The general consensus seems to be that 2016 was not a great year, even in pop culture, what with major celeb splits (so long, Brangelina), a contentious election cycle and the loss of icons including David Bowie, Prince, Muhammad Ali, George Michael, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher (among others). But while it seemed like it at times, 2016 wasn't all bad. Scroll through to see 10 good things that happened in pop culture this year.
Credit: David Ramos/Getty Images
The general consensus seems to be that 2016 was not a great year, even in pop culture, what with major celeb splits (so long, Brangelina), a contentious election cycle and the loss of icons including David Bowie, Prince, Muhammad Ali, George Michael, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher (among others). But while it seemed like it at times, 2016 wasn't all bad. Scroll through to see 10 good things that happened in pop culture this year.
Credit: David Ramos/Getty Images
The general consensus seems to be that 2016 was not a great year, even in pop culture, what with major celeb splits (so long, Brangelina), a contentious election cycle and the loss of icons including David Bowie, Prince, Muhammad Ali, George Michael, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher (among others). But while it seemed like it at times, 2016 wasn't all bad. Scroll through to see 10 good things that happened in pop culture this year.
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Fifth time's the charm! After four previous acting nominations — but no wins — at the 1994, 2005, 2007 and 2014 Oscars, the Revenant star finally walked away with a golden statuette at the 2016 ceremony in February. And all he had to do to get it was eat raw bison liver and sleep in animal carcasses in the freezing cold. We'll never let go of the memory of his speech and BFF Kate Winslet's heartwarming reaction.
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TV's favorite fast-talking mother-daughter duo, Rory and Lorelai Gilmore, returned to Stars Hollow in Netflix's Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life in November, giving loyal fans what they'd been waiting nearly a decade for: Amy Sherman-Palladino's final four words. Sure, we have more questions now than we did before the revival, but that just means there's plenty of material for four more 90-minute episodes, right?
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The Team USA swimmer shattered records and medaled in five events at the 2016 Summer Olympics in August, winning gold in all but one race. In the 800m freestyle event, she finished a full 11.38 seconds ahead of the silver medalist from Great Britain and smashed her own world record. The 19-year-old was so good, in fact, that people started calling Michael Phelps the "Male Katie Ledecky."
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Katie Ledecky wasn't the only superstar female athlete at this year's Games in August. Team USA's Final Five gymnasts — Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez and Madison Kocian — won a record nine medals among them, not to mention the hearts of Americans everywhere. We'd give an honorary gold to Raisman's parents, too, for their hilarious (and synchronized!) squirming during her uneven bars routine.
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There are good movies every year, of course, but we needed the escape more than ever in 2016. Standouts included the dreamy, unapologetically hopeful La La Land; the deeply felt Moonlight; the devastating, superbly acted Manchester by the Sea; and the surprisingly cerebral Arrival. There were plenty of blockbusters, too, such as Deadpool, Captain America: Civil War and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
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Not surprisingly, Beyoncé was everywhere this year, from the Super Bowl halftime show to HBO to the CMA Awards. In April, she debuted her sixth studio album, the Grammy-nominated Lemonade, and launched a mega tour all over the U.S. and Europe. Meanwhile, in September, younger sister Solange released her critically acclaimed third album, A Seat at the Table, which Pitchfork chose as its No. 1 album of 2016.
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Cleveland Indians fans would probably put this one in the "Bad" column, but the 2016 Fall Classic was baseball at its best. After a 108-year championship drought — and a decades-long curse involving a goat — the Cubs made history on November 2 when they beat the Indians in extra innings in game 7 to win the franchise's first World Series title since 1908. Bonus: No. 1 fan Bill Murray GIFs for days.
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After leaving the Cavaliers in 2010 and winning back-to-back championships with the Miami Heat, LeBron James announced his return to Cleveland in 2014 — along with his plan to bring "one trophy back to Northeast Ohio." This year, he and his teammates accomplished just that, defeating the Golden State Warriors in game 7 of the NBA finals in June to deliver the franchise its first-ever Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.
Credit: Disney
Disney introduced its first-ever Polynesian princess in November's Moana, which featured songs by Hamilton visionary Lin-Manuel Miranda and the voices of Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Though there was some controversy surrounding the film — particularly regarding the portrayal of Johnson's demigod character, Maui — the movie was well-received by both critics and audiences and established Moana herself as one of Disney's strongest female characters.
Credit: HBO
According to FX, 455 different scripted shows aired on broadcast, cable and streaming services in 2016 — an 8 percent increase over 2015 and a 137 percent increase over 2006. And while there were undoubtedly a few clunkers in there, there were also some real gems, including FX's Atlanta and The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, HBO's Westworld and, of course, Netflix's Stranger Things.
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