Happy Thanksgiving from The A.V. Club

Yes, 2017 saw all of our laments about how much 2016 sucked and decided to teach us a little lesson in gratitude by making 2017 exponentially worse. Which brings us to Thanksgiving, the reason you’re reading this right now and not a story about how Tom Hanks or whoever is actually an awful person. The day of rest, culturally sanctioned stress eating, and MST3K reruns provided by this particular holiday are needed more than ever this year, presumably for you as much as they are for us.

There have been some big transitions on The A.V. Club this year, and we’re incredibly grateful for those of you who are riding them out with us and are continuing to maintain a thoughtful, supportive, funny, vibrant community of commenters despite it all. It’s been a real learning experience. And perhaps that’s what there is to be thankful for in this unrelenting sewage tornado of a year—the opportunity to learn. To learn what we’re made of, and what others are made of. Who has real strength of character, and who’s going to write some half-assed non-apology when their (or their buddy’s) true faces are revealed. What’s worth fighting for, and what’s no longer worth defending. How to be vulnerable and make mistakes and really listen to one another.

Although these lessons have been difficult, we’re grateful to have learned them. We look forward to learning even more over the course of the year to come, which will either be amazing or the literal end of the world. Thank you for having our backs, dear readers. Happy Thanksgiving to you all, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.