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Jen Chaney

TV Critic
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@chaneyj
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Vulture and New York TV critic Jen Chaney previously worked for the Washington Post and has bylines at the New York Times and Vanity Fair. She also wrote As If: The Complete Oral History of Clueless.

  1. tv review
    Friends From College Tries Too Hard, But Still Delivers Some LaughsIt resonated with me enough to make me keep watching.
  2. Is This the Year of the Woman at the Emmys?The actress categories are stacked.
  3. With Game of Thrones Out of the Emmy Race, Which Dramas Could Get Nominated?Here are the seven that have the strongest shot.
  4. tv review
    The Defiant Ones Goes Behind the Music in Mostly Compelling WaysHBO’s docuseries about Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine is an often fascinating look at key moments in pop music.
  5. the vulture tv podcast
    Listen to the Final Episode of the Vulture TV PodcastFarewell!
  6. A Nostalgia-Filled Chat About Battle of the Network StarsThe thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, the loud din of sexism: Battle of the Network Stars had it all. But will the reboot work?
  7. tv review
    Younger Returns With Its Deceit IntactTV Land’s escapist comedy finds even more juice in Liza’s big lie.
  8. The Best Actor on TV Is Better Call Saul’s Michael McKeanIn his performance in season three of Better Call Saul, Michael McKean shows us what it feels like to fight, and, ultimately, choose surrender.
  9. tv review
    Netflix’s Gypsy Goes Nowhere, SlowlyTwin Peaks aside, this has not been a great month for Naomi Watts projects.
  10. What That Fargo Ending Says About the Show’s PolicewomenThe ending of season three is ambiguous. But it’s pretty clear to this writer who wins in the end.
  11. The Great British Baking Show Is Back, Just When We Need It MostUnlike a lot of reality TV, it takes place within such a supportive and mature atmosphere.
  12. The Handmaid’s Tale Ends As It Began — by Amping Up the AnxietySeason one of the Hulu series was effectively tense, and occasionally a little too much.
  13. Why Orange Is the New Black Doesn’t Need Its Flashbacks AnymoreThe flashbacks have often been hit or miss. But in season five, they’re noticeably unnecessary.
  14. tv review
    Nothing About TNT’s Claws Is SubtleWhich works in its favor and against it.
  15. chat room
    Jim Jefferies: What It’s Like to Take the Official Melania Trump Tour“It’s a very mundane trip. I don’t recommend anyone going.”
  16. The Leftovers Finale Is a Love Story — and That Makes Total SenseThe Kevin/Nora relationship became the backbone of the series because it reflects its central themes.
  17. Justin Theroux Explains Where We Leave Kevin on The Leftovers“I don’t think Kevin holds any religious beliefs. That’s probably what he realizes by the end of it.”
  18. How Donald Trump Brought the Recurring Character Back to SNLTrump & Co. were to SNL what Wayne and Garth of Wayne’s World were years ago.
  19. Why Are There So Many Doppelgängers in Pop Culture Right Now?Do not adjust your screens or your prescription: You are definitely seeing a lot of double.
  20. What Was the Best Era of Saturday Night Live Ever?Was it the original cast? Tina Fey times? The early ’90s?
  21. In Season 5,The Americans Tells Us Who Philip and Elizabeth AreThere’s no place like home.
  22. tv review
    Bloodline Comes to an Ethically Slippery EndGood-bye, Rayburns.
  23. highs and lows
    The Highs and Lows of Dirty DancingIs there any harsher indictment than a passionless remake?
  24. Dirty Dancing: Apparently You Can’t Have the Time of Your Life AgainNobody should try to put Baby in a corner in a three-hour TV movie.
  25. Twin Peaks’ Fourth Episode Is an Absurdist JoyIf you found the first three episodes challenging, the fourth one is your reward.
  26. Let’s Talk About the Twin Peaks PremiereThat was …. weird. Maybe even weirder than we expected?
  27. close reads
    What Fire Walk With Me May Tell Us About the New Twin PeaksIt will be “very important to understanding” the reboot.
  28. On Master of None, It’s the Men Who Are the Mushy RomanticsKissy? Wink celebrations? This is definitely not my impression of what locker-room talk sounds like.
  29. Twin Peaks: A Look Back at How It Was ReceivedIn 1990 and 1991, some viewers ran out of patience with Twin Peaks. Will 2017 audiences be more open to its Lynchian weirdness?
  30. summer preview 2017
    Physical Fitness Is All Over TV This SummerWe love watching other people put their bodies to the test while we sit there, allowing ours to atrophy.
  31. Anne of Green Gables Fans, You Will Love Netflix’s Anne With an EThe new Netflix series based on L.M. Montgomery’s books is lovely, but also not afraid to go dark.
  32. the vulture tv podcast
    What Other Coen Brothers Movies Would Make for Good TV?We discuss on this week’s Vulture TV Podcast.
  33. Is the Summer Pop-Cultural Experience Still Defined by Movies?Summer is still the season of the big-screen blockbuster. But TV and year-round tentpole releases are changing things a little.
  34. the vulture tv podcast
    From The Handmaid’s Tale to 13 Reasons Why, Book Adaptations Are All Over TVAnd they’re more prestige-y than ever.
  35. The Handmaid’s Tale’s Closing Songs Are Slyly Genius“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” may not seem like it belongs in this show. But it does.
  36. How 13 Reasons Why Compares to ’80s Pop Culture About Teen SuicideThis is not the first time TV has tackled the issue so directly.
  37. goodbyes
    An Ode to Carrie Fisher’s Perfect Catastrophe Swan SongThe season-three finale marks Fisher’s last turn as Mia, and serves as a fitting tribute to the actress who played her.
  38. ntwhcd
    Sam Bee Demands That a Female Voice Be Heard in WashingtonIt was clear that Bee and the Full Frontal team were eager to flex some feminine muscle.
  39. chat room
    Samantha Bee: Not the Correspondents’ Dinner Won’t Just Be an Anti-Trump RoastAnd why nice weather can be bad for political activism.
  40. the vulture tv podcast
    Damon Lindelof on Why The Leftovers Is Ultimately a Love StoryAnd why it’s so hard to say no to a naked Theroux.
  41. tv review
    Genius = A Reasonably Good DramaIn which Einstein does higher math and, also, several women.
  42. tv review
    Great News! Great News Is GreatMy only major complaint about this show is that I wish there were more of it.
  43. close reads
    Why The Leftovers’ Pop-Culture References Are So GoodUltimately, they underline the central question of the series.
  44. great performances
    Oprah Winfrey Is Phenomenal in The Immortal Life of Henrietta LacksShe is still capable of surprising us.
  45. tv review
    Silicon Valley Is As Sharp and Absurd As Ever in Its Fourth SeasonRichard Hendricks still has no chill, and we are grateful to the comedy gods for that.
  46. tv review
    Netflix’s Girlboss Is a LetdownYou may get frustrated with the heroine’s manic-pixie-jackass routine.
  47. the vulture tv podcast
    Our Lingering Questions After Girls’ Final SeasonWhere did Hannah’s writerly ambitions go?
  48. tv review
    Fargo Is Back and It’s Familiar in the Best WayFargo season three is very, very Fargo.
  49. girls talk
    A Final Open Letter to Hannah Horvath of GirlsSome parting words for one of TV’s more polarizing characters.
  50. girls
    The Girls Finale Reminds Us This Wasn’t Just a Show for MillennialsWhat gets lost when we talk about Girls is the notion that it was also a simple coming-of-age story.
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