UMNIA's Ins and Outs for 2026, culturally speaking.

Out (of SNL): Bowen Yang
In (to stardom): Bowen Yang

After a "shock" exit from the show on a most iconic basis (Ariana and Cher, like, wow), the Las Culturistas maven seemed ever so slightly concerned about his future. He needn't be. People's Princess Bowen Yang has crafted an absolutely iconic run at SNL, and in the meantime, has elevated every possible ship he could hope to sail into the future. From his beautiful performance in The Wedding Banquet, to his star-making turn in BOTH Wicked films, I'm looking forward to hearing the youth raving about Bowen the way Bowen (and I) rave about Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Simply, Bowen Yang will always be famous.

Out: Rightward Overton Window Shift
In: Woke

With the acceleration of trend culture has come an unlikely byproduct – the acceleration of political trends. We're one year into America's full-on Project 2025 Presidency; Tourism and Trade have plummeted, energy bills are increasing due to local data centres, and inflation has gone nowhere. Even the best advocates for Conservatism, when pressed on the economy they so fervently wanted to save, say that things are going to get better "soon".

Alas, these are all hallmarks of a popular shift - people are already predicting a wash at the midterms. If this wash is to succeed, however, non-conservatives must take a cue from Zohran Mamdani, not Gavin Newsom, in hopes of an actual win, instead of repeating the trend shift in the opposite direction.

Out: Streaming's Damage to TV and Film
In: Gay Sex in Popular Media

With the arrival of Heated Rivalry, two things have become apparent – the girls love a week-to-week, and a cheeks-to-cheeks.

You get it - we're heading out of the Watch-all-at-once Era, into something a lot more communal. The number of suggestions I've seen for Netflix to do Live "premieres" has been staggering, and the rise of DIY Film Clubs and Physical Media are really heartening. What might be missing here, for the low-spoon, low-on-time or just not able to leave the house community, is something less intensive, but still wholly communal, like Virtual Film Clubs and Events.

Meanwhile, a time-honoured tradition is returning - the universal entertainment appeal of Romantic Gay Sex. Communities of all kinds, coming together to experience love stories with every bit left in, including the intimacy. If done right and kept out of the hands of the few, this could be an amazingly sex-positive era for TV and Film, which I think could genuinely heal the world. I'm dead serious.

Out: The Drama
In: The Drama (2026)

One thing Sydney Sweeney's 2025 showed me is that people aren't reacting to the old ragebait culture tactics anymore. It's washed, it's tired, and there are enough important bad things to talk about – your "genes" being important is like, part of the Political apparatus of your country now, girl, it's not culturally relevant. We won't be buying the jeans, thanks, nor a ticket to see your work. Which is a shame, because by all accounts it wasn't bad work.

However, people still love mess, and!!! Zendaya🎉! So I will be seated whenever A24 decide to ship The Drama over to a cinema near me. (As a Black North African girl, I will not be watching the third Dune, so don't force me to!)

Out: Another Adaptation of The Thing™
In: Music Movies

I feel so bad for the people who are passionate about Wuthering Heights and The Odyssey. They seem so distressed right now, and I send them my love as a former DC Comics fan who had to sit through the Snyder years. I know that pain, I honour that pain, and I only hope they're not as ear-bleedingly bad as you worry they might be.

However, my ears will not be bleeding, because I genuinely think Charli XCX's The Moment and the new Michael Biopic show immense promise. I've not really enjoyed many Music Biopics of the last few years (although I have amazing intel that a very ambitious one coming to us in 2028 is actually going to be really good, which is mad because I was not checking for it at all), however, Charli's approach is so avant-garde and self aware, and the fidelity to the details in the Michael trailer gave me chills.

Out: Escapism
In: Escaping the Internet

This one scares me. The internet's most brilliant function has been connecting us in ways previous generations could have only wished for. We have turned the tides of public opinion by sharing education and personal experiences on a scale unimaginable just a few years ago. I don't like the idea that we're losing access to people – and I hope that never becomes the case.

However, I think the drive to escape and numb has also come from the huge volume of infinite data we've been consuming. This isn't conducive to the change we seek, and these platforms do also provide very perverse incentives to creators to stoke a more passionate, less nuanced response to world events and conflict than they would otherwise give.

I think the drive to analogue is a pure one, if sometimes performative. The urge is often co-opted by legislators to actually promote censorship of these platforms, which we can't allow, but as long as we don't allow it, I think unplugging could be an amazing way to get present and clear on how to change things in 2026 and beyond.

I only ask, reader, that if you intend to unplug more next year, you intentionally curate a few trusted online sources of news and culture that you can rely on, and check in with them often. I'd hate to see the progress we made as a collective lost back to "Legacy/Traditional" media because it's the only group wealthy enough to reach you when your phone or TikTok is 'bricked'.

Live in 'and's, don't live in 'or's.

As an aside, for a while now I've been considering an idea called "Offline Algorithm" – some kind of brief weekly culture report, with deeper sources linked, for those who want to stay tapped into culture deep-dives and news (covered in a non-sensationalised way), but who also want to reclaim their time back from the infinite scroll. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, click the "More Like This" button below and I'll count up interest and see in the New Year.