More than half of Americans polled prefer rewatching comedies to other genres

‘The Larry Sanders Show’ redefined the American sitcom by cutting the laughs

"The Larry Sanders Show" avoided both live studio audiences and canned laughs, implying viewers didn’t need to be told when to react. That was not common at the time—TV’s most popular live-action sitcoms, “Seinfeld” and “Cheers,” both relied on the more traditional approach—but the choice had a profound effect.

Soap operas are significantly less popular now than in past decades

In the genre’s heyday, soap operas commanded large audiences. But recent decades have found the soap opera in steep decline. One data journalist suggests it's an issue of classification: Shows similar to soap opera, like “Grey’s Anatomy,” remain popular, though they’re not considered soap operas because they resemble “prestige television.”

Despite the popularity of podcasts, most US adults still listen to radio

A 2026 survey found that 84% of adults aged 25-64 report listening to the radio weekly. That's more than double the number of those who listen to podcasts.

YouTube occupies more US screen time than Netflix

As consumers continue to shift their viewing activity away from traditional cable and broadcast TV, they’re spending an increasing amount of time streaming content, much of it on YouTube. In fact, Nielsen data from August 2025, shows that YouTube accounted for 13.1% of US screen time, compared to Netflix’s 8.7%.

The best cult TV shows

Before the streaming era, television shows lived and died by their weekly ratings. That led to early cancellations for several well-regarded shows, like "Freaks and Geeks," "Party Down," and "Veronica Mars." Thanks to DVD boxsets and streaming, the shows often became cult classics long after they were taken off the air.

The unexpected rise of the global romcom

The romantic comedy has mostly fallen out of favor in the US, but it's booming in other parts of the world, including India, Nigeria, and South Korea. Rebecca Liu talks with film scholars and industry veterans to unpack why that happened and whether an American romcom renaissance is possible.

Existential dread still informs popular comedies

Although the Theater of the Absurd was primarily a 20th-century trend, a similar kind of existentialist-minded comedy still exists in popular culture. Films like “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and television shows like “BoJack Horseman” tackle the same issues that existentialist thinkers like Sartre, Beauvoir, and Camus explored, transforming those profound questions into thought-provoking and crowd-pleasing works of comedy.

‘Saturday Night Live’ cast rank the show's best comics

"Saturday Night Live" has held a unique role in the cultural zeitgeist since its founding in 1975, providing a national stage of silly mockery and filling our Sunday feeds with the latest impressions of public figures. In its 50th year, 50 cast members weigh in on who their favorite casts and individual comedians were. Read their various opinions here.

Nearly a quarter of the US's 451 top-ranked podcasts belong to the true crime genre

Perhaps, Pew Research Center proposes, this popularity stems from the fame of "Serial," the 2014 hit series about a 1999 murder in Baltimore. Politics and government is the second top genre. Outside typical genre divides lie series such as fictional radio stories and Dungeons & Dragons podcasts, which account for 12% of top-ranked podcasts.

Netflix is leaning into low-cost reality programming

The streamer now produces far fewer scripted shows than it did in the past. Instead, it's focused more on low-cost, unscripted reality programming.

The most critically acclaimed HBO shows

HBO has released a long list of classic TV shows which have come to define the medium. This Rotten Tomatoes chart ranks HBO’s best series based on their aggregated critics’ scores, with classics like “The Sopranos” and “The Wire” joining newer hits like “Succession” and “Barry.” Check it out here.

Why cartoons are an ideal form for satire

For decades, TV shows like "The Simpsons" and "South Park" have satirized American culture and politics. Satire thrives on hyperbole, and cartoonists' ability to render the world in any way they choose allows for more elevated critiques.

97% of Americans polled say they like or love ice cream

The poll—conducted by the International Dairy Foods Association and Morning Consult—asked over 2,200 American adults. The top flavor for Americans? Vanilla.

The data on sequels in 11 charts

Sequels, reboots, and other adapted content are generally on the rise in Hollywood, with nearly half of all movies based in some previous film or story. This set of 11 charts dives into the data on sequels, including their budgets, critical success, performance in relation to the original, and more.

At its core, stand-up is about a comic making a crowd laugh

The performance style typically features a single performer who aims to make an audience laugh. It evolved from 19th and 20th-century American comedy traditions and has since grown into an influential—and commercially successful—international artistic form.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Americans are retiring later than they used to

A Gallup poll from 2022 found that the percentage of adults between the ages of 55 and 74 who are retired is declining.

'The Simpsons' celebrated 800 episodes in 2026

The beloved family from Springfield reached a milestone in 2026, surpassing 800 episodes. In this Associated Press feature, the show's creators and stars reflect on the series' history, from its controversial early days to its present-day status as an elder statesman of comedy.

A vast majority of Americans support term limits for Congress

In a 2023 poll, 87% of respondents said they supported imposing term limits on members of Congress. The overwhelming bipartisan backing makes term limits one of the most consistently popular political reforms in the United States.

Tourists are significantly influenced by pop culture

A 2024 study from Expedia Group found that two-thirds of tourists said movies and TV influence where and how they travel.

In recent years, Hollywood studios have reevaluated their Comic‑Con presence

Comic-Con’s impact on the movie industry may be diminishing. In 2025, major studios—including Marvel, DC, Lucasfilm, Sony, Paramount, Legendary, and Lionsgate—scaled back Comic‑Con participation. They cited high costs, timing that didn’t align with release schedules, and limited marketing impact in a crowded promotional landscape.

'Love on the Spectrum,' a popular Netflix reality show, is following people on the autism spectrum as they navigate romantic relationships

This is one of Netflix's biggest shows, something this podcast says is due partly to the fact that the series both scratches the itch for people who enjoy reality dating viewing and the program is conducted in a nonexploitative, sensitive way that makes viewers truly want the best for the people navigating these situations.

Consumers are buying more books now than they were 20 years ago

Interest in reading spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued building since then. The romance and fantasy genres in particular have been especially popular, with titles celebrated on BookTok, a wing of TikTok dedicated to reading, spurring the craze.

At its root, cringe comedy is about empathy

Cringe comedy has never been more popular, even if it's too uncomfortable for some people to bear. Sören Krach, a professor of psychiatry at Germany’s Lübeck University who coauthored a paper on cringe comedy, notes that, although it may seem cruel, at the core of watching cringe comedy is empathy.

Roughly 830 people are invited to anonymously vote for winners

These anonymous voters must see every show in order to weigh in with their vote, meaning a big part of being a voter is a time commitment: Every season has at least 30 unique productions to see.

'The Wizard of Oz' flopped in theaters but exploded on TV

The film cost $2.7M to make—$1M more than the average production in 1939, but didn’t recoup it for almost two decades. Its success is mainly due to television. It aired annually from 1956 to 1965 and was watched by more than 49% of all television viewers.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Shooting stars, or meteors, are fragments of asteroids and comets that burn up as they enter Earth's atmosphere, creating streaks in the sky called meteor showers.

Coral polyps reproduce via broadcast spawning, where entire reefs simultaneously release reproductive cells for about one hour, once a year.

Human-to-human transmission of hantavirus remains extremely rare, so the 2026 hantavirus cruise ship outbreak doesn't mean we're facing a COVID-style pandemic risk.