Kathryn VanArendonk Author Archive
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Kathryn VanArendonk

Critic
See all their articles from across New York Magazine
@kvanaren
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Kathryn is a critic who writes about TV and comedy. She gets mad when people say TV is a 10 hour movie.

  1. vulture bets on berry
    Every Single Reality Show Would Be Better If Matt Berry Were the HostSure, he would hate it, but we would love it.
  2. tv review
    I’m Just a Girl Who Can’t Say No to Schmigadoon!I love this Golden Age Musical pastiche with the helplessness of a protagonist being yanked into an indulgent, unnecessary dream ballet.
  3. awards season
    The Emmys Have Gone Mildly WildThis year’s nominees exemplify a peculiar blend of predictability and chaos that is becoming an Emmys signature.
  4. profile
    Tim Robinson Is Sorry for YellingOn I Think You Should Leave, the comedian’s anxieties fuel a vast world of jerks, idiots, and outright assholes.
  5. tv review
    Gossip Girl Is Having a Very Glamorous Identity CrisisThe new HBO Max sequel series wants to be a revolution, even though it hasn’t the foggiest idea of what that revolution should be.
  6. comedy review
    Rory Scovel’s Live Without Fear Captures What Live Comedy Feels LikeDespite its unnecessary documentary asides, the comedian’s new special goes all-in on how great comedy can feel.
  7. overnights
    The Bachelorette Recap: Solidarity ForeverNow that the Union of Bachelorette Guys has organized, what further havoc will they wreak?
  8. encounter
    Welcome to Charlotte Nicdao’s IslandHow a brief Animal Crossing obsession provided the Mythic Quest star a deeper understanding of Poppy Li.
  9. comedy review
    The Messy, Proud Variety of Pause With Sam JayOn her HBO show, the comedian just wants to shoot the shit.
  10. tv review
    Physical Hurts, Sometimes on PurposeBeneath its superficial pleasures, the Rose Byrne–starring Apple TV+ series is a bottomless hole of bad feelings.
  11. tv review
    Loki Is a Litmus Test for Marvel TVThe MCU’s third Disney+ series makes its debut as a playful storytelling variant, but can it sustain the fun?
  12. endings
    Mare of Easttown Kept It All in the FamilyThe HBO miniseries’ dual fixation on crime-solving and family drama makes for a finale reveal that is startling but also immediately right.
  13. comedy review
    Bo Burnham’s Anguished, Electric Solo VoyageWith Inside, the comedian sketches a pandemic self-portrait.
  14. summer 2021
    29 TV Shows We Can’t Wait to Watch This SummerPlus 127 more debuts worth keeping an eye on.
  15. tv after 2020
    Can a Police Procedural Change?The latest, and final, season of NCIS: New Orleans offers a glimpse of what it looks like when a show tries to.
  16. tv review
    In Treatment Plays Therapy Like a Game of Cat and MouseThe season-four revival of the HBO series, which moves Uzo Aduba into the lead role, is beautifully appealing and inevitably a touch disappointing.
  17. tv review
    Halston, An Unwitting Cautionary TaleA Ryan Murphy-produced series about a creator whose brand gets diluted to the point it no longer carries a guarantee of his signature style. Hm.
  18. snl
    Elon Musk’s SNL Wario Was Weaponized NothingnessThe biggest accomplishment of Musk’s SNL episode is how little there is to say about it now.
  19. tv review
    Mythic Quest Returns, Imperfect But Easy to LoveSeason two of the Apple TV+ comedy sets a high creative bar for itself, and even when it doesn’t quite clear it, it’s fun just to watch the attempt.
  20. tv review
    Welcome to Ziwe’s House. Make Yourself Uncomfortable.Ziwe Fumudoh’s interview show makes the jump from Instagram to cable in characteristically iconic fashion.
  21. oscars 2021
    The Highs, Lows, and Very Big Whoas of the 2021 OscarsFrom “Da Butt” to da confusing Best Actor win.
  22. tv
    Um, We Should Talk About That Wild For All Mankind FinaleBet you didn’t think you could be so emotional about the line “I started jogging again.”
  23. tv review
    Shadow and Bone Almost Gets Lost in the DarkNetflix’s adaptation of the Grishaverse novels pulls it together in the end, but only after traversing a vast, foggy muddle of exposition.
  24. tv review
    Philly D.A. Is the Second Coming of The Wire, in Docuseries FormThe sprawling series maps a citywide web of interlocking problems, attempted solutions, and the many individuals caught inside.
  25. tv review
    Trust Me, You Want to Watch Couples TherapyOnce you make peace with its voyeuristic premise, Showtime’s fly-on-the-wall reality show is far and away one of the best docuseries on TV.
  26. tv review
    The Nevers Is an Unimpressive Monument to Joss Whedon’s ObsessionsThe HBO Victoriana fantasy series is deliberately unrealistic, eye-catching, and even occasionally fun. It’s also shoddily produced, shallow nonsense.
  27. vulture bets on berry
    Guess Who We Think Should Write the Definitive COVID Anthem?Go ahead, guess.
  28. late night tv
    A Few Sincere Suggestions for Gutfeld!Let’s punch up the new Fox News late-night comedy show.
  29. tv review
    Chad Tests the Limits of How Funny Awkward Can BeNasim Pedrad’s turn as a teen boy who always says the wrong thing lacks the comedic specificity to overcome the character’s boorishness.
  30. spinoffs
    Organized Crime Is Not What We Need From Law & OrderIt’s also not what Elliot Stabler needs.
  31. good one podcast
    Do We Really Need Documentaries About ‘Women in Comedy’?On this week’s Good One, Vulture critic Kathryn VanArendonk discusses one of comedy’s most exhausting topics.
  32. legends
    The Emotional Transformations of Beverly Cleary’s WorkReading her Ramona series aloud to my daughter, as my mother did before me, feels like accessing a form of double vision.
  33. tv review
    Invincible Offers Superheroes With a Side of More SuperheroesThe hour-long animated series has a palpable “more of an eight-hour movie” vibe, with all the possibility and potential pitfalls that model entails.
  34. ooh it’s them!
    The 32 Greatest Character Actors Working TodayWe asked critics and Hollywood creators: Which supporting players make everything better?
  35. comedy review
    All Hail Amber RuffinThanks to her Peacock show, there’s finally some theater-camp-counselor energy in late night.
  36. comedy review
    Nate Bargatze Invites You to Be Clueless, TooHis Netflix special Greatest Average American celebrates the delight of being oblivious.
  37. close reads
    The Bachelor’s Biggest Problems With Race Happen OffscreenBenching Chris Harrison is just a superficial fix for a much deeper, behind-the-scenes issue at the franchise.
  38. tv review
    Genera+ion Wants to Be a Voice of a GenerationEnamored with the superficial specifics of right now, the new HBO Max series mistakes universal teen experiences for defining generational ones.
  39. comedy review
    James Acaster Hates How Much He Needs You to Love HimHis new comedy special makes self-loathing surprising and hilarious.
  40. crossovers
    In Meghan and Harry’s Oprah Interview, Two TV Worlds CollidedWith its invocation of streaming-era giant The Crown, Oprah Winfrey’s old-school broadcast event merged two ends of the TV spectrum.
  41. finales
    WandaVision’s Big Farewell Feels Hopeful Yet Rings HollowWhat feels beautifully poignant in the context of a sitcom universe becomes painfully boring in the context of a Marvel one.
  42. golden globes 2021
    The Highs, Lows, and Whoas of the 2021 Golden GlobesFrom Tina and Amy making it work to Jason Sudeikis doing … whatever he was doing.
  43. vulture bets on berry
    Let Matt Berry Be the Judge of ThatThere’s no justice in the world until he holds the gavel in a TV legal drama.
  44. tv review
    Ginny & Georgia Is So, So Much. Truly, So Much.The new Netflix series is such an unpredictable mixture of genre and tone that watching it feels like being shuttled from one TV show to another.
  45. comedy review
    On the Rocks Hopes You’re Cool With Ignoring All the Bad StuffBrian Regan wants to give his audience escapism, but 2020 is a tough year to escape from.
  46. close reads
    It Is Once Again Time to Call for Chris Harrison’s Retirement From The BachelorRemoving Harrison will not fix the show’s ongoing race problems. But that doesn’t make it any less worth doing.
  47. tv review
    It’s a Sin’s Clear-Eyed Look at the AIDS Crisis Has One Big Blind SpotRussell T Davies’s often beautifully moving limited series, now on HBO Max, falls into a familiar pattern that complicates its central tragedy.
  48. tv review
    Behind Her Eyes Is Trolling YouNetflix’s new psychological thriller operates entirely in service of an ending so twisty and strange that it obliterates everything that came before.
  49. reality tv
    Is Now the Worst Time for Buried by the Bernards? Or Is it the Best Time?A lighthearted reality show about a bickering family that runs a funeral home? In this climate? Well, as it turns out …
  50. emergency discussion
    What Do We Want Out of WandaVision, Anyway?What most appeals to some of the show’s viewers is exactly what most annoys others, but we can all at least agree on one thing: more Kathryn Hahn.
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