As this season of Tatler draws to a close, we have been thinking about how to bid adieu to the main characters — in other words, us.

If this were a long-running Seattle medical drama, for example, you would say goodbye with a plane crash, a violent spree, or a highway collision. If this were a limited series about a global luxury hotel brand, goodbye would take the form of being stabbed while trying to poop in suitcases or hitting your head and falling off a yacht as your husband tries to kill you for your inheritance. If this were a sitcom about a 90s comic and his New York friends, goodbye is a speedy trial and an even speedier trip to prison. If this were— you know what, these main character write-offs are kind-of scaring us. We just want to graduate!

So, while we still have time (and to make sure you’re all caught up for next season), let’s have a little recap. Previously on Tatler…

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it: every season of Tatler brings something new, but there are always foundations that remain. We kept the subtitles, for example — the newsletter continued to be sent out this year, marking the publication of the newest issue each month and helping readers digest the month’s most notable stories all from their inbox. Speaking of the multimedia front, TV confessionals were also here to stay: Coffee Break was back in full swing, with multiple episodes interviewing present and past students (and even a reporter’s dog?), which were then featured on an active Instagram page. The STEM section, too, broadened our appeal, remaining a crowd favorite of Lakeside’s non-humanities population, with special emphasis given to the development of artificial intelligence at the school and how it’s being used among students. All the while, Tatler was firmly committed to our foundational principle: news for the students, by the students.

That doesn’t mean, however, that there can’t be guest stars, and there certainly were. This year, Tatler experimented with a requirement to have all new writers produce at least one profile during their first year on staff, as a means of helping build their journalistic skills, form connections across the community, and highlight some of the amazing and unique feats of Lakeside students and faculty. Whether it was stories of Ms. Rawles’ literary career, highlighting students’ citywide science initiatives, or the EICs-interview-a-guest-speaker series, across nine different issues, Tatler published 20 profile or interview-centric articles on 33 members of the student body or staff.

Even with the interesting plot line our season has had so far, there have still been some standout episodes over the course of the past nine months. From articles such as Reagan R. ’25’s 5,200-word article on private school student press freedoms, Timothy D. ’27’s exposé on student government censorship or Samara N. ’26’s investigative piece on a conference attended by Lakeside later accused of hosting antisemitic speakers. In our opening letter in September we noted that, “We won’t stand for any pre-recorded laugh tracks or cued applause; we don’t want your automatic responses” and from Instagram stories to emails to community conversations, that was certainly not the case! But truly — we thank you for your honest reactions, good and bad. Without its readers, Tatler can’t get any better.

But we can only cover so much in one season, and thus, in December, we launched our first spin-off show: an Editorial Board. Made up of our Life and Culture, News, and Opinion Editors, as well as us as acting EICs, the Board met to draft a statement surrounding Lakeside’s expulsion of a student responsible for the prolonged racial harassment of another student. While the Editorial Board’s piece did not receive the sufficient approval of 67% of the Tatler staff to run, it opened up the floor for other pieces surrounding the expulsion, including one about racial education at Lakeside and another understanding the student expulsion process.

For now, as Tatler enters its 91st season, you’ll still be able to tune into a largely similar cast of characters — with a few new exciting additions, of course. This season will follow the journey of our new protagonists and EICs Samara N. and Koreb T. ’26, premiering right on time as we always do next September. But before the writer’s room decides to kill us off, let us break the fourth wall for a second to say a few final words.

Throughout our three to four years on Tatler, we’ve enjoyed our time immensely. Even for all the missed deadlines, reviewing issues during college application season and articles we deliriously came up with during late nights but never got the chance to write (shoutout to Reagan’s photojournalism idea for the different shades of Arnold Palmer in the cafeteria or Jackson’s proposed wine-tasting-but-with-Izzes), we wouldn’t trade our time on the paper for the world. With every single class period, article, and interaction with readers came the chance to learn something new about our staff members, the Lakeside community, the world, and ourselves. Along the way, mistakes were certainly made. But behind each thing done wrong and each thing done right will always be Tatler’s mission to be a paper by the people, for the people in our constant search for truth.

Alright, enough said. Breakfast Club lovers, cue Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” These two main characters are officially writing themselves off …

Sincerely,
Jackson B. and Reagan R. ’25