TV Mini-Series Episodes

My favorite costume dramas of last year are back with sophomore seasons, and they're the slowest of slowburns. Will Charlotte get over the loss of Sidney and finally find someone in Sanditon who appreciates her? Will Anthony Bridgerton marry for love or family? I've thrown in one of my favorite slowburn screen romances, inspired by the love of poet John Keats for artist Fanny Brawne. This is slow but incendiary love — the opposite of instalove, but sexy and romantic all the same. (CW: film clips...

To celebrate Women's History Month, I'm highlighting favorite real and fictional badasses. Warning: I mention the word badass many, many times in this episode. Clearly I love me a bit of badassery. Women worthy of official biographies and iconoclastic female characters in historical romances all provide ready-made inspiration. I need as much of that as I can get.

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com
Virginia Woolf's house on Gordon Square (4th picture in right sidebar). She had many gat...

I'm celebrating International Women's Day with a round up of comedy badassery by Ali Wong, Amy Schumer, Jenny Slate, Rose Matafeo, and Iliza Shlesinger. Whether it's a romcom movie, TV show, blog, book, or live special, these writers are funny, raunchy, honest and real when talking about their lived experiences. They're badass inspiration. (CW: lots and lots of profanity, mentions of body image, brief mention of drug use, and lots of juicy sex talk.)

I'm really starting to feel that cultural and romantic invisibility cloak that covers women of a certain age. Luckily, there are a few aspirational, sometimes inspiring TV shows and movies that feature people over the age of 40 romancing each other and getting it on — even if it seems that you need to have a beautiful face, well-placed wrinkles and a near-perfect body to deserve the same.
CW: talk of anti-body positivity and toxic Hollywood and cultural beauty standards.

This former literary snob confesses that — at least right now — I prefer watching Austen to reading Austen. I need streamlined, quick banter, a snappy pace. Luckily, there are a ton of adaptations, retellings and inspired by Austen books and films to last quite a while. Vanessa King, author of A Certain Appeal, the Pride and Prejudice-inspired story set at a New York burlesque club, stops by to talk about why she decided to modernize Austen. And listener Mariah joins me to explore the 2005 Pride and Prejudice with its subtle updates to the classic story. Grab a cozy throw and pull up a chair. How do you take your tea?

The lessons keep on coming! In this final episode in my miniseries on what I've learned from romance, I encounter...monster erotica. I'm tardy to the party, so giggle along with me as I explore my "first-won't-be-last" monster fucking romance, and listen to an excerpt from an erotic monster story--full of tentacle sex--by guest author VB Beringer.

My year of reading romances has modeled so many good things for me, especially stories with the family of choice trope. We're not all lucky enough to be raised in an emotionally healthy family, so reading about how loving, supportive people show up for the people they care about can be a healing experience.

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com

Lauren is a fellow member of the Heaving Bosoms podcast Facebook page, and we share a love of many of the same romances. She was so much fun to ...

I've made some surprising discoveries about myself while reading romances this year. The wave of positivity, love, respect and acceptance for all sorts of fictional characters in these stories has encouraged me to love and accept myself, and even discover new aspects of my sexuality.

It's the Anglophile edition of the podcast, where I claim to "not be into royalty all that much," and then immediately prove myself wrong. Fake kingdoms in mountainous areas of Europe, fake royalty who always seem to speak with a British accent, commoners lifted from their humdrum, working-class lives as a metaphoric crown is placed on their heads: I might giggle uncontrollably over the contrivances, but I'll watch and read it all.

My current fantasy bedroom is full of steam & kink. I'm in the mood, people, so let's read-aloud from some of the hottest, kinkiest romances I've ever read! It's hard to find this level of heat, consent, care AND happy-ever-after on screen, but romance writers have got you covered.

These funny, sharp TV shows written by women knock fat- and mental illness shaming on its behind, and tell stories of hard-won self-acceptance instead. It's about embracing our deepest desires and the person we are, not who They say we should be. It's about romancing yourself. CW: mentions of body shaming, anti-fat bias, mental illness, and briefly, abortion, weight loss and suicide ideation.

There's nothing more intimate than a letter, card, text or message written for your eyes only. The epistolary novel has been popular for centuries, and romantic stories using this device can feel like the best kind of eavesdropping.

Music romances and seduces listeners, sometimes gently and sometimes with a rough, dirty, driving, relentless hot beat. That kind of romance rocks, and its rockstars are sex on legs.

I crave more sex- and age-positivity, a wider range of human sexuality and relationship, in the romantic TV shows and movies that I watch now. Romance novels have always done a great job at representing shame-free sexuality, desire, and fantasy. But the Netflix series Easy and the movie The Overnight also get it right.

Human beings exist on a spectrum of diversity and differences, and romances that reflect that are touching my heart lately. The widest range of life experiences represented in stories can only be a good thing.  Being seen and accepted, not treated as an exception, is inspiring. It's all part of the flow of life.

Unrequited love, "the timing's wrong" coupling, enemies to friends, friends to lovers, and then sometimes back to friends. What are these relationships about? Does chemistry even need a category? Some unforgettable romantic movies pin down that bittersweet, undeniable connection.

I've been having fun reading a ton of contemporary romances featuring buff young things getting it on. But it's time to get real: which means ageless love, with plenty of imperfection, wisdom and fun thrown in. It's romance full of humor, honesty, acceptance and kindness. The sexiest combo I know.

Who knew that Empire-waist dresses, waistcoats, cravats and women discovering their own power could be so sexy? Well, fans of Regency romance know. It's all about the debs and the Dukes in this episode. These two shows are the place to start your new, fresh, modern costume drama love affair.

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com

Fascinating interview with Bridgerton showrunner Chris Van Dusen. He talks about adapting the books, the mostly female writers' room, the female gaze throughout...

In this episode, I talk about the hilarious, often crude new Netflix rom-com series The Duchess starring comedian/actress/writer Katherine Ryan.

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com

<p>A lot of the material for The Duchess seems to have been inspired by this Katherine Ryan Netflix special.</p>

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com

Death Comes to Pemberley trailer. Anna Maxwell Martin is one of my favorite Elizabeths, too.

It's based on a book by P.D. James

The Scapegoat trailer

The Scapegoat book by Daphne du Maurier

The foreplay to the train make-out clip from North by Northwest

Notorious, full movie. That Scene comes right at the end.

In this episode I talk about the visually stunning 2018 miniseries The Woman in White, a creepy romantic mystery perfect for Halloween.

http://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com

Where to stream The Woman in White

2018 WiW miniseries trailer and fantastic "sizzle reel"

1948 WiW movie trailer

Trailer for the dark and sometimes humorous Sleepy Hollow

In this episode I talk about my latest binges and obsessive romance rewinds, Outlander and A Discovery of Witches, and try to answer the question: am I going nuts?

http://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com
Outlander S1 trailer

A Discovery of Witches S1 trailer. That Kiss comes right at the end.

All Souls Trilogy books.

The article I mention.

Another fun article on the topic.

Music mentioned in the Confessional:

Lissie's amazing cover of Go Your Own Way
I Found by Amber Run

Never Gonna ...

In this extra episode, I talk about one of my favorite tiny romantic moments in the clever detective drama Sherlock.

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com

The Christmas Scene (tag says "dearest Sherlock" not "Merry Christmas, Sherlock," even better): https://youtu.be/ulYsQ7-w4PU

A fun video compilation of some of the best Sherlock moments: https://youtu.be/OJ8eQZLcfXA

In this extra episode, I continue talking about the actor Matt Bomer, because I can't get enough of his performance in The Last Tycoon. Someone, rescue me…

https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com

The Last Tycoon trailer: https://youtu.be/KnRIv-QNtjg

Pure glamor: https://condenaststore.com/featured/norma-shearer-and-irving-thalberg-in-a-garden-edward-steichen.html?product=poster

Oh, this picture: https://artsmeme.com/2009/01/15/jewish-prince-of-hollywood/

More about F. Scott Fitzgerald ...