best of 2022

Vulture’s 20 Most-Read Stories in 2022

Top: Hanya Yanagihara; a nepo-babies nursery; Sara Porkalob, 1776 revolutionary. Bottom: You know this one; the greatest sequels ever; Joss Whedon. Photo: Clockwise from left: Amanda Demme, Joe Darrow for New York Magazine, Evan Zimmerman for Murphy Made, Ryan Pfluger, Greg Kletsel, Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Vulture’s most-read story of the year, Lila Shapiro’s incredible profile of a Joss Whedon still trying to process his fall from success and adoration, was published just a couple of weeks into 2022. Our second- and third-most-read stories, both by Nate Jones as part of a larger survey of the nepo-baby landscape, came out with two weeks remaining in 2022.

Between those remarkable bookends, we published an array of incredible work: more than 7,000 stories alongside our three podcastssix newsletters, a limited-run video series, and Vulture Festival. Below, you’ll find our 20 most-read stories from the year based on total engaged minutes. What you won’t see on the list is our groundbreaking interview with Jeremy Strong’s pinkie ring, but only because the bauble’s publicist did a crackerjack job of burying the piece.

Exit Interview

20. The Long Road to Mordor

Photo: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video

The Rings of Power creators explain Sauron’s identity and their plan to explore the edges of Tolkien’s map. Read the story

Endings

19. Killing Eve Chose Cruelty

Photo: David Emery/BBCA

Let’s talk about the galling ending of Eve and Villanelle. Read the story

Book Review

18. Ottessa Moshfegh Is Praying for Us

Art: JWCollage

The author has been hailed as a high priestess of filth. Really, she wants to purify her readers. Read the story

Anonymous in Hollywood

17. I’m a VFX Artist, and I’m Tired of Getting ‘Pixel-F–ked’ by Marvel

Photo-Illustration: Vulture/Disney Plus, Marvel

What’s it like to work as a visual-effects artist for the MCU? “I’ve had co-workers sit next to me, break down, and start crying.” Read the story

Putting the Atoms Together

16. ‘No Aliens, No Spaceships, No Invasion of Earth’

Photo: Getty Images

An oral history of Contact, the sci-fi movie that defied Hollywood norms and made it big anyway. Read the story

Let's Do It Again

15. The 102 Best Movie Sequels of All Time

Illustration: Greg Kletsel

Whether they come after, before, or between their predecessors, these films have their own indelible legacies. Read the story

Performance Review

14. What Was Brangelina?

Photo: AFP via Getty Images

They were known for their image-making savvy. As their divorce reenters the press cycle, we’re reminded of who’s better at it. Read the story

Close Reads

13. Hanya’s Boys

Photo: Amanda Demme

The novelist tends to torture her gay male characters — but only so she can swoop in to save them. Read the story

Molasses to Rum

12. 1776’s Sara Porkalob Has Some Notes

Photo: Evan Zimmerman for Murphy Made

The actress behind the musical’s most explosive number on bringing a “dusty, old thing” to Broadway and the mistakes made along the way. Read the story

Testimonies

11. Johnny Depp Says His ‘Goal Is the Truth’ During Defamation Trial

Photo: JIM WATSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Johnny Depp talks drug use, Pirates, and his early days with Amber Heard during day one of his testimony in his defamation trial. Read the story

Remembrance

10. Jerry Lee Lewis Was an SOB Right to the End

Photo: Thomas S. England/Getty Images

The talented hell-raiser of early rock and roll died at 87. Read the story

Buffering

9. Netflix’s Bad Habits Have Caught Up With It

Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photo by Steve Dietl/Netflix

A hard look at what happened to the company, and what will happen next. Read the story

Oscars 2022

8. What I Saw Inside the Room When Will Smith Slapped Chris Rock

Photo: Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

“This is the most unhinged evening of our lives.” Read the story

Profile

7. Nathan Fielder Is Out of His Mind (and Inside Yours)

Photo: Zachary Scott

The comedian’s new show, The Rehearsal, is his grandest experiment yet. Read the story

Backstories

6. Jessica Pressler on What’s Real and Not About Inventing Anna

Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos by Netflix and Getty Images

And the surreal experience of seeing her reporting acted out on Netflix. Read the story

Power

5. The Curse of Kentwood

Photo: The Kentwood Ledger (Jamie); Photograph by Martin Schoeller (Britney)

One year ago, Britney Spears was freed from a notorious conservatorship. What possessed her father to seize control of her life? Read the story

Performance Study

4. The Making of Silent Bruce

Illustration: Ryan Melgar

Willis was a fast-talking lead who became a man-of-few-words star. It made his mental decline that much harder to notice. Read the story

The Year of the Nepo Baby

3. How a Nepo Baby Is Born

Photo-Illustration: Joe Darrow for New York Magazine

Hollywood has always loved the children of famous people. In 2022, the internet reduced them to two little words. Read the story

The Year of the Nepo Baby

2. An All But Definitive Guide to the Hollywood Nepo-Verse

Photo-Illustration: New York Magazine

Actors, singers, directors who just happen to be the children of actors, singers, directors. Read the story

feature

1. The Undoing of Joss Whedon

Photo: Ryan Pfluger

The Buffy creator, once an icon of Hollywood feminism, is now an outcast accused of misogyny. How did he get here? Read the story

Vulture’s 20 Most-Read Stories in 2022