Watch, Read, Listen with The Cottage Cue
A gymnastics podcast, a Grey's Anatomy GRWM, and the Home Alone sweater
Hey! Welcome to The Cottage Cue—your cozy read where fans become insiders. This is our meeting place, our hub, where we take a deep dive into stories, the storytellers behind them, and the passion that started it all.
Enjoy this latest edition featuring…
a Grey’s Anatomy get ready with me (GRYM)
the Modern Family pilot script
a film preserved by the Library of Congress
the $47,500 Home Alone sweater
Get comfy and I’ll meet you in the comments.
-Bee 🖤
Cue the back story.
There’s always a story behind the story. Are you fascinated by the creative team working together to gift us the vision? They do this all for the excited viewers, the delighted readers, and the eager listeners.
*Fun Fact:
The all male founders of Essence magazine liked the name “Sapphire” for the publication, but it didn’t quite fit the vision or agree with women. Keep reading (or scroll) for the TCC watchlist including the Time of Essence documentary.
“Before you know your destination, you have to know your starting point”
Caroline Wanga (CEO of Essence Ventures)
Watch:
Day in The Life of Cinematographer
If you watch Britney’s channel, you’ll probably subscribe. Her content is intimate, aspirational, and aesthetically pleasing. It’s just so crisp. She has worked with Issa Rae, Yara Shahidi, and Viola Davis. Check out this behind-the-scenes video where she shoots in a virtual studio.
Film is a language of visual storytelling
- Brittney Janae
How Lion King Has Captivated Broadway
A behind the curtains look of the creativity behind the Lion King on Broadway featuring the artists and creatives that bring it to life. There’s a reason this show has been running since 1997. It’s phenomenal!
Day in the Life of Alexis Floyd (Grey’s Anatomy)
Grey’s Anatomy is still captivating audiences and dishing drama. In 2024, along with Bluey, Grey’s was the most streamed show. Alexis Floyd, who plays Simone, takes us on a tour of a day in the life on set.
Twenty Feet From Stardom
We’ve talked about this before on TCC, but when it’s great—it’s worth recommending again. The documentary Twenty Feet From Stardom is a heartfelt and enlightening story about backup singers of some of the greatest musicians. The film honors singers such as Darlene Love and Merry Clayton. Their credits include The Rolling Stone, Stevie Wonder, and The Lion King.
The film won an Oscar for the Best Documentary feature and Grammy for best music film. In 2023 the film was preserved by the Library of Congress.
Time of Essence
This is a docu-series to watch while cooking or spending time together. It’s fascinating to learn about culture and our history through the lens of media, especially a groundbreaking publication like Essence Magazine. The full video of the first episode is below.
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Read:
Modern Family script
If you love comfort TV and binge watching, then Modern Family is probably on your radar. It’s just one of those sitcoms that makes you laugh and has good character storylines.
Reading the script while watching the show is like reading a book while listening to the audible. Though, it’s not the final version used in the pilot, it’s interesting to read and see what was changed.
Come Close (novella)
This indie novella by Felicia Pride is a current read and I’m eager to finish. The main character, Amaya Ellis, is a writer and director of her first feature film. As we’re reading we get a snippet on the process of filming an independent film like working with studio executives and the different crew members that bring it together.
Felecia Pride has written for shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Queen Sugar. She’s also working with Debbie Allen for the reboot of a Different World for Netflix. Come on!
Listen
Let’s Talk Gymnastics (podcast)
Do you have a little gymnast in your family? Nine year old competitive gymnast, Chloe Driese, has a very popular Youtube channel where she shares her journey alongside fun challenges and behind the scenes training. Now with her podcast you can listen to her gymnastics life on the go. The episode where she interviews Rhythmic Gymnast Elena Shinohara is featured on the TCC podcast playlist.
Author Dolen Perkins-Valdez discusses her novel 'Happy Land'
This is a quick listen with Michel Martin as she interviews Author Dolen Perkins- Valdez to discuss her novel Happy Land. A book that centers around an autonomous Black community. Dolen uses part fact and fiction to create the story of the formerly enslaved and thier path to their own kingdom.
Entertainment News (aka Conversational Starters)
Ryan Michele Bath will join her husband, Sterling K. Brown, as a guest star on Paradise Season 2.
Netflix is moving and making plans to be the all around streaming platform with partnerships with NASA and French broadcaster TF1.
The Decatur Book Festival announced its keynote speakers for the 20th anniversary. Authors, Saeed Jones and Angie Thomas, will speak at the anniversary event on October 3-4, 2025.
Rapman, the creator of the Nextflix superhero drama, Supacell, is set to direct a new crime biopic, The Council. What does this mean for us Supacell fans?
Game of Thrones alumni, Alfie Allen, is set to star in the thriller series ‘Baby Doll”.
“The most important event in entertainment history” will auction memorabilia such as Indiana Jones’ whip and a Marilyn Monroe costume. This is the same auctioneer of the Home Alone red sweater for $47,500.
And the spotlight news is…
The return of BookCon in 2026. Sounds like a weekend of books and Broadway! Sign me up!
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