Happy Independence Day from The A.V. Club

Any day where we can stuff ourselves with burgers, chug beer, set off city-approved fireworks, and numbly contemplate the troubling trajectory of our country is an all right day in our book. While Independence Day might not sound too distinguishable from any other day, the main difference is that we’re actually going to take the next two days off to really give these burger and tiny, contained explosives our undivided attention. We’ll resume picking pop culture apart on Saturday.

A few much-needed days off does not mean that we don’t have anything for you to devour while we’re out of the office. This would be a great time to check out some of our 11 Questions interviews, like our latest with The Good Place’s William Jackson Harper, or our Random Roles with Rory Kinnear. Alex McLevy took a gander at Death Race in the latest Home Video Hell while our staff geared up for another month of killer music. Danette Chavez had more than a few laughs with Ramy Youseff’s stand-up special, Feelings, and our in-house video game enthusiasts shared some of their favorite games of the year thus far. See? Lots to dig into in our brief absence.

We hope you have a fun, safe holiday! Remember to wear sunscreen, be mindful of your jumpy pets during all the celebratory fireworks, and please save us a hot dog.