The Year in Dallas Pop Culture – 2024 Edition

Working in local journalism teaches you to shift gears between your regional news brain and your pop culture news brain. On occasion, however, there is a glorious overlap between the two. These were a few of my favorite Dallas in pop culture moments from 2024.

*Note: I apologize in advance if you thought sports—Dallas’ biggest pop culture contribution—would be a part of this. I leave that to Mike Pielluci. Write what you know!

Nara Smith Lives—or Lived—in Dallas

Just when you think you’ve nailed the formula for spotting a Dallas-based influencer, one of the biggest and buzziest of them all goes viral for shopping at NorthPark Mall.

Nara Smith, armed with a glamorous bob and occasionally joined by her husband (former teen model extraordinaire Lucky Blue Smith!), earned her internet icon status by whipping up from-scratch versions of everything from butter to bubble gum. She’s also a model, as evidenced by the impeccable clothes she fearlessly dons while chopping tomatoes.  

Given her chicness, I had long assumed the dulcet-toned wonder was filming her cooking videos somewhere cool like Malibu or Stockholm. I was shocked when I saw the NorthPark video, and even more stunned when she answered yes to a comment about whether she lives in Dallas. Apparently, they’ve been here since 2022! Her favorite grocery store is Central Market.

Of course, as soon as I perfected my pitch for a D Magazine feature on Nara Smith, seemingly the most self-aware of the “tradwife” set, she and Lucky Blue announced they were moving their young family to Connecticut. There were a few reasons, but Nara explained it was also “hard to make friends” in Texas.

Ugh. Come on, Dallas!

The Eclipse

The “path of totality” was truly cool. One of the best things about April’s solar eclipse was that, as the date neared, even the least science-minded among us couldn’t resist eclipse fever. The city of Dallas really rose to the once-in-a-lifetime occasion. Or more specifically, Dallas’ Lyda Hill and the Perot Museum did. Hill’s philanthropic organization donated 20,000 eclipse safety glasses to the Texas State Parks along the path of totality and brought a slew of Carnegie Science astronomers to the Perot Museum and beyond.

Between the endless specialty cocktails, themed treats, and occasional tarot card readings, those four or so minutes when the midday sky went dark made for a beautiful, unifying, unforgettable experience.     

The Girls5eva Song “Tap Into Your (Fort) Worth”

Thank goodness Netflix saved Girls5Eva, a quick-witted sitcom that’s earned countless best-show-you’re-not-watching-style headlines over the years. After jumping from Peacock to the larger streamer this year, its third season debuted with an episode titled “Fort Worth,” in which the fictional girl group (comprised of Sara Bareilles, Busy Phillips, Paula Pell, and Renée Elise Goldsberry) debuts the fantastic song “Tap Into Your (Fort) Worth” in a strategic effort to pen a city’s anthem. A few choice lyrics: 

Tap into your Fort Worth
One look and you’ll love it too
No wonder Jesus went to TCU…

And the Trinity River’s getting better
Parts are even swimmable
It’s no longer called the mythological river of death
‘Cause when the West begins, it’s where your best begins.

Dallas would be so lucky to have a satirical song this sharp and feel-good.

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ Netflix Show

And speaking of Netflix, the moment I saw the thumbnail for America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, I knew it would be a hit. As a group (and occasionally as individuals), the NFL squad’s star power is undeniable. It was about time they leveled up from CMT to Netflix, where the glossier, more nuanced lens of director Greg Whiteley (Cheer, Last Chance U) put the focus not only on the talent, athleticism, and discipline it takes to don those iconic Lucchese boots, but made genuine stars of several DCC veterans and hopefuls.

Netflix’s viewership numbers are notoriously opaque, but America’s Sweethearts’s weeks-long run in the platform’s “Top 10 TV Shows in the U.S. Today” lineup and its season two renewal bodes well for its popularity. And of course, the true marker of modern pop culture success: a collection of engrossing think pieces and a TikTok trend.

Finally, a Good Reality TV Dater from Dallas

2024 marked the year that Love Island USA, the American offshoot of the long-running British reality TV dating show, finally broke through. When it debuted on CBS in 2019, the series could barely hold a candle to the OG version. This year, USA was basically the undisputed winner, dominating the cultural conversation—or at least a sizable corner of social media.

There are a few factors that likely influenced the series’ big moment. A 2022 switch from CBS to Peacock allowed Love Island USA to up the raunch factor. New host Ariana Madix, the only Vanderpump Rules castmate whose star is still climbing post #Scandoval, also brought in a legion of new viewers. But both points are moot if the season’s cast isn’t compelling. Luckily, it was divine. There was an overalls-clad hunk named Rob, a pro-level crier named Kaylor, and a genuine sweetie in Dallas’ own Kordell Beckham (brother of NFL star Odell Beckham Jr). Beckham coupled up with Serena Page and won Season 6 via a nationwide vote. They’re reportedly still together.

Dallas hasn’t historically offered up the best reality TV dating contestants (see: Love is Blind’s third season), but Beckham, despite a few romantic stumbles, was a fan favorite for a reason. He’s probably already left us for Los Angeles, but for a brief, shining moment at the height of Love Island mania, we got to call him a hometown hero.

Timothée Chalamet Rooting for SMU

I am the definition of an SMU football bandwagoner. Though I attended no more than two games during my undergrad years as a Mustang (when entry is free), I was clamoring to overpay for playoff tickets. I went to the SMU bookstore for the first time in over a decade. My poor husband is exhausted from answering my endless college football questions, but I simply cannot stop.

One thing I do inherently understand, however, is the cultural relevance of a thinly mustachioed Timothée Chalamet (the facial hair is for the upcoming Josh Safdie movie Marty Supreme) going full Rain Man on ESPN’s College GameDay with “elite ball knowledge.” He made some great conference championship picks! And the Mustangs were among them.  

“I’m pulling for SMU; it smells like the 1980s, folks,” says a man who was born in 1995. Pony up, Muad’Dib!

The Netflix House Chooses Dallas

What exactly is the Netflix House? It will be hard to say for certain until the company’s first-ever permanent retail concept debuts its two inaugural locations in Dallas (at the Galleria) and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania sometime in 2025. It’s been described as a “mini theme park,” spanning more than 100,000 square feet with immersive experiences and food and drink offerings inspired by your favorite Netflix properties.

An excerpt from the original release further boggles the mind: Imagine waltzing with your partner to an orchestral cover of a Taylor Swift song on a replica of the Bridgerton set –– and then walking around the corner to compete in the Glass Bridge challenge from Squid Game.

A wild pairing, though I understand the urge to juxtapose two tonally different shows to emphasize the breadth of what the Netflix House can be. However, if there’s an immersive experience of Girls5Eva’s “Tap Into Your (Fort) Worth,” I’ll be the first to get lost in the Galleria parking lot.