Much of Vulture’s most-read stories list (based on the total minutes visitors spent with our articles) will be familiar to those culture consumers who fought through pandemic fatigue to keep up with the biggest releases and narratives of the year. There’s Succession, White Lotus, and I Think You Should Leave; a surprising John Mulaney twist and another Dave Chappelle controversy; accountability finally coming for Scott Rudin and sort-of-but-not-really for The Bachelor franchise. Then there are the rest of the entries in the top 20, which hearteningly speak to a return of sorts to normalcy: Readers were eager to once again dive down nostalgic rabbit holes, to debate the merits of entertainers and entertainment, and to meet colorful — very literally, in one instance — new characters.
Photo: Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari for New York Magazine
On location with the cast of Succession, the most interestingly terrible billionaires on TV. Read the story➼
⚰️
19. How Coffin Flop’s Coffins Got Flopped
By Anne Victoria Clark
Photo: Netflix
The story behind one of I Think You Should Leave’s funniest moments from season two. Read the story➼
In Conversation
18. In Conversation: Dave Grohl
By Craig Jenkins
Photo: Ari Marcopoulos
He’s the most prolific rock star of the last 30 years. Somehow, we’re still getting to know him. Read the story➼
Books
17. Blurbed to Death
By Lila Shapiro
Illustration: Zohar Lazar
How one of publishing’s most hyped books became its biggest horror story — and still ended up a best seller. Read the story➼
Profile
16. Confessions of a 32-Year-Old Drama Queen
By Rebecca Jennings
Photo: Shaughn & John
No one is keeping up with Trisha Paytas, YouTube’s most frighteningly entertaining star. Read the story➼
Books
15. The Spine Collector
By Reeves Wiedeman
Illustration: by Madison Ketcham
For years, a mysterious figure has been stealing books before their release. Read the story➼
TV Review
14. Them Is Pure Degradation Porn
By Angelica Jade Bastién
Photo: Anne Marie Fox/Amazon
The Little Marvin–created, Lena Waithe–produced series reveals the empty promise of representation in Hollywood. Read the story➼
Comedy Review
13. Dave Chappelle’s Endless Feedback Loop
By Craig Jenkins
Photo: Mathieu Bitton
The Closer proves the comedian is right about one thing: It’s time for a break. Read the story➼
The Art of Ending Things
12. No, They Weren’t Dead the Whole Time
By Jen Chaney
Photo-Illustration: by Vulture; Photo by Mario Perez/ABC
An oral history of Lost’s daring, divisive finale. Read the story➼
Stand-Up
11. Who Should John Mulaney Be Now?
By Jesse David Fox
Illustration: André Carrilho
A recap of John Mulaney’s first post-rehab stand-up comedy show. Read the story➼
Ooh It's Them!
10. The 32 Greatest Character Actors Working Today
By Vulture Staff
Photo-Illustration: by Vulture; Photos by Shutterstock, HBO, 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Netflix, Newmarket Films, A24, New Line Cinema, FX, Sony Pictures Releasing, Paramount Pictures, Gramercy Pictures, Sony Pictures Television and Focus Features
We asked critics and Hollywood creators: Which supporting players make everything better? Read the story➼
The Art of Ending Things
9. The 101 Greatest Endings in Movies History
By Vulture Staff
Illustration: by James Clapham
Good finales offer catharsis. The best deny us closure altogether. Here’s our ranking. Read the story➼
A Long Talk
8. Mike White Accepts the Criticism
By Kathryn VanArendonk
Photo: TODD MIDLER/The New York Times/Redux
The White Lotus creator understands if you feel conflicted about that ending. So does he. Read the story➼
Vulture Lists
7. The 50 Greatest Western Movies Ever Made
By Keith Phipps
Photo-Illustration: Maya Robinson/Vulture and Photos Courtesy of Studios and Getty Images
A hard look at one of cinema’s oldest genres. Read the story➼
Celebrity
6. The End of Kimye’s Wild Ride
By Allison P. Davis
Photo-Illustration: Kanye/youtube
She thought he was an artistic genius. He wanted to “dip her ass in gold.” And now it’s over. Read the story➼
By submitting your email, you agree to our
Terms and Privacy Notice
and to receive email correspondence from us. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
or
Already a subscriber?
What is your email?
This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us.
Password must be at least 8 characters and contain:
Lower case letters (a-z)
Upper case letters (A-Z)
Numbers (0-9)
Special Characters (!@#$%^&*)
This password will be used to sign into all New York sites. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us.
You’re in!
As part of your account, you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime.
or
Already a subscriber?
What is your email?
This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us.
Password must be at least 8 characters and contain:
Lower case letters (a-z)
Upper case letters (A-Z)
Numbers (0-9)
Special Characters (!@#$%^&*)
This password will be used to sign into all New York sites. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us.
You’re in!
As part of your account, you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime.
Already a subscriber?
Already a subscriber?
There was an error processing the request. Please try again later."}).catch(e=>console.error("Error verifying email: ",e)))(r.querySelector(".content"),o.bannerCTAVerification)})):(l.remove(),s.remove()),o.dismissable||n.remove(),o.useAlertIcon||a.remove(),r.classList.add("show"),n.addEventListener("click",()=>{u(),r.classList.remove("show")})}else r.remove()}});
}, {"1":1,"6":6,"19":19,"39":39,"45":45}];
window.modules["global-nav.client"] = [function(require,module,exports){"use strict";const dom=require(4),auth=require(19),signInButton=dom.find(".user-signin"),signOutButton=dom.find(".user-signout"),globalNav=dom.find('[class^="global-nav"]'),body=dom.find("body"),dropdownItems=dom.findAll(".dropdown-wrap"),gtm=require(1),appendLandingPageParams=require(144),pageUri=require(134).getPageUri(),subscriptionPromoLinks=dom.findAll(".persist-params"),searchString=window.location.search||"";function closeDropdowns(e){let n=globalNav.querySelectorAll(".dropdown.open");dropdownItems.forEach(function(t){let i=t.querySelector(".dropdown");!n||t.contains(e.target)&&27!==e.keyCode||i.classList.remove("open")})}function gtmSendReport(e,n,t){let i={eventCategory:"ecommerce",eventAction:"componentClick",brand:e,dimension23:"global-nav",list:pageUri,pageZone:"header",variant:"nav-link"};"global-nav-link"===t&&(i.eventLabel=n.href),gtm.reportNow(i)}function updateElementTargetUrlsIfQueryStrings(e){if(searchString){const n=new URLSearchParams(searchString);let t=e.href;if(t.includes("?")){const i=t.split("?"),o=new URLSearchParams(i[1]);for(let e of n.entries())o.set(e[0],e[1]);t=`${i[0]}?${o.toString()}`,e.href=t}else e.href=`${t}?${n.toString()}`}}function init(e){const n=e.querySelectorAll(".to-landing-page");window.addEventListener("auth:init",()=>{signInButton.addEventListener("click",function(e){e.preventDefault(),auth.showEmbeddedLoginFlow("top navigation")}),signOutButton.addEventListener("click",function(e){e.preventDefault(),gtmSendReport("Sign Out",e.target,"user-info-link"),auth.logout()}),auth.isAuthenticated()&&e.classList.add("signed-in"),auth.isSubscriber()&&e.classList.add("subscribed"),auth.isMobileAppRequest()&&e.classList.add("nymag-app"),e.querySelectorAll(".user-link").forEach(e=>{e.classList.add("active")}),subscriptionPromoLinks.forEach(e=>{updateElementTargetUrlsIfQueryStrings(e)}),appendLandingPageParams(n)})}dropdownItems.forEach(function(e){e.addEventListener("click",function(){e.querySelector(".dropdown").classList.toggle("open")})}),body.addEventListener("click",closeDropdowns),document.addEventListener("keydown",closeDropdowns),globalNav.addEventListener("click",function(e){let n=e.target;n.classList.contains("global-nav-track")&>mSendReport(n.text,n,"global-nav-link")}),module.exports=init;
}, {"1":1,"4":4,"19":19,"134":134,"144":144}];
window.modules["aaa-module-mounting.legacy"] = [function(require,module,exports){"use strict";const _pickBy=require(231),_each=require(419),Fingerprint2=require(418),DS=require(417),Eventify=require(257);function registerGlobals(){window.DS=DS,window.Eventify=Eventify,window.Fingerprint2=Fingerprint2,DS.value("Eventify",Eventify),DS.value("Fingerprint2",Fingerprint2),DS.value("$document",window.document),DS.value("$window",window)}function mountDollarSliceComponents(){DS.service("components",["$document","$module",function(e,n){var o=_pickBy(n.definitions,e=>e.providerStrategy===n.providers.controller),r=Object.keys(o);function t(e){return o=>{try{n.get(e,o)}catch(e){logMountError(o,e)}}}_each(r,n=>{var o=e.querySelectorAll('[data-uri*="/_components/'+n+'/"]'),r=e.querySelectorAll('[data-uri$="/_components/'+n+'"]');_each(o,t(n)),_each(r,t(n))}),this.components=r}]),DS.get("components")}function logMountError(e,n){const o=e.outerHTML.slice(0,e.outerHTML.indexOf(e.innerHTML));console.error("Error attaching controller to "+o,n)}registerGlobals(),"loading"===document.readyState?document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",()=>{mountDollarSliceComponents()}):mountDollarSliceComponents();
}, {"231":231,"257":257,"417":417,"418":418,"419":419}];
window.modules["ads.legacy"] = [function(require,module,exports){"use strict";const _map=require(128),_forEach=require(117),_isString=require(279),_intersectionWith=require(420),_isEqual=require(285),_each=require(419),_debounce=require(161),_sortBy=require(215),page=require(134),visit=require(124);DS.service("adService",["Eventify","$cid","$document","$window",function(e,t,a,i){var o,n,s,r,d,c,u,l,g={},p=this,h=[],f=visit.getQueryParamsObject(["utm_campaign"]),m=document.querySelector('script[data-type="ad-a9"]'),b=[],w=!1,v=[],y=document.querySelector('script[data-name="ad-doubleverify"]');document.querySelector('script[data-name="concert-ads"]')||(i.NYM={},i.NYM.analytics={},i.NYM.analytics.adStartTime=i.performance.now(),i.googletag=i.googletag||{},i.googletag.cmd=i.googletag.cmd||[],u=i.googletag,(m||y)&&(i.googletag.cmd=i.googletag.cmd||[],i.googletag.cmd.push(function(){i.googletag.pubads().disableInitialLoad()})),m&&(l=i.setInterval(function(){void 0!==window.apstag&&void 0!==window.apstag.timeout&&(i.clearInterval(l),window.apstag.cleared=!0,l=null)},10),setTimeout(function(){l&&(i.clearInterval(l),i.googletag.pubads().refresh(),window.apstag||console.log("MESSAGE: Timeout for A9 load exceeded, aborting"))},500)),y&&(b.push(new Promise(function(e){w?e():v.push(e)})),c=i.setTimeout(T,2500)),o=function(e){var t,a,o=e.data,n=[];return o.loaded?e:(o.loaded=!0,t=null,(t=o.sizes?u.defineSlot(o.name,o.sizes,o.id).addService(u.pubads()):u.defineOutOfPageSlot(o.name,o.id).addService(u.pubads())).setTargeting("adid",o.id),f.hasOwnProperty("utm_campaign")&&t.setTargeting("utmcamp",f.utm_campaign),a=p.getAdCount(o.label),t.setTargeting("label",o.label+"_"+o.site+"-"+a),u.display(o.id),u.pubads().addEventListener("slotOnload",function(){i.NYM.analytics.firstAdLoadTime||(i.NYM.analytics.firstAdLoadTime=i.performance.now(),i.NYM.analytics.firstAdLoadLabel=e.data.label)}),n=_(o),Promise.all(b).then(function(){n?window.apstag&&window.apstag.cleared?window.apstag.fetchBids({slots:[n],timeout:window.apstag.timeout},function(){u.cmd.push(function(){window.apstag.setDisplayBids(),u.pubads().refresh([t],{changeCorrelator:!1})})}):y&&u.pubads().refresh([t],{changeCorrelator:!1}):u.pubads().refresh([t],{changeCorrelator:!1})}),e.slot=t,e)},n=function(e){var a,i,o,n=t(),s=e.getAttribute("data-name"),r=e.getAttribute("data-sizes"),d=e.getAttribute("data-label"),c=e.getAttribute("data-site");n=e.id,r&&r.length?(r=r.split(","),a=[],_map(r,function(e){e=e.split("x"),i=parseInt(e[0]),o=parseInt(e[1]),a.push([i,o])})):(e.classList.add("oop"),a=!1),this.data={id:n,name:s,sizes:a,loaded:!1,label:d,site:c},g[n]=this},r=function(e){u.cmd.push(function(){var t=o(e);g[e.data.id]=t})},s=function(e){var t=[];e.slot?(t=_(e))&&window.apstag&&window.apstag.cleared&&window.apstag.fetchBids({slots:[t],timeout:window.apstag.timeout},function(){u.cmd.push(function(){window.apstag.setDisplayBids(),u.pubads().refresh([e.slot],{changeCorrelator:!1})})}):e&&r(e)},u.cmd.push(function(){var e,t,o,n=page.getMeta("article:tag"),s=page.getMeta("author"),r=i.location.href,d=(e=a.head.querySelector(".head-gtm"),t=a.body.querySelector(".gtm"),e&&"top"===e.getAttribute("data-gtm")?"gtmtop":t&&"bottom"===t.getAttribute("data-gtm")?"gtmbottom":"");o=[],_forEach([n,s,d],function(e){_forEach(e.split(","),function(e){(e=e.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s/g,"-").replace(/\'|\’/g,"")).length&&o.push(e)})}),u.pubads().setTargeting("kw",o),u.pubads().setTargeting("entry_group",o),r=r.slice(r.lastIndexOf("/")+1),u.pubads().setTargeting("pn",r),u.companionAds().setRefreshUnfilledSlots(!0),u.pubads().enableAsyncRendering(),u.enableServices()}),this.load=r,this.create=function(e){return new n(e)},this.refresh=function(e){var t;_isString(e)?(t=this.getById(e),s(t)):s(e)},this.remove=function(e){var t=e.data.id;a.getElementById(t).innerHTML=""},this.getAdCount=function(e){var t,a=0,i=Object.keys(g);return _each(i,function(i){(t=g[i]).data.loaded&&t.data.label===e&&a++}),a},this.getById=function(e){return g[e]},d=_debounce(function(){var e={TopLeaderboard:1,RightColTopMPU:2,outOfPage:99,"homepageTakeover/TopLeaderboard":1},t=_sortBy(h,function(t){return e[t.data.label]||10});_forEach(t,function(e){return e.data.sizes?r(e):i.setTimeout(function(){r(e)},2e3)}),y&&window.PQ.cmd.push(()=>{try{window.PQ.loadSignals(["ids","bsc","vlp"],T)}catch(e){T(),console.error(`There has been an error loading Double Verify signals: ${e}`)}}),h=[]},10),this.addToPageLoadQueue=function(e){h.push(e),d()});function _(e){var t,a=e.sizes;return a=_intersectionWith(a,[[970,250],[970,90],[728,90],[300,600],[300,250],[320,100],[320,50]],_isEqual),e.sizes&&e.sizes.length&&(t={slotID:e.id,sizes:a,slotName:e.label}),t}function T(){i.clearTimeout(c),w=!0,_forEach(v,function(e){e()})}}]);
}, {"117":117,"124":124,"128":128,"134":134,"161":161,"215":215,"279":279,"285":285,"419":419,"420":420}];
window.modules["cid.legacy"] = [function(require,module,exports){"use strict";DS.service("$cid",function(){var r=Math.floor(100*Math.random());return function(){return"cid-"+ ++r}});
}, {}];
window.modules["client.legacy"] = [function(require,module,exports){"use strict";require("cid.legacy"),require("ads.legacy"),require("aaa-module-mounting.legacy");
}, {"cid.legacy":"cid.legacy","aaa-module-mounting.legacy":"aaa-module-mounting.legacy","ads.legacy":"ads.legacy"}];
require=(function e(t,n,r){function s(o,u){if(!n[o]){if(!t[o]){var a=typeof require=="function"&&require;if(!u&&a)return a(o,!0);if(i)return i(o,!0);var f=new Error("Cannot find module '"+o+"'");throw f.code="MODULE_NOT_FOUND",f}var l=n[o]={exports:{}};t[o][0].call(l.exports,function(e){var n=t[o][1][e];return s(n?n:e)},l,l.exports,e,t,n,r)}return n[o].exports}var i=typeof require=="function"&&require;for(var o=0;o typeof key === 'string' && key.match(/\.legacy$/)).forEach(key => window.require(key));
}
function tryToMount(fn, el, name) {
try {
fn(el); // init the controller
} catch (e) {
const elementTag = el.outerHTML.slice(0, el.outerHTML.indexOf(el.innerHTML));
console.error(`Error initializing controller for "${name}" on "${elementTag}"`, e);
}
}
/**
* mount client.js component controllers
*/
function mountComponentModules() {
Object.keys(window.modules).filter(key => typeof key === 'string' && key.match(/\.client$/)).forEach(key => {
let controllerFn = window.require(key);
if (typeof controllerFn === 'function') {
const name = key.replace('.client', ''),
instancesSelector = `[data-uri*="_components/${name}/"]`,
defaultSelector = `[data-uri$="_components${name}"]`,
instances = document.querySelectorAll(instancesSelector),
defaults = document.querySelectorAll(defaultSelector);
for (let el of instances) {
tryToMount(controllerFn, el, name);
}
for (let el of defaults) {
tryToMount(controllerFn, el, name);
}
}
});
}
// Make sure that a `window.process.env.NODE_ENV` is available in the client for any dependencies,
// services, or components that could require it
// note: the `` value is swapped for the actual environment variable in /lib/cmd/compile/scripts.js
window.process = window.process || {};
window.process.env = window.process.env || {};
if (!window.process.env.NODE_ENV) {
window.process.env.NODE_ENV = '';
}
// note: legacy controllers that require legacy services (e.g. dollar-slice) must
// wait for DOMContentLoaded to initialize themselves, as the files themselves must be mounted first
mountLegacyServices();
mountComponentModules();
// ]]
