I've Been Meaning To Watch Russian Doll w/Ki Ki Hobbs

In this episode, we have invited Ki Ki Hobbs, a journalist who likes to binge watch movies and shows. In today's episode of "I've Been Meaning to Watch That Podcast," we are going to discuss all about Russian Doll: a comedy-drama Netflix show where the protagonist, Nadia, is repeating her 36th birthday and she doesn’t know why. She’s on a mission to try to figure out what’s happening. We are also talking about various upcoming shows that we are waiting to watch or new shows that are on the watch list.

Quiz

[01:55]
The show "Quiz" was set around the time when the game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" was released in the UK. Almost everyone wanted to join and win to become a millionaire.

[03:03]
It is a mini-series, with three episodes featuring a couple who tried to cheat their way to winning the game.

Fresh

[04:28]
"Fresh is a cannibal movie. Ki Ki mentioned how she was eating Chipotle when she was watching it and it wasn’t a really great idea. She suggested that you shouldn’t eat while watching cannibalistic things.

Getting sidetracked

[05:21]
Ki Ki mentioned how she often gets sidetracked when watching movies or series. For example, she meant to watch Prey but still hasn’t. She is also excited to watch the second season of Only Murders.

Russian Doll

[18:13]
Russian Doll is a dramedy that can be found on Netflix and was created by Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland, and Amy Poehler. In this series, the protagonist, Nadia, is reliving her 36th birthday over and over again, not knowing the reason why. Then, she also met a guy who is stuck in the same loop as her. They team up together to figure out what’s going on.

Cancelled Shows

[22:14]
Netflix sometimes cancels a show after one season. They were times that had the potential to be good, but they ended up cancelling them after a season.

[23:45]
Ki ki thinks that Netflix is cancelling shows too early. They should’ve let the show grow a bit more, but it was mentioned that they were cancelling shows one to two weeks after they were released.

Popular shows

[25:44]
Ki ki shared how sometimes she doesn’t know whether a show is really popular or just popular within her niche bubble.

[26:29]
Ki ki thinks that social media and word of mouth helped in the promotion of "Our Flag Means Death." The show wasn't really properly promoted, but the people who shared it helped promote it.

Underrated Shows

[27:30]
Ki Ki is mentioned as an underrated show, and Ki Ki is able to discover it through a podcast where the speaker suggested it.

Alan and Nadia—Russian Dolls

[31:05]
Nadia is a more likeable character than Alan. Nadia seems selfish and has terrible vices, unlike Alan, who’s a bit opposite. However, Nadia’s selfishness was exactly what Alan needed, and the same goes for Nadia, who needed Alan’s selflessness is what she needed.

[36:03]
Nadia’s dedication to putting herself out of her comfort zone is what made Ki Ki empathize with her and encourage her to continue watching.

Celebrities

[42:44]
Sometimes, celebrities should realize that they are not relatable. They have a driver, while a regular person needs to commute. People sometimes need to work hard 24/7 to provide for their families, whereas celebrities can make an easy living just by sitting down.

Everything, everywhere, all at once.

[47:51]
Everything, Everywhere, All at Once is the kind of movie you’ll enjoy when you don’t really know what it is about. You just have to go with the flow.

Grief

[52:50]
Sometimes, it's hard to accept and process the grief that you are feeling. During the pandemic, people didn’t have time to process the grief. A lot of people died during the pandemic, but lives are still going on as it is. Sometimes you just have to surrender and let yourself feel all the feelings.

[58:04]
In Russian Doll, they also refused to feel. Alan didn’t want to undergo therapy, and he didn’t want to

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