All the pop culture favorites we’re thankful for this year
M3gan, John Early, Taskmaster, and Aly & AJ are just some of the hand-picked things The A.V. Club staff is grateful for in 2023
Aux Features Michael Mann
Clockwise from top left: Shah Rukh Khan; Aly & AJ; John Earlyl; Chucky; and M3GAN Image: SUJIT JAISWAL/AFP via Getty Images; Mike Tran/Billboard via Getty Images; Greg Endries/HBO; SYFY;
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on what we’re grateful for, and 2023 has provided a lot. It’s been an interesting year for pop culture, given that the strikes shut down much of the entertainment industry for several months. Nevertheless, there are plenty of shows, books, movies, games, music and more to celebrate—so much media that sometimes it’s hard to keep up with everything that’s been released. Here, members of The A.V. Club staff offer up the three things we’re thankful for this year—the personal favorites, niche pleasures, and underrated joys that we’ve savored throughout 2023. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
7 Comments
Patrick DeWitt is my favorite working author, so I’m glad somebody enjoyed The Librarianist, but it certainly wasn’t for me. Definitely my least favorite thing he’s written. Bob Comet is an excellent name, though.
“(Bonus gratitude: British channel Dave’s continual devotion to uploading the series to YouTube for viewers in the States to keep up with.)“
Taskmaster is not on Dave and has not been on Dave for OVER FOUR YEARS, dude.
Its’ on Channel 4. You’re such a big fan, aren’t you?
muh-three-g-four-n
I’m going to second the Taskmaster rec, though I wasn’t as enamored with this most recent season than some of the ones before. Each season is different, both because of the participants and the tasks and while I wouldn’t call Series 16 the best, it is still very good.If I were recommending a good place to start, I’d say Series 4 with Hugh Dennis, Joe Lycett, Lolly Adefope, Mel Giedroyc and Noel Fielding because several are recognizable, then maybe go to Series 2, then the rest. (I could sit here and order the seasons, but that would be subjective and a lot of work, plus they all have highlights and are great.)
Playlist for Series 4: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRWvNQVqAeWKl5VBUf8gNeGR_9ABi5RHo
For what it’s worth, the video game Genshin Impact is still going, with new content still being released.
This year they released a new nation called Fontaine with a three part quest story that started kinda slow (I thought), had a nice reveal in the middle, but then just crescendo-ed to have a pretty surprisingly moving and even a bit heartbreaking finale. For a video game inspired by fantasy anime, its writing, imagery, and music continue to impress.
I am glad Neil Newborn is getting the attention. First heard of her in Resident Evil 8 as Heisenberg the brother of Lady Dimitrescu. Maggie Robertson and him did some streams together, both absolutely lovely people. Glad to see them thriving.