Allison Williams Comes Alive in 'M3gan'

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( profile [Allison Williams Comes Alive in ‘M3gan’]( The star of the already viral M3gan has made a career of subverting her own image. Photo: Jeff Bark On a chilly Monday afternoon in November, sequestered in a windowless private dining room at the American Girl Café, which is itself wedged into a windowless basement in midtown’s Rockefeller Plaza, [Allison Williams]( and I are celebrating a birthday. We just aren’t sure whose. Lit like a Duane Reade and seemingly decorated by a tween inspired by Pinterest photos of corporate break rooms, the space is mostly empty except for two American Girl dolls in little pink high chairs at our table. They are inexplicably set up in a birthday-theme tableau: tiny gifts, party hats, flowers. After Williams and I confirm with each other that it’s neither of our birthdays, we sit down and dutifully put on the pink paper crowns reading CELEBRATE! that have been placed in front of our chairs. Williams stares at the dolls. “What were they doing right before we walked in?” she asks. On a large flat-screen TV, a stop-motion film starring several of the brand’s dolls politely engaging in various wintertime activities plays on a loop. [Read More]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now]( for unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • The Bad Batch: [A New Hope]( • The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City: [Bruised Egos]( • Gossip Girl: [Throwback Thursday]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [This Could Be a Rough Year for the Podcast Industry We spoke to dozens of insiders and creators about 2023 trends, gripes, and potential pitfalls.]( [Prince Harry Claims Prince William ‘Knocked Him to the Floor’ in New Book In his new memoir, Spare, out next week.]( By Alejandra Gularte [Surviving R. Kelly Claims Aaliyah’s Family Was Forced to Sign NDA After Annulment The family agreed not to press charges after the illegal marriage in exchange for the rights to Kelly’s first three albums.]( By Zoe Guy [Julia Fox Tells Andy Cohen Whether She’d Join the RHONY Reboot Could she be the show’s new muse?]( By Wolfgang Ruth [Theophilus London Found After Being Missing Since October He was previously last seen and heard from on October 15 in Los Angeles’ Skid Row neighborhood.]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Today’s Crossword]( 22-Down, Four Letters: Barb’s BFF played by Kristen Wiig. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty Images [Into It With Sam Sanders]( Photo-Illustration: Vulture. Photos: HBO Max; Starz A bunch of companies, from Warner Bros. Discovery to NBCUniversal to the Walt Disney Company, have announced layoffs, hiring freezes, or cost cutting in the new year. To entertainment journalist Matt Belloni, that’s a recession. “I talk to people all over town who are terrified,” Belloni says. “There are people in the business who have never experienced this kind of pullback.” [He tells Into It host Sam Sanders]( that companies that spent years pouring money into content in order to win the streaming wars are finally looking at profitability. But Sam can’t shake the feeling that Hollywood had it coming and failed to absorb the lessons offered by other fields, such as journalism and the music industry, that have been disrupted by new technology. [Read more from Vulture]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe](link.nymag.com/manage/588/optout-vulture?email={EMAIL}&hash=39357a76f6d08b16239fd2ffa65e9c6f) | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2023, All rights reserved