Marvelous Geeks

Week after week thus far, Happy’s Place continues to be the show we all need to heal a little. In its fifth episode, “Ladies Night,” the series spotlights Melissa Peterman’s Gabby and her big, beautiful, irreplaceable heart. As it centers her pain and forces her to confront what she’s been bottling up, it allows her friends a moment to realize just how special she is and how important it is to vocalize adoration aloud. 

In every episode so far, including last week’s “Fish Fry Monday,” Happy’s Place emphasizes the importance of its title by making this show a healing balm for us all. It not only allows the viewers to get to know these characters, but it allows the characters to draw closer to one another in a way that’s lasting. With this, the sitcom leaves its mark on our TV screens by providing the necessary joy to understand that people really need to look out for each other in trying times.

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Holidazed sparkles in its second episode, “The Hill Family,” as it kickstarts a gorgeous romance between Josh (Ian Harding) and Nora (Erin Cahill) while simultaneously being a reminder of what light at the end of the tunnel looks like. While the episode doesn’t give us their endgame and likely won’t until the finale, everything we get is substantial enough to make rooting for them effortless. 

Within the series, this arc is all about coming home and rediscovering what matters in the first place. Josh is on the precipice of a massive career move, but he clearly isn’t happy. At the same time, Nora is simply getting by, trying to be a good mother and town sheriff. Together, they’re helping Nora’s son, Theo, in an ornament contest so heartfelt that I couldn’t see through my tears at the end. 

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This week, Ghosts rightfully shines a light on Rose McIver and Sam’s lifelong dreams with a wholesome episode that’s as hilarious as it is wild. With the events in the episode, we also get another delicate reminder of how lovely it is that the ghosts get to live vicariously through Sam and Jay, and this time, Alberta glows right alongside her.

When a local theatre group needs the Woodstone Mansion to host their musical production of Anything Goes, Sam gets a second chance to audition for the role of Reno Sweeney. Still haunted by her failed one in the past due to stage fright, Alberta trains her to a point of success. Elsewhere, Sas falls for another actor and tries to date her through Jay’s dreams. In other words, Sas briefly dates Jay.

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Hallmark’s Holiday Mismatch isn’t our usual kind of romance as much as it’s a story about merging two very different families. The film’s enormous appeal comes from seeing Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick back on our screens, tackling realistic perils that focus on the importance of legacy. 

Both Barbara and Kath are workaholics, trying to do everything in their power to be great mothers while helping their kids find love at the same time. The relationship between Shane and Lauren is primarily entertaining, but at the end of the day, it’s just fine. Fake dating is almost always my jam, but here, something feels off. It’s a bit too much at times and dramatic, even while they get their happy ending, and it feels right for them to.

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Type: Romantic Film: Roman Holiday Featured Characters: Princess Ann and Joe Bradley

When I think about the fictional relationships that have shaped the kind of writer I am and the types of stories I appreciate most, the first couple that comes to mind is Roman Holiday’s Princess Ann and Joe Bradley, played by Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, respectively. I remember the first time I watched the movie, and I remember how it not only made me appreciate filmmaking but it made me understand love on a whole new level.

The idea of two people falling for each other quickly isn’t easy to believe. Relationships need time and dedication to nurture, grow, and evolve. However, it’s more than possible for a single person and our experiences with them to completely change us and our outlook on life. That’s what Roman Holiday is in a nutshell—it’s a story about finding oneself and understanding self-worth through another’s gaze. It’s about realizing that love is supposed to equate to freedom and commitment to someone requires an indescribable form of trust at the forefront. 

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Hallmark+, the newly launched network extension, delivers yet another holiday winner with its new series, Holidazed. Romantic, hilarious, chaotic, and thoughtfully inclusive, the series is bound to make the coming weeks more exciting.

In the same way that The Groomsmen trilogy is an exciting winner with three romance movies, each following a different character while interlocking together, the same can be said about Hallmark’s Holidazed. The first episode, “The Beginning,” is as the title promises—an introduction to all the key families and their involvement in this story. The second episode, which airs alongside the first, follows the Hill family, delivering an exciting romantic relationship between Ian Harding’s Josh Hill and Erin Cahill’s Nora Jacobs. It’s easy to predict how the rest of the series will pan out, with one episode following another family while we reunite with them all in the season finale.

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Starring Fiona Gubelmann and Eoin Macken, Hallmark’s ‘Tis the Season to Be Irish is a gorgeous spectacle from beginning to end. It’s every romance aficionado’s dream, bursting with stunning chemistry and tender moments that shine in the forced proximity. It’s for every person who loves Leap Year, and I, for one, need a sequel stat.

There’s such a natural comfort in Sean and Rose’s banter that it makes their inevitable romance sweeter—quiet moments between the two bloom into a type of formidable trust that feels like home. Hallmark’s Tis the Season to Be Irish is what happens when two people compromise in ways that feel entirely right for their characters, their communities, and all the wishes they’d made that they never thought would come true. It’s a real gem in more ways than one.

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Bad Sisters Season 2 is a whirlwind in more ways than one, which feels fitting because the first season is so perfect that it was hard to imagine what the show would do to make another chapter work. Despite the time jump, characters are still dealing with the ramifications of John Paul’s murder, and there will likely be much more to transpire where that’s concerned. 

Yet, what’s fascinating is that creators do something here that I still can’t believe is real because, on the one hand, it’s deeply shocking, and on the other, it’s almost entirely understandable. Again, how do you dive back into a show that already had a perfect season? You have to have a drastic storyline that viewers will find worthy of investing in, and in this case, the first two episodes of the season understand the assignment.

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We’re halfway into the season, and Shrinking’s “In a Lonely Place” thoughtfully explores how profound loneliness and pain manifest in various ways. Written by Brett Goldstein and directed by Randall Keenan Winston, the episode closes the binds on one wound while leaving the door open to true healing in other areas. Progress isn’t linear nor immediate, but the commitment to forgive leads to more healthy means of coping, and that’s what we’re effectively watching unfold this season.

This week, Alice and Brian confront Louis, Jimmy and Paul talk to Sean’s father, Gaby comes to an agreement with her sister, and Liz doesn’t know how to vocalize what she’s feeling. It’s a riveting episode right from the start that makes it seem like things are good, but with six more episodes to go, we can reasonably predict that there are countless steps to take still.

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Erin Krakow and Daniel Lissing come straight for our hearts in Hallmark’s Santa Tell Me—a dazzling joy ride from beginning to end. While the premise is a little far-fetched at times, the execution is outstanding, and the characters are effortless to adore.

The moral of the story is that no one can tell you who your soulmate is, and the unexpected moments in life often end up being the most special. When Olivia (Krakow) was little, she’d asked Santa who her soulmate was. Years later, the answer appears, telling her that her soulmate is a man named Nick. Shortly after, she meets three of them, and all three aren’t even remotely fit for her. The person who is fit for her is Chris (Lissing), the man she initially gets off on the wrong foot with but grows to find great comfort around later. 

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Sitcoms always, always have the best, most authentic proposals. There’s no question about it, and off the top of my head, I can list at least ten amazing ones. One of them is when Schmidt proposes to Cece (for real, in New Girl Season 4, Episode 22, “Clean Break”). For someone who always does too much, goes too far, and can be overdramatic on unbeatable levels, the subtlety at this moment makes it genuinely perfect.

The five-dollar bill makes an appearance again as the loft residents look into sentimental things for a clean break, and the episode quietly nudges us to remember its importance. Schmidt said something stupid the first time he met her, but Schmidt was one hundred percent sincere—theirs is an example of instant-love that’s so believable it’s why we write romance novels, isn’t it?

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Starting a new show in this day and age is always a hassle. We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again: we’re tired of cancelations, and we get why viewers are hesitant to watch new shows when attachment could lead to heartbreak. Still, for those willing to add one more thing to their lists, ABC’s High Potential is the best new drama on network television right now.

With an intriguing premise, fan-favorite actors, and loads of potential—no pun intended—there’s a good chance the series will grip you right from the start. While most dramas take at least two or three episodes to find their footing, High Potential gets it right from the beginning.

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My Sweet Austrian Holiday is as sweet as the title promises—a tender romance with two cinnamon roll characters. This one’s not as big of a tearjerker as Hallmark Movies and Mysteries’ Christmas content usually tends to be, but it’s still worth watching for the viewers who appreciate good things happening to good people.

Starring Will Kemp and Brittany Bristow, the film follows a chocolate shop owner and an estate developer with an unoriginal concept that still shines with a lovely relationship. So much of what we see in this movie feeds into the familiar patterns we often get, and while the third-act conflict is deeply frustrating, we can still see it from miles away. Thankfully, however, it doesn’t take away from the film’s overall enjoyment.

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In another hilariously heartfelt episode that allows us to get to know our favorite new characters, “Fish Fry Monday” dives deep into the family matters at Happy’s Place. It continues to balance humor with necessary emotional stakes that give each character the space to be snarky and vulnerable, making it yet another win.

Early in the episode, viewers learn that Emmett and Bobbie’s father, Happy, used to go fishing together on Sundays and return to cook the fish the next day. It’s a hit for everyone, so when he proposes they bring the tradition back, he also insists that Bobbie accompany him. Back at the tavern, Isabella asks Gabby to teach her everything she knows about bartending, which turns into a whole argument.

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More often than not, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries films come ready to strike hard and fast with tear-jerker plots. The movies almost always hit, and even if they’re subpar, they’re still pretty enjoyable from beginning to end. That said, Hallmark’s latest Miracles of Christmas movie, Five Gold Rings, is one of the year’s best. 

Starring Holland Roden and Nolan Gerard Funk, Five Gold Rings is both achingly romantic and brimming with the holiday spirit. While beats might require suspending disbelief, the characters feel grounded in a way that makes the quest realistic. It’s thoroughly enthralling, with so much heart that the idea alone is easy to believe in. Today, especially, I think we’re all looking for the hope to consider that human beings can be thoughtful and that maybe, the sentimental object we lost can be returned to us.

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Ghosts' “The Work Retreat” should’ve been called “Trevor’s Legacy” because the episode gorgeously honors our favorite pantless finance bro in the way he deserves. It’s clever, hilarious, and unsurprisingly heartfelt, making it what might be the best episode of Season 4 so far.

With a clever narrative to balance two different storylines and then bring them together to showcase the episode’s thematic focus on acts of service, Ghosts Season 4, Episode 4, “The Work Retreat” nails every arc it presents. The writers finally give us a great team-up with Hetty and Sass as they spread a rumor about Pete because they’re tired of him bragging about his travels. We also learn that Trevor has a job he now has to quit because he can’t physically attend the work retreat, but to save the day, Jay pretends to be him, and it turns into a wholesome love letter to the character’s legacy.

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Portrayed by: Rashida Jones Show: Parks and Recreation

A poetic noble land mermaid. A brilliant musk ox. A beautiful, rule-breaking moth. A beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk-ox. A tricky minx. A perfect sunflower. A beautiful tropical fish. It’s hard to write about Parks and Recreation’s Ann Perkins when Leslie Knope has already found every beautiful and lovingly bizarre word to describe her. 

Countless shows are tragically lacking when it comes to female friendships, but Parks and Recreation isn’t one of them. Instead, it might even be the blueprint. It’s where Galentine’s Day comes from, after all. For this reason, there’s not a single character in the series who could be replaced. Ann is one of these characters, and even while the show still works in her absence during the final season, the loss feels visceral. She’s a gentle, incredibly lovely presence and the type of character who represents so many women in the real world. 

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