The Worst Films of 2017

Variety's chief film critics identify the 10 movies they considered to be an embarrassment for all involved.

By Owen Gleiberman and Peter Debruge

The Best Films of 2017

In a year of cinematic riches, Variety chief film critics Owen Gleiberman and Peter Debruge may not agree on precisely what films rank as the year’s best, but it’s thrilling to see movies directed by women at the top of each of their lists.

By Owen Gleiberman and Peter Debruge

The Best TV Shows of 2017

Variety TV critics Sonia Saraiya and Maureen Ryan did exist in the same space-time continuum this year — we think — but there was so much TV that their end of year Top TV lists are extremely different from each other.

By Maureen Ryan & Sonia Saraiya

The Best Albums of 2017

Looking back through the dense media mist of the befuddling and seemingly endless 2017, our mid-year music special notes an unusual if obvious trend: The most popular genres of music — hip-hop/R&B and pop — are also the primary incubators of innovation.

By Variety Staff

The Top 10 Shots of 2017

The top 10 shots of the year becomes a sort of time capsule in some way, with the only real connective tissue from year-to-year being the analysis of cinema’s most basic component: a picture, telling a story.

By Kristopher Tapley

Biggest Hits and Flops of 2017

There were plenty of winners and losers at the domestic box office this year since the overall 2017 number is still about 3% behind last year.

By Dave McNary

TV Shows We Quit in 2017

In general, it’s advisable to finish what you start — but if what you started was a show that eventually felt more like an obligation than entertainment, who has the time to stick with it?

By Variety Staff

Biggest Hits and Flops of 2017

There were plenty of winners and losers at the domestic box office this year since the overall 2017 number is still about 3% behind last year. Here we highlight the surprise successes — and the films that were originally intended to get franchises started but didn’t quite make the grade.

By Dave McNary

Variety Music Staff’s 10 Favorite Albums of 2017

Variety Music already wrote about our Top 20 albums of the year — and all three of our main critics submitted personal Top 10s. But for some (okay, for one of us), that just wasn’t enough.

By Variety Staff

Top Breakout TV Stars of 2017

As 2017 draws to a close, Variety takes a look back on some of the fresh faces in television who helped us survive another year.

By Joe Otterson

The Best TV Lines of 2017, According to Twitter

Using the hashtag #BestTVLines2017, Variety‘s Maureen Ryan and Uproxx TV critic Alan Sepinwall kicked things off on Monday.

By Matt Fernandez

Sonia Saraiya’s Favorite TV Things of 2017

Although I love to write about my favorite TV in my ranking of the best shows of the year, there’s always dozens—hundreds!—of other things that catch my eye: performances, shots, music cues, and more.

By Sonia Saraiya

Best and Worst Ads of 2017

Some advertisers in 2017 might have been better off not advertising at all.

By Brian Steinberg

The Best New Shows of 2017

But 2017 wasn’t just a time of the most television, it has also been a time of some truly strong television — bold stories that tackle tough topics, come from unique new voices, and/or simply provide some joy and escapism during a tumultuous time.

By Danielle Turchiano

10 Best Uses of Music in Movies in 2017

Here is a countdown of the individual songs — some original, others re-contextualized — which provided those magic cinematic moments where sound and vision perfectly meshed to become seamlessly part of a greater whole.

By Roy Trakin

Music’s Best Boxed Sets of 2017, From the Beatles to Bowie, The Smiths to U2, and Weird Al

Physical media has been getting shelved — figuratively speaking — but there are still good reasons to reserve literal shelf space for recorded music.

By Chris Willman

10 Best New York Theater Productions of 2017

I call this my Magpie List for 2017, because like the magpie, I love pretty, shiny things that delight the eye — and if they also warm the heart, so much the better.

By Marilyn Stasio

Owen Gleiberman’s 10 Best Films of 2017

Earlier this year, as winter was doing its slow fade, something happened in the world of movies you don’t see too often: A film arrived out of nowhere to become a fast-break phenomenon, lionized by critics and flocked to by audiences.

By Owen Gleiberman

Peter Debruge’s 10 Best Films of 2017

2017 was the year of fanboys and wonder women, as the former grew almost deafening in their zeal, while the latter found a common voice and courageous platform to take on the honchos in showbiz, politics and many other fields who had the nerve to ignore that famous superhero adage, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

By Peter Debruge

Maureen Ryan’s 20 Best TV Shows of 2017

As I perused my very long list of possible Best TV contenders, it was heartening to see that women were not only making a lot of incredible, funny, gripping, provocative programs, but also that female characters predominated in so many of the shows.

By Maureen Ryan

Sonia Saraiya’s 25 Best TV Shows of 2017

It’s a good year for trying new things — for expanding the roster of voices we listen to, and changing our expectations of what’s worth watching.

By Sonia Saraiya

Fresh Voices in TV Who Broke Out in 2017

The Peak TV era has opened a lot of doors for tyro talents. Here’s a look at distinctive scribes, directors and producers who emerged from the pack in 2017.

By Danielle Turchiano & Cynthia Littleton

TV’s Most Meaningful Deaths of 2017

With so many shows on the air, it’s no surprise that TV’s character body count keeps rising. Here’s a look at the deaths of some prominent characters that left viewers in mourning this year.

By Danielle Turchiano, Cynthia Littleton and Joe Otterson