Pop Culture Happy Hour

We've just gotten done watching the 62nd Grammy Awards. Billie Eilish swept the night's four biggest categories and won five Grammys overall. But two major news events cast shadows over the ceremony: the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, and a scandal inside the Recording Academy which includes allegations of vote rigging and sexual misconduct.

Competitive cheerleading is on a pop culture roll. Netflix recently dropped the documentary series Cheer, about a highly successful Texas squad. And USA is midway through the series Dare Me. Based on Megan Abbott's book of the same name, Dare Me is a moody thriller about a charismatic cheer coach and the best friends who are at odds over her influence.

Cars that are going very fast have been cinema staples for decades. In the Oscar best picture nominee Ford v Ferrari , we find out a little about what it can take to make them go that fast. Starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale, the film indeed tells the tale of an epic battle of Ford versus Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1966.

A gambler, a rock, a ring, and Kevin Garnett are the primary ingredients in Uncut Gems , a thriller directed by Josh and Benny Safdie. Adam Sandler stars as compulsive gambler Howard Ratner, and the film is so tense that calling it tense seems completely inadequate.

From 2004 to 2009, the Showtime TV drama The L Word examined the lives of a group of queer women in L.A. The show was uneven, but it also marked an important milestone for queer representation on television. Now, the series has a sequel called The L Word: Generation Q . It's moved to a different L.A. neighborhood, it's added a diverse cast of new young stars, and it catches us up on the lives of Bette, Alice, and Shane, among others.