Early in our second-most read article of the year, “Four Friends, Two Marriages, One Affair — and a Shelf of Books Dissecting It,” author Chris Heath describes the story as being one of “turmoil, epiphany, evolution, damage, hope, betrayal, rancor, joy.” That’s also a decent characterization of the year that was, which in our corner of the New York universe included more bad boys being exposed, Megalopolis fever, the unsettling encroachment of AI, and the invigorating ubiquity of Brat (the album) and brat (the ethos).
Those immense cultural mood swings are represented in our 20 most-read stories of the year, a list that’s based on the total minutes our visitors spent engaging with those posts. It’s a top 20 that may well change after the seismic simultaneous release of Babyferatunknown in theaters on Christmas Day, but it’s the one we have for the moment, and we’re very proud of it.
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20. The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower
Actor Adam Pearson has his biggest role to date in a dark comedy inspired by his upbeat personality. Read the story.
19. Heidi Gardner Couldn’t Prepare for What She Saw
A sketch about Beavis and Butt-Head made the SNL star break after years of resistance. She’s “still trying to figure out what exactly happened.” Read the story.
18. The Great British Baking Show Needs a New Judge
Paul and Prue are legends, sure, but their tastes have gotten a bit stodgy. Read the story.
17. Creature From the Brat Lagoon
Charli XCX owned the summer with an album that is also a vibe. Should she be sweating the fall? Read the story.
16. Watch the Throne
Kehinde Wiley built an empire out of painting young Black men into art history. Can it survive accusations of sexual assault? Read the story.
15. Why Emma Stone Beat Lily Gladstone for Best Actress
The Poor Things star’s second Oscar was the most unexpected development on a night that mostly went chalk. Read the story.
14. Megalopolis Is a Work of Absolute Madness
There is nothing in Francis Ford Coppola’s perhaps-final testament that feels like something out of a “normal” movie. Read the story.
13. The Last Inappropriate Man on Television
How Andy Cohen survived the ‘Reality Reckoning’ (at least for now). Read the story.
12. We All Owe Lin-Manuel Miranda an Apology
Without him, every song in Moana 2 is as flimsy and disposable as the last. Read the story.
11. Therapy Daddy
Phil Stutz has made a career in Hollywood doing what most psychologists advise against: telling his patients exactly what to do. Read the story.
10. The Zone of Interest’s Final Moments Are a Nazi Workaholic’s Nightmare
What if Rudolf Höss isn’t vomiting out of remorse? What if it’s his own irrelevance dawning on him instead? Read the story.
It’s time for Survivor’s stalwart host to hang up his buff for good. Read the story.
8. The Disappearing Timeline of Rose Hanbury
A timeline of the Marchioness of Cholmondeley’s media coverage shows reports of an alleged affair with Prince William have quietly disappeared. Read the story.
7. Irish Wish Is a Crypto-Fascist, AI-Generated Harbinger of Doom
Netflix’s latest Lindsay Lohan vehicle is cluttered with right-wing dog whistles and ChatGPT-like dialogue. Read the story.
6. The Double Loss of Under the Bridge
Quinn Shephard on the beauty and grief of adapting the Hulu series with the book’s late author, Rebecca Godfrey. Read the story.
5. Glasgow’s Sad Oompa Loompa Isn’t Gonna Sugarcoat This
“I don’t know how else you can put sprinkles on shit, but we were trying to be the sprinkles on shit.” Read the story.
The rap mogul shook off decades of rumored bad behavior with wholesome PR revamps. Read the story.
3. The Man Who Gossiped Too Much
For years, John Nelson anonymously posted blind items on the blog Crazy Days and Nights. Then his identity was revealed. Read the story.
2. Four Friends, Two Marriages, One Affair — and a Shelf of Books Dissecting It
A tale of literature and treachery. Read the story.
1. A Hidden Sexual-Assault Scandal at the New York Philharmonic
Two players were fired for sexual misconduct. Why were they allowed back in the orchestra? Read the story.
