The Obsessies! Our Awards for the Best, Worst, and WTF-est in Pop Culture

Being a pop culture obsessive goes hand-in-hand with a compulsive, enthusiastic fascination—one could say, preoccupation—with award shows. (We’d venture that we’re not alone in having encyclopedic knowledge of Oscar winners for Best Supporting Actress before we could name all the state capitals.)

So last year, to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the launch of The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, we debuted our own version of awards, The Obsessies, that reflected the site’s take on TV, movies, celebrities, and all the mayhem that whirls about in between. Believe it or not, a whole year, a lot of entertainment news, and about 47 new versions of Taylor Swift albums have passed: It’s time for our second annual Obsessies.

Below, you’ll find an incredibly silly and equally fun list of categories and winners reflecting back on the things from this last year that excited us the most and made us the most passionate. It runs the gamut from serious to ridiculous. We’re as proud to acknowledge the creative brilliance of shows like Ripley and Shōgun as we are to pay tribute to Manny Jacinto’s arms and Julianne Moore’s grave concern about having enough hot dogs.

We had a blast putting this together, and thank you to all the Obsessed staff and contributors who locked arms in ridiculousness in order for this to happen. Welcome to The Obsessies!

Best “Is That Josh Hartnett?” Josh Hartnett Moment

Winner: Josh Hartnett’s cameo as the new husband in The Bear

No one’s happier about the Josh Hartnettaissance than everyone here at Obsessed. From his standout turn in Oppenheimer to nailing the lead role in the zeitgeist-seizing Trap, we’re fully on board for the Josh Hartnett era. Case in point: his brief role in The Bear, playing Cousin’s ex-wife’s new man, who is so just plain nice that it’s impossible to hate him—no matter how much we want to. —Kevin Fallon

Best Reality TV Monologue

Winner: Heather Gay on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City

It was the year The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City solidified itself as a top-tier reality show, and the year that Heather Gay proved she’s a star. Orchestrating the masterful exposé of Monica Garcia at a Bermuda triangle-themed dinner, Gay delivered a legendary monologue. “I have your perfect formula: Receipts! Proof! Timelines! Screenshots! Fucking everything to prove that you are a fucking bully and a fucking troll.” Some people live in ignorance, having never watched an episode of the Real Housewives franchise (“Real? I don’t think so!” they utter in disdain), a modern Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. Too bad for them. —Alec Karam

Arms That Didn’t Have to Go That Hard, But We’re Glad They Did

Winner: Manny Jacinto in The Acolyte

From the first movie in 1977 to the many recent TV spinoffs, Star Wars is not short on very attractive actors playing its heroes and villains. And yet, no one, nope, not even Han Solo or Kylo Ren, has elicited the same jaw-dropping reaction as the reveal that Manny Jacinto’s Qimir in The Acolyteis the mysterious masked figure known as “The Stranger.” It isn’t the removal of his face covering so much as the surprise bulging biceps beneath those robes that cause the gasps across the universe. For a franchise that tends to lean chaste, this display of physicality, whether during impressive balletic fight choreo or taking a well-earned dip, is nothing short of breathtaking. —Emma Fraser

Reunion We Most Wish We Were a Part Of

Winner: Fleabag at the Eras Tour

Seeing Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Andrew Scott together again shaking it off at the Eras Tour warmed my cold dead broken heart. It’ll never pass! It was especially cute when they heard “Style” and ran back so they wouldn’t miss it. —Laura Wheatman Hill

Fictional Journalist We Most Wish Was Real

Winner: Eric Bogosian as Daniel Molloy in Interview with the Vampire

Eric Bogosian plays Interview with the Vampire’s lone mortal Daniel Molloy with a charisma and wit so potent it’s impossible to take your eyes off of him whenever he’s on screen. At 71 years old, the playwright-actor-author is delivering the best performance of his career, and finally making journalism look sexy again as he does it. —Kaiya Shunyata

Best Most Accent

Winner: Jodie Comer in The Bikeriders

As the most prominent female voice among a gang of macho motorcyclists in this summer’s The Bikeriders, the Tony and Emmy winner delivers a dialect bigger than her bump-it in her hair. Is it good? Is it bad? The power of Comer’s “oh gorsh!” mid-century Midwestern dialect jetrockets past mere notions of quality and lands gloriously somewhere between caricature and authenticity–much like the leather-clad greasers she’s surrounded by, the voice is equally a put-on and the real deal. It’s neither good, nor bad–it’s perfect. —Chris Feil

Hottest Proof That Sex Scenes Aren’t Dead

Winner: Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer in Fellow Travelers

While Fellow Travelers eventually devolved into a cloyingly weepy AIDS drama, its first few episodes had some delectable sex scenes. Give Jonathan Bailey all the awards—an Emmy, a Peabody, a Nobel Peace Prize—for just what he did with Matt Bomer's feet. After endless discourse about Gen Z sexual devolution, Fellow Travelers somehow struck big with its dom/sub action and bondage. Hell, Loewe is even selling a “drink your milk” t-shirt. —Henry Chandonnet

The Hot Gay Sex in ‘Fellow Travelers’ Is So Important. We Swear!

Favorite Concert That Was Canceled

Winner: The J.Lo concert I bought tickets to that was supposed to be last weekend.

It’s been a rough few months for Jennifer Lopez, and it’s been a rough few months to be a Jennifer Lopez fan. Especially one—and perhaps the only one—who bought a ticket for her tour that was canceled amid low sales, a flop new album, and rumors of a split from Ben Affleck. —KF

Best Lispy Line Read

Winner: “I don’t think we have enough hot dogs.”

The piano echoes. The camera zooms. Julianne Moore stares vacantly into her fridge. And then, the zinger: “I don't think we have enough hot dogs.” As Gracie in Todd Haynes’ May December, Moore loads the lisp on thick, giving line reads for the century. It’s a flicker of comedy in an unexpectedly dark movie, a combo that only Haynes and Moore together could pull off. —HC

Remake of the Year

Winner: Ripley

Anthony Minghella’s 1999 The Talented Mr. Ripley remains a great thriller, so there was little reason to believe that another version of Patricia Highsmith’s bestseller was needed. Oscar-winning writer/director Steven Zaillian, however, knew better, as his Ripley proved the best thing to hit the small screen this year. Energized by Andrew Scott’s cunningly placid and creepy tour de force, stellar supporting turns from Dakota Fanning and Johnny Flynn, and sumptuous black-and-white imagery courtesy of Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood), the eight-part Netflix miniseries was an artistic triumph in every regard, remaining faithful to its source material even as it added new (literal and figurative) angles. With additional Ripley novels primed for adaptation, one can only hope there’s more to come. —Nick Schager

It’s Impossible to Overstate Just How Good Netflix’s ‘Ripley’ Is

Best (Begrudging) Justification for Cell Phones at Concerts

Winner: Phish at the Sphere

Even the haters, and yes, that’s most to the world, have to accept that Phish’s four-night run at the Sphere in Las Vegas this April looked cool. Sure, sure, joke that their music is for Boomers too stoned not to realize they aren’t watching the Grateful Dead, but the fact remains that they played 68 different improv-heavy tunes with no repeats, and a special visual creation was timed to accompany each jam. Surely you have a cousin or friend from college that sent you video of the giant dog tongue, right? In the proper frame of mind, admit it, it would’ve been fun. —Jordan Hoffman

Person Who Is Perfect in Every Way and We Don’t Deserve Her

Winner: Beyoncé

It’s dangerous for me to begin to monologue about what an absolute achievement Cowboy Carter is—especially when paired with Renaissance—because I simply never stop monologuing about what an absolute achievement…you get it. To have given us that this year, plus the world’s most random (but very cutely acted!) cellphone commercial? We don’t deserve Beyoncé. —KF

Catchiest (NSFW) Catchphrase

Winner: Kaitlin Olson in Hacks

In the year 2024, it’s hard to imagine catchphrase comedy taking off. There’s something a little outdated and cheesy about this tried and tested method. But when DJ Vance (Kaitlin Olson) grabs the mic at her mother Deborah’s comedy roast in Hacks,it is a reminder of why this form of repetition works. “What a c—-!” is a loaded sentiment, but it hits all the right notes in this setting and with this much history. And I’ve not stopped saying it since. —EF

Best Reasons to Become a Midwest Princess

Winner: Chappell Roan and Tim Walz

The American world is hard-pressed to consider the cultural relevance of any non-coastal influences. Here we are, though, in the throes of a Midwest renaissance, as Chappell Roan stages a coup on the music industry with a reminder that pop music can be longer than three minutes and still go viral on TikTok—all while sporting a bombastic, in-your-face persona. And just when we thought the Midwest had hit its quota for the year, Kamala Harris chose as her VP Tim Walz, who’s such a lovably Midwestern dad that the nation (well, select parts of it) has taken a collective sigh of relief and said, “We needed this.” —AK

Most Surprising Mental Health Advocate

Winner: Elmo

’Twas late January, before we learned how to hope again, when Elmo asked us if we were doing OK and we said NOPE. —LWH

Most Surprising “They Could Get It” of the Year

Winner: Magneto in X-Men ’97

The age difference between Magneto and Rogue as they pursue their doomed romance in X-Men ’97 remains skeevy as hell. But, I have to say: girl, I get it. Dude may be over 60, but he is still rocking it (even if he is a cartoon). —Geoffrey Bunting

‘X-Men ’97’ Will Make the Franchise’s Fans So Happy

Lipsync Assassin of the Year

Winner: Roxxxy Andrews

Did any drag queen have a more iconic year than Roxxxy Andrews? The first queen on RuPaul’s Drag Race to ever do a wig reveal, Roxxxy continued her unprecedented lip sync dominance on All Stars 9 taking her incredible win streak to 9 straight lip sync wins. We stan. —Barry Levitt

Performance I Keep Watching and Weeping About

Winner: Andrew Scott in All of Us Strangers

I’m not a “watch a movie multiple times” kind of person, unless that film title starts with “Mamma” and ends with “Mia!.” Yet this past year, I’ve revisited All of Us Strangers more times than I can count, haunted and deeply moved by its depiction of a gay man’s loneliness, complicated relationship to love, and awareness of how fleeting everything from happiness to passion can be. Andrew Scott is brilliant in this, just as he was this year in Ripley. Each time I watch, I uncover new layers in his performance to marvel over…and cry about. —KF

Most Stunningly Effortless Belt

Winner: Cynthia Erivo's final “AlfieeeeEEEEEE” at the Kennedy Center Honors

Dripping in blue, Cynthia Erivo takes the Kennedy Center stage to sing to the queen of X herself, Dionne Warwick. With a string orchestra behind her, Erivo belts for the rafters. Still, it’s that final “AlfieeeeeEEEEEE” that guarantees Erivo her spot as one of our best vocalists. It’s a mesmerizing performance, one that will be hard to top in the upcoming Wicked movies. —HC

Friend Group We’re Most Jealous Of

Winner: The cast of Merrily We Roll Along

Jonathan Groff just gets really wet when he…what?! From the lie detector test that still makes me cry with laughter to Jonathan officiating Lindsay Medez’s wedding (Daniel Radcliffe was the ringbearer), these are the best old friends ever. —LWH

Review: ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ on Broadway Is Almost-Perfect Sondheim

Music Trend That Needs to Die

Winner: Taylor Swift’s 100 variants of the same album

It was once taboo to so desperately game the system for commercial success. Those days are long over now that Taylor Swift, our biggest pop star, has decided to inundate the world with four new versions of The Tortured Poets Department every business week. We can’t let the music industry get even more cynical and annoying, squeezing every last drop out of albums to break records that no longer even make sense in the streaming era. Get a grip and sell one, maybe two, versions of your album. Anything more is just plain classless. —AK

Most Inventive Movie of the Year

Winner: Hundreds of Beavers

Delivering absurdist gags at a pace that would make Bugs and Daffy proud, Hundreds of Beavers is a live-action/animated black-and-white Looney Tunes cartoon that’s imaginative to the point of exhaustion. Director Mike Cheslik and star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews’ indie comedy concerns a woodlands distillery owner who, following calamity, winds up in a war against the rural region’s beavers and bunnies, all of whom are played by adults in furry costumes. Slapsticky bits indebted to Tex Avery and Chuck Jones, video games, Benny Hill, and many more are served up with formally audacious, consistently amusing enthusiasm, such that the sheer creativity on display proves borderline overwhelming—and is certainly more abundant than in five likeminded studio offerings. - Nick Schager

TV Trend That Needs To Die

Winner: Eight episode seasons

If Season 2 of House of the Dragon is anything to go by, 8 episode seasons of television need to be reserved for limited series’. Please, for the love of all that is holy, allow your seasons of television more room to unfold, lest they become proof that we are in the darkest times of television production. —KS

Icon Least Likely to Snitch

Winner: The Ripley cat

Cats and their owners have become a huge talking point this summer, from controversial statements to controversial essays. Before the conversation took this turn, TV ensured that it wasn't just dogs like Anatomy of a Fall’s Messi getting all the glory. No one is doing it quite like Lucio (played by King) in Netflix’s Ripley because this majestic-looking feline watches Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott) awkwardly disposing of a body and barely bats an eyelid (or whisker). Leaving bloody kitty prints as a clue is not exactly keeping quiet, but Lucio will never tell. A dog might be a man's best friend, but in this case, a cat is a solid accomplice. —EF

Most Swoon-Worthy Press Tour

Winner: Bridgerton’s Polin

Colin and Penelope (Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan) went around the world, holding hands the whole time. Netflix PR people went haywire, and the fans obsessed over Colin Fingerington’s technique. —LWH

Steamy New ‘Bridgerton’ Finally Ushers in Swooning Season

Wildest Human Centipede Moment

Winner: The, um, rimming train in The Boys

The Boys is known for its gusto in portraying raunchiness when it comes to sex and violence. Still, not even a series that has shown us a tiny man exploding inside of a penis and a superhero sex orgy could prepare for us the “rimming train” from the past season, in which a supe capable of cloning himself had his copies get naked with each other and, well, I think you get it… —KF

The Smartest Stupid Thing You’ve Ever Seen

Winner: Oh, Mary! on Broadway

Cole Escola’s Oh Mary! has become the theatrical event of the past several years for a reason, making good on the promise of non-stop laughs in the name of revisionist history nonsense. However, the pure genius of the play is how its madcap (and Escola’s one-in-a-lifetime stupid-smart performance as Mary Todd Lincoln) builds into a fevered finale that’s too divine to ruin for you. But rest assured it takes the play’s hard hitting laughs into I-didn’t-know-they-could-do-that rule-shattering territory that sends audiences out on a giddy high that’s helped cement Oh Mary!’s reputation. —CF

Actor We’re Happiest to See in an Overdue Lead Role

Winner: Hiroyuki Sanada in Shōgun

Hiroyuki Sanada hardly has something to prove after a 50+ year acting career. Yet, having moved to Hollywood in 2005, it’s hard to pin down a role for him that could be said to be at the top of the call sheet—despite ample evidence of his skills in projects like Twilight Samurai, Ring, and Round About Midnight. We’ve had to wait until 2024, but finally, both as producer and lead, Sanada was allowed to anchor Shōgun with his usual dedication and a long-desired authenticity to prove it’s been a mistake to not give Sanada more lead roles. —GB

Best News This Year for Butt Lovers

Winner: Like Flowers in Sand

At the end of 2023, bastion of impartial journalism, The New York Post, reported that 2024’s hot new men’s trend will be big butts. Great news for folks like me and apparently Netflix, which seemed aware we were yearning for ample rumps as Like Flowers in Sand dropped on the streamer soon after. It’s a beautiful, slow-burn romance set in the world of Ssireum and fading coastal towns, but if you like big butts and find it hard to be dishonest about that, you can’t do much better than Jang Dong-yoon and his wrestling pals donning the tightest of tight shorts for 16+ hours. It’s almost too much butt! —GB

Show I Don’t Understand Why You’re Not All Obsessed With

Winner: Girs5eva on Netflix

Girls5eva is, joke-for-joke, the funniest laugh-out-loud comedy you can stream right now. Season 3 moved from Peacock to Netflix, which thrilled with me the prospect that it would get the hallowed “Netflix boost” and turn into the phenomenon it always deserved to be. Yet you still didn’t watch. To which I ask: What is wrong with you people?! Do you not enjoy fun? —KF

Fictional Popstar Who Should Go on Tour for Real

Winner: Lady Raven from Trap

Move over, “Espresso,” Lady Raven’s “Save Me” is the song of the summer! One part thriller, one part concert film, M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap launches his daughter Saleka’s music career, and in turn gives us the strongest contender for a fictional musical act that needs to go on a real world tour. —KS

Cancellation We’ll Never Forgive the TV Gods For

Winner: Schmigadoon

I am devastated and pissed off that I don’t get to see Into the Schmoods. This gem of a show was a love letter to musicals while being funny and original. BRING HIM HOME! —LWH

The Secrets of ‘Schmigadoon!’: Creating the Bonkers Genius of the Schmicago Season

The Kendall Jenner Award for Worst Marketing

Winner: 18x2 Beyond Youthful Days

It’s easy for media to get lost in the deluge of streaming releases, and you’d be forgiven, what with Netflix’s track record, for thinking 18x2 Beyond Youthful Days is another dud in the streamer’s catalog of licensed “content” (ick). Though it boasts a far from pithy title, 18x2 Beyond Perfect Days is a beautiful, tragic look at first loves and rediscovering yourself in your thirties that carries the same vibes as First Love and Past Lives. Which is why it’s so bizarre that Netflix did NOTHING with it! —GB

Savviest Olympian on Social Media

Winner: Ilona Maher

There were many amazing stories from the Paris 2024 Olympics, but nobody captured the hearts of the world quite like Ilona Maher. The bronze-medal-winning member of the Rugby Sevens team has captured social media with her power, humor, and infinite charm. —BL

Scene That Me Scream the Loudest ‘AHHH!’

Winner: The final scene in Hacks

A master class in action, writing, creating tension, subverting audience expectations, and serving a fierce bob haircut: The pas de deux between Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder was thrilling. They both better get Emmys, or we ride at dawn. —KF

Best Reminder That We Always Need More Hot Dogs

Winner: May December

No one has done more for hot dog sales in the last year than Gracie (Julianne Moore) in May December. Sure, we don't have the actual stats to back this up, and Oscar Meyer might have a word or two to say about this. However, no one has made me want to rush out to the grocery store more than when director Todd Haynes cuts from Gracie's fretting (“I don’t think we have enough hot dogs”) to the dozens of wieners on the grill. When it comes to barbecue season, it is better to have too much than not enough. —EF

Best Film Nobody Saw

Winner: Kidnapped

Marco Bellocchio’s spectacular Kidnapped is a gorgeously shot period piece about a young Jewish boy taken from his family and forced into the Catholic church. It’s a sweeping melodrama that tackles the power of communities working together for justice and how faith can shape your worldview. It’s a truly special movie that’s every bit as enriching for the religious faithful and nonbelievers. —BL

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