okay so I quit my day job (again)

This newsletter is now biweekly! We're so back.

Ziwe (Showtime)

The tv scholar newsletter is now biweekly! You can expect a newsletter in your inbox every other Wednesday, starting on October 8. Consider upgrading to a paid subscriber for full access to all my TV recs and to support my work! You can also buy me a coffee to support my new journey.

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For the last few years since grad school, a 9 to 5 has served me well. I watched Housewives in the background while sorting data into spreadsheets. I put on Platonic while reformatting documents and PowerPoints. When weeks would go by without new commissions, or if I was too lazy to pitch anything to editors, I wouldn’t feel the stress of financial precarity. I worked for a union and learned so much about labour activism. I turned my laptop off promptly at 5:00 PM. My day job provided me with stability, validation, and coworkers to make little jokes with.

At my best, I could hold it all together: The TV-watching, writing after-hours and on weekends, maintaining friendships and the administrative burden of life as a single person. But the tides would sometimes shift. For the last 10 weeks at my job, I have been doing two jobs. The work itself was rarely an issue — nothing ever felt like rocket science after grad school. Time was my most profound constraint. On weeks of back-to-back meetings, with deadlines looming and episodes piling up, my days began feeling scheduled in 15-minute increments. One detour from my schedule — health hiccups, plumbing issues, a family emergency — would send my spinning plates crashing down and demand a sacrifice. I guess I’m writing through my lunch breaks this week, I’d think. And what about rest?

I had been making the most money I’ve ever made, but so much of my life boiled down to convenience. Ordering food because I had insufficient time left in the day to cook something. Squeezing in writing when I can. Even this newsletter has been written between meetings, on lunch breaks, as quickly as possible.

Good Trouble (Freeform)

Two years ago, I tried writing full-time for a few months. It went well until it didn’t. I wrote for new publications and my newsletter was dispatching weekly, but the Hollywood strikes started shortly after I quit my job. Worst timing ever! Covering television felt awkward, especially on my Instagram. I placed my account on hiatus for the duration of the strikes in support of the picket line, which other accounts like mine didn’t do. I lost followers and my subscription numbers plateaued. When the SAG strikes began, I no longer interviewed anyone (which are generally higher-paying commissions than reviews or recaps). It’s generally a bad time to be a freelance writer, but that was on another level. I crawled back to a day job, thankful to nestle in the safety of the regular paycheque, and rebuild my financial cushion.

Today, on my last official day at my day job, things feel very different, I think. I’m more established. I am writing a new biweekly television recommendations column for Yahoo, launching next week, on top of my column in The Cut and my other contributions. I’m ready to try it all again, from this vantage point. But the voice at the back of my head whispers: For how long will such a venture be sustainable in this journalism climate? The truth is, I don’t know.

My dad is always telling me I need a 5-year plan, but such a plan depends on if the opportunities I have now remain in place and sustainable. It’s exciting and terrifying and there is no guarantee that it will work out — or that I will even enjoy it? What if written words being my sole source of income is too much pressure? At least I know television, as a medium, has my back. Episodes I can return to when things get tough. I am also much more open to a hybrid career at some point — working a side gig more relevant to my overall interests. Or maybe just making lattes so that my eyes aren’t glued to screens all day, who knows. Netflix’s The Boyfriend did secretly convince me I should just own a coffee cart and park it by the ocean.

Station Eleven (HBO Max)

What I do know is that there is something about the corporate slog that began eating away at my joy for life. I didn’t have time for anything, I felt the crush of the Sunday Scaries every week, and I would sit in on Monday meetings and wonder, what exactly am I still doing here? I should be writing! And watching. And working on fun side projects. I am not someone who aspires to a large salary. I do not want to climb a corporate ladder. I do not dream of a big wedding, a big house or a boat. I simply want to not feel stressed to pay my rent, to save for the future, and to provide for my cat. Maybe occasionally afford a nice bottle of natural wine. And if *I* can’t make that happen without corporate work — with the platform I have, and the publications I write for, then there may be something truly broken beyond repair in this industry.

So here’s my mission for the next few months: To watch more television than ever before, and first and foremost, report back to this newsletter. My hope is that some of you reading this decide to take the plunge and upgrade to a paid subscription. I find this kind of self-promotion awkward, but this newsletter really has begun to shape the foundation of my livelihood; it is the only reason why I even considered quitting my job and doing this thing on a full-time basis.

I’ve never increased my prices for this newsletter ($2.50/month on the annual plan) because I don’t want it to be a financial burden to support my work (god knows we’re subscribed to enough things these days). I will say that I typically reserve my juiciest opinions for the paywall, though. Plus, you’ll get an invitation to my monthly TV Zoom Club! And with increased publication frequency, you can expect more interviews, essays, reviews, and hot takes. All in the name of television, of course.

The Other Two (HBO Max)

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What else?

• I’m recapping The Morning Show’s fourth season for Elle! Here’s a thread you can bookmark if you’d like to follow along/need clarity on whatever hot mess that show is throwing at us weekly. Reviews are usually posted Wednesday nights (Thursdays at the latest).

• I wrote about Netflix’s Wayward for “Appointment Viewing” in The Cut, and what I gleaned from seeing it premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Folks keep commenting on my Instagram post saying they hate the show! So I guess I enjoyed it more than most, but don’t worry, I agree that it’s not a 5-star slam dunk.

• I finally made a personal website @ michelghanem.ca! It contains my writing portfolio and other services I offer, if you’re curious. Feel free to hire me?

• Is anyone else watching The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox on Hulu? Is it just me or it’s way better than I expected from how critics reviewed it?

Coming up next:

• Sept 30: Nightmares of Nature (Netflix, S1)

  Sept 30: On Brand with Jimmy Fallon (NBC, S1)

  Sept 30: Chad Powers (Hulu, S1)

  Oct 1: Abbott Elementary (ABC, S5)

  Oct 3: Monster: The Ed Gein Story (Netflix, S3)
  Oct 4: Saturday Night Live (NBC, S51)

  Oct 5: The Real Housewives of Potomac (Bravo, S10)

  Oct 7: True Haunting (Netflix, S1)

  Oct 7: Red Alert (Paramount+, S1) (dreading this one…if I watch, it will purely be to write and report back on it)