I’ve been holding onto some of these recommendations for a bit and end up taking them out because it’s “too sad” and welp, sometimes things are just really fucking sad and we have to learn to accept them.

Here’s a pretty direct list (after all, nothing is “straightforward” during Pride) of shows that really get sad right. Oh and because why not – an oddly profound episode of Midnight Gospel.

I’m leaving for Georgia on Friday to celebrate the unveiling of the Strickland historical marker. If you have a few dollars to throw my way for the trip, every little bit helps → venmo or cash app.

Thanks for reading,
Dakotah

That’s the thing about grief: it sneaks up on you. Art makes it at least a little bit easier.

I didn’t start listening to Kehlani until 2020 and have been a fan ever since. “You Should Be Here” (2015) was the first album – or mixtape – that I listened to of theirs and I’ve had it on the shelf for awhile, so I brought it back out.

It’s weird to think about how much I loved this album before I feel like I really understood what any of it meant. It’s about grief, and the opening track (after the heartwarming “Intro” weaved together with recordings of her grandpa) is called “You Should Be Here” and the rest of the album is a journey. The mixtape also features guest verses by artists like Chance the Rapper and BJ the Chicago Kid.

This is another one that I’d recommend just starting at the beginning and listening to it all the way through. I also love their albums “While We Wait” and “It Was Good Until It Wasn’t,” if for some reason you want to start somewhere else or are looking for the next place to go. You might also recognize their hit song, “Folded,” which won two Grammys for “Best R&B Song” and “Best R&B Performance in 2025.

Somebody Somewhere (2022-24) is a Peabody-award winning series about a woman who moves back to her hometown in rural Kansas to pick up the pieces after her sister dies from cancer. It’s also very queer.

One of my favorite parts of the show is how much it combines grief and joy. Yes, it’s a show about dealing with death, but it’s also about finding your chosen family and rebuilding after the wreckage. It’s hopeful, wholesome, and there really isn’t anything like it. It might be the only show that I’ve seen – so far – that gets grief “right.”

It’s another show with a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, if you care about that sort of thing.

Midnight Gospel (2020) might be the weirdest show I’ve ever watched. It’s definitely the weirdest show I’ve ever finished. It’s a bit hard to describe other than it’s kind of an acid trip within an acid trip. It’s from the creator of Adventure Time, so I figured why not.

Each episode features a guy named Clancy who keeps transporting to other worlds. In each “world,” he meets someone and has a deep existential conversation with them. It sounds like it would be boring or perhaps even a little pretentious, but one of the episodes in particular really changed my brain chemistry and taught me an important lesson.

The episode, “Blinded By My End,” in its most simple explanation is that it’s about a knight on an adventure to avenge her lover’s murder. 

If you’re still with me, feel free to watch the show from beginning to end and just like I said – it is extremely freaking weird – and not all episodes are created equal. There is a through line plot (about grief and the death of his mom), but you can just watch isolated episodes if you want to.

Anyway, it’s very weird, but super important to me, and given the other recommendations, this one strangely fit.

If it’s been a while since you reached out to someone else who’s grieving, reach out. I’d recommend avoiding “how are you” or “hope you’ve been well” and instead choose something more neutral like “thinking about you,” “checking in,” or my personal favorite – but use with caution: a couple heart emojis or a gif.

Money also always works. Half joking.