Calling the shots

from The Brainerd Dispatch TV Week March 3rd 2019

by Brainerd Dispatch and Echo Journal

Criminal suburban moms are back in season 2 of ‘Good Girls’

By Joy Doonan TV Media

Showrunner Jenna Bans has been praised for her forthright portrayal of fed up, angry women in “Good Girls.” Bans came up with the idea for the NBC dramedy during the 2016 U.S. election, and she wanted to capture the pervasive sense of injustice that many people seemed to be feel ing. The producer and writer, whose previous credits include “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “The Family,” recalls in an inter view with The Lily that she told her mother she “wanted to write something that was fun and en tertaining, but also empowering, and speak to those women out there who feel like they’ve been backed into a corner.” deliver both a tight-knit on-screen relationship and the steely deter mination necessary for their char acters, Bans has accomplished just that. An unapologetic comedy about three downtrodden moth ers who take their fates into their own hands, the show has been declared timely and authentic by many critics. A year after “Good Girls” first premiered, its anxious ly anticipated second arrives this week, picking up where season 1 left us hanging. The first episode of season 2 airs Sunday, March 3, on NBC. three earnest working moms who are at the ends of their ropes, struggling with finan cial strain and a host of personal troubles. Beth Bo land (Christina Hendricks, “Mad Men”) has mentally checked out of her marriage to cheating husband Dean (Matthew Lillard, “Scream,” 1996). Dean, meanwhile, has led their family into debt that leaves them on the verge of los ing their house. Beth’s sister, An nie (Mae Whitman, “Parent hood”), is a single mom strug gling to make ends meet for her 11-year-old daughter, while being sued for custody by her ex. Their close friend, Ruby (Retta, “Parks and Recreation”), is a chronically mistreated waitress desperate for the funds to treat her young daughter’s kidney disease.

At their wits’ end, the women decide that being law-abiding suburban moms is not working out for them, and realize that no one can dig them out of their respective holes but themselves. They plot to rob the supermarket where Annie works, but when they end up with far more money than they anticipated, they find

Though the raucous intrigue of the plot is enough to suck you into a TV binge fest, “Good Girls” is more than just a heist comedy. The characters make conscious decisions to break away from their old lives, and they let everyone in their paths know that they will no longer be taken advantage of. When Annie’s boss figures out

Late Laughs

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon

Last night was Super Bowl 53, and 53 is also how many people stayed awake for the whole thing.

These are three thoroughly ordinary women who, faced with mounting abuse, decide they would rather join the criminal underbelly of their suburban world than remain on its surface with the odds eternally stacked against them. In an interview with Variety, Hendricks said that it’s important to her that the show resonates with the cultural mood surrounding the #MeToo movement. “It’s not preachy,” she noted, “it’s understanding and accepting, and still ... in complete support of how

The humor of the show walks when the situation calls for it, but also making light of disastrous hithat the cast is relieved by the moments of laughter on set, because most of the time, everyone is tense from the stress of their characters’

“Good Girls” has a sharp wit that breathes life and authenticity into its characters: Annie cracks sarcastic comments as the wom - dram of whiskey into a sippy cup.

Bans says that the upcoming where the first one left off, which show’s fans, who are still reeling from the dramatic season finale cliffhanger. Beth was last seen engruntled crime boss, Rio (Manny

Beth a gun and tells her that if she wants to be the hardenedtending to be lately, she has to shoot either Rio himself,sistently delivered fierce wit, bingeable intrigue fury. Don’t miss the keenly

Firefighters in Alabama rescued a toddler who got stuck inside an arcade claw machine. Yeah, and it only took them 4,000 quarters.

Taco Bell just announced that delivery is now available nationwide. Taco Bell made the decision after stoners kept getting lost in the drive-thru.

The Late Late Show With James Corden

Budget furniture store Ikea just announced a new way for you to fill your apartment with their items. Soon, you will be able to rent Ikea furniture and return it when you’re done. The only problem with this is by the time you figure out how to put the furniture together, your rental’s up and you’ve got to take it back.

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Rams fans didn’t have a lot to cheer about, but the team did set two Super Bowl records, including most consecutive punts to start a game: eight. For those who admire the art and artistry of punting, it was quite an evening.

The Rams also had the first male cheerleaders in Super Bowl history. And they only scored three points, so thanks, male cheerleaders!

Late Night With Seth Meyers

Well, what can I say about the Super Bowl that hasn’t already been written on Adam Levine’s torso.

Officials have announced that Manhattan will be getting its first public beach in 2022. And even though it’s three years away, a body has already washed up on shore.

February is Black History Month. “Oh my God, I don’t even have a costume yet!” said Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.

Weekend Update With Colin Jost and Michael Che

The governor of Virginia admitted to wearing blackface in college for a Michael Jackson costume — by the way, making it the least accurate Michael Jackson costume of all time.

A zoo in Texas has launched a Valentine’s Day promotion that lets people get revenge on their exes by naming a cockroach after them, then feeding the cockroach to a meerkat. So that’ll show ‘em … that they were right to break up with you.

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