Remember when September was the big month for new TV programming? (Gather ’round, children, and let Grandpa tell you about the days when there were only three networks!) Yes, the traditional pilot season is once upon us, which means laugh-tracked comedies, curious cop shows and Lost-like mysteries are once again …
Read More »'I Don't Want to Be Your Pinch Hitter': Why Brian Tyree Henry Is Hollywood's New MVP
Brian Tyree Henry’s armpits are still a little damp as he breezes into a Burbank diner on an overcast L.A. afternoon. “Sorry I’m sweaty,” he says. “I was feeling a little anxiety earlier, so I decided to hit the gym and run it out.” What did he feel anxious about? …
Read More »Beatlemania 2.0: The Making of 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand'
In February of 1964, you could see it everywhere you looked — in high school hallways, diners and malt shops, your local record store (definitely in your local record store). It started with a cold sweats and clammy palms; later symptoms also included screaming, swooning, heart palpitations, a burning desire …
Read More »Growing Up 'Game of Thrones'
T here have been all manner of supernatural manifestations, many of them quite unpleasant, on HBO’s Game of Thrones, which begins its eighth and final season in April: resurrections, premonitions, psychic time travel, a killer shadow baby, a vast army of dead dudes, a fireproof queen, a zombie dragon, regular …
Read More »10 Best Movies of Sundance 2019
We came, we saw, we occasionally got altitude sickness and we watched a shitload of movies — this is what we do every January when we head out to Park City, Utah, for the Sundance Film Festival, that annual mixer of hopeful first-time filmmakers, indie-cinema veterans, boundary-tweaking visual artists, industry …
Read More »Cynthia Erivo Is Here to Save the Day
There is no shortage of action inWidows,director Steve McQueen’s whizbang, Chicago-set, female-led heist film that opened this month. Consider it Ocean’s 8on an eightball. Still, when Cynthia Erivo shows up there’s a palpable jolt. As hairdresser-turned-getaway-driver Belle, her first moments onscreen are silent but riveting. Sporting a shock of close-cropped …
Read More »'Robin Williams: Comic Genius' Is a Comedy Completist's Dream
It’s hard to imagine the shock that a viewer might have felt if they’d tuned in to HBO late on Friday, October 27th, 1978. They would have recognized the comedian who bounded — literally bounded — on to the stage of that night’s On Location special, even if they didn’t …
Read More »'St. Elsewhere': Why You Should Revisit TV's Groundbreaking Medical Drama
There’s a famous episode of South Park called “Simpsons Already Did It,” where Butters proposes various schemes that he then has to abandon upon being reminded that someone on The Simpsons had previously tried it. It was a reflection of the innovation and influence of Bart, Homer and friends, and …
Read More »Jennifer Garner's TV Rebound: 'I Wanted to Go to Work and Laugh'
The last time Jennifer Garner had a regular job on TV, it was as fast-running, spin-kicking, wig-wearing superspy Sydney Bristow on JJ Abrams’ delirious ABC thriller Alias. That series ended a dozen years ago, and Garner has spent the time since starring in movies, taking care of her kids and …
Read More »Emmys 2018: Show Business as Usual
When the 2018 Emmy nominations were announced, it seemed like the comedy categories were far more interesting than the drama ones. And when it came time to guess the winners, I again assumed things would be wilder on the comedy side, while the drama awards would either re-coronate Game of …
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