Top 10 Things You Missed in January 2024

What’s in a name? We’re not sure exactly, but there is something about a wine called Josh that does seem just ordinary enough to be extraordinary. Named for the father of vintner Joseph Carr, Josh Cellars wine is a budget grocery store staple, as unpretentious as its moniker. Whatever they’re doing apparently worked for Rashad Eason. Eason’s tweet praising Josh went unexpectedly viral, spawning memes and joking retweets. We don’t know if it's the seemingly linear comparison between budget brands, or if a wine named Josh really is just too unexpectedly funny to resist, but it briefly united the corner of the internet in a round of good natured fun. What better note to give legs to the new year? We’ll raise a glass to that.

For anyone drained by the emotional messiness of “Love is Blind” or the superficial formula of “Too Hot to Handle,” Netflix's Korean alternative “Single’s Inferno” was a breath of fresh air. Despite its steamy title, the show was always pretty wholesome. Just good looking, fully clothed people getting acquainted in beautiful settings. Then season 3 delivered us Lee Gwan-hee. The professional athlete went through the show like a chaotic tornado, yo-yoing among three women, and always most invested in whoever he spoke to last. His antics caused emotional breakdowns, and stern confrontations, exhausting absolutely everyone by the season’s end. And we couldn’t look away. Like him or not, we have to admit that Gwan-hee made Single’s Inferno Season 3 the most addictive yet.

Docuseries like “Cheer” put collegiate cheerleading in the spotlight, but dance teams rarely get the same attention. Until the University of Minnesota quite literally turned everyone’s heads. The ensemble took the stage and the internet by storm at the Universal Dance Association College Nationals with a performance set to the Aerosmith classic, “Dream On.” Their sharp choreography was impressive, but it was the turns, performed in perfect unison that really blew people away. The awe-inspiring sight sparked a TikTok craze with dancers and non dancers alike trying to give the sequence a whirl. Now Minnesota can proudly say they’ve put the internet in a spin, and that’s surely the real prize. Okay, their first place in poms probably felt good too.

When Queen Elizabeth II passed away in 2022, her son Charles ascended the throne in the traditional model of power transfer. But over in Denmark, Queen Margrethe II reminded us recently that it’s not the only way. Having ascended the throne in 1972, Margrethe was the longest-reigning queen in her nation’s history, with the second longest reign over all. The beginning of 2023 marked her golden Jubilee. However, she admitted in December that the job had taken a toll on her health, affecting her ability to carry out her duties. On January 14, after 52 years on the throne, she formally abdicated in favor of her son Frederik. What does a Queen do in retirement? We’re sure Margrethe is looking forward to finding out.

In unfortunate news for Blinks the world over, it looks like Blackpink might not be in anyone’s area for a while. Despite years of baffling management choices, the mega music act’s representation, YG Entertainment, announced in December 2023 that the quartet had renewed their contracts. However, it was quietly revealed just before New Year that while the members remained with the company for group activities, they had cut ties individually. Jennie has announced the launch of her own company, Odd Atelier, and Jisoo has signed under her brother’s management, while Lisa has been pursuing opportunities abroad. No word on Rosé’s next step, but the talented musician surely has something in mind. Blackpink haven’t disbanded, but it does seem like they’ll all be doing their own thing for the foreseeable future.

Need a holiday, post-holidays? Though it will likely be 2025 before we all make it back to the luxurious, if slightly cursed, White Lotus Resort chain, HBO has announced some of the faces we can expect to see when we do. The Gilded Age’s Carrie Coon will bring her expertise in high society to this party, along with Jason Isaacs, and Parker Posey, both of whom have proven track records playing terrible rich people. They’ll be joined by a slew of notable actors including Michelle Monaghan, Walter Goggins, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Aimee Lou Wood. This outing will also feature the return of Season 1’s Natasha Rothwell, hopefully to get some much deserved justice for Belinda.

How this 2023 debut flew so under the radar is a mystery. Almost as big a mystery as the game at its heart. Set in a real Scottish castle, and hosted by Scottish national treasure, Alan Cumming, “The Traitors” features a group of 20 celebrities trying to find and eliminate the titular traitors in their midst, while surviving themselves to claim a cash prize. It’s like the party game Mafia, but on a much grander scale. Season 2 premiered January 12, promising new twists, turns, and challenges. And we’re pumped to dust off our Sherlock Holmes deerstalker, and go along for the wild ride.

We can’t look forward to new seasons of anything without acknowledging the shows that have been taken from us too soon. Among some of the more disappointing cancellations we’ve gotten in 2024 is the joyful ode to musical theater that was Apple TV+’s “Schmigadoon!” The comedic fantasy about a hidden musical town was praised by critics and loved by fans, serving two seasons of clever, catchy escapism. But despite 25 songs having already been written for Season 3, the streamer unceremoniously dropped the curtain on any future reprises. Over at Max it was stormy waters for “Our Flag Means Death.” Strong performances and a vast crew of devoted fans still couldn’t get this beloved Pirate comedy a lifeboat. Talk about your buried treasure.

2023 was a great year for animation fans. We got engaging stories wrapped in boundary busting artistry featuring lovable mutants, and anarchic shapeshifters, and a whole multiverse of Spider people. We got a moving addition to one master’s legacy, and a stunning building block of a legacy in the making. Meanwhile, on the small screen, Netflix delivered a near perfect season of television with their original, “Blue Eye Samurai.” When the Annie nominations came out on January 11th, all these great works got their nod, but one name was conspicuously absent. Disney. For the first time in 32 years, the studio found itself locked out of the Best Feature Film race. Though the studio had two major animated releases this year, both had their issues, and against such a stacked field of competition, ultimately neither “Wish” or “Elemental” could hold their own. Is this the end of the Mouse’s supremacy? One thing’s for sure: Disney has to step it up if they’re going to keep up in the future.

During 2023’s months-long SAG-AFTRA strike, one of the most pressing issues for actors of all mediums was to establish very firm boundaries on the future use of AI in entertainment. Then the union’s voice actor members were left reeling in January when it was suddenly announced that SAG-AFTRA had struck a deal with AI voice technology startup, Replica Studios. The agreement, which is currently limited to video games, would allow the company to license and digitally recreate an actor’s voice with the informed consent of the performer, a deal that SAG leadership insists was brokered with enthusiastic backing from voice actor representatives. Except it seems like no one in that community knows what they’re talking about. Voice actors have taken to social media, enraged by the threat this deal poses to their livelihood, and the fact that it seems to have been made behind their backs. Whatever went down, SAG’s action definitely came off as shady, and it’s no wonder these actors feel they’ve been betrayed.

So how was your January? Anything catch your eye that no one is talking about? Let us know in the comments.