PopHampton Year in Review: Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016!
What a year it’s been! With so many movies, television shows and other pop culture goodies “popping” up throughout the year I thought I’d reflect back on some of my 2015 faves.
The Golden Globes heated up a snowy winter in January. Montauk’s beloved Julianne Moore won Best Actress in a Motion Picture—Drama for the heartbreaking Alzheimer’s drama Still Alice. Other East Enders nominated for awards included Louis C.K., Edie Falco and The Affair star Ruth Wilson, who won Best Performance in a Television Series—Drama. For more on The Affair, keep reading!
Our beloved schlock-soap Revenge wrapped in the spring with a highly eventful finale. A recap: Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke (Emily VanCamp) got her revenge and got to live happily ever with Jack (Nick Weschler). Oh, and Courtney Love killed someone and Emily may or may not be stuck with Victoria’s (Madeleine Stowe) heart after an emergency transplant. Okay, so the show wasn’t Emmy material. But it was fun! We’ll miss you, faux-Hamptons.
Showtime’s Montauk-set series The Affair returned for its second season in the fall (it mercifully waited for Revenge to end) and revealed who killed Scotty Lockhart (no spoilers, but it’s a very clever twist). I think it’s safe to say that Noah (played by the excellent Dominic West) is officially the worst person on television. But I mean that in a good way! Last season, we watched as he fell head-over-heels for Montauk waitress Alison (the ethereal Wilson) and ruined his marriage and family as a result. But this year, Noah’s gone off the deep end. Following the success of his book—a self-indulgent account of his affair with Alison and everything that went down because of it—Noah has become a lying, cheating pig whose lust for life and women cannot be sated. This season had some great moments, but my favorite was in Episode 9, when a hard-partying Noah got into a pool to watch two hot young girls make out… only to discover that one of the girls was his underage daughter, Whitney (the Emmy-worthy Julia Goldani Telles, who might just be my MVP this year)! Brutally honest, horrific (and yet amazing) scenes like those are what make The Affair essential viewing.
Looking ahead to 2016, there’s much to be hyped about. East End fave Scarlett Johansson has a busy 2016 schedule, with four major silver screen releases, including Hail, Caesar!, a comedy about a Hollywood fixer; The Jungle Book, Disney’s latest live action adaptation of an animated classic; Captain America: Civil War, where she’ll play Natasha Romanoff for the fifth time; and Sing, an animated musical. Hamptonite Steven Spielberg’s latest film, The BFG, based on the classic Roald Dahl book, opens this summer. Also dropping this summer is The Angry Birds Movie, starring frequent East End visitor Peter Dinklage. In TV news, Water Mill’s Jennifer Lopez will star in the NBC drama series Shades of Blue, which debuts on January 7. Lopez plays a single mom NYPD detective who is assigned to anti-corruption task force. Sag Harbor’s Sarah Koenig debuted the highly anticipated second season of her podcast, Serial, in early December and will continue into 2016. Serial features Koenig (also known for This American Life) reporting on and investigating a long-form story. This season, Koenig investigates the ongoing story of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Berghdahl, who is being charged with desertion after being freed by the Taliban in 2014. The first season told the story of Adnan Syed, who was convicted as a teenager of killing his girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, and whether or not Syed really committed the crime (he claims innocence).
Have a safe and happy holiday, East Enders. Spend time with family, binge-watch some shows on Netflix and enjoy the end of the year. We’ll see you in 2016!