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The Golden State Warriors look like they might be the NBA’s team to beat this season. After spending each of the last two years riddled by injuries and trying to reset things following Kevin Durant’s departure on the heels of five NBA finals appearances in a row, the Dubs are 25-6, the second-best record in the league.

Perhaps the most concerning thing for the rest of the league — beyond Steph Curry looking like an MVP frontrunner and the fact that Klay Thompson’s return from two consecutive season-ending injuries looms large — is that Golden State looks like it’s playing the kind of cohesive basketball on both ends of the floor that was the hallmark of their run atop the league. It’s been fun to watch … well, unless you’re Austin Rivers of the Denver Nuggets, then it stinks to high heaven.

Rivers hopped onto Instagram Live earlier this week and gave his thoughts on the Dubs. In classic Austin Rivers fashion, he gave a take that was both extremely honest and also very funny.

“Golden State definitely looks very solid right now, and I hate to see it,” Rivers said. “I don’t like it one bit. I’m tired of that f*cking team.”

This does seem to suggest that playing against the Golden State Warriors stinks, which, yeah it certainly seems that way.

The best version of A Christmas Carol is, of course, A Muppet Christmas Carol, starring Michael Caine as Scrooge and, for some unknown and perfect reason, Gonzo as Charles Dickens. We all know this. There’s no point in arguing the point or even trying to improve on it. We, as a society, will never do better from an adaptation standpoint. That’s fine. It’s okay to admit that.

We can get weirder, though. We can get so much weirder. There’s nothing stopping us from making the wildest and most chaotic version of this thing anyone has ever seen. We should, too. We should litter it with our favorite actors from film and television and let them run wild and maybe swear a little. Or a lot. Let’s make a hard-R version of A Christmas Carol. The people deserve it. For the holidays.

And so… that’s what’s happening here. Yes, it is. I’m going to cast a weird and profane version of A Christmas Carol. Let’s all just go ahead and assume it’s written and directed by Shane Black, too. Let’s have it all. Tis the season, after all.

NARRATOR – Matt Berry

Matt Berry should narrate most things, so this is a solid place to start. And the vast majority of this cast I’ve put together isn’t British at all and I don’t particularly want them to try a British accent, so it’s nice to have at least a little authenticity. But mostly, I just like the idea of Matt Berry doing this because Matt Berry is the best.

It could be fun, too, because it would set a nice tone. Matt Berry is at his best when he’s being a little naughty, working a little blue. That’s the vibe I’m shooting for here. Fade in, quick opening credits over a drone shot of the London streets, then blammo, Matt Berry chatting up a waitress and then turning to the camera to introduce the festivities. He can pop up throughout. As often as he likes. It’s his show, really.

SCROOGE – Brian Cox

This one is a no-brainer: Brian Cox, Logan Roy from Succession, giving it the full stare and growl, with various humbugs and f-words littered about as a series of spirits drag him through various moments in time against his will until he understands and accepts the meaning of Christmas. He’s basically already playing Scrooge now. It wouldn’t even require much character work on his part. We can have his lines knocked out by lunch, I suspect.

It would be wild if this is where Succession is heading, by the way. Like if Logan gets visited by ghosts and suddenly becomes the most charitable sweetheart on the face of the planet. I suppose we can’t rule it out.

THE MARLEYS – Stephen Root and Jennifer Coolidge as husband and wife

Three things are true here.

The first is that Stephen Root rules, every time, in everything, and I have no doubt he would do so once again as a wisecracking version of Jacob Marley who shows up at night to freak out Scrooge and tell him more ghosts are a-comin’. Most movies and television shows should have Stephen Root in them.

The second thing is that there are no rules here. We can play with the form all we want. The Muppets replaced Jacob Marley with “the Marleys” as an excuse to have Statler and Waldorf say bad jokes to Michael Caine. We should all take note of this and learn from it, both in this specific situation and in general. Anything is possible.

The third thing, as we all know, is that Jennifer Coolidge also rules.

Stephen Root and Jennifer Coolidge as married ghosts who show up on Christmas Eve to give Brian Cox an ominous warning and maybe do a few silly bits. I would watch two hours of just, like, that. You would, too. Don’t lie. But it gets better, because…

GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT – Jack Black

The Ghost of Christmas Present is the first spirit that visits Scrooge and is usually depicted as a big gregarious dude who likes to party and drink and eat. There has never been a role more perfectly suited for Jack Black. He can give it the full Jack Black, too, with singing and riffs and filthy cussing because, as we have established, things are getting wild here. I don’t even need to type anything else. I can just end this paragraph… now.

I’m actually kind of mad this one hasn’t happened already.

BOB CRATCHIT – Charlie Day

Bob Cratchit is always some vanilla cookie who has no real personality beyond “likes Christmas” and “works for Scrooge” and “loves his family,” which, like, fine. But what this hypothetical film presupposes is… what if he were kind of a maniac? It’s a fair question. I want to see Charlie Day screeching around old-timey London with a scarf and top hat and enough manic energy pulsing off of his body to power the entire city.

Let your mind run wild with this one. It’s a good time.

MRS. CRATCHIT – Vanessa Bayer

You know who’s great? Vanessa Bayer. Every damn time, too. It’s the misdirection, really, I think, the thing where she has this sweet and innocent face and then you look in her eyes and there’s this devious twinkle in there that gives away the wildfire burning behind them. Look at that video up there. Look at any of the characters she plays on SNL. Mrs. Cratchit is kind of a nothing role in the grand scheme of this sucker and I feel bad sticking Vanessa Bayer with it but I feel like she could bring a little anarchy to the proceedings in the best way possible.

Let’s pencil this one in.

TINY TIM – Kyle Mooney

A few notes:

• Tiny Tim is a young child with a slew of unspecified medical problems that range from a thin little cough to mobility issues
• Kyle Mooney is a fully-grown adult who at many times has at least a partially former beard
• I… still think this works.

Sleep on it. I think you’ll agree. See above re: no rules.

GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST – Patti Harrison

This spirit is typically portrayed as a young-ish girl with flowing robes and semi-translucent body and a kind of creepy/calm vibe. Which is great. Shoutout to Charles Dickens. But we are going to cast Patti Harrison. You know Patti Harrison. She’s in a bunch of sketches from I Think You Should Leave and she steals every one of them. She’s usually yelling. It’s great.

So… that’s the deal here. Patti Harrison dragging Brian Cox through his past, yelling at him a little, just getting all kinds of weird about it. This is probably the one I’m most excited about. I feel great about it. Merry Christmas.

Hey, while we’re in the past…

YOUNG SCROOGE – Cillian Murphy

Just burning holes through people with that icy glare, smoking cigarettes, the whole thing. He doesn’t even need to change out of his wardrobe from Peaky Blinders. He can just strut over between takes there and film a scene or two and then strut right back. It’s almost too easy, really.

FEZZIWIG – Sam Richardson

The trick here is that Fezziwig is Young Scrooge’s mentor and Cillian Murphy is not nearly young enough to be mentored by a character played by Sam Richardson. But problems like this create opportunities, and this one leads us to a solution I am, quite frankly, thrilled about: Sam Richardson in old man makeup.

Take a second right now and get this mental image: Sam Richardson, with all his goofy and fun energy, bouncing around his office building and mingling with the staff, slapping backs and handing out holiday bonuses, oozing charm out of every visible orifice, and then… Cillian Murphy. Just staring at him. Smoking a cigarette. And then stubbing it out. And saying “humbug.”

This is a great idea.

GHOST OF CHRISTMAS FUTURE – Danny McBride

I know, I know. The Ghost of Christmas Future is usually silent, or at least mostly silent. He has a robe and a creepy, bony appearance and just generally looks like death incarnate as he takes Scrooge through a future where he’s unloved and forgotten and buried in a grave that no one comes to visit.

But, as a counterpoint: What if he was Danny McBride? What if, when he pointed at Scrooge’s grave with his index finger, instead of doing so with an ominous quiet doom implied, he just shouted, like, “LOOK AT THAT, DUMBASS. YOU’RE DEAD. BET YOU WISH YOU’D BEEN BETTER, HUH?”

I think it would work. I think it would all work. Or fail miserably. Either way, definitely worth watching.

A group of QAnon cultists in Texas took a break from drinking disinfectants to attend a conspiracy theorist-friendly event… What sounds like the beginning of a terrible joke actually could be, well, a terrible joke. As Daily Beast reports, the ReAwaken American Tour—a gathering of far-right thinkers—made a pit stop in Dallas, Texas, where they welcomed Eric Trump, Mike Lindell, Michael Flynn, and a swarm of QAnon followers who think that COVID is a lie and vaccines are a Deep State form of mind control. Needless to say, a good time was had by all… until several attendees began to fall ill with what seems to be the same mysterious illness.

The dozens of felled individuals had apparently all gathered together in the green room at the event, which would lead most of us to the obvious conclusion that they had all contracted COVID. But not these folks, many of whom don’t believe that COVID is really a thing at all. Their assumption? They were the victims of an anthrax attack… via fog machines.

As The Daily Beast wrote:

Joe Oltmann, a far-right hanger-on who hosts the Conservative Daily podcast and attended the gathering, alleged on Sunday that he was the victim of an anthrax attack. “South Florida peeps. I have a [sic] urgent need! I have been sick with what could be an anthrax attack it turns out. More later on this,” he wrote on Telegram, a messaging app beloved by the extreme right. The ambiguous message was viewed by more than 130,000 people.

The anthrax rumor gained further steam as Oltmann floated on Telegram that fellow 2020 election conspiracy theorist Jovan Pulitzer—who had come in close contact with Oltmann during the ReAwaken America event—may have also come down with anthrax poisoning.

“Jovan Pulitzer is in a bad place right now. Please pray for him. Bring the spirit of healing upon him. In Jesus name, Amen,” Oltmann posted on Monday. “Might be Anthrax.”

Spoiler alert: It was not anthrax.

Daily Beast reached out to Lindell about the event, and whether he might have been affected by this possible anthrax attack, to which the PillowMan said: “Haha. What happened?” Lindell then clarified that he had spoken with Oltmann, who said that people had tested for COVID and it wasn’t that. Lindell also assured the outlet that he was healthy as… a person?

“I don’t have anything, I’m healthy as a person,” Lindell said.

(Via Daily Beast)

Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.

With just a little over a week left until the start of 2022 arrives, many artists are stepping forward with their final releases of the year. Yung Bleu continues his impressive 2021 with his new EP, No, I’m Not Ok. 6lack also returned with his first release in a year and a half with his double single, “Rent Free” and “By Any Means.” Elsewhere, rising New York singer Capella Grey drops off his second single of the year with “Talk Nice.”

Yung Bleu — No, I’m Not Ok

Yung Bleu’s 2021 is by far the best year of his career. The Alabama native has already impressed with his debut Moon Boy, which helped him win Best New Artist at the 2021 Soul Train Awards. Now, he’s back in action with his No, I’m Not Ok EP. It presents five songs and a feature from Monica for what amounts to another enjoyable listening experience from Yung Bleu.

6lack — “Rent Free” & “By Any Means”

The R&B world has certainly missed 6lack. The Atlanta singer’s last release came back in 2020 with his EP, 6pc Hot, but now it looks like he’s gearing up for a big 2022. 6lack returns with a pair of new singles, “Rent Free” and “By Any Means,” that both do a great job of showing his versatility. The former finds him singing through the pain of a woman he failed to keep by his side while the latter sees his rapping about his rise to fame and recent successes.

Capella Grey — “Talk Nice”

One of this year’s newest and most promising acts is New York’s own Capella Grey. He’s the epitome of a slow-burning act as those who caught on to him in 2021 watched his “Gyalis” grow from an underground record to a Gold-certified track. Next year is looking very bright for Grey, who gets the balling rolling for it with his latest single, “Talk Nice.” It’s a braggadocious record that speaks confidently of himself, his team, his rise to fame, and his ways with the ladies.

Aaliyah — “Position” Feat. The Weeknd

A few months after Blackground Records uploaded Aaliyah’s second and third albums, One In A Million and Aaliyah respectively, to streaming services thanks to a distribution deal with EMPIRE, the label returned last week to announce her fourth album and first posthumous body of work. Titled Unstoppable, the first single from the project is here. “Poison” with The Weeknd arrives with songwriting credits from Static Major and production from DannyBoyStyles and Nick Lamb.

Melii — Winter In New York

It’d been a year since Melii dropped some music for her fans, her “You Ain’t Worth It” collaboration with 6lack. Aware that her supporters missed her presence, the singer concludes 2021 with a pair of singles: “Hey Stranger” and “Would You Let Me Go?” They’re both wrapped under her Winter In New York project which sees her quickly discuss her qualms with love and hope for a romance she truly deserves.

Bryson Tiller & Pentatonix — “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Long)”

Bryson Tiller gets into the Christmas spirit for his latest effort, joining acapella group Pentatonix for their own version of “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Long).” It arrives a few weeks after he recruited Kiana Lede, Justin Bieber, Tayla Parx, and more for his A Lonely Christmas project.

11:11 — Wish List

Toronto R&B singer 11:11 concludes 2021 with his second project of the year through Wish List, an appropriate title for the holiday season. Altogether, Wish List checks in at three songs with one appearance from Eric Bellinger and two from fellow Canadian singer Anders. It’s a satisfying follow-up to The Night Before The Morning After, a project he released earlier this year.

Jah Vinci — Passion

A year after releasing his I Am The World Singer, reggae singer Jah Vinci closes 2021 with another body of work. Passion arrives with seven songs and a lone feature from Nordia Moothersille. It also features heavy production from NotNice, who along with Vinci, got their start in Vybz Kartel’s Gaza empire.

Olawumi — Moody

Live from New Jersey, singer Olawumi has spent the last few years working on her debut album. Moody presents ten songs through a completely solo effort that follows Olawumi’s experiences with Black love and her journey towards self-discovery. “I am looking to invoke the true magic of self-awareness and love with this album,” she says about the project. “I want women (and men alike) to learn that it is OKAY to feel, mourn, cry and love.”

Javonte — Where Have You Been (Remastered)

Back in 2014, after landing features with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, IDK, and more, Javonte shared his debut project Where Have You Been and it stood as a strong display of neo-soul with a lone feature from SiR. Seven years later, he offers a remastered version of the album with three additional songs and guest features from Ill Camille and the incomparable Alex Isley.

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

Christmas is here, and the NFL is tumbling toward the finish line of the 2021 regular season. Week 16 provides an interesting slate that features a typical Thursday night clash and two (scheduled) Christmas contests, and Week 15 was at least reasonably kind to us with a 3-2 performance. That positive showing came with no help from the Atlanta Falcons, with Arthur Smith’s team repeatedly stalling inside the 10-yard line, but alas, we press on.

Before we roll through the Week 16 card with five NFL selections, let’s see where the full 2021 season progress stands.

• Last Week: 3-2
• 2021 Season: 41-33-1

Come get these winners.

Tennessee Titans (+3) over San Francisco 49ers

I’ve been a little bit lower on the Titans than consensus, but I view this as a juicy spot for Tennessee. San Francisco is the better team right now, with red-hot results in recent weeks, but this is a short week with travel for the Niners. Beyond that, the Titans are now getting a full field goal at home, with the public pretty clearly overreacting to Tennessee’s downturn and San Francisco’s uptick. It’s a little bit gross, but the home team is the side at three points or more.

Cleveland Browns (+7.5) over Green Bay Packers

The Packers are terrifying. Green Bay has won 11 of the last 13 games and the last three in a row. They also have Aaron Rodgers. At +7.5, though, the Browns have some appeal. This is Cleveland’s season in one game, with an improving roster situation after a bevy of COVID-related absences a week ago. The number would’ve been less than a touchdown 10 days ago, and it’s inflated here.

Minnesota Vikings (+3) over Los Angeles Rams

This is a short rest spot for both teams, but Minnesota has the benefit of home-field advantage and a friendly number. The Rams are the better team, and no one is saying otherwise, but the Vikings are undervalued in the market and getting three points means we can win despite Minnesota’s penchant for brutal, last-second defeats.

Buffalo Bills (+2.5) over New England Patriots

We gave out the Bills in what became a weather-filled farce against the Patriots this season. That was not our finest hour, but the belief is that Buffalo remains the more talented team. That result wasn’t indicative of much, and Buffalo getting nearly a field goal here is a nice sweet spot. Will we live to regret this? Maybe.

Las Vegas Raiders (PK) over Denver Broncos

It’s not as if the Raiders are lighting the world on fire, even after a win over the Browns last week. That was a fairly ugly game and probably didn’t impress anyone. That’s helpful for us, as the Raiders are currently projected in a coin flip spot at home against a Broncos team with Drew Lock. Denver’s defense is the best unit in this game, but the Raiders have the better offense and Lock on the road is a fade.

Each week our staff of film and TV experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish movies available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.

10. (tie) Home Sweet Home Alone (Disney Plus)

This is a surprisingly star-studded — Ellie Kemper! Rob Delaney! Kenan Thompson! — addition to the Home Alone franchise, written by SNL veterans Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell. The plot remains the same: A 10-year-old boy gets left behind when his parents head off to Tokyo and he has to defend his house from various bumbling criminals. The reviews so far are… not great, but it might be worth a go if you’re looking for a nostalgia blast to the face or something to watch with younger kids. Order yourself a large cheese pizza first. Watch it on Disney Plus.

10. (tie) Tick, Tick… Boom (Netflix)

Andrew Garfield is giving theater-kids everywhere a musical-thirst-trap performance in this Lin-Manuel Miranda-directed biopic that pays tribute to Jonathan Larson, the artistic genius who changed Broadway with his seminal musical Rent. This film examines Larson’s life before fans were belting out Season of Love though, with Garfield giving an award-worthy turn as a restless visionary who feels the suffocating deadline of turning 30 without having produced a great show. The supporting cast is terrific, Garfield is doing his best work, and Miranda infuses everything with a genuine sense of love and admiration that makes it hard not to root for this one. Watch it on Netflix.

10. (tie) Bruised (Netflix)

Halle Berry’s MMA movie made a deal with Netflix and now Halle Berry’s MMA movie is on Netflix. Yes, that sentence said “Halle Berry’s MMA movie twice but, to be fair, it’s a phrase it takes a little bit of time to wrap your head around. Berry makes her directorial debut and stars as a disgraced fighter named Jackie Justice (Jackie Justice!) who is back in the cage to deal with various personal demons. It’s Halle Berry’s MMA movie! The reviews are pretty good! Watch it on Netflix.

9. King Richard (HBO Max)

As odd as it is to have a movie about two of the greatest athletes of all time told centered on, not the women winning Grand Slams and Olympic gold medals, but their determined, driven father – King Richard works. It works because Will Smith exudes charisma and charm but he also brings a believable grit and weary defiance to the role of Richard Williams, the man who gave tennis not one, but two female legends. This is Serena and Venus’ story, told from the perspective of the man who believed in them when no one else did so, yeah, grab a box of tissues before you sit down to watch. Watch it on HBO Max.

8. Encounter (Amazon Prime)

Oscar-nominee Riz Ahmed likes to make the kind of movies you wouldn’t expect him to. In 2019, he played a rock n roll drummer slowly losing his hearing and having to upend his life because of it. This year, well … he’s surviving an alien invasion. Sort of. Encounter is one of those streaming movies that quietly sneak onto a platform – this time it’s Amazon Prime Video – and usually stay buried under all the other content the algorithm prioritizes. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen here though because Ahmed is a force on screen, playing a disturbed man and desperate father who believes he’s saving his two sons from an extra-terrestrial invasion that no one else knows is happening. It’s a mindf*ck, in the best way possible. Watch it on Amazon Prime.

7. The Hand of God (Netflix)

Academy Award winner Paulo Sorrentino (The Young Pope) returns to HBO with this story of tragedy and unexpected joys, along with how fates intertwine. It’s a story about young Fabietto Schisa and the arrival of a football legend on the scene. Ultimately though, Sorerentino’s telling this story from his own hometown (Naples), so expect a deeply personal (and of course, achingly beautiful) experience. Watch it on Netflix.

6. The Power of the Dog (Netflix)

Benedict Cumberbatch gives a villainous performance for the ages in The Power of the Dog, the first film in 12 years from director Jane Campion. The western is expected (and deserves) to be an Oscars frontrunner, so hop on the horse-drawn bandwagon now. Watch it on Netflix.

5. Swan Song (Apple TV+)

Set in the near future, Swan Song stars two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali as a husband and father who’s dying from a terminal illness. To spare his family from unimaginable grief, he secretly agrees to undergo an experimental treatment where his memories will be transported into an exact healthy duplicate. Swan Song examines how far we’re willing to go to protect the ones we love. It’s science-fiction at its most melancholy. Watch it on Apple TV+.

4. Being the Ricardos (Amazon Prime)

Aaron Sorkin is back with a movie about I Love Lucy and its stars, with Nicole Kidman playing Lucille Ball, and a whole bunch of other stuff. You know what to expect here, probably, if you’ve seen a Sorkin movie or television show in the past. The dialogue will be snappy, the villains and heroes will be clearly defined, all of it. The important thing here is that we all agree that Lucille Ball was pretty impressive. Watch it on Amazon Prime.

3. South Park: Post-COVID: The Return of COVID (Paramount Plus)

It’s the follow-up to the first COVID special and things are still weird. There are experiments and mental asylum escapes and marijuana farming and pretty much everything you’ve come to expect from South Park at this stage of the game. There are worse ways to spend a few hours this weekend. Watch it on Paramount Plus.

2. Don’t Look Up (Netflix)

Jennifer Lawrence is back in Don’t Look Up, Adam McKay’s apocalyptic satire about two low-level astronomers (J-Law and Leonardo DiCaprio) who try to warn everyone on Earth about an approaching comet — but no one seems to care. The ensemble cast also includes Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Ariana Grande, Timothée Chalamet, Cate Blanchett, and Tyler Perry. Maybe that’s why no one cares about the comet. They’re too busy looking at all those stars. Watch it on Netflix.

1. The Matrix Resurrections (HBO Max)

The gang is all back. Mostly. They’re mostly all back. Keanu is there as Neo, with the John Wick beard. Carrie Ann Moss is back as Trinity even though Trinity kind of… died. It’s a whole thing. And it’s fun. This all could have gone a lot worse, really, which isn’t exactly the highest praise but is still important. Let’s do it all again in another 20 years. Let’s make it a thing. Watch it on HBO Max.

Each week our staff of film and TV experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish shows available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.

Get more streaming recommendations with our weekly What To Watch newsletter.

10. (tie) Yellowjackets (Showtime)

Are you in the mood for an intense survival epic and psychological horror story with plenty of coming-of-age touches? How about all of that with Juliette Lewis and Christina Ricci starring as the adult versions of two female athletes who were irretrievably shaken by their experiences after a plane crash in the wilderness? Sure, that sounds like a stressful description, but it’s also a hell of a watch. Not to mention another reason not to hop onto an airplane these days. Watch it on Showtime.

10. (tie) Hanna (Amazon Prime)

Esmé Creed-Miles is back as the pint-sized, badass title character, who’s still attempting to defeat the mysterious powers that be while Dermot Mulroney’s operative is as sinister as ever. The third season promises more fight scenes and thrills, all while more characters get backstories, and Mireille Enos’ character forms one half of a lady power duo to cross generations. Watch it on Amazon Prime.

10. (tie) Santa, Inc. (HBO Max)

In this stop-motion animated series, the perpetually jolly Seth Rogen voices what seems like Santa while Sarah Silverman plays the dedicated elf who’s seeking to become the first lady Santa. Let’s hope she kicks some butt and rises above all the dude candidates, and you’ll also hear the voices of Craig Robinson, Nicholas Braun, Maria Bamford, and more along the way.Watch it on HBO Max.

9. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Hulu)

The wait is over. The Gang is back to offer a playbook on how not to act, Forrest Gumping 2020, feigning wokeness, venturing back to the ’90s, and then going all the way to Ireland. From that description alone, it might sound like the show’s most epic season, and it may well be… which is fitting for its record-breaking 15th season. But no matter the ambition, these are still the same hilariously wicked monsters who inspire wonder over how they don’t get stabbed at the conclusion of every episode. Enjoy! Watch it on Hulu.

8. And Just Like That… (HBO Max)

Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte are back, along with the Big Apple. No Samantha will be found, given that Kim Cattrall declined to return, but there will be returning dudes, including Chris Noth’s Mr. Big. Yet there’s going to be a bittersweet aspect to this revival, given that Willie Garson (Stanford Blatch) recently passed away. All of those swirling moods will possibly disappear in a whirl of overwrought flower hats or something, but the show professes to be more inclusive this time around. Watch it on HBO Max.

7. The Great (Hulu)

The Great? More like The Great Show. Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult are back as Catherine the Great and Emperor Peter III, respectively, in season two of the wickedly funny Hulu series. If you like scheming and backstabbing, this is the show for you. Watch it on Hulu.

6. Hawkeye (Disney Plus)

The MCU is in holiday mood for this series, which begins to pass the bow from Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton (who desperately wants a real retirement) to Kate Bishop, played by Hailee Steinfeld, who hits the arrow-flinging mark while learning the ropes. The two battle through some sort of Christmas hellscape that feels awfully surreal, including a Captain America-themed musical and the entry of Vera Farmiga into the MCU. Also, Florence Pugh’s Yelena is on the way for Hawkeye, so watch out, man. Watch it on Disney Plus.

5. Yearly Departed (Amazon Prime)

Despite a few big gains (having a summer was a nice switch!), we’re rapidly being disabused of the notion that 2021 was somehow made to be a largely better year than 2020. 2022? Who knows!? But before we roll the dice, spin the wheel, and hope for the best, an All-Star team of female comics are here to roast the year that was in the second installment of Yearly Departed. Hosted by Yvonne Orji with appearances by Chelsea Peretti, Hacks standout Meg Stalter, Dulcé Sloan, Aparna Nancherla, and the gawd Jane Fonda, this special promises to do the only thing we can with a year like 2021: say hurtful things about it and laugh at its expense. Watch it on Amazon Prime.

4. Station Eleven (HBO Max)

It seems strange to say that a post-apocalyptic drama about a flu-like pandemic that destroys much of humanity qualifies as a “comfort watch,” but it’s nearly impossible to exaggerate just how beautiful and poignant and deeply human Station Eleven is. Based on a novel by Emily St. John Mandel and starring an exceptional cast (Mackenzie Davis and Himesh Patel being the most recognizable), the show sports serious Leftover vibes, following a traveling theater troupe 20 years after the world has ended. It’s bold and imaginative with dreamy cinematography that’s grounded by some truly inspired performances, and it might just be the best doomsday watch we’ve seen on TV in a long time. Watch it on HBO Max.

3. MacGruber (Peacock)

It seemed improbable that a one-note SNL sketch sending up an ’80s action TV show could be stretched into a film, but dammit they did it, creating a cult favorite action-comedy that has now spurred a Peacock TV series. Circle of life! Unfortunately, Val Kilmer couldn’t return but the specter of the film’s explosive and urine-soaked conclusion hangs over MacGruber’s life, setting him off on a trail of redemption that is a lot more fully developed than you might imagine. Sure this thing is friggin hilarious in all the ways you’d expect, but it’s also a damn good TV show with a platinum level cast with Billy Zane and Laurence Fishburne joining Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, and Will Forte as they reprise their roles. Watch it on Peacock.

2. Emily in Paris (Netflix)

God help us all, this show will once again be binged into oblivion. Lily Collins returns as the stereotypically clueless and culturally offensive American who’s taking Par-ee by storm, one Instagram post at a time. The twist here is that Emily actually attempts to learn French this season, but the hot chef is still around with his gross, unwashed skillet. So much drama, courtesy of primetime TV king Darren Star. Watch it on Netflix.

1. The Witcher (Netflix)

It’s time to go on another swashbuckling rampage through destiny as Henry Cavill’s wig returns for more monster hunting on The Continent. The show’s got a lot to live up to, given that it defied expectations during its debut, and it’s still a banger. That is to say, the Humble Bard is cranking out his angst in song, Geralt has less time to be grumpy, and Ciri is in training mode. The monsters are better, the emotions run higher, and we’ve got two new kids on the block: Killing Eve‘s Kim Bodnia (as Geralt’s mentor, Vesemir) and Game Of Thrones‘ Kristofer Hivju (in highly unflattering prosthetics, and we’ll leave it at that). Watch it on Netflix.

Rapper-producer duo Nas and Hit-Boy have been on an incredible run for the past two years, releasing two iterations of the solid King’s Disease collaborative album, receiving a Best Rap Album Grammy for the first, and a nomination for the second. Yet, somehow, they still aren’t done yet, looking to finish off the year with another new album, completing a hat trick to close out 2021. The new album, which Nas and Hit just announced on their respective social media channels, is called Magic and has just nine tracks and two features, ASAP Rocky(!) and DJ Premier(!!).

It’s an impressive accomplishment, to be sure, but it’s also a testament to the working chemistry these two have exhibited since being introduced by Big Sean. We should all give way more credit to Sean in general, but especially for being one of hip-hop’s best A&Rs, matching up the Queens icon with a producer that finally brings the best out of him, overcoming the one great weakness of his 25-year catalog.

In addition to cranking out two redemptive albums alongside Hit-Boy, Nas also made significant investments in the music industry infrastructure this year, backing the Audius streaming service alongside Pusha T to increase revenue for artists. In September, he was honored with a key to Queens and his own day in his home borough.

Wheel of Fortune fans (and rational people) are in an uproar over a ruling during Tuesday’s episode of the long-running game show.

To recap: contestant Charlene Rubush made it to the bonus round, where the category was “What Are You Doing?” After incorrectly guessing “CHOOSING THE RIGHT CARD,” Charlene had enough time for another answer, and her buzzer-beater response was accurate: “CHOOSING THE RIGHT WORD.” But because she paused seven seconds between “CHOOSING THE RIGHT” and “WORD,” she didn’t win the grand prize of an Audi. As host Pat Sajak explained, “This one’s tough because you said all the right words, including the word ‘word’ but as you know, it’s got to be more or less continuous. We’ll allow for a little pause but not four or five seconds. I’m sorry, you did a good job in getting it but we can’t give you the prize and it was the Audi.” An Audi Q3, to be precise.

The ruling drew the ire of many Wheel viewers, including Jeopardy! champ Alex Jacob, who tweeted, “Come on @WheelofFortune, the woman literally chose the right word. Give her the car.” Audi was paying attention.

“You’re a winner in our eyes, Charlene. Now, let’s get you a prize. Time to #GiveHerTheQ3,” the car company tweeted. “There’s no community like the Audi community. With your help, we tracked down Charlene! More to come as we help #GiveHerTheQ3.” Merry Christmas to Charlene, and Charlene only.

Since its introduction at the start of the year, the COVID vaccine has been the subject of intense partisan debate, with Republicans being the most predominant source of misinformation about the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness in curbing the coronavirus pandemic. Which is why it’s particularly notable that Donald Trump is slowly emerging as a staunch defender of the vaccines that, technically, were sped into production under his administration.

During a new interview with The Daily Wire‘s Candace Owens, Trump not only swatted down the conservative conspiracy theory that people are dying because of the vaccine, but he did it after Owens teed him up with a chance to attack Joe Biden for having more people die of COVID under his administration. Via The Hill:

“Oh no, the vaccines work, but some people aren’t the ones. The ones who get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don’t take the vaccine. But it’s still their choice. And if you take the vaccine, you’re protected,” Trump told Owens.

“Look, the results of the vaccine are very good, and if you do get it, it’s a very minor form,” Trump continued. “People aren’t dying when they take the vaccine.”

As for what the heck is going on, Trump seems to be finally leaning into the fact that he can take a huge amount of credit for the vaccine development if he starts admitting that they are safe and effective. It’s also notable that Trump recently revealed that he was very happy to see the Biden administration credit him for Operation Warp Speed. If that was an attempt to get Trump to be more vocal about the jab, it’s freaking working. He’s already out here confirming that he got a booster shot, so stroke that orange maniac’s ego until he’s personally handing out the shots himself. We can do this.

(Via The Hill)