The COVID-19 Pandemic has shut down studios. But stars are still working. And I don’t just mean social media posts. To help fill the fresh content void, FOX brings us Celebrity Watch Party (8PM ET Thursdays). It’s basically a TV show that shows stars watching TV.
Yes, that’s where we are at.
But today’s Cocktail is SOOOOOO Raven! Because the legendary Raven-Symoné is on the show and telling us about how she’s filling her copious amounts of free time.
Watch and Learn
Raven’s just like the rest of us — stuck at home on the couch. So for an opportunity to get to A) Watch TV B) Be on TV C) Get paid for both.. is a dream come true. “I get to sit on my couch with my friends and watch television and still get to be on television, and it’s pretty freakin’ cool.”
She was in the inaugural episode, and says things may not have been as they appeared. “We have coffee mugs, but who knows what goes in that, you know what I’m saying?” Oh, I hear what you’re singing. “We have snacks, we’re watching Dr. Pimple Popper, we’re watching Kentucky Derby, we’re watching all kinds of stuff.”
And with sets shut down around the world, Raven says this is perfect for the times. “During this time in our lives we found a show that really is a safe thing to shoot and very entertaining, and that is what I love most about it.”
And Raven gets to watch with not-so-socially-distant friends. “I’m watching TV with Austin Brown and Brian London. They are friends and artistic partners on the musical journey I’m going through right now.”
Hooray For Hollywood
But besides guilty-pleasure reality shows, Raven’s loving Ryan Murphy’s latest triumph. “Hollywood. Hollywood on Netflix has been my pacifier right now. I’ve been in this industry for 32, 33 years so it’s interesting to see Hollywood get put on on a pedestal and all the things that happened. Where everything started from, why we have the traditions and how disgusting they are, whatever. It really blew my mind, I think everyone should watch Hollywood. It will show you what my industry is like.”
And aside from the social messaging, Raven is loving what she sees. “Let me tell you about those performances in there. Fantastic acting, fantastic acting. Very proud, and a very, very beautiful cast.”
She’s also spending her caged up time watching the ubiquitous quarantine fave: Tiger King. So I had to ask: did Carol Baskin commit a hair-raising crime and kill her husband? “Honey, I don’t know, but she could definitely put that hair on the track for me. I don’t know what she did but that hair is just whippin’ it everywhere. No comment on Carol Baskin.”
Back To Reality
So as quarantines slowly lift – Raven has a hope for humanity. “I’m looking forward to seeing what we are going to do, as humanity, to commemorate this time in our lives. I want to do like once a year, take a week off to commemorate Corona. I want to see what’s gonna happen to our normal lives. I mean, sadly my life is not going to change drastically from what it was before. It’s not ‘I’m gonna start a new leaf!’ It’s not gonna be like that. It’s gonna be the same.”
I disagreed. I don’t think things will ever be the same again.
“I like that optimism, thank you.”
The Critic’s Cocktail Recommendation
The Netflix & Chill Cocktail. Besides the perfect name, with peach vodka, Henney, and guava, it is just the thing to mix up, then lay back, grab the remote, and mindlessly drift through the sea of shows.
Cheers!
Critic's Cocktail 