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Life is too short to be wasting your time, money, or appetite on bad fast food. At its best, it’s a delectable indulgence — there are undoubtedly days when nothing slaps like a decadent bacon cheeseburger or a hot and spicy chicken sandwich — but at its worst it’s repulsive. And we don’t want that for you. Ever.

Point being, f*cking up your fast food order is certainly worse than ordering the wrong thing at a Michelin restaurant, where the standard remains high. So let us steer you away from the dregs and toward the stars of each restaurant’s menu.

Last week, we tackled the absolute worst meals in fast food. Yes, that was as harrowing of an experience as it sounds like. But while we were engaging in all that research we were also making note of the best menu items at each restaurant. These orders serve as the “Freebird” entries at our favorite chains. The jams. The classics. The icons.

That way, the next time you have a craving, you won’t go wrong. Let’s eat!

Arby’s — Smokehouse Brisket

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

I know, I know “what about the Beef & Cheddar?” But just hear me out here — the Beef & Cheddar is undoubtedly a classic dish but the Smokehouse Brisket is next level. F*ck cheddar, here you’ve got gouda — all creamy and nutty — a layer of fried onion rings, and layers of tender smoked brisket with mayo and BBQ sauce on the bun.

The flavors of this sandwich are sumptuous and smokey, the mouthfeel is excellent, a mix of crunchy and tender texture courtesy of the onions and brisket. The sandwich begins rich and smokey and ends salty with a sweet top note on the aftertaste.

The Bottom Line:

Hands down Arby’s best sandwich. You’ve got smoke, salt, sweetness, crunch — it’s a really special dish to find in a drive-thru.

Find your nearest Arby’s here.

Burger King — Ghost Pepper Whopper

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Can I put “nothing” as an option?

Look, I’m tired of being nice to Burger King. I’ve tried to give this chain a chance again and again only to be continually burned by the lack of quality in just about every dish they make. When they do have a dish I like, they get rid of it. The Ch’King sandwich was a real winner, but then BK decided the effort they put into it wasn’t living up to the sales so they reformulated (dumbed it down) it, and now it’s… not good.

Currently, the best menu item is the Ghost Pepper Whopper, a seasonal burger that is set to leave the menu any day now. This burger is great, it’s smokey, meaty, and savory, with a lot of vegetal spice courtesy of fried jalapeños with a ghost pepper-based cheese sauce that is creamy, bright, and spicy.

It’s a delicious bouquet of spicy sensations that dunks on everything else on the menu. So why isn’t it a permanent menu item?

The Bottom Line:

Do more of this Burger King and less of… literally everything else you do.

Find your nearest Burger King here.

Carl’s Jr. — Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Carl’s Jr has a lot of great burgers, but nothing compares to this decadent monster of a burger. On this burger, you get two charbroiled meat patties, a layer of crispy bacon, fried onion rings, and a double dose of American cheese all pulled together by a sweet and smokey BBQ sauce.

The combination of bacon and BBQ creates a sweet, savory, and umami-rich flavor that complements the charred beef. Each bite is smokey and satisfying.

That alone would be a great burger, but Carl’s Jr takes it up a level by adding the onion rings which enhance the crunch of the dish, making every bite audible ecstasy.

The Bottom Line:

Sweet, smokey, crispy, and mouthwatering. If you’re going to Carl’s Jr, the Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger is a no-brainer.

Find your nearest Carl’s Jr. here.

Chick-fil-A — Spicy Deluxe with Cheese

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

The Spicy Deluxe is the Chick-fil-A sandwich, perfected. Instead of the boring stock build of chicken filet + pickles + bun, this sandwich swaps out the OG filet for a spicy version, adds leaf lettuce and juicy tomatoes to the pickles (it’s practically a salad), and a thick slice of pepper jack cheese.

While I wouldn’t say this sandwich is so spicy you’ll start sweating, it has a great sustained heat that gently simmers on the palate between bites. The filet is tender and thick with a delicious breading that combines black pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper, and onion powder.

What I like about this sandwich is it’s clean and simple, it’s not as overwhelming as Popeyes’ and sometimes that’s the vibe you’re looking for.

The Bottom Line:

A top 5 chicken sandwich in fast food.

Find your nearest Chick-fil-A here.

Chipotle — The “UPROXX Custom”

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Yup, that’s right — we’re here to declare that the best thing you can order at Chipotle is our custom burrito build. You can chalk that up to arrogance but you’d be wrong, we actually put a lot of work into constructing the perfect burrito build and I still get emails from people telling me they tried it and loved it.

The build is simple: pinto beans, white rice, barbacoa, the salsa of your choice, cheese, lettuce, and guacamole. Yes, that’s all.

If you want to read our reasoning, hit up the full article, but I’ll break down what you can expect from this lean and mean build. Each bite has a touch of sweetness with a sizzling burn that ushers in earthy and creamy flavors. Because we didn’t add every single ingredient Chipotle offers, the mouthfeel is perfect, it never gets too mushy and it’s small enough for a Chipotle employee to easily fold without your tortilla ripping.

The Bottom Line:

A masterclass on how to make a structurally sound burrito. Also, it’s tasty AF.

Find your nearest Chipotle here.

Dairy Queen — Chocolate Dipped Cone

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

If you’re rolling up to Dairy Queen, you better be getting dessert. I know your instincts might push you toward the Blizzard, and I’m not here to tell you that Blizzards aren’t delicious, but I think there is something great about the simplicity of the chocolate-dipped cone.

It still has that decadent vibe the Blizzard offers thanks to the chocolate shell, but it’s not overwhelming and has that winning combination of chocolate and vanilla flavors. You can’t go wrong with the dipped cone.

The Bottom Line:

Dairy Queen at its simplest and its best.

Find your nearest Dairy Queen here.

Dave’s Hot Chicken — Chicken Strips (Hot)

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Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

This year we named Dave’s Hot Chicken’s Chicken Strips the number one spot in our big chicken strip ranking. Here is why. A single bite of this chicken tender kicks your salivary glands into overdrive as they immediately begin to water and fight against the intense heat.

After the initial burn, subtle sweet notes take over and finish with a gentle smokey aftertaste. The journey of flavors one bite takes you on can’t be denied. If you haven’t tried Dave’s Hot Chicken yet, remedy that sh*t ASAP.

The Bottom Line:

All hail the new king of chicken tenders.

Find your nearest Dave’s Hot Chicken here.

Del Taco — Birria Quesadilla

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

A lot of fast food brands have taken on birria but so far Del Taco has done it best. What makes the Del Taco Birria Quesadilla so good? The quality of all the components.

The shredded beef is tender and beefy, the green sauce adds some mild spice and tang, and the freshly grated cheddar is salty, nutty, and sharp. That alone is a great quesadilla, but add birria consomé to the equation and you have a dish that explodes with beefy chili-backed flavor.

The Bottom Line:

A new must-order menu item and the best birria dish in fast food.

Find your nearest Del Taco here.

Flame Broiler — Korean Spicy Chicken

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

I keep finding ways to promote this new protein option from Flame Broiler and I won’t stop — it’s that good! The chicken delivers an initial blast of chili spice that morphs into a savory sweet and satisfying flavor.

The chicken is tender but a bit fatty (it’s thigh meat) but the real trick is to douse the chicken in Flame Broiler’s Magic Sauce, which deepens the sweet and umami flavor of the dish.

The Bottom Line:

Currently, the best cooked-to-order chicken that isn’t fried in all of fast food.

Find your nearest Flame Broiler here.

KFC — 2 PC. Chicken Combo

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

I was originally going to go with the Famous Bowl because it is a greatest hits package of all of KFC’s best foods but I have to go with a classic here. No, it’s not the most exciting option but it’s hard to beat the classic combination of two pieces of chicken of your choice, a side (go for the Secret Recipe Fries, trust us), a biscuit, and a drink.

There is one hard rule here though, get Original Recipe, not Extra Crispy. Original Recipe has more flavor thanks to a combination of thyme, oregano, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. It’s the flavor that put KFC on the map.

Extra Crispy is going to give you that crunch, but flavor beats out texture here.

The Bottom Line:

It seems too obvious but the 2 PC Chicken Combo is all you need to walk away from KFC satisfied.

Find your nearest KFC here.

In-N-Out — Double-Double w Grilled Onions

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Your options are limited at In-N-Out so it shouldn’t be too hard to choose from this simple menu — so let this serve as a reminder that you should order a Double Double every time over a single cheeseburger.

The reason for that is the bread-to-meat ratio. In-N-Out’s patties are small and thin, when you get a single burger the bread masks too much of the flavor. A Double-Double allows it so that every bite is full of salty, juicy, and beefy flavors. The grilled onions help to enhance the savoriness and turn this burger from a delicious experience to a mouthwatering one.

If you want to mix it up a bit, ask for chopped chilies on your burger. It’ll add a tangy mild heat to the equation.

The Bottom Line:

The Double Double is simply one of the greatest cheeseburgers in fast food.

Find your nearest In-N-Out here.

Jack in the Box — Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburgerk

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

What I love about this burger is the combination of tangy, earthy, and sweet flavors. In this burger, you get American and Swiss cheese which imparts a soft creamy and salty flavor, layers of crunch smokey bacon, and an admittedbly forgettable beef patty.

Hey, we said it was the best menu option, not a great burger. As it stands it’s so-so. This and an order of curly fries will get the job done.

The Bottom Line:

The best burger at Jack in the Box, which isn’t saying much, but hey, it’s something.

Find your nearest Jack in the Box here.

McDonald’s — French Fries

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

It’s simple, McDonald’s French Fries are the best fast food french fries your money can buy. The best practice is to order this and eat it immediately, don’t let these fries rest for any amount of time.

The fries are a combination of salt, buttery potato flavor, and what I’m convinced is the tiniest hint of sugar which pushes the flavor over the edge into absolutely addictive territory.

The other food on the menu isn’t even half as good as these fries, so feel free to pair them with whatever is the most nostalgic for you. Be it nuggets, a Double Cheeseburger, or a Quarter Pounder. Or be smart and order a soft serve ice cream and dip your fries into it.

The Bottom Line:

One of the greatest eating experiences in fast food is a piping hot order of McDonald’s fries.

Find your nearest McDonald’s here.

Popeyes — Spicy Bacon & Cheese Chicken Sandwich

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Believe the hype, the Popeyes chicken sandwich is as good as everyone says it is. But ever since it dropped I always thought it could do with some improvements. We got that this year, when Popeyes released the Spicy Bacon & Cheese version.

Biting into this sandwich introduces your tastebuds to a tender and crunchy filet of chicken that is well seasoned with garlic and onion powder with a gentle cayenne-based sauce that brings in some smokey spice, pickles that provide an earthy brine-y tang, smokey bacon, and my favorite detail, Havarti cheese — which ties all the flavors together with some sweetness.

The Bottom Line:

It’s not only the best chicken sandwich you can order at Popeyes, it is the best chicken sandwich in all of fast food.

Find your nearest Popeyes here.

Rally’s / Checkers — Fries

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

I tried hard not to put “fries” as a choice at more than two places because it feels like a cheap and thoughtless option. But in the case of Rally’s and McDonald’s, credit where credit is due — the freaking French fries are amazing.

Rally’s lightly breads its fries in a mix of garlic, onion powder, paprika, black pepper, and salt, resulting in a french fry that is as tasty as it is crunchy. Even when these fries get soggy, they still hit the spot, which you can’t say about McDonald’s.

The Bottom Line:

One of the best orders of seasoned fries in the game.

Find your nearest Rally’s/Checkers here.

Raising Cane’s

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

There is a reason Raising Cane’s is popping up everywhere. The chain does one thing — chicken tenders — and they do it well. Each tender is fresh never-frozen chicken that is marinated in lemon before being cooked, hand-breaded on sight, and fried to perfection.

The chicken here is so tender and juicy that it melts in your mouth. If Raising Cane’s could make a proper chicken sandwich (meaning a sandwich that wasn’t just three chicken tenders between a bun) they would even be able to take on Popeyes.

The Bottom Line:

You’re not going to find chicken tenders this fresh from any other major nationwide fast food chain.

Find your nearest Raising Cane’s here.

Sonic — Mozzarella Sticks

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Sonic is a weird fast food chain. It has never ranked highly in any of our fast food rankings, but it doesn’t rank low either. It’s a mid-tier fast food chain, so what’s the best thing to order here? Easy, avoid the burgers and sandwiches, and go straight for the sides menu. On that list, nothing beats the Mozzarella Sticks.

The breading on these sticks is crispy and well-seasoned with Italian herbs. The cheese inside is warm creamy mozzarella that is always cooked to order and provides a nice melty cheese trail when you bite into them. The marinara isn’t bad either!

The Bottom Line:

Sonic’s snack sides are the gold mine of the menu, and no single option glitters like the Mozzarella Sticks.

Find your nearest Sonic here.

Shake Shack — The Spicy Shackmeister

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Right now, this is my favorite burger in all of fast food. The Spicy Shackmiester delivers an initial sharp spicy kick that slowly morphs into a sweet and savory bite that features a mix of bright vegetal flavors and mild spice, with rich meaty beef notes.

The burger patties here are dusted with a cayenne-based hot pepper blend with cheese, savory fried onions, cherry peppers, and Shake Sauce. Even if your spice tolerance is high, this burger is going to knock your tastebuds out.

It’s a drool-inducing experience and unfortunately, it’s only available for a limited time. It’ll be a sad sad day when this burger leaves the menu, so get it while you can.

The Bottom Line:

Fast Food’s best cheeseburger right now. Hands down.

Find your nearest Shake Shack here.

Taco Bell — Grilled Nacho Fries

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

When we published the list of “Worst Fast Food Menu Items,” my editor called me whining about how I put Nacho’s Bell Grande on the list. This is a guy who eats fast food rarely and has some sort of weird nostalgic allegiance to certain Taco Bell dishes. Lot’s of them. Too many, if you ask me. He texts me T-Bell receipts for $35 when I know he’s all alone.

That dish, for the record, is objectively awful. The Grilled Nacho Fries, however, are the real deal. On a bed of perfectly crispy and seasoned french fries is a layer of Taco Bell’s ground beef, nacho cheese sauce, and what Nacho’s Bell Grande should have: a three-cheese blend, and chipotle sauce.

The three-cheese blend adds a complex dimension that nacho cheese sauce just can’t provide. It’s nutty, creamy, and a bit sweet. The chipotle sauce ups the savory quality of the beat and adds a bit of heat. This is what Nacho’s Bell Grande should be — it’s also half the price.

The Bottom Line:

Nachos Bell Grande fans, try this dish and then tell me that Nacho’s Bell Grande deserves permanent menu status and these don’t.

Find your nearest Taco Bell here.

Wendy’s — Baconator

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

It was incredibly simple to name the Baconator as Wendy’s all-time best menu item because it’s easily the best bacon cheeseburger in all of fast food. This burger is incredibly juicy thick 1/4 patties and two layers of smokey crispy bacon.

The combination of beefy flavors and slightly sweet and smokey bacon is incredibly rich and satisfying, and Wendy’s knows this, that’s why they don’t put anything else in the burger aside from some mayo and ketchup.

The star of the show here is the meat, and both the patty and bacon are great quality and perfectly cooked.

The Bottom Line:

Fast food’s best bacon cheeseburger.

Find your nearest Wendy’s here.

A spokesperson for the New York Police Department has contradicted a report this week that Sean “Diddy” Combs is being investigated for sexual assault after he was sued by his former girlfriend Cassie for rape and abuse.

Apparently, a member of the department told TMZ that there is an open, restricted-access case under the name Sean Combs, which many took to mean that Diddy, whose real name is Sean Combs, was under criminal investigation. The timing of the account led to the natural assumption it had to do with Cassie’s lawsuit, which was filed on Thursday (November 16) in a Manhattan federal court.

However, TMZ now reports that NYPD denies such an investigation. A statement reads:

Yesterday, a member of the NYPD’s public information office erroneously told a reporter about the apparent existence of an active case file containing the name ‘Sean Combs.’ There is no such investigation, at present. Further, the release of such information is not consistent with the internal policies of the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information. The NYPD always treats allegations of sexual assault and rape extremely seriously, and urges anyone who has been a victim to file a police report so that support and services can be offered to survivors and a comprehensive investigation can be conducted.

TMZ said it also contacted law enforcement in Los Angeles and Miami but reported that “no police report has been filed as it pertains to Cassie or Diddy, and no investigation has been launched.”

Cassie’s lawsuit alleged that Diddy not only raped her in 2018, but also beat her repeatedly throughout their 10-year relationship and even threatened to blow up Kid Cudi’s car after he found out the two were romantically linked. Cudi later confirmed his car really did blow up in his driveway.

Whenever Tyler The Creator and Nardwuar link up, there’s always going to be some gold to mine. In his latest interview with the Canadian host, which they shot at Camp Flog Gnaw recently, Tyler deplores the gimmicky state of music journalism while coining what is possibly the funniest description of the show Hot Ones ever. Sneaker Shopping also catches a stray in the interview, which you can watch in full above.

While talking about how much he loves talking about music, Tyler wonders at fans’ reticence to take in such conversation in comparison to interview shows with wild hooks. Lamenting that so much music journalism is about beef and gossip, he says, “We need to get back to talking about music. We need to stop going sneaker shopping or f*cking deep-throating hot wings for an hour. Talk about your album, talk about music, talk about the 15 songs you guys have spent time and gotten mixed and mastered and put your heart into and produced… when the album comes out and it sells 2 copies, everyone is confused – but they don’t want to talk about the music, they’d rather eat chicken wings and sneaker shop.”

Tyler’s passion comes from a genuine place; he legitimately seems worried that the devaluing of music could lead to a place where the music isn’t worth making or listening to. However, perhaps in an object illustration of just what he was talking about, only the comments above were broken out on social media, prompting him to hit his Instagram Story to clear a few things up.

“In the interview i shared a thought about the lack of journalism in music,” he wrote, “and used ‘hot ones’ as one of two examples.”

it comes off as having so much disdain towards the show which i dont, but really it was to be used as a broader example that popped in my head while trying to make the point. i could’ve said one of the (podcasts/ outlets that really pushes the more negative stuff but in that moment i didn’t. so sean [Evans, the host of Hot Ones] you didn’t really deserve the energy that comes off, wasnt my intention at all although “deep throating chicken” sounds hilarious to me. i am highly opinionated and outspoken so it comes off as my usual “complaining” ( like everyone else does, mines just gets shared more than the regular poster or comment, even if most of the video is me giving praise and showing gratitude to a multitude of things, that’s not what’s gonna get shared or spoken about). this will most likely get lost while the clip continues to get tossed around, but at least a few of you will see this. won’t change much since it’s out but yeah. really wish i used a different example, you seem like a sweet ol lady

https://twitter.com/tylerthecreator/status/1725538516472635494

Hey look, I don’t always agree with T, but in this case… He’s absolutely right (and I’m not just saying that because my job is almost entirely dependent on me writing about music and people actually LOOKING at what I wrote). Music fans complain (rightly) about the focus on gossip and poor sourcing in music journalism today, but then click on SayCheeseTV and TheShadeRoom for their music news. Seems counterproductive to me. We (journalists and artists alike) get into this because we love music and we love talking about music. The cynicism and commercialism that is slowly sucking the soul out of everything can be fought, but only if we all care enough (that includes you readers and viewers) to do it.

For many, many years now, one of the prime knocks against Drake — arguably hip-hop’s biggest superstar for at least the past decade — has been that he doesn’t rap enough. Every time he drops a new album, the complaint can be found on social media; this is cool, but why doesn’t he just RAP?

This is an understandable sentiment; after all, while Drake’s jump to mainstream attention came with the leak of his R&B-leaning “Brand New” and its simp-tastic follow-up “Best I Ever Had,” he was only in the position for such a tremendous breakout because of his freestyles and rapper’s-rapper projects like Room For Improvement and Comeback Season.

It’s equally understandable why Drake’s always tried to toe the line between serving those two largely separate fanbases. Sure, the fellas supported him early and his rap fan bonafides are undeniable (he’s a sponsor of Ultimate Rap League battles, for crying out loud), but his biggest commercial successes are largely due to support from the ladies.

That was a big part of the reason for the outcry against his most recent album, For All The Dogs. Despite its title suggesting music catering to the rough-and-tumble part of his fanbase that loves his intricately constructed bars, what he dropped instead was a mawkish collection of wounded crooning aimed squarely at MRAs and the women who despise them but date them anyway.

However, Drake’s often at his best when his back is up against the wall. Metabolizing the critiques of his latest, he went back to the lab, synthesizing his responses to those reactions into his third Scary Hours EP, released as For All The Dogs: Scary Hours, and doing exactly the thing so many of us have wanted him to do for so long: RAP.

Rap he does, selecting beats speaking clearly to his backpacker origins (Alchemist, what up!) and doubling down on the warm reception to his J. Cole collaboration “First Person Shooter” with another epic team-up, this one infused with the pass-the-mic chemistry exhibited by fan-favorite rap duos like Jadakiss and Styles and Clipse.

Since it’s such a short project, rather than doing a full-length review, I thought I’d just list my impressions of each of these tracks and why they hit the mark where the previous project didn’t.

“Red Button”

You know Drake is in that mode when he reminds fans of the short-lived backronym for his name. “Do Right And Kill Everything” Aubrey goes off for nearly two minutes and thirty seconds with no hooks, harkening back to his Nothing Was The Same intros. Keeping a rhyme pattern going for that long can be a challenge and the fact that Drake sounds so effortless at it just goes to show how much practice he’s put into his craft.

“Stories About My Brother”

Drake says “enough about me” throughout this track, but it’s still mainly a collection of boats about his status and wealth in comparison to his rivals and enemies. Mobster Drake is probably the least believable version of the superstar, but the number of metaphors he comes up with for putting out a hit on someone is borderline awe-inspiring. My favorite: “My brother put some holes in your top, you a Air Force.”

“The Shoe Fits”

This is the closest song on the EP to carrying over the spiteful spirit of the original album. For six full minutes, Drake recounts his experiences with a woman with a jealous boyfriend who spends his time hating on Drake from afar, only to ultimately lose his girl to one of the most washed-up NBA players in the league right now. You’re probably better off taking Drake’s advice at the beginning of the track and hitting skip.

“Wick Man”

Calling yourself a lipstick is … as questionable as a lot of what Drake’s said in recent years and your traction for the Pusha T jabs will vary depending on where you stood when they were openly beefing. But as an extended metaphorical threat of violence, it’s pretty well constructed despite its incredibility. Fans making the same goofy soccer joke about the song might wanna check their sources, though.

“Evil Ways” Feat. J. Cole

“Evil Ways” isn’t just the best track on Scary Hours 3, it’s also a better, more enjoyable conversation between the two rap titans than “First Person Shooter,” mainly because they’re both on topic and it sounds like they recorded it together (longtime readers will also know I’m just a sucker for trading bars). Around the 2:30 mark, I started hoping either Kendrick or Phonte would show up just to take it over the top but even without a surprise feature, I imagine this one will stay in rotation for me way longer than any of Drake and Cole’s prior collaborations. Also, shout out to Bushido Blade, an underrated late ’90s fighting game that gave me endless hours of entertainment for the brevity of its matches.

“You Broke My Heart”

Ugh. Even when Drake intentionally focuses on dropping Scribble Jam-worthy punchlines and reclaiming his hold on his corner of the “best rappers alive” triumvirate, he can’t resist one lazy lean back into the sadboy hum-singing about hating his ex that’s made him into a self-parody on his last three solo albums. We get it, man, girls have cooties or whatever. Go to therapy!

When Netflix revealed the first trailer for Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, the streaming platform made sure to boast the wildly impressive feat of bringing back the entire cast from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. However, at first glance, the anime series seemed to be a faithful retelling of the classic comic book that the film already adapted. Not so fast.

Without giving away any spoilers, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off takes a surprising turn, and the critics are absolutely here for it. The series has been racking up rave reviews for delivering an updated spin on the comic (and the film) thanks to a bold creative choice.

You can see what the reviews are saying below:

Alison Herman, Variety:

At first, “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” seems like a straightforward adaptation, just rendered in the visual style of O’Malley’s original artwork instead of Wright’s kinetic live action. (Wright remains involved as an executive producer.) The film’s entire cast, from Cera to Chris Evans to Aubrey Plaza, even reprises their roles as voice performers. But at the end of its pilot, “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” swerves in an unexpected direction — one that both distinguishes the show from previous iterations of the “Scott Pilgrim” concept and comments on them from our current cultural vantage point.

Kenneth Shepard, Kotaku:

If you’re just looking for a quick thumbs up or thumbs down, then yes, you should watch Scott Pilgrim Takes Off if you are a fan of the original story and have also seen the film. Hell, throw the very good video game in there, too. The anime is in conversation with the source material.

Nicholas Quah, Vulture:

This new anime series, though, operates on a whole new wavelength. It finds O’Malley returning to Scott Pilgrim after more than a decade, this time in collaboration with the writer-director BenDavid Grabinski (Happily) and the critically acclaimed Japanese animation studio Science SARU (Devilman: Crybaby, Inu-Oh, Star Wars: Visions). It also, miraculously, features the return of the movie’s entire cast, but it’s worth noting here that Scott Pilgrim Takes Off isn’t the redux it first seems to be. This adaptation hinges on a major twist that’s worth being fastidious about, so if you’re interested in going into the series cold, just take this with you: It’s very good.

Rendy Jones, RogerEbert.com:

“Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” is a phenomenal stand-alone addition to the franchise as excellent as the many incarnations before it. Amid remakes and reboots, this rare level-up cleverly reexamines its entire story with a profound twist without sacrificing any pieces of its identity. It sees its audience as the adults they are and threads nuance to its eternal lost twenty-somethings case study substantial enough to bridge newcomers and its veteran fanbase. With its most stylistic form yet, “Scott Pilgrim” accomplishes the most human rendering of this story yet to the extent that I teared up by its final needle drop.

Graeme Virtue, The Guardian:

You might expect Scott Pilgrim Takes Off to require knowledge of the movie, or the original graphic novels. But O’Malley and his collaborators have taken care to create something that does not overwrite the originals but cleverly coexists with them. First-time viewers will encounter ingenious breadcrumbs directing them back to Wright’s film, the two screen adaptations orbiting around each other. All you really need going in is a residual memory of what it was like to have a crush in your teens or 20s. Some of the sound effects may be lifted from retro video games but the emotions are operatic, evoking that time of life when falling in love is at its most precarious and intense. It’s quite the rush.

Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter:

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a reminder of the off-the-charts casting job done on the movie and transplanted vocally. I still love Cera’s callow youthfulness, Winstead’s smoky cool-girl maturity, Culkin’s pre-Roman snark, Pill’s cutting sarcasm, Chris Evans‘ gruff movie-star machismo, Brandon Routh’s himbo vegan bluster and, especially, Wong’s untethered youthful enthusiasm. Oh, and there are guest stars. But they’re a SECRET.

Christian Holub, Entertainment Weekly:

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is therefore the best kind of franchise extension. Though it requires some familiarity with the original stories, fans who love Scott Pilgrim vs. the World have watched it over and over again and should be delighted to spend more time with characters like Matthew Patel (Satya Babha), who only got a few minutes of screen time in the original film. And while a two-hour movie feels like way too much time to spend with Kraven the Hunter or Madame Web in the absence of Spider-Man, a 30-minute episode is just the right amount to hang out with Evans’ skateboarding movie star Lucas Lee.

William Hughes, The A.V. Club:

It’s simply the fact that O’Malley is still capable of crafting a deeply romantic story about those giddy moments when you suspect something really good might be just about to happen. This version of that story might be more skeptical about the enduring power of twentysomething lovers than it was when its co-author was one himself—but it’s also become kinder and more mature in the process, no longer willing to dismiss anyone as “just” an Evil Ex. (Even if they are your ex, and they are, objectively, evil.)

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is available for streaming on Netflix.

Popular superhero movies and big-budget franchises have made mid-credits and even post-credits scenes seem so integral to the plot, that it seems strange when movies don’t have them. Those scenes can even introduce a new character or set up a sequel, but why can’t movies just stand on their own sometimes? Not everything needs to be brought back to life with a sequel.

So, many fans were hoping that there would be a post-credits scene in The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes that would set up another installment, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes does not have a post-credits scene, just like the rest of the installments in the Hunger Games franchise. The Hunger Games movies never went the post-credit clip route, though some deleted scenes were later added to the DVD release. Other than that, what you see is what you get.

Does that mean there won’t be a sequel? No, but the filmmakers seem to be keeping an open mind. Director Francis Lawrence told People, “If Suzanne [Collins] has another thematic idea that she feels fits into the world of Panem — whether that’s with new people [or] familiar characters [like] Finnick, Haymitch, whoever — I’d be really interested in looking at it and being a part of it.”

The good news? If you really want to dive even deeper into the world, you can check out The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes from your local library! Or in theaters now.

Cardi B has been dragging her feet regarding her highly anticipated sophomore album. But after overcoming her intense anxiety, she finally confirmed that the body of work is on the way. However, some users online apparently believe that Cardi B is throwing the towel in despite the release of her latest single, “Bongos” with Megan Thee Stallion. So, is Cardi B quitting music?

Long story short: No. One of Cardi B’s Instagram Live streams was taken out of context. Yesterday (November 16), she took to her official page to discuss several topics, including Will Smith’s treatment. During the last moments of her broadcast, she expressed that she is no longer interested in fame.

“I’m out of here,” she declared. “Y’all might not see me for a long time… ’Cause I’m not in the mood to be famous. If y’all want to see me. Y’all come to the TikTok concert in Arizona. Other than that, I don’t know. I’ve been liking my lowkey life. You hear me.”

But today (November 17), when the rumor of her exit from music got back to her, she quickly cleared it up. “I never said I was taking a hiatus…” wrote the rapper in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “I’m just continuing with my social media break like I have been for the last few weeks… Not sure why that’s causing such a ruckus.”

She added, “Bardi Gang, ya know where to catch me!”

All is good with Cardi B’s music timeline; she just wants to enjoy some time out of the spotlight.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

LP Giobbi has got it going on. The global dance music superstar and activist recently united with rising UK producer Redfield and multi-faceted artist DJ Rae to release the new track “Waiting,” a rapturous new house single that comes via Diplo’s tastemaking imprint Higher Ground.

“Waiting” follows a sizzling past few months for LP Giobbi, as she released her debut album Light Places via Counter Records, launched her own label imprint called Yes Yes Yes, embarked on an international headlining tour, and most recently, released an official remix for the one and only Taylor Swift. (She also seems to have been at every festival Uproxx went to this whole past year.)

While originally from Austin, Texas, Giobbi treks around to bring her feel-good and electrifying piano-accompanied house music to sold-out crowds around the world. It only makes sense then that Chicago – the city that helped pioneer house music – would be on her radar as a travel destination whenever she has the opportunity. Currently on a massive tour, LP Giobbi will head back to the Windy City for two sold-out nights – December 2nd at Concord Music Hall and December 3rd at Woodie’s Flat Chicago for a special “Funky Brunch.”

To prepare for Giobbi’s ecastic return to Chicago, she’s built a personalized guide on where to stay, eat, and party in Chicago.

Where To Stay

I would of course wake up at W Hotels Lakeshore. As their Global Music Director, I do a lot of traveling but I always usually stay at W Hotels in various cities. W Chicago Lakeshore is stunning because it’s right on the waterfront and has amazing views.

Morning Kickoff

I really drink anything that’s caffeinated. I don’t have a specific spot for coffee in the city but I would likely try to get an almond milk latte with three shots of espresso. Almond milk doesn’t usually get that foamy but I always try to push that limit haha.

I like to walk along the water, there’s a beautiful running and bike path outside of the hotel. It helps kick start my day to get a walk in and then I’d likely extend my walk over to my brother’s house to hang out with my two nieces, who are two and six. They’re the cutest ever and are becoming quite the singers, performing duets for our family. Crushing it already.

Best Lunch Spot

My family and I always hit up Portillo’s. They’re famous for their beef dip sandwiches, something a little different than your usual Chicago hot dog staple. It’s truly an institution there. In fact, when my parents are in Chicago, they eat out there for almost every meal. It’s great for a treat. Although I must say, I do sometimes get their hot dog and I don’t always get it “Chicago Style.” (Sorry Chicagoans) I like to just put a lot of ketchup on it.

My parents torture me for that though.

Afternoon Hang

To walk off the food, I would go to The Bean. The park there is really beautiful to just stroll around and obviously, it’s one of the famous spots in Chicago. It’s also right next to my brother’s house so it’s a great activity for all my friends and family.

When I’m visiting the city, my brother and I also like to order this really famous deep-dish pizza from Giordanos. I get pineapple Canadian bacon but nobody else in my family likes that so I usually have to get a personal pizza. My family loves the meat lover’s pizza. But pineapple can certainly (and should) go on pizza.

I’m also not that much of a sports fan (maybe besides the Denver Nuggets) but I am a Wrigley Field fan. That place has a lot of rich history with The Grateful Dead and Dead & Co. I fell in love when my parents took me there when I was young and there was a pretty intense ending to the game where it was tied and there was a “pickle,” so the runner was going back and forth. I remember the stadium exploding with energy when the Cubs player made it and won the game. So I actually love going back there for a Chicago Cubs game. Or even going to a Chicago Bulls Game. I grew up in the Jordan era.

Then I would certainly try to take a little “disco nap” so I can play throughout the night.

Best Nightlife Scene

I’d start off the night at Kingston Mines. It’s the largest and oldest continuously operating blues club in Chicago. Then I would head to Smartbar. Chicago is a pioneering city of house music. Smartbar is THE staple of where house music started, it has a long history with The Blessed Madonna and Derrick Carter who used to be resident DJs there. They have an amazing event every Sunday there called Queen! that is extra special. It’s such a safe, wonderful space for the queer community.

Drink Of Choice Going Out

I only sometimes drink alcohol — when I do it’s usually always a glass of white wine. A Savagnin blanc for sure, anything but Chardonnay. I like to be a bougie bitch at the club. I only really drink red wine before bed.

Before becoming a teenage heartthrob for the ages, Leonardo DiCaprio starred in the 1995 western, The Quick and the Dead, alongside Sharon Stone at the height of her career. However, DiCaprio recently confirmed that the studio had no interest in casting him, and he would have never appeared in the Sam Raimi film if it wasn’t for Stone.

In her 2021 memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, Stone revealed how far she went to cast DiCaprio.

“This kid named Leonardo DiCaprio was the only one who nailed the audition, in my opinion: he was the only one who came in and cried, begging his father to love him as he died in the scene,” Stone wrote via Insider. “The studio said if I wanted him so much, I could pay him out of my own salary. So I did.”

While promoting his new movie, Killers of the Flower Moon, DiCaprio confirmed Stone’s generosity in an interview with E! News and called her “amazing.”

“I’ve thanked her many times,” DiCaprio said. “I don’t know if I sent her an actual, physical thank you gift, but I cannot thank her enough.”

According to DiCaprio, Stone saw his work in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? as well as Russell Crowe‘s performance in Romper Stomper, and refused to let the studio cast anyone else.

“She said, ‘These are the two actors I want to work with,’” DiCaprio told E! News. “It’s incredible. She’s been a huge champion of cinema and giving other actors opportunities, so I’m very thankful.”

(Via E! News)

It’s hard to get a read on where people stand on The Hunger Games these days. Obviously, a decade ago these books and movies were a sensation. So it’s interesting, kind of out of nowhere, here comes a standalone prequel. This isn’t the start of a new trilogy (but, to be fair, that probably isn’t out of the question) that serves as a standalone film whether you’ve seen the other movies or not. And honestly, it’s really good.

Talking to director Francis Lawrence, who has directed all but one Hunger Games movie, he still seems haunted by the decision to split Mockingjay into two movies. Which was an option for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, but Lawrence made it clear he wanted to make this one complete movie. Granted, it is a long movie, but the greatest twist of all is you will leave the theater satisfied you saw a complete story, which does feel particularly rare these days when discussing franchises.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes takes place 60-some years before the events of The Hunger Games. We meet young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) who certainly isn’t evil yet but knows he might, sometimes, have to make compromises to survive. Unlike his peers, he comes from nothing, and he knows at any moment he can return to nothing. The Hunger Games themselves are in their infancy, a very low-rent version compared to what we see in the prior movies. During the events of this film is when it’s decided every participant will have a mentor, with the winning mentor receiving a fortune. And the mentor’s job is to boost ratings by bringing out the personality in each participant. And young Coriolanus is assigned to District 12’s Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), whose singing voice instantly makes her a star. Coriolanus develops an affection for Lucy Gray, but as Peter Dinklage’s as Casca Highbottom (who hates Coriolanus) often points out, is he doing all this for her or the fortune and glory? What makes the movie interesting is, even as a viewer, it’s difficult to tell.

Ahead, Francis Lawrence tells us why he wanted to return to The Hunger Games.

You’ve said recently you regret splitting up Mockingjay into two parts. Was that actually your decision?

No, honestly, that decision had been made prior to me signing on to do the sequel. So that was done before I was even on. I came on to do Catching Fire. They had this kind of crazy plan. I mean, it was good, but a crazy plan of Catching Fire was going to come out in November 2013, Mockingjay one in November 2014, and Mockingjay two in November 2015. So they sort of had that plan in play already. But I thought I was only doing Catching Fire. I figured, as I’m finishing Catching Fire, they’re going to bring some new director in that’s going to do Mockingjay one. So it was, basically, they hired me and asked me to join for the sequels while we were still prepping Catching Fire. So that decision had already been made before I was even brought on to do the sequels, but I still do regret it. It wasn’t my decision to do it, but I do regret it just because we got so much shit for it.

Now you look at Killers of the Flower Moon, you didn’t realize you could just put out a three-and-a-half-hour movie in theaters and it would be fine.

Yeah, well, I mean, look, this is the longest book of the series. And I was like, “Well, I’m not splitting this one into two.”

Oh, people would not have been happy about that.

No, I was just like, I would rather do a 2-hour and 45-minute movie and have it be one full satisfying piece.

And what you probably didn’t even know at the time when you made that decision was this year Mission: Impossible was going to do a part one. Into the Spider-Verse is going to do a part one. If now this was a part one people would have not liked that.

Although I know the way the world works. And the truth is, and I don’t read reviews or anything, but I guarantee you people are like, “Oh, they should have split it.”

No one is saying that. I promise.

Yeah? Well, that’s good to know. I mean, what I will say though, with the Mockingjays was part of why everybody kind of agreed, and especially I think why Suzanne agreed and she’s very much a structuralist, was that she truly felt that there were these kind of two distinct dramatic questions in part 1, being like, will we get Peter back?

I read the interview we did then. And you were even saying if you did one movie, Peta’s has to be back by the end of the first act, and how do you do that whole segment that quickly?

Exactly. Exactly. So it would’ve been much more compressed. I think it probably would’ve been a movie about as long as this, but even still, it would be compressed because right now you have four hours or so of Mockingjay.

So I went into this one knowing nothing. The only thing I knew was it was a prequel. I didn’t know anything. It really works with little preparation. I did the DiCaprio meme, “Oh, that’s future President Snow!”

No, totally. Totally. That’s the whole thing. I mean, that was the big draw for me — to be able to tell this kind of young man’s descent into darkness, and especially in the Hunger Games world. And I knew Suzanne would come up with some great themes to talk about and to base the story on. And I think I really enjoyed that where you sort of get the meaning of the hanging tree and the meaning of certain behaviors and the meaning of certain characters and relationship dynamics and the origins of the games themselves and how they started so rudimentary.

Yes, I was going to say “low rent,” which is fascinating. They just take place in basically Madison Square Garden.

Exactly. No, and I mean, that was part of the fun of it, is that the first games, it was like they literally just threw a bunch of weapons in the middle of an arena that was walled in. And you shut the doors and the bell rings and it’s probably over in an hour and a half. And this is the chance where you see, oh, things start to change. They create backstories for the tributes. And because of explosions, the landscape opens up and people can go into different places. And the capitol actually starts to intervene in the games and you see the beginnings of all these things. And even with some of the drones that don’t work very well.

Which is great. “Oh, here comes the water,” … smash.

Yeah, exactly.

And in this movie the Hunger Games are the second act of the movie and the third act really gets interesting as we spend time in District 12.

Also, something I really, really liked, which is I think that there’s sort of been an epic nature to the story. Partially because I think audiences and people that are used to these books in the movies sort of feel like, oh, when the games are over, the story’s over. And games are just part of the story, of a much bigger story. And that’s something I also really enjoyed and was surprised by when I read the book too.

There are bars in District 12 with live music. When people aren’t lined up to find out if they will be killed or not we see they do have social lives.

We see a little bit of certain aspects of District 12 in the other movies. I mean, they have Victor’s Village obviously by then. I think there are a few moments in the Hob, which was shot in a different location. But yeah, we got to see more of it. We got to see more of the countryside. We got to see more of this true industrial side of the kind of the coal mining and all of that, as well as the live performance by the Covey and Rachel.

So how does this work? Does Lionsgate come to you?

It came from Suzanne actually. So in 2015, we really thought it was done.

There were always rumors of spinoffs and stuff like that.

Yeah, I mean, Lionsgate talked about stuff like that for a while, but it always had to come from Suzanne. And she was done. She was like, “I’ve been working on these books and movies for 10 years. I have to go do something else.” And we wanted to do some other things too.

Which makes a lot of sense.

Totally. And then it was the end of 2019, and she called me and Nina Jacobson and said, “Surprise, but I’m almost done with a new book.” She didn’t tell us the story. She gave us a few hints – that it’s prequel, it’s 64 years before, there’s a music element – but other than that, I want you to wait and read the manuscript. It’s like, okay. So then we’re obviously excited and there was a bunch of anticipation. And that’s when I went and met with the Lionsgate people, and that whole regime had changed basically. So I didn’t really know anybody there. So a completely new group of people. And then when we read the manuscript in pre-pandemic just in the beginning of 2020, we fell in love with it and said, all right, let’s start figuring this out and start adapting it. And that was primarily what I was doing during the pandemic – on the phone with Nina and Suzanne and our screenwriters.

I am curious though, did you have any hesitation? Because I remember distinctly talking to you for that last movie. As we talked about there was backlash to dividing it up. You were also dealing with the death of a beloved actor and I know how tough that was.

What I will say is, look, I love the stories that she writes. And again, I think Nina and I even at the end always felt pretty lucky almost sort of subversively that we were able to sneak in these kinds of thematic stories in some sort of a commercial way where audiences … large amounts of people want to go see them and really enjoyed them. And there’s this amazing fandom, and you feel like you’re a part of something that’s really important to a generation’s lives. It’s a really amazing thing.

Also, the group of people like Suzanne, me, Nina — the team we put together really enjoy making these things together, really enjoy working together. And so I knew and Nina knew that if we could crack the script, that it would be a really amazing two years working together in doing something that we really care about in a world we care about and for fans we care about. And I think that in the end is more important. You’re right though, Mockingjay two was tough because we are feeling the hit still. Although I think we felt it more in Mockingjay one about the split of the books. We were still reeling from the loss of Phil, which you can never recover from. Even though it was kind of still in the middle of the shoot, he wasn’t done. But you kind of never really get the wind back in your sails when something that horrible happens. But, in general, the experience of working with these people and being involved in this world is still just really fulfilling.

You mentioned working through it during the pandemic. I’m sure you realized these movies hit harder at that point than they did during the Obama presidency.

Yes. And I think that’s honestly why Suzanne was inspired. Right?

That makes sense.

Basically, you can point to when we were done in 2015. Then 2016 comes around and she started to see this sort of polarization, not just of the United States, but also the world in terms of sort of thinking about one another as humans. And so she decided to write a story about this sort of state of nature debate – this idea of are we innately cruel and brutal and savage, or are we innately good and deserving of rights and freedoms? And seeing that sort of massive divide and wanting to write a story about that, which is why I think it feels really relevant right now.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.