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Jen Chaney

TV Critic
See all their articles from across New York Magazine
@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. chat room
    Michaela Watkins on Improvising Alongside Marc Maron in Sword of Trust“This was kind of fun to turn my brain over and try to cook the other side and just be totally free to improvise.”
  2. close reads
    Why Is Hopper Such a Jerk-Ass in Stranger Things 3?So. Much. Yelling. But is there a reason for it?
  3. chat room
    Stranger Things 3’s Priah Ferguson on Erica’s Expanded Role and Salty Language“I was like, Oh wow, I get to cuss?”
  4. tv review
    In Stranger Things 3 the Horror Is Messier, But the Thrills Are FamiliarThe highly anticipated season edges into some new territory, but mostly leans hard on what’s worked before.
  5. tv review
    The Loudest Voice Is All Bluster and Little InsightRussell Crowe plays Fox News mastermind Roger Ailes with zeal (and awkward prosthetics) in a Showtime series that’s more about the what than the why.
  6. close reads
    Toy Story 4 Is a Movie About Getting Older and Getting Out of the WayYou see another nice Pixar movie about sentient playthings. We see a story about baby boomers and presidential candidates.
  7. emmy insider
    Our 2019 Emmy-Nomination PredictionsIt’s gotten harder than ever to forecast the field of nominees, but that’s not going to stop us from trying!
  8. tv review
    Euphoria Review: Freaks and DicksThe bleak, nudity-filled HBO teen series is no-holds-barred, for better and for worse.
  9. chat room
    Rhea Seehorn Talks Better Call Saul, Veep, and Kim Wexler’s Ponytail Secrecy“It still makes my heart beat out of my chest because I’m just like, What is happening? What is she thinking?”
  10. tv review
    Younger Is Still a Fizzy, Guiltless Pleasure in Season 6The TV Land series may have lost some urgency around the matter of Liza’s Big Secret, but it’s still as smart and fun as ever.
  11. close reads
    The Rise of the Female Buddy DramedyDead to Me, Booksmart, Tuca & Bertie, and other recent movies and TV shows prove that this is a golden era for female duos.
  12. 2019 tony awards
    The Highs and Lows of the 2019 Tony AwardsCynthia Erivo!!!!
  13. tv review
    Big Little Lies Season Two Is Worth the WaitI thought a second season might be overkill. I was very wrong.
  14. tv review
    In The Handmaid’s Tale Season 3, Gilead’s Still Gonna GileadThe third season of the Hulu series explores the limitations of systemic reform while feeling a bit stuck in place.
  15. tv review
    When They See Us Is an Intimate, Sensitive Look at the Central Park Five TragedyThe famous rape case and wrongful convictions are revisited in this thoughtful, well-acted Netflix miniseries from Ava DuVernay.
  16. tv review
    Running With Beto Says More About the Political Climate Than About Beto O’RourkeThe HBO documentary sidesteps mythologizing its subject in favor of capturing a flash point in Texas political history.
  17. summer preview
    10 Great TV Shows to Stream Before They’re Back This SummerThe returning shows you should catch up with ASAP.
  18. tv review
    Vida’s Latinx, Queer Perspective Is More Distinctive, and Vital, Than EverWhat makes the Starz series groundbreaking TV is also what makes it very good TV.
  19. tv review
    ABC’s All in the Family and The Jeffersons Live Special Was a Retro DelightNot just another shallow attempt to wallow in television nostalgia.
  20. tv
    Games of Thrones, Lost, and the Problem With Knee-jerk Finale RageNo show, not even Game of Thrones, should be entirely defined by its ending.
  21. game of thrones
    Game of Thrones and the Function of Finale CallbacksLike many contemporary TV finales, “The Iron Throne” nodded to the series’ history as a means of providing closure for the story and fans alike.
  22. spoilers
    Tyrion Lannister Was the Real Winner of the Game of Thrones FinaleIn the end, everything happened because of Tyrion.
  23. tv review
    Barry Season Two Saved Its Biggest Surprise for the Very EndBill Hader’s HBO show was great in its first season. This time around, it’s been exceptional.
  24. tv review
    Better Things Season 3 Tackled Aging With Warmth and HonestyIt was Pamela Adlon’s ode to the messiness of turning 50.
  25. tv review
    Fleabag Season Two Is PerfectPhoebe Waller-Bridge’s Amazon series retains everything that made its first season great, and then throws in a hot priest for good measure.
  26. close reads
    Cersei Lannister Deserved BetterSo that’s really it for one of the best villains on television?
  27. veep
    How to Write a Jonah InsultWriting comedy is not a scientific or mathematical endeavor — except, perhaps, when it comes to devising ways to insult Veep’s Jonah Ryan.
  28. backstories
    The Story Behind Veep’s Final Joke on SelinaHow a flash-forward sequence came to include Tom Hanks.
  29. legacies
    Selina Meyer Was Awful. That’s What Made Her Great.For seven years, she was the best kind of nasty woman.
  30. set visits
    Veep Is Over. Is America Next?A behind-the-scenes look at the series finale.
  31. callbacks
    The 9 Best Easter Eggs in the Veep FinaleDid you catch all these callbacks to previous episodes?
  32. chat room
    Timothy Simons on Veep, Jonah’s Presidential Chances, and Anti-Vaxxers“I like the idea of being a blunt instrument to show how absolutely idiotic it is.”
  33. close reads
    Did Game of Thrones Have a Better Battle Than Avengers: Endgame?Two pop-culture juggernauts, two massive fight sequences, and a ton of lessons about what makes onscreen battles work.
  34. chat room
    Bill Hader on Barry Season 2’s Journey Into (More) DarknessThe series co-creator/star talks going to even darker places in season two, the relevance of those flashbacks, and where Barry Berkman goes from here.
  35. close reads
    The Message of Sunday’s Game of Thrones? Never Underestimate a Teenage Girl.“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” reminds us how far Sansa, Arya, and Dany have come.
  36. tv review
    Killing Eve Season Two Maintains Its Sick, Distinctly Female Sense of HumorSandra Oh, Jodie Comer, and everything else about this spy show still rule.
  37. spoilers
    Saying Good-bye to You’re the Worst With Aya Cash, Chris Geere, and Stephen FalkIs Gretchen and Jimmy’s finale romantic or cynical? For the creator and stars of the FXX comedy, it’s a no-brainer.
  38. tv review
    You’re the Worst Nailed a Simply Perfect FinaleThe anti-rom-com rom-com ended exactly the way it should have.
  39. tv review
    Barry Is Still, Thankfully, As Dark As EverThe HBO series starring Bill Hader as a conflicted hit man is still taking sharp shots in season two.
  40. spoilers
    Decoding The OA: Part II’s Extremely Meta EndingIt’s the most OA thing The OA: Part II could possibly have done.
  41. close reads
    Jordan Peele’s Us Is a Bone-Chilling Allegory for Generation XThe movie’s references, and its use of Hands Across America, speak directly to those who were born in the ’70s and grew up in the ’80s.
  42. chat room
    The Act’s Joey King Grapples With Munchausen, Murder, and Patricia Arquette“People keep asking Gypsy, Why didn’t you just stand up? It’s really not as simple as that.”
  43. tv review
    The OA Part II is a Glorious, Ridiculous Mind-benderYou’ll either love it or you’ll hate it. Unless you’re just totally confused by it.
  44. appreciations
    A Eulogy for the Dearly Departed One Day at a TimeEven though Netflix canceled it, this sitcom mattered.
  45. tv review
    The Act Explores a True-life Tragedy in Wrenching DetailExceptional performances from Patricia Arquette and Joey King enliven Hulu’s limited-series telling of the story of Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard.
  46. tv review
    Hulu’s Shrill Is a Funny, Fabulous Showcase for Aidy BryantThe SNL standout shines in this new Hulu dramedy.
  47. tv review
    Queer Eye Season Three Is Fun, But a Little Too FamiliarWe may have reached the tipping point on Tan’s French tucks.
  48. true crime
    The Unsettling Parallels Between Leaving Neverland and Abducted in Plain SightIf the HBO documentary is believed, Michael Jackson had a lot in common with Bob Berchtold.
  49. remembrances
    Remembering Luke Perry, Who Will Forever Be Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210In memory of a gloriously sensitive ’90s bad boy.
  50. close reads
    True Detective and the Wave of Crime TV About Murky MemoryFrom fictional dramas to real-life docuseries, the biggest crime shows of the moment want us to reassess the past.
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