So, a couple of quick things before we get to this week’s THREE NEW THINGS. First, I’m announcing a slight format change as we move into 2026. I’ll still be reviewing three new things each week; HOWEVER, what those things are will be a little more freeform moving forward. By and large, I still plan to cover movies/streaming, music, and gaming. That won’t change as pop culture entertainment is what this newsletter is all about.

That said, I plan to open up the topics beyond the core three, to things like products, medical advancements, scientific discoveries, literature, etc. If it’s new and cool, I plan to cover it. I also plan to break from the one-in-each-bucket structure. So, some weeks, I may simply feature three new shows, with no music or games. Or a game, a song, and a breakthrough in modern medicine. I’ll also be dropping the “bonus thing” since that was always a catch-all category to begin with that won’t be necessary in the new format.

The idea is to make THREE NEW THINGS less rigid and more dynamic, more topical, and a faster read. More of-the-moment. I want to have more fun writing it, and I want you all to have more fun reading it. Let me know if you’re digging the new version or if you want me to return to version 1.0. I’m ALWAYS interested in the feedback of my readers.

Now, since this is the FINAL issue of 2025, I’m going to do a wrap-up of the old format with my own “Best of 2025” list. One winner and four runners-up. Let’s get to it!

2025 was another great year for streaming. There are signs that the “golden age of streaming” is coming to an end via a combination of corporate mergers and the streaming services learning that expensive, multi-year, prestige shows aren’t what attracts viewers. There are some exceptions (like Pluribus), which is driving subscriptions at Apple+, but Vince Gilligan to television was Christopher Nolan to movies - an outlier creator whose name is synonymous with exceptional quality. The trend, however, is toward shorter shows, less expensive shows, and more cheap “reality” shows. But there is STILL great stuff being made, like my Show of the Year - The Studio.

The Studio is the latest from Seth Rogen and his creative partner Evan Goldberg. (If you’ve seen the movie Superbad, Rogen is the Jonah Hill character, and Goldberg is the Michael Cera character.) Rogen and Goldberg have been on a tear lately, producing everything from animated fare like Invincible and the newest (and best) iteration of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to live-action shows like Platonic and The Studio.

It was a tough call between The Studio and Andor, but The Studio gets the nod for being BOTH the funniest show of 2025 and the best shot. The cinematography is truly next level, with each episode feeling more like a movie than a streaming show. The first episode, “The Oner,” both lampooned Hollywood’s obsession with long, single-shot takes and celebrated it with the entire episode being shot in a single take. The sets are fantastic, too, evoking the glamorous, larger-than-life feel of movie studios past.

The standout episode, for me, was Episode 7 - “Casting.” It dove headfirst into an extremely sensitive area - representation in casting decisions - and absolutely skewered it. In their efforts to be sensitive and make empathetic choices, Rogen’s Matt Remick and his other cohorts at Monumental Studios keep making things worse and worse. It was the funniest hour of ANYTHING I saw all year, and for that, as well as its outstanding cast, writing, and production, The Studio is my show of the year for 2025.

At year’s end, I had 478 songs— nearly 26 hours of music— on my Best of 2025 playlist. So choosing ONE best song was difficult. But I have to go with the song that made me stop and go, “Wait… what’s THAT?” the very first time I heard it.

I was watching the final season of the underrated Apple+ show “Mythic Quest.” At the end of the first episode, this song played over the final credits.

I loved the simple major/minor chord progression. I loved Gracie Lawrence’s theater kid energy. I loved her brother Clyde essentially being a younger Randy Newman. I loved the backup singers each getting their own moment to shine. I loved everything about it, so immediately after the episode finished airing, I had to look up who sang it.

“I’m Confident That I’m Insecure” from Lawrence is both a new and a throwback style of music that doesn’t fit neatly into any particular genre. But it’s a cool song and it’s a lot of fun and… it’s my Song of the Year for 2025.

To hear ALL my Best Songs of 2025 just click on the “3” in the link below and enjoy more than a day’s worth of new music!

While it was tempting to make MY Game of the Year something different from THE Game of the Year, ultimately it was Game of the Year for a reason. Well, several reasons.

Clar Obscur: Expedition 33 was made by a small, French, start-up gaming studio who put their heart and souls into crafting - not just a game - but a moving experience. The story is tragic. The art direction is breathtaking. The combat (turn-based + rhythm) is fun. The voice work is top-notch with both Charlie Cox (Daredevil) and Andy Serkis (Gollum). The writing (by a first-time game writer) is crisp. Everything about the game is executed at the highest possible level. That it was made by an indie studio makes it all the more impressive.

But indie studios may be the future. As technology advances, it takes fewer and fewer people to make a “AAA” game, giving space for small groups of people with big visions to compete with the likes of Ubisoft and Rockstar. (That is until GTA 6 comes out and we’re all awed by the scale of what Rockstar has done.)

Now is a great time to pick up Clare Obscur as the holiday game sales are still going on. You won’t find a better gaming experience coming out of 2025.

Alright, we’re now 10 issues in! That’s a wrap on 2025, and I’ll be back next week with THREE NEW THINGS’ new free-wheeling format! I’ll see you next Thursday!