I’m a figure skating fanatic. I have very vivid memories of watching Kristi Yamaguchi as a child (she had this blue daisy costume I was obsessed with), and cracking open a Sports Illustrated for the first and only time to read about Tara Lipinski.
That means when the Winter Olympics come around, I’m ready to take in as much figure skating as I can. It also means when it’s over, there’s a crash. I can’t just watch Alyssa Liu’s free skate on loop forever or laugh at this Evgeni Plushenko-Ginuine mashup for the hundredth time.
So here’s what I’ve been watching, reading, and listening to fill the figure skate-shaped hole in my heart.
The Traitors: Season 4
Watching The Traitors was essential for me. I think Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir need to be everywhere; they make great TV.
I also could not get enough of Alan Cumming and the whole Scotland vibe.
Be Good Johnny Weir
Olympic commentary is obviously where Johnny Weir soars (and he did well on The Traitors, too), but his reality show is where I originally saw him take off.
Be Good Johnny Weir debuted on the Sundance Channel in 2010. It was two seasons of brilliant sports and reality TV, if you ask me. However, since it was on the Sundance Channel of all places, I don’t think it got a ton of traction.
I hope that it’s seeing new life now (or some – it’s currently streaming on Tubi), and I hope that you give it a go.
The show is occasionally absurd and regularly silly. In some episodes, Johnny would dress up as a Russian newscaster and interview his publicist or mom. In others, he’d horse around with his aunt or explain how soothing it is to vacuum lines into his carpet.
But for all the goofing around, the show gave a good look at Johnny’s athleticism, the dynamics of being trained by a mother-daughter-son-in-law trio, the shortcomings of the judging system, and the prejudice within the skating community.
In one episode, I’d tee-hee as Johnny poked fun at his rival Evan Lysacek, and in another, I’d be crestfallen watching Johnny receive news that his image wasn’t family-friendly enough for Stars on Ice.
For all the highs and lows, Be Good Johnny Weir made Johnny a star (in my eyes).
Beautiful on the Outside by Adam Rippon
If you need an autobiography that satisfies like an ice rink hot cocoa, this is it. In Beautiful on the Outside, Adam Rippon shares how he slowly and steadily rose to the top in US figure skating.
But of course, this is not some dry sports story. Adam opens the book explaining how he originally became obsessed with ice skating after seeing an illustration of a woman skating with a muff on the outside of a Christmas popcorn tin. I fully understand how something so small can spark a lifelong obsession. (For me, that was seeing Anastasia as a kid and then devouring any Romanov-adjacent movie, show, or book – and continuing to do so nearly 30 years later.)
Also, the audiobook version is essential. Adam’s delivery is flawless – just like his Rippon lutzes.
The Favorites by Layne Fargo
I’ll say this: I will forever think that figure skating is greater than ice dancing. It has jumps! There’s more drama! But Layne Fargo’s book about a pair of ice dancers has enough drama that I can ignore that these fictional skaters’ blades never fully leave the ice.
In this novel, two young skaters are paired together and quickly gain a lot of attention. Once they get to the Olympics, though, they break up in spectacular fashion. The book then follows the skaters after the incident for a new documentary.
It’s about childhood obsession, single-minded focus, and what happens when you go too far. It was great.
I, Tonya
I can’t get enough of this movie. Margot Robbie is flawless. Allison Janney is iconic. Even the small players like Paul Walter Hauser as Jeff Gilooly’s sidekick are fantastic.
I’m not going to provide any hot takes on this movie, but it’s solidly entertaining and also reminds you that figure skating was designed for athletes like Nancy Kerrigan and Peggy Fleming – not Tonya Harding.
Losers: Episode 3
You know how everyone was obsessed with Ilia Malinin performing backflips during his skates at the 2026 Olympics? It was a big deal – kind of. Backflips weren’t a legal move previously.
However, he isn’t the first skater to land one at the Olympics. That would be Surya Bonaly at the 1998 Nagano Games.
Surya was (and still is!) an incredible athlete. She’s a powerful skater with a distinct style; unfortunately, this style wasn’t what the figure skating establishment was into. Throughout her career, she was plagued by what she perceived to be unfair and overly subjective judging (rightfully so, IMO). She protested this at the Lillehammer Games by removing her medal. Four years later, she’d perform her backflip as an act of defiance to the Olympic judges (it’s awesome).
You can get the story via this episode of a sports documentary series – a thing I would never watch otherwise!
See you in another four years to talk figure skating!
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