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Close Reads

  1. No, Michelle Wolf Didn’t Mock Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s LooksWhy the criticism of Wolf’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner roast is so maddening.
    By Jen Chaney
  2. close reads
    The Utter Shock of Philip and Paige’s Fight on The AmericansThe father-daughter sparring match is instantly one of the show’s most memorable scenes.
    By Jen Chaney
  3. Jane the Virgin’s Finale Twist Is BreathtakingSeason five cannot come soon enough.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  4. Tim Allen Is Not a Working-Class HeroPlease do not reboot his shows to appeal to “the heartland.”
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  5. Why Roseanne Can’t Be Reduced to a Single EpisodeIts perceived failures have a lot to do with our incomplete understanding of how a sitcom works.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  6. close reads
    Let’s Unpack That Big Twist in The EndlessDirectors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead talk about their little cinematic universe that could.
    By Jordan Crucchiola
  7. close reads
    Let’s Talk About the Ending of Atlanta’s ‘Teddy Perkins’As the episode continues, it blooms into full-blown horror.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  8. The Many Layers of Atlanta’s ‘Teddy Perkins’It glides lightly over the possibility of being interpreted in any one way, and that’s the source of its eeriness.
    By Matt Zoller Seitz
  9. close reads
    Let’s Talk About the Nail Scene in A Quiet PlaceIt boils down the best of John Krasinski’s horror debut into one harrowing sequence.
    By Jordan Crucchiola
  10. The Importance of Peter Gabriel to The AmericansThe sound of his voice functions like an alarm the show is sounding to make sure we pay attention.
    By Jen Chaney
  11. How the Roseanne Premiere Handled Donald TrumpDo the jokes run deep enough?
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  12. What Should We Do With Season 9 of Roseanne?The revival is hoping we forget the whole thing ever happened.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  13. close reads
    Four Unsane Scenes That Prove Claire Foy Can Trade Her Crown for Horror FilmsThis little Brit packs a big punch. Literally.
    By Jordan Crucchiola
  14. What Jessica Jones Understands About Female RageThe second season is a messy yet fascinating story of women, anger, and trauma.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  15. Why Are TV Detectives Always So Sad?If the premise of a TV show is that a detective searches for justice, it follows that the detective will be almost unbearably sad.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  16. Atlanta’s Silly Yoo-hoo Ad Is a Clever Commentary on Black ArtThe Yoo-hoo commercial isn’t just surreal and hilarious — it’s an acknowledgment of the fraught dynamic between black art and commerce.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  17. It’s Time for Chris Harrison to Retire From The BachelorIf Harrison is a puppet for the franchise, the strings are now way too visible.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  18. The Bachelor Finale’s ‘Unedited’ Scene Was a Half-Hour Spectacle of Human MiseryThe franchise plummeted to new depths of ratings-mining cynicism.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  19. close reads
    Why the Scandal–HTGAWM Crossover Is So UniqueOlivia Pope’s partnership with Annalise Keating isn’t just a prime-time gimmick.
    By Joshua Alston
  20. Did You Know This Bachelor Finale Will Be Like ‘Nothing You’ve Seen Before’?You’ve definitely seen it before.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  21. How Annihilation Nails the Complex Reality of DepressionNo film in recent memory captures the truth of self-destruction and depression quite like it.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  22. Why Are There So Many Bisexuals on TV All of a Sudden?Examining TV’s bisexual boom.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  23. close reads
    Celebrity Big Brother Is a Very Political Show, But Not Because of OmarosaLike it or not, shows like Celebrity Big Brother reflect the state of politics in 2018.
    By Jen Chaney
  24. Why Star Trek: Discovery Needs to EvolveBeneath its superficially progressive appearance, Star Trek: Discovery remains too wedded to the past.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  25. Why I Couldn’t Stop Watching the New Queer EyeIt’s a show about men trying to fix masculinity.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  26. This Is Us Was Never Just About Jack Pearson’s DeathWhy Jack’s demise should mark the end of This Is Us fan theories.
    By Jen Chaney
  27. close reads
    In Praise of Rita Moreno on One Day at a TimeHer performance is a marvel of comedic timing and dramatic flair.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  28. close reads
    All the Ways The Good Place Season Finale Is Like LostIn its season-two finale, The Good Place had its very own “hydrogen bomb” moment.
    By Jen Chaney
  29. The Good Place Has the Best Acting Ensemble on TVLed by Kristen Bell and Ted Danson, The Good Place’s cast blends heart and irreverence with aplomb.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  30. This Is the Most Boring Season of The Bachelor EverMaybe that’s on purpose?
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  31. All the Ways The Good Place Has Blown Up Its Own PremiseThe show’s universe keeps melting away and forming all over again.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  32. close reads
    Let’s Talk About That Scene With the Newborn in Mom and DadDirector Brian Taylor talks about the line you walk when you decide to make a movie about infanticide.
    By Jordan Crucchiola
  33. close reads
    The Hilarity and Horror of Ted Danson on The Good PlaceIn the decades since Cheers, Danson has subverted, skewered, leaned into, and ultimately outgrown the rakish machismo of Sam Malone.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  34. close reads
    Jane the Virgin Has the Best Family on TVIt’s astonishing how few TV families are built on something so radical and so simple as truly knowing one another.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  35. close reads
    Let’s Talk About the Ending of The End of the F***ing WorldOur biggest questions about James, Alyssa, and the show’s future.
    By Dee Lockett
  36. close reads
    Why Black Mirror’s Digital Prisons Are So HauntingIt’s one of the most subversive arguments for prison reform that TV has ever seen.
    By Abraham Riesman
  37. close reads
    Let’s Talk About the Ending of Black Mirror’s ‘Hang the DJ’Does the big twist undermine Amy and Frank’s charming love story?
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  38. close reads
    A Close Read of the Pimp Story Dave Chappelle Tells in The Bird RevelationWho’s who?
    By Dave Schilling
  39. Hear Me Out: What If The Crown Is Already the Next Game of Thrones?In all likelihood, the next Game of Thrones will look nothing like Game of Thrones.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  40. theories
    Why Riverdale’s Black Hood Reveal Has to Be a Fake-OutIt’s a bit of a letdown otherwise.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  41. close reads
    That SNL Pizza Sketch Was Funny As HellLate Saturday night, Preet Bharara and I were doing the same thing: tweeting about Saturday Night Live.
    By Jesse David Fox
  42. close reads
    When Cheers Became Cheers: An Appreciation of ‘Endless Slumper’“Endless Slumper” illustrated why Cheers was destined to be an all-time great sitcom.
    By VIkram Murthi
  43. close reads
    The Shallow Radicalism of the She’s Gotta Have It FinaleThis Thanksgiving dinner from hell proves that Nola has no idea who she really is, and neither do the writers.
    By Angelica Jade Bastién
  44. how to win an oscar
    How The Disaster Artist Recreated The Room’s Iconic ScenesJames Franco, his brother Dave, Ari Graynor, Josh Hutcherson, and the real Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero weigh in.
    By Nate Jones
  45. This Is Us Has Gotten Darker This Season, and It’s Better Because of ItFinally, the tearjerker has gotten more authentically sad.
    By Jen Chaney
  46. In Praise of Alias Grace’s Conniving WomanWhy Grace Marks is a galvanizing heroine for our time.
    By Hillary Kelly
  47. close reads
    What Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters Bring to American Horror Story: CultBy embracing over-the-top drama, they saved AHS: Cult from itself.
    By Jen Chaney
  48. Let’s Talk About the Ending of Alias GraceNetflix’s Margaret Atwood adaptation puts the entire audience on trial.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  49. close reads
    On TV, a Girl’s First Period As a Mark of Female PowerBlack-ish, Alias Grace, and Big Mouth use the rite of passage as a gateway to female empowerment.
    By Jen Chaney
  50. The Controversial Episode of Louie That Now Plays Like a ConfessionalEven before the allegations against Louis C.K. went public, “Pamela Part 1” raised eyebrows.
    By Jen Chaney
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