Best Lines of the Week (May 21 – 27): ‘What Were You Doing All Quarantine?’
This week’s TV lines were a rollercoaster of emotions as the month of May draws to a close. We saw a long-awaited reunion when the cast of Friends came back together one last time for a tearjerker, Special broke our hearts when a relationship came to an end, and This Is Us‘ season finale hit us with a line about spoilers that felt way too real.
It wasn’t all sad though. Viewers also got some much-needed laughs from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver as well as Saturday Night Live this week.
Scroll down to see if your favorite lines made an impression on us this week!
This Is Us (NBC)
“One week of covering my ears and humming every time I entered the grocery store out of this irrational fear that I might accidentally learn who died at the wedding and you ruin the ending of the only thing that is keeping me going right now.”
— Rebecca (Mandy Moore) yells at Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) for taping over a show she’s been dying to watch.
Ziwe (Showtime)
“My first question to you is who are your top 4 favorite billionaires?”
— Ziwe asks the hard-hitting questions to New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, who in the same interview cited Times Square as his favorite subway station.
High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America (Netflix)
“His cooking was so good he actually made money every year selling leftovers.”
— Culinary historian Adrian Miller describes how talented Hercules, the enslaved cook for former president George Washington, was.
Friends: The Reunion (HBO Max)
“I remember saying to David, ‘It’s going to be such a bummer if the first time you and I actually kiss is going to be on national television.’ Sure enough, the first time we kissed was in that coffee shop.”
— Jennifer Aniston recalls the mutual feelings her and David Schwimmer had for one another outside of the show that never developed further.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS)
“Then we have to prep the actual Ed Sullivan theater. Specifically, we gotta clear out the rats down there who’ve been hosting their own show.”
— Stephen Colbert jokes about getting ready to return to the Ed Sullivan theater on June 14 with a live audience after it being so long.
Saturday Night Live (NBC)
“What were you doing all quarantine? It was Tiger King and Queen’s Gambit, that was the only new TV for like months.”
—Anya Taylor-Joy admonishes people who somehow still haven’t seen The Queen’s Gambit.
Kung-Fu (The CW)
“You say the sword is your life. Well, you took my life the day you abandoned me, in a pool of Papa’s blood. Your life for the life you took. Give me my birthright.”
— Zhilan (Yvonne Chapman) asks her older sister Pei-Ling (Vanessa Kai) for the sword that Pei-Ling abandoned her and accidentally killed their father over in exchange for the reconciliation Pei-Ling wants.
Special (Netflix)
“Getting some of you hurts worse than getting none of you.”
—Ryan (Ryan O’Connell) breaks up with his boyfriend Tanner (Max Jenkins) after feeling second best to Tanner’s open relationship with his husband Richard (Piter Marek).
Pose (FX)
“And I doubt — no, excuse me — I know that no other women have paid you any mind because women aren’t attracted to men who aren’t tall enough to ride the cyclone at Coney Island. If not for pity, your closest proximity to a vagina would have been at your birth.”
—Elektra (Dominique Jackson) reads the transphobic owner of a high-end wedding dress store who refuses to sell her a dress.
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO)
“I’m eating dinner. I gave you that power in a limited capacity, John.”
— George Clooney after John Oliver decided to make use of his ability to randomly summon him in the middle of this week’s show.
Crime Scene Kitchen (Fox)
“Alright, guys, so the last dessert you made was incredible. It was my favorite stew.”
—Host Joel McHale commenting on the soupy disaster of Amanda and Erinn’s lemon chiffon pie in the first round of the competition.
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services