Were You Not Entertained? A fond look back at 32 years of Entertainment Weekly covers

They said we'd never last. They were off, thankfully, by approximately 32 years and some 1,600 issues, but the armchair pundits had a point: Who could have guessed that a weekly entertainment magazine born at the dawn of The Simpsons and CD-ROMs would go on to become its own cultural touchstone? The idea at the time — either revolutionary or delusional, depending on your framing — was to create a new space in journalism, a publication that didn't just cover what was new in movies and television and books and music (streaming was yet but a twinkle of a dream) but lived for it, from every angle. And for the next three-plus decades, EW would share one promise with its readers: that we were as incurably curious and passionate and outright obsessive about all of it as they were — every failed sitcom and teen-vampire franchise, spiraling popstar and indie auteur on the verge.

But with great love, too, comes great responsibility. The magazine's unvarnished coverage of bloated blockbusters, rampaging Hollywood egos, and various misbegotten projects that time blessedly erased would earn us more than a few famous enemies along the way (Seth MacFarlane literally turned us into toilet paper on Family Guy; Eddie Murphy is still not on speed dial).

Like the industry we covered, EW had a lot to learn about diversity and inclusion and what separates the great from the terrible, the forgettable, and the merely good. And we evolved as they did, our pages racing to reflect the seismic changes wrought by technology and social progress. But oh, did we have fun — and we'll continue to, as the brand moves fully online after this final print issue. The ink stains may fade, but the legacy is indelible. What a gift and a pleasure that we got to do it at all.

First cover: k.d. lang

FEBRUARY 16, 1990

In 1990, VCRs were hot, grunge was about to pop, and letter grades were issued only in schools. Along came a feisty PEOPLE spin-off to offer meticulous pop culture curation and savvy reporting. Behold EW's first cover, starring up-and-coming singer k.d. lang. "I'm proud of featuring lang on that cover precisely because she was more talented than known," said EW's creator/first managing editor, Jeff Jarvis, in 2015. "She set her own path, and so did we."

Fall TV Preview

SEPTEMBER 14, 1990

Though it wasn't technically EW's first preview cover (that would be "Summer's Hottest Tours" in June), "What's Hot on Fall TV" established the template for the magazine's encyclopedic Preview franchises for TV, Movie, Music, and Books. This was also EW's second cover on Twin Peaks; the first featured David Lynch in April. We championed cult hits from the start, and would continue to venture into places both wonderful and strange.

Arsenio Hall

April 17, 1992

Ever the entertainer, Arsenio Hall made headlines as a late-night contender — and with this cover — clearly eager to challenge incoming Tonight Show host Jay Leno. His chest-thumping proclamation (which, by the way, was the very last thing that Hall uttered in his interview with then writer Mark Harris) did not exactly play out as he predicted, but it was sensational enough to be parodied on The Larry Sanders Show.

Seinfeld

April 9, 1993

The show allegedly about nothing mastered our domain (nope, not that way) and prompted so much punchline-swapping chatter in our hallways that we felt that it was (sponge-)worthy of being on the cover eight times. Our first venture with the Neurotic Four still ranks as our favorite: a deadpan photo of Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer that winked at the album cover for Meet the Beatles! That's bold, Jerry! Bold!

John Travolta

October 21, 1994

With Pulp Fiction, John Travolta boogied his way back into pop culture relevance and onto his first of eight EW covers. "I am proud of my ability to keep my feet on the ground when the balloons are ready to take me up," said Travolta, who greeted then writer Jeff Gordinier at his Maine mansion by popping out of a trapdoor in the floor of his son's playroom. "I'm anchored."

The Gay '90s

April 17, 1992

EW's commitment to covering Hollywood's LGBTQ+ community began here. "It was done over the objections of some at [then parent company] Time Inc., who feared it would be alienating to our readers," said Mark Harris in 2021. "We got a bunch of 'don't force your lifestyle on us' mail. And cancellations. We got more mail saying, 'I needed this so much.'"

Wild Wild West

July 9, 1999

Not all EW covers were celebrations of pop culture. In fact, this one corralled the bad buzz on the Will Smith-Salma Hayek steampunk western. Then corpo-cousin Warner Bros. was so angry with our less-than-glossy coverage, then writer Benjamin Svetkey was barred from visiting the studio's sets for a year. "I wore it as a badge of honor," says Svetkey. A sheriff's badge, even.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

October 1, 1999

Before TV recaps became ubiquitous online, fans turned to EW's Ultimate Viewer's Guides, such as this deep dive into Sunnydale — featuring reviews of all 56 episodes to date, an A-to-Z guide to the Buffyverse (M is for "Mr. Pointy"!) and interviews with the men and women behind the scenes who made Sunnydale shine, from special effects to casting to stunts. (Sarah Michelle Gellar graced seven covers in all.)

Twilight

July 18, 2008

EW's first Twilight cover (shot before footage was available) was a "leap of faith," says former editor Jeff Giles. But fans of Stephenie Meyer's YA books drank it up: "I knew the issue was a hit when I read online that it had sold out in Barnes & Nobles all over Texas." We ended up doing a few more Twilight covers, as you may recall.

The Hills

August 8, 2008

"I go through phases where I wake up in the middle of the night and I think I'm being filmed," Lauren Conrad told EW. "That's when I have to take a vacation." Naturally, we recreated her nightmare for a cover. Speaking of, this line from the piece (written by Tim Stack) still makes us crack up 14 years later: "Heidi and Spencer declined to be interviewed for this story once they learned Lauren was on the cover."

Gone Girl

January 17, 2014

Director David Fincher offered to shoot this cover on Gone Girl (based on a novel by former EW writer Gillian Flynn). He provided editors with only one image and an edict that it should not be cropped. (Luckily, it was perfect.) Fincher shot the cover in Los Angeles, during a break in production on the movie — and yes, he knew some fans would probably interpret the image as a major spoiler.

Key & Peele

October 3, 2014

EW had turned over its pages to crafty guest editors before (hey, Tina and Amy!) but none took it as seriously as Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, who brimmed with creative story suggestions as well as a comedy syllabus. In their editors' letter, they wrote: "When we were asked to guest-edit Entertainment Weekly, we peed a little." So did we — there wasn't a dry pant leg in the house.

The Walking Dead

February 13, 2015

The big, tasty brains at EW put the zombie hit on the cover 10 times. (That's a lot of blood to pair with our sweat and tears.) Former photo editor Michele Romero made a T-shirt for Norman Reedus to wear for his inside portrait during the shoot for cover No. 4. It was so compelling, EW held onto the shot and used it instead for cover No. 5!

Laverne Cox

June 19, 2015

The Orange Is the New Black star helped launch EW's annual LGBTQ+ issue — and looked damn good doing it. Photographer Alexei Hay transformed Laverne Cox into Lady Liberty for the shoot, and while the actress was a bit nervous about the concept ("I initially didn't think it would work"), she thought the outcome was magnifique: "It just turned out to be amazing. I really love it."

Kit Harington

May 13, 2016

Game of Thrones was an EW staple in the 2010s, (King's) landing on our cover 10 times. But the Kit-Harington-speaks-after-the-Jon-Snow-twist! scoop required months of secrecy — and even a decoy cover story to throw off our own staff. (Sorry, Channing Tatum.) Recalls then writer James Hibberd: "After two years of worldwide deception, Harington was like a man in a confessional, so relieved at being able to unburden himself — and he never seemed more like the principled Jon Snow."

Entertainers of the Year

December 7, 2018

Staff debates were hottest when choosing the Entertainers of the Year. Here, the leading ladies of Crazy Rich Asians shared EOY honors with Cardi B, The Assassination of Gianni Versace star Darren Criss, and the glorious women of Black Panther. Noted Lupita Nyong'o of Panther's female characters, "Their personal motivations are what leads them forward. They are not eye candy. Although we do look pretty damn fly, I must say!"

Oscar: Black Panther

February 1/8, 2019

With our Oscars issue going to press the same day that nominations were announced, two covers were mocked up, with and without Black Panther. The year before, former creative director Tim Leong had commissioned photography of a slew of Marvel props, including the Black Panther mask. Staring at a photo of the mask, then deputy design director Faith Stafford suggested that we dress up this potent prop with a bow tie. Stark and stylish.

Taylor Swift

May 17/24, 2019

"I did an actual interview with a human journalist!!" Tay tweeted, thanking then EW music editor Alex Suskind for "such a wonderful experience." The singer talked up her new album, Lover, and worked with staffers on the Easter-egg rich button choices for her jacket. Each represented one of her favorite things, including Friends, Selena Gomez, Mr. Rogers, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Oscars 2021

May 2021

We've obsessed over the Oscars since our first preview in 1990. Decades later, director Regina King and nominees Viola Davis and Chloé Zhao led a historic race. Davis, nominated for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, shared her favorite Oscars memory to date: "Getting dressed in 2017, when I won [for Fences]. I got dressed at home, and my mom saw me in the red Armani dress that I had on, and she wept."

Obi-Wan Kenobi

April 2022

A wise man in a galaxy far, far away once said, "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." He lives on — in a new Disney+ prequel series, and as the cover of Entertainment Weekly's final print issue. Oh, and if you want to read about the time star Ewan McGregor lost Obi-Wan's lightsaber, just click here.

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