By Nate Bloom
Contributing Columnist
Catch-Up item: “Dying for Sex,” an eight-episode series, began streaming on Hulu on April 4. I just wasn’t in the mood for a story about Molly, a young, dying woman (Michelle Williams), and I wasn’t sure how big a role JENNY SLATE, 42, had as Molly’s best friend, Nikki. Well, I just watched it and I was moved by the series, even if a person’s suffering from cancer is not fun watching. There is, however, a lot of amusing stuff too — and Slate has a big role.
The series is based on a podcast. MOLLY KOCHAN (1974-2019) was really dying when she launched this podcast with her best friend, Nikki Boyer. Romance and sex in her marriage ended years before she learned her cancer was terminal. After her terrible diagnosis, she leaves her husband and she decides to have the sexual relationships she never had. (Odd note: for whatever reason, Nikki in the series is Jewish and Molly is not. In real life, Molly was Jewish and Nikki isn’t.)
Williams, who played the Jewish Mrs. Fabelman in the STEVEN SPIELBERG film “The Fabelmans,” isn’t Jewish. However, in 2022, she told the “Wall Street Journal” that she agreed to raise her children Jewish before she married (2020) THOMAS KAIL, 48, a prominent, Tony-winning theater and TV director. The couple now have three children.
“The Last of Us,” a hit HBO/Max series, began its 2nd season on Sunday, April 13. New episodes premiere on Sundays through May 25 (seven episodes). It is based on a mega-hit video game of the same name. The video game (2013) was directed by, and written by NEIL DRUCKMANN, 46. He was born (1979) in Israel and lived there until 1989, when he and his Israeli parents moved to America. In Israel, his parents lived on the West Bank, and his father worked as a flight test engineer. Neil’s Israel years may factor in the writing of the 2nd season.
In 2019, Druckmann met CRAIG MAZIN, 54, an American Jew, and they began the process of turning the video-game into a TV show. Mazin wrote or co-wrote all but one of the 1st season episodes. The 1st season earned 24 Emmy nominations and won eight.
Premise: Most of the human population is infected by a fungus that takes over their minds. The infected want to infect uninfected humans by wounding them with their teeth, nails, etc. The series’ plots, writing and acting are all top-notch, and this sets it apart from other zombie series.
The star characters in the first two seasons are Craig and Ellie. Craig is a middle-aged man who is physically strong, smart and good with weapons. In the first season, Craig becomes the protector of Ellie, a tough teenage girl.
The 1st season was set in 2013. The 2nd season jumps ahead to 2019. Craig and Ellie live in the same “sanctuary” town. In this town, Ellie meets Dina, a smart, resourceful young woman who becomes Ellie’s friend and, later, her lover.
The Dina character premiered in the video game, “Last of Us, Part II.” In an early video game scene in “Part II,” Dina discloses to Ellie that she is Jewish. Dina talks about a lot of Jewish stuff as they walk through a deserted synagogue.
You can view this video game scene simply by searching “Last of Us, Part II Jewish” on YouTube. Several people have posted this scene.
Internet pundits wonder if Dina will not be Jewish in the HBO series because a lot of viewers don’t want to see a major Jewish character in the wake of the Gaza war. Druckmann’s West Bank childhood, they say, might be dredged out. The pundits also note that a non-Jewish actress is playing Dina. (The 1st episode in season two didn’t make it clear if Dina is Jewish or not.)
Last week, I wrote about a PBS series about the Holocaust. Sir SIMON SCHAMA, the narrator, noted he’s 80 and its 80 years since the Holocaust ended (1945). The Holocaust virtually ended with Hitler’s suicide (April 30, 1945) and Germany’s surrender (May 7).
This made me think about the only funny joke about Hitler I’ve ever heard. Here’s the joke: its 1935 and two English Jews, who are old friends, talk in a café. Both are well-aware of how badly Hitler is treating German Jews. One says to his friend, I know that Hitler will die on a Jewish holiday. His friend replies: How could you know that he will die on a Jewish holiday? His friend says, Any day Hitler dies on is a Jewish holiday.
Well, this writer’s birthday is April 30 and I am honored that my birthday, every year, is a Jewish holiday.
