2018 was the year that time stretched long and thick like evil taffy.  Maybe the crumbling of American democracy had some kind of cosmic effect on it, but it felt this year felt like three...and a half. Thankfully, the year was crammed with great television, movies and music.  From Black Panther (yes it was released this year) to HBO's Succession to the return of Christina Aguilera, the entertainment got us through it.  

With that said, Hollywood definitely tried it in too many ways, and here’s hoping they will stay in the endless nightmare-chasm that was 2018.  Here are 8 entertainment trends that should stay in 2018...

It was almost poetic that The Real Housewives of New York City kicked off its 10th season with a Halloween party.  The event was a shrill harbinger of the nightmarish season ahead for the ladies of the Big Apple.  It also highlighted an issue that’s haunted the entire franchise since its inception: it's lack of diversity.

It all started when Luann de Lesseps—the Housewife formerly known as The Countess—boasted about how much she’s “suffered” since her marriage to Tom D'Agostino ended in a Chernobol-esque disaster after a tumultuous engagement and a whirlwind seven months of wedding bleakness.  

Luann arrived to Dorinda’s Halloween party in with a gigantic, two-foot afro that was more befitting of Marge Simpson than the intended diva Diana Ross.  Ontop of that, her skin was seemingly darker than it normally is.  Yes, that’s right.  The woman, who made a career of preaching, writing and sing about class and etiquette actually wore motherfucking blackface in 2018.

It's been said that we are in the golden age of television because of the sheer volume, variety and availability of programming on broadcast networks, cable and streaming services.  And yet, TV fans still must suffer through the stress of waiting for their favorite shows to be renewed and the consequent gut-punch of grief when they aren't.
 
Thanks to social media, fans have a direct line to show’s creators, writers and stars, and fans are fighting back.  

Thanks to Andy Cohen, Bravo has created some of the most decadent reality TV moments in the genre’s history.  Who can forget the ‘Who Gon' Check me Boo?’ greatness from The Real Housewives of Atlanta, the brutally of the Richards’ sisters limo fight or the ‘Scary Island’ episodes from The Real Housewives of New York that proved that truth is always more terrifying than fiction? 
​
There’s another priceless gem to add to Bravo's treasure trove of entertainment: the dueling marriage conferences on Married To Medicine.  

​Here's all the tea about how this priceless event came to be...

The best part about NBC's The Voice, besides the judges trash-talking each other and those super-campy spinning chairs, is the fact that the contestants are judged solely on their voices so that that their talent is cherished instead of critiqued.  But it's also because of the epic unscripted moments, like when a judge joins a contestant on stage to jam out and hopefully woo them to their team.  It can either go terribly wrong or fantastically right, and either one makes for good television.  The latter happened on Wednesday's episode of The Voice.

After Voice hopeful Joe Maye bewitched the crowd, as well as judges Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton, with his performance of '50s rock staple, "I Put A Spell On You," Christina expressed how much she loved performing the song.  "That is one of my favorite songs in the whole wide world to sing.  I would actually love to sing it with you one day," Aguilera gushed.  

Pharrell, who turns into a beaming fangirl whenever Xtina sings, asked, "Why don't you?"  

What happened next was a riffing, running, face-melting series of adlibs and burgeoning chemistry that had the judges on their feet, the audience cheering, and an already over-the-moon Maye screaming "Oh my God!" after their impromptu slay session ended.  

If Maye can hold his own with a Grammy-winning legend in a spontaneous performance, he may the man to beat at this early stage in the competition.

Watch the video below!  The blind auditions continue tonight on The Voice at 8/7c.

Photo Credit: nbc.com

The arrival of spring means warmer weather, brunch outdoors and a field-fresh harvest of guilty pleasure television.  Bravo is kicking off their summer season with their fan-favorite reality show, Shahs of Sunset.  The squad is back, and a new preview finds Reza, MJ, Gigi, Asa and new guy Shervin gearing up for another summer of partying, jet-setting, fighting.

If you've watched more than two minutes of season 15 of Fox's American Idol, you definitely know it's the farewell season. They've promoted it with as much subtlety of one of Cher's 17 goodbye tours in hopes to stoking ratings and getting an eleventh hour renewal. Auditions and Hollywood Week tried to wring extra tears from hopeful and heartbroken contenders, their families and even the judges. While it was occasionally effective, it also read as desperately manipulative.

On Thursday, Kelly Clarkson, the first American Idol winner with a voice that sounds like a rainbow-covered bolt of lightning, and a spirit to match, just reminded fans that true musicians just need a a microphone, a piano and an insane amount of bravery to land a sucker-punch to the feels. The extremely pregnant Clarkson performed a stripped down version of "Piece By Piece" with such vulnerability and soul, that the normally upbeat Idol audience was reduced to tears. Judges Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, Idol contestants were visibly moved as they listened to the ballad about an absentee father.

​Kelly herself even broke down during the last minutes of the song, turning away to compose herself and apologizing to the understanding crowd. She blamed it on being "super pregnant and hormonal" after the audience's lengthy standing ovation.

Watch the performance below and try not to ugly-cry.

The 88th Annual Academy Awards are this Sunday, and you’re either in the midst of planning your Oscar party, indifferent to the awards show obsession or boycotting because of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.  I'm leaning towards avoiding the awards ceremony, save for host Chris Rock's opening monologue, so I've planned a full roster of television to mainline along with a gooey plate of nachos.  

Here are 5 shows to binge-watch on Oscar night...

From Cynthia’s martial issues and launch of her eyewear collection to the petty competition for occupancy certificates between Moore Manor and Chateau Sheree, the eighth, and Nene Leakes-lite, season of The Real Housewives Of Atlanta, has yet to disappoint.  

New housewife actress/director/Scout Mommy Kim Fields has been an polarizing and frustrating for addition to the cast.  Fans of the show and Fields’ career were taken aback by a Kim's surprisingly homebodied personality.  She's a woman who successfully avoided the perils of Hollywood and child stardom when few black women did, but can't bear being away from her husband for more than 12 hours.  How does she direct “hundreds of hours of television” and corral petulant, ego-driven actors, but is overwhelmed by the prospect of a day on a boat with accomplished women?  Did she even know what she was signing up for?