First Person

encore Sept. 26, 2024

My Quest to Exterminate an EarwormWhat happens when a Fall Out Boy song gets stuck in your head — and never leaves?

By Marianne Eloise

adieu Apr. 28, 2023

I’m Giving Up My Rock Hall VoteMy invitation to join the organization’s selection committee seemed like a sign of change. It wasn’t.

By Allyson McCabe

appreciations Dec. 30, 2022

Los Espookys Was a BlessingIn the queer Latinx horror aficionados at the center of the series, I saw the people I surround myself with on-camera for the first time.

By Reanna Cruz

zach in paris Dec. 23, 2022

Déjà Vu on the Emily in Paris Walking TourTwo hours chasing onscreen landmarks with the sole Emily-loving local in Paris.

By Zach Zimmerman

first person Nov. 21, 2022

The Butler Journal Entry I Always Return ToThis page of the author’s journal is riveting for how it upends any tradition of shame around a relentless desire for success.

By Hanif Abdurraqib

first person Aug. 17, 2022

The Voice of New York Is DrillIt’s the most captivating sound the city has heard in decades — and also the most misunderstood. Here, 19 NY drill artists set the record straight.

As told to Camille Squires

first person Dec. 6, 2021

Losing My Teenage DreamBefore Colton Haynes came to Hollywood, he was confidently queer. Years of mixed messages in the industry changed that.

By Colton Haynes

first person Nov. 18, 2021

How Mel Brooks Fell for Anne Bancroft“We started talking one day, and we never stopped.”

By Mel Brooks

first person June 21, 2021

Rachel Lindsay Has No Roses Left to BurnI thought I could change The Bachelor franchise from within. Until I realized I was their token.

By Rachel Lindsay

first person June 3, 2021

A Return to Stage FrightJacqueline Novak on reviving her critically acclaimed live show Get on Your Knees after a year away.

By Jacqueline Novak

first person Mar. 3, 2021

I Couldn’t Imagine Being Happy. But I Could Imagine Being Carmela.I found my model for womanhood in an unlikely place: The Sopranos.

By P.E. Moskowitz

close reads Sept. 8, 2020

The Mod Squad, Kojak, Real-Life Cops, and MeWhat I relearned (about well-meaning liberalism, race, my late father, and my young gay self) rewatching the TV cop shows of my 1970s youth.

By Mark Harris

close reads July 25, 2020

Indian Matchmaking Is Just Telling It Like It IsWhen the game itself is dirty, why yell at a mirror pointed at it, reflecting the moves for all to see?

By Mallika Rao

first person June 18, 2020

‘We Can’t Hire You’Latino writer Alexis Pereira on the most discouraging TV job interview ever.

By Alexis Pereira

first person June 11, 2020

Navigating Hollywood’s Creative Police State#BlackLivesMatter protests are heading from the streets to Hollywood. But this time, it can’t be just a hashtag.

By Mamoudou N'Diaye

first person June 4, 2020

Our Brother KaizenHe would be called a murderer and a domestic terrorist. But to us, he was family. Our struggles with systemic racism growing up were the same.

By The Lucas Bros

first person May 22, 2020

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.

By Kathryn VanArendonk

first person May 12, 2020

My AppetitesJerry Saltz on eating and coping mechanisms, childhood and self-control, criticism, love, cancer and pandemics.

By Jerry Saltz

first person Apr. 21, 2020

I Don’t Know How to Tell This StoryCecily Strong on grieving a loved one while quarantined.

By Cecily Strong

feature Mar. 16, 2020

The Art World’s Mini-Madoff and MeBoozy nights and high-stakes art trades with Inigo Philbrick.

By Kenny Schachter

close reads Aug. 26, 2019

The Florida I Know and Love Is Finally on TVWhen I watch On Becoming a God in Central Florida and Florida Girls, I’m transported back into my rose-colored memories of the Sunshine State.

By Monica Castillo

first person Aug. 1, 2019

On Jane the Virgin, There Was No Shame in Being an Adult Woman Anxious About SexWhen I was a child, I underwent genital mutilation, a trauma that made it difficult to separate shame from sex. No show understood this like Jane.

By Mariya Karimjee

first person June 18, 2019

In Defense of Cousins Who Fall in Love, on Ramy and IRL(Not to be read by any of my cousins.)

By Mallika Rao

religion May 9, 2019

Ramy Can Teach You How to WuduThe Hulu comedy’s stunning first episode, “Between the Toes,” tackles the Muslim politics of cleansing for prayer.

By Maham Hasan

first person Feb. 15, 2019

On PEN15, Everyone Is (Refreshingly) a BullyThe excellent mid-season episode, “Posh,” plays like a fable about race in American middle schools.

By Mallika Rao

first person Jan. 15, 2019

Fast Food Deserves Better Than Donald TrumpComedy writer Bill Oakley comes to the defense of fast food after last night’s highly ridiculed White House feast.

By Bill Oakley

first person Dec. 27, 2018

I Make Plays. I Write Criticism. I’m Not My Own Enemy.“The artist–critic war of attrition is boring. It’s a cliché.”

By Sara Holdren

first person Dec. 21, 2018

Comedians and College Students Are Not EnemiesStand-up comedy is not “us versus them.” It is call-and-response.

By Jes Tom

first person Sept. 13, 2018

17 Years After 9/11, I’m Still a Terrorist in Hollywood’s EyesThis week, we observe the anniversary of 9/11 and start a new fall TV season. As unconnected as those may seem, they are totally intertwined for me.

By Amir Talai

first person Sept. 10, 2018

What I’ve Learned Performing Comedy at Over 50 College Campuses“When I started touring universities, my first impression was not Wow, these softies can’t take a joke! It was Oh dear God, they are so young!”

By Sara Schaefer

first person Aug. 15, 2018

Gregg Turkington Speaks Out on the New ‘Popular Film’ Oscars Category“Oscar, you finally got it right.”

By Gregg Turkington

first person June 8, 2018

On 10 Years of the New New-Music Scene, and 30 Years of My OwnAs the city has become more global, I have watched the music world get healthier, more complex, and less hermetic.

By Justin Davidson

first person Mar. 19, 2018

Was My Joke the Final Nail in Fifth Harmony’s Coffin?No. The thing about Fifth Harmony is that we never should’ve had a Fifth Harmony.

By Emmy Blotnick

July 21, 2017

Why I Wrote DetroitMark Boal on the inspiration for his new movie about the 1967 Detroit riots.

By Mark Boal

feature Apr. 18, 2017

Jerry Saltz: My Life As a Failed ArtistDecades after giving up the dream for good, an art critic returns to the work he’d devoted his life to, then abandoned — but never really forgot.

By Jerry Saltz

first person Oct. 26, 2016

What This Is Us Gets Right About Being a Black Kid in a White FamilyAs a black adoptee raised in a white family, watching the show touches on some truths.

By Rebecca Carroll

first person June 3, 2016

On Six Feet Under and Those Moments When Life and TV CollideIt’s a show that felt extraordinarily personal to many people for a simple, obvious reason: We all lose loved ones.

By Jen Chaney

first person May 4, 2016

Why Kimmy Has a Savior Complex on Unbreakable Kimmy SchmidtA savior mentality is one of the most difficult patterns for a former cult member to break.

By Flor Edwards

first person Apr. 19, 2016

Crazy Ex-GF’s Greatest Legacy Is the Asian BroIf you grew up anywhere with a sizable, multi-generational East Asian population, chances are you knew, hung out with, or lusted after tons of Asian bros.

By Jada Yuan

first person Dec. 10, 2015

Why I Tackled Mental Illness This Season on You’re the WorstIn this landscape of new shows debuting with alarming regularity, the challenge is to find a way to mature into something unexpected.

By Stephen Falk

holiday specials Dec. 1, 2015

Sofia Coppola on A Very Murray Christmas“I do think the holidays have a sort of nostalgic melancholy and joyfulness to them, and Bill is so good with showing both those qualities.”

By Sofia Coppola

As told to David Marchese

first person Nov. 10, 2015

On Master of None, the Kids Are All Right, But the Parents Are BetterWhen I first watched episode two, “Parents,” I couldn’t quite catch my breath.

By Mallika Rao

first person Sept. 17, 2015

The Mindy Project Brings TV’s First Awesome Arranged MarriageTarun and Sonu Lahiri are pioneers of a sort.

By Mallika Rao

first person June 2, 2015

What UnREAL Gets (and Doesn’t Get) About Life As a Reality-TV Producer“The pain of every reality producer is deploying her considerable talents to tell stories that are beneath her.”

By Seth Grossman

first person Apr. 30, 2015

How I Became the Writer of Family Guy’s 250th Ep“For the last three years, I was the girl who reminded Seth MacFarlane about his appointments, not the comedy writer who would build the bones of Family Guy’s 250th episode.”

By Jaydi Samuels

first person Mar. 24, 2015