The Matrix Resurrections, the fourth installment in the Matrix series, is here, and critics are divided. Many find it better than the sequels to the original, but others argue that it was completely unnecessary.

The Matrix Resurrections opens with Neo (Keanu Reeves) back in the Matrix. Now a successful video game designer (his series of games is called The Matrix), he feels as though his reality isn’t what it seems. Carrie-Anne Moss returns as Trinity alongside Reeves, but The Matrix Resurrections introduces several new faces to the franchise, including Jonathan Groff, Jessica Henwick, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

Here’s what critics are saying about The Matrix Resurrections.

An interesting, if flawed, reboot

Mashable, Alison Foreman

[The Matrix Resurrections] was a mix of mind-blowing highs and soul-crushing lows that left me extremely entertained, but also deeply dissatisfied. Its handwavy sci-fi logic and clunky plotting are sure to be as divisive as the first two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions (both 2003). Yet this sequel is undeniably a better film, mirroring much of the structure and purpose that made the first work so well.

The Hollywood Reporter, John DeForge

It is…the kind of sequel Hollywood wants most — practically the same thing as the first, with just enough novelty to justify its existence — albeit one that thinks it can have it both ways, both bowing to and sneering at the industry’s need for constant regurgitation of familiar stories.

The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw

This is a heavy-footed reboot which doesn’t offer a compelling reason for its existence other than to gouge a fourth income stream from Matrix fans, submissively hooked up for new content, and it doesn’t have anything approaching the breathtaking “bullet time” action sequences that made the original film famous.

USA Today, Brian Truitt

The new Matrix tries to reprogram a beloved piece of cinema. However, it’s quite a few fixes short of a full upgrade.

Variety, Peter Debruge

Essentially a greatest hits concert and a cover version rolled into one (complete with flashback clips to high points from past installments), the new movie is slick but considerably less ambitious in scope than the two previous sequels.

The Matrix goes meta

I think I’ve seen this film before.
Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Mashable, Alison Foreman

Complex stories you have to piece together on the way home are Wachowski’s speciality; see Cloud Atlas and Jupiter Ascending. But the fearless retconning of Resurrections goes further faster, and its meta-comedy, which touches heavily on authorship and the merit of superfluous sequels, makes those post hoc rationalizations more smug than smart.

Polygon, Joshua Rivera

Casting the previous films as in-world video games allows The Matrix Resurrections to function as a refreshingly heavy-handed rebuke of the IP-driven reboot culture that produced the film, where the future is increasingly viewed through the franchise lenses of the past, trapping fans in corporate-controlled dream worlds where their fandom is constantly rewarded with new product.

Surprisingly romantic

The Hollywood Reporter, John DeForge

Machine guns, flying robots and pods of goo notwithstanding, some of the picture’s most engaging scenes are those in which Neo/Thomas interacts with Trinity in that world, where she’s a married mother named Tiffany, and tries to coax her into remembering the life they once shared.

Entertainment Weekly, Joshua Rothkopf

Resurrections does eclipse its predecessors for full-on, kick-you-in-the-heart romance: Reeves and Moss, comfortable with silences, lean into an adult intimacy, so rare in blockbusters, that’s more thrilling than any roof jump (though those are pretty terrific too). Their motorbiking through an exploding city, one of them clutching the other, could be the most defiantly sexy scene of a young year.

The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw

The Matrix Resurrections has a degree of charm as a love story of middle age, and usually returning action franchises give their aging male lead a younger female co-star. Not here: it’s a pleasure to see Moss return, but a shame to see her given so little interesting to do.

The Matrix Resurrections hits theaters and HBO Max Dec. 22.

TAKE 40% OFF: If you’ve been wondering how you’re going to make fancy holiday dinners, look no further. The 3.5-qt. Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Signature Sauteuse Oven is perfect for cooking up a storm, and it’s on sale as of Dec. 21 for $179.95 — that’s 40% off its regular price of $300. (Amazon says it “may arrive after Christmas,” just FYI.)

You’re not an adult until you have a piece of cast iron cookware sitting in your kitchen. They’re indestructible, get and stay hot hot, and have that coating of seasoning that gives everything you cook in it an extra oomph of flavor. And nobody does it better than Le Creuset, that iconic maker of bright red-orange enameled pots and pans. However, their pieces regularly run you into $300-$500 range (depending on size), which makes them a serious investment. That said, you can normally justify the splurge by thinking about how a new cast iron pan might even outlive you, but the price still stings, so it’s a very nice surprise to find a Le Creuset item on sale.

This Enameled Cast Iron Signature Sauteuse Oven from the brand is quite a popular choice, too. With 4.9/5 stars on Amazon over 979 ratings, it’s clearly a customer favorite. The pan comes ready to use, with no seasoning requirement, is dishwasher-safe, and oven-safe up to 500°F. One of Le Creuset’s selling points is that their cast iron is the lightest by quart among their competitors — so it’s less of an arm workout to cook with their pots and pans, although you should still try and refrain from dropping them on your toes. The weight belies the excellent functionality of enameled cast iron, however, which is known for superior heat distribution and retention, as well as its chip- and stain-resistant coating.

The 3.5 qt. Sauteuse Oven in particular is extremely versatile; its sloping sides and large surface area make it well-suited to any simmering and reduction needs, but you can also sear, sauté, braise, and fry whatever you so choose. The lid is an exact fit designed to circulate steam and heat, ensuring that your food doesn’t get too dry or lose any flavor, while its sloped sides are perfect for stirring and wide base makes browning meats on the stovetop a breeze. You can transfer your meat post-browning straight to the oven for slow-braising/roasting — no pot change necessary,

If you enjoy a good soup, casserole, or simply a one-pot meal, have a look at the Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Signature Sauteuse Oven; it’s a solid (let’s just say that if Kevin had had a cast iron pan in Home Alone, those two robbers would be dead) piece of cookware that will last you years, and will look cute in your kitchen to boot. Even if you eat exclusively microwave meals that only require a fork and a timer for food prep (no judgment here, I’m with you, though I won’t admit it), any Le Creuset item makes a great gift for holiday season or any other occasion. For a limited time, the 3.5-qt. Sauteuse Oven on sale at Amazon for $179.95.

Explore related content:

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Aircraft maker Archer is boasting about a recent hover test.

Its electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, known as an eVTOL, made it off the ground last week. Earlier this year Archer showed off its five-seater prototype, called Maker. The company plans to develop an air taxi commuter transportation system with its small electric planes.

At a test flight location in California, the demo Maker went airborne successfully on Thursday morning. While not a full flight, the successful hover showed that the hardware and software was in working order. This first test means the company can move onto more testing in the new year.

Archer is aiming for a 2024 launch date in cities like Miami and Los Angeles.

Audiences, it seems, can’t get enough of Cyrano de Bergerac. The classic 1897 romance from poet Edmond Rostand has been adapted into a long list of eponymous movies, as well as more offbeat rom-coms like Roxanne (1987), The Truth About Cats and Dogs (1996), The Half of It (2020), and Megamind (2010). (I said what I said.) So how might heralded filmmaker Joe Wright give a fresh sheen to this centuries’ old tale? He makes a musical, stacked with hot stars like Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Ben Mendelsohn. Sadly, a lack of flare and feeling makes these songs ring thin.

Cyrano is not a direct adaptation of Rostand’s play, but a screen translation of Erica Schmidt’s stage musical, which ran in 2018 with Dinklage and Bennett in the leads. In this version, Cyrano de Bergerac is not a man with an outrageously large nose, but a man of short stature. Despite his wit, his high status, his valor in battle, (and his good fortune to look like Peter Dinklage), he is mocked by the upper crust of French society for being short. So, even though his dear friend Roxanne (Bennett) appreciates his poetry and humor, he fears she’d reject him as a romantic suitor. Then a tall, dark, and handsome young soldier catches her eye. Christian (Harrison) is besotted by her but isn’t so great with words. Thus, Cyrano — who can’t stop his poetry or love for Roxanne — agrees to help Christian woo her, by being the romantic voice behind his pretty-boy face. Meanwhile, dastardly aristocrat De Guiche (Mendelsohn) puts in action his own scheme to make Roxanne his trophy wife.

I was overcome with excitement when I heard about this film. First off, the pairing of Dinklage and Bennett seemed promising. Since 2003’s The Station Agent, this riveting leading man can be trusted to pine powerfully, be it in an indie drama or within the epic scope of Game of Thrones. For her part, Bennett is an ingenue on the rise, who awed me with her tender yet terrifying lead role in Swallow. There, she played a trophy wife so trapped by her ennui that she swallows inedible objects for a fleeting sense of control. This part in particular made Bennett a sharp choice for Roxanne, a heroine who refuses to be some idle trophy. Meanwhile, Harrison wowed critics with the one-two punch of Waves and Luce, while Mendelsohn has made a career out of playing deliciously devilish villains.

Wright has helmed some of the most rapturous movie romances of the last 20 years….His Cyrano — I hoped — would be a radiant return to form.

Finally and most powerfully, was the lure of Joe Wright. Sure, he’s had a string of stumbles (the preposterous Pan, the dull Darkest Hour, and whatever the hell The Woman At The Window was supposed to be). Still, Wright has helmed some of the most rapturous movie romances of the last 20 years. He gave us his Keira Knightley Trilogy: the swooning Pride and Prejudice, the unapologetically steamy yet grim Atonement, and strange yet seductive Anna Karenina. His Cyrano — I hoped — would be a radiant return to form.

It is not.

Roxanne, you don’t have to wear that dress tonight
Credit: PETER MOUNTAIN 2021 METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER PICTURES INC.

Though I was eager to swoon, Cyrano did not move me. Or more specifically, its central romance did not. There was one glorious moment, where a singer and his song hit an awesome emotional rhythm that made my eyes quake with tears and left me drop-jawed. Sadly, this was Glen Hansard (Once) is a single verse cameo, not any of the leads who are meant to shoulder this song and dance romance.

It’s a tricky thing to act and sing. Bennett’s voice is pretty and bird-like, which makes for an interesting contrast to Dinklage. He sings with a rocker’s grumble, and even occasionally speak-sings, recalling William Shatner’s songmanship style but with a brooding edge. However, their voices don’t live in the song the way Hansard’s does. It wasn’t until his mid-movie scene that I realized what was missing. It’s that electric connection between singing and emoting. Admittedly the songs are little help. Written by The National’s Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Matt Berninger, and Carin Berninger, they are simply unmemorable. I can recall their vague contents, but not specific lines, nor a catchy hook, or even some big showy moment that might make this movie iconic or at least a meme.

There’s a woeful lack of panache. Wright paints with an enchanting color palette, which brings out the blush in Roxanne’s cheeks and the sparkle in Dinklage’s eyes. Even in scenes of combat, there’s a rushing warmth in the setting and the cinematography, which sweeps through troops to dizzy us. It’s pretty but not dazzling. And the dancing therein is unremarkable. There’s a flurry of emotion, graceful, but somehow unmoving. After the dynamic staging of Anna Karenina in particular, Cyrano feels tame. There’s no extreme physicality that speaks to the heightened fervor of lust and love. There’s nothing as visually challenging as having the lower-class characters slink around backstage, or forcing the heroine to face a foe center stage. There are fight sequences, war, and pages spilled like falling rain. But this falls short of the grandeur and imagination of which Wright has shown capable.

Christian: He’s not clever, but he’s cute!
Credit: PETER MOUNTAIN 2021 METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER PICTURES INC.

Awe-striking spectacle (of sight or sound) might have smoothed the rough edges of plot problems. But alas, they do not. So, this Cyrano is not so much a romantic hero as he is a pretentious prick. He’s introduced as a heckler, who interrupts a play to mock its leading man. Then, he invades the stage to steal the scene and ultimately murders a bully in front of a packed house. How this pretentiousness and pompousness is supposed to endear him to the film’s audience — or Roxanne — is a mystery. But perhaps not one greater than how we’re supposed to believe both that Roxanne is as clever as Cyrano insists and also that she’s fooled by Cyrano and Christian’s clumsy ruse. Yes, yes, young love can make us nonsensical beasts and all that. But are we supposed to believe that this supposedly brilliant young woman, who can size up a man’s worth at first glance (as she does with Christian’s honor and de Guiche’s douchiness) can’t recognize her adored friend’s words or even his voice? I can recognize Dinklage’s voice when it pops up in cartoons that I didn’t realize he was in (Hey, The Croods: The New Age). But Roxanne can’t pick it out when he’s a constant in her life and mere yards away?

This might seem nitpicking. But when the magic of a movie musical isn’t sweeping you up rapture and tears, you get snagged on such details. You stare at them coldly, wondering if they’re to blame for why the thrill you sought is just not there. You might will yourself to ignore them, to focus on the familiar faces, the luscious details of luxury and decay, the effort that clearly came into play. But alas, mired in mediocrity, Cyrano gives far too little to love.

Cyrano opens in select theaters on Dec. 31.

Tesla has announced the availability of free “supercharging” for its vehicles during the holidays.

There are some caveats, though, with the company saying its customers will be able to “charge for free during off‑peak hours at Superchargers along select travel routes in the United States.” The free charging will be available from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time from Thursday to Sunday.

The relevant Superchargers are sprinkled throughout 11 states — most of which are on the West Coast — that Electrek says are more likely to boast “high concentrations of Tesla owners.” (The company’s former home state of California, for example, hosts 33 of the free charging stations.)

This promotion can help Tesla customers in two ways. The first is by making holiday trips a bit more affordable; the second is by encouraging people to recharge their vehicles at different times so the Superchargers won’t be overwhelmed by these end-of-year travelers.

Electrek notes that Superchargers being overcrowded during the holidays isn’t a new problem. Tesla owners complained of particularly long wait times during Thanksgiving in 2018, and in the years since, promotions like this have been used to mitigate this issue as much as possible.

Imagine you’re driving home alone late at night after an evening out at a bar when suddenly your iPhone vibrates.

“AirTag Found Moving With You,” reads a notification on your iPhone. “The location of this AirTag can be seen by the owner.”

The roads are empty. There’s no other drivers in sight. And as you continue on your drive home, the notification pops up again and again on your iPhone. 

Is someone following you? What exactly is going on here?

It’s a scary situation, and according to Twitter user @Sega__JEANAsis, who goes by Jeana on the platform, it happened to her. Jeana shared her ordeal in a viral Twitter thread and in a DM with Mashable. She has since made her account private.

Jeana shared her story about being tracked by an AirTag in a viral Twitter thread.
Credit: @Sega__JEANAsis / Twitter

Apple’s AirTags are a small Bluetooth device the company released earlier this year that are meant to track items that you may regularly displace. For example, drop one of these $30 devices in your wallet and the next time you can’t find it, you can just track it using the Find My app on your iPhone to discover it actually slipped into the seat of your car.

However, putting a tiny, relatively cheap tracking device on the market has led to some nefarious uses.

“So something kinda terrifying happened to me last night— someone attached an Apple AirTag to the underside of my front wheel well while I was inside a bar,” Jeana tweeted Saturday morning.

Apple warned Jeana she was possibly being tracked via notifications on her iPhone.
Credit: @Sega__JEANAsis / Twitter

According to Jeana, she received notifications on her iPhone for 30 minutes while driving in the early morning hours on Saturday. She checked her purse and her car but could not find the AirTag. At first, Jeana thought it was a false positive. She says she had received these AirTag notifications before in crowded areas in the past when she likely just happened to be in the vicinity of one of these tracking devices. 

Yet, at 2 a.m. the roads she was driving on were empty and her iPhone kept showing her these notifications. Apple uses these notifications as a way of deterring bad actors from using the device to track other people. Apple does provide instructions for disabling a device that may be tracking them, but the incident spooked Jeana enough where she decided to not go home that night.

According to Jeana, “someone close” later checked her car and found an AirTag “stuck on the underside of my front passenger wheel well.”

Jeana’s experience was a scary one, but it’s also becoming more common.

Shortly after Apple released AirTags earlier this year, stories started spreading on social media platforms like TikTok concerning the tracking device being used to stalk women. To make things more complicated, Apple built these devices so that there is no way to identify the AirTag’s owner.

Apple did, however, realize AirTags could be weaponized by stalkers or abusive partners and took some precautions, such as the previously mentioned iPhone notifications. The company recently released an Android app that scans for unwanted AirTags so that non-iPhone users could be aware if they’re being tracked too, but the app isn’t perfect.

Apple did not immediately respond to Mashable’s request for comment.

On its website, Apple lays out the steps it takes to discourage unwanted tracking with AirTags.

“To discourage tracking without your knowledge, Find My will notify you if an unknown AirTag or other Find My network accessory is seen moving with you over time. An AirTag that isn’t with the person who registered it for an extended period of time will also play a sound when moved so you can find it, even if you don’t use an iOS device”

Apple also says that it “If you feel your safety is at risk, contact your local law enforcement who can work with Apple.”

Still, AirTags are increasingly being used for nefarious purposes.

Multiple instances have been reported in recent months concerning AirTags being used to aid criminals in car-related thefts.

While Jeana’s experience that she shared on Twitter sounded like the storyline from a horror movie, she shared with Mashable that she believes whoever put the AirTag on her vehicle was likely after her 2015 Lexus, and not her.

“I’m pretty sure someone was just trying to steal my car,” she explained in an online message. “I wasn’t parked close enough to the bar for someone to be able to associate me with my vehicle.”

Jeana told Mashable that she did inform her local police department via phone about her experience, even though she “technically wasn’t a victim of a crime.”

Mashable reached out to the police department of the major metropolitan city local to Jeana. In an email, they informed Mashable that “there isn’t currently a category for Apple Air Taggings” within their database. The fact that these unwanted “Air Taggings” are growing, yet still so new that data regarding their usage isn’t being tracked itself is certainly concerning. 

Mashable has previously covered how to disabled an AirTag once you find you’re being tracked.

2020 may have been the year that coronavirus ground Hollywood to a halt. But 2021 marked the industry’s triumphant return to form. With entertainment’s post-pandemic resurgence came opportunities — and stumbling blocks — related to the world-stopping event and how we talk about it.

Over the past two years, how and why COVID-19 is portrayed on screen has grown more and more interesting. Some flagrantly fictional worlds have bent to accommodate the real crisis, while their more realistic counterparts sidestepped the matter altogether. So how was the pandemic addressed on TV this year?

Listed in no particular order, here are 12 note-worthy Covid moments from 2021 television.

1. Best: Superstore

‘Superstore’ did it right.
Credit: NBC

Early in the days of quarantine, I drafted this tweet: “Shows that are allowed to cover COVID: 1. Superstore, 2. End of list.” It is a tweet I stand by entirely after NBC’s show about employees at a big-box store addressed how essential workers fared the pandemic during its final season. Over the course of a few episodes, Cloud 9’s employees face the same challenges we all witnessed during the spring of 2020 — from low mask supplies to customers hoarding sanitizer and toilet paper — but they themselves are indispensable for Americans weathering these times.

Superstore treated the pandemic the way it treated any social or political issue during its run: with critical thought, empathy, and pitch-perfect comedic timing. The show never took its characters “back to normal,” showing the lasting effects of the pandemic on so many lives and jobs around the world. It was hard to watch, but as always, Superstore gave us a weekly dose of comfort. — Proma Khosla, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Superstore is streaming on Peacock and Hulu.

2. Worst: The Morning Show

Not so much.
Credit: AppleTV+

The Morning Show had made some capital-C Choices since it premiered in 2019, but the most baffling of all is the decision to address coronavirus in Season 2. Apple’s star-studded drama managed to build disturbingly toward the onset of COVID-19 in the United States while simultaneously becoming more self-absorbed than ever. In a global crisis that decimated so many lives and lifestyles, The Morning Show decided that the perspective we need is that of rich TV producers and a disgraced sexual predator. We needed to watch Jennifer Aniston, of all people, sweat out her COVID fever in a luxury penthouse in Manhattan, all while comparing her circumstances and the deadly virus to an imagined fear of being canceled. The season is tactless, tone deaf, irresponsible, and generally unhinged — but we’ll go with this superlative instead. — P.K.

How to watch: The Morning Show is streaming on AppleTV+.

3. Most Literal: Grey’s Anatomy

It was brutal, but it was accurate.
Credit: ABC

The fictional Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital had patients with COVID-19 this year. That meant Grey’s Anatomy had to render an even more precisely accurate portrait of its medical setting for viewers living through the global health crisis they were watching on screen. With fastidious attention to detail and the smarts to say the science of spread out loud and often, this beloved workplace dramedy did a service to the moment by capturing it well. There’s still the subjectivity of liking a show that’s so soapy. (Meredith’s own battle with Covid, played out in part on an imaginary beach frequented by ghosts, was an…interesting choice.) But overall, Grey‘s Season 17 was an important bit of representation in a TV landscape racing to keep up with the times. — Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Grey’s Anatomy Seasons 1-17 are streaming on Netflix; Season 18 is on Hulu.

4. Worst Whiplash: Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Blink and you’ll miss it.
Credit: NBC

Brooklyn Nine-Nine could have been one of the best pandemic portrayals on TV, but an abridged final season meant prioritizing character resolutions and the flawed police system rather than coronavirus. Season 8 opens with Jake, Rosa, and Charles masked and social distancing in the precinct — and that’s it. After the cold open it cuts to spring 2021, where officers of the nine-nine are gathered unmasked in a bar and Holt mentions that “all first responders have been vaccinated.” Back to business as usual! We could easily have done Season 8 in a magical reality where COVID never happened. Who doesn’t love some escapism? — P.K.

How to watch: Brooklyn Nine-Nine is streaming on Peacock and Hulu.

5. Biggest Surprise: The Other Two

This stinger is painfully funny.
Credit: HBO

The Other Two‘s second season ends with a deadly sneak attack of a pandemic joke. After years of auditions and unfulfilling hosting gigs, Cary Dubek (Drew Tarver) lands a part in a feature film. The finale’s end tag reveals that the movie begins filming on March 13, 2020, aka the day everything shut down. Poor Cary — just when you think he’s achieved his dreams, a pandemic rolls along to put everything in flux. According to showrunners Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, the COVID joke was a last-minute addition to the season, all of which had been written prior to the pandemic. While Season 3 isn’t going to be a COVID-focused season, Kelly and Schneider noted that The Other Two satirizes show business so much that not addressing the pandemic, which has changed how the entertainment industry operates, would shift the show away from reality. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Fellow

How to watch: The Other Two is streaming on HBO Max.

6. Most Rage-filled: You

Get your dang vaccines!!
Credit: Netflix

You could have done an anti-vaxxer subplot with or without a pandemic. But contextualizing a fictional measles outbreak by explicitly commenting on real current events let the psychological thriller drive its prescient point all the way home. In Season 3 episode 3, when baby Henry mysteriously contracts measles, his mom Love (Victoria Pedretti) goes on the warpath to find out how he got it. Ultimately, it’s revealed a neighborhood couple knowingly put her child at risk due to disprovable pseudoscience. So, Love beats one of them over the head with a rolling pin and stashes his unconscious body in her basement. Watching all that go down is an undoubted guilty pleasure. But so is the show. — A.F.

How to watch: You is streaming on Netflix.

7. Most Relatable: Love Life

This one might actually give you hope.
Credit: HBO Max

Rather than having Covid loom large over the excellent second season of Love Life, the team behind the HBO Max dramedy instead focused all of the pandemic’s destabilizing horror onto the strong, poignant penultimate episode of the William Jackson Harper-starring series. Taking place over the course of the pandemic, Marcus goes through the stages we all went through in 2020 —apprehension, horror, and depression aplenty. Tackling the Black Lives Matter protests and the draining exhaustion of dealing with overwhelmingly clueless white co-workers was an added dose of much-needed reality. Happily, all was not hopeless as Marcus began to take a hard look at himself and take concrete steps for a better, healthier post-pandemic future — an aspirational move for us all. — Erin Strecker, Entertainment Editor

How to watch: Love Life is streaming on HBO Max.

8. Most All-Around Impressive: Shameless

It’s just so stupidly impressive what they pulled off.
Credit: Shameless

There’s a lot in Shameless‘ brilliant eleventh season that represents its impressive approach to the pandemic well: creative use of face masks in acting and blocking; of-the-moment dialogue that somehow never feels dated; and plenty more that’s simultaneously insightful, entertaining, and effective. But perhaps more than anything that’s actually in the show, how Shameless‘ final season was made remains a staggering feat of TV excellence. Creator John Wells steadfast commitment to adapting production of his beloved Showtimes series (the longest in the network’s history), while helping its topical moments match broader themes of the show helped its finale feel both fresh and fitting. Regardless of the circumstances, the Gallaghers were able to get the send-off they deserved. That felt good in a year so tough. — A.F.

How to watch: Shameless is streaming on Showtime.

9. Most Fantastical: Mythic Quest

‘Mythic Quest’ never doesn’t deliver.
Credit: AppleTV+

Mythic Quest knocked their 2020 pandemic special episode out of the park with a poignant reflection on loneliness, boredom, and their characters’ bizarrely endearing rapport. Then, right before their Season 2 aired, Mythic Quest released “Everlight,” another bonus episode that bridged the gap between the Covid-19 pandemic and the events of the upcoming season. Mythic Quest has always been smart about what makes fantasy gaming fun, but “Everlight” took that understanding to another level with a plot that begins with Mythic Quest employees live-action roleplaying an end-of-pandemic celebration that transforms into a magical fantasy sequence where light always conquers the darkness. — Alexis Nedd, Senior Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Mythic Quest is streaming on AppleTV+.

10. Most Handwave-y (tied): Gossip Girl, And Just Like That, and The Sex Lives of College Girls

You know, that’s fine!
Credit: Mashable composite; HBO Max

At the end of the day, television is a form of entertainment. Not everyone needs to get into the gritty details of everyday life, especially if those details are a commonly experienced biological disaster that many would rather escape. This is all to say that being handwave-y about the pandemic is not a bad thing; rather it’s a sign that certain shows are committed to their duty of being fun even though they take place in the “real” world. Both And Just Like That and the Gossip Girl reboot take place in a post-pandemic New York City where everyone has already dealt with Covid. They’ll mention masks, quarantining, and not seeing their friends for a while, then enter a crowded room or get on a subway platform unmasked and unashamed. As for The Sex Lives of College Girls, there’s one quick mention of someone getting Covid in the past, after which they dispense with any pandemicalia and move on to better things. — A.N.

How to watch: Gossip Girl is streaming on HBO Max.

How to watch: And Just Like That is streaming on HBO Max.

How to watch: Sex Lives of College Girls is streaming on HBO Max.

11. The Carpe Diem Award for Pandemic-Era Filming Opportunities: The White Lotus

Honestly, we’re just happy for you.
Credit: HBO

The White Lotus is a special case where the characters don’t deal with the pandemic in-universe, but the show itself only exists because of Covid-19. After production delays left HBO with fewer shows than they had slots for, creator Mike White whipped up The White Lotus as a pandemic-friendly series that could start shooting immediately. The fictional White Lotus Hotel is really the Four Seasons Resort in Maui, which lay empty during the pandemic and was easily transformed into a totally different venue. Many of the scenes take place outdoors or between small groups of characters who rarely interact beyond their immediate plotlines, which is a remarkable feat of writing considering the number of characters to juggle and the murder mystery that builds over the course of the season. Mike White made delicious, if bitter lemonade out of restrictive lemons, and so he earns the special Carpe Diem Award for Pandemic-Era Filming Opportunities. — A.N.

How to watch: The White Lotus is streaming on HBO Max.

12. The Cassandra Award For Bleakest Prophecy: Dear White People

Yeah, that’s grim
Credit: Netflix

Season 4 of Dear White People opens in a not-so-distant future, with Lionel (DeRon Horton) and Sam (Logan Browning) in extremely cool masks. They live in a world plagued by…well, plagues — a world where three cases of something called “Irish flu” lead to mandatory preemptive lockdowns. “God I wish bio-lock was the made-up future-y thing it sounds like instead of the every day reality under which we now live,” Lionel groans. As disquieting as it is, the hardest part might be that Dear White People’s reality has much better control of viral diseases than ours does. And they have orgasms in pill form. — P.K.

How to watch: Dear White People is streaming on Netflix.

Being a woman on the internet is hard. At times scary and exhausting, too.

From Twitter reply guys, to other forms of online harassment, to straight-up cyberstalking, letting women exist in peace seems to be a hard concept to grasp. When it comes to dating apps specifically, unfortunately some people assume that merely having a profile is an invitation to send creepy comments, so the chance of women enduring such unsettling experiences feels doubled. The onslaught of men grasping at straws for attention with messages saying “think they saw you somewhere” or requesting nudes in their opening line is an online dating specialty. Queer women on dating apps face all of these same challenges, plus an extra shop of horrors run by fetishization, ignorant cis straight people, and the feeling of not being queer enough.

Is it easier to shoot your shot by simply using a hot selfie on your Instagram story as bait for your crush? I mean, that’s a classic tactic that’ll never die. But unless you and said crush are already in some sort of flirtationship and already follow each other on social media, finding love, a hookup, or someone to grab a drink with could happen a lot faster with the right dating app. At least, it definitely opens more opportunities than waiting to meet someone at work or agreeing to a blind date.

Though it may have a bad rep, the OG swiping-app Tinder can truly be a great place to meet genuine people who are open to getting serious, to find a reliable friend with benefits, or to get a good-old-fashioned confidence boost from a mutual right swipe. But if you’re frustrated with horny jerks disguising themselves as relationship seekers or relationship seekers who can’t handle it when you say you’re just looking for a hookup, opting for a dating site more finely-tuned to what you’re looking for means you’ll spend less time dealing with people who aren’t looking for the same thing.

Maybe you can’t stand starting every conversation from scratch. Maybe your biggest fear is ending up on a date with someone who doesn’t care about voting. Instead of a half-assed bio, dating apps that delve into someone’s hobbies, favorite movies, career goals, or political views before even talking to them opens up a wealth of clever ice breakers, and ensures that you aren’t going into things blindly.

Dating apps are trying to make things safer IRL

Meeting someone from the internet in person for the first time is nerve-wracking for anyone. But for women, it can dredge up the same fear that occurs when walking alone past a big group of men.

Match Group is making strides toward a safer dating experience: Tinder was the first to unveil new features coming out of its partnership with Noonlight, a safety app that tracks the location of users and notifies authorities if there are concerns. Before heading out on a date, Tinder users can log info about where they’re going and who they’re meeting, as well as hit a panic button to alert authorities if there’s an emergency. (Match Group plans to roll out the same features for its other apps, like Hinge and OkCupid, later.) In March 2021, Tinder announced plans to let users run a background check on their matches.

How the pandemic has changed dating for the better

COVID changed online dating dynamics forever. “Double vaxxed up” being a genuine turn-on is the obvious addition to 2021 dating checklists, but there’s something about dating discourse that we think could positively affect communication between strangers in the long run.

Waiting to meet each other and getting to know a match through FaceTime is kind of the norm now — and people don’t really want that to change, even once the pandemic has fully subsided. For the women who’d prefer to gather crumbs of someone’s vibe before meeting in person, online dating’s shift to video dating in 2020 could prove comforting. It goes without saying that you’re never required to meet up with a match in person immediately, but it’d be nice not to be pestered about it.

The communication skills gained through hashing out COVID-related issues aren’t nothing, either. People have gotten comfortable with bringing up personal boundaries and bonding over universal anxieties with someone they met on a dating app — both of which could benefit women online. Tinder thinks the honesty will carry over when things are back to normal, and hopefully the assholes will continue to weed themselves out.

What are the best dating sites for women?

Here are the best dating sites and apps for single women looking for a date, a movie buddy, a friend with benefits, or a romantic commitment. 

Oops, you did it again. You waited until the last minute to get a gift. You love your parents, boyfriend/girlfriend, friends, and other family members, but sometimes they’re hard to shop for and time just gets away from you.

We get it and we’re not here to judge. Rather, we are here to help. Finding a last-minute gift that’s actually meaningful is hard, to be quite honest. But even with the supply chain issues, it’s not impossible. There are still ways to get personalized or sentimental gifts even in a time crunch.

Gift cards are generally the first thought when it comes to last-minute gifts, and while those are great, they’re not your only option. Throughout this guide, you will see some gift cards, but don’t feel like you’re stuck getting one.

Depending on how last-minute you’re pushing it, there are actually some really neat gifts you can get. This is especially true if you’re an Amazon Prime member and get free one- and two-day shipping. As long as your last-minute shopping doesn’t happen too close to Christmas, you should be golden ordering something from Amazon.

Safe bets for last-minute gifting include online services, items with digital delivery, stuff with fast shipping, and subscription services. Check out some unique options below.

AirTags are useful when it comes to keeping track of lost accessories. But the Bluetooth trackers are also highly capable of tracking people. Trust me, I’ve tried and it worked.

To prevent unwanted tracking, Apple allows users to disable AirTags on the spot. This can be done in a few simple steps.

First things first: Upgrade to iOS 14.5 now

Whenever an unknown AirTag is traveling with you, a pop-up notification will appear on your iPhone that reads: “AirTag Found Moving With You.”

In order to receive those safety notifications, you first have to be running iOS 14.5. The new software update is crucial to accessing all the AirTags’ safety features. So please, don’t procrastinate on updating to the latest software.

If you’re unsure as to whether your device is compatible with the new update, here’s a list of which Apple products support iOS 14:

• iPhone 6S and newer

• iPhone SE (1st and 2nd generation)

• iPod Touch (7th generation)

• 11-inch iPad Pro (1st and 2nd generation)

• 12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation)

• iPad (5th, 6th, and 7th generation)

• iPad mini (4th and 5th generation)

• iPad Air (2nd and 3rd generation)

To update, go to Settings > General > Software Update on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch and tap Download.

What to do when you receive a safety alert on your iPhone:

When your iPhone detects an AirTag is moving with you, you’ll receive a notification. If you can’t manage to find the unwanted AirTag, you can use the Find My app to trigger a loud sound to help you.

You’ll receive this pop-up notification if there’s an unknown AirTag traveling with you.

Credit: screenshot / apple

You can play a sound, pause the alerts, or remove the battery.

Credit: screenshot / apple

If you borrowed someone’s bag or keys with an AirTag attached, and have an iPhone running iOS 14.5, then you can choose to either pause the safety alerts for a day or turn the feature off completely.

But if you have absolutely no idea where the AirTag came from, you’ll want to fully disable it by removing the battery cover. You can do this by twisting counter clockwise on the back of the tracker (where the Apple logo is) and then manually taking the battery out.

When you find an unknown AirTag on you but you’re an Android user:

When AirTags first launched, Android users had no official means of detecting whether an unknown AirTag was moving with them. That left them with only one option: Waiting three days for the unknown AirTag to emit an audible alert and then disabling it by removing the battery.

But Apple recently released an app on the Google Play store to address this issue. With Tracker Detect, Android users can scan for nearby AirTags and other tracking devices within Apple’s Find My network. If an unknown AirTag is found, users have the ability to make it play a sound, learn more information about it, or access instructions on how to remove its battery.

It’s worth noting that users must manually scan for an unknown AirTag, as opposed to the app automatically running a scan in the background. Many reviews on the Google Play store have cited this as an ongoing issue. It’s unclear whether Apple plans to update the app.

Apple’s Android solution doesn’t automatically scan for unknown devices.

Credit: apple

The app instructs users to contact law enforcement if they feel unsafe.

Credit: apple

When you find an accessory with an AirTag attached:

Since AirTags have NFC built in, you can tap on them using either an iPhone or Android phone (with NFC) to trigger some options. This is handy if you want to return the lost item to which the AirTag is attached.

When an owner can’t find their AirTag, they can enable Lost Mode.

Credit: screenshot / apple

When you find a lost AirTag, you’ll see a phone number to contact and a message.

Credit: screenshot / apple

If the owner of the AirTag attached to that accessory has marked it as lost, then tapping on the AirTag with your phone will take you to a web page with their phone number and a message.

And remember, if you ever feel unsafe in the presence of an unknown AirTag, there’s really only one thing to do: Remove the battery.

Related Video: Unboxing Apple’s new AirTags

UPDATE: Dec. 20, 2021, 3:22 p.m. EST This article has been updated with information regarding Apple’s Tracker Detect app for Android users.