All the nonsense we were forced to endure over JANUARY 2024

"Lemon, it's Wednesday" vibes have never started so early in the year

Hello! Happy new year to all my friends who live inside the newsletter. You’re so tiny and important to me, like an ant to Ant-Man. He loves ants, and he isn’t afraid to say it out loud.

It’s been a good month for the newsletter, which is surprising because it’s been a terrible month for me. My whole life has completely fallen apart! Hooray! But you’re not my therapist, you’re my beautiful ants. Let’s find out what’s good in January - here are the highlights in case you missed them, plus some subscriber only BONUSES.

They cancelled Our Flag Means Death and it makes no sense

Our Flag Means Death is a queer pirate workplace comedy rom-com, with an absolutely beautiful and engaged fandom. In this STUPID! column, I ask why streamers are cancelling fan-loved shows in 2024.

“With dozens of streaming services scrapping for subscribers, surely they’d be fighting to retain fans, who by their very nature are willing to spend money on the shows they love. Most people I know currently employ a window-shopping attitude to streaming services - if there’s a particular show they want to watch, they’ll sign up for a trial at Netflix or Binge or Max or whatever, and then usually let it lapse. Streaming loyalty is replaced by show interest - or at best, laziness.”

It feels insane for streaming services to be cancelling shows like Our Flag Means Death in this era

I also followed this up with a feature for The Guardian, where I talked to the Our Flag Means Death fandom, and also other fandoms who have waged less successful renewal campaigns.

Jacob Elordi is the current “it” boy, and we need to make him into a Bond girl

Is Jacob Elordi handsome or just tall? I don’t know, but I do know that I want to see him plowed by James Bond. I really enjoyed writing this - it was just before my life was ruined, and I was like “more humour this year!”. Ahahah. Idiot. But still. More humour this year.

“I don’t have strong feelings about Jacob Elordi - I think he’s a good actor, and objectively a good looking man. His appeal has been hard for me to pin down, having done my time having crushes on Aussie straight private school boys (no judgement on whatever his sexuality is, but it’s what he serves, particularly in Saltburn). He gives me “most attractive man at Sutherland Leisure Centre”. He gives me “most crushable guy at the IT lecture”. He has a type of Australian good looks that unfortunately make me feel like he is going to throw something at me from a moving car, or say “don’t you know who my father is”.”

The case for Jacob Elordi as the first ever Bond Boy

Dave Chapelle needs to be STOPPED

An amazing piece from Shane Clifton and Jemma Clifton, courtesy of The Conversation, that explores how Chapelle has crafted a career based around punching down on marginalised communities.

“As the majority of the general population do not know a trans person, the media has significant influence over perceptions of trans people.

Throughout four Netflix specials, Chapelle has made no effort to understand the object of his jokes or the impact of his mockery on their daily lives. While trans representation in the media is improving, trans people are still exposed to a plethora of negative depictions of their identities in the media across a range of mediums. Research shows this is significantly associated with clinical levels of depression, anxiety and psychological distress.”

Dave Chappelle has built a reputation for ‘punching down’ on trans people – and now he’s targeting disabled people

Are polycules inherently funny?

An interview with Vidya Rajan and Elyce Phillips about their very funny and very queer new comedy shorts, Ruby Rai P.I.

VIDYA: It was about comedy writing, Patrick - please make sure to keep that arrogance in my response. I was thinking like, if you’re a character who wants a straight answer, who are the hardest people to get a straight answer from? In traditional noir, it's usually real criminal types. But in our world, a fun comedy, the hardest people would be a polycule… because everything has to be negotiated.

"The opportunity to showcase a lot of freaks"

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SNAP JUDGEMENT: All the culture I’ve consumed over January 2024