Television

House of the Dragon Actually Pulled It Off

The Game of Thrones spinoff crammed a 19-year family saga into 10 episodes of television—and somehow, it worked brilliantly.

• David Sims
• October 24, 2022

TV’s Last Truly Unbothered Show

Behind the scenes with Cate Blanchett and Fred Armisen on an esoteric labor of love

• Sophie Gilbert
• October 18, 2022

The Host SNL Needed Right Now

Megan Thee Stallion’s charisma brought her sketches to another level—and emphasized the blandness of the rest of the show.

• Amanda Wicks
• October 16, 2022

What Derry Girls Knows About Adulthood

Unlike a lot of recent TV, the show understands that growing up isn’t a choice.

• Nina Li Coomes
• October 15, 2022

Andor Is Star Wars at Its Most Mature

The new series leans less on lightsaber showdowns and more on the messier interactions between good and evil.

• Shirley Li
• September 21, 2022

Why Democracies Are So Slow to Respond to Evil

Ken Burns’s docuseries The U.S. and the Holocaust confronts a topic that many Americans of every political stripe prefer to avoid: responsibility.

• Dara Horn
• September 16, 2022

Fear of a Black Hobbit

The demand to keep politics out of art is too often a demand for art to conform to conservative politics.

• Adam Serwer
• September 14, 2022

The Emmys Speech That Showed the Power of Live TV

Even the audience in the room couldn’t look away.

• Shirley Li
• September 12, 2022

The Best Shows of 2022 Have Something in Common

Claustrophobes beware.

• Sophie Gilbert
• September 12, 2022

House of the Dragon Had One Great Idea

Too bad the show has squandered it.

• Shirley Li
• September 11, 2022

Queen Sugar Is the Most Luxurious Show on Television

The gorgeous family drama takes its time unraveling and honoring the particularities of Black life.

• Tanisha C. Ford
• September 7, 2022

The Wrath of a Woman Without Any Options

Television this summer has been preoccupied with a timely question: How far will women go when systems fail them?

• Sophie Gilbert
• September 1, 2022

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Is Taking Its Sweet Time

Amazon’s new TV series is ethereal, expensive, and not all that concerned with an actual plot.

• David Sims
• August 31, 2022

This Is How the Hollywood Comeback Cycle Works

Johnny Depp’s appearance at MTV’s Video Music Awards was at once bizarre and frustratingly predictable.

• Shirley Li
• August 30, 2022

House of the Dragon Is Cruel, Messy, and Fascinating

The best part of Game of Thrones was the palace intrigue, and HBO’s new series embraces that.

• David Sims
• August 29, 2022

15 Underseen TV Shows That You Should Watch Now

A lot of great television slips through the cracks these days.

• Shirley Li
• August 28, 2022

How Early-2000s Pop Culture Changed Sex

Sophie Gilbert on intimacy, Game of Thrones, American Pie, and more

• Isabel Fattal
• August 23, 2022

The Glaring Flaw at the Heart of House of the Dragon

In the lavish Game of Thrones prequel, no one is immune to the toxic dynamics of the Targaryen family.

• Sophie Gilbert
• August 21, 2022

Desus & Mero Brought the Block to Late-Night TV

The show’s cancellation is a loss not only for the duo’s avid fans but for television as a whole.

• Concepción de Leon
• August 17, 2022

What Makes Industry the Most Thrilling Show on TV

Prestige television is getting very intense.

• Spencer Kornhaber
• August 16, 2022