Ever notice how art seems to grow more powerful the more people try to take it away from us? Take for example: the movies, TV shows, songs, and podcasts we watched and listened to this year. Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio made a movie in One Battle After Another about revolutionaries who fight back against an authoritarian government. The Pitt used a tried-and-true TV medium, the medical drama, to talk about our worsening health care system. Hell, even late-night TV took on the current presidential administration directly. But it wasn't all doom fighting against the gloom. Powerful music by Spanish-language and K-pop singers expanded our tastes and dominated the charts. Video games and novels helped us escape to new worlds, and the end of a certain podcast represented an all-important turning of the page as we enter 2026. So, as you read on below, I hope you enjoy our number-one picks of the year throughout film, TV, music, books, and more as much as we did. - Josh Rosenberg, editor, news & entertainment |
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I don't care what movie raked in the most money or inspired the most discourse. One Battle After Another is the movie of the year. Paul Thomas Anderson is working at the top of his craft in this Vineland-inspired tale about an ex-revolutionary who, to quote Magnolia, "might be through with the past, but the past ain't through with." It's some of Anderson's most linear storytelling, and far and away the most commercial effort of his career. And yet, One Battle manages to slip seamlessly between genres—high-octane action, stoner comedy, modern Western—and it pulls no punches. It's a film that holds a mirror up to rising American fascism and finds hope in communities banding together and new generations continuing to fight the good fight. Ultimately, though, like most Anderson films, One Battle is a story about family and love, and the mess and sweetness in each. It's got several of the best performances of the year, the best chase sequence in a very long time, and wears its heart on its sleeve. What more could you ask for? |
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I not only don't want to live in a world where we don't have The Pitt, but I can't even imagine a world without it. Out of what felt like nowhere, The Pitt gave us 15 episodes depicting one 15-hour shift at a Pittsburgh hospital with no music and at least a dozen performances worth shouting out. It's staggering how lived-in The Pitt's crew of doctors, med students, and surgeons feel; everyone from Gerran Howell's bushy-tailed Whittaker, to Supriya Ganesh's doing-okay-until-she-isn't Dr. Mohan feels ripped from real life. You simply believe them. (If you don't, that's precisely what the show is criticizing.) And the commitment of The Pitt's creative team—including ER veteran Noah Wyle, in what is increasingly looking like his career-defining role—to maintaining medical accuracy while tackling all of America's most urgent problems at once? It's this medium at the absolute peak of its powers. |
At least once (or, let's be honest, several) times per year, HBO drops a documentary that pierces you right in the heart. And, yes ... Pee-Wee as Himself did absolutely that. A few years ago, Paul Reubens—the comedian/actor behind the legendary children's program Pee-Wee's Playhouse—was finally ready to open about his long, impactful, and sometimes controversial career. For Pee-Wee as Himself, filmmaker Matt Wolf spent over 40 hours with Reubens, who died in July 2023. The result is a master class in maintaining both empathy and journalistic integrity in documentary filmmaking. |
The year's most audacious and ambitious album is almost too much to wrap your head around. Drawing on orchestral music and opera as well as Rosalía's flamenco training and pop experience, and somehow sung in 13 different languages, Lux is impossible to classify. It will require months, maybe years, to fully absorb. It's also riveting, powerful, rich and thrilling in ways no one could have anticipated—and it will be fascinating to see what she does with it all on stage. Is it even a pop album at all? Happily, that didn't seem to matter—Lux was Rosalía's highest debut on the US album charts and the most-streamed album in the world in its week of release, blowing minds with every play. |
Why is this woman not a huge superstar? Or is she already? When RAYE released this splashy single, it came with news of a world tour (which sold out pretty much instantly) and a forthcoming second album (which had been delayed when her car, with notebooks and work tapes, was stolen), so maybe 2026 will be her year. She's coming in hot anyway, with the powerhouse "Where Is My Husband!," a song she debuted at the Glastonbury Festival, with a frenetic, horn-powered arrangement reminiscent of "Crazy in Love" and her delightful, signature vocal blend of old-school wailing and hip-hop cadence. |
As a lover of short books, I don't read many 700-page novels. But there are a few writers I'm willing to make an exception for—and Adam Johnson, author of the Pulitzer-winning masterpiece The Orphan Master's Son, is one of those writers. The Pathfinder is a magisterial, awe-inspiring feat of historical and imaginative fiction that genuinely feels like traveling back in time, visiting another world, and inhabiting another mind. The book is set 1,000 years ago on the Polynesian islands, including the Kingdom of Tonga, and decades from now we may look back at The Wayfinder as one of the most remarkable and enduring works of fiction written during the 2020s. |
Like most celebrated legacy TV shows, Maron might not have perfectly stuck the landing. That's life. Endings are rarely perfect. WTF wasn't created on the idea of impeccability—Maron knew he wasn't perfect. Listening to Maron in 2025, compared to older episodes, feels like experiencing two different shows. Or maybe even three. Maron's evolution was plainly visible through his monologues and interviews, which ran the gamut of guests in entertainment, politics, and beyond. Others have written plenty on the importance of his show, myself included. Just as Maron was a pioneer in the medium when he started, he was a pioneer in ending it the way he did. |
I didn't want to believe the hype. Throughout the year, we saw so much breathless praise for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the debut role-playing game by French studio Sandfall Interactive, that it's hard to feel original naming it Esquire's Game of the Year. But there just isn't any way around it. It's not that Clair Obscur is a wholly different RPG experience from what fans of Persona or Final Fantasy expect, but it lifts the best elements from each and simply wears its influences on its sleeve. With a dark original world, a cast of complex and lovable characters, and some of the most creative turn-based combat we've experienced in years, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the full package. |
Thanks to everyone who wrote to me about their favorite Rob Reiner films. When Harry Met Sally… was the clear favorite among Reiner's filmography, with one reader even saying that they could quote it verbatim! I also saw some love for Miracle on 34th Street from a reader who was responding about their favorite Christmas movie. It's a classic for a reason! If you've looking for another hidden Christmas gem from the '40s, I recommend The Holiday Affair with Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh. The film follows a grieving widow who is torn between marrying a stable friend and a man she just met who sells toy trains. I put it on last week with some friends just looking for something sweet and it surprisingly grew on me.
Let me know what else you're planning to watch this holiday by writing to me at josh.rosenberg@hearst.com.
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Avatar Fire & Ash hit theaters this weekend. James Cameron spoke to Esquire about filming the third installment. / Photo: Disney |
The Continuing Adventures of the Esquire Entertainment Desk |
I would be remiss if I didn't mention all the amazing interviews that we published recently. For starters, Avatar: Fire & Ash director James Cameron told Roberto Croci all about the exciting third entry in his sci-fi franchise. The film—in theaters now—is another tour de force that you absolutely must see in IMAX 3D. "I see Avatar as a bit of a standout in the market; it always has been," Cameron says. "Can it save the industry? No, of course not. However, we can hope to demonstrate what cinema can still achieve." Read the interview here. Stranger Things cocreators Mark and Ross Duffer spoke to Anthony Breznican about ending their hit Netflix series. 1923 and The Housemaid star Brandon Sklenar told me all about his whirlwind last few years in Hollywood—and what's coming up next. ESPN analyst and The Pivot Podcast host Ryan Clark walked around Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh with Brady Langmann to talk about his growing sports media empire. And Kumail Nanjiani spoke with Eric Francisco about his latest stand-up special for Hulu, Night Thoughts, where he expounds on everything from how the media treated his Eternals misfire to why he dug deep to rediscover comedy after the 2023 Hollywood strikes. |
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Brandon Sklenar talked to Esquire about The Housemaid, 1923, and becoming a leading man in Hollywood. / Photo by: Blair Getz Mezibov |
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The Cliff-Hanger's Winners and Losers of the Week (All Winners Edition, to Honor the Spirit of Christmas) |
Winner: People Who Believe that Die Hard Is a Christmas Movie Say what you will about the action flick that just so happens to take place at a corporate holiday party, but Die Hard is a Christmas movie in our books. Case closed. Here are some more Christmas-adjacement films that also make the list. Winner: Timothée Chalamet The actor broke the Internet this weekend when he rapped about Marty Supreme on the remix of Esdeekid's "4 Raws." Chalamet fans spread theories around social media that the UK rapper—who continues to hide his identity aside from two eyes that poke out of his ski mask— bore a striking resemblance to the Marty Supreme actor. However, Chalamet had the last laugh when he hopped on a track with Esdeekid and laid down some bars. Winner: Charlie Heaton The Stranger Things actor told Letterboxd that Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story was one of his favorite movies of all time. As someone who will defend the music mockumentary starring John C. Reilly until the day I die, much respect sir! Winner: Steven Spielberg If anyone can save movies, it's Spielberg. The celebrated director looks to return next year with a mysterious sci-fi film that harks back to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Watch the exciting new trailer here. Winner: Pluribus Fans Apple TV announced that the Pluribus season 1 finale will arrive two days earlier than expected this week. Fans can watch the final episode on Wednesday, December 24, as a little Christmas treat. Happy Holidays. |
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