arts
-
Larry David's concentration camp gags set sorry toneIs the Curb star still funny? His Weinstein gags suggested … not. In a week of indictments on Russia and a New York attack, the whole show felt rather off -
Trump 'doesn't know anything' about tax reformComics Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah and Seth Meyers addressed the Russia investigation, Russian infiltration of social media, and the GOP’s tax proposal
-
Standups on Weinstein, taboos – and the gags they regretIs it ever OK for comedians to joke about sexual assault? Is there such a thing as ‘too soon’? Margaret Cho, Doug Stanhope, David Cross and other fearless comics on the fine line between funny and offensive -
Only 4.8% of TV writers are black. As one of them, I know the system is brokenWorking on TV’s Atlanta, I’ve seen the impact of a diverse writing room. It’s a shame the rest of the industry doesn’t seem to have the desire to change
-
The Girlfriend Experience: a welcome return for TV's most audacious dramaThe second season of executive producer Steven Soderbergh’s chilly drama about the lives of escorts offers up dual storylines and three fascinating female leads
people
-
Harvey Weinstein: police say Paz de la Huerta's rape claim is 'credible'New York police department confirms it is investigating allegation by actor, who says Weinstein raped her twice, and is gathering evidence to seek arrest warrant
-
Margaret Atwood and leading authors appeal to Xi Jinping to release Liu XiaPhilip Roth, Tom Stoppard and George Saunders write letter to China’s president to show ‘compassion’ for the detained wife of Liu Xiaobo
-
the big picture
reviews
-
Ayad Akhtar's fast-paced financial thriller falls shortThe Pulitzer prize winner’s stock market morality play zips by with speed but suffers from confused characterization and frustrating ambiguity
-
Alias Grace – another poignant adaptation of a Margaret Atwood novelSarah Gadon’s commanding performance as Grace Marks carries this Netflix series through, despite a lack of soot and grit in its portrayal of Victorian poverty
-
pictures & video
-
The 20 photographs of the weekBanksy in Bethlehem, the aftermath of the Catalan referendum, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and the fight against Islamic State – the week’s biggest news stories captured by the world’s best photojournalists
-
Grow Up by Chris Ware: exclusive cover art for the Observer New ReviewCreated by the American graphic novelist for the Observer’s graphic novel special
-
Torbjørn Rødland's best photograph: a plate of teeth and cake hung in a dentist's waiting room‘They took it down. It was terrorising the patients’
-
Ernst Haeckel: the art of evolutionThe influential evolutionary scientist, who coined such terms as ‘stem cell’ and ‘ecology’, was also a virtuoso illustrator. The editor of a new book celebrating this work introduces some highlights
-
Your underwhelming Halloween photosAs is traditional, we share our readers’ (and our readers’ dogs’) half-hearted Halloween costumes on this, the spookiest of nights
-
Whitby goth weekend - in picturesWhitby in North Yorkshire hosted its biannual music festival for goths this weekend. The festival began in 1994 and attracts about 1,500 people to the town where Bram Stoker found inspiration for Dracula when he stayed in 1890
Sam Smith: The Thrill of It All review – moping by numbers