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Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.

One of the bummer parts of any awards season is how it leads to a narrowing down of what movies are getting talked about and subsequently remembered from any given year. There are always way more than five or 10 titles from any given year that deserve the spotlight.

Which is why it was so exciting this week when Envelope editor Matt Brennan chose Mona Fastvold’s “The Testament of Ann Lee” and Angus MacLachlan’s “A Little Prayer” as his favorite movies of the year. “A Little Prayer” first premiered at Sundance in 2023, but didn’t get a theatrical release until this past summer. The delicate jewel of a film features warm, tender performances by David Strathairn and Jane Levy as a man and his daughter-in-law both reconciling themselves to the fallout of problems in her marriage. The movie is available now on digital platforms and is well worth seeking out.

David Straithairn and Jane Levy in the movie “A Little Prayer.”

(Music Box Films)

And we talked about “Ann Lee” here last week and will likely have more to say about it as awards season moves on. Matt’s list also included films such as “Sinners,” “One Battle After Another,” “Sentimental Value” and “Sirāt” along with “Sorry, Baby,” “Nouvelle Vague,” “Hedda,” and “The Alabama Solution.”

Meanwhile, with 2026 so fresh and new, it’s almost sacrilegious to start thinking about a future best-of-year list. But we’ve got one anyway: Here are the 14 movies we’re most excited to see in 2026. Christopher Nolan, Greta Gerwig, Steven Spielberg doing aliens again — at least on paper, there’s a lot of promise here.

4K premiere of Friedkin’s ‘Sorcerer’

An image from William Friedkin’s 1977 movie “Sorcerer.”

(Criterion Collection)

On Friday night, the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre will host the West Coast premiere of a new 4K restoration of William Friedkin’s 1977 thriller “Sorcerer” scanned from the original camera negative.

The film was a notorious flop when first released, in part because it had the misfortune of opening a week after the first “Star Wars.” An adaptation of the same novel that spawned Henri-George Clouzot’s 1953 adventure “Wages of Fear,” “Sorcerer” follows four desperate men tasked with transporting a truckload of volatile nitroglycerine through a South American jungle.

Friedkin, who died in 2023, spoke to The Times’ Kenneth Turan in 2013 before receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Venice Film Festival. The only movie shown as part of the tribute was “Sorcerer.” As Friedkin said at the time, “Every one of the films that I made, even the ones that haven’t worked, are films that I had to envision, that I had to see in my mind’s eye. And ‘Sorcerer’ is the film that came closest to my vision of what I wanted to make.”

In a January 1977 interview conducted when he had just completed filming, star Roy Scheider said that working with Friedkin “was not always to my liking as an actor. He is organized and meticulous but difficult, opiniated and tough. He can even be cruel at times. When Friedkin works on a film, nothing gets in his way, including the actors.”

Roy Scheider in the movie “Sorcerer.”

(Criterion Collection)

The film’s initial reception is perhaps well summarized by Charles Champlin’s originalLos Angeles Times review, in which he writes, “William Friedkin’s ‘Sorcerer’ is one of those movies that must make executives, no less than critics, shake their heads in stunned glum wonder. What the hell went wrong?

“A first-rate and proven piece of material. Executed with loving and meticulous care on a damn-the-cost basis by a prize-winning director with two large commercial successes behind him. But it all ends up a swollen, leaden and almost totally uninvolving disappointment that seems fairly unlikely to be saved commercially by its detonations, special effects and strenuous physical sequences.”

Champlin did seem to enjoy one element: the synthesizer score by Tangerine Dream (later of “Thief” and “Risky Business”), music that he calls “a new flavor, Latin Anxious, that works well.”

‘The Godfather Part II’

Al Pacino in the 1974 sequel “The Godfather Part II.”

(Paramount Pictures)

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, an original I.B. Technicolor 35mm print of Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather Part II” will screen at the New Beverly. It’s a rare and unusual way to see a great movie that can sometimes be flattened by overfamiliarity but remains as fresh and revealing as ever. The movie would go on to win six Oscars including best picture (the first sequel to ever do so).

The story cross-cuts between Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in the 1950s and Robert De Niro playing his father Vito Corleone in the early 1900s. The film shows the growth of the Corleone family empire and what it takes to keep it running.

In a January 1975 interview, Coppola talked about his motivations in approaching the sequel, saying, “The finished film makes what I consider a tough statement for a $13 million mass-audience picture. It says that this country is in danger of losing its soul, like Michael did. That power without humanity is destructive. … I didn’t want Michael to be destroyed by another gang or by a Senate investigation of organized crime. I wanted him to destroy himself. And to juxtapose his fall with flashbacks of his father’s rise a half-century earlier.”

Coppola, candid as ever, continued, “And, to be completely honest, there was the possibility of my making so much money I could bankroll some of my other projects.”

In his original Dec. 1974 review of the film, our Charles Champlin wrote, “In its way, ‘Godfather II’ is more daring than the original … The risks were worth taking, and the reward is that a single monumental segment of the American experience is neither glorified nor patronized, but made comprehensible and real, transmuted into drama of both scope and depth.”

Points of interest

‘The Birds’ in 35mm

Tippi Hedren and children are attacked by crows in a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”

(Screen Archives / Getty Images)

On Monday the Academy Museum will show Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 “The Birds” in 35mm. The film is showing as part of a series about nature’s revenge on humans — a fun group of titles that also includes “Jaws” and “Orca” (both playing in 35mm), “Creature from the Black Lagoon” in 3D, “Alligator” with director Lewis Teague in person and “The Revenant” in 4K.

Transporting Daphne du Maurier’s original story to the setting of Bodega Bay in Northern California, “The Birds” presents a classic, apocalyptic what-if scenario when humans are suddenly attacked from above.

Star Tippi Hedren, who turns 96 later this month, made her movie debut in the film and over the years she has been open about how difficult the process of shooting was for her. In an April 1963 interview with Hedda Hopper, she said, “The Humane Society was there to protect the birds but there was no one to protect me.”

In a March 1963 review, The Times’ Philip K. Scheuer wrote, “Are actors people? No matter. Alfed Hitchcock, who filmed ‘The Birds’ at Universal, was once widely quoted as saying he hated actors. After his 1960 ‘Psycho’ and now ‘The Birds,’ it must be fairly obvious that he has extended his abhorrence to the whole human race.”

Oliver Lax’s ‘Fire Will Come’

Amador Arias, left, and Benedicta Sánchez in ‘Fire Will Come’

(KimStim)

Spanish filmmaker Oliver Laxe’s “Sirāt” has become one of the most celebrated films of the year, popping up on critics list and making a strong showing on the recent Oscars shortlists. On Tuesday, Acropolis Cinema will present the Los Angeles premiere of Laxe’s 2019 film “Fire Will Come” at 2220 Arts + Archives (its original release was curtailed by the pandemic). Laxe is scheduled to attend in person.

In the film, Amador (Amador Arias) has just been released from prison for arson, after having started a wildfire that ravaged the local mountains. Living with his mother, he has to overcome the suspicions and distrust of everyone in the community.

Reviewing the film in 2020 for a digital release, Carlos Aguilar called the film “quietly phenomenal,” adding, “Its discourse on forgiveness simmers in one’s mind inextinguishably.”

Joachim Trier tribute

Director Joachim Trier, photographed at the Los Angeles Times Studios at RGB House during the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

The American Cinematheque is launching a tribute to Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier this week. He will be appearing person with co-writer Eskil Vogt following screenings of “The Worst Person in the World” and his current movie “Sentimental Value.”

These are also rare opportunities to see two of Trier’s earlier films — his 2006 debut “Reprise” and 2011’s devastating “Oslo, August 31st” — in a theater.

“Sentimental Value” directly engages with the legacy of Scandinavian cinema, with Stellan Skarsgård playing an arthouse filmmaker trying to get a new project off the ground with his daughter (“Worst Person” star Renate Reinsve).

Going all the way back to “Reprise.” Trier has been making a case for a new kind of Scandinavian cinema: “I would hope young people would see this not as the old, dreary, dandruff-on-the-shoulders, slow European film,” he said in 2008. “I wanted to make something more sexy and relevant to people.”

At least 7 explosions have been heard in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, followed by a low-flying aircraft, according to The Associated Press.

The second series of ITVs Red Eye aired on Thursday night and it failed to impress some viewers.

ITV viewers said the same thing as series two of Red Eye returned to screens on New Year’s Day. Jing Lusi has reprised her role as DS Hana Li for a new investigation alongside guest star Martin Compston.

Joining Jing and Martin in the new series are Lesley Sharp and Jemma Moore, who also return as Head of MI5 Madeline Delaney and journalist Jess Li.

Eighteen months after Russia is blamed for shooting down a new cargo plane over the Atlantic, DS Hana Li (Jing Lusi) is summoned to investigate the murder of an American diplomatic courier at Heathrow.

The investigation leads her to London’s US Embassy, where the new American Ambassador, Ronald Tillman, is hosting a party.

Realising the killer has infiltrated the building, Hana and US Embassy security chief Clay Brody hunt them down. Meanwhile, a Russian threat is received on board a UK Government jet.

However, just minutes into the new series, one viewer wrote, “The biggest pile of s*** I’ve ever seen.”

Another complained, “Loved Red Eye s1. Now on Red Eye s2 ep 3 & not enjoying it quite so much. Barely believable characters who can’t see/understand the bleeding obvious.”

Pointing out a blunder from the episode, one fan said, “Hmm, Ryanair at Heathrow?”

“Glad I’m not the only one who spotted that,” another viewer replied.

Someone else chimed in, “Did anyone else just spot Ryanair on #redeye at Heathrow? That’s not accurate, they don’t operate there!”

Others defended the ITV drama, with one writing, “First episode of new series wasn’t bad. Run of the mill so far.”

Another agreed, “Definitely one worth watching.” Someone else commented, “Love the addition of Martin Compston.”

In a surprising turn of events, ITV has also announced that Richard Armitage will make a surprise appearance in series two as Dr Matthew Nolan.

When speaking about his shock return to series two of Red Eye, Richard shared, “I loved the idea of Jess’ instinctual gravitation to Nolan’s door.

“In season one, he’d been through the mill and also later learned what had happened to her with Sir George Chapman, his boss, so of course, he was going to help her, albeit under the radar. We decided that the surprise might add to the adrenaline of the ‘who’s next’ scenario.”

When asked where fans will find Dr Nolan, the actor added, “We find him at home, and like season one, forced to perform outside of the box. He was just about to open a bottle of red when the doorbell rang, and he was interrupted to deal with a near-fatal bullet wound and perform an emergency blood transfusion on his dining table, cobbling together equipment.

“He’s basically able to improvise major trauma surgery, with a bag of saline from his fridge and a leftover suturing kit from his bag. It says a lot about him!”

The synopsis for episode two of the new series, which airs tomorrow night and is available to watch on ITVX, teases, “When Fox threatens to blow up the jet if anyone leaves the US Embassy, it becomes clear that Delaney and Hana are looking for the same Russian assassin.

“Compelled to lock down the embassy but refusing to worry about his important guests, Ambassador Tillman secretly traps them inside with a killer. As a Russian laptop is located onboard the jet and leaves Delaney and Peterson to carefully determine if it’s the actual bomb, Fox kills his first unsuspecting victim from a hit list.”

Red Eye is available to watch on ITVX.

**For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website**

The Night Manager has returned with both Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie as executive producers.

The Night Manager season two has landed, but it didn’t take fans long to complain about a glaring problem.

Tom Hiddleston fans have been eagerly awaiting his return to The Night Manager, an unforgettable BBC drama that originally aired in February 2016.

Starring opposite Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman, The Night Manager season one revolved around ex-soldier Jonathan Pine (played by Tom Hiddleston), who was hired to infiltrate the inner circle of a secretive arms dealer.

Despite series one getting rave reviews, viewers had given up hope that it would return for a second season, but to everyone’s delight, the series two renewal came in April 2024.

The Night Manager season two finally made its debut this evening, Thursday, January 1, once again focusing on Pine, now known as Alex Goodwin, who works as part of the nocturnal surveillance unit, the Night Owls.

But it isn’t too long before he spots a familiar face from his past with Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie), taking him down yet another dangerous path.

Fans couldn’t wait to tune into the new series, but many couldn’t help but make the same complaint on X, formerly Twitter, as they struggled to remember season one.

“Watching #TheNightManagerS2 when you already have a notoriously bad memory,” someone joked.

A second echoed: “Was going to watch the #TheNightManagerS2 but I can’t remember #thenightmanager so will have to rewatch series one. Anyone else doing the same thing?”

“I have no idea what is going on”, a third began.

“Not sure if it would be easier to follow if they didn’t keep cutting back to characters from 10 years ago that I have forgotten about.”

A fellow user remarked: “Was struggling to understand why I couldn’t for the life of me remember what happened in season 1 of #TheNightManagerS2 only to Google it and see that it aired TEN years ago?????? Girl bye.”

Someone else posted: “The recap hardly helped, I can’t remember what happened last week, let alone what I watched on TV 10 years ago”, as another added: “The Night Manager is really testing everyone’s memory right now.”

Despite fans having an issue with remembering what happened in series one, others have also been praising the new season.

Someone labelled the debut episode as “outstanding” and “brilliant”, while a fellow viewer commented: “Well that didn’t disappoint!!! Episode 1 of The Night Manager- Phew – must resist the temptation to binge!”

Thankfully, fans won’t have to wait very long for the second episode, with the next instalment set to air on Sunday, January 4, at 9pm.

After this, The Night Manager will continue to be shown every Sunday in the same timeslot.

The Night Manager is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s administration announced late Tuesday that it’s freezing child care funds to Minnesota and demanding an audit of some day care centers after a series of fraud schemes involving government programs in recent years.

Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on the social platform X that the move is in response to “blatant fraud that appears to be rampant in Minnesota and across the country.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pushed back on X, saying fraudsters are a serious issue that the state has spent years cracking down on but that this move is part of “Trump’s long game.”

“He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans,” Walz said.

O’Neill referenced a right-wing influencer who posted a video Friday claiming he found that day care centers operated by Somali residents in Minneapolis had committed up to $100 million in fraud. O’Neill said he has demanded Walz submit an audit of these centers that includes attendance records, licenses, complaints, investigations and inspections.

“We have turned off the money spigot and we are finding the fraud,” O’Neill said.

The announcement comes one day after U.S. Homeland Security officials were in Minneapolis conducting a fraud investigation by going to unidentified businesses and questioning workers.

There have been years of investigations that included a $300 million pandemic food fraud scheme revolving around the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, for which 57 defendants in Minnesota have been convicted. Prosecutors said the organization was at the center of the country’s largest COVID-19-related fraud scam, when defendants exploited a state-run, federally funded program meant to provide food for children.

A federal prosecutor alleged earlier this month that half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds that supported 14 programs in Minnesota since 2018 may have been stolen. Most of the defendants in the child nutrition, housing services and autism program schemes are Somali Americans, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota.

O’Neill, who is serving as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also said in the social media post Tuesday that payments across the U.S. through the Administration for Children and Families, an agency within the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, will now require “justification and a receipt or photo evidence” before money is sent. They have also launched a fraud-reporting hotline and email address.

The Administration for Children and Families provides $185 million in child care funds annually to Minnesota, according to Assistant Secretary Alex Adams.

“That money should be helping 19,000 American children, including toddlers and infants,” he said in a video posted on X. “Any dollar stolen by fraudsters is stolen from those children.”

Adams said he spoke Monday with the director of Minnesota’s child care services office and she wasn’t able to say “with confidence whether those allegations of fraud are isolated or whether there’s fraud stretching statewide.”

Trump has criticized Walz’s administration over the fraud cases, capitalizing on them to target the Somalia diaspora in the state, which has the largest Somali population in the U.S.

Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, has said an audit due by late January should give a better picture of the extent of the fraud. He said his administration is taking aggressive action to prevent additional fraud. He has long defended how his administration responded.

Minnesota’s most prominent Somali American, Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, has urged people not to blame an entire community for the actions of a relative few.

Golden writes for the Associated Press.

As an editor, the lion’s share of my job is about identifying the awards season’s most compelling stories and conveying them to our readers. But I do reserve a small sliver of time for the joys of advocacy, championing work that I love and hoping that converts readers into viewers, and perhaps even voters.

So, with no new issue this week, my New Year’s Eve newsletter felt like the perfect time to reflect on the movies and TV shows that moved me in 2025. And if you give them another look before you cast your awards ballots, all the better.

MOVIES

1. ‘A Little Prayer’ and ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’

David Strathairn and Jane Levy in “A Little Prayer.”

(Music Box Films)

I am not terribly spiritual myself, but I encountered transcendence twice at the movies this year. As quiet and beseeching as its title, Angus MacLachlan’s chamber drama “A Little Prayer,” about a family man (David Strathairn) navigating marital trouble between his son (Will Pullen) and his daughter-in-law (Jane Levy), uncovers varieties of religious experience in 19th century landscape painting and small, memorable kindnesses. As sweeping as the extraordinary life it depicts, Mona Fastvold’s biographical portrait “The Testament of Ann Lee,” which follows the Shaker leader (Amanda Seyfried) and her devotees from the textile mills of Manchester to the wilderness of colonial New York, carves sensuous art from the exalted song and dance of evangelical faith. But whether the scale is intimate or epic, both capture, to quote “A Little Prayer,” that rare thing: “a powerful sense of the sublime.”

2. ‘Sinners’

Michael B. Jordan in “Sinners.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

“Sinners” has rightly been praised for its novel twist on the vampire genre, its deep investment in African and African American music, its blockbuster box office in an era largely dominated by franchise IP. But perhaps the highest compliment I can give director Ryan Coogler may be that the Jim Crow Mississippi he conjures is so richly textured, so allergic to cant or cliche, that I’d have been just as riveted if the bloodsuckers had never shown up. That’s what it’s like to be in the hands of a master.

3. ‘Sorry, Baby’

Eva Victor in “Sorry, Baby.”

(Philip Keith / A24)

Eva Victor is not the first filmmaker to face trauma with a sense of humor, but few have done it with such a gentle, humane touch. As Victor’s Agnes moves through life in the aftermath of a sexual assault on her college campus, the writer-director-star focuses squarely on the slow, ungainly, ultimately profound work of healing — and includes some of the best gags about academia this reformed graduate student has ever seen. No apology needed: “Sorry, Baby” marks the arrival of a major talent.

4. ‘One Battle After Another’

Leonardo DiCaprio in “One Battle After Another.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

With elements of action, satire, political thriller and family melodrama, Paul Thomas Anderson’s wild yarn about the members of a revolutionary group — and the fallout that comes when the past catches up with them — is well-nigh indescribable. But it’s also unforgettable. Combining high-wire filmmaking with electric performances, it never relinquishes its grip on the viewer and invites multiple viewings. Which is just as well, considering that this one is going to be on the tip of our tongues all the way through the Oscars.

5. ‘Nouvelle Vague’

Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg and Guillaume Marbeck as Jean-Luc Godard in “Nouvelle Vague.”

(Jean-Louis Fernandez)

The purest delight of the season is Richard Linklater’s mash note for the French New Wave, a zippy comedy of errors about the making of one of the most influential films of all time. As Jean-Luc Godard (the rakishly charming Guillaume Marbeck) tries to put “Breathless” together with spit, glue and attitude on the streets of Paris, “Nouvelle Vague” becomes as confident a caper as the original, with Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubry Dullin) and Jean Seberg (a beguiling Zoey Deutch) as the French director’s oft-befuddled collaborators — and sometimes foils. To overlook a film with this much cinematic joie de vivre would be a crime.

6. ‘Sirât’

The rave sequence that opens “Sirât.”

(Neon)

The less said the better about Spain’s acclaimed Oscar submission, which takes such twists and turns as it wends its way through the Moroccan desert that it left me frozen, after my first screening, in a sort of defensive crouch. I simply suggest that you go on the journey with filmmaker Oliver Laxe as he follows a father (Sergi López) and son (Bruno Núñez Arjona) on their search for a missing loved one, beginning with a rave so lifelike it almost had me dancing in the aisles.

7. ‘Hedda’

Tessa Thompson, center, in “Hedda.”

(Matt Towers / Prime Video)

I must admit I went warily into “Hedda.” An awards-season Ibsen adaptation had, I feared, all the makings of a fusty, dour costume drama. Mea culpa, Nia DaCosta. Mea culpa. The filmmaker’s sharp, fresh take on “Hedda Gabler,” featuring mesmerizing performances from Tessa Thompson as the devious title character and Nina Hoss as her (gender-swapped) former lover, renders the play as provocatively, and vividly, for today’s viewer as it must have been for attendees at the Munich premiere in 1891 — and in the process reminds us why the original is an enduring classic.

8. ‘Sentimental Value’

Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning in “Sentimental Value.”

(Kasper Tuxen)

No film this year has left me more eager for a rewatch than Joachim Trier’s delicate family drama, and I was rewarded with the sense that “Sentimental Value” is really two films, woven together so deftly that they can’t quite be unraveled. One is the story of two sisters (Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) bonded by generational trauma. The other is about a filmmaker, their father (Stellan Skarsgård), recruiting a sympathetic outsider (Elle Fanning) to tell the story of his own. By the time these strands reach their conclusion, on a soundstage built to resemble the family manse, Trier’s thoughtful architecture pays off in the understanding that you really can go home again, because home is a state of mind.

9. ‘The Alabama Solution’

A still from “The Alabama Solution.”

(HBO Documentary Films)

In an especially strong year for documentaries, particularly those that appreciate, emulate or chronicle the work of investigative journalism, it seems a shame to single out just one. But from the moment of its Sundance Film Festival premiere, the movie by Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman registered as a prime example of nonfiction storytelling’s unmatched ability to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,” starting with its unflinching use of Alabama state prison inmates’ contraband cellphone footage of the shocking conditions they’re forced to endure. As advocacy, as exposé, as portrait of the fight for justice, no documentary has stuck with me this year quite like “The Alabama Solution.”

10. ‘All That’s Left of You’ and ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’

Scenes from “All That’s Left of You,” left, and “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”

(Watermelon Pictures; Venice Film Festival)

One expands its tale of the Palestinian experience across continents and decades, the other condenses its saga to just 90 minutes, balanced on a knife’s edge between documentary and drama. But for all their stark stylistic differences, both “All That’s Left of You” and “The Voice of Hind Rajab” — along with films such as “Palestine 36” and “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk” — urgently communicate, in specific human terms, the life-and-death consequences of a struggle for self-determination too often abstracted in the West to its “complicated” or “thorny” geopolitics. Whether the setting is Jaffa or Gaza, the subject a multigenerational family pushed to its breaking point or the fate of a single little girl, both will leave you shaken. As they should.

TV SHOWS

1. ‘Andor’

Diego Luna and Genevieve O’Reilly in “Andor.”

(Lucasfilm Ltd. / Disney)

Turning its portrait of reluctant rebel Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) into a kaleidoscopic thriller about a simmering revolution reaching the boil — and the authoritarian forces set on stopping them — “Andor’s” second season emerged, by degrees, as the year’s most astounding political allegory — on any size of screen. Aided by an ingenious structure, which divided its four-year arc into four, three-episode miniseries, it ensnared even avowed “Star Wars” skeptics, and featured both the best action set piece and the best monologue of the year.

2. ‘The Rehearsal’

Nathan Fielder in “The Rehearsal.”

(John P. Johnson / HBO)

Another sophomore step up, this iteration of “The Rehearsal” — which bordered on cavalier about its civilian subjects in Season 1 — finds impresario Nathan Fielder with more skin in the game, and so becomes a revelatory meta-comedy that lives up to its immense ambition. Come for the elaborate re-creation of American airports, stay for a surprisingly vulnerable Fielder investigating the possibility that he’s on the autism spectrum, and be wowed by the series’ real-world implications for pilot communication. Whatever aspect of “The Rehearsal” grabs you first, it’s the inimitable, inexpressible whole that makes it essential viewing.

3. ‘Adolescence’

Stephen Graham, left, and Owen Cooper in “Adolescence.”

(Netflix)

It would be easy to be jaded about “Adolescence,” which seems likely to follow in the footsteps of “Baby Reindeer” and win just about every award it’s eligible for. (It’s already notched eight Emmys.) But from the moment I first laid eyes on its extraordinary one-shots, I was persuaded that the series’ technical wizardry was no gimmick. As written by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham and directed by Philip Barantini, in style and substance “Adolescence” captures polite society’s hold on young men spiraling out of control — and invests its central figure, Owen Cooper’s 13-year-old Jamie, with both the childishness and the menace to match.

4. ‘Elsbeth’

Carrie Preston in “Elsbeth.”

(Michael Parmelee / CBS)

I was glad to hear that CBS plans to campaign “Elsbeth” as a comedy at the Emmys in 2026, in part because it may improve Carrie Preston’s chances at a nod for her turn as irrepressible investigator Elsbeth Tascioni, and in part because the designation highlights what has always shined most in the legal universe of Robert and Michelle King. Here, it’s broader and brighter than the acerbic satire of “The Good Wife” and “The Good Fight,” and embedded in a “Columbo”-esque case-of-the-week structure, but the pair’s sense of humor — always keyed to punching up — continually works wonders, especially in a world where so much crime media is unrelentingly grim.

5. ‘The Pitt’

Noah Wyle in “The Pitt.”

(Warrick Page / HBO Max)

Given that “ER” was the first show my mom let me stay up late to watch, I wasn’t surprised to like “The Pitt.” But even with my high expectations, I was dazzled by the series’ ability to introduce such a wide array of characters in the pilot episode, and then to develop them all in a seemingly infinite variety of directions while solving one medical crisis after another. Indeed, forced by its “real-time” structure to keep the focus tight even as the stakes ratchet skyward, “The Pitt” registers as even richer, subtler and more relevant than its predecessor. May its heyday last just as long.

6. ‘Dying for Sex’

Jenny Slate, left, Sissy Spacek and Michelle Williams in “Dying for Sex.”

(Sarah Shatz / FX)

Since first seeing it in the spring, I haven’t been able to get out of my head the most hilarious moment in “Dying for Sex.” When Molly (Michelle Williams), early in a journey of sexual self-discovery prompted by a recurrence of cancer, falls victim to an online ransomware scam, she drops to the floor to escape the sight of her laptop camera — soon to be joined by her loyal but scattered bestie, Nikki (Jenny Slate), who is not much help but is great company. It had me doubled over with laughter, like so much of Liz Meriwether and Kim Rosenstock’s adaptation of the real-life story. The miniseries never pulls a comic punch despite the heavy subject matter, and is peppered with idiosyncratic choices and memorable performances that make it sing. Special shout out to Rob Delaney for turning a total slob named Neighbor Guy into one of the romantic heroes of the year.

7. ‘Forever’

Michael Cooper Jr. and Lovie Simone in “Forever.”

(Elizabeth Morris / Netflix)

The Emmy success of “The Studio” and the buzz around “I Love L.A.” may have somewhat overshadowed “Forever,” but they have given me consistent opportunities in 2025 to recommend my favorite L.A.-set show of the year. Mara Brock Akil’s warmhearted, meticulously wrought teen romance, channeling Judy Blume’s condescension-free interest in young people, paints a portrait of places in the city where those other series rarely go, and does so with uncommon sensitivity. I could watch “Forever,” well, forever. Plus, it features one of the year’s finest dramatic performances: Like the series as a whole, Karen Pittman’s protective mother transforms an archetype that could easily ring with cliches into a lived-in, multilayered portrait. Give me more, Netflix!

8. ‘The Gilded Age’

Audra McDonald, left, and Denée Benton in “The Gilded Age.”

(Karolina Wojtasik / HBO)

After two enjoyably low-stakes seasons, HBO’s New York-set spin on the upstairs/downstairs drama, created by “Downton Abbey’s” Julian Fellowes, breaks out of the (opera) box in Season 3. With ruined women, roguish men and more geegaws than you can shake a stick at — not to mention a character known to the internet as Clock Twink (Ben Ahlers) — the series remains a deliciously campy prime-time soap, but it now features moments of genuine romance, or regret, to accompany the social climbing. With Peggy (Denée Benton) finding love, Ada (Cynthia Nixon) finding fortune and conniver in chief Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) finding herself on the outs with her wealthy husband (Morgan Spector), “The Gilded Age” has reached glorious maturity by developing a subplot for just about every taste, even one as lofty as the Van Rhijns’.

9. ‘The Paper’

Domhnall Gleeson in “The Paper.”

(Aaron Epstein / Peacock)

Call me a homer if you like for putting a show about the survival of local newspapers on this list. And when it comes to the indignities of 21st century journalism, “The Office” spin-off, from Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, certainly passes my fact-check. But more importantly, and sustainably, Peacock’s mockumentary treats the Toledo Truth Teller as the setting for a rock-solid workplace comedy, replete with a winsome editor in chief (Domhnall Gleeson), an ace reporter (Chelsea Frei) and a perfect foil, in the form of managing editor/aspiring influencer Esmeralda Grand (Sabrina Impacciatore, in perhaps the year’s funniest performance). Sure, I’m liable to root for any film of TV show that qualifies as a “love letter” to my chosen profession, but you can’t fake credibility. “The Paper” has the goods.

10. ‘Pluribus’ and ‘Paradise’

Sterling K. Brown in “Paradise,” and Rhea Seehorn in “Pluribus.”

(Disney; Apple TV)

One is full of jaw-dropping plot twists, the other meditative, often silent. One imagines the end of the world as we know it in terms of natural disaster, the other in the form of an extraterrestrial’s utopia. What Dan Fogelman’s “Paradise” and Vince Gilligan’s “Pluribus” share, though, is far more important than what sets them apart: a commitment to postapocalyptic storytelling rooted in flawed, compelling characters, not the minutia of megavolcanoes and mRNA. Indeed, as “Paradise’s” hero, Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown), squares off against the power-mad Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) in an underground bunker, or “Pluribus’” Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) clashes with stubborn ally Manousos Oviedo (Carlos Manuel Vesga) on an Earth overtaken by happy lemmings, what becomes clear about both series — and I mean this as a high compliment — is how ordinary they are. If you want to know how you might handle doomsday, you could do worse than starting here.

Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who is mindlessly scrolling on their phones before the futile New Year’s resolution to curb the habit begins.

In our annual year-end edition, we expand our usual “ICYMI” feature, highlighting 2025’s most-read stories about film and television. It’s a hearty mix of celebrity profiles, insightful criticism and deep dives into the most talked-about pop culture that defined the year.

And we couldn’t do it without the support of our subscribers. We know there’s an endless stream of TikToks, Reels, articles and, ahem, other newsletters competing for your attention in any given minute — not to mention, TV and movies! — so we’re incredibly thankful for the time you choose to give this newsletter each week. We hope to continue guiding you through all the exciting film and television that greets us in 2026.

Until then, happy reading and happy watching! See you in the new year!

Take care,

Yvonne Villarreal

(The writer who tries to pull this whole thing together each week, with the help of my tag-team partner Maira Garcia.)

P.S.: Shout out to my amazing colleagues who never make me grovel for contributions, even with their demanding work loads. And to the copy editors who remain the true heroes of this place.

Diane Morgan as Philomena Cunk in “Cunk on Life.”

(Netflix / BBC / Broke & Bones)

How far will Philomena Cunk go to get a laugh? ‘If he breaks my nose, it’ll heal’: Diane Morgan, the actor who plays know-nothing TV pundit Philomena Cunk, explains how series like ‘Cunk on Life’ come together. (Jan. 2)

Billy Bob Thornton unpacks ‘Landman’ finale, details his hopes for Season 2: The actor, who stars as the fixer for a Texas oil company in the hit Taylor Sheridan drama, breaks down the season finale and discusses the prospects for Season 2. (Jan. 12)

Laura Dern’s letter to David Lynch: You wove L.A. into our dreams: The Oscar-winning actor reflects on a lifetime of work with the filmmaker, with whom she collaborated on ‘Blue Velvet,’ ‘Wild at Heart’ and ‘Inland Empire.’ (Jan. 22)

In deathbed audio, Paul Reubens recalled pain of being falsely labeled a pedophile: The recording is featured in HBO Documentary Films’ ‘Pee-wee as Himself,’ which premiered Thursday at the Sundance Film Festival. (Jan. 23)

Sundance is moving to one of 3 cities. Here’s what we know about their bids: Boulder, Cincinnati and a combined Salt Lake City and Park City are competing to become the new home of the Sundance Film Festival. (Jan. 24)

How Karla Sofía Gascón turned a historic Oscars first into a historic Oscars nightmare: With a series of resurfaced tweets, the lead actress nominee for ‘Emilia Pérez’ has caused an awards season uproar — and plenty of culture war confusion. (Feb. 4)

(Stephanie Jones / Los Angeles Times; Getty / JB Lacroix)

Justin Baldoni’s tumultuous road to the center of a Hollywood scandal: The actor-director built a career blending his Bahai values and storytelling. Now allegations involving Blake Lively and ‘It Ends With Us’ threaten his image. (March 5)

‘Severance’ stars explain Season 2’s harrowing finale and the ‘love hexagon’: Actors Adam Scott, Britt Lower and Dichen Lachman, director Ben Stiller and series creator Dan Erickson discuss “Cold Harbor,” the mind-blowing Season 2 finale. (March 21)

What happened on the shocking ‘White Lotus’ Season 3 finale: Who died? Did Gaitok shoot? What happened to the lorazepam? As Mike White’s HBO anthology wraps up it’s third season, we’re here to explain it all. (April 7)

Two new mysteries show the tariff-proof resilience of Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie: “Sherlock and Daughter,” a paternal twist on the Holmes legend and a new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Towards Zero” debut on the CW and BritBox, respectively. (April 16)

Natasha Lyonne portrays Charlie Cale in Peacock’s “Poker Face.”

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Natasha Lyonne remains unconventional as a sleuth in ‘Poker Face’ and in her career: The actor is back as Charlie Cale in ‘Poker Face,’ Peacock’s murder mystery series, and for Season 2, Lyonne is adding director to her list of duties on the show. (May 8)

‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ CNN live broadcast brings George Clooney’s play to the masses: The actor’s Broadway play, based on his 2005 film, allowed viewers at home to see the actor’s much-hyped turn as Edward R. Murrow through CNN’s live television event. (June 7)

‘And Just Like That…’ seems determined to insult women over 50. And under 50: The reboot of HBO’s groundbreaking series ‘Sex and the City’ has failed to mature the women at the center of the show, or their relationships, much to this viewer’s dismay. (July 3)

Up, up and … eh? A rebooted ‘Superman’ gives the Man of Steel a mind of marshmallow: Director James Gunn launches his DC Extended Universe with a high-energy Superman played by David Corenswet, joined by co-stars Nicholas Hoult and Rachel Brosnahan. (July 8)

Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ is canceled, but he won’t go quietly into that goodnight: CBS announced that ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ would end in 2026. (July 18)

How ‘The Fantastic Four’ post-credits scene brings us one step closer to ‘Doomsday’: Yes, ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ includes two post-credits scenes. Here’s how that big reveal sets up what’s coming in Phase 6 of the MCU. (July 24)

“The Wizard of Oz,” as presented in the Las Vegas venue Sphere.

(Rich Fury / Sphere Entertainment)

‘Wizard of Oz’ at Las Vegas’ Sphere feels more like a ride than a movie (with Disneyland-level pricing): The cherished 1939 fantasy has been expanded by generative AI to fit the giant parameters of the Las Vegas immersive venue. Has too much creative license been taken? (Sept. 3)

After 15 years of ‘Downton Abbey,’ Hugh Bonneville and Michelle Dockery can’t quite say goodbye: The actors reflect on their father-daughter roles in ‘Downton Abbey,’ the end of an era and honoring Maggie Smith’s legacy in ‘The Grand Finale.’ (Sept. 5)

How an O.C. teen joined Kanye West’s inner circle and filmed him unfiltered for six years: Director Nico Ballesteros followed Ye at close range, capturing the artist’s rawest highs and lowest lows in the new documentary “In Whose Name?” (Sept. 10)

Shutdown of Corp. for Public Broadcasting, recipient of Governors Award, elicits boos at Emmys: The Corp. for Public Broadcasting, which last month announced it would be shutting down after federal funding cuts, received the 2025 Governors Award at an earlier ceremony. (Sept. 14)

Jenny Han on ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ series finale and why Belly had to go to Paris: The author, producer and showrunner knows fans are restless about how her hit Prime Video series might end, but she says she “loves surprising people.” (Sept. 15)

A look at the scene outside the El Capitan Entertainment Centre, where the late-night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is staged, in the wake of the show getting pulled from ABC.

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

ABC’s decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel’s show has echoes and contrasts of Roseanne Barr firing: The news that ABC would be pulling ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ indefinitely was reminiscent of the cancellation of Roseanne Barr’s eponymous sitcom, which had been rebooted in 2018, but had significant differences. (Sept. 18)

What Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers said about Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension: The four late-night hosts weighed in on ABC’s decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s show indefinitely in their monologues and in other segments. (Sept. 18)

Jimmy Kimmel returns to ABC with emotional monologue defending free speech: ‘We have to stand up’: The host returned Tuesday to his late-night show on ABC, where he addressed his comments on Charlie Kirk’s death and thanked those who have supported him in the past week. (Sept. 23)

‘South Park’ quietly ended Season 27, jumping into Season 28 with new episode roasting Peter Thiel: The adult animated comedy series returns Wednesday to Comedy Central with a new episode that also marks a new season. (Oct. 15)

The century-old rivalry series between USC and Notre Dame is taking a few years off, and as far as Lincoln Riley is concerned, that’s the fault of the Irish.

In his first public comments since the series was officially put on hiatus, the USC coach put the blame squarely on Notre Dame for not accepting USC’s most recent offer to continue the rivalry, which would have moved the 2026 game, usually scheduled in November, to the very beginning of the season.

“It’s pretty simple,” Riley said Monday, ahead of USC’s bowl matchup with Texas Christian. “We both worked for months to try to find a solution. Notre Dame was very vocal about the fact that they would play us anytime, anywhere.

“Jen Cohen, our AD, went back to Notre Dame roughly a couple of weeks ago with a scenario and a proposal that would extend the series for the next two years. We took Notre Dame at their word that they would play us anytime, anywhere. That proposal was rejected.

“Not only was it rejected, but five minutes after we got the call, it was announced they scheduled another opponent, which I’ll give them credit, that might be the fastest scheduling act in college football history.”

The Times reported last week that the Playoff selection earlier this month proved to be a turning point for USC’s administration in talks with Notre Dame. The realization that the Irish — by virtue of a side agreement with the College Football Playoff committee that hands them a bid if ranked in the top 12 — would have gotten into the field over Miami especially gave USC pause.

That’s when Cohen returned to Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua with an offer for the rivals to face off in the season opener. Notre Dame instead scheduled Brigham Young to fill that vacancy over the next two seasons.

Riley has been roundly criticized for his part in the rivalry’s potential demise after he suggested in August 2024 that the annual series could be in danger, if USC proved too much of a hurdle in the Trojans’ path to the College Football Playoff.

In the spring, as negotiations between the two schools stalled and the public pointed fingers at Riley and USC, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said that continuing the rivalry was “pretty black and white for me.”

“I want to play them every single year,” Freeman said. “You want my opinion? I want to play them every single year. When? I don’t care. I don’t care when we play them: Start of the season, middle of the season, end of the season. I don’t care. I want to play USC every year because I think it’s great for college football.”

After initially holding firm on its intent to renegotiate terms of the rivalry year-to-year, so as to wait on changes to the College Football Playoff format, USC sent an amended offer to Notre Dame before the season that would have extended the series for two seasons. But Notre Dame wanted a longer deal.

The two schools nearly came to an agreement in October, around their final meeting in South Bend. USC had made clear that it wanted to play the game earlier in the season, but was warming up to the idea of continuing the series as is through 2027.

USC decided to dig its heels in after Selection Sunday, returning to USC with a final offer to play early in the 2026 season. Notre Dame declined.

“The fact is very, very clear, this can all be settled very quickly,” Riley said. “Had Notre Dame lived up to their word and played us anytime, anywhere, we would be playing in the next two years, and looking ahead after that, hopefully continuing the series.

“They did not follow through on it, thus we are not playing them the next couple years. We’re hopeful something can be worked out in the future. That would be fantastic. We at SC would love for the game to continue. We have no problem following through on our promises in the future.”

It’ll be a while before those negotiations start up again. The next window in which USC could play Notre Dame is during the 2030 season.

Gamal Mansour of the University of Toronto says Syria’s authorities are still in a fragile state-building phase, and the clashes in coastal Syria have exposed gaps in control.

Warning: This story contains spoilers from the series finale of “Younger.”

In the very last scene of “Younger,” Liza (Sutton Foster), wearing a chambray button-down shirt, tries to order a round of drinks at the bar. She’s frantically waving her shoe in an attempt to get the bartender’s attention when Josh (Nico Tortorella), dressed in a crisp white tee, interrupts her.

Josh: Whoa, you don’t wave a shoe, you never wave a shoe! In Thailand, that’s considered a capital offense.
Liza: And you’ve been to Thailand?
Josh: Ah, no. But I have been to Myanmar…
Liza: … which used to be Burma …
Josh: … back in the day.
Liza: I knew that!

Any devout fan watching this scene probably got a feeling of deja vu: Is this the first episode of the series or the last?

The answer, of course, is both. “After seven seasons, it’s tough to end a series in an elegant and satisfying way,” creator Darren Star told The Times. “We all thought it’d be great to have this full-circle moment where we go back to the pilot, if we could find a way to get there.”

It’s quite far from where the series finale began: Liza and Charles (Peter Hermann) are lying in bed and smiling about their reconciliation in the previous episode, in which he left Quinn (Laura Benanti) and told Liza he loved her. “I just know what makes me happy, and to pretend anything else would be just lying to myself,” he tells her. “Only the truth from now on, even if it hurts.”

The hourlong installment takes Charles’ words to heart. Consider the episode’s musical number, which literary agent Redmond (Michael Urie) asks Liza and Charles to watch as a potential investment opportunity. A cross between the “Chicago” roll call “Cell Block Tango” and the “Assassins” opener “Everybody’s Got The Right,” it equates Liza’s fibs about her age to schemes of infamous liars like Elizabeth Holmes, Billy McFarland, Bernie Madoff and Rachel Dolezal.

“When it’s the last season of your show, you want to do everything on your wish list,” said Star of the performance, with lyrics by parodist Ryan Raftery. “But it wasn’t completely gratuitous because it pushed the Liza-Charles story along by bringing the big lie back up again.”

Charles, however, says he has come to peace with that chapter. And it turns out he’s also OK with the fact that Kelsey (Hilary Duff) covertly sent her and Liza’s proposal for their unconventional e-book publishing app Inkubator to investors for a valuation, in case they can get a better deal as a standalone venture than with their publishing house, Empirical.

He already knew Kelsey did that but wanted to hear Liza cop to it herself. “Wait, so you were testing me?” she asks him. “Maybe — in a way, I was — but you passed,” he responds, an answer that visibly irks Liza.

“After everything they went through, Charles wanted a level of complete honesty between them,” said Star. “You see Liza realize that she was never going to be in a safe place with him. There would always be this cloud of suspicion over everything she did, and this would be a relationship where she’d be continually tested.”

Liza soon confesses that she secretly submitted Charles’ unfinished manuscript to the notable writers’ colony Yaddo — and he was accepted. While that’s great news, Charles isn’t thrilled. They discuss it while lying in bed later that night:

Charles: If I hadn’t gotten into Yaddo, would you have let me know?
Liza: Uh, I don’t know. Maybe not.
Charles: Yeah, why bother? Because I didn’t even know you applied. … It would’ve just been your little secret.

It’s a passive-aggressive response that doesn’t go unnoticed. “For Charles, even a white lie, or a lie of omission for the purpose of protecting somebody’s feelings, was considered a lack of integrity for him,” said Star. “We all tell little lies like that, and they’re forgiven. But Liza realized all the things that other people let slide very easily in their relationships weren’t going to slide with them.”

Liza then asks the big, honest question: “Hey, we’re not gonna make it, are we?” Charles shakes his head: “I don’t think so.”

“We wanted to have almost an unspoken moment between them when they really understood that, though they loved each other, it was going to be an impossible relationship to have because he was just never going to forgive her for the original big lie,” said Star. “She was being held to an impossible standard that nobody could ever maintain. So as much as they both wanted to make it work, it just wasn’t going to.

“Maybe, had they met each other under different circumstances, it might have worked,” he continued. “But then again, if they were being honest from the beginning, Charles would have had to meet Liza as a divorced housewife from New Jersey who wanted to get back into publishing, and she would have had to meet somebody who was looking at her like she was a divorced housewife from New Jersey.”

After their breakup, Liza and Charles are back at the office, where she tells him that she plans to resign. But Charles, it turns out, is seizing the opportunity to go to Yaddo and finish his book. He plans to leave Empirical in her hands while he’s gone — and maybe longer. In their final scene together, they genuinely thank each other.

“You have to remember that, for most of the seasons, they were projecting ideas onto the other person, and they didn’t really have a lot of time to actually be their authentic selves together,” Star explained. “It’s also a lot of projection and wish fulfillment from the audience as well — this idea of ‘These two look like they should belong together, so they do belong together.’ In fact, there are a lot of reasons why they aren’t really that suited for each other.

“But they had a passionate love affair, and Charles, through his relationship with Liza, discovers a way to reinvent his life,” he added. “I think he gets so much out of his relationship with her. Finding a partner may not necessarily be what he needs. What he might really need is to feed his creative side, and she helps him find a way to do that.”

The episode concludes with the ladies celebrating their collective good news: Liza’s new role at Empirical, Maggie (Debi Mazar) and Lauren’s (Molly Bernard) respective romances, and Kelsey’s next adventure on the West Coast, after Inkubator finds a home with a Los Angeles-based company. (A spinoff about Kelsey’s next chapter would’ve been “a bit of a female ‘Entourage,’” and is unlikely to move forward due to Duff’s commitment to a new series.)

“Regardless of the spinoff, that was gonna be her path,” said Star. “She had to get out from under publishing and completely set off in a different direction. We felt she needed a fresh start — her own reinvention.”

Liza then heads to the bar and runs into Josh. They look similar, though not exactly the same to how they did when they first met. “Seven years later, Liza and Josh have each grown up a little bit,” said costume designer Jacqueline Demeterio.

Some of the tweaks? Foster wore a denim Celine shirt (instead of the Current/Elliott top from the pilot) and waved a Prada leopard-print shoe rather than a nondescript black flat “to show a slight evolution in her personal style.” (Once Foster tried on the outfit in her final fitting with Demeterio, they both got teary-eyed.)

Tortorella, who wore a burnout’s white T-shirt in the first episode, was updated with a Saint Laurent tee, complete with a tattoo heart design just below the neckline. “I didn’t want it to look like we were trying too hard or distract from what was happening,” said Demeterio. “I just wanted it to be subtle and keep the focus on them two in this moment that’s going to be the end of the whole series.”

After they repeat their meet-cute, she says offhandedly, “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” He gives her a layered, puzzled look. “Really?” he says. “Because you know what? I’ve been right here, by your side, all along.”

His response is visibly unexpected by Liza — and, likely, the viewer, who hadn’t seen much of Josh all season. “We knew it was worth having him sit back for a while so we could have that beautiful moment at the end of the series,” said Star. Writing those key lines, Star “wanted to keep it simple, heartfelt and real.”

The camera zooms out as they continue to repeat the banter of their first meeting — a decision that leaves their fate up for debate. Does this mean Liza ends up with Josh after all?

“There’s always been a real authenticity between them since the beginning of the series — even though she did lie to him, that lie was revealed by the end of the first season, so he certainly knows her better than any man on the show,” said Star. “I think Josh really loves her, and I think she really loves him.

“In that very last moment, after everything with Charles, Liza is definitely looking at him through fresh eyes and seeing him from a whole new perspective,” he continued. “I don’t know if they’re gonna be together, but I think they’re open to the fact that they’re always going to be in each other’s lives.”

Those final frames — and Star’s explanation — might be unsatisfying to anyone who’s been waiting for years for a more definitive answer about Liza’s love life. “But the show was never about Liza finding a man; it was always about Liza reinventing herself,” reminded Star. “She’d already had a marriage, she was looking to have a career.

“So I never really thought it was such a binary thing — Josh or Charles,” he added. “And I didn’t felt the pressure or obligation to have this big, romantic endgame for her because, to me, at its heart, that was never really what the show is about.”

After the eye strain, the greatest occupational hazard of being a TV critic is people asking what’s good on television. It’s a question I typically find impossible to answer on the spur of the moment, as a show will run out of my head as soon as a review is filed in order to make room for the next one. (I buy time by responding, “What do you like?”) It is only at this reflective season of the year that I can stop, look back and list them.

Our picks for this year’s best in arts and entertainment.

Every year, television has its ups and downs, its ebb and flow, depending on a host of reasons I will only ever vaguely understand. I will take this opportunity to say that there are way too many psychological thrillers on way too many platforms nowadays, but there are always more than enough shows to praise — and as always, I include only series that are new this year. Some are here because they deliver real surprises — not just plot twists and sudden revelations, but new directions and original formats. Others are here by dint of good old-fashioned storytelling, memorable characters and terrific performances — or just because they made me laugh.

Here they are, in no special order.

‘Hal & Harper’ (Mubi)

Lili Reinhart and Cooper Raiff in Mubi’s “Hal & Harper.”

(Mubi)

Writer-director Cooper Raiff’s delicate drama looks at a brother and a sister — played by Raiff and Lili Reinhart both as adults and children, with no sacrifice of reality — made close by the early loss of their mother and the grief of their father (Mark Ruffalo, identified only as Dad). The sale of their old house and the prospect of a new sibling — Dad’s girlfriend (Betty Gilpin, going from strength to strength) — sets things in motion. The dialogue avoids exposition, the silences say much. (Read the review.)

‘The Lowdown’ (FX)

Ethan Hawke and Ryan Kiera Armstrong in FX’s “The Lowdown.”

(Shane Brown / FX)

In Sterlin Harjo’s shaggy dog follow-up to “Reservation Dogs,” the ever-evolving Ethan Hawke plays Lee Raybon, a raggedy Tulsa “truthstorian,” citizen journalist and used-book dealer, looking into the apparent suicide of the oddball member of a powerful family. The series pays homage to noir film and fiction, even as it’s too bright, mischievous and full of love to qualify as noir itself (though Lee does get beat up a lot). Politicians, land developers, white supremacists and Natives collide. The cast also includes Kyle MacLachlan, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Peter Dinklage, Keith David, Kaniehtiio Horn (the Deer Lady in “Reservation Dogs”) as Ray’s ex-wife and the marvelous Ryan Kiera Armstrong as his teenage daughter and eager accomplice. Look for X’s John Doe as a purveyor of bootleg caviar. (Read the review.)

‘Women Wearing Shoulder Pads’ (Adult Swim), ‘Common Side Effects’ (Adult Swim), ‘Oh My God … Yes!’ (Adult Swim), ‘Long Story Short’ (Netflix)

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1. “Women Wearing Shoulder Pads” on Adult Swim. (Warner Bros) 2. “Common Side Effects” on Adult Swim. (Adult Swim) 3. “Oh My God … Yes!” on Adult Swim. (Warner Bros. Discovery) 4. “Long Story Short” on Netflix. (Netflix)

Animation! “Women Wearing Shoulder Pads” is a queer Spanish-language stop-motion comedy melodrama, set in the aesthetic world of a 1980s Pedro Almodóvar film, involving the fate of the cuy, a South American guinea pig (pets? food?), and a struggle between two powerful women. (Read the review.)

“Common Side Effects” is a semicomical thriller with heart, centered on a mushroom with curative properties and pitting its discoverer against the pharmaceutical-industrial complex; Martha Kelly fans will be happy to find her here as a DEA agent. (Read the review.)

“Oh My God … Yes!” is an Afro-futurist, surrealist, girlfriends-in-the-city superhero comedy — like the Powerpuff Girls, grown up, earthy and Black — featuring humanoid robots, anthropomorphic animals and gayliens (the preferred term for gay aliens). (Read the review.)

And “Long Story Short,” from “Bojack Horseman” creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg is the sweet, melancholy, satirical, silly, poignant, hopeful, sometimes slapstick cartoon tale of a normal middle-class Jewish family; the world it portrays is (mostly) ordinary, but the drawings make it extra-special. (Read the review.)

‘Demascus’ (Tubi)

Okieriete Onaodowan in Tubi’s “Demascus.”

(Jace Downs / AMC Networks)

In this Black science-fiction comedy about the search for identity and purpose, Okieriete Onaodowan plays the title character, propelled into alternative visions of his life and self by an experimental virtual reality gizmo that “follows the path of your conscious and subconscious impulses.” The settings change along with him — into a relationship reality show, a “sad Thanksgiving” domestic comedy, a setting out of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” — as supporting actors (Martin Lawrence among them) become different people around him. (Read the review.)

‘Pluribus’ (Apple TV)

Rhea Seehorn in Apple TV’s “Pluribus.”

(Anna Kooris / Apple TV)

I find Vince Gilligan’s take on “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” in which a virus from outer space turns nearly all of humanity into one giant, contented, cultish hive mind, more interesting than compelling, but it’s interesting enough, and comes with a great performance by Rhea Seehorn as one of a dozen earthlings immune to the bug — jealous of her discontent, standing up for her right to be angry. This is a slow series, yet never a boring one, and Seehorn, in a kind of one-woman-versus-everyone show, is electric even when nothing much is happening. (Read the review.)

‘The Studio’ (Apple TV)

Clockwise from left: Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Hahn, Chase Sui Wonders and Seth Rogen in Apple TV’s “The Studio.”

(Apple TV+)

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s breakneck farcical ode to the motion picture business (in which they do very well). Rogen stars as a new studio head, promoted from below, dealing with bad ideas (a Kool-Aid movie), big egos, and his own insecurities and need to feel appreciated. Episodes take place at the Golden Globes, a fundraising dinner and a Las Vegas trade show, with Ike Barinholtz and Kathryn Hahn on his team, Bryan Cranston as his boss — reminding you he was on “Seinfeld” and “Malcolm in the Middle” before he became Walter White — and Catherine O’Hara (brilliant, naturally) as the woman Rogen replaced. (Read the review.)

‘North of North’ (Netflix)

Anna Lambe in Netflix’s “North of North.”

(Netflix)

A sweet small-town romantic comedy, set (and filmed) in Canada’s northernmost territory among the Indigenous Inuit people. A luminous Anna Lambe stars as the 26-year-old mother of a rambunctious 7-year-old, tied to a narcissistic husband and resentful of her mother, a reformed alcoholic and former bad girl; she dreams of something more, even if it just means hauling large items to the dump. Mary Lynn Rajskub plays the cheerful, credit-grabbing town manager whose assistant she becomes. Love and a family secret will arrive from the south. The beaded parkas are gorgeous. (Read the review.)

‘The Pitt’ (HBO Max), ‘Adolescence’ (Netflix)

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1. Noah Wyle and Tracy Ifeachor in HBO Max’s “The Pitt.” (John Johnson/HBO) 2. Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham in Netflix’s “Adolescence.” (Netflix)

These two series do their work in real time, making space for naturalistic acting and a special kind of pressure. “The Pitt,” whose 15 episodes are set in a hectic Pittsburgh ER over a 15-hour shift puts Noah Wyle back in scrubs, herding (with Tracy Ifeachor) a large cast of doctors, nurses and student doctors. Cases include electrocution, drowning, overdose, scurvy, sickle cell anemia, a nail in the chest, a fastball in the eye and gallstones, with all the personal drama one expects from a hospital show. (Read the review.)

The tightly focused, brutally intimate “Adolescence,” surrounding the arrest of a 13-year-old boy (Owen Cooper) for murder, unveils its unconventional mystery in four discrete episodes, each executed in a single tracking shot. A field day for actors, it earned Emmys for Cooper, co-creator Stephen Graham as his father and Erin Doherty as a child psychologist. (Read the review.)

‘Dope Thief’ (Apple TV), ‘Deli Boys’ (Hulu)

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1. Brian Tyree Henry, left, and Wagner Moura in Apple TV’s “Dope Thief.” (Apple) 2. Saagar Shaikh, left, and Asif Ali in Hulu’s “Deli Boys.” (James Washington/Disney)

Drugs are bad, but they fuel a lot of television. (I mean the plots; I wouldn’t know about the productions.) These two very different series feature heroes in over their heads, caught between cops and a cartel. “Dope Thief” gives Brian Tyree Henry (Paper Boi on “Atlanta”), as a man robbing low-level drug dealers dressed as a DEA agent, his first starring role, which would be sufficient for me to recommend it sight unseen — but it is excellent, seen. (Read the review.)

In “Deli Boys,” an old-fashioned comedy of Idiots in Danger, Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh play temperamentally opposite Pakistani American brothers who inherit what they believed to be a chain of convenience stores but turn out to be the front for their father’s cocaine empire. Poorna Jagannathan is marvelous as their beloved, fearsome Lucky Auntie, who knows the score. (Read the review.)

‘Ludwig’ (Britbox)

David Mitchell in Britbox’s “Ludwig.”

(Colin Hutton)

In this Cambridge-set dramatic comedy-mystery, irascible David Mitchell, of “Peep Show,” “Upstart Crow” and “Would I Lie to You?” fame, plays an awkward, isolated genius with little practical experience of the world, drawn right into it when he winds up impersonating his missing twin brother, a police detective. A professional puzzle-maker, he’ll turn out to be good at the job, though he calls a medical examiner’s report a “how-did-they-die test,” and, moving in with his sister-in-law, he’ll learn something about the benefits of family. Properly moving, and very funny. (Read the review.)

Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.

Even as the year winds down, there are still some exciting new releases hitting theaters.

Few films this year are arriving on quite the wave of expectation behind Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme,” in part because of the unhinged, go-for-broke promo push from its star Timothée Chalamet. The film tells the story of Marty Mauser, a shoe salesman in 1950s New York who dreams of becoming a champion table tennis player and will stop at nothing to make it happen.

As Amy Nicholson put it in her review, “Like Marty, Chalamet was raised in New York City, and since he arrived on the scene, there’s never been a doubt he’ll win an Oscar. The only question is, when? To Chalamet’s credit, he’s doing it the hard way, avoiding sentimental pictures for pricklier roles about his own naked ambitions. … The movie’s moxie makes it impossible not to get caught up in Marty’s crusade. We’re giddy even when he’s miserable.”

The surprise winner of the Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival, Jim Jarmusch’s “Father Mother Sister Brother” is a gently enigmatic film revolving around, as the title suggests, parents and siblings. Told in three separate stories — set in New Jersey, Dublin and Paris — the film stars Adam Driver, Tom Waits, Mayim Bialik, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Charlotte Rampling, Luka Sabbat and Indya Moore.

Tom Waits in Jim Jarmusch’s movie “Father Mother Sister Brother.”

(Atsushi Nishijima / Mubi)

In his review, Tim Grierson wrote, “The film’s persistent brittleness may make some viewers antsy. That’s partly the point, but hopefully, they’ll soon be swept away by the movie’s melancholy undertow. … Eventually, we learn to look past Jarmusch’s deceptively mundane surfaces to see the fraught, unresolved issues within these guarded families. The characters occasionally expose their true selves, then just as quickly retreat, fearful of touching on real conflict.”

Tim Grieving spoke to composer Daniel Blumberg, who won an Oscar earlier this year for “The Brutalist,” about his work on “The Testament of Ann Lee,” director Mona Fastvold’s portrait of the founder of the Shaker religious movement. Singing and dance were an integral part of the Shakers’ spiritual practice, so the music for the film was of special importance.

“Ann Lee was very radical and extreme,” said Blumberg, “and Mona is as well.”

De Los also recently published a list of the 25 best Latino films of 2025 as picked by Carlos Aguilar. His favorites include Amalia Ulman’s “Magic Farm,” Pasqual Gutierrez and Ben Mullinkosson’s “Serious People,” Diego Céspedes’ “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” Petra Costa’s “Apocalypse in the Tropics” and Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent.”

All three of this year’s Envelope roundtables are now available to watch: actors, actresses and directors.

New Year’s Eve at the movies

Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps in the movie “Phantom Thread.”

(Laurie Sparham / Focus Features)

When people talk about holiday films, they typically mean Christmas. But what if the movies that featured a New Year’s Eve scene were sneakily better? To judge by the titles playing around town this week, an argument could be made.

Take for example Kathryn Bigelow’s “Strange Days.” An exciting techno-thriller set during the last two days of then-future 1999, it’s about a hustler (Ralph Feinnes) who finds himself in way over his head. The film builds to a huge millennial New Year’s Eve street party filmed in downtown Los Angeles. Still something of a rarity on streaming, “Strange Days” will be showing in 35mm at the New Beverly on Friday afternoon and then at the Aero on Wednesday 31, early enough in the evening to leave time for more fun after.

Then there is Paul Thomas Anderson’s achingly romantic and bitingly funny “Phantom Thread,” in which the controlling fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) initially refuses to leave the house on New Year’s Eve, but then races to be with his muse and lover Alma Elson (Vicky Krieps) after she goes out without him. The movie will be showing on New Year’s Day in 70mm at the Aero.

Anderson’s 1997 “Boogie Nights,” which will show in 35mm at Vidiots on the afternoon of Dec. 31, features a very different take on New Year’s Eve. In a pivotal sequence, many of the film’s characters converge on a NYE party to ring in the transition form 1979 to 1980. It does not go well.

jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine in 1960’s “The Apartment.”

(Bettmann Archive / Getty Images)

Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment” will play in 35mm at the New Beverly on Saturday and Sunday and also at the American Cinematheque’s Los Feliz Theater on Dec. 30. In the film Jack Lemmon is a lonely office drone who finds his complex relationship with a co-worker (Shirley MacLaine) ultimately coming to a head on a fateful New Year’s Eve.

Rob Reiner’s 1989 “When Harry Met Sally…” will likely be playing several times over the next weeks in tribute to the filmmaker. Starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal as two friends trying to figure out if their relationship can (or should) be something more, the film features not one but two memorable New Year’s Eve scenes. It will be playing at the New Beverly on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Katie Holmes, left, and Sarah Polley in the movie “Go.”

(Tracy Bennett / Columbia Pictures)

Doug Liman’s “Go,” from a screenplay by John August, is not strictly speaking a New Year’s Eve movie, but it does take place in the sort of liminal zone of ongoing partying that occurs during holiday time. With a cast that includes Sarah Polley, Katie Holmes, Timothy Olyphant and many more, the film revolves around a few grocery store co-workers, some low-stakes drug dealing, questionable choices and a lot of miscommunication. The movie shows at Vidiots on Tuesday.

In a review of the film, Kevin Thomas wrote, “When all is said and done, ‘Go’ is a film about people going too far, which works precisely because its makers know when to hold back. ‘Go’ keeps us guessing … but it never forgets it’s a comedy; if it was too serious it would burst like a bubble. So uniformly skilled and talented is the film’s cast, which has 15 featured players, that it is impossible to single out any one. ‘Go’ is perfectly titled: Exhilarating and sharp, it never stops for a second.”

Points of interest

The Marx Brothers’ eternal comic mayhem

Chico Marx, left, Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx and Margaret Dumont in the movie “Animal Crackers.”

(Universal)

It has become a tradition around town for theaters to show Marx Brothers movies at the holidays, and who are we to argue with that? For pure whimsy and comedy that hits somewhere deep in the unconscious, the Marx Brothers are still pretty much unbeatable.

The New Beverly played some Marx Brothers movies on Christmas Day. For those who still want more, Vidiots will be showing 1935’s “A Night at the Opera,” directed by Sam Wood and including the famous stateroom scene in which more and more people cram into a single room on an ocean liner.

On New Year’s Day, the Aero will show 1933’s “Duck Soup,” directed by Leo McCarey, in which the brothers take over the fictional nation of Freedonia. That will be followed by 1930’s “Animal Crackers,” directed by Victor Heerman, in which Groucho Marx plays African explorer Rufus T. Firefly.

Eric Rohmer’s ‘The Green Ray’

A scene from Eric Rohmer’s “The Green Ray.”

(Janus Films)

Initially released as “Summer” in the U.S., Eric Rohmer’s “The Green Ray” won Venice’s Golden Lion in 1986. The film follows Delphine (Marie Rivière, who co-wrote the script with Rohmer), a single woman in Paris, as she struggles to find someone to go on a holiday trip with her, leading to a series of serio-comic misadventures. The film will show Thursday in 35mm at the American Cinematheque’s Los Feliz Theater.

Reviewing the film in 1986, Michael Wilmington asked if watching a Rohmer film is really, to quote Gene Hackman on Rohmer movies in “Night Moves,” like watching paint peel? “Not at all,” Wilmington wrote. “‘Summer’ is one of the masterpieces of 1986. It’s one of the most finely wrought, stimulating films of an erratic year. It’s intellectual in the best sense: engaging you emotionally and mentally. It moves faster, wastes less time, and has more to offer than most movies now on view — and those who are skipping it are missing one of the year’s real treats.”

Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who would rather reflect on the year in pop culture than look at their current bank statement.

Santa wasn’t the only one making lists this year. As the final days of the year come to a close, we’ve gathered several of our key year-end TV and film lists for 2025 in one handy place for easy browsing while you wait in return lines, prepare to board flights or zone out on the couch.

We also threw in some other recent lists, unbound to 2025 but still useful this time of year when our brains need all the help they can get to winnow down viewing choices.

Enjoy!

From left, Tessa Thompson in “Hedda”; Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman in “The Roses”; Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton in “Sinners.”

(Photo illustration by Josep Prat Sorolla / For The Times; photos from Amazon Prime, Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures )

The 10 best movies of 2025 — and where to find them: The best movies of 2025 include “Sinners,” “Hedda,” “One Battle After Another,” “Eddington” and “The Naked Gun,” according to our critic Amy Nicholson.

The 12 best needle drops of 2025: These songs made their scenes indelible, from classic rock and dance pop to old-timey blues and thrash. There’s even a former Beatle on here.

34 movies and shows to watch on a plane — or trapped at the airport — this holiday season: In addition to getting you where you want to go, those hours spent on a plane — or trapped at the airport — are a guilt-free opportunity to catch up on or revisit great movies and shows.

10 on-screen political thrillers that stood out in a year of upheaval and partisanship: At a time of political unrest, the political thriller on television and film is both a reflection of, and an escape from, turbulent times.

Ho-ho-rror for the holidays: 15 scary watches for the dead of winter: Ghost stories have long been a holiday tradition, so gather ‘round the electronic hearth and watch some (or all) of these.

Best of 2025: Television — from left, Anna Lambe in “North of North,” Ethan Hawke and Michael Hitchcock in “The Lowdown,” “Women Wearing Shoulder Pads.”

(Photo illustration by Josep Prat Sorolla / For The Times; photos by Netflix, FX and Warner Bros.)

The best TV shows of 2025: The TV series on this list delivered real surprises with new directions and original formats, while others just had good old-fashioned storytelling, according to our critic Robert Lloyd.

The 16 best documentaries of 2025: The documentary films and series that captured our attention this year feature famous people and ordinary people, as well as new ideas and perspectives.

The 12 unforgettable TV moments of 2025: Some of the year’s most memorable TV moments and episodes

The best reality TV of 2025: Scandals, competitions and breakups are par for the course on reality shows, but this year also brought some tender moments that made for must-see TV.

The 33 best comedy specials of 2025: Specials by Frankie Quiñones, Andrew Schulz, Jordan Jensen, Sebastian Maniscalco, Bill Burr, Atsuko Okatsuka and Gabriel Iglesias make our list.

15 must-watch British crime drama series: Whether with an old-fashioned one-case-per-episode or a more sprawling multistrand story, quaint or violent, historic or modern, the birthplace of Agatha Christie understands that we all need stories that make sense of seemingly senseless acts.

The 7 best Netflix holiday movies to watch, from a secret Santa con to a crime caper: “My Secret Santa” starring Alexandra Breckenridge is the latest holiday film to be released on the streamer, which has several new offerings and recent classics worth revisiting.