A Year-End Culture Bonanza

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( year in culture [Vulture’s 20 Most-Read Stories of 2023]( Our most popular posts from a year marked by industry-shifting strikes and finally, a reason to cover sports. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Tracy Ma, Bobby Doherty, Mark Seliger, HBO, MEGA/GC Images This year’s most-read post on Vulture was, unsurprisingly, a piece of Taylor Swift journalism. While the star had a busy year—dominating venues, restaurants, [condiments](, and headlines on this very site—she was far from the only thing we paid attention to. Not one, but two strikes against the AMPTP brought an entire industry to a grinding halt. At the start of the year, [we predicted a reckoning was coming for the podcast industry](, and [boy, did it come](. The end of Peak TV, the death of the franchise, and A.I. were among the other topics we wrestled with [as we looked back on 2023](. But here are the 20 stories that you, our readers, spent the most time with this year. [read more]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now]( to save over 60% on unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. [Vulture’s Top Recaps of 2023]( Photo-Illustration: Franziska Barczyk; Photos: Chuck Hodes/FX/Everett Collection, HBO, Barbara Nitke/HBO, Bravo, Nicole Weingart/Bravo/Everett Collection To whatever degree you obsess over a show, Vulture recaps are, like ATN News, here for you. Whether you’re looking to decipher what the hell you just watched, chat in the comments with fellow fans about your favorite show (or favorite hate-watch), or idly check in on a series you long since checked out of, our bustling [Recaps]( section is the place to be. So [once again]( we’re taking stock of the shows Vulture readers couldn’t stop reading and talking about this year. Below, you’ll find the 25 series that readers spent the most time with in 2023, along with the most-read individual recap from each show, plus some select highlights from the hundreds, sometimes thousands, of comments these recaps generated. Thanks as ever for helping us keep the TV conversations going. Let’s do it again next year. [read the list]( Our Favorite Comedy Moments of 2023 Photo-Illustration: Franziska Barczyk; Photos: Netflix, Patti Perret/Orion, Jonathan Browning/Netflix, Marcus Russell Price/Netflix With the glut of stand-up, television, movies, podcasts, social media, and live performance, there’s never been more comedy produced on a week-to-week basis. 2023 saw a dramatic increase in stand-up specials, a resurgence of successful hard-comedy movies like [No Hard Feelings]( and [Bottoms]( at the box office, the continued run of acclaimed sitcoms like [What We Do in the Shadows]( and [Abbott Elementary](, and institutions like [Saturday Night Live]( and [late-night TV]( continuing to dominate headlines — all while a pair of [Hollywood strikes]( derailed formal comedy production for multiple months, pushing fans further into their podcast and social-media silos than ever before. [read more]( A Gift from Streamliner: Holiday Watch Recs ➽ [The 50 Best Christmas Movies of All Time]( ➽ [The 21 Best Christmas TV Episodes You Can Watch Right Now]( ➽ [Santas, Ranked]( ➽ [A Definitive Ranking of Friends Christmas Episodes]( ➽ [20 Essential Cold-Weather Thrillers]( ➽ [The Best Queer Holiday Movies to Make the Yuletide Gay]( [Today’s Crossword]( 1-Across, Eight Letters: 80s Christmas movie that inspired the PG-13 rating Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Comedy Central, Warner Brothers, Everett [Snow Jams]( We’re making our lists and playing them twice. Illustration: Carolyn Figel 1. [What the Holiday 100 Reveals About Our Love of Christmas Music It’s Mariah’s world (obviously) — but Ariana and Kelly are settling into it.]( 2. [The 10 Best Versions of ‘Santa Claus Is Coming to Town’ One question: Is it joyful?]( By Craig Jenkins 3. [The 10 Best Versions of ‘White Christmas’ Iggy Pop versus Otis Redding.]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Read the full ‘Snow Jams’ series]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( A newsletter of TV and movie recommendations. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [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