Atlanta native Sarah Miller is the wedding planner for the new Netfix reality show “Marriage or Mortgage,” which is like a merger of “Love It or List It” on HGTV and any show on TLC involving weddings.
The concept is about money and choices. Couples have enough money for a down payment on a house or a big wedding. Which should they do?
The old-fashioned choice is wedding, of course. But in this modern-day, people sometimes opt for a very small wedding and pay for a house or simply hold off on the wedding and move in together.
This show, which was shot in Nashville, features Hall showing off wedding venues while real estate agent Nichole Holmes presents homes. Each one tries to entice the couple to spend their money with them.
Miller, a Walton High School graduate, grew up in East Cobb, and her family still lives locally. She attended American Intercontinental University for interior design.
But when she got married a decade ago and planned her own $40,000 beach wedding, she got the bug to do that full time. She and her husband later moved to Nashville, and she started the event planning and design company Southern Vine & Co.
When a production company pitched “Marriage or Mortgage” to Miller, she jumped at the chance. She and Holmes, the realtor, vaguely knew each other before the show began but were not friends until production began.
Shot before the pandemic in 2019, the ten episodes feature ten couples each debating which option is more enticing. She said she became naturally competitive, trying to outdo Holmes and ensure the couple chose the wedding. She’d offer discounts from vendors to make the wedding more affordable or provide them more options.
Due to TV production, “it’s just a little more fast-paced than putting a typical wedding together,” she said. Unfortunately, some of the weddings scheduled during the pandemic had to be scaled, back but none were canceled. In the end, some of the couples that chose the wedding option ended up saving money, she said, and may be able to buy a home quicker as a result.
WHERE TO WATCH
“Marriage or Mortgage,” available now on Netflix
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Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
In case you missed it, my colleague Tim Tucker reported that several folks looking forward to watching the Atlanta Braves on TV will not be able to.
Streaming services YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV last October dropped 21 Fox-branded regional sports networks, including the two based in Atlanta, because of a contract dispute and have not come up with a deal with the owners of Fox Sports South and Southeast, operated by Sinclair Broadcasting.
The networks, which also televise Hawks, Dream and Atlanta United games, have also been off Dish Network since 2019.
Fox Sports South and Southeast air nearly all the Braves games now. The regular season starts April 1.
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Credit: TCM
Credit: TCM
TCM is providing special “reframed classics” discussions surrounding 11 famous films from the past to explore how they look from a modern lens.
The discussions, which are before and after the airing of each film, debuted last week with “Gone With the Wind” and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.” Three of the five TCM hosts would provide historical context about each film and discuss issues of gender, race and sexuality.
Charles Tabesh, head of TCM programming, in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said he came up with the idea after HBO Max took “Gone With the Wind” off the service for a week, then had TCM expert Jacqueline Stewart provide special commentary before the film about its positive portrayal of slavery.
“We always try to do things that are tied to the culture in different ways,” Tabesh said. “To me, this is just an interesting conversation to have and how we view movies differently than we may have in the past.”
The films are all, he said, legitimate, beloved classics, such as “Psycho” and “My Fair Lady.” This effort isn’t to denigrate the films or excuse what they did but to understand the choices made by the producers and directors and what that said about American culture of that time period.
Here are the nine other ones.
Thursday, March 11
8:00 p.m. Woman of the Year (1942) (Eddie Muller, Alicia Malone Ben Mankiewicz)
10:15 p.m. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) (Jacqueline Stewart Alicia, Eddie)
12:15 a.m. Gunga Din (1939) (Ben, Jacqueline, Dave Karger)
Thursday, March 18
8:00 p.m. The Searchers (1956) (Ben, Alicia, Eddie)
10:15 p.m. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) (Dave, Alicia, Ben)
12:30 a.m. Swing Time (1936) (Jacqueline, Dave, Eddie)
Thursday, March 25
8:00 p.m My Fair Lady (1964) (Dave, Jacqueline, Alicia)
11:00 p.m. The Children’s Hour (1961) (Alicia, Dave, Eddie)
1:00 a.m. Psycho (1960) (Ben, Alicia, Jacqueline)
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Credit: PUBLICITY PHOTO
Credit: PUBLICITY PHOTO
Devin Steel joins hip-hop station Hot 107.9 as program director. He replaces Tap Money.
He has 25 years of experience in the radio business and was most recently senior vice president for iHeartMedia’s radio cluster out of Memphis.
The station recently changed its morning show, bringing in Headkrack’s year-old syndicated “The Morning Hustle” show to replace Rickey Smiley, who moved to Classix 102.9 at the beginning of the year.
Hot had a tough year in the ratings in 2020 and in 2021 remains well below its typical numbers before that year. Hot ranked 15th last month overall with a 2.4 share. It’s tied for fourth among those between the ages of 18 and 34 with a 5.1 share.
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