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close read

Watching Straight Men Watch Heated Rivalry

The romance phenomenon has captivated the dudes and bros. By Kathryn VanArendonk

who needs dragons?

Dance, Dunk, Dance!

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms throws a Westeros celebration that doesn’t end in murder, and it is a joyous relief. By Roxana Hadadi

theater review

‘An Ark’ at the Shed Is All Headsets, No Heartbeat

Mixed reality yields full banality. Plus: Better ideas at the January theater festivals. By Sara Holdren

overnights

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Series-Premiere Recap: Big Ser

The latest Game of Thrones spin-off follows a lovable loser who introduces us to a different side of Westeros. By Noel Murray

The Feed

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News-feed

obits 1:13 p.m.

Fashion Designer Valentino Garavani Dies at 93 The “Last Emperor” of fashion died in Rome, surrounded by family.
vulture 10x10 5:00 a.m.

The Westeros Puzzle 8-Down, Four Letters: How Silk Sonic wants you to leave the door
vulture games 5:00 a.m.

Telematrix No. 95: January 19, 2026 Can you name a Jesse Plemons or Hayden Panettiere TV show that begins with A-H?
vulture games 5:00 a.m.

Cinematrix No. 664: January 19, 2026 Can you name a Ben Affleck movie with double letters in the title?
vulture politics 1/18/2026

CBS News Finally Airs 60 Minutes Story on CECOT The segment had previously been pulled — three hours before it was supposed to air — for “additional reporting.”
obits 1/18/2026

Roger Allers, Co-Director of The Lion King, Dead at 76 Allers’ work is all over what then-CEO Michael Eisner called “the Disney Decade.”
boss vs. ice 1/18/2026

Bruce Springsteen Dedicates Performance of ‘The Promised Land’ to Renee Good While slamming ICE’s “Gestapo tactics.”
long strange trip 1/18/2026

Watch John Mayer’s Eulogy for Bob Weir Mayer spoke in front of thousands gathered for Weir’s San Francisco memorial.
last night on late night 1/18/2026

Conformity Gate Is Real, But Only on SNL All the Stranger Things spinoffs, prequels, and midquels devised by Saturday Night Live.
vulture games 1/18/2026

Cinematrix No. 663: January 18, 2026 Can you name a Billy Bob Thornton movie released between 1990 and 2010?
rip 1/17/2026

Kianna Underwood, Former Child Star, Killed in Hit and Run Incident No arrests have been made yet.
pics or it didn't happen 1/17/2026

Ben Affleck Once Again Dragged Into Utah Reality TV Drama A reporter asked Affleck if he remembers meeting Lisa Barlow.
rainbow capitalism 1/17/2026

Heated Rivalry François Arnaud Hopes for ‘Actual Openness to Diversity’ in NHL “If you’re gonna use our name, back it up with real-life sh*t.”
vulture games 1/17/2026

Cinematrix No. 662: January 17, 2026 Can you name a Margaret Qualley or Maya Hawke movie with a one or two-word title?

More News

Recaps-feed

overnights 1/18/2026

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Series-Premiere Recap: Big Ser The latest Game of Thrones spin-off follows a lovable loser who introduces us to a different side of Westeros.
overnights 1/18/2026

Industry Recap: A Christmas Carol Yasmin struggles to fulfill her function as Henry’s wife in a Dickensian nightmare of a stand-alone episode.
overnights 1/18/2026

All Creatures Great and Small Recap: Tricki Woo Lives The heartwarming return of the true star of the series: Tricki Woo.
overnights 1/18/2026

SNL Recap: Finn Wolfhard Gets By With a Little Help From His Friends Finn Wolfhard trades the Upside Down for 30 Rock to ring in the post-Bowen Yang era.
overnights 1/18/2026

Landman Season-Finale Recap: Diminished Capacity After weeks of wheel-spinning, Landman ends its second season by leaning into Tommy’s questionable new partnership with a murderer.
overnights 1/16/2026

RuPaul’s Drag Race Recap: Sketch Me Like One of Your Drag Queens The RDR Live scripts are so awful that it’s impossible to tell how the queens actually perform in the challenge. It’s brutal to watch.
overnights 1/15/2026

The Traitors Recap: Ding-dong Things get so ugly at the roundtable that not even the Traitors feel good about the chaos in the castle.
overnights 1/15/2026

The Pitt Recap: Gut Instincts The simmering power struggle between Robby and Al-Hashimi continues as the staff handles a couple of gory cases.
overnights 1/15/2026

The Traitors Recap: Last Laugh Even with the Housewives’ alliance being tested, it’s the Faithfuls who are their own worst enemies.
overnights 1/15/2026

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Recap: Assistant Tea Sutton is finally in a good place with the ladies, but she’s letting a rogue assistant ruin her Zen.
overnights 1/15/2026

Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials Finale Recap: In Which Points Are Made Bundle loses her friends but gains a seat at the table.
overnights 1/15/2026

Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials Recap: Battle Commences As the action moves to Wyvern Abbey, the episode yields even more productive tension between comedy and international politics.
overnights 1/15/2026

Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials Series-Premiere Recap: Not So Lucky Number 7 After a surprising loss is classified as death by misadventure, Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent is the only person who refuses to accept the idea.
overnights 1/14/2026

Southern Charm Recap: Craig’s Just Not That Into You Salley finally sees that Craig has no interest in dating her, sending ripple effects throughout the friend group

More Recaps

Criticism-feed

close read 12:30 p.m.

Watching Straight Men Watch Heated Rivalry The romance phenomenon has captivated the dudes and bros.
who needs dragons? 8:00 a.m.

Dance, Dunk, Dance! A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms throws a Westeros celebration that doesn’t end in murder, and it is a joyous relief.
theater review 12:32 a.m.

The Disappear Vanishes Up Its Own Navel In Erica Schmidt’s drama, the characters are meant to be self-absorbed but also visionary artists. They’re good at the first part.
theater review 1/18/2026

‘An Ark’ at the Shed Is All Headsets, No Heartbeat Mixed reality yields full banality. Plus: Better ideas at the January theater festivals.
666 1/17/2026

The Bone Temple May Be the Best Thing Ralph Fiennes Has Ever Done In his hands, the 28 Years Later sequel becomes funny and moving as it grapples with misery.
pointing fingers 1/16/2026

The Traitors Is Playing Its Villain Game Perfectly Colton and Michael’s thrilling display of bad versus worse makes for great television.
movie review 1/15/2026

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Is Glorious Just as crazy and moving as the prior film but with an even stronger vision of human cruelty, this one takes the zombie series in new directions.
tv review 1/15/2026

More Like Game of Bros A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms reclaims Westeros for the everyman.
tv review 1/14/2026

Ponies Is for the Besties Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson’s chemistry makes the incoherent spy drama series worth the ride.
close read 1/14/2026

Fallout Lets the Boys Fight With this week’s thrilling showdown between Walton Goggins and Justin Theroux, season two finally feels like it’s getting somewhere.
close read 1/13/2026

Zach Bryan Doesn’t Need to Play It So Safe “Bad News” could’ve made a strong statement about this administration. Instead, it’s a cop-out.
book review 1/13/2026

Promising Young Women Buzzy author Madeline Cash shows great potential in this morbidly funny debut novel.
movie review 1/9/2026

Chimp Mad. Kids Dead. The surprisingly cruel Primate offers a simple premise, and unnerving execution.
tv review 1/9/2026

A Thousand Blows Lands Its Punches And will tide you over until the Peaky Blinders movie arrives in March.

More Criticism

More News More News More News

Interview

Kal Penn Was Ready to Get Naked for Industry By Roxana Hadadi

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (S1/E1)

Big Ser The latest Game of Thrones spin-off follows a lovable loser who introduces us to a different side of Westeros.
Industry (S4/E2)

A Christmas Carol Yasmin struggles to fulfill her function as Henry’s wife in a Dickensian nightmare of a stand-alone episode.
All Creatures Great and Small (S6/E2)

Tricki Woo Lives The heartwarming return of the true star of the series: Tricki Woo.
Saturday Night Live (S51/E10)

Finn Wolfhard Gets By With a Little Help From His Friends Finn Wolfhard trades the Upside Down for 30 Rock to ring in the post-Bowen Yang era.
Landman (S2/E10)

Diminished Capacity After weeks of wheel-spinning, Landman ends its second season by leaning into Tommy’s questionable new partnership with a murderer.
RuPaul’s Drag Race (S18/E3)

Sketch Me Like One of Your Drag Queens The RDR Live scripts are so awful that it’s impossible to tell how the queens actually perform in the challenge. It’s brutal to watch.
The Traitors (S4/E5)

Ding-dong Things get so ugly at the roundtable that not even the Traitors feel good about the chaos in the castle.
The Pitt (S2/E2)

Gut Instincts The simmering power struggle between Robby and Al-Hashimi continues as the staff handles a couple of gory cases.
The Traitors (S4/E4)

Last Laugh Even with the Housewives’ alliance being tested, it’s the Faithfuls who are their own worst enemies.
More Recaps

Streamliner

now streaming The 9 Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Weekend Tune into some guys being dudes. By Savannah Salazar
the industry Ted Sarandos Says He Wants Movies in Theaters, Actually “With 45-day windows,” the Netflix CEO said. By Eric Vilas-Boas
the industry Paramount Is Suing Warner Bros. Over the Netflix Deal David Ellison’s hostile-takeover attempt just heated up. By Eric Vilas-Boas
now streaming The 12 Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Weekend Dr. Robby, we missed you! By Savannah Salazar

See More Streaming

Vulture Lists

More Vulture Lists

Features

overnights Industry Recap: A Christmas Carol Yasmin struggles to fulfill her function as Henry’s wife in a Dickensian nightmare of a stand-alone episode. By Amanda Whiting
oscar futures The Race for Best Picture Is Up in the Air It’s pencils-down time for Oscar season, and spots in the biggest category are up for grabs. By Nate Jones
“moon” Why the Massively Hung Zombie Wears Clothes in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple The nudity (or lack thereof) of the “alpha” reflects his surprisingly moving arc throughout the new movie. By Louis Peitzman

Movies

obits

Roger Allers, Co-Director of The Lion King, Dead at 76

Allers’ work is all over what then-CEO Michael Eisner called “the Disney Decade.” By Bethy Squires

666 The Bone Temple May Be the Best Thing Ralph Fiennes Has Ever Done In his hands, the 28 Years Later sequel becomes funny and moving as it grapples with misery. By Alison Willmore
“moon” Why the Massively Hung Zombie Wears Clothes in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple The nudity (or lack thereof) of the “alpha” reflects his surprisingly moving arc throughout the new movie. By Louis Peitzman
now streaming The 9 Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Weekend Tune into some guys being dudes. By Savannah Salazar

the industry Ted Sarandos Says He Wants Movies in Theaters, Actually “With 45-day windows,” the Netflix CEO said. By Eric Vilas-Boas
building hype James Cameron Wants to Bring Michelle Yeoh to Pandora He hopes she can star in the fourth Avatar film, if there is one. By Alejandra Gularte
spoilers The Bone Temple’s Big Ending Reveal Isn’t a Surprise, But It Is a Delight That cliffhanger was spoiled months ago, but that doesn’t make it any less satisfying to experience. By Louis Peitzman
unsolved mysteries Teyana Taylor Recants Leonardo DiCaprio Mystery Mouthing Reveal “Who else are you chewing your invisible gum with?” By Jason P. Frank
movie review 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Is Glorious Just as crazy and moving as the prior film but with an even stronger vision of human cruelty, this one takes the zombie series in new directions. By Bilge Ebiri

Movies

TV

vulture politics

CBS News Finally Airs 60 Minutes Story on CECOT

The segment had previously been pulled — three hours before it was supposed to air — for “additional reporting.”

last night on late night Conformity Gate Is Real, But Only on SNL All the Stranger Things spinoffs, prequels, and midquels devised by Saturday Night Live. By Bethy Squires
pics or it didn’t happen Ben Affleck Once Again Dragged Into Utah Reality TV Drama A reporter asked Affleck if he remembers meeting Lisa Barlow. By Alejandra Gularte
rainbow capitalism Heated Rivalry François Arnaud Hopes for ‘Actual Openness to Diversity’ in NHL “If you’re gonna use our name, back it up with real-life sh*t.” By Alejandra Gularte
cancel culture A Canceled Celebrity Rehab Reality Show? Oh, Boy No criminals allowed. By Alejandra Gularte

a long talk
Joe Keery Used His Stranger Things Money to Defy the Music Industry He’s saying good-bye to the show that made him famous with the No. 1 song in the world. By Devon Ivie

cast away A Few More Stars Just Booked a Trip to The White Lotus British comedian Steve Coogan is headed to France. By Alejandra Gularte
skyscraperrrrrrr Netflix Is Taking Its Live Events to Extreme Heights Alex Honnold is climbing one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers live on January 23. By Alejandra Gularte
pointing fingers The Traitors Is Playing Its Villain Game Perfectly Colton and Michael’s thrilling display of bad versus worse makes for great television. By Joe Reid
this week in late night Ben Affleck Entering Flow State Won Late Night This Week Plus Kristen Wiig catching up with old friend Seth Meyers and Marcello Hernández’s tight five on The Tonight Show. By Bethy Squires

Music

boss vs. ice

Bruce Springsteen Dedicates Performance of ‘The Promised Land’ to Renee Good

While slamming ICE’s “Gestapo tactics.” By Bethy Squires

long strange trip Watch John Mayer’s Eulogy for Bob Weir Mayer spoke in front of thousands gathered for Weir’s San Francisco memorial. By Bethy Squires
here we go again A$AP Rocky Says We ‘All Know’ Who His Diss Track Is About His new song, “Stole Ya Flow,” hints at Drake. By Alejandra Gularte
new music fri-yay Something Is About to Happen to Mitski (It’s an Album Release) Her new song and music video, “Where’s My Phone?,” is out now ahead of the full record. By Jason P. Frank

joke jokes Ha-Ha-Harry Styles Has a Jokey New Album Title Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. is coming this March. By Jason P. Frank
profile Audrey Hobert Says She Scripted It All The rising pop star, known for her shrewd lyrics, is a screenwriter at heart. She’s already drafting her next chapter. By Carrie Battan
going analog Bandcamp Bans AI-Generated Music Begone, bot! By Bethy Squires
final bows Trevor Noah Is Closing Out His Grammys Run He’s hosting the show for the sixth and last time. By Alejandra Gularte
all aboard Which ‘Phenomenal Actor’ Is Batty Enough to Play Ozzy? The Osbourne family has cast their patriarch for what should be a very tame and normal biopic. By Devon Ivie

Music

Comedy

the promo

Charli XCX Watched Every Movie. Now You Watch Hers.

Every film ever has been leading up to The Moment. By Jason P. Frank

snl Mike Myers Sought Expert Help for His Elon Musk Impression “I found myself doing a goofy South African Bond villain to Dr. Evil,” James Austin Johnson remembers. By Jesse David Fox
jokes The 2026 Awards Season in Opening Monologues Nikki Glaser and Chelsea Handler were both asked to return as hosts this year. Their Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards monologues showed why. By Hershal Pandya
i’m everywhere i’m so ilya Connor Storrie Is Ready to Do Bits The Heated Rivalry star is using his promo work to reveal a very un-Ilya sense of humor. By Jason P. Frank

the great bits Laurie Kilmartin Gets Away With It Her 2017 Conan set shows what truly edgy comedy looks like. By John Roy
gotcha! Wanda Sykes Uses Ricky Gervais’s Absence to Thank the Trans Community Gervais won a Golden Globe but didn’t show up to give a speech. By Jason P. Frank
nikki b. jerkin Nikki Glaser Gets Celebs to Laugh at Themselves The comedian returned to host for the second year in the row and even got Leonardo DiCaprio cracking up. By Fran Hoepfner
this week in late night A Duet of Heated Rivalry Bits Won Late Night This Week Plus John Oliver’s RHOSLC obsession and Tracy Letts getting nostalgic with Stephen Colbert. By Bethy Squires
first person ‘Are We Participating in a Thing That Is Not Even Working?’ Chris Gethard on the end of the middle-class comedy job. By Chris Gethard

Comedy

Theater

theater review

The Disappear Vanishes Up Its Own Navel

In Erica Schmidt’s drama, the characters are meant to be self-absorbed but also visionary artists. They’re good at the first part. By Sara Holdren

move on Look, Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey Are Making a Hat The Wicked co-stars will play George and Dot in the West End revival of Sunday in the Park With George. By Jason P. Frank
hello 12 hello 13 Just How Long Could an Adrien Brody Tonys Speech Be? He’s making his Broadway debut in The Fear of 13 alongside Tessa Thompson. By Jason P. Frank
another one Washington National Opera Is Leaving the Kennedy Center Just the latest group fleeing the (sigh) Trump-Kennedy Center. By Bethy Squires
theater review 30 Years Later, Is Bug Still Catching? The new production of Tracy Letts’s 1996 play, with Carrie Coon and Namir Smallwood, is muted where it needs to make us squirm. By Sara Holdren

one night in boston
Heated Rivalry Is Chess What’s hockey if not literally a cold war? By Rebecca Alter

leaving for good Stephen Schwartz Won’t ‘Set Foot’ in the Trump-Kennedy Center The Wicked composer is leaving, for good. By Bethy Squires
politics Kennedy Center President Asked for $1 Million in Damages After Musician Canceled Chuck Redd canceled his Christmas Eve performance at the last minute due to the Trump name change. By Alejandra Gularte
merry christmas! Does The Nutcracker Usually Have Tony Hawk? Hey, it makes as much sense as Mother Ginger. By Bethy Squires
the law Playwrights Horizons Sued Over BIPOC Night Discount Ed Blum, the lawyer who led a Supreme Court case against affirmative action, is taking on New York theater discounts. By Jason P. Frank

Theater

Books

author’s note Colleen Hoover Insists Her New Book Isn’t About Herself Woman Down follows a “frustrated author” facing “viral backlash over her latest film adaptation.” By Jennifer Zhan
announcements Book Gossip Is Going Biweekly New York’s newsletter about what the literati are really thinking is entering a new chapter. By Jasmine Vojdani
book review Promising Young Women Buzzy author Madeline Cash shows great potential in this morbidly funny debut novel. By Niela Orr
score! There’s a New Heated Rivalry Book on the Way Unrivaled has a cover, a synopsis, and a 2026 release date. By Alejandra Gularte
must reads 8 New Books You Should Read This January A Faustian tale from Knausgaard, a debut novel from Forever Magazine’s Madeline Cash, and a memoir about homeschooling in Texas. By Emma Alpern and Jasmine Vojdani

Books

Art

2026 preview 10 Art Shows We Can’t Wait to See in 2026 Will the New Museum actually reopen? By Jerry Saltz
art review The Crazed Cataclysms of Nicole Eisenman Her paintings at David Zwirner are delirious indictments of politics, art, and money. By Jerry Saltz
furniture Bianca Censori Made Some Medical Sex-Dungeon Furniture The designer and wife of Kanye West says it’s about “collapsing the distinction between object, body, and idol.” By Clio Chang
reasons to love new york How the Painter Sasha Gordon Marshaled Her Monsters “People assume I’m a bitchy, confident artist when I’m actually really afraid of everything.” By Adam Moss
rip Frank Gehry, World-Famous Postmodern Architect, Dead at 96 Gehry is one of only two architects to guest star on The Simpsons. By Bethy Squires