What did you think of that Stranger Things finale?

Saturday, January 3, 2026

Hello! It's Annabel here and I have the pleasure of welcoming you into 2026 with the first culture newsletter of the year. Bear with me, the holidays may be over but my mind is still in twixmas mode – probably because of the frankly embarrassing amount of telly I consumed over the festive period. 

But can you blame me? There was just so much on offer, not least the long-awaited return of The Night Manager, Stranger Things (what did you make of that finale?) and The Traitors, which is back this week with a shocking new twist. There was also the release of the Oscar-tipped Sentimental Value, for which I spoke to the whole cast including a very funny Stellan Skarsgård –as well as Mary Supreme which made me suddenly want to take up table tennis. 

I myself gave Ricky Gervais' new Netflix special a miss, but my colleagues were left unimpressed both with that and the latest installation of Mrs Brown's Boys, which Sean O'Grady wrote has "plummeted to new lows". 

As much as now may be a time to look ahead at all the new books, films, and art picks for 2026, it's also an apt moment for reflection. Might I suggest a look back at how David Bowie's legendary Glastonbury gig came to be? It's not the story you may think. 

And with that, I'll catch you next time!

Tom Hiddleston's Jonathan Pine is on course to be a globetrotting icon on par with Mr Bond, writes Nick Hilton

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Timothée Supreme: How Chalamet finally escaped boy-next-door purgatory

The actor's new role as egomaniacal ping-pong prodigy Marty Mauser has seen him emerge as this awards season's Best Actor frontrunner. It's a watershed moment for a star whose ascendant career has not been without its teething issues, writes Xan Brooks

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