The best film & TV newsletters of 2026

Hark’s top 10 film & TV newsletters

Hand-ranked by the Hark News editorial team on breadth of coverage, original reporting, publisher authority, publishing frequency, and track record. Every one is free to read, or has a real free tier.

1. 01

   Daily Variety

   FreeDailyVariety (Penske Media Corporation)

   Listed as 'Daily Variety' on Variety's newsletter signup page, it compiles the day's top film, TV, and entertainment-business stories from Variety's newsroom. The same page offers companion emails including Breaking News alerts, Film News, TV News, and a Global Daily edition. Newsletters are free; some Variety site content (VIP/Intelligence) is separately paywalled.

2. 02

   Today in Entertainment

   FreeDailyThe Hollywood Reporter (Penske Media)

   Today in Entertainment is The Hollywood Reporter's flagship daily brief, rounding up film, TV, and entertainment-business news each weekday, with a separate weekend edition on Saturdays. It is free and lives in THR's email preference center alongside the trade's awards, TV, and industry newsletters.

3. 03

   Deadline Morning Rush

   FreeDailyDeadline (Penske Media)

   Each morning collects Deadline's essential entertainment-business reads — exclusives, dealmaking, features, and executive comings and goings. Managed for free on Deadline's newsletter-preferences page alongside breaking-news alerts and awards-season emails. Deadline is Penske Media's entertainment trade outlet.

4. 04

   IndieWire Daily

   FreeDaily (weekdays)IndieWire

   IndieWire's daily digest rounds up film and TV news, reviews, and festival coverage with a critic's sensibility rather than a trade's. The same signup hub offers specialist letters on awards, animation, craft, and box office. Free.

   Best for Film and TV fans who want a critic's-eye daily digest of news, reviews, and festival coverage rather than a trade's deal-focused feed.

   • Film Reviews
   • Festival Coverage
   • Daily Digest
   • TV News
5. 05

   HWD Daily

   FreeWeekdaysVanity Fair (Condé Nast)

   Adweek reported the daily HWD email launched as Vanity Fair's third weekday newsletter, originally compiled by Hollywood correspondent Rebecca Keegan, alongside The Hive and Cocktail Hour. It packages VF's awards, film, and TV coverage for industry-adjacent readers. Keegan later left for The Hollywood Reporter and VF's leadership folded the standalone HWD vertical, so the current branding and status of the daily Hollywood email are unclear.

6. 06

   The Wide Shot

   FreeWeeklyLos Angeles Times·50k readers

   A Tuesday email analyzing the week's biggest Hollywood business stories — streaming strategy, box office, labor, and studio dealmaking. It launched in January 2021, written by entertainment-business reporter Ryan Faughnder, who left the paper in September 2025. Free to receive without an LA Times subscription.

7. 07

   Entertainment Weekly Newsletter

   FreeEntertainment Weekly (People Inc., formerly Dotdash Meredith)

   EW's email products include a TV-focused newsletter with news, first looks, and episode recaps. Entertainment Weekly has covered film, TV, music, and books since 1990 and now publishes online only under People Inc. (formerly Dotdash Meredith).

8. 08

   TheWrap Newsletters

   FreeTheWrap

   Creating a free account at thewrap.com/newsletters lets you receive TheWrap's entertainment-news emails, pitched as 'the entertainment news that matters, delivered to your inbox.' TheWrap has covered the business of Hollywood since 2009; a separate paid TheWrap Pro product exists for deeper industry coverage.

9. 09

   Rotten Tomatoes Newsletter

   FreeRotten Tomatoes (Fandango Media)

   Signup lives in a 'Join The Newsletter' prompt in the rottentomatoes.com footer rather than on a dedicated page. Emails highlight Fresh-rated releases in theaters and on streaming plus editorial guides from the site's news arm.

10. 10

    Vulture newsletters

    FreedailyNew York Magazine

    Vulture's newsletters package New York Magazine's culture desk for email: daily headlines, the Dinner Party weekly cheat sheet, and recap-driven letters for the shows of the moment. One signup hub covers all of them. Free.

    Best for Culture readers who want New York Magazine's daily headlines, a weekly cheat sheet, and recap-driven letters for whatever show is dominating conversation, all from one signup hub.

    • Pop Culture
    • Recaps
    • Weekly Cheat Sheet
    • Daily Headlines

More film & TV newsletters

The rest of our ranked film & TV newsletters, #11 through #20.

11. 11

    Screen International Newsletters

    FreemiumDailyScreen International / Screen Daily (Media Business Insight)

    Free registration unlocks six newsletters: UK & Europe Daily and US Daily round-ups (Mon–Fri), breaking-news alerts, Festivals Daily during Cannes, Berlin, Toronto and AFM, and a weekly Awards Countdown from November to February. Full access to Screen International's journalism requires a paid subscription.

12. 12

    The Film Comment Letter

    FreeWeeklyFilm Comment (Film at Lincoln Center)

    Delivered every Thursday, with the pieces posted to filmcomment.com the following Monday. The Letter became Film Comment's main outlet after the print magazine went on hiatus in 2020, carrying reviews, features, and interviews from the storied criticism magazine's editors.

13. 13

    Decider Newsletter

    FreeDecider (NYP Holdings / New York Post)

    Decider covers Netflix, HBO Max, and other platforms with recommendations, recaps, and news, and its email rounds up the best picks — the site's pitch is cutting 'through the clutter to find the best movies and shows to stream.' Themed offshoots such as the Decider After Dark newsletter also exist.

14. 14

    The A.V. Club Newsletter

    FreeThe A.V. Club (Paste Media Group)

    The signup page ('Get A.V. Club in Your Email') delivers the site's reviews, features, and news spanning TV, film, music, games, anime, and books. The A.V. Club began in 1993 as The Onion's entertainment sibling and was acquired by Paste Media Group from G/O Media in 2024.

15. 15

    The Current (The Criterion Collection)

    FreeThe Criterion Collection

    Criterion's mailing list carries new-release announcements, sale news, and editorial from The Current, the label's online magazine of film writing. There is no separate Current-only newsletter signup; subscription happens through the criterion.com site (footer/account signup).

16. 16

    /Film Newsletter

    FreeDaily/Film (Static Media)

    Billed as 'Your Daily Film & TV Roundup,' it collects the day's news, scoops, and reviews from slashfilm.com. Signup runs through a Kit-powered form at subscribe.slashfilm.com. /Film has covered movies and TV since 2005.

17. 17

    Collider Newsletter

    FreeCollider (Valnet)

    At signup, subscribers pick preferences such as breaking entertainment news, movie and TV reviews, or screenings and giveaways. Collider has covered film and TV since 2005 and is owned by digital publisher Valnet.

18. 18

    RogerEbert.com Newsletter

    FreemiumWeeklyRogerEbert.com (Ebert Digital, publisher Chaz Ebert)

    A Friday email of fresh reviews from the site's staff and contributing critics. RogerEbert.com also offers paid memberships (Ebert Club / Ebert Prime) that add an ad-free experience and a curated-content newsletter.

19. 19

    Next Best Picture Newsletter

    FreeWeeklyNext Best Picture (Matt Neglia)

    Rounds up the week's articles, podcast episodes, reviews, and updated Oscar predictions across all categories. Founded and edited by Matt Neglia, whose team tracks awards season year-round; the signup form even asks whether you belong to the Academy, BAFTA, SAG, or other voting bodies.

20. 20

    AwardsWatch Newsletter

    FreeAwardsWatch (Erik Anderson)

    AwardsWatch publishes predictions, reviews, interviews, and podcasts across the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys, and the newsletter delivers that coverage — pitched on-site as 'because awards season is 365 days a year.' Founded and run by Erik Anderson with a team of contributing writers.

Hark’s Picks for Film & TV newsletters

The Hark editorial team researched each film & TV newsletter to recommend the strongest pick for every kind of reader, from a quick daily overview to deeper reporting and analysis. These picks reflect Hark’s independent editorial judgment: publishers cannot pay for placement. Updated September 2026.

Recommended bundles for film & TV newsletters

Hark’s bundles make it easier to follow the news that matters to you without sorting through dozens of newsletters or hearing the same stories repeatedly. Each bundle brings together complementary film & TV publications, selected by Hark’s editors to provide a useful mix of breaking news, original reporting, expert analysis and important perspectives. Whether you are looking to get ahead in your job or a curious student looking ahead for your career, our bundles are an efficient productivity hack to stay up to date and constantly learn.

Every morning, Hark takes the most important stories from all the newsletters in a bundle, removes the duplicates, and turns them into one short audio briefing: all the top stories in about five minutes. Tap a bundle and its newsletters come pre-selected when you start your free trial; add, drop, and compare until the mix fits.

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