The Cut - What's Behind Our Thirst for Roman Roy?

Can you feel that? The shift in the air? Not the changing of seasons but the ushering in of a new era; we have skipped right over “short king” season and into a new chapter of a demented fairy tale, that of the “chaos goblin.” A chaos goblin, for the uninitiated, is a short man with undeniable charisma and an unpredictable energy. They are usually below five-foot-eight with a confidence that seems unearned and an aura that teeters on disturbing but is never unsafe. This era is heralded by a widespread thirst for Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy in HBO dynastic dramedy Succession but also as himself. While Succession has been on since 2019, a horn for Culkin seemed to really kick off when the teaser posters for season three dropped. In one, he sits with his “mommy girlfriend” Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) standing over him, her hand inching toward his throat. The nod to his season two “Will they, won’t they?” Oedipal tease seemed to set something off in people who either already had a yen for him or were on the fence.

Eclipse season may be behind us, but we’re still feeling its effects — find out what that means for your weekly horoscope. Just when you thought the supply-chain crisis couldn’t worsen: Bagel shops in NYC are running out of cream cheese. What Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie’s alarming Christmas photo says about the state of the Republican Party. Remember Couch Guy? Here’s what he says it was like being “investigated” on the internet. Being single is damn expensive. And from New York’s “Reasons to Love New York” issue, on newsstands today: the 101 best New York City movies, ranked.

It happened this week — let’s talk about it. Sign up for My Week in New York: a new newsletter from the editors.

If you enjoyed reading the Cut’s daily newsletter, forward it to a friend. Or dive deeper into the New York universe with these other newsletters: