Kathryn VanArendonk Author Archive
Give A Gift
MOST RECENT ARTICLES BY:

Kathryn VanArendonk

Critic
See all their articles from across New York Magazine
@kvanaren
[email protected]

Kathryn is a critic who writes about TV and comedy. She gets mad when people say TV is a 10 hour movie.

  1. tv
    Reality TV Glows UpDocuseries like The Vow are television’s latest prestige offering, but they’re not so different from their trashier predecessors.
  2. tv review
    What, Exactly, Is a Docusoap? Deaf U Is Here to Explain.Netflix’s new series weaves in and out of journalistic observation and voyeuristic, messy stories about cliques, sex, and snobbery.
  3. tv review
    Love Torture and Conspiracies? Utopia Is for You.If you can grind your way through the blood and horror, this Gillian Flynn adaptation occasionally makes its way into mesmerizing territory.
  4. vulture recommends
    Stath Lets Flats Will Scratch That Office Itch Like Nothing ElseDon’t sleep on this show.
  5. emmys 2020
    The Highs, Lows, and Hmms of the Mostly At-Home EmmysCongrats to the rich white TV families of the world.
  6. close reads
    Actually, the Cultiest Part of The Vow Is the Night VolleyballLong before anyone in NXIVM got to the point of branding, there was volleyball.
  7. creepy-ass islands
    At What Point in The Third Day Would I Have Run Away Forever?On the one hand: this weird island has cool festival puppets. On the other: pretty much everything else.
  8. close reads
    P-Valley Reclaimed TV Strip-Club Drama for the DancersThe pole-dancing workplace drama is a rebuttal to the Bada Bings of the TV world, but it’s also so much more than that.
  9. tv review
    The Boys Are Back to Blow Your Mind, Literally and FigurativelyGleefully violent as ever, Amazon’s dark superhero story ups the ante on its most suggestive ideas about media image-making and corporate control.
  10. fall preview 2020
    47 New and Returning Shows to Watch This FallAnd here you thought there would be no new TV to watch …
  11. vmas 2020
    No One Can Tell Me the VMAs Weren’t a SimulationThe performances took place in the only setting available: a disembodied, placeless nowhere.
  12. close reads
    Yellowstone Is the Most (Anxious, White, Male) American Show on TVIt’s no coincidence that a story about outside threats to an insular way of life is one of cable’s biggest dramas.
  13. what we do in the shadows
    Cheers to You, Jackie DaytonaThis What We Do in the Shadows spot for Lucky Brew’s is here to remind you how much you miss bars and definitely not-a-vampire bartenders.
  14. close reads
    The All-Virtual DNC Is Good, ActuallyFor the first time, the national convention was designed primarily as a screen experience rather than retrofitted for TV.
  15. close reads
    I May Destroy You’s Structural EpiphaniesIn the penultimate episode, Arabella remembers what has been eluding her all season. But it is what comes just before that is the true revelation.
  16. tv review
    Ted Lasso Fails Upward, CheerfullyAn improbably pleasant continuation of a 2013 marketing gimmick, the new Apple TV+ series nonetheless feels like a time warp to the recent past.
  17. extremely online
    On Top of Everything Else, Apparently There’s Still Baby NutDon’t we have enough to deal with?
  18. trauma
    Last Chance U’s New Season Takes an Unexpected, Sad DetourThe episode “Greyhaven” is about football, sure, but it’s more about the trauma echoing through the family of fantasy author Marion Zimmer Bradley.
  19. nasty
    The ‘Clean’ Version of ‘WAP’ Is Actually So Much FilthierIt’s much more detailed in a sensory way.
  20. trope patrol
    Death to the Sardonic Needle DropHow many incongruously cheerful songs playing over a violent montage is too many? Ask The Umbrella Academy.
  21. comedy review
    The Audacity of Sam JayIn her Netflix special, the comedian locates power in the places where it is often overlooked.
  22. emmys 2020
    What We Do in the Shadows Writer Stefani Robinson on Jackie Daytona, Ghost Sperm“It’s liberating but also a little terrifying to write this episode that’s stupid and funny for the sake of being stupid and funny.”
  23. tv review
    The Umbrella Academy’s Second Season Takes a Trip to NonsensevilleWhat the new season lacks in internal logic or consistent stakes, it makes up for in violent fight scenes set to peppy, ironically cheerful pop songs.
  24. chat room
    Shira Haas on Her Unorthodox Nomination And Her Love For Carmela Soprano“It was such a major part in the developing of me as a person and as an actor.”
  25. emmys 2020
    The Best, Worst, and Weirdest Emmy-Nomination SurprisesThe biggest surprise of this year’s Emmy season is that we’re somehow still doing the Emmys, but these are all a close second.
  26. tv review
    Brave New World Is Worth the Price of Admission (Which Is Free)Peacock’s centerpiece original series offers an attractive, straightforward, and unnervingly comforting adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel.
  27. synergy
    The 30 Rock Reunion Is Advertisements All the Way DownIn the original run of the show, the ads were usually jokes. In NBC’s one-off reunion special, most of the jokes are ads.
  28. character study
    How Guillermo Found His Power on What We Do in the ShadowsMaking Staten Island’s sweetest and most loyal vampire assistant (who’s secretly great at killing vampires).
  29. emmy insider
    We’re Living in an Era of Peak Comfort TVThe pandemic was the final death knell of “prestige” as a meaningful indicator of anything at all, and I’m glad to see it go.
  30. stand-up
    The Most Joyful Live Comedy Right Now Is Inside Animal CrossingJenny Yang’s comedy showcase may be the cutest stand-up has ever been.
  31. tv review
    The Baby-Sitters Club Is a Welcome Surprise and Utter DelightI was dubious about Netflix’s new adaptation of the middle-grade book series, and I am thrilled to be proved wrong.
  32. animation
    Fixing Your Color-blind Casting Problem Is Actually Very EasyRecasting animated voices is no harder than any other part of making a TV show.
  33. tv review
    The Politician Can’t Triumph Over Its Own CynicismThe Netflix series’s fundamental emptiness was easier to stomach when it was about high school and not real-world politics.
  34. tv review
    In Love, Victor, a Spinoff Pushes Back Against Its Origin StoryOn its own, Hulu’s new teen coming-out series is pleasant TV. As a frankly resentful follow-up to Love, Simon, it’s something much more interesting.
  35. tv review
    What We Do in the Shadows Is the Best Comedy on TV Right NowWhy aren’t you watching this show yet?
  36. vulture lists
    21 TV Procedurals to Watch That Aren’t About PoliceFrom Murder, She Wrote to No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, there’s a whole world of cop-free procedurals out there.
  37. dun dun
    SVU Showrunner Says Cop Shows Are ‘Miscontributing’ to SocietyHe has also spoken against police brutality on Twitter this week.
  38. comedy review
    Yvonne Orji Can Turn Punchlines Into ChorusesMomma, I Made It! works best when Orji’s material speaks for itself.
  39. dun dun
    Dick Wolf Fires Law & Order Spin-off Writer for Violent Facebook PostsHe had captioned a photo of himself with a large firearm “Curfew…”
  40. close reads
    Cops Are Always the Main CharactersTV perfected the cop show, metastasized it, and then franchised it into ubiquity. How does that affect the way audiences think about police?
  41. tv review
    Central Park Could Be Great If It Gets Out of Its Own WayThe Apple TV+ animated musical from Loren Bouchard and Josh Gad is working out the kinks, but has the potential to become an extremely endearing show.
  42. tv review
    Ramy Is Best When It’s Not About RamyMahershala Ali joining the cast is a big plus, too.
  43. sesame street
    Chatting With Elmo About His (Not Too) Late Night DebutA very special Zoom call with Sesame Street’s newest talk show host.
  44. comedy review
    In Douglas, Hannah Gadsby Strives to Manage Your ExpectationsNanette is the “Why I’m Leaving New York” essay of comedy specials, and Douglas is the “Actually I’m Still Here” next chapter.
  45. overnights
    Where Did Run Go Wrong?The finale is an illustration of how little the show has managed to communicate what we, the audience, should even be rooting for.
  46. first person
    I Am Obsessed With a Tragic Hidden Backstory in Animal CrossingSable is the only character in the entire game that gives you access to an actual story.
  47. comedy review
    Patton Oswalt Paints Hilarious Portraits of WeirdnessReviewing the comedian’s new Netflix comedy special, I Love Everything.
  48. summer 2020
    The 20 Best and Biggest TV Shows to Watch This SummerDirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, The Good Lord Bird, I May Destroy You, and more worth seeing during the Great Indoor Summer.
  49. overnights
    Run Recap: The Things We Do for a ShagAt long last, Run has some secondary characters who actually feel meaningful to the story.
  50. chat room
    Mark Hamill Is the World’s Biggest What We Do in the Shadows FanAnd he’s an amazing guest star as Jim the Vampire, too.
More Articles