I find myself in an ethical conundrum these days. On the one hand, I’m disgusted by CNN, the epitome of white liberal smugness, and the business model that saw them put out a press release boasting they had their highest ratings ever during the Capitol insurrection on Wednesday last, the exact sort of opportunism they themselves would criticise Donald Trump for. On the other hand, I am totally and completely addicted to watching it.

It has provided both a thrilling and fast-paced documentation of the historically deranged final weeks of Trump’s presidency, and a source of obsessive viewing for this man very much in need of a reliable attentive outlet during a depressive episode. …

A year ago I would’ve thought an article like this unthinkably dumb. But in 2020, I got pretty stupid. Months of sitting indoors bored, depressed and with my face pressed up against a screen has led to this moment… a list of my 15 favourite TikToks of the year. Some are only seconds long, but each captures either a comedic or creative brilliance that was as much of a boost to my serotonin this year as any other media. Hopefully, next year, a list like this will not be necessary…

10 year old me using the light inside the car to put my seatbelt…

From stalwarts of the New York stage to up-and-coming British favourites, it’s time to reveal our latest selection of The 20 Best Actors Working Today. This is as objective as possible — I have excluded some personal favourites like Alec Baldwin, Jeff Daniels, Tom Cruise and Jim Carrey who I feel it’s simply untrue to call the best actors working in the hopes of giving this list a seriousness of intent. Therefore, I present to you now, this year’s list…

Perhaps the theatrical cinema experience did die in 2020 (and we hold our breath for its grand resurrection), but film certainly didn’t.

I saw less than ten new releases in a theatrical setting this year, but the best of the releases offered at home were as high a calibre as in almost any year.

What has emerged is a further blurring of the line between what is film and what is television, as when everything is watched on a TV either way it’s hard to differentiate.

Thus, for the first time in my now nine years compiling my Best Films of the Year lists, I have combined feature-length and episodic releases into a single list, though it’s heavily skewed towards the former. The TV that impressed this year was certainly as filmic as you can imagine: miniseries with a single creative vision and aspiration far beyond standard serialised offerings. …

Everyone got the chance to stop and listen in 2020. Time stood still and music kept us company in our most unexpected stretches of isolation. Luckily, some true talent was on hand to provide aural companionship throughout the year, from reimaginings of what folk can accomplish with the right assets, to celebrations of New York grime, seaside transcendence and a little bit of COVID-19 for good measure. With the annual disclaimer that I have little ability as a music critic, and often struggle to verbalise my reactions to the music I love, here are my favourite albums of 2020…

I was radicalised by The West Wing and then I was radicalised against The West Wing. I’ve just finished a three year degree I chose because it was called ‘Communication Studies’ and I wanted to be like Toby Ziegler, the Communications Director played by Richard Schiff on the show. I’m sitting in an office (for the next few hours at least — I figure there’s another lockdown on the horizon) with a poster signed by Schiff on the wall, with a ball on my desk for bouncing, living the Ziegler cosplay life. …