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To Be Real: On Emily Nussbaum’s “Cue the Sun!”
Olivia Stowell reviews Emily Nussbaum’s “Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV.”
Television
"Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television." —Woody Allen
Embracing the Chaos: On John Mulaney’s “Everybody’s in L.A.”
Henry Luzzatto puzzles over John Mulaney’s Netflix talk show “Everybody’s in L.A.”
Tom Ripley Is a Negative Space: On Netflix’s “Ripley”
Anna Bogutskaya assesses “Ripley,” Netflix’s new adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s most infamous literary creation.
What Is the Point of Such Inhumane Programs? On Magdalena Saryusz-Wolska’s “Microhistories of Memory”
Harry Waksberg reviews a new book about a German television series about the Holocaust, written by Magdalena Saryusz-Wolska.
The Commonsense Critic: A Personal Tribute to Helen Vendler
Cinque Henderson writes a personal tribute for Helen Vendler.
What Was the Sitcom? On Grace Lavery’s “Closures”
Isabel Bartholomew reviews Grace Lavery’s “Closures: Heterosexuality and the American Sitcom.”
Spooky Entanglements: “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Constellation,” and “The Signal”
Michael Szalay on twinned productions and other IP shenanigans in “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Constellation,” and “The Signal.”
Beamed from Within: On Harlan Ellison’s “Greatest Hits”
Greg Cwik reviews the new compilation of work from writer Harlan Ellison.
Bad Dad Jokes: On Lucas Mann’s “Attachments”
Adam Fleming Petty reviews Lucas Mann’s “Attachments: Essays on Fatherhood and Other Performance,” rooting his analysis in his personal experience.
Be the Alien: On Julio Torres’s “Problemista”
Enzo Escober reviews Julio Torres’s body of work, but most of all, his debut feature, “Problemista.”
The Past Is Never Dead: On TV’s Backstory Problem
In the latest Screen Shots column, Elizabeth Alsop explores the ubiquity—and limitations—of the “trauma backstory.”
Respect Is Just a Minimum: On HBO Max’s “Rap Sh!t”
Alyx Vesey bemoans the cancellation of HBO Max’s series about a female hip-hop duo, “Rap Sh!t.”
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