Month: January 2023

Jay Leno is having a bit of a rough patch. The beloved Tonight Show host’s reality series, Jay Leno’s Garage, has been cancelled by CNBC after seven seasons on the air. The decision arrives after Leno survived a harrowing ordeal where his face caught on fire while repairing an old car back in November. The show was a love letter to Leno’s passion for cars, but according to Deadline, it’s been axed as the network focuses on “business oriented reality shows” like Shark Tank and Undercover Boss.

As if losing his show after surviving his face catching on fire wasn’t enough, Leno was also in a motorcycle accident last week, which is only just now making headlines. Via PEOPLE:

Detailing that he “got knocked off” his motorcycle on Jan. 17, Leno told the outlet, “I’ve got a broken collarbone. I’ve got two broken ribs. I’ve got two cracked kneecaps.”

“But I’m okay!” the star — who is returning to Las Vegas in March — added. “I’m okay, I’m working. I’m working this weekend.”

Despite the string of bad luck, Leno’s sense of humor hasn’t faltered and you can’t keep the guy off the stage. The comedian knows he’s lucky to be alive, and he was cracking jokes even after the gasoline fire back in November that covered his face, chest, and hands with burns. Leno penned an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal describing the ordeal and joked that he has a “brand new face” now. “It’s better than what was there before,” The Tonight Show legend quipped.

(Via Deadline, PEOPLE)

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, so if you haven’t already got your plans in order, you might as well buckle down for a lonely night in.

Michael B. Jordan learns this lesson the hard way in the new promo for SNL, which he’ll host this week. In the second of the three bits, cast member Heidi Gardner makes a pass at him, hoping to get chose for V-Day, but when Mike snoozes, he loses the opportunity to musical guest Lil Baby.

The trio also has some fun with Lil Baby’s stage name in another bit, while in the third, Heidi’s Michael Buffer impression falls flat when she misidentifies Baby’s place of origin as Alaska instead of Atlanta. That could make for one awkward date!

Throughout the clip, it looks like all three are having fun, even if the rapper has a little bit of a “deer in headlights” look to him — which is understandable, considering he’s stepping out of his element. However, his one-time partner-in-rhyme Gunna acquitted himself well in some sketches when he appeared on SNL, so perhaps Lil Baby will surprise us too.

Baby is fresh off the release of his third album, It’s Only Me, which dropped back in October. It’s nice to see he’s still pushing it, considering how quickly artists move on from their projects these days.

You can watch the SNL promo above.

Vladimir Putin has been on the defensive lately, which is ironic, considering that he put himself in this position by invading Ukraine for what he now says is some secret reason. The Russian president has also been forced to present high-heeled proof of life, and his choice to use the controversial Wagner group of mercenaries is increasingly under fire. Much of that rationale comes because Putin’s troops are dying by the thousands, which has led him to a series of drafts (some numbering into the hundreds of thousands) in order to beef up numbers on the front lines and in munitions factories.

As well, Putin has been plagued by Russian saboteurs who are blowing up train tracks to ensure that supplies aren’t delivered. The mess has been further compounded by criticism of Putin using the controversial Wagner Group of mercenaries to supplement his own troops, and now, CNN reports that Putin is staffing those military factories with convict recruits. They’re being promised pensions and for their families to be taken care of and everything. That bit of news can be found courtesy of CNN and Andrei Soldatov, and here’s more from the Financial Times with word from the Kremlin:

Russian president Vladimir Putin is pardoning convicts to allow them to fight in Ukraine as members of the Wagner paramilitary group, the Kremlin has admitted.

Russia also dismissed the US Treasury’s move to label Yevgeny Prigozhin’s group, which is playing an increasingly prominent role on the front lines as Putin’s full-scale invasion enters its 12th month, as a “transnational criminal organisation”.

It remains to be seen whether Putin will follow these admissions up with more insistence that he’s winning key territories in Ukraine, even as Kyiv keeps calling bullsh*t on these claims. Yes, he probably will keep on lying, including to those convict recruits.

(Via CNN & Financial Times)

Miley Cyrus just released “Flowers,” and it was no casual affair. The song debuted at No. 1 and broke streaming records. But she’s not done — the magnitude of the hit is only intensifying with each day.

According to Spotify’s official charts, “Flowers” had over 115 million streams during the week ending January 26 (115,156,896, to be precise). That makes it the first song to ever do over 100 million, a mark it passed by a wide margin. This comes after Cyrus broke the all-time one-week record last week with over 96 million streams.

About her New Year’s resolution, Cyrus said, “My 20s were so much fun. If you don’t believe me, I believe you can google it. It looks as fun as it was, but it’s a different kind of fun. I feel that whatever I had in my purpose to prove, I did that. And now, it’s less about proving to others and more about for myself.”

The singer added, “I think why New Year’s is probably my favorite holiday is because everyone has the same idea that I’m kind of exercising all year around, which is, it’s time for something new. It’s time for a change. It’s time for a new beginning. And I think a lot of us wait until midnight to go, ‘Well, when I wake up tomorrow in this new year, everything will be different.’ But it won’t be different if you aren’t different.”

Endless Summer Vacation is out 3/10 via Columbia. Pre-order it here.

On Indiecast, Ian Cohen and I talk about indie rock and occasionally television and sports and things that have nothing to do with indie rock. This week, we delve into the world of mainstream rock and assess the state of major-label bands waving the flag for guitars in a pop-dominated world.

In the “meat” portion of the episode, we review the recent album by the viral Italian band Måneskin, who make their (mostly) English language debut with Rush! Is this record enjoyably dumb or just plain dumb? We report, you decide! We also talk about the latest LP from White Reaper, Asking For A Ride, a lovable one-time indie act who made the transition to the big leagues without losing their sense of humor or ability to write a hearty arena-rock hook.

In the banter segment, I lose my mind talking about the latest news regarding Panic! At The Disco (they’re breaking up) and Fall Out Boy (they’re putting out a new album). I don’t mince words — these are bands I do not care for! And I voice that displeasure in strongly worded language! We then transitioned to talking about a happier topic — the 20th anniversary of Zwan’s Mary Star Of The Sea, a long lost classic worth revisiting.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 123 here or below and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

White Reaper is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Mia Goth is having A Moment. But that Moment unfortunately hasn’t translated to box office success. Outside of 2015’s Everest, a movie that have no memory of her being in, Goth hasn’t appeared in a single film that’s grossed over $30 million.

That’s unfortunate, because X and Pearl were fantastic, and Goth is mesmerizing in Suspiria, High Life, and A Cure for Wellness. Her “provocative” new movie, Infinity Pool, won’t break any box office records, but it’s having a cultural impact. It not only gave us this Alexander Skarsgård photo, it’s also a lot of people’s introductions to Goth’s voice.

Have a listen, courtesy of Jake Hamilton:

“ppl always get so surprised about her voice like i’m sorry but why would you expect someone with the name mia goth to sound like anything but the ghost of a murdered victorian child,” @slaystarroyco tweeted, while @MilesKlee joked, “Mia Goth’s real voice is a jump scare every time.” She sounds like the option on a voice changer app for “English mouse asking for more porridge in the early 1800s,” and I, for one, love it.

This might be the best one:

Don’t get distracted by her voice, though: she makes a good point about horror movies. “I think that it’s very political, and it’s not entirely based on the quality of a project, per se,” she said about the Oscars failing to take horror seriously. “I think there’s a lot going on there. A lot of cooks in the kitchen when it comes to nominations … and categories that are recognized… I think a change is necessary, a shift should take place. If they want to engage with the wider public, it would be of benefit, really.”

Infinity Pool is out this weekend.

While newly elected congressman George Santos has admitted to embellishing his resume, an understatement if there ever was one, the embattled politician has been issuing denial after denial as his past comes back to haunt him. After a week of allegations that include stealing from a dying dog and shady FEC filings, Santos is now reportedly trying to distance himself from… a Spotify playlist?

The Daily Beast stumbled upon what it believes to be a Spotify account that belong to Santos, and when he was presented with that information, the account reportedly changed its name from “Mr. Dee” (Santos often operated the name Anthony Devolder) to “ABC123.” As for why Santos would go to lengths to prevent being linked to the account. It sure does contain a lot of songs from drag queens:

Mr. Dee’s “Gym” playlist includes songs like “Adrenaline” and “Sissy That Walk” by American drag queen RuPaul. It also includes “American” by RuPaul and the cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10—a patriotic ballad for inclusion that counters virtually every facet of Republicans’ anti-LGBTQ platform.

One verse, for example, goes like this: “Watch me smile and watch me slay. ’Cause I’m living for my true self everyday. It’s not about your color, gender, or size. But if we come together, we can rise.”

While Santos has admitted to dressing in drag at a festival in Brazil, he insists it was a one-time thing. “I was young and I had fun at a festival. Sue me for having a life,” Santos told reporters after days of denying that the photographic evidence wasn’t him. However, based on his alleged Spotify playlist, Santos’ interest in drag clearly extended beyond just a fun day at a festival and obviously, that won’t go over well with the Republican Party that’s been on an anti-drag crusade. Lying a whole bunch? Sure, no problem. But dressing in drag? Can’t have that.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Rapper Lil Yachty may be practicing celibacy, but that hasn’t stopped him from f*cking the game up. After announcing a full-length project was on the way a few weeks ago, today, Yachty’s new album Let’s Start Here is finally available to the public.

While the “Poland” rapper hasn’t taken a total hiatus from music, making guest appearances on other’s musician’s songs and producing as well as writing for other acts, the Georgia native’s last official album Lil Boat 3, hit streaming services nearly three years ago. Fans were growing impatient, so Yatchy cooked up the Michigan Boy Boat mixtape to hold them over.

Well, the wait seemingly paid off, as his fifth studio album, Let’s Start Here, is all the talk on social media after its release last night. Overwhelming users online praise the body of work for its production quality and its fresh sound as listeners spotlighted the blends of psychedelic rock elements. Some users have even taken it a step further, referring to it as the album of the year (thus far).

As for how the Twitterverse feels about it, people are simultaneously shocked and impressed by the LP and its new stylistic direction (despite the fact he said in January 2022 that his next album would be “a psychedelic-alternative project“). Check out some reactions below.

Let’s Start Here is out now via Quality Control. Get it here.

A chef under pressure, a CIA operative on the run, and a crew of lovable Canadians sharing their problems in a town of only 5,000. These are just a few of the colorful figures that you can find on Hulu these days. The streaming service has exploded as a source of original programming and the place to watch live TV and library selections. Sometimes we even stream the TV shows on movie-sized screens, because Quinta Brunson and the Abbott Elementary gang are even funnier on a bigger screen.

Aside from heavyweights like Abbott Elementary, the streamer has plenty to pick from, so here are our choices for the best 25 shows on Hulu.

Last updated on January 20.

1. Only Murders in the Building

Year: 2021-present
Cast: Selena Gomez, Martin Short, Steve Martin, Amy Ryan, and Cara Delevingne
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-2: 20 episodes
Created By: Steve Martin, John Hoffman
Trailer: Watch here

Emerging from a pile of ten thousand true crime podcasts, this absolute gem of a show puts three strangers in a posh New York apartment building into a real-time murder investigation. All they have to do is make sure they don’t bump their heads on the boom mic and ruin a take. Charles, Oliver, and Mabel are an odd trio that worship and break as many true crime tropes as they can manage while hunting the hidden corridors of the historic Arconia to find out who murdered Mabel’s childhood best friend. They stumble through twists, cliffhangers, and the occasional pop-in from Tina Fey playing a Sarah Keonig-esque crime podcasting queen. Plus, the show won’t try to sell you a mattress or home security system every five minutes.

Watch it on Hulu

2. The Bear

Year: 2022
Cast: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Abby Elliott, and Lionel Boyce
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Christopher Storer
Trailer: Watch here

It’s rare to find a fish-out-of-water show about someone returning to their old stomping grounds. Storer’s stress-inducing series pulls wunderkind fine-dining chef Carmy out of the rarified air of Michelin stars back down to earth at a family-run sandwich shop in Chicago following his older brother’s suicide. He brings that elite culture and perfectionism to the ragtag crew slinging Italian meats. Not only did his brother leave behind debt and some shady deals, Carmy’s return to the shop brings a heaping pile of personality clashes, emotional calamity, and a line of demanding customers that wraps around the block. It’s a pressure cooker dark comedy, and you’ll feel like you’ve run a marathon after watching an episode, so stay hydrated.

Watch it on Hulu

3. Reservation Dogs

Year: 2021-present
Cast: D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Devery Jacobs, Paulina Jewel Alexis, Lane Factor, and Elva Guerra
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Crime
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-2: 18 episodes
Created By: Sterlin Harjo, Taika Waititi
Trailer: Watch here

In this winning coming-of-age comedy, four best friends are stuck in Oklahoma, wishing for the illusory freedom of the West Coast. Elora, Bear, Cheese, and Willie Jack want to make it off the reservation and out to California to honor their dead best friend (and to escape their monotonous lives) but getting out isn’t so simple. They pull some petty crimes to raise money, clash with the paintball gun-wielding NDN Mafia, and Bear is visited by the spirit of a non-fighting warrior at The Battle of Little Bighorn who keeps giving him “advice.” Harjo, Waititi, and a stellar cast have made idle days into comedic gold.

Watch it on Hulu

4. The Handmaid’s Tale

Year: 2017-present
Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley, Ann Dowd, and Alexis Bledel
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-5: 56 episodes
Created By: Bruce Miller
Trailer: Watch here

If you haven’t joined the resistance yet, there’s still time before the sixth (and final) season lands in 2023. Based on Margaret Atwood‘s novel, this Emmy powerhouse is set in a near-future United States where fertility rates have plummeted, and a fascist government of religious zealots demands that women not read, handle money, own property, or have any power whatsoever. It focuses on Offred (as in “Of Fred”), a woman assigned to powerful military commander, Fred Waterford, so that he can get her pregnant and continue a lineage along with his pious wife Serena Joy. It is a harrowing, stark vision of female subjugation, so it’s no wonder the iconic red costumes have found a place in real-life protests.

Watch it on Hulu

5. What We Do In The Shadows

Year: 2019-present
Cast: Matt Berry, Kayvan Novak, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillen, and Mark Proksch
Genre: Comedy, Supernatural
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-4: 40 episodes
Created By: Jemaine Clement
Trailer: Watch here

This is the true story of four vampires and one familiar picked to live in a house, and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when vampires stop being polite and start being hilarious. Okay, so this spin-off from the film of the same name is not a “true story,” but the documentary style and world-class awkwardness send up the immortal blood-suckers by making them all too human. Nandor the Relentless, Laszlo Cravensworth, Nadja of Antipaxos, Guillermo, and Colin Robinson all live an occult lifestyle (deathstyle?) but still have to figure out how to pay parking tickets and and the bureaucracy of vampire orgies. Not only is it one of the funniest shows on television, it’s also the only show in history to cast Mark Hamill as a vampire that demands back-owed rent from another immortal being.

Watch it on Hulu

6. Justified

Year: 2010-2015
Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins, Nick Searcy, Jacob Pitts, and Erica Tazel
Genre: Drama, Action, Adventure, Crime
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-6: 78 episodes
Created By: Graham Yost Trailer: Watch here

Modern crime dramas have a lot of shows vying for GOAT status, and Justified has justifiably (sorry) earned its place in the conversation. Based on Elmore Leonard’s stories, Raylan Givens is a deputy U.S. Marshall who always plays exactly by the rules! Just kidding. He’s got his own way of handling things. That squares him off against the Crowder crime family, as well as a slew of guest baddies anchored by the Batman-and-Joker-like tango with Boyd Crowder. It evolved and deepened over 6 seasons, often due to stirring performances, a sharp focus on its villains, and the blurry line between doing what’s right and doing what the laws prescribe. If you start now, you can binge all of it before the limited series revival, Justified: City Primeval, drops.

Watch it on Hulu

7. Ramy

Year: 2019-present
Cast: Ramy Youssef, Mohammed Amer, Hiam Abbass, Amr Waked, and May Calamawy
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-3: 30 episodes
Created By: Ramy Youssef
Trailer: Watch here

When Ramy Youssef won a Golden Globe for the show in 2019, a lot of people sat up and took notice because they’d never even heard of the series before. Three years later, too many people are still in the dark about this immaculate comedy about a Millennial Muslim guy trying to do his best while being stuck between the traditionalism of his parents’ generation and the nihilism of his friends. Its superpower is relatability — finding the universal human experience in the specifics of Ramy’s comic struggles. It’s also the rare comedic alchemy that produces belly laughs while still wearing its heart on its sleeve, whether Ramy’s Ramadan devoutness is challenged by a lonely widow or drinking Mia Khalifa’s breastmilk to curb his sexual urges. It’s an incredible show, and it’s incredible that few know that it exists.

Watch it on Hulu

8. Dopesick

Year: 2021
Cast: Michael Keaton, Rosario Dawson, Peter Sarsgaard, Kaitlyn Dever, and Will Poulter
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Danny Strong
Trailer: Watch here

Based on Beth Macy’s revelatory book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America, this series starts at the heart of the American opioid crisis and spirals out into billion-dollar lawsuits and a shocking number of destroyed lives. The villains at the top are the Sackler family, the founding owners of Purdue Pharmaceutical, a company sued for its major role in pushing highly addictive painkillers. Impossibly timely, Dopesick premiered just a few weeks after Purdue was dissolved in order to pay out billions in legally-forced restitution to aid recovery programs in multiple states. At 8 episodes, the poignant, Emmy-scoring series is fantastically digestible if you can allow your blood to boil for long periods of time.

Watch it on Hulu

9. Fleishman Is In Trouble

Year: 2022
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Claire Danes, Lizzy Caplan, Adam Brody, and Meara Mahoney-Gross
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Trailer: Watch here

Jesse Eisenberg has been playing middle-aged characters since he was a teen, so playing Dr. Toby Fleishman in this excellent series is a bit of a return to his old soul roots. Adapting from her own book, Brodesser-Akner has crafted a compelling look at modern masculinity, marriage, and what it means to wade through the hell of dating apps after divorce. Dr. Fleishman has a lot of success on those apps, but then his ex-wife disappears, and he has to juggle his children, a blossoming career, and the mystery of confronting his past failings as a husband in order to find out where his wife has gone. Fair warning: the full season isn’t out until the end of December 2022, so if you get sucked in you might have to, gasp, wait a week before a new episode comes out. Can you even imagine?

Watch it on Hulu

10. Snowfall

Year: 2017-present
Cast: Damson Idris, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Carter Hudson, Emily Rios, and Michael Hyatt
Genre: Drama, Crime
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-5: 50 episodes
Created By: John Singleton, Eric Amadio, Dave Andron
Trailer: Watch here

Los Angeles. 1983. Cocaine hidden in hot tubs. It turns out dealing kilos of coke may not be worth the trouble that comes with it. Grounded by stirring performances, this series has pushed past its roots as a generic crime escapade and grown into something approaching masterpiece status. Franklin Saint is only 19, but he’s a budding drug kingpin with ambitions beyond slinging weed to white kids. He convinces a notorious dealer to front him a kilo of cocaine, which turns out to be a pretty bad idea. Other shows might stay laser-focused on Franklin, but Snowfall zooms out to show what how the Feds are funding foreign insurgents by selling drugs even as cops are making newsworthy busts for young men like Franklin for doing the same. While Breaking Bad fans have been preoccupied with Better Call Saul, this dynamite show has been waiting in the wings for the nation to turn its lonely eyes and recognize its bouncy brilliance.

Watch it on Hulu

11. Under The Banner Of Heaven

Year: 2022
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Gil Birmingham, Sam Worthington, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Denise Gough, and Wyatt Russell
Genre: Drama, Crime
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1: 7 episodes
Created By: Dustin Lance Black
Trailer: Watch here

The spiritual successor to True Detective, this astonishing series pushes one detective’s faith in God and people to the breaking point. Garfield is superb as Latter Day Saint Detective Jeb Pyre, who is tasked alongside his Paiute partner Detective Bill Taba with investigating the horrific murder of a woman and her infant daughter. While the woman’s husband is arrested, it’s possible that the killing goes far beyond a simple, violent truth into something conspiratorial that could rock the small Mormon town. Based on Jon Krakauer’s non-fiction book, Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (Milk) wrings every last ounce of drama and terror out of the subject matter, offering a challenging, vital story born from real-life horror.

Watch it on Hulu

12. Abbott Elementary

Year: 2021-present
Cast: Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Chris Perfetti, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Lisa Ann Walter
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: Seasons 1-2: 23 episodes
Created By: Quinta Brunson
Trailer: Watch here

If you’ve watched all the other shows on the list so far (congrats!), it’s time for a much-needed palette cleanser. Thank you, Quinta Brunson, for this amazing little show that can do just about anything (except steal potatoes from the school cafeteria). Brunson also stars in the show as Janine — a teacher at the elementary school where an Office-style documentary crew follows the staff and students. It’s earned high praise for portraying teaching life as it really is, all while finding a metric ton of laughs. And there’s a lot of humor to be found in a noble profession filled with people trying to do their best as the underfunded system crumbles around them (and the kids). If “Just trying to get by” is the big mood for the last few years, Abbott Elementary is a hilarious emblem of our era.

Watch it on Hulu

13. The Patient

Year: 2022
Cast: Steve Carell, Domhnall Gleeson, Linda Emond, Laura Niemi, and Andrew Leeds
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Mystery
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 10 episodes
Created By: Joe Weisberg, Joel Fields
Trailer: Watch here

Not to condone the behavior, but if you’re a serial killer, taking a psychologist hostage until he cures you of wanting to kill people makes a certain amount of sense. That’s the central concept behind this explosive series, where Carell plays therapist Alan Strauss, dealing with his own grief after his wife’s death and, you know, also dealing with the serial killer keeping him captive. It’s not only smart, but wicked and masterful at cranking up the tension as Strauss navigates a nightmare scenario flavored by the conflicting feeling of wanting to help his captor. Carell embodies sympathy, and Gleeson is almost completely unrecognizable in the role, having melted completely into a deeply twisted mind crying out to be saved.

Watch it on Hulu

14. Atlanta

Year: 2016-2022
Cast: Donald Glover, Brian Tyree-Henry, Lakeith Stanfield, and Zazie Beetz
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-4: 41 episodes
Created By: Donald Glover
Trailer: Watch here

Surprising, atypical, and peerless. It’s no exaggeration to say that there isn’t another show like Atlanta, but that also makes it hard to describe. It follows Earn, a Princeton dropout jumping between staying at his parents’ house and staying with his ex-girlfriend/mother of his child while scrounging together a new life. When he gets wind of his rapper cousin Paper Boi gaining popularity, Earn sees a chance to jump on the bandwagon as his manager. While Earn and Paper Boi (alongside their Shower Thought-producing best pal Darius) take a stab at musical success, the show is largely uninterested in sticking to its linear plot, instead delivering a gorgeous series of short stories that revolve around this group of characters and the colorful figures in their orbit.

Watch it on Hulu

15. Rick And Morty

Year: 2013-present
Cast: Justin Roiland, Sarah Chalke, Spencer Grammer, Chris Parnell, and Kari Walhgren
Genre: Comedy, Adult Animation, Adventure
Rating: TV-14
Runtime: Seasons 1-6: 61 episodes
Created By: Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon
Trailer: Watch here

Rick is the smartest man in the universe, a perverse riff on Doc from Back to the Future, and his Marty is Morty, a nervous grandson drawn into his grandpa’s mad, wondrous intergalactic adventures. The animated series is a massive love letter and surgical dissection of every genre under the sun, and each episode typically pushes the absurdity to its breaking point. Fortunately, characters rarely learn anything. It was already three seasons deep before Adult Swim ordered 70 new episodes, so it’s also not going anywhere soon. That should allow Roiland and Harmon more opportunities to test whether we can laugh while our jaw is on the floor.

Watch it on Hulu

16. The Americans

Year: 2013-2018
Cast: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Noah Emmerich, Margo Martindale, Holly Taylor, and Keidrich Sellati
Genre: Drama, Spy, Crime, Mystery
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-6: 75 episodes
Created By: Joe Weisberg
Trailer: Watch here

The true magic of The Americans is taking a well-worn spy genre, housing it in the completely-worn Cold War period, and pulling off something impossibly fresh. Elizabeth and Philip Jennings are a bland couple raising two kids in a Virginia suburb outside DC and struggling with all the normal middle-class nonsense of the Reagan era. At least, that’s a nice cover story. They’re actually KGB officers deep, deep, deep undercover, and those aren’t the only identities they have to keep straight. The show is an outstanding drama that attaches us to the baddies and adds complexity to the standard game of spy vs spy. Come for the subterfuge, but stick around for Margo Martindale owning every scene she’s in.

Watch it on Hulu

17. The Great

Year: 2020-present
Cast: Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, and Gwilym Lee
Genre: Comedy, Drama, History
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-2: 20 episodes
Created By: Tony McNamara
Trailer: Watch here

If nothing else, know that in this show Emperor Peter III of Russia throws a Pomeranian strapped with a parachute off a balcony into a crowd of people after shouting, “This is science. Enjoy!” The Great is a satirical, madcap sendup of excess, power-for-power’s sake, and it’s all based on true facts of 18th century Russia (with a huge pile of asterisks next to that claim). Hoult is handsome dynamite as the mad leader, but the show’s true focus is on Fanning’s Catherine The Great, who comes to Russia from Prussia as a new bride who balks against the constraints of her place in courtly life. Both she and her husband toy with the idea of assassinating each other, as wry modern sarcasm is applied to an increasingly outlandish series of events. It’s a marvelous comedy, but be careful of seeing spoilers in a world history textbook.

Watch it on Hulu

18. The X-Files

Year: 1993-2002, 2016-2018
Cast: Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny, and Mitch Pileggi
Genre: Science Fiction, Drama, Horror, Detective
Rating: TV-14
Runtime: Seasons 1-11: 218 episodes
Created By: Chris Carter
Trailer: Watch here

The one, the only, the original. This sci-fi series is beloved by fans around the globe, and it’s ripe for re-binging or discovering fresh for anyone who missed the 1990s. In the show, FBI agents Fox Mulder (the conspiracist) and Dana Scully (the skeptic) work together to uncover the truth about bizarre phenomena. Is it Bigfoot? Or just a perpetually blurry bear? With a monster-of-the-week structure, the show also managed to build its characters’ mythologies while fighting aliens and cryptids and things that go bump in the night. The Godparent of modern genre TV, The X-Files has inspired countless shows, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Supernatural and far beyond.

Watch it on Hulu

19. Welcome To Chippendales

Year: 2022
Cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Murray Bartlett, Annaleigh Ashford, Dan Stevens, and Juliette Lewis
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Robert Seigel
Trailer: Watch here

Continuing the new trend of mining real-life scandals and true crime for artistic prestige, this raucous show peels back the curtain on a male stripping icon of the 1980s and 1990s. Powered by his idolization of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, Somen “Steve” Banerjee opened a club that featured women mudwrestling, but soon pivoted to providing some highly choreographed raunch for a man-hungry audience. Despite turning his concept into a global phenomenon so recognizable that SNL mocked it, Banerjee did not ride into the sunset. Far, far from it. There’s a reason this comes with the true crime label, after all, and the series explores the baser human frailties that push Banerjee to commit some truly heinous acts. The story has been brought to life before — most notably in 2000’s The Chippendales Murder — but this series offer all the gloss and production value of the modern true crime age.

Watch it on Hulu

20. Candy

Year: 2022
Cast: Jessica Biel, Timothy Simmons, Melanie Lynskey, Pablo Schreiber, and Raul Esparza
Genre: Crime, Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 5 episodes
Created By: Nick Antosca, Robin Veith
Trailer: Watch here

Awash in a sea of true crime, Candy is another standout thanks to Biel’s fearlessly creepy performance as a suburban Texas housewife and church lady who gets accused of killing her neighbor with an ax. This stellar series takes its time developing the familiar faces of the town, inviting us to the baby showers and potlucks before drawing us into Candy’s need for something more in her life. It’s a slippery slope toward infidelity, shame, and a spiral downward leading to shockingly tragic events. Lynskey, as ever, is incredible and should be cast in every single show as long as she wants. But beyond its performances, the show smartly refuses to let its audience drive away after rubbernecking, compelling us into the intimate personal lives of villains and victims so that we feel like we’re living right next door to them.

Watch it on Hulu

21. Pam & Tommy

Year: 2022
Cast: Lily James, Sebastian Stan, Seth Rogen, Nick Offerman, and Taylor Schilling
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Robert Siegel
Trailer: Watch here

The illegal release of model Pamela Anderson and Motley Crue rocker Tommy Lee’s sex tape was the tabloid story of 1995. Pam & Tommy explores the tumultuous marriage of the iconic pair through the lens of their private honeymoon recording’s theft, following the fallout of it getting dumped onto the internet as revenge from a contractor who Lee spurned. The comedy of the series comes primarily from Rogen’s character being an oaf who seizes his moment without a clue or plan in the world for its ramifications. The drama stems from everywhere else — powder keg celebrity personalities, expensive whims, and a revenge porn threat in its most nascent days. The series is sharp, and it’s unbelievable how much every inch of James and Stan are made to look like their famous characters.

Watch it on Hulu

22. The Old Man

Year: 2022
Cast: Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, Amy Brenneman, Alia Shawkat, and E.J. Bonilla
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 7 episodes
Created By: Jonathan E. Steinberg, Robert Levine
Trailer: Watch here

Based on the novel by mystery master Thomas Perry, this game of cat and also-cat asks what happens when the best federal agents are tasked with tracking down a seasoned espionage veteran. Former CIA operative Dan Chase goes into hiding after killing an intruder, and a former colleague high up at the FBI is given the dirty job of bringing him in. With Bridges facing off against Lithgow, the show has earned an unsurprising amount of critical praise, appealing to the old school noir vibes of a master tracker going on the run while diving into the thorny past of two men who might otherwise be seen as long past their prime. It’s a twisty, taut chase worthy of attention, and the story continues with a second season coming soon.

Watch it on Hulu

23. Letterkenny

Year: 2016-present
Cast: Jared Keeso, Nathan Dales, Michelle Mylett, Dylan Playfair, and Andrew Herr
Genre: Comedy, Sitcom
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-11: 74 episodes
Created By: Jared Keeso
Trailer: Watch here

“There are 5000 people in Letterkenny. These are their problems.” Time for another refreshing break from all the misery of prestige dramas (as much as we love them!). It makes no sense that there are 11 seasons of a show that premiered 6 years ago, but that’s how this crew of Canadian comedians rolls. They morphed a YouTube-beloved short series into a streaming show that’s hilarious and goes down easy as a Molson Light. The show is loose and nimble, focusing on a group of friends living in a rural town, killing time and navigating sitcom-worthy shenanigans. Like if Kids in the Hall made Schitt’s Creek, it’s irreverent but heartfelt, and you’d better get bingeing, because another 11 seasons will come before you know it.

Watch it on Hulu

24. Woke

Year: 2020-2022
Cast: Lamorne Morris, Blake Anderson, T. Murph, J.B. Smoove, and Aimee Garcia
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TV-MA Runtime: Seasons 1-2: 16 episodes
Created By: Keith Knight, Marshall Todd
Trailer: Watch here

Cancelled too soon, Woke is a blend of silly and serious mostly missing from TV screens. Keef Knight is a Black cartoonist cautious about avoiding controversy because he’s just about to break into the mainstream. All that changes when he’s hassled by racist cops and develops the ability to interact with cartoonified inanimate objects. No longer able to “keep it light,” Keef has to figure out how to balance continuing to make anodyne art for the masses or come out swinging against injustice. It’s a unique, surreal experience propelled by Morris’ penchant for playing it equally cool and awkward. It also achieved instant greatness by casting the Keith David as the voice of The Bible and has give us the chance, finally, to hear Cedric The Entertainer play a trashcan.

Watch it on Hulu

25. The Dropout

Year: 2022
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Naveen Andrews, William H. Macy, Laurie Metcalf, and Elizabeth Marvel
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Elizabeth Meriweather
Trailer: Watch here

In 2015, Elizabeth Holmes was the youngest and richest self-made woman billionaire due to her company Theranos’ claimed ability to do a range of health screens with as little as a pinprick of blood. All of that wealth was based on a lie, and in November 2022, she was sentenced to 135 months in prison for her role in a massive fraud. The Dropout takes us inside the pressure cooker of keeping the lie afloat, starting in Holmes’ early years to attempt to sus out a reason she might go to such astronomical lengths to defraud investors. The gilded cast is comprised of dozens and dozens of incredible actors, and Seyfried owns the part so thoroughly that it convinced Jennifer Lawrence to drop out of a project where she would have played Holmes.

Watch it on Hulu

At midnight, Taylor Swift dropped her new video for Midnights standout “Lavender Haze.” It’s a visually lovely clip and it’s also packed full of Easter eggs, as fan have uncovered in the hours since the video’s release.

For one, some have noticed an apparent tribute to boyfriend Joe Alwyn: At one point in the video, the constellations for both of their zodiac signs, Sagittarius and Pisces, can be seen. Indeed, Swift previously explained about the song’s meaning, “I guess theoretically when you’re in the ‘Lavender Haze,’ you’ll do anything to stay there and not let people bring you down off of that cloud,” she added. “And I think a lot of people have to deal with this now — not just, like, quote-unquote public figures — because we live in the era of social media and if the world finds out that you’re in love with somebody, they’re gonna weigh in on it.”

Furthermore, Swifties also believe the video teases that Swift is working on re-recording Speak Now as the next “Taylor’s Version” album: The video features koi fish, which also appeared on the guitar she played during the Speak Now tour back in the day, as well as in her “Anti-Hero” video.

Meanwhile, Swift herself wrote of the video on Instagram, “There is lots of lavender. There is lots of haze. There is my incredible costar [Laith Ashley De La Cruz] who I absolutely adored working with. This was the first video I wrote out of the 3 that have been released, and this one really helped me conceptualize the world and mood of Midnights, like a sultry sleepless 70’s fever dream. Hope you like it.”

Watch the “Lavender Haze” video above.