Happy Halloween, Contrarians! 🎃
This is Meredith Blake, culture columnist.
Welcome to Issue #3 of Culture Clash, the newsletter in which, every other week, I’ll bring you exclusive interviews, deep dives on what is happening across the cultural sphere, and recommendations for what to read, watch, and listen to next.
Because 2026 is determined to set a record as the worst year ever for beloved celebrity deaths, on Wednesday Sir Patrick Stewart, the British actor who shot to fame as the noble Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation, died “following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia,” according to a statement from his family.
Since the news of his death broke Thursday, the tributes and commemorations have been pouring in from Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike. What strikes me about Stewart, other than his decades-long friendship with Ian McKellen, is his utter lack of pretension. Though he was a Serious Actor who performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company for many years and won two Olivier Awards over a long career in the theater, he embraced the fact that he would always be best known for his role in a syndicated sci-fi TV series.
“It was the biggest thing that ever happened to me,” he said in 2023.
When Stewart was first approached about the series, he knew almost nothing about Star Trek, but accepted the gig mostly because he wanted to work in California. (A childhood in Yorkshire will do that to you.) Stewart couldn’t have anticipated that the role would turn him into a Hollywood star, an unlikely sex symbol, or a role model for bald men everywhere. Stewart brought Shakespearean gravitas to the character, turning Picard into a new kind of Star Trek hero — dignified and philosophical rather than arrogant or impulsive.
He was also adept at comedy, starring as a gay interior designer in the trailblazing 1995 film Jeffrey, which contributed to his reputation as a staunch LGBTQ ally; making appearances on The Simpsons and countless talk shows; and performing a memorably soliloquy about the letter “B” on Sesame Street.
Stewart stayed busy until nearly the end of his life, using his sonorous voice to play a wise ram in The Sheep Detectives, a charming, family-friendly mystery released in March. He will also be seen as Professor X in Avengers: Doomsday, out in December. “I can’t imagine ever officially ‘retiring,’” he said in July. “I’ll always and forever be an actor.”
Spooky Viewing Picks
This weekend is Halloween, and if Tuesday’s election doesn’t have you sufficiently on edge, there are plenty of spooky screening options to really set the mood. Backrooms or Obsession, two low-budget horror movies that became breakout hits this year, are both available to stream. (On HBO Max and Peacock, respectively.)
If you haven’t watched Widow’s Bay, the Emmy-winning comedy/horror series starring Matthew Rhys as the mayor of a small New England town, then catch up between trick-or-treaters. (On Apple TV.) TCM also has a lineup of horror classics, including Bride of Frankenstein and Dracula.
If you’re in the mood for something old-but-new — and are motivated to leave the house — check out the recently restored version of The Devils, Ken Russell’s once-scandalous 1971 horror film about a dissolute priest in 17th century France, now in select theaters.
For my money, though, the scariest thing in pop culture right now is the latest season of Love Is Blind on Netflix. Set in Boston, it’s a waking nightmare of red-pilled bros and raw milk enthusiasts.
Viewer discretion is strongly advised!
Culture News from The Contrarian:
Inspired by a recent walk down a block in NYC where the stoop of seemingly every brownstone was piled high with pumpkins, I investigated what is apparently a growing entrepreneurial niche: the pumpkin concierge.
You Can See Everything, Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s mind-bending three-hour documentary about disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, has become a cultural phenomenon and runaway box office hit. Here’s a look at why it’s capturing the zeitgeist.
I talked to the filmmakers behind Once Upon a Time in Harlem, a remarkable documentary chronicling a 1972 gathering of surviving luminaries from the Harlem Renaissance. The story behind the film, which took three generations of the Greaves family more than 50 years to make, is as fascinating as the documentary itself.
The best movies I saw at the Woodstock Film Festival.
Other News of Note:
Dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who was nominated for two Academy Awards for his film It Was Just an Accident last year, has been sentenced to five years in prison by an Iranian court. He also faces a two-year social media and travel ban, and his assets have reportedly been frozen.
Heated Rivalry, the greatest television show of the 21st century, will play in hundreds of theaters around the world starting November 5, giving fans the chance to enjoy all that, uh, hockey on an extra big screen.
Noah Wyle, star and executive producer of everyone’s favorite show The Pitt, has been named People’s Sexiest Man Alive, a decision that has some people up in arms despite the fact that the “honor” has always been more than a little absurd. A scroll through this gallery of past winners is a reminder that being “sexy” is actually code for “having a really good publicist.”
Actor Cheyenne Jackson, who was close to losing his health insurance last year until Kathy Bates saved the day, has started a campaign called “One Job Away” to help other actors get enough work to qualify for benefits through SAG-AFTRA.
In a talk at the Harvard Kennedy School, actor Keri Russell said her Netflix series The Diplomat is “absolutely meant to be a love letter to the Foreign Service.”
If you didn’t get to see Musk in theaters — and odds are you didn’t — you can rent it at home starting November 6. (Pre-order here.) Director Alex Gibney recently talked to Status about efforts by TikTok and other social media platforms to suppress the film.
Thanks for reading, Contrarians! I’ll be back in two weeks with much more culture to help celebrate or distract from the election results.
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Rest in peace, Sir Patrick. How awful that he suffered from Lewy Body Dementia. My mother, who died about 15 years ago, had Lewy Body and if her experience is any example, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. At least he's beyond the suffering now.
He was the best captain ever. All he had to say was "make it so" and it was so. Great actor and persona. Hope this voyage is his best ever.