September Roundup: Emmy Winners, Bangkok Cafes and a First Time Durian Tasting!
Also, Justin Hartley talks season two of CBS's "Tracker" and how TV is taking over Thailand!
Goodbye September, Hello October…but first let’s take a look back at my September posts here and elsewhere. As always, thanks for your support and being a regular reader of Coffee, TV & Me. If you are a free subscriber but would like to support my work here, click the tab below to upgrade to either a monthly or annual subscriber. Big thanks!
I was thrilled to see Shogun’s Anna Sawai in her historic win in the Lead Actress in a Drama Series category at the recent Emmy Awards. I was even more thrilled that I was able to chat with her after the event for Variety about winning as well as her other series, Pachinko (AppleTV+) where her character goes through some heartbreak in this week’s episode. Check out that story here—-but spoiler alert if you have not watched the Season 2, Episode 6 episode of Pachinko since we talk in detail about events that happen.
Next, Bangkok Cafes have been knocking my socks off since moving here a little over a year ago so I thought the Taam Jai Cafe was a great one to feature on our Travel with Jim and Boyd YouTube channel. Check out the story and video below.
Bangkok Cafes: Taam Jai Cafe
In the midst of writing about TV as well as my own past as a television journalist and present living in Thailand and learning the Thai language, I’ve been neglecting one important part of this Substack page since it is called Coffee, TV and Me. So I’m fixing that right now with some space devoted to the fantastic cafes I’ve been finding in Bangkok.
Here’s the Taam Jai Cafe video from YouTube:
LGBTQ Chat from the Past: In my Flashback Friday series, I look back to 2020 during the COVID pandemic when San Diego Comic Con happened virtually for the first time and I arranged a chat with a wonderful group of actors about playing LGBTQ characters and where they thought we still needed to go with representation in television. Watch the panel video via the post below.
Flashback Friday: LGBTQ San Diego Comic Con panel featuring Tatiana Maslany, Harry Shum Jr, Wilson Cruz and more!
What a difference four years makes.
Emmy! Emmy! My favorite awards show has always been this TV-centric event since I love me some TV and the 76th Annual event did not disappoint. Some great surprises, justified wins (Hacks over The Bear for the comedy win gets a big thumbs up from me!) and you’ll see all the winners from the prime time event in the post below.
Big Emmy Wins for 'Shogun,' 'The Bear,' 'Hacks,' 'Baby Reindeer' and More!
The 76th Prime Time Emmy Awards were held on Sunday in Los Angeles with a few surprises amongst the winners. Here’s the list of who took home gold:
September TV: At the start of September, I realized there was so much good TV either already airing or coming. One show I was able to check out early was Nobody Wants This, which just dropped this past weekend and people are already loving this Kristen Bell/Adam Brody rom-com series. See what else I’m loving this month and keep an eye out for an October post since there’s another great crop of shows coming.
What's Good on TV? So. Much.
So much TV, so little time…but we always make time for a good show, don’t we? And we’re fortunate that there are plenty of solid dramas and comedies these days…even some from the past that are worth a rewatch or (gasp!) maybe you never got around to
What’s That Smell? DURIAN! Even though the smell is offensive and just awful, I knew I had to add trying durian to my Thailand-living experience. But did I love it or hate it? Lucky for you I captured the whole thing on video with help from my husband, Boyd.
Durian: Love It or Hate It?
What is that awful, pungent smell? If you’re walking around Thailand during the rainy season, it must be durian, the beloved Thai fruit which supposedly tastes like heaven but smells like hell.
The above post also includes the video of me actually trying durian but to cut to the chase, here’s the YouTube video. Enjoy!
Tracker Season 2 is Coming! Also, I’ve racked up another chat with the always charming Justin Hartley about the upcoming second season of his huge breakout CBS hit, Tracker. Here he talks to me for TV Guide Magazine’s TV Insider site about how the successful first season helped shape the sophomore season as well as the return of fan favorite Jensen Ackles as his on-screen brother. Read all about here!
TV In Thailand: Read my story on how TV shows like The White Lotus, The Night Agent, FX’s upcoming Alien series as well as The Sympathizer all utilized Thailand in the latest issue of Emmy Magazine, which you can read online for free right here or feel free to subscribe for print magazines to come right to your mailbox.
Until next month’s roundup…
Hi Jim, have you visited Moo Deng yet? Your readers want to know and see pictures of the adorable Pygmy hippo! I am loving your stories!!