Low Winter Sun, a bleak, bleak cop drama that uses Detroit as an apocalyptic open-air amphitheater, may not be disaster porn, but it’s at least disaster cheesecake.
Hillary Clinton TV Shows Unite Right, Left in Wrongness
The calls from right and left for CNN and NBC to drop Hillary projects amount to: don’t make any potentially interesting shows about an active political figure. (And if you do, skew them our way!)
TV Tonight: Broadchurch
I didn’t want to watch one more moody drama about a child murder, either. But this British drama is excellent, most of all for how it treats the living.
TCA: Can Agents of SHIELD Step Out of the Movies’ Shadow?
Joss Whedon’s Avengers spinoff may just intend to be a fun time, but it has some (unintentionally?) topical overtones about big agencies and their powers.
Bunheads, Maslany, The Americans, and More Get Credit at the TCA Awards
If there was a theme of this year’s critics’ awards, it was vengeance for the overlooked
TCA: Dads, FX, and How to Do Offensive Comedy Right (and Wrong)
The makers of Fox’s Dad say objections to its racial humor mean people are just too easily offended. But Fox has an entire sibling network–FX–doing offensive comedy much better.
Dead Tree Alert: It’s Not Breaking Bad’s Job to Punish Walter White
It’s Breaking Bad’s responsibility to make us think about what Walt deserves. But it’s not the show’s responsibility to give it to him.
NBC’s Hillary Clinton Miniseries: A (Possibly Unwanted) Political Gift
The same network that employs Donald Trump is making a miniseries about the possible Presidential frontrunner. In both cases, the decision is more about money than politics.
Dead Tree Alert: Orange Is the New Black Is the New Way of Talking About TV
Netflix’s newest and best series is powerfully about community. But it’s also, for better or worse, changing the community of the TV watercooler.
Danger Zone: The New (Or Old?) Adventures of Anthony Weiner
Sex scandals don’t automatically destroy politicians anymore. Whether Carlos Danger survives this media frenzy may depend on whether he can define his new problems as old news.
Dennis Farina Dies at Age 69
Plenty of actors invest time doing research for their roles, but most of them had nothing on ex-cop-turned-actor Dennis Farina.
There Is a 99.45% Chance That Nate Silver Is Changing Journalism
His deal with ESPN is about more than Disney vs. the New York Times. If Silver-style analysis spreads, everyone can win.
It’s Not TV, It’s the Emmys; Online Video Comes of Age, But Not Everything Has Changed
As far as the Emmys are concerned, Netflix is in fact TV. But some of the old rules about publicity and star power still apply when it comes to getting nominated.