Cultural Conundrum 1 - The Bestie

What to watch while we wait for Bridgerton Season 3 to drop.

The Great, On Hulu (Image Credit: Hulu)

Before we dive in, a programming note. It is launch week over here at highbrowlowbrow and as noted elsewhere, largely out of a feeling of excitement, I have been posting at a frequency that I cannot possibly sustain. You can expect this frenetic pace to continue until April 9, at which point we will settle into our normal cadence of two posts a week—on Tuesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays, I will post a personal essay or reading round-up and on Fridays, I will post my response to a cultural conundrum—a request for a specific recommendation, be it a TV show, article, podcast, museum, or book.

I very much hope you’re enjoying these little diversions in your inbox (especially on a Friday) but if not, please feel free to save the reading for when you need a brain break. If you are reading along, I would so appreciate if you can comment, like, and share the posts that are already up, including this one.

As some of you may have surmised, by day, I am an attorney. I enjoy what I do very much (unusual for a lawyer, I know) and I would like to stay employed (also, you know, to support my family). Therefore, this Substack is written under a nom de plume. I suppose I could reveal my true identity but that would take real Gen Z energy and, as we’ve established, I’m a millennial.

Only three people in my real life know about this project—my husband, my bestie, and

Shannon Claire

.¹ And as one’s besties do, mine has come through to save launch week by submitting a cultural conundrum.

Before I summarize her conundrum and launch into a response, allow me a moment to explain the concept behind *cultural conundrum.* When a reader sends in a conundrum, my response will be personally curated, by me, for them. I will treat any conundrum sent my way with the same seriousness I normally treat those of my IRL besties. I consider everything I know about the person—the streaming services they pay for, their cultural background, their views on Beyoncé’s new album (sorry, I had to) and anything else they care to share with me.

I will put thought and care into my answers. And I will research them. I have recently been experimenting with AI recommendation sources for fun,² and this column is very much a response to those experiences. This is an old-school, culture-focused Dear Abby situation—so welcome!

Ok, back to Bestie. Bestie wants to know what to watch (read: consume) while we all wait for Bridgerton S3 to drop. Now, the internet has already answered this question. Vogue Australia and Tudum (Netflix’s companion website) have offered takes, for example. But, of course, those generic suggestions won’t necessarily help us here because Bestie has specific taste and parameters.

Bestie has a very serious job (no, really, she does, it’s incredible that she Whatsapped me for this, I owe her). She is often at the mercy of the news cycle and has had a particularly long week. Therefore we’re looking for something light, effervescent even. She is currently watching Crash Landing On You and is tickled by this tidbit: the leads married one another after the show ended. She has already watched Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. I know she doesn’t stream TV shows on Amazon Prime and I also know she loves a hidden gem.

So, let’s dive in.

Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes (Image Credit: Hello Magazine)

📺 Victoria. Currently streaming on PBS Masterpiece, this show tells the story of the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign. But, in my mind, it is really the love story of Queen Victoria and Price Albert. If I am recalling correctly, one episode explains how the eponymous V&A museum came to be and really drives home the historical impact of their lasting love. While this show might not be as frothy as Bridgerton, Jenna Coleman (Victoria) did date Tom Hughes (Albert) while filming the show. Unsurprisingly, their chemistry is off the charts. I recommend the first two seasons, which I have watched, without reservation. Also Jenna Coleman is rumored to have dated Prince Harry!

📺 Gran Hotel. Streaming on Netflix, this period drama is the closest you will get to Bridgerton on this list. The premise: the daughter of wealthy family falls for a waiter at her family-owned hotel in the fictional coastal Spanish town of Cantaloa in 1905. They also attempt to solve mysteries together. IMDB aptly points out “love, blackmail, jealousies, crime, comedy, and plots and counter-plots all involving the hotel's owners, guests, detectives, and residential employees," occur. All of the actors are gorgeous. The storylines are preposterous and melodramatic. The sex scenes are steamy (but be prepared to wait a full season for the consummation of any love). An American remake was attempted and it flopped.

📺 Velvet. Streaming on Netflix, and made by the same production company as Gran Hotel, Velvet is the story of a department store in Madrid in the late ‘50's. The costumes are retro-chic, the acting is solid, and the male lead is a complete heartthrob. Female friendships anchor this show but another slow burn romance is at the center of this melodrama. You probably won’t win any cool points for being a fan of either the Gran Hotel or Velvet (I’ve had friends from Spain tease me for my own devotion), but you will have an excellent time anyway. The last season of the show as well as its spin-off (Velvet Collection) suffer from the loss of the charismatic, male lead (Miguel Ángel Silvestre of Sense8), I would skip them.

📺 The Buccaneers. I remain unconvinced that Americans can do period dramas as well as the rest of the world (Bridgerton excepted, and let’s be honest, most of the actors are British) but I did enjoy Buccaneers on Apple TV. Slate published an entire article on how The Buccaneers stacks up against Bridgerton. I will leave all of you to skim the article at your leisure (including for the premise of the show) but I will say the female lead is magnetic and neither of her romantic interests feel *quite* handsome enough to be her match. The music is great, however. Edith Wharton is obviously top-notch source material, and the costuming and sets are lush.

📺 The Great. Very loosely based on the life of Catherine the Great, this satirical, comedy was unhinged in the best way. Convincing an entire team of Gen Z male colleagues to watch it remains my greatest achievement as a cultural taste-maker. Dakota Fanning and Nicholas Hoult shine. The costumes! The sets! The writing! Huzzah! The show was canceled after its third season, which feels like a crime. This does not have the romantic elements of a Bridgerton (after the first season, especially) but it makes up for it in spades with caustic and clever humor.

I could go on and on (brevity is apparently not a strong suit) but let’s leave it here for now—people need their weekends to watch these shows.

A special thank you to my Bestie for submitting a cultural conundrum, encouraging me to launch this Substack, and for her support in a myriad of other ways, every day.

Thanks again for reading. If you have other suggestions for Bestie, please drop them in the comments. Have a lovely weekend!

1. How Shannon knows my true identity could be a post unto itself, so let’s save that for another time (but please don’t pester her to reveal it, she would never).

2. Would a post on my experiences with AI recommendations (such as Likewise’s PIX) be interesting to read about? Let me know!