Television

"Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television." —Woody Allen

The Way We Laugh Now: On I Think You Should Leave
Adam Fales watches I Think You Should Leave and asks what's so funny about sad men telling massive lies to themselves and others?
Adam FalesOct 11, 2021
- Television
Pulling The Chair Out
Ed Simon reviews Netflix's The Chair and considers the academic obsession with fictional portrayals of the academy.
Ed SimonSep 21, 2021
- Television
Elizabeth Ito’s Neighborhood: “City of Ghosts” and the Rise of Netflix Animation
Phillip Maciak explores the extraordinary niche that “City of Ghosts” occupies in Netflix’s varied animated programming.
Phillip MaciakJun 24, 2021
- Television
Studio Branding in the Streaming Wars
Joshua Glick considers the differentiation strategies of the streaming platforms in historical context.
Joshua GlickJun 24, 2021
- Television
The Appearance of Light: On Barry Jenkins’s “The Underground Railroad”
On “The Underground Railroad,” illumination travels across media, refracting and shapeshifting.
Jorge CotteJun 24, 2021
- Television
Blue Skies Again: Streamers and the Impossible Promise of Diversity
Kristen Warner explores the “illusion [of] the democratizing, diverse ideal of streaming.”
Kristen WarnerJun 24, 2021
- Television
Streaming Enthusiasm and the Industrious Family Drama
Michael Szalay on what the rise of streaming platforms and their dark family dramas tell us about the US flagging empire.
Michael SzalayJun 23, 2021
- Television
Cobra Kai, the Twilight of American Empire, and the Allure of Paramilitary Violence
Albert Wu and Michelle Kuo explore how Cobra Kai manages to tackle American empire, wealth disparity, and rising fascism without cynicism.
Albert Wu, Michelle KuoJun 8, 2021
- Television
Queer Girls in The Wilds: Refusing White Feminism's Settler Colonial Fantasy
Hannah Manshel and Margaret A. Miller explore the various colonial and anti-colonial valances of Amazon's The Wilds.
Hannah Manshel, Margaret A. MillerMay 22, 2021
- Television
Breaking the Waves: Britney Spears and Lars von Trier in Lockdown
Philippa Snow watches Hulu's Framing Britney Spears and a few other films about the destruction of women at the hands of hateful men.
Philippa SnowMay 18, 2021
- Television
Seven Plus Seven Plus Me: The Up Series Under Lockdown
In the wake of Michael Apted's passing, Claire Marie Healy revisits the director's most lasting monument: the sprawling, poetic Up series.
Claire Marie HealyApr 21, 2021
- Television
Anthony and Carmela Get Vaccinated
Peter Coviello misses his family in New Jersey — and everything else in the pandemic year — through a full rewatch of The Sopranos.
Peter CovielloApr 19, 2021
- Television