The Outline
Jeremy Gordon
Watch now: These people’s lives are ruined
Two new documentaries, ‘Tiger King’ and ‘Dark Side of the Ring: Benoit,’ probe events both unbelievably stupid and unspeakably cruel.
So what are you playing right now?
Gaming is a uniquely versatile entertainment built for staying indoors — if you can spare a moment to think about anything but current events.
Release that shit
As we remain at home due to coronavirus, we’re all in desperate need of distraction — a new movie or video game would help.
Farewell, tour
Book events are an essential opportunity for authors to promote new work, but hundreds have been canceled due to coronavirus.
Now is not the time for talk of your protest vote
Voting for someone you don’t want is like getting your flu shot — you do it for everyone else.
Nice try, bro
The Bernie Bro stereotype has driven political conversations for nearly four years, without anyone really deciding if it matters.
I love mediocre sports teams
Sometimes, sports aren’t transcendent or even transcendently awful — they’re just... there.
Thanks for laughing, and remember your place
This year’s Oscars repeatedly referred to their lack of diversity — a joke that swiftly lost its humor.
Sometimes it makes sense why celebrities avoid the media
The internet is built to highlight the dumb stuff famous people say, as Billie Eilish learned this week.
I’m Upset: Give me back my Sundays
The Oscars, the Grammys, and the Super Bowl all happen this year on consecutive Sundays. It’s too much.
Finally, a movie for guys
Sam Mendes’s war epic ‘1917’ is more than the same old Oscar bait, but something sleekly modern and entirely empty.
Two things can be true, but one is always mentioned first
Kobe Bryant was an incredible basketball player; he also admitted to sexual assault.
Dear God, do I really game that much?
The numbers don’t lie — well, maybe a little, I hope.
Antonio Banderas should win an Oscar for ‘Pain and Glory’
If only it wasn’t for that stupid Joker.
How to be wrong
When the stakes are high, we must embrace the possibility we just aren’t right.
This thing you loved as a kid? It’s for adults now
A planned revival of ‘Legends of the Hidden Temple’ — a children’s show — is explicitly not for children, because that’s not how culture works anymore.
‘Ghostbusters’ is the future of the culture wars
A new reboot brings the franchise back to its ’80s origins after another reboot failed.
Please, no more serious James Bonds
He’s a sexed-up secret agent with a gun in his pen; we don’t need to learn about his childhood trauma.
Cybertruck rules
Billionaires should not exist. But a billionaire gave us this, at least.
Love Baby Yoda, I cannot
Disney has taken its pursuit of cuteness too far.
“Toad sings Chandelier” is the most memorable song of the year
An interview with Melancholiaah, the musician who created this unforgettable meme.
If you’re over the age of 23, you’re not allowed to care what college kids are doing
The Very Serious Journalists Who Do Journalism are mad about The Daily Northwestern’s coverage of a Jeff Sessions protest because they have nothing better to do with their time.
Damon Lindelof can’t stop treating his ‘Watchmen’ interviews like therapy sessions
I am tired of this Earth. These showrunners.
What’s happening at Deadspin is a travesty
Fuck Jim Spanfeller and Paul Maidment.
I’m Upset: Deadspin’s terrible, horrible, very bad, no good video ads
The new owners say they don’t want to change much. Well, here’s one change that sucks.
Let people talk shit in peace
Pedants complain that rudeness ignores logic. That’s the point.
This one detail about ‘Watchmen’ is driving me nuts
The show imagines what 2019 would be like, in the ‘Watchmen’ world... with one crucial mistake.
Kevin Durant is on a hot streak
Long vilified on and off the court, this summer Durant has embraced his innate surliness on Twitter.
Joke’s on me for seeing this awful movie
‘Joker’ is a spectacularly meaningless film that justifies none of the endless discourse.
Shane Gillis, Ms. Swan, and when it’s acceptable to make fun of Asians
Of course the fired ‘SNL’ comedian was a ‘MADtv’ guy.
Please watch Fred Durst’s new movie starring John Travolta
‘The Fanatic’ is one of 2019’s most memorable — and exquisitely terrible — cinematic experiences.
This one weird trick will get the media talking about you
Why are so many of my peers obsessed with Caroline Calloway?
When hell isn’t other people
‘Midsommar’ and ‘The Farewell’ depict the necessary emotional cooperation of a harmonious society.
A Good Place: The upsettingly adorable world of Korean Pomeranian Instagram
There are so many good boys and girls, and they all know each other.
I’m Upset: Dusting is a waste of time
Nothing is a better metaphor for the futility of life than the never-ending accumulation of dust.
Electric scooters force you to decide how much of a dick you are willing to be
Is fracturing the social order a tradeoff for getting somewhere a little faster?
Press “like” to pay your Father’s Day respects
Social media makes navigating the holiday when you no longer have a father very fraught, but it doesn't have to be so bad.
I’m Upset: “Win probability” has a 100 percent chance of sucking
Watching sports is to hope for the impossible; “win probability” turns all of that into math.
Not ‘The Onion’: People actually think ‘The Onion’ helped Joe Biden become cool
It’s an easy story to believe, but the truth isn’t so neat.
A supposedly great article I’ll never read the same way again
David Foster Wallace’s journalism is, in many ways, inaccurate. But he’s hardly the only venerated journalist to have made stuff up.
George R.R. Martin can still fix this shit
After years of being mocked for not finishing his books, the ‘Game of Thrones’ author has the chance to redeem the show’s mildly disappointing final season.
Rated W for “White”
‘Her Smell,’ like many movies, is a movie about white people. Do critics have to point that out?
The joy of comparing things to ‘Game of Thrones’
NBA players, U.S. politicians, ‘Drag Race’ stars — over the years, everything has been fit into the Westeros template.
I got this close to the best wrestler in the world
Watching Kazuchika Okada do what he does best reminded me why I love wrestling.
Inside the deranged mind of a Howard Schultz superfan
Comedian Conner O’Malley’s recurring video series has haunted my timeline and thoughts.
The opposition looks just like us
How to think about art in the age of taking sides.
The definitive 2020 election matrix
Are they more like Obama or Trump? Bernie or Hillary? All this, and more.
It’s revolting that Bryan Singer wasn’t mentioned at the Oscars
Hollywood’s inability to address the predator in its midst speaks to the industry’s broad hypocrisy about the injustice it purports to combat.
Bring back ‘The Newsroom’!
We all need something low-stakes to complain about.
Separating the art from the artist isn’t so hard
How do you consume good art from bad men? Easy: in private.
Netflix... chill
Why are the streaming giant’s Twitter accounts so perpetually horny?
What we loved this week: Exploring the death of Gianni Versace, the rich kid adventures in ‘Prep,’ Adam Johnson’s literary fatalism
Here’s the entertainment that got us through the week of January 28, 2018.
Here are the political alignments of every ‘Super Smash Bros.’ character
Samus is a Lean-In feminist. Ryu is a Japanese nationalist. Nobody denies this.
‘Minding the Gap’ should win an Oscar
The award season horse race is irritating, but Bing Liu’s documentary is a righteous film worth championing.
Actually, ‘True Detective’ is good
The show always gives us something to think about, and the new season’s early returns are compelling.
Famous men and their absolutely deranged sexts
Rich, poor, Jezz Bezos — everyone is awkwardly horny, all the same.
Ishmael Reed hates ‘Hamilton’ so much he wrote a play about it
‘The Haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda’ pushes back at the global phenomenon, to limited effect.
How Zendaya became Meechee
In September, a silly meme summed up the way the internet sounds.
My life with ‘Super Smash Bros.’
For nearly two decades, Nintendo’s fighting game franchise has remained largely the same, allowing it to fit into our lives as necessary.
The fascinating face in ‘My Brilliant Friend’
An appreciation of Michele Solara, resident neighborhood bastard.
From Grimes to Elon, with love
The strange experience of listening to Grimes’ new song “We Appreciate Power.”
A great part of going home for Thanksgiving is the old video games
Plug in your dated console, and dive into your gaming past.
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner will now be intentionally unfunny
Good riddance to a bad tradition.
Realistic Pokémon are an affront to God
The ‘Detective Pikachu’ trailer ventures deep into the uncanny valley.
Vine is back
Byte, a new app from Vine founder Dom Hoffman, launches in the spring.
‘Fearless’ was the last time Taylor Swift could pretend she was normal
Still one of her best albums, it exists as a portrait of the girl next door with eyes on stardom.
‘House of Cards’ didn’t revolutionize TV because it was good
The final, Kevin Spacey-less season ends on a whimper, another unremarkable streaming-only show in a marketplace it created.
What the new ‘Halloween’ gets right about guns
The conservative news cycle got up in arms about Jamie Lee Curtis’ perceived hypocrisy, but there’s nothing to make a fuss about.
Just let the cursed ‘Heathers’ reboot die
Episodes of the show were delayed after a public shooting — again.
I’m working for the man, Citibank card in my hand
A new museum about the Velvet Underground places the underground band in a starkly capitalist context.
Maybe it’s time for “Maybe It’s Time” to become a 2020 campaign song
Jackson Maine’s haunting ‘A Star Is Born’ elegy for a bygone era should push us into the future.
Never befriend Mark Wahlberg
Did he ruin aggrieved Minnesota Timberwolves star Jimmy Butler?
There can be 100 ways to thank someone but Lady Gaga only needs one
JUSTICE FOR JACKSON MAINE.
Taylor Swift, welcome to the Resistance
After months of criticism, Taylor has finally endorsed a politician. What was all the controversy for?
We have to talk about how ‘The Fugitive’ explains the internet
Have something you just need me to know? I don’t care.
Conspiracy theory: Lil Xan’s “overdose” on Flamin’ Hot Cheetos is an elaborate viral marketing campaign
Are brands back at it again?
Breaking: Zendaya is Meechee
Thank God for former Vine stars.
It’s okay to quit
Buffalo Bills cornerback Vontae Davis retired at halftime, instead of destroying himself for an awful team. Good for him.
What we loved this week
Here’s the entertainment that got us through the week of September 10, 2018.
Fun is good and the ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’ revival looks very fun
The ‘Riverdale’ producers strike again.
The new ‘Spider-Man’ game turns the hero into web-slinging Nancy Reagan
Spidey takes a limited approach to an issue the comics have handled with care: drug abuse.
Kanye West is too horny for his own good
“I Love It,” his latest single, hits the bottom of a barrel he’s been scraping for a long time.
Academy Awards formally recognize popular things are bad
Following blowback, a planned “most popular film” category has been cancelled.
The new ‘NBA 2K’ isn’t realistic enough
Playing the game next to Jayson Tatum gives us an idea for a better game.
Louis C.K. doesn’t deserve a second chance as a comedian
His surprise return to the stage this weekend comes without any meaningful restitution.
Can we get some crazy broke Asians, too?
The success of ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,’ and Mitski’s ‘Be the Cowboy’ breaks open a conversation about Asian-American cultural representation.
Who watches the men? #11: Nothing ever ends
The final installment of a Trump-era comic inspired by ‘Watchmen.’
Let’s all go back to Tumblr
A reconsideration of the last great blogging platform.
The only Steven Seagal primer you need
A 2014 interview laid out everything there is to know about the action star, who’s back in the news.
‘Christopher Robin’ is made to mess you up
If Winnie the Pooh was a formative part of your childhood, buckle up.
What I want is a single buffalo wing
We can choose anything in the modern food delivery economy — except this.
We’re having a lot of fun with this photo of John Wall
Is he getting loose? Perhaps.
Who watches the men? #10: End of an empire
Part 10 of a Trump-era comic inspired by ‘Watchmen.’
Enjoy these classic works of art reinterpreted as toast
#KunstGeschichteAlsBrotbelag is a good, German internet thing.
Chance the false media savior
An artist notoriously hostile to negative press buying a media outlet raises questions about what he really wants.
Who watches the men? #9: Election Day approaches
Part nine of a Trump-era comic inspired by ‘Watchmen.’
The ‘House of Cards’ redemption tour is weird and unnecessary
Following Kevin Spacey’s firing, nobody can really explain why this show needs to come back.
Why does Drake, an adult, sound like a teen?
His new album, ‘Scorpion,’ doubles down on those petty feelings.
CM Punk was the best in the world
The former wrestling star is now a failed MMA fighter, despite years of striving.
Woof woof! Who’s a heckin’ problematic doggo?
On the inevitable downfall of dumb internet things.
Who watches the men? #8: An unbelievable turn of events
Part eight of a Trump-era comic inspired by ‘Watchmen.’
Here’s Waluigi singing the ‘Westworld’ theme
It makes as much sense as the show.
The music industry is built to boost artists like XXXtentacion
There’s nothing preventing someone just as charismatic and problematic from being elevated to stardom in the future.
Who watches the men? #7: All systems go
Part seven of a Trump-era comic inspired by ‘Watchmen.’
The startling viciousness of Pusha-T’s Drake diss track
“The Story of Adidon” is a level of precise anger not usually displayed in pop culture feuds.
Ten years ago, everyone on your Twitter timeline was way dumber
A fun meme comes with a darker side.
Marco Rubio still wants you to believe he’s a rap fan
And that he never played himself.
‘God Friended Me’ is a real show coming to actual television
Can you mute the Lord?
Who watches the men? #6: Up in the woods, down on my mind
Part six of a Trump-era comic inspired by ‘Watchmen.’
A billionaire and an indie superstar walk into a bar
Why is the relationship between Grimes and Elon Musk so fascinating?
Luigi is a Republican. Bowser is a fascist. Nobody denies this.
A charming video lays out the political alignment of every ‘Mario Kart’ character.
The only good men’s fashion is a luchador wearing a suit
A masked wrestler is never more respectable than when he wears his best business casual.
R.I.P. Young King Dave
“Doink” will be a lasting addition to the weed-smoking lexicon
It’s time for the Backstreet Boys to change their name
There’s only one possible answer.
Michael Jordan is very worried about his legacy
Why else is he participating in a 10-hour documentary about himself?
You’re not a fan of the Avengers. You’re their publicist.
The industry runs on your enthusiasm, and knows you can’t look away.
Who watches the men? #5: Meet Fearless Girl
Part five of a Trump-era comic inspired by ‘Watchmen.’
Toward an expanded canon of dad rock
Dad rock usually means music for straight, white, American dads, even though there are so many other kinds. Let’s change that.
Revisit the best music of the last 11 years
Courtesy of outgoing Pitchfork executive editor Mark Richardson.
Who watches the men? #4: Bernie’s journal
Part four of a Trump-era comic inspired by ‘Watchmen.’
Why did the military love R. Lee Ermey so much?
Upon his death, his turn as a gruff drill sergeant in ‘Full Metal Jacket’ was celebrated uncritically by the state.
An ode to the greatest way to say “get a load of this guy”
Before he was a mega-rich actor, Dwayne Johnson was just an insanely entertaining pro wrestler.
MySpace Tom beat Facebook in the long run
Wouldn’t you rather be a rich nobody than whatever Mark Zuckerberg is?
Who watches the men? #3: New elections
Part three of a Trump-era comic inspired by ‘Watchmen.’
HBO’s ‘Andre the Giant’ documentary has one giant distraction
A new movie offers an empathetic look into one of wrestling’s iconic figures; it also rehabs Hulk Hogan’s tarnished image.
Farewell to The Thermals, a pop-punk band ahead of their time
They're calling it quits after a distinguished career.
Conor McGregor forgot pro wrestling is staged
When keeping it real goes very, very wrong.
Ready Player One was supposed to be much worse
It’s a fun, corny movie that will make you think about the limits of pop culture discourse.
I’m the man in the Jabbrrbox
A new startup wants to be the future of private space. Are they onto something?
Finally, the actor from “Stan” knows what “stanning” means
Devon Sawa learned a very important thing, thanks to Twitter.
R.I.P. to Keyboard Cat, an internet legend
The cat made us laugh, and he made us think.
The live-action Winnie the Pooh movie is very real, and has a trailer
‘Christopher Robin’ and a wrinkled bear are coming to a theater near you.
Let Guillermo Del Toro finally make ‘At the Mountains of Madness’
After winning big at the Oscars, Del Toro should get to revive his most ambitious project.
Breaking Monopoly
What if the classic board game had better rules for simulating capitalism?
Drake is a socialist now
More musicians should give away their money.
The ageless joy of Kingdom Hearts
The beloved video game series exemplifies all the best things about being a kid.
The Wire still matters
A new oral history reminds why it deserves its reputation as some of the best television ever made.
Venom stinks, but somehow he has a movie
One of Spider-Man’s biggest villains is also one of Marvel’s least interesting characters.
The walk to the bathroom is the worst part of my workday
Pooping on company time should not be an awkward ordeal.
The XFL is coming back because America rewards liars
WWE founder Vince McMahon is reviving his most notorious failure.
Against “sure”
The most passive-aggressive affirmative phrase is a thumbs up to your face, and a jerkoff motion behind your back.
How to find a forgotten Vine
The Vine archive is disappearing from the internet, so we’d better move fast.
I’m sick of the ‘Stranger Things’ kids selling me stuff
What’s less cute than unearned nostalgia? Unrepentant shilling.
The perfect pop song that finds special resonance in ‘I, Tonya’
Laura Branigan’s “Gloria” highlights an imperfect movie.
The Super Bowl of Japanese pro wrestling is worth losing sleep to watch
Buff dudes! Hard-hitting action! The best wrestlers in the world lay it all out on January 4.
50 cultural things that ruled in 2017
Everything from A to ‘Zelda.’
The time I met God on Christmas Eve
In which our prayers are answered.
That joke isn’t funny anymore
In May, Kathy Griffin showed us the trouble with confusing our sense of humor for political power.
The right way to watch ‘Star Wars’: totally clueless
In an era oversaturated with advance information, it’s more fun to turn away.
The latest ‘Watchmen’ revival is shameless enough to work
DC's latest money grab is artistically craven, and financially brilliant.
‘Justice League’ is a great sleeping aid and not much more
They’ll never stop making comic book movies, but maybe they’ll stop making this one.
