Charlotte Mercury Review: SNL's Cold Open and Weekend Update Outshine an Otherwise Flat Night
A sharp, slow-journalism review of SNL's Nov. 1 episode: an inventive cold open and witty Weekend Update carry a lackluster night.
Jack Beckett·Nov 3, 2025
Charlotte Arts & Culture
Arts, entertainment, and cultural life
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Fifty Thousand Secondhand Books, Almost None Over $8: The Book Rack's Quiet 30-Year Run
Fifty thousand secondhand books, almost none over eight dollars, and a trade that keeps them moving reader to reader. Inside The Book Rack, the Johnston Road shop that has kept south Charlotte reading cheap for thirty…
Jack Beckett·Jul 1, 2026
Latest in Culture
SNL Episode 3: Sabrina Carpenter's Pop-First Play Pays Off With One NSFW Jolt
SNL's Oct. 18 episode put pop over politics: a "Domingo" cold open, tight staging, a brief mic glitch, and "Nobody's Son" with an uncensored lyric on…
Jack Beckett·Oct 20, 2025
SNL at 50: Amy Poehler Lifts an Uneven Anniversary Show
SNL's 50th-birthday show was fine. Amy Poehler was better. One killer fake-ad and a buzzy Update reunion kept a wobbly night upright.
Jack Beckett·Oct 13, 2025
SNL Season 51 Premiere Review: Dialogue Over Spectacle, A Better Show
SNL's Season 51 premiere cut the noise and let the lines breathe, with clean endings, character heat, and two sharp Doja Cat performances that…
Jack Beckett·Sep 12, 2025