Instead of tagging these updates into my monthly goals or review posts, I thought I’d do a quarterly post all about what I’ve been watching, reading, and listening to. Here’s a look at my Q1 2026 media wrap-up.
THEATRE SHOWS
It’s been a real mixed bag of theatre shows that I’ve seen this quarter, from a ballet and an opera to musical adaptations of movies and biopics. I’ve only seen seven shows, which is low for me, but I’m trying to be pickier about how many shows I see.
I started off the year seeing The Nutcracker with some updated choreography, before travelling to Sheffield to see a classic, Top Hat. My first press night in Hull for the year was The Buddy Holly Story, followed up by a trip to Leeds to see Sunny Afternoon, meaning two biopic musicals in a row. Next, I saw Legally Blonde in Sheffield, my first trip on this tour, before going to a new-to-me theatre, York Theatre Royal, to see the new production of The Secret Garden. I finished off the quarter with the Opera North press night for The Marriage of Figaro, only my second ever visit to the opera.
Theatre shows seen in Q1 2026:
- Northern Ballet’s The Nutcracker @ Leeds Grand Theatre
- Top Hat @ Sheffield Lyceum
- The Buddy Holly Story @ Hull New Theatre (press night)
- Sunny Afternoon @ Leeds Grand Theatre
- Legally Blonde @ Sheffield Lyceum
- The Secret Garden @ York Theatre Royal
- Opera North’s The Marriage of Figaro @ Hull New Theatre (press night)
BOOKS
I’ve not read a ton of books over the last three months, but I’m slowly going through my unread Kindle books. However, I signed up for Kindle Unlimited in mid-March to re-read the Off Campus series before the Amazon TV series starts in May. I’ve managed to get through just six books, an average of two per month. I usually aim for four per month, so I’m well below my goals! However, sometimes, you’re just in a bit of a reading slump, and that’s okay!
Initially, I was going through my TBR alphabetically, finishing up as many Sarah Adams as I could, as well as an Evie Alexander read. However, I sacked it all off to restart Off Campus! I’ve whizzed through the books since starting them, because they’re such easy and fun reads! Apparently, I’m a sucker for a college hockey romance!
Books read in Q1 2026:
- The Temporary Roomie – Sarah Adams
- The Match – Sarah Adams
- The Enemy – Sarah Adams
- Highland Games – Evie Alexander
- The Deal – Elle Kennedy
- The Mistake – Elle Kennedy
FILM
My OG goal for the year was to watch a movie musical every weekend. I started off the year strongly, and as soon as February hit, I failed! I’m just much more of a TV box set kind of person, instead of a movie, even if it’s a movie musical.
In January, I treat myself to an HSM marathon. Yes, I watched them all in one day! I’ll never be a musical snob, because I believe that many of the Disney Channel movies are some of the best musicals out there. I’d say there aren’t many great musical movies from the 00s and onwards, but the Disney ones are better than most!
I was inspired to watch Legally Blonde before I saw the stage show, just to remember the storyline again. Even though the musical is different, it’s not too drastically different that the plot still makes sense! However, I made the mistake of watching the sequel film, and had forgotten how naff it is!
Films watched in Q1 2026:
- High School Musical
- High School Musical 2
- High School Musical 3
- Dreamgirls
- Legally Blonde
- Legally Blonde 2
TV
You’ll be able to see that I watch a lot of TV! Most of this is in the evening when I spend a couple of hours working on my business or writing blog posts as background noise. However, I do like a lazy day off on the sofa watching something on TV. This year, my daytime binges on my days off have been FBI International, Great British Bake Off and my old favourite, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.
My evening watches so far in 2026 have been both seasons of Smash, the first two seasons of Glee, finishing up season 13 of Chicago Fire and restarting Chicago PD. Of course, I also made time to watch the 20th anniversary special of Hannah Montana, which I found a little disappointing. I was hoping for more of a one-off concert and a little bit of chat, not the other way around.
TV shows watched in Q1 2026:
- Smash seasons 1+2
- World’s Strongest Man 2025
- Murder at the Post Office
- Glee seasons 1+2
- FBI International seasons 1-4
- FBI season 7
- Great British Bake Off seasons 7, 9, 10+11
- Chicago Fire season 13
- Chicago PD seasons 1-4
- Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team seasons 3-13
- Hannah Montana: 20th Anniversary
MUSIC
I’m a creature of habit, usually. I listen to my favourite artists over and over again, and rarely discover anything new. That’s meant sticking my usual Taylor/Kelsea/Maren/Kelly playlists as always. However, I’ve been listening to Megan Moroney’s latest album a fair few times, and have rediscovered Kacey Musgraves again. In fact, the only male country artists that I really listen to are Dan + Shay!
Because of upcoming shows, I’ve been getting back into musical soundtracks. In Q1, I’ve listened to Legally Blonde, Hamilton, The Last Five Years, Bonnie and Clyde, and Waitress. Of course, I also had my Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus playlist on repeat for a couple of weeks, too! The only other playlists that I downloaded were my Nickelback and Daughtry ones, because I do like some rock music when I’m in a certain mood. Yes, I will forever be a Nickelback fan, and wish to see them for a fourth time if I can!
Music listened to in Q1 2026:
- Megan Moroney
- Maren Morris
- Kasey Musgraves
- Daughtry
- Kelly Clarkson
- Taylor Swift
- Kelsea Ballerini
- Hannah Montana + Miley Cyrus
- Legally Blonde Broadway cast
- Hamilton Broadway cast
- The Last Five Years movie cast
- Bonnie and Clyde West End cast
- Waitress Broadway cast
- Dan + Shay
And that’s everything for my Q1 2026 media wrap-up. I love collating all this information in my bullet journal, so I thought I’d share it with you all, too!
If you enjoyed my Q1 2026 media wrap-up, leave me a comment below. However, I might start doing these monthly if there’s enough to fill out one blog post. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok too.
