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Nothing better than sitting down for the holidays and bingeing television shows this weekend with loved ones. Here's some help on what's new and worth watching.
This week's shows: Julia Season 2, The Crown Season 6 and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
Keep reading... to save yourself the trouble of going into a show unaware of what to expect.
Heading into a week where folks spend their holiday time watching television with family, it’d be nice to watch something entertaining together, right?
On LAist 89.3’s AirTalk, we're joined by television critics each week to give you a rundown of shows that are as fresh as the pies folks will have cooling on their window sills. I’ll also give you some added insight into three shows we’ve talked about to get you prepared.
We had a lot of adapted content to talk about this week, so I’ll take you through three of those shows to give you a better sense of what's worth your precious time this holiday weekend.
This week, AirTalk’s Larry Mantle talked about the latest on television and streaming with Jen Chaney, television critic for Vulture, and Dominic Patten, senior editor for Deadline.
Today’s shows include:
Streaming on Max
“It feels a little more sprawling… still very entertaining, and it's the kind of show you want to watch over Thanksgiving. It just feels very cozy.” – Jen Chaney, Vulture
First Impression: Centered on the storied history of Pasadena-native Julia Childs as she ascends to icon status through her cooking program.
Lasting Impression: The first season offers a good introduction to Childs’ celebrity through personal issues that many go through, like experiencing menopause, but also the more unique problem of attempting to assist in kickstarting a cooking program following her successful cookbook.
Season 2 sees more fruits borne of Childs' labor as she gets a chance to work on her next book and continue building a legacy following the success of her television program. Along with seeing that process and Julia’s personal life at the time, you’ll also get to see the production staff at WGBH go through the process of building off the lightning-in-a-bottle success with The French Chef.
Overall, definitely worth a watch given its timeliness, particularly as folks arrive at the kitchen to make their favorite holiday comfort foods. For those who grew up on Childs’ work, this also serves as a great reminder about why she was so beloved.
Who's behind it: The creator of the show is Daniel Goldfarb, whose most notable credits include serving as a producer for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, a show that takes place during a similar era in American history. Goldfarb had worked on Seasons 2 through 4, with his growing in size, first serving a co-producer and ending his time on the show as a supervising producer.
When and where: Episodes 1-3 are now streaming on Max; Episode 4 releases Thursday, Nov. 23.
Streaming on Netflix
“The Death of Diana episodes are drawn out, maudlin, [and] cliche-ridden” – Dominic Patten, Deadline
“I will say that Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Diana at this point in her life, is continuing to give just a terrific performance” – Jen Chaney, Vulture
First Impression: Following the life of the British Royal Family of our lifetimes, we see drama within the family as most struggle with the balancing of its royal traditions and meeting their own personal desires.
Lasting Impression: For as much fascinating gossip each season has offered, and its cathartic elements keeping viewers intrigued, it does seem like the start of Season 6 is capping the show’s end in lackluster fashion. For context, the first 4 episodes of the new season are centered on some of the last moments prior to Princess Diana’s death.
Who's behind it: The creator of the show is Peter Morgan. He’s been nominated for 2 Academy awards, one for his work on the 2008 film Frost/Nixon and the other for the 2006 film The Queen. Along with this, he’s of course been nominated and won multiple Emmys for The Crown.
When and where: Part 1 (Episodes 1-4) are now streaming on Netflix; Part 2 (Episodes 5-10) will release on Dec. 14.
Streaming on Netflix
“It does follow some of the same narrative beats [as the film] and then it goes in a completely different direction that you don't expect.” – Jen Chaney, Vulture
First impression: Tells the story originally written by Bryan Lee O'Malley that started out as a comic book series, but eventually gained traction in being adapted into a film and video game. It follows Canadian slacker Scott Pilgrim as he literally fights to date his love interest Ramona Flowers, needing to defeat her seven evil exes.
Lasting Impression: Having the work be adapted into a television show is very fitting, allowing for a bit more time that isn’t awarded in a film and making it a closer attempt at bringing to life what the comic book was.
And, in a fun turn of events that is sure to delight fans of the 2010 Edgar Wright film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, it serves as a reunion for the actors from that cast — Michael Cera returns as our intrepid hero, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the mysterious Ramona Flowers, Kieran Culkin as Scott's wisecracking roommate Wallace Wells and an slew of other recognizable faces like Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Brie Larson and Chris Evans.
Who's behind it: The creators of the show are Bryan Lee O'Malley and BenDavid Grabinski. O’Malley of course was the creator of the series, some notable credits for Grabinski include the 2019 revival of Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark? and writing the 2021 crime-comedy Happily.
When and where: All 8 episodes are now streaming on Netflix.
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An East Hollywood nursing home that nearly lost its license this year because of repeated state citations for deaths of residents at the facility was cited again last month after another death.
What happened? The California Department of Public Health cited Brier Oak on Sunset after a 92-year-old resident bled to death on Sept. 27. Staff members had continued injecting her with blood thinners over a 40-hour period despite evidence that the patient had been bleeding internally.
Why it matters: It’s an AA citation, the most severe the department issues when violations of care standards are determined to be a substantial factor in someone’s death. These kinds of citations are rare. State regulations require authorities to suspend or revoke the licenses of any facilities that get two AA citations within a period of 24 months. Brier Oak has received three AA citations for patient deaths since late 2022.
What's next? The state Public Health Department said Brier Oak submitted a required written response before a Dec. 6 deadline, showing how it will fix the problems and prevent them from happening again. Brier Oak has until Dec. 19 to notify the department whether it intends to appeal the state citation.
An East Hollywood nursing home that nearly lost its license this year because of repeated state citations for deaths of residents at the facility was cited again last month after another person died.
The California Department of Public Health cited Brier Oak on Sunset after a 92-year-old resident bled to death on Sept. 27. Staff members had continued injecting her with blood thinners over a 40-hour period in violation of clinical guidelines.
It’s an AA citation, the most severe the department issues when violations of care standards are determined to be a substantial factor in someone’s death. The facility faces a $120,000 fine.
These kinds of citations are rare. The department has recently issued, on average, fewer than 20 AA citations yearly across more than 1,200 skilled nursing facilities in California.
Brier Oak has received three AA citations for patient deaths since late 2022.
State regulations require authorities to suspend or revoke the licenses of any facilities that get two AA citations within a period of 24 months.
The state Public Health Department began that process with Brier Oak in May based on resident deaths in 2022 and 2024. But officials dropped that effort later because they say they determined the two patient deaths had occurred 26 months apart — just outside of the two-year window.
A spokesperson for the company that owns Brier Oak told LAist it has appealed the first two citations and is considering whether to appeal the third.
Advocates for nursing home residents say the recent death could have been avoided if the state had taken action.
“There were red flags, and a lot of these red flags existed prior to the death of this poor resident,” said Tony Chicotel, senior staff attorney with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.
The state said Brier Oak has until Dec. 19 to notify the department if it intends to appeal.
In the recent death at Brier Oak cited by the state, multiple communication and technical failures by nursing staff led to the patient bleeding out over a period of 40 hours, according to the citation.
The 92-year-old patient was immobile and had been prescribed a blood thinner called heparin to help prevent blood clots from forming. But once a patient is bleeding, those injections make bleeding worse, and potentially fatal.
When nursing staff found bright red blood in the resident’s diaper the day before she died, Brier Oak failed to follow established processes for documenting the bleeding or communicating it to a nurse practitioner or medical doctor, according to the citation.
Nurses told state authorities they delayed informing physicians because they “get mad” when contacted in the middle of the night.
The facility’s staff also failed to fully assess the patient to determine the possible causes of the bleeding and or to properly monitor the issue during crucial periods, according to the citation.
She suffered four internal bleeding episodes over 40 hours and continued to receive blood thinner injections.
The citation says a nurse practitioner at Brier Oak told state licensing authorities later that if she’d been informed about the patient’s ongoing bleeding, she would have stopped the blood thinner and sent her to a hospital.
In 2022, Brier Oak received a AA citation after a 62-year-old woman died from respiratory failure in part because nurses hadn’t been trained to operate her breathing machine.
In 2024, the nursing home got another AA citation. This time, a 63-year-old woman with paraplegia and severe obesity fell from her bed and died while a nursing assistant was changing her. The assistant was alone, even though the woman’s care plan required two staff members.
Brier Oak on Sunset is primarily owned by Genesis Healthcare, a publicly-traded nursing home operator that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July.
Once the largest nursing home operator in the U.S., Genesis was facing billions in debt when it declared bankruptcy, according to court filings. That includes millions in potential damages from lawsuits related to patient care failures.
In a brief statement to LAist, a company spokesperson said it's still considering whether or not to appeal the recent citation at Brier Oak.
The citation should trigger a suspension or revocation of the facility's license, according to state regulations. The latter means it would have to close its doors. The two most recent deaths and citations at the facility occurred within the two-year window.
The California Department of Public Health confirmed it cited Brier Oak on Nov. 26.
The department said the facility submitted a required written response before a Dec. 6 deadline, showing how it will fix the problems and prevent them from happening again..
The department determined Brier Oak was back in compliance during an onsite visit last week, a representative told LAist.
Brier Oak on Sunset currently houses about 150 patients, according to state records.
A bankruptcy judge has stalled the proposed sale of Genesis Healthcare to an affiliate of one of its investors.
Experts say it’s unclear whether the state would revoke the license of an owner who is actively trying to sell and turn over operations to someone else.
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It’s been a rough start to ski and snowboard season for California mountain towns. Snowfall is well below average, but Christmas could come with some of the white stuff.
Hmmm. Didn’t we just have a record storm? Yes. That big atmospheric river that hit Southern California last month made it one of the wettest Novembers on records. But since then, it’s been unusually warm and dry, which is not good for mountain towns that depend on snow, and the outdoor enthusiasts that flock to them.
Read on ... for more about the conditions at Big Bear Mountain resort, and whether we'll have more snow in time for Christmas vacations.
It’s been a rough start to ski and snowboard season for California mountain towns. Snowfall is well below average, but Christmas could come with some of the white stuff. Here's where things stand:
Yes. That big atmospheric river that hit Southern California last month made it one of the wettest Novembers on records. But since then, it’s been unusually warm and dry, which is not good for mountain towns that depend on snow, and the outdoor enthusiasts that flock to them.
California’s snowpack is about 20% of normal for this time of the year, according to the state’s snow-tracking website. Southern California isn’t quite as bad off — we’ve gotten about half our normal snowfall so far.
As for the resorts, only about 20% of the terrain at Bear Mountain in Big Bear is open. About 35% of Mammoth Mountain is open.
They are, but the unusually warm temperatures have curbed resorts’ ability to make enough snow to open more terrain. “If you're blowing water into 40-degrees, it's going to stay water,” said Justin Kanton, a spokesperson for Big Bear Mountain Resort. “ So as much as people probably would want us to just crank the snow guns all day, every day up here and just get things moving, that's not really possible.”
The dry weather has allowed Caltrans to make good progress toward opening Highway 38, said Evan Engle, who chairs the board of the Big Bear Chamber of Commerce. The road typically handles up to 40% of traffic up to the mountain town, Engle said. But it’s been closed since September when it got washed out by Tropical Storm Mario.
Getting it open as soon as possible is key to keeping visitor traffic manageable, and getting supplies to Big Bear.
SoCal mountains are likely to see some precipitation around Christmas, said Kyle Wheeler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. But with temperatures not expected to drop much, it’s uncertain how much of it will be white, Wheeler said.
If you have a tip, you can reach me on Signal. My username is @jillrep.79.
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The Los Angeles Police Department used 2,431 less-lethal projectile rounds and 35 canisters of tear gas from June 6 through 14, according to newly released documents. The department reported causing 12 injuries with those weapons.
Why now? The LAPD released a new document last week after LAist found the department did not publish state-mandated reports for four days when officers used crowd control weapons over that period. The department said on Dec. 10 the delay “stems from the extraordinary volume and complexity of incidents” over that time.
This report is different: Unlike most of the LAPD’s reports after using crowd control weapons, this one covers multiple days and protests. The report includes the first “No Kings” protest on June 14, but lacks detailed descriptions of specific dates or incidents.
Read on… for more about the newly-released report.
The Los Angeles Police Department used more than 2,400 crowd control munitions in response to protests from June 6 to 14, according to a new report.
Officers used a total of 2,431 less-lethal projectile rounds and 35 canisters of tear gas over the nine days, according to LAPD reports. The department recorded 12 injuries officers caused with those weapons.
The LAPD released the missing report last week after LAist identified the use of crowd control weapons on four different days in June that had not been reported according to state law. Assembly Bill 48, which went into effect in 2022, limits when and how crowd control weapons can be used, and requires law enforcement agencies to publicly release reports on their use within 60 days.
A 30-day extension for these reports can be granted in some cases, but the LAPD released this report about three months late even if an extension was justified.
Officials acknowledged they were out of compliance on Dec. 10 before releasing the report, saying the delay “stems from the extraordinary volume and complexity of incidents” over that time.
It is unusual for a crowd control report to include more than one day, and the report for June 9 through 14 covered six days and “45 sepearte [sic] non categorical use of force incidents.”
It does not describe any of those use of force incidents specifically, and the LAPD has not yet responded to LAist’s request for more detailed descriptions of those incidents.
If you have a tip, you can reach me on Signal. My username is jrynning.56.
The report also considered the entire six days to have been one continuous protest, though it included several anti-ICE protests over the week and the national “No Kings” protest on June 14.
Two reports released earlier this year for June 6 and 8 covered single days and provided more detailed descriptions of incidents where the LAPD used less-lethal munitions against protesters.
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Registration for tickets to the 2028 Olympic Games will open on Jan. 14, LA28 organizing committee officials announced today.
How it works: Registering for the draw puts you in the running to buy Olympics tickets. If you're selected, you'll get an email with a time slot to purchase tickets.
When will tickets actually go on sale? There are no firm dates yet, but LA28 says tickets for the Olympics are slated to go on sale in 2026 and Paralympics tickets will follow in 2027.
How much will tickets cost? Details on ticket pricing aren't out yet. LA28 has said the least expensive tickets will be $28. If the World Cup is any indication, tickets could also get pretty pricey.
Go deeper: The Olympics are a multi-billion dollar business. Here's what that means for LA taxpayers
