'The Flash' And 'Gotham' Succeed By Taking Comic Book Stories Seriously
As The CW's new superhero series The Flash debuts tonight, it seems there are more TV shows based on comic books in prime time than ever before.And a look at two of the best new network TV dramas this...
View ArticleAMC's 'The Walking Dead' Is A Hit Show With Two Meanings
The Walking Dead is so successful – it's TV's most popular show with young viewers and cable television's highest-rated drama – that AMC has already picked it up for a sixth season, days before the...
View ArticleWinners And Losers Of The Fall TV Season Begin To Emerge
What's most amazing about this point in the TV season is what hasn't happened yet.One month into the new season, no new fall TV show has yet been canceled.(By this point last year, several shows had...
View ArticleIn An Online, On-Demand Age, TV Reruns Are Redefined
Countless episodes of The Simpsons are built around goofball dad Homer's inability to understand anything online, including starting a home business with no declared purpose:...
View Article'Sherlock' Star Benedict Cumberbatch: Show's Last Season 'Really Freudian'
When I sat down with Benedict Cumberbatch to talk about Sherlock, the first thing on his mind wasn't exactly the show."I'm really worried about those Sherlock fans, because they have been here,...
View ArticleDiversity On 'The Walking Dead' Wasn't Always Handled Well
Language advisory: Quotes from The Walking Dead in this story contain language some find offensive.For The Walking Dead, it was less like a conversation between two characters and more like a mini...
View ArticleIssa Rae Turns Basic Into Revolutionary With 'Insecure'
Issa Rae knows she is committing a revolutionary act by simply creating a TV show centered on an average black woman's life. And she can't believe it. "Isn't it sad that it's revolutionary?" says Rae,...
View Article'Black Mirror' Is Back, Reflecting Our Technological Fears
It's tough to find a more bubbly, positive person than Lacie Pound. She always has a kind word for the baristas and café workers who serve her morning coffee. She drinks a smoothie offered by a...
View ArticleBah Humbug! Why Are Most Christmas TV Specials So Bad?
You know it from the first few notes of Thurl Ravenscroft's barrel-chested performance — singing "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" with the same flair he brought to playing Tony the Tiger in Kellogg's...
View Article2016 Had So Much Good TV, It Was Almost Too Much — We Pick Some Standouts
2016 was a perplexing and wonderful year for those of us who love great television. Despite what was going on in politics and news, entertainment television surpassed itself this year with the sheer...
View ArticleBeyond Fake News: 2016's Most Disruptive Media Moments
Here's the biggest understatement of the year: 2016 was the most disruptive moment the mainstream American news media have faced in a very long time. That's not because so many media outlets misread...
View ArticleHollywood Grapples With TV In The Age Of Trump
Lee Daniels is known as a fiercely creative producer with a taste for controversy. He regularly tackles gay issues, race and class in the hit TV drama he co-created for Fox, Empire , and his new series...
View ArticleThe Stylish FX Series 'Legion' Suffers From A Split Personality
FX's Legion is a superhero TV show that resists admitting it is one. Which is both the most satisfying and frustrating thing about it. Here's the setup: David Haller is a well-meaning guy who hears...
View Article'I Create Worlds': 'Feud' Showrunner Ryan Murphy On Making TV
When Ryan Murphy explains what he does as a TV showrunner, he admits it can sound kind of lofty. "The greatest thing that you have when you're a showrunner is this opportunity to create worlds," he...
View Article'This Is Us' Creator Dan Fogelman Says He Didn't Mean To Make You Cry
When a TV show really connects with viewers, it's often a lightning-in-a-bottle experience; a collision of talent, material and public mood that is difficult to define. But that hasn't stopped people...
View ArticleSeeking Empathy, 'Shots Fired' Creators Flip The Script On Police Shootings
I'll be honest; at first, I feared the whole series was a bit of a dodge. Watching the first episode of Shots Fired — Fox's highly anticipated limited series about a federal investigation into a police...
View ArticleHulu's 'The Handmaid's Tale' Is Compelling — And Chilling
Be warned: This story talks about characters who are forced into sexual slavery. Hulu's excellent adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel, The Handmaid's Tale , is a horror show unveiled in...
View ArticleThis Time, 'Dear White People' Is Not So Much About Them
Don't be distracted by the title of Netflix's latest, button-pushing TV series, Dear White People . Because, one look at this insightful, irreverent examination of race and society at an Ivy League...
View Article'The Bachelorette' May Have A Black Star, But It's Still Set In A White World
As a TV critic who keeps an eye on social issues, I've long been critical of ABC's The Bachelor and The Bachelorette franchises. They urge viewers to believe completely contrived events are somehow...
View ArticleLearning The Lessons Of TV Fatherhood
It sounds like the title to an awful, self-confessional memoir: Everything I learned about fatherhood, I learned from TV. But, as Father's Day approaches, this TV nerd finds himself reflecting on...
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