with everyone else.”
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