Pop Culture

As HBO’s latest prestige murder mystery approaches its finale, here’s a guide to the complicated plot. By William Goodman May 27, 2021 Evan Peters and Kate Winslet in Mare of Easttown, 2021. Courtesy of Michele K. Short for HBO Leave it to HBO to come through with another crackerjack, seemingly prestigious, yet actually enjoyably trashy murder

The HBO Max special isn’t bold or revelatory, but that’s not the point—the still-obvious chemistry between the stars is. By Kelsey Miller May 27, 2021 Friends: The Reunion, 2021.Terence Patrick / Courtesy of HBO Max There’s a magical moment, three minutes into Friends: The Reunion. It’s blink-and-you-miss-it—a wordless glance. But in it lies the answer

After his Verzuz match last year, DMX began work on Exodus, which he managed to finish before he passed in April. By Frazier Tharpe May 27, 2021 Getty Images; Photo Illustration by C.J. Robinson Don’t call Exodus a posthumous album. DMX’s eighth album will be released just over a month after he died in April,

The gems that got overshadowed by direct-to-streaming releases, and where to find them. By Keith Phipps May 26, 2021 Photo Illustration by C.J. Robinson Theaters largely shut down during the early days of the pandemic, but many reopened, if to a fraction of their regular audience, late last summer. The plan was supposed to work

With A Quiet Place II finally set to release, the actor talks about his role in the unusually prescient thriller. By Sam Schube May 26, 2021 Getty Images; Photo Illustration by C.J. Robinson Last spring, Cillian Murphy was in New York to promote a movie. At the time, news of the coronavirus spreading across the

As he prepares to release his final Jackass film, the stuntman takes stock of a surprisingly long, hilariously painful, and unusually influential career. By Sam Schube Photography by Katy Grannan May 25, 2021 The other day, Johnny Knoxville came across a relic from his past buried in a drawer at home. “I found a packet of those things at

The man has balls, but they’ve suffered. A lot. By Danielle Cohen May 25, 2021 Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville, 2002.Theo Wargo / Getty Images Johnny Knoxville is intimately familiar with every body part he has—probably because he’s spent the last two decades fracturing, splitting, concussing, and smashing them thanks to the results of his infamous

The minds behind True Detective, The Sinner, and more tell us what to watch next. By Gabriella Paiella May 25, 2021 A murder. A sad detective. A small town with secrets. A lingering sense of despair permeating absolutely everything. Put them all together and you’ve got the makings of a great binge watch. (Bonus points

The rapper brought Adonis onstage to accept his Billboard Music award for Artist of the Decade. By Danielle Cohen May 24, 2021 Drake accepts Artist of the Decade with son Adonis on stage during the 2021 Billboard Music Awards in Los Angeles, California.Courtesy of Christopher Polk/NBC Last night, Drake’s son Adonis made a public appearance

In the north Bronx, a small group of elite Ethiopian runners struggle to survive. The persecution they fled was far more harrowing. By David Alm Photography by George Grullon May 21, 2021 The West Side Runners is New York’s most dominant running club. Many of its members have fled the ethnic violence of Ethiopia’s civil

Barry Jenkins rejected green screen, instead insisting on real-life trains, tunnels and tracks for his Amazon Prime slavery drama. The result is a rich set design that heightens the show’s emotional impact. By Danielle Cohen May 21, 2021 Marcus Gladney Jr. in The Underground Railroad, 2021. Kyle Kaplan/Amazon Studios Towards the beginning of Colson Whitehead’s The

The widely-panned Netflix thriller is deeply weird, artificial, and excessive—but that’s the point. By Kyle Turner May 21, 2021 Amy Adams as Anna Fox in The Woman in the Window (2021)Courtesy of Melinda Sue Gordon for Netflix Almost everything gets labeled as “campy” nowadays, from Ma to the trailer for Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

As the Dear Evan Hansen trailer makes painfully clear, suspension of disbelief only gets you so far. By Danielle Cohen May 20, 2021 Matthew Broderick and Alan Ruck in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 1986.Everett Collection / Courtesy of Paramount This week, the trailer for a movie adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen was released, to much

Barry Jenkins’s lingering close-ups of his characters gazing direct to camera are powerfully intimate. By Keith Phipps May 20, 2021 Thuso Mbedu as Cora Randall in The Underground Railroad, 2021.Courtesy of Kyle Kaplan for Amazon Studios The Underground Railroad opens in confusion. Accompanied by the alarming strings of Nicholas Brittell’s score, the 10-part adaptation of

Ahead of an autobiographical documentary, Moby Doc, and stripped down album of re-recordings, Reprise, the musician discusses his public mishaps, the greatest Connecticut musicians, and David Bowie’s nickname for him. By ROB TANNENBAUM May 20, 2021 Moby at ‘The Art Of Elysium’s 13th Annual Celebration – Heaven’ on January 04, 2020 in Los Angeles.Kurt Krieger

Since being released from Swedish jail in 2019, rap’s foremost fashion darling has been on a journey of self-discovery, musical experimentation, and—alongside a certain megawatt pop-icon girlfriend—love. By Samuel Hine Photography by Inez & Vinoodh May 19, 2021 Shirt, $770, by Celine Homme by Hedi Slimane. Earrings (throughout), his own. Necklace (top), $93,500, by Verdura.

The comedian talks about replacing Chris D’Elia in Army of the Dead, doing her shoots without any other cast members, and how she thinks about “cancel culture.” By Kevin Hall May 18, 2021  Tig Notaro in Army of the Dead, 2021Courtesy of Scott Garfield and Clay Enos for Netflix Acting roles are recast all the

Each week, seemingly, an unexpected new cast member is announced for HBO’s beloved series and Daniel Craig’s whodunit sequel. Here’s a guide. By Danielle Cohen May 17, 2021 Knives Out (2019)Claire Folger / Courtesy of Lionsgate With the pandemic finally beginning to wane, it is time for long-awaited projects to resume production. There are seemingly

Since 2014 Forest Hills Drive, for sure. But also maybe ever? By Frazier Tharpe May 14, 2021 Rapper J. Cole performs during halftime of the 68th NBA All-Star Game on February 17, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jeff Hahne/Getty Images)Jeff Hahne Poll J. Cole fans on his best album and the majority answer