Your study-break guide to everything the group chat already knows
Raise your hand if your week looked like this: three readings, one group project meeting that could have been an email, and a dining hall salad that made you question your life choices. Same. While you were heads-down, pop culture kept right on spinning. A late-night first, a monster stomping the box office, a K-pop chart that refuses to budge, and a video game that has half of campus counting down the days. Consider this your study break. Here are ten things you may have missed, loosely ranked by how fun they are to bring up at dinner.
1. Druski Makes SNL History
Comedian and creator Druski hosted Saturday Night Live on November 7, becoming the first digital content creator to take the host spot in the show’s 52-season run. The Strokes performed as musical guest for the fifth time, and the episode drew 5.6 million viewers, which Variety reports as the show’s strongest numbers in two years. Druski even turned up in one sketch dressed as a birthday girl. Translation: the funny people on your feed are now running late-night television, and your For You page was right all along. Even if sketch comedy isn’t usually your thing, it’s worth catching a milestone like this while it’s fresh. The clips are everywhere, and they make top-tier procrastination material.
2. Godzilla Stomps the Box Office
Godzilla Minus Zero took the top spot at the box office for the weekend of November 6 to 8, pulling in $31.6 million. It had already made noise in Japan, where its November 3 opening day earned about $5.75 million and set a first-day record for a live-action release there. This is the kind of movie that practically begs for a big screen and a loud theater. Round up your hallmates, split a comically large popcorn, and let someone else’s special effects budget handle your Saturday night. Bonus: student discounts exist, and you should absolutely use them.
3. A Cat in a Hat Takes Silver
Second place went to The Cat in the Hat with $20.5 million, while Drummer Boy landed in third with $9.3 million. Losing to a giant lizard is no shame, and plenty of moviegoers clearly wanted some Seuss in their lives. Together, the top three make a surprisingly great menu for a movie weekend: one film for your inner kindergartner, one for your inner kaiju fan, and one for the friend who always wants something different. Pro tip: matinees are the budget-friendly move, and the snack counter is where your meal plan goes to cry.
4. Kings of Leon Go Self-Produced
Friday, November 6 was a stacked day for new music, and one of the big arrivals was Kings of Leon’s O My Beloved, the band’s tenth studio album and their first self-produced full-length. It follows the single “My Whole World.” That same Friday also brought a new self-titled Prong record and a Joe Satriani and Steve Vai team-up called The Sea of Emotion, so whether your taste runs to arena rock or guitar-solo heaven, your playlist had options. It all makes excellent background music for a library session, as long as you keep one earbud out for the fire alarm.
5. IVE Refuses to Budge
K-pop fans, rejoice. IVE’s “Looks Can Kill” debuted at No. 1 on Soompi’s weekly chart and then held the top spot for a second straight week. That kind of staying power is the musical equivalent of the student who claims the front-row seat at the 8 a.m. lecture and never gives it up. If you haven’t heard it yet, it’s a perfect excuse to ask your K-pop-obsessed roommate for a playlist, and maybe a gentle explanation of who everyone is. Be prepared for the answer to take longer than the song. Chart updates like this are also a sneaky reminder that the best songs of the semester are usually the ones you hear on repeat through the wall.
6. The Strokes Bring the Puppets
Around their SNL appearance, The Strokes also shared a new video featuring Spitting Image puppets, which is exactly as delightfully weird as it sounds. The band is out on tour supporting their album Reality Awaits, so if you’ve been waiting for a reason to dust off your coolest thrifted jacket, consider this your sign. Puppets plus indie rock is a combination nobody asked for and everybody needed. Watch it once for the music, then again to see how many puppet faces you can recognize.
7. K-Culture Awards Season Warms Up
Over in Korea’s entertainment world, nominations for the Blue Dragon Film Awards arrived, and fans of the medical drama Dr. Romantic got a treat when its stars reunited. This week’s K-drama roundups were also packed with casting news and weekend watch picks, which makes it the ideal moment to start a new series before Thanksgiving break. Your watchlist is about to get longer, and your sleep schedule is about to get shorter. Pro tip: pick something with a manageable number of episodes, or accept that you will be a new person by Monday.
8. Grammy Nomination Fever
The 2027 Grammy nominations will be announced Monday, November 16, and this week was pure prediction season. Industry watchers expect a big showing for women, with Taylor Swift, Olivia Dean, and Raye among the names to watch. There are also five new categories this year, including best Asian pop music performance, and the ceremony airs February 7 on ABC. Make your picks now so you can be smugly right, or loudly wrong, in the group chat. The nominations also double as a handy cheat sheet for what to add to your playlist before finals. Loser buys the late-night fries.
9. SNL Returns Tomorrow with Mulaney and Bridgers
Saturday Night Live is back tomorrow night, November 14, with John Mulaney hosting for the seventh time and Phoebe Bridgers appearing as musical guest for the second. Bridgers recently released her third studio album, Lost Weekend, so expect the set to be a good one. A new SNL is one of the last true communal events, the kind that convinces a whole floor to stay up past midnight. Bridgers has a knack for making a room go quiet, which is more than most lecture halls can say. Gather in the common room, grab snacks, and prepare to quote sketches at breakfast on Monday.
10. The GTA VI Countdown Is Almost Over
Less than a week from now, on November 19, Grand Theft Auto VI arrives on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S after what feels like a geological age of waiting. Its extended look on Netflix pulled in 31.1 million views in a single week this summer, so yes, people are ready. PC players will have to wait longer. Expect your gamer friends to vanish into their dorm rooms, hoard snacks, and miss all of their plans. If a roommate suddenly starts talking about “the map,” you’ll know why. Be a good friend: bring them water, check on them occasionally, and remind them about that group project.
Wrap-Up
That’s the week. Whether you’re planning a movie night, building a playlist, or just trying to keep up with the group chat, you’re officially caught up. Now close the tab, go finish that reading, and save your best pop culture takes for the dining hall. See you next week with another round of everything you were too busy to notice.
