This year’s most-read post on Vulture was, unsurprisingly, a piece of Taylor Swift journalism. The star certainly had an eventful year, dominating venues, restaurants, condiments, and headlines. But she was far from the only thing that captured our attention—or yours. Here are the 20 Vulture stories that our readers spent the most time with in 2023.
Worth noting: We intentionally omitted TV recaps from this list, instead collecting our most popular show discussions in a separate article.
TV
After 34 seasons, 750 episodes, and a decades-long funk, the show innovated its way back to popularity and relevance. Read the story.
Celebrity
After her conservatorship ended, some of her fandom latched on to a new theory: What if she had never been freed at all? Read the story.
Emily Henry cracked the modern romance novel. Read the story.
Theater
The complete, from-beginning-to-end story of how Stephen Sondheim, David Ives, and Joe Mantello created the musical Here We Are. Read the story.
Movies
16. Power Bottoms
The NYU classmates behind the year’s most delightfully dumb comedy. Read the story.
Exit Interview
Producer Kevin Messick breaks down the HBO series’ abrupt cancellation and how they turned season two’s ending into a series finale. Read the story.
The Industry
14. Reality Check
The boom — or glut — in streaming documentaries has sparked a reckoning among filmmakers and their subjects. Read the story.
“I was dealing with being in a band with three complete addicts, and it wasn’t easy.†Read the story.
Podcasts
The podcast says it wants to have a conversation. What it really wants to do is give a sermon. Read the story.
Origin Stories
“Who Jackie?†has been retold for 28 years — much to the surprise of the Roseanne writer who said it. Read the story.
The Law
The actor is back on the Rust set. Since the death of Halyna Hutchins, his marriage has taken on a starring role. Read the story.
Close Read
“Connor’s Wedding†is a triumph of anticlimax. Read the story.
The Industry
In 1968, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting were the world’s most famous teens. In 2023, they sued Paramount for abuse. Read the story.
Stage Fright
Dizzying shooters, agonizing puzzles, and water stages (ugh) that raise the question: Continue? Read the story.
Making A Movie
Four animators say unsustainable working conditions are behind the success of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Read the story.
Profile
Her radically intimate daytime show is as much therapy for her as it is for her guests. Read the story.
Screen Time
The most overrated metric in movies is erratic, reductive, and easily hacked — and yet has Hollywood in its grip. Read the story.
It’s the most shattering ending of anything Christopher Nolan has made, and maybe even of any studio blockbuster in recent memory. Read the story.
The Industry
TV’s streaming model is broken. It’s also not going away. For Hollywood, figuring that out will be a horror show. Read the story.
Champagne Problems
Servers, bartenders, and owners explain what happens when Taylor Swift visits their NYC restaurants. Read the story.