Everyone is playing Lethal Company right now. Call it a trend, or maybe it’s the next big game franchise, but take a look around any social media platform and you’ll find someone talking about how fun it is. A large part of why it’s so fun is how simple the game’s premise of collecting junk for money is, but that isn’t the only reason why so many people are playing it right now. Lethal Company currently has one of the most active mod scenes of any PC game right now, and the creator seems more than happy to let people add their own spin to the game.
Mods do enhance the experience of Lethal Company, taking an already fun game and making it even better, so if you’re interested in playing it with mods then here’s a handful that make the experience even better. If you’re unsure how to add mods, there’s a lot of guides out there you can use and it’s fairly simple — I personally used this one from The Gamer when installing mine.
(A quick note: There are a lot of mods out there that enhance how the game plays functionally or looks. While these are nice to have, this list is going to focus primarily on ones that improve the overall experience of the game.)
More Company
The More Company mod is maybe the most important mod to get for anyone who has a group larger than four people. Right now, the base game maxes the player out at four players, but with More Company, you will be able to play with up to 32 people. It’s better to cap yourself at eight because that’s the number the modder has designed any UI changes for, and it’s probably the most amount of players you can stick into a lobby without it feeling like too much. Lethal Company is best played with friends and this mod makes it so you don’t have to worry about someone missing out on the chance to play. It’s a must-get.
Reserved Walkie/Flashlight Spot
This one might be a little divisive among certain parts of the player base. Right now, when players order in walkie talkies or flashlights, they have to take up one of their four inventory spaces to carry them. This forces players to decide if they’d rather have those two items or focus on inventory space to bring back more scrap. What this mod does is make it so you have a slot exclusively for walkies or flashlights so they don’t take up your inventory space. For some players, that’s turning the game over to easy mode, but for others, it’s there for convenience.
It’s hard to argue against the convenience of the mod, because not only does this free up inventory space, but an even more valuable trait is it lets players use the flashlight and walkie without having to switch to them first. It’s cumbersome and kind of annoying to have to switch to either item anytime you want to use them and this mod makes it so they’re always at the ready. It, of course, is entirely up to the player if that’s what they want.
Skinwalkers
This mod is an absolute must. Skinwalkers give monsters the ability to repeat the voices of players throughout a session. This means that you could be in a dark hallway all by yourself and suddenly you will hear your friend calling out for help, only to discover that it’s not your friend, but a monster waiting for you. This adds an extra level of horror, along with some comedy to the game, because what the monsters choose to say is completely at random. It’s also for the entire session and not just a single round. So, hours ago, you may have said to nobody in particular “wow, it’s dark” only for your friends to hear “wow, it’s dark” multiple rounds later. It will even use the voices of players who have left the session, creating an extra level of creepiness to it.
This mod is just fun. It’s a feature that, whenever the creator of the game chooses to leave early access, will hopefully be a part of the normal game in the future. The only downside is that it requires using the in-game proximity chat to work, but honestly, that’s the way the large majority of people are playing Lethal Company anyway.
Mimics and MaskedEnemyOverhaul
Sometimes you just want a game to make you unable to trust anything you see. That’s what these two mods, Mimics and MaskedEnemyOverhaul, accomplish. As of right now, Mimics will create fake Fire Exit doors throughout the facility that you explore on each map. If you try to enter one of these fake exits, you will be immediately devoured by a monster. If that’s not scary enough for you, MaskedEnemyOverhaul makes it so random versions of your friends have the potential to spawn in on the map. If these fake versions of your friends capture you, then you are dead. Just a reminder: If you have Skinwalker on, then they can sound just like your friends, too.
These two mods work really well together because they create a constant sense of unease among players. Is the fire exit real? Where’s your friend? Wait, you see them walking toward you, but they’re being really quiet. Is that actually them? Sure, you have ways to defend yourself like a shovel, but that doesn’t mean you’re safe and a horror game is at its best when you never feel safe.
Brutal Company
Are you someone who truly loves Lethal Company and has already put tons of time into it? If so, then you might suddenly discover that you’re growing tired of the grind. You may even feel that it’s too easy. That is when you turn to mods to enhance the experience and there may be no better mod for someone like you than Brutal Company. To put it simply, Brutal Company makes the game considerably harder. Monsters can spawn outside the facility, they’re far more aggressive, and there can be a lot more of them.
In some ways this can be very not fun, because this also means that things like turrets will sometimes spawn inside your ship, or you will be killed by a flurry of monsters the second you step outside the ship because of bad luck. However, that’s the experience that Brutal Company is selling you on. If you want a more challenging experience, one where death is almost a guarantee, then this is the mod for you.
Below, we’re calling out 20 expensive bourbons that are perfect holiday sippers. The idea is that these bourbons are expensive, yes, but also exude holiday flavors and vibes in their flavor profiles. These are also just great whiskeys… that happen to be very expensive. But if the holidays aren’t the right time to finally splurge on some pricey whiskeys when is?
Before we dive in, a quick note on pricing. All of these whiskeys are highly allocated — meaning that only certain retailers and restaurants/bars receive a shipment of these whiskeys. Since they’re so rare, the price tag to the consumer will often be massively inflated. You know, like a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona or those Nike Airs that there were only 150 pairs of. The point is this: These whiskeys are rare and at times extremely expensive. But if you’re willing to pay the price, you can get every single one of these bottles right now.
Okay, capitalist economics out of the way — let’s dive in and find you the best bourbon to sip this holiday weekend.
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
Stagg is Buffalo Trace’s Mash Bill no. 1 (a low-rye mash) turned up to MAX volume. The whiskey spends about a decade resting in the old Buffalo Trace warehouses before it’s batched and bottled (in this case in Spring 2023) 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is rich on the nose with deep senses of dark chocolate brownies just kissed with stewed black cherry and old vanilla pods before a soft sense of red chili tobacco and wet brown sugar tobacco lead to a whisper of smoldering fall leaves.
Palate: That dark chocolate and chili-laced tobacco drives the taste toward a Christmas cake brimming with candied cherry, orange rind, rum raisin, clove, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and creamy vanilla icing with a dash of salt, marzipan, and brandy-soaked apple and pear orchards.
Finish: The rich and boozy holiday cake fades on the finish as deep earthiness — think firewood bark and smudging sage — drives the end toward a big Kentucky hug of warmth that’s just right.
Bottom Line:
That bold and delicious “Christmas Cake” with all the trimmings is the star of the show on the mid-palate of this whiskey. That makes this a great place to start your holiday bourbon-sipping journey.
The biggest drawback here is the ABVs. They’re very high. Don’t be afraid to pour this over a big ol’ rock for holiday sipping. I would maybe shy away from mixing this into cocktails as those high ABVs will tend to blow out subtler flavors and get you lit very, very fast if hidden behind a lot of sugars.
19. Joseph A. Magnus Cigar Blend Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This sourced bourbon is built from 11 and 18-year-old bourbon barrels. The real star of the show with this whiskey is that those bourbons were finished in Armagnac, Cognac, and sherry casks before vatting and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with sticky toffee pudding that amps up the cinnamon and nutmeg next to black-tea-soaked dates next to some stewed prunes wrapped in chili-chocolate-laced tobacco leaves and dripped in honey and then walnuts.
Palate: A savory fruitiness opens the palate with figs and pumpkin that leads towards an apricot jam with a hint of clove and cinnamon next to light touches of old library leather and funk.
Finish: A faint hint of dark berries arrives on the mid-palate before the finish luxuriates in burnt toffee, almond shells, more of that leather, and dried-out apricots.
Bottom Line:
This is a lovely balanced whiskey that feels like dessert in a glass. Slicing off some pumpkin pie or cherry chocolate cake? Pair it with this whiskey! The proof helps this maintain that balance, which also means that you can mix up a delightful old fashioned or Manhattan with this one.
18. Hirsch The Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Finished In Cognac Casks
This cask-strength version of Hirsch is made from a classic bourbon mash of 72% corn, 13% rye, and 15% malted barley. That hot juice then rests for six years in new American oak. Those barrels are batched and then re-filled into 30-year-old Hine XO fine cognac casks for another year-and-a-half of resting. Finally, the whiskey is batched and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose feels lush and oaky with a sense of Christmas cookies, mincemeat pies, and sticky toffee pudding next to stewed plums over fresh scones with a hint of brandy butter.
Palate: Old leather boots filled with cinnamon bark and a medley of dates, figs, and prunes lead to chocolate cut with red chili and vanilla and kissed with salt and dry cedar.
Finish: That cinnamon bark intensifies with dark red fruit, light chili pepperiness, and a sense of old malted cookies dipped in vanilla toffee on the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is like a nice glass of darkly fruity cognac meets Christmas sugar cookies with a hint of spice at the end. This might sound wild, but dip your Christmas cookies in this. It’s great. That all said, this is another whiskey with a lot of punch so we strongly recommend a little ice to calm it down for slow sipping.
This new version of Legent leans into the marriage of Kentucky and Japan in the bottle. The whiskey is a straight bourbon from Beam that spent eight years mellowing in Kentucky. That whiskey was then sent to the Yamazaki Distillery outside of Kyoto, Japan where blending legend Shinji Fukuyo transferred the whiskey into French and Spanish oak casks for another rest before batching again and re-filling the whiskey into the incredible Yamazaki Spanish Oak whisky casks for a final rest before blending, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a leathery sense of old dried chilis that have just been kissed with heat before a sense of dried cranberry and rich malted chocolate take the nose toward soft plummy cakes full of soft powdered spices.
Palate: A hint of maltiness comes through early on the palate with a fleeting sense of smoked red berries before deep vanilla buttercream creates a luscious foundation for rich pipe tobacco, cranberry sauce cut with anise, clove, and nutmeg, sticky toffee pudding, and mulled wine cut with toffee and dry reeds.
Finish: The spices warm on the finish before descending toward soft nutcakes and winter-spiced doughnuts with a light sense of stewed plum and pear over old saddle leather and rickhouse dank.
Bottom Line:
This is a creamy and rich pour that feels like figgy pudding in whiskey form. Overall, this is just a really nice slow sipper with or without a rock that also works wonders in any holiday-flavored whiskey-forward cocktail.
This year’s Cowboy Bourbon from Garrison Brothers is a blend of only 118 barrels of six-year-old Texas bourbon. 1,000 bottles of the crafty Texas whiskey will be available in mid-September at the distillery with an additional 8,600 bottles going out nationwide the first week of October.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a rush of sharp cinnamon bark wrapped up with old saddle leather, freshly fried apple fritters, walnuts, old cedar bark braids twisted up with dried wild sage, and a hint of dried yellow mustard flowers with an underlying sense of maple syrup over pecan waffles.
Palate: The palate leans into the spice with a hint of allspice and ginger next to apple pie filling with walnuts, brandy-soaked raisins, and plenty of brown sugar next to spiced Christmas cake dipped in dark chocolate sauce.
Finish: The end takes its time and meanders through salted caramel, stewed plums with star anise and sharp cinnamon, a hint of vanilla Dr. Pepper, and a mild sense of chocolate-cinnamon-spiced chewing tobacco buzziness with a warming Texas hug that’s part Hot Tamales and part chili-spiced green tea.
Bottom Line:
Dark chocolate and spiced Christmas cakes? Sounds perfect right about now. Pour this over a single large ice cube and let it wash over you.
15. Heaven’s Door Bootleg Series Vol. V 18-Year-Old Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged in Spanish Vermough Rogue Casks
The new Bootleg Series from Heaven’s Door is here! This year’s edition is an 18-year-old bourbon that’s finished in Spanish Vermouth Rouge casks. The whiskey was batched and bottled as-is with a one-of-a-kind piece of art from Bob Dylan serving as a label that’s reminiscent of going on the road with Steinbeck or Kesey.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Old honey pots with crystalized honey at the bottom open the nose toward rich and salted caramel next to a moist and lush vanilla cake dotted with dried brandied cherries and a note of old oak wrapped in tobacco leaves.
Palate: That tobacco marries to the salted caramel on the palate as the vanilla and cherry swim in brandy with rum raisin and a whisper of smudging sage smoldering in the background with some more tobacco.
Finish: The honey sweetness takes on a crisp and clear sharpness on the finish as the cherry gets tart and then sweet like a cherry cake with whispers of chili-chocolate tobacco and old barrelhouses on a cold fall day full of leaves brings it all to an end.
Bottom Line:
Throw on Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart album and pour this into a nice big glass. You’ll be set for great holiday sipping.
This first Booker’s release of 2023 was an hommage to Charlie Hutchens — the woodworker who makes Booker’s boxes the whiskey comes in and a long-time family friend to the Noe family who makes Beam whiskeys. The whiskey is a blend of mid to high-floor barrels from five warehouses. Those whiskeys were batched and bottled 100% as-is at cask strength after just north of seven years of aging.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Toasted almonds and walnuts lead the way on the nose with a deep and rich vanilla cake lightly dusted with cacao, dry cherry, and cinnamon with a touch of old oak cellars and black-mold-encrusted old deck furniture.
Palate: The soft caramel and vanilla open the palate before a rush of woody and sharp spices — clove, anise, allspice, red chili pepper — arrive with a sense of old wood chips on a workshop floor leads to salted toffee dipped in roasted almonds and dark salted chocolate with a whisper of cherry cordial backing it all up.
Finish: That soft sweetness counters the hot spices for a while on the slow finish as the spices take on an orange/cherry/vanilla Christmas cake vibe with plenty of nuts and ABV heat.
Bottom Line:
This is a very classically hewn Kentucky bourbon with a kick. Pour this over a single large rock to get a deep creaminess that turns that almond into marzipan and the cherry chocolate into Black Forest cake with a spiced holiday vibe.
13. George Dickel Bourbon Whisky Aged 18 Years Limited Release
The latest Dickel release is a monumental one. The whiskey is an 18-year-old Tennessee bourbon (made with a corn-heavy mash bill of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley). The batch was made from a very small selection of barrels that were left to do their thing in Cascade Hollow’s famed single-story rickhouses in very rural Tennessee. Once batched, the whiskey was proofed and bottled otherwise as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with a lush crème brulée served with a peach cobbler on the side before dark notes of winter spice barks and buds lead to a whisper of piney honey layered into tobacco that’s been braided with smudging sage and dry sweetgrass next to this hint of musty leather in an old cheese cellar.
Palate: That lush crème brulée drives the palate toward silken eggnog vibes with a sense of creamed honey, soft winter spice cakes brimming with dried fruit, nuts, and candied citrus before a dark sense of cellar floor dirt and old oak staves arrive with more of that tobacco braid.
Finish: The end leans into the lushness of it all and leaves you with a sense of walking through an old rickhouse that’s been standing for 100 years while holding a chocolate-dipped orange vanilla cigar in one hand and a smoldering marshmallow in the other.
Bottom Line:
This is a super dessert pairing whiskey, especially after a huge holiday meal. Those soft holiday notes are so vibrant thanks to the lower proof on this one — so don’t sleep on making a beautiful Manhattan with this.
This brand-new release from Wild Turkey is the first time Bruce Russell’s name has appeared on a bottle. Bruce teamed up with with dad (Master Distiller Eddie Russell) and his granddad (Master Distiller and legend Jimmy Russell) to create a bourbon that spoke to all three of their whiskey palates. The whiskey in the bottles ended up being a blend of 9-, 12-, 14-, and 15-year-old bourbon that all three of the Russells selected together. Once batched, that bourbon was bottled 100% as-is without filtering or proofing to highlight the beauty of the whiskey being made at Wild Turkey.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Lush vanilla oils are cut with salted caramel and dark cherry root beer made with real sasparilla next to warming winter spices (clove, anise, and allspice) that lean toward mulled wine, cherry-laced tobacco, and hints of dry smudging sage braided with sweetgrass.
Palate: That woodiness leads on the palate before a rush of vanilla buttercream and toffee rolled in roasted almond and dusted with dark chocolate powder shifts the taste toward warm apple pie filling cut with more cloves and allspice and washed down with cherry cola.
Finish: That dark cherry is just kissed with floral honey on the backend as the spices take on a woody bark vibe and the toffee makes a buttery and lush return with a near marzipan feel before old oak staves from a musty rickhouse lead to another braid of sage, cedar, and tobacco on the chewy and silky end.
Bottom Line:
This whiskey is all about a family working together — a grandfather, his son, and his grandson — to make a whiskey that is a little bit of each of them. Add in the deep holiday flavor notes and you pretty much have the perfect high-end bourbon to drink with your family.
11. Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bourbon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Wine Barrels
This is the 12th Cask Strength Bourbon release from Angel’s Envy but the first under new Master Distiller Owen Martin. Martin brings a deep knowledge of craft Colorado whiskey making and Scotch whisky to the table and it shows in this new release. The whiskey is a masterful blend of Angel’s Envy’s port-finished bourbons at cask strength, allowing the barrels to shine through. As a limited edition, there were only 22,656 bottles produced. The good news is that they’re going out to all 50 states.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Spiced cherry cake mingles with rich and buttery caramel sauce, toasted marshmallows, rum raisin, black-tea-soaked dates cut with cinnamon and nutmeg, and a deep sense of mulled wine cut with dark chocolate.
Palate: The palate leans into the mulled wine and sticky toffee pudding with a flourish of sea salt and orange zest next to lush vanilla buttercream, dark cherry spiced tobacco leaves, and old motorcycle jacket leather.
Finish: The end leans into brandy-soaked cherries dipped in dark chocolate next to dry sweetgrass, smudging sage, and cedar bark braided and stacked in an old cigar humidor next to a dry red wine cork with winter spice cakes, pear brandy marzipan, and deep dried fruits rounding out the end.
Bottom Line:
This is the best bourbon Angel’s Envy has ever released. If you can get your hands on a bottle, you’ll be for a deeply quintessential bourbon with deep holiday vibes. Moreover, the cask strength’s high(ish) ABV is well-balanced and never feels hot. It’s more like a warm hug on a winter morning.
This whiskey heralds back to Michter’s historical roots in the 19th century before the brand was even called “Michter’s.” The old Bomberger’s Distillery in Pennsylvania is where the brand started way back in the day (1753). The whiskey in the bottle is rendered from a very small batch of bourbons that were aged in Chinquapin oak. The staves for that barrel were air-dried for three years before coppering, charring, and filling. The Kentucky bourbon is then bottled in an extremely small batch that yields around 2,000 bottles per year.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet mashed grains — think a bowl of Cream of Wheat cut with butter and molasses — mix with sticky toffee pudding, old saddle leather, old cellar beams, and sweet cinnamon with a hint of candied orange and dark chocolate next to luscious eggnog with a flake of salt.
Palate: The palate is super creamy with a crème brûlée feel that leads to soft winter spices, dry cedar, and orange chocolates with a hint of pear-brandy-soaked marzipan in the background.
Finish: The end has a creamed honey vibe next to brandy-soaked figs and rum-soaked prunes with fresh chewing tobacco and salted dark chocolate leading back to dark chocolate and old cellar floors with a touch of smoldering orchard bark.
Bottom Line:
This might be the most refined holiday sipper on the list, making a great mid-point for this list. It’s just so easygoing when poured neat that you really won’t need much else until 2024.
9. Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 17 Years Old (BTAC 2023)
This year’s Eagle Rare ended up being 19 years and three months old (the “17 Years” on the label denotes the youngest barrels used for the brand overall). This year’s release was distilled and barreled back in the spring of 2004 and then left to rest all those years around the Buffalo Trace campuses in warehouses C, I, K, M, and Q. Once the barrels were batched, the whiskey was proofed and bottled as-is otherwise.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is like eating a moist and perfectly balanced Black Forest cake while walking through an old barrel house and out into a fallow fruit orchard with fall leaves crunchy underfoot and rain barely misty the air with hints of cinnamon cake, smudging sage, and sweetgrass rounding things out.
Palate: Orange cake and salted caramel lead on the palate with a sense of dark chocolate tobacco moving the mid-palate toward dry roasting herbs and a touch of nuttiness.
Finish: Cinnamon sticks and nutmeg pop up on the finish with a hint of vanilla buttercream and eggnog before the spices dry out with a sense of mince meat pie and old leather tobacco pouches.
Bottom Line:
This is pretty much a perfect Kentucky bourbon with deeply spiced holiday vibes. It’s also not over-proofed, meaning that you can easily sip this one all day long as you wrap presents, coo, and chill by the tree.
8. Knob Creek Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 18 Years
This is a super rare limited release for fall 2023. The whiskey in the bottle is Beam’s standard mash bill that’s distilled at a slightly different temperature and treated with a little more care during aging by placing barrels in very specific locations throughout their vast warehouses. After 18 long years, the best of the best barrels are small batched, and just proofed before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Dark molasses and pecan clusters with salted dark chocolate lead to brown butter, old figs, and salted caramel with a woody sense of cherry and apple bark next to cinnamon-laced cedar sticks with burnt orange.
Palate: The palate is full of lush vanilla notes next to singed cherry bark and apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, star anise, salted black licorice, and dark chocolate-covered espresso beans with a hint of dried red chili spice turning up the heat on the mid-palate.
Finish: The end has a floral honey sweetness that balances everything toward orange blossoms and bruised peaches, cherry tobacco, and clove tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This has a Christmas candy bowl vibe with a hint of nutty spiced fruitcake (but the good ones from Europe). Overall, pour this after the big meal and let it mingle with sweet treats through all the festivities.
7. Bardstown Bourbon Company Collaborative Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished In Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout Barrels
This new release from Bardstown Bourbon Company is a collaboration with Chicago’s Goose Island’s iconic Bourbon County Stout. The whiskey in the bottle is a blend of six- and seven-year-old Kentucky bourbons that are batched and then re-barreled into Bourbon County stout barrels. 12 months later, the whiskey is blended with another 9-year-old Kentucky bourbon, barely proofed, and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A moment of honey draws you in on the nose before veering toward rich and very dark chocolate with a deeply stewed cherry cut with oily vanilla, mulled wine spices, and pear brandy-soaked marzipan with a hint of candied orange zest, dry espresso beans, and moist tobacco leaves.
Palate: There’s a moment of malted chocolate shakes on the taste that leads to a rich spiced Christmas cake brimming with walnuts, sultanas, candied cherry, candied lemon rinds, and leathery dates that lead to moments of creamy and very boozy eggnog poured over a Black Forest Cake.
Finish: The Christmas spices, fruit cake, dried fruit, and eggnog all combine on the finish to create a rich and sumptuous finish full of luscious textures and just the right amount of spiced whiskey warmth.
Bottom Line:
This is a bourbon that’s finished with Christmas-y stout oak. That’s about as “holiday vibes” as you can get. It also helps that this is a delightfully dark and spicy sipper that’ll make a divine cocktail base for holiday-themed whiskey cocktails.
6. Michter’s US*1 Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 10 Years Old
The whiskey barrels sourced for these single-barrel expressions tend to be at least 10 years old with some rumored to be closer to 15 years old (depending on the barrel’s quality, naturally). Either way, the whiskey goes through Michter’s bespoke filtration process before a touch of Kentucky’s iconic soft limestone water is added, bringing the bourbon down to a very crushable 94.4 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a peppery sense of cedar bark and burnt orange next to salted caramel and tart red berries with a moist and spicy sticky toffee pudding with some brandy butter dancing on the nose.
Palate: The palate blends vanilla tobacco with salted dark chocolate-covered marzipan while espresso cream leads to new porch wicker and black peppercorns.
Finish: The end has a pecan waffle vibe with chocolate chips, maple syrup, blackberry jam, and minced meat pies next to old tobacco and cedar with a sweet yet singed marshmallow on the very end.
Bottom Line:
Marzipan and marshmallows help this one really shine this time of year. This is probably the best overall pairing whiskey on the list for all things holiday. You can pair this one with wrapping presents, eating sweets, the big meal, or just slow sipping next to the fire in a fantasticold fashioned.
5. Russell’s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 13 Years
This whiskey was made by Eddie Russell to celebrate his 40th year of distilling whiskey with his dad, Jimmy Russell. The juice is a collection of a minimum of 13-year-old barrels that Eddie Russell hand-picked. Those barrels were married and then bottled as-is with no proofing or filtration.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet and dried fruits invite you on the nose as a touch of fresh, creamy, and dark Black Forest cake mingles with mild holiday spices, dried almonds, and a sense of rich pipe tobacco just kissed with sultanas.
Palate: That dark chocolate and cherry fruit drive the palate as a hint of charred cedar leads toward vanilla tobacco with more of that dark chocolate and a small touch of honey, orange blossom, and a whisper of dried chili flake.
Finish: That honey leads back to the warmth and spice with a thin line of cherry bark smoke lurking on the very backend with more bitter chocolate, buttery vanilla, and dark cherry all combining into chewy tobacco packed into an old pine box and wrapped up with worn leather thread.
Bottom Line:
This is a delicious whiskey that balances dark fruit and woody spice with a deep Kentucky bourbon sweetness. Re-read those tasting notes and tell us that this doesn’t fit perfectly into a holiday weekend full of sweets, mulled wines, and holiday flavors. We triple-dog dare you!
4. Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 15 Years Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This is where the “Pappy Van Winkle” line truly shines. The whiskey in this expression is pulled from wheated bourbon barrels that are at least 15 years old. Once batched, the whiskey is just touched with water to bring it down to a sturdy 107-proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with freshly fried sourdough fritters dusted with ground almonds, sharp cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, burnt sugars, and maple frosting with a hint of old vanilla pods next to soft figs.
Palate: The palate leans into rich toffee with a sense of minced meat pies covered in powdered sugar frosting right next to sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel, orange zest, and tons of brown wintry spice countered by a moment of sour mulled red wine cut with dark maple syrup.
Finish: The end has a soft cedar vibe that leads to vanilla and dark cherry tobacco leaves and a hint of pine next to old white moss.
Bottom Line:
This is the time of year when you finally pop a bottle of Pappy. And if you’re going to do it, it might as well be the best one of the current lineup. This whiskey is everything you want it to be and then some. It’s beautifully nuanced and balanced while being full of flavor notes that pair with holiday food and vibes. Plus, how bad-ass is it to show up to a holiday party with a bottle of freaking Pappy? The most.
3. Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey, Batch 1
Jack Daniel’s doesn’t hide any of its processes. The mash at the base of this whiskey is a mix of 80% corn, 12% barley, and 8% rye. Those grains are milled in-house and mixed with cave water pulled from an on-site spring and Jack Daniel’s own yeast and lactobacillus that they also make/cultivate on-site. Once fermented, the mash is distilled twice in huge column stills. The hot spirit is then filtered through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal that’s also made at the distillery. Finally, the filtered whiskey is loaded into charred new American oak barrels and left alone in the warehouse. After 12 years, a handful of barrels were ready; so they were batched, barely proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is creamy with deep notes of old boot leather, dark and woody winter spices, black-tea-soaked dates, plum jam with clove, and an underbelly of chewy toffee-laced tobacco.
Palate: That creaminess presents on the palate with a soft sticky toffee pudding drizzled in salted caramel and vanilla sauce next to flakes of salt and a pinch of orange zest over dry Earl Grey tea leaves with a whisper of singed wild sage.
Finish: The end leans into the creamy toffee chewy tobacco with a hint of pear, cherry, and bananas foster over winter spice barks and a deep embracing warmth.
Bottom Line:
This is the perfect dessert bourbon to have around during the holidays. This whiskey is just so damn delicious that you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t like it immediately.
2. Old Forester President’s Choice Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This year’s President’s Choice Single Barrel bourbon from Old Foresters is yet another masterpiece from the Louisville brand. The whiskey in this case is a 10-year-old barrel that rested in a specific location in the West Louisville warehouses. Once it was just right, the whiskey was bottled as-is with a touch of water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The whiskey opens with a salted caramel apple nose that edges towards apple saltwater taffy with a creamy layer of spicy dark chocolate and a touch of orange blossoms and barrelhouse beams.
Palate: The palate takes the wintry spices and attaches them to the creaminess, creating an egg nog feel to the taste that leans into dark fruits and a hint of toasted coconut cream pie.
Finish: The end holds onto the spice but focuses more on anise (and maybe fennel) while the caramel and spice attach to sticky tobacco with a warming end.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those whiskeys that wow. It’s so concise and delicious from top to bottom while offering such a wide range of flavors that pair with everything holiday-themed from the tree to the big holiday meal to the pile of cookies and chocolates waiting for you to eat too many of. It’s just wonderful.
This is Buffalo Trace’s classic wheated bourbon. This year’s Weller BTAC was distilled back in the spring of 2011 and left to rest in warehouses C, L, M, and N for 12 long years. Those barrels were batched and this whiskey was bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Deep and dark candied black cherry mingles with dry cedar bark, molasses, real vanilla beans, nutty brown butter, and old leather rolled in pipe tobacco and just kissed with smoldering sage and dry chili pepper flakes.
Palate: The palate opens with a full blast of ABVs, making the front of your tongue tingle, as floral honey, cherry cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream, and brown butter streusel cut with nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove lead to a hint of dry orange tobacco.
Finish: Cinnamon sticks and clove buds floating in maple syrup arrive on the finish with a sense of old leather boots, the oak in an old rickhouse, orchard barks, and soft notes of vanilla and cherry cake.
Bottom Line:
This is another bourbon that’s so special and just plain delicious. The magic trick this whiskey pulls off is that those very high ABVs (proof) are so well-balanced that you barely feel them. Instead, you’re treated to this sense of slow warmth that’s like sitting next to a crackling fire while you sip perfectly made bourbon with deep holiday themes.
Sadly, some people die without ever fulfilling their life’s purpose. Others, like Bleachers‘ leader Jack Antonoff, are fortunate enough to know and work towards that inner calling at an early age. According to Antonoff, he was born to make music, and his multiple Grammy Award wins prove that. Unfortunately, not everyone considers being a professional musician a career path worth pursuing.
Yesterday (December 21), during his appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers, Antonoff jokingly revealed that he has beef with school guidance counselors for contributing to the stigma. When talking about his creative process going into recording an album, Antonoff put guidance counselors on blast.
“When I was younger, I always wanted to do music. And people would always be like, ‘Uh, well, that’s a tough life.’ Well, it’s all a tough life, and it’s also a beautiful life. And I wonder which guidance counselors got together and were like, ‘We’re gonna sh*t on this job,’” joked Antonoff.
He continued, “It’s not even like I want to fly in space. There’s music everywhere, and there’s so many jobs in music.”
Meyers joined in echoing the musicians’ argument: “If somebody walked into a guidance counselor’s [office] and said, ‘I want to be an astronaut,’ they’d be like, ‘Great,’ even though there’s like no astronauts.”
“Exactly. If someone wants to be an artist and work in music, somewhere along the way… it might be ending, but somewhere along the way, there this idea of, like, ‘Let’s get a plan B,’” exclaimed Antonoff.
In the case of musicians, typically, a diss track would follow things sort of digs, but maybe astronauts won’t get this transition where they’re at. Or maybe they don’t even have enough reception to respond. For those keeping track, Antonoff’s beef list now includes Ticketmaster and astronauts.
The initial movie adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire had Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, which added up to blockbusters dollars, and that’s nothing to sniff at. Yet in terms of quality and full-on (spiritual) faithfulness to the source material, AMC’s same-named series is actually better than the movie. It’s pulpy, heart-pounding, and much sexier than the original version that graced screens, and fortunately, AMC swiftly greenlit a second season, so we can see how Lestat de Lioncourt recovers from the attempt on his undead life, or not.
The series will eventually crossover with another AMC Rice adaptation series, The Witches Of Mayfair, but before that happens, let’s talk about what to expect about the upcoming, vamp-filled second season of Louis and Lester’s bloodthirsty adventures.
Plot
According to AMC, “There’s a new coven waiting in the wings.” That can only mean that it’s time to for Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia (now played by Delainey Hayles) to head towards Europe and encounter the Théâtre des Vampires. Armand (Assad Zaman) will be present, and the central pair will be sorting out the aftereffects of their joint stand against Lestat. As Anderson recently toldEntertainment Weekly, they will experience “psychological and literal repercussions.”
Of course, Louis is still in love with the fairly horrible creature called Lestat, so things will not be entirely rosy between the travelers. Also expect to see the same subsequently tragic developments that the book covered, as Anderson promised. “We definitely stick to the second half of the book, and I’d say it’s faithful to the spirit and actually the literal plot.” He did add that there is more room in the plot this season for the writers to “expand on ideas” that were “suggested” in the book.
That surely allows for more developments in present-day Dubai, which Anderson admits “is really explosive. Dubai really took me by surprise this season.” Whoa, does Lestat make his reappearance in the desert? Fingers crossed.
Cast
Lestat de Lioncourt will be worse for wear next time we see him again, but Sam Reid will be back in action. Jacob Anderson also returns as Louis de Pointe du Lac, along with Eric Bogosian as journalist Daniel Molloy and Assad Zaman as Armand. However, Bailey Bass will not return as Claudia with Delainey Hayles picking up the role.
Release Date
Production began ahead of the Hollywood strikes, which substantially slowed progress on the series. With that said, AMC will be able to air the new season sometime in 2024.
Trailer
Lookie here, it’s time for the Théâtre des Vampires era of the series. The fact that a trailer already exists is a good sign.
Slow Horses, the Apple TV+ spy series starring Gary Oldman has been a critically-acclaimed hit for the streamer, and that’s been especially true with Season 3. The latest installment arrived with a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The British-based series focuses on a group of disgraced M15 agents who are unceremoniously dumped in a dead-end department known as Slough House where they’re led by Oldman’s gassy and disheveled Jackson Lamb. While they’re not the sexiest agents protecting the United Kingdom, they get the job done despite being written off by their superiors and colleagues.
With Season 3 nearing the end of its mission, fans of the Gary Oldman spy series are curious to know when Episode 6 will start streaming. We got you covered.
When Will ‘Slow Horses’ Season 3, Episode 6 Come Out?
Slow Horses Season 3, Episode 6 will be available for streaming on December 27 at 12 AM EST on Apple TV+. The episode will be the Season 3 finale, but don’t worry, Slow Horses has been renewed for a fourth season. Gary Oldman will be back to fart his way into yet another round of international espionage.
APPLE
Here’s the official synopsis for Season 3 that’s based on Real Tigers, the third book in the Slough House series by Mick Herron:
“Slow Horses” is darkly funny espionage drama that follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 due to their career-ending mistakes. In season three, a romantic liaison in Istanbul threatens to expose a buried MI5 secret in London. When Jackson Lamb (Academy Award winner Gary Oldman) and his team of misfits are dragged into the fight, they find themselves caught in a conspiracy that threatens the future not just of Slough House but of MI5 itself.
The Slow Horses Season 3 finale streams December 27 on Apple TV+.
To be frank, 2023 belonged to Taylor Swift. As the “You’re Losing Me” singer’s The Eras Tour pauses, fans wonder if she’ll hit the studio to record anything new. Although Swift has a tight-knit collaborator circle (i.e., Jack Antonoff), several musicians have thrown their bid to be her next creative partner, including Nicki Minaj.
But the ever-so-vigilant Swifties believe they know who is next up. Based on photographs captured by the paparazzi in June outside of Electric Lady Studios, Stranger Thingsstar Joe Keery could be cooking something up with Swift. So, did Taylor Swift and Joe Keery record together? According to Keery, the answer is no. However, it appears that he’s attempting to hold in a secret.
The musician addressed the rumors during an appearance on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. “Well, that was a very confusing day. I was there with John [Rooney], minding my own business, not doing anything. And then I walked out the door, and it was like 1,000 people were standing out there. People looked at me expecting Taylor [Swift] and were like, ‘Who’s this guy?’”
He went out to confess that he, by way of his musical alias Djo, would be open to working with Swift. “Maybe that experience generated something in the universe, but I don’t know. We’ll see,” said Keery.
Megan Thee Stallion’s filmography has expanded yet again. With each on-screen (D*cks The Musical) or voiced cameo, the rapper will surely inject her musical talents into every character. Today (December 22), for Netflix’s Big Mouth, Megan Thee Hormone Monstress displayed her inner beast with savage lyrics to match her sexually fierce persona.
If the bars in “WAP” or “Bongos” made you clutch your pearls, you will want to brace yourself. “Motherf*cker so lit when he bringin’ that sh*t / Put you in that need to hit yo’ cl*t mood / So just quit that funny boy dreamin’ / ‘Cause there’s laughin’, then there’s creamin’ / Does he make your p*ssy wet or dry? / That’s the only question, and the p*ssy don’t lie / The laws of attraction / Don’t care ’bout nothin’ but your carnal satisfaction / It’s all in the p*ssy, and the p*ssy don’t lie / The laws of attraction / Gotta trust that feeling ’cause your brain is out of action,” raps Megan.
Whether she’s entering the Big Mouth multiverse or just the rap superstar we know and love, Megan Thee Stallion will use the parental advisory label well.
Listen to Megan Thee Stallion’s “P*ssy Don’t Lie” above.
Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Kristen Stewart realistically could have decided to retire after The Twilight Saga. Those movies pretty much set her up for a (reasonably priced) life(style), but she has moved onto greater challenges such as Oscar fare with Spencer and gotten freaky with David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future, but those are only a few of her most recent swings. She also produced a “super gay ghost-hunting adventure” series, and next up?
Stewart will romance a bodybuilder in A24’s Love Lies Bleeding. That’s not the entirety of what this film is about, of course. Let’s get into it now.
This “Revenge Gets Ripped” poster already says plenty, but it doesn’t tell us everything, obviously. Yes, that’s an obnoxious way to begin discussing plot, especially since director Rose Glass’ (Saint Maid) presence means that this story is in fine hands.
The film stars a mulleted Kristen Stewart as Lou, the daughter of an FBI-hunted criminal, portrayed by Ed Harris looking like Richard O’Brien’s Riff Raff. Lou ends up becoming enamored with Katy O’Brian’s Jackie, a ripped bodybuilder from Oklahoma who gets pulled into the town’s criminal underworld, and that leads to trouble, but don’t worry: Jackie can kick ass, and Lou can be in the driver’s seat.
The two become entwined in a steamy romance, but also, expect murder and mayhem. Stewart seemed pumped (pun fully intended) for this movie’s debut as she described the central pairing. “They are both so bizarre, but so different, and I think the line through them is desire,” the Clouds of Sils Maria actress explained. “I think there is a visceral kind of raging desire that comes out in both of them, but in a very different way.”
From the synopsis:
From Director Rose Glass comes an electric new love story; reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.
Cast
This isn’t simply a Kristen Stewart movie. Katy O’Brian wanted the co-leading role, and she got it. How? She was hanging on Twitter and noticed an aggregated mention of this movie looking for a “female bodybuilder”-type for the gig, and she threw her hat in the ring: “I’m free.”
2023 brought a slew of highly anticipated returns and splashy specials from some of comedy’s biggest names as well as a healthy injection of fresh voices to a form that can grow stale when it feels like an assembly line of the same old same. Whether you’re looking for personal storytelling that’ll make you feel while making you laugh, pointed political comedy that’ll make you think, absurdist riffs, or relatable observations, there is literally something for everyone in this list (presented in alphabetical order) of what we feel represents the 15 best comedy specials from this year. Enjoy… or take to Twitter to tell us we’re idiots for leaving out your favorite special. Whichever!
Baby J – John Mulaney (Netflix)
Netflix
Near the start of Baby J, John Mulaney warns that his stand-up has a different vibe now. And while that’s a little true as he delivers a blow-by-blow of his intervention, stay in rehab, and efforts to scam pills and drug money, his supreme talent is the same as it ever was. The meticulously layered jokes within hyper-compelling stories powered by pops of self-deprecation? Check! Those knowing winks that made him our comedy boyfriend before Bo Burnham was anything more than a YouTube twerp? Double-check!
While the darkness of Mulaney’s semi-recent past is the headline, Mulaney performs through those stories with a kind of detachment no doubt established by where he is in his life as a husband and father with some miles between him and the (“obnoxious, wasteful, and unlikable”) stories he’s willing to share. The only ones he’s willing to share because Mulaney refuses to be completely remade, as a performer, by the events of the last few years. He couldn’t control the headlines before, but he can control this. He can allow himself to control this.
As he sings during the special, “Likeability is a jail,” but with Baby J, Mulaney is going over the wall, at one point saying in one of the special’s only truly serious moments, “All I cared about was what other people thought of me. And I don’t anymore.” Good for him and for us. – Jason Tabrys
I first found this special after being trapped in a car for half a day and it amazingly held my interest, kept me awake, and caused me to laugh my ass off. A rewatch confirmed that exhaustion played NO PART in my enjoyment. Django Gold is a comedic voice that demands attention.
With his glasses on, he sort of looks like a young David Letterman. The commitment to jokes with hyper-specific language and phrasing recalls Norm Macdonald a little bit too. But Gold, who has also written for Colbert, is his own thing with a bemused vibe and a bunch of well-crafted material on the parallels between adult unemployment and teenage slacker-hood, the shifting definition of nerds, and how AI can’t “channel the clumsy grace of the human soul.” – Jason Tabrys
There are some subjects that seem too grim to ever joke about, but comedian Marc Maron blows through most of them in his HBO comedy special, which runs the gambit from jokes about the Holocaust to a carefully crafted joke about the death of his late girlfriend, director Lynn Shelton. Maron’s self-effacing grumpy-old-man schtick works perfectly as he describes the unique situation of grieving during the pandemic, wringing laughs from the most brutal of situations. The special starts with the idea that “things aren’t going to get any better,” so this isn’t the kind of stand-up show meant to coddle the audience or offer hope. Instead, it’s a deeply cathartic hour that gives Maron a chance to work through some of his demons and allows anyone with a twisted sense of humor to feel a little less alone. – Danielle Ryan
Few events grew as immediately annoying to think about as “the slap,” when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards, which makes the idea of an entire hour of stand-up about it seem positively unbearable. Somehow, against those odds, Marlon Wayans managed to make one of the best specials of the year, centered entirely around his personal relationship to Smith, Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Rock. Instead of making hackneyed, misogynistic jokes at Jada’s expense or airing the Pinkett-Smith family’s dirty laundry for uncomfortable laughs, Wayans mostly makes fun of situations and the bizarre ironies of life. (There are a few friendly jabs at both Smith and Rock, but they clearly come from a place of love and respect.) God Loves Me is shockingly hilarious given its central conceit, but let’s have Wayans special be the final word on the subject, okay? – Danielle Ryan
Comedian Zainab Johnson has only recently burst onto the scene, and her first stand-up special, Hijabs Off, is a laugh-riot done in the round, with the audience on all sides. That might seem intimidating for a newer comic, but Johnson is seasoned in life, as she explains throughout her set. As a Black Muslim with twelve siblings, Johnson has her fair share of wild experiences both funny and tragic, and she knows how to mine them both equally for laughs. Johnson’s style of comedy is bold, often softening the audience up with a funny anecdote only to punch them in the gut with the harsh reality of living as a Black Muslim woman in America. Her delivery is assured, her command of the room better than some comedians with decades under their belt. Johnson is going to be a comedian to watch, and Hijabs Off is a brilliant entry point. – Danielle Ryan
One of 2023’s best and most consistently laugh-out-loud funny specials has, probably, its most esoteric joke, told in the most delightfully unhinged way.
“I WOULD LIKE TO BUY A DILDO!” Pete Holmes screams repeatedly, mid-set, barely constraining his glee at the naughtiness of the phrasing and the confusion of an audience that takes a second to get the point of what he’s doing. That’s Holmes, clever, inventive, a little naughty, and exuberant in the comedy that he is sharing with us. My interview with him is one of my favorites from the year. In it, we discuss, at length, his penchant for laughing at his own material during the special and he offered this thought, which makes a lot of sense.
“It’s a powerful thing as a theatrical device to remember that I’m not trying to make you laugh. I’m inviting you to laugh at what I like to laugh at and how better to do that in the quickest and most efficient way than to just let myself laugh?”
In letting off a little giggle or otherwise letting us in on the joy and fun of the moment, Holmes is recreating the nirvana of being in a friend’s basement, laughing ourselves silly while goofing off. That’s pure comedy goodness, right there. – Jason Tabrys
The greatness of Wanda Sykes is on full display with I’m An Entertainer, her first special since 2019 and a tour de force that connects the personal to the political in powerful ways. Moving from stories about menopause to stories about living through the Summer 2020 wave of racist violence in the US, pandemic lockdown with her family, and the issues of the day, Sykes is commanding and clear. This is especially true when it comes to double standards on the left and the right.
She’s not hearing “when they go low, we go high.” She wants to have fun and not be bound by facts and rules of civility, comparing Democrats to PBS and Republicans to TLC. Politicians who say they’re trying to “protect the children” by banning books and speaking out against drag performers while being silent on gun violence take the biggest hit, with Sykes saying, “Until a drag queen walks into a school and beats eight kids to death with a copy of To Kill A Mockingbird I think you’re focusing on the wrong sh*t.”
To be sure, if you’re on the same side of the ideological divide as Sykes (or open to the idea of breaking out of a political box), this is first pump-level comedy. If you’re not, I don’t know, go watch a Rob Schneider special, I guess. – Jason Tabrys
There is no other stand-up special like John Early’s Now More Than Ever. The alt-comedian mixes musical numbers, cringe comedy, and pop-culture commentary to create his first hour-long HBO special, and it’s a doozy. The special, directed by Emily Allan and Leah Hennessey, is done in the style of a 1970s rock documentary and makes it feel like This Is Spinal Tap mixed with being trapped at a karaoke bar during a rather rambunctious gay birthday party. It’s weird! But it’s also full of scathing commentary on society and some pretty funny bits, though each viewer is likely to laugh at something different because there are so many different kinds of humor sprinkled throughout. It will be interesting to see where Early goes next, because Now More Than Ever will be difficult to top. – Danielle Ryan
Canadian comedian Mae Martin’s first hour-long standup for Netflix, SAP, is a warm and quirky look at life that weaves in funny observations alongside heartfelt confessions about gender and identity. Directed by Abbi Jacobson of Broad City fame, the special feels more like you’re joining Martin for a campfire chat than watching a stand-up special, with fake trees and a starry sky behind them that makes the whole thing especially atmospheric. SAP deals heavily with gender, dysphoria, and transphobia stemming from Martin’s life as a non-binary person without pointing fingers and getting angry, instead asking for empathy and understanding. Audiences looking for hard punchlines or standard joke formulas might feel a bit lost in Martin’s storytelling, but there are plenty of laughs to be had, they’re just a bit more sly. SAP is full of humor and heart, and promises great things to come for Martin’s future in comedy. – Danielle Ryan
The gravel-voiced stand-up veteran has a grab-a-beer-after-a-show vibe and a penchant for putting out high laugh-per-minute no-bullshit specials that eschew bigger settings and more show-y visuals.
Make no mistake, Shocks And Struts is on here because it’s flat-out funny, but also, more than any other special this year, it feels pure and transportive, making it seem as though you’re in the room watching Kinane own the stage and kill with his brand of well-honed and twinkle-eyed observational storytelling around topics like jam bands and drinking on a cruise ship. – Jason Tabrys
Joe Pera went and filmed his first-ever full-length standup special and then he went ahead and released it for free on YouTube. That’s cool. As is the special itself. Pera has a style unlike anyone else, slow enough to lull you to sleep and then punctuated with outrageous twists. There’s a bit in here about a squirrel with a pita chip that I’ve been thinking about for months. It’s all just entirely nice and fun and strange and silly and everything you could ever want out of a standup special to watch a bedtime. This, to be clear, is one of the highest compliments I know how to give. – Brian Grubb
I’m actively working to break a bad habit where I sometimes put on stand-up special that I’m not writing about as though it’s a podcast, letting them play in the background while I cook or ride a bike. Multi-tasking is death for anything with nuance, though, and I didn’t sufficiently feel Someone You Love until I watched with full focus while preparing for an interview, charting the goodness of Silverman’s run through everything from religion to life coaches, dried fruit, abortion, language, and obscure porn genres in an hour that’s fun, often silly, and meticulously crafted for maximum comedic effect. We discussed that craft with Silverman in that interview and it’s fascinating to learn about not just how she builds material, but moments where she reckons with a change in approach from the hardcore to the more earnest. – Jason Tabrys
Sasheer Zamata spent years as an ensemble player on SNL, lending her comedic talents to live sketches and musical parodies without ever reaping the fanfare awarded to peers like Vanessa Bayer and Leslie Jones. Just why Zamata was so underutilized on the long-running comedy series is the top-of-mind question her latest special will leave you pondering. Casually charismatic with an effortless sense of comedic timing, her hour-long stand-up, The First Woman, feels more like a breezy, intimate sit-down than most specials we’ve seen as Zamata engages the crowd on the most ridiculous of subjects before sharing anecdotes so personal, it almost feels wrong to laugh. She switches between silly – a segment in which the audience is asked to share which household items they first masturbated with is a stand-out – and serious, diving into taboo topics like mental health, how the healthcare system fails black women, and femvertising in a way that’s hilarious and fascinating, but never didactic or dull. – Jessica Toomer
The Old Man And The Pool – Mike Birbiglia (Netflix)
Netflix
The 40s and 50s comedy guys sure seem to be talking about death and dying a LOT in their specials, but no one can impact the heart and head like Birbiglia, comedy’s resident master storyteller. Here, Birbiglia visits heavy topics around sickness and health, stubbornness, family, and finding something to live for. The subject matter isn’t for everyone (specifically those of us still pretending that we’re going to live forever), but it will be, eventually, so if you can get there, get there. – Jason Tabrys
In this time of overexposure and content overload we rarely get to actually miss a comedian, but goddamn did we miss Trevor Noah. The now-former Daily Show host left that gig in December of 2022 and hit the road, touring the globe and building material while keeping off our screens. Now he’s back with this just-released Netlfix special, demonstrating his unique way of cutting through the noise to make clearheaded points about how our outrage is weaponized against us while also riffing on sexified National Anthem performances, being roasted while shopping for clothes in Paris, and his five favorite things about white people.
With that last bit, Noah trades cliches for undeniably fresh and funny observations that get big laughs. In particular, the physical comedy at the heart of the Olympic swimming joke and the payoff for his take about white people loving the song “Sweet Caroline” allow the whole thing to build into an utterly memorable and epic closer. As good as Noah was behind the Daily Show desk, Where Was I reminds us that he’s one of the best in the game as a comic. – Jason Tabrys
In a year that saw superhero movies crash and burn with shocking regularity, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse swung into theaters and wowed audiences. Packed with wildly original visuals, pitch-perfect needle drops, and compelling characters, Across the Spider-Verse racked up rave reviews. However, it also ended with a major cliffhanger that has left Spidey fans eagerly waiting the next sequel, Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Here’s everything we know about the next Spider-Verse installment:
Plot
While plot details for Beyond the Spider-Verse have not been released, the cliffhanger ending for Across the Spider-Verse offers a rough idea of where the story is heading. That film saw Miles Morales get transported to Earth-42 instead of his home dimension. In defiance of Miguel (a.k.a. Spider-Man 2099), Miles tried to return home and stop The Spot from killing his father. Instead, Miles landed in Earth-42, which is where the spider that gave him his powers came from, making Miles an “anomaly” that threatens the whole multiverse.
While in Earth-42, Miles gets to experience his worst nightmare as he’s faced with a world where his father died in the line of duty. His Uncle Aaron, however, is still alive, only this time he’s not the villainous Prowler. That moniker belongs to this universe’s Miles, and he’s all business.
Desperate to save the Miles we know and love, Gwen Stacy reforms the team from the first Spider-Verse movie (along with some new additions) and sets off to save Miles before Miguel and the other multiverse-traveling Spider-Men can get to our hero first.
Cast
Considering there haven’t been any reports to the contrary, and it’s a direct sequel, we feel confident in saying that Beyond the Spider-Verse will bring back the voice cast from Across the Spider-Verse. That includes Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy, Oscar Isaac as Miquel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099, Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker, Mahershala Ali as Aaron Davis, Daniel Kaluuya as Toby/Spider-Punk, Issa Rae as Spider-Woman, Andy Samberg as Ben Reilly/Scarlet Spider, and Jason Schwartzman as The Spot.
There’s also a good chance that we could see the return of John Mulaney’s Spider-Ham and Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Man Noir, who were both spotted in the final moments of Across the Spider-Verse.
Release Date
Beyond the Spider-Verse was originally slated for release on March 29, 2024. However, the film has since been “delayed indefinitely” following complications from the SAG-AFTRA strike and reports that the animation would not be completed in time. As of this writing, Sony has not yet announced a new release date. However, Christopher Miller confirmed during a Q&A in December 2023 that production is moving along, and the film is coming.
Trailer
Sony Pictures Animation has not released a trailer or any promotional material for Beyond the Spider-Verse, but we’ll definitely keep you posted once marketing material starts swinging its way online.
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