The setup of The Americans has made us invested in Philip and Elizabeth’s marriage. But the dramatic, sad “Only You” questions whether we should be.
Dead Tree Alert: In Late Night, Time to Fire the Desk
My column in the new print TIME magazine looks at who might replace Jimmy Fallon. Or rather, what might replace him.
Accidental Racist: How Bad Punditry Makes Bad Music
The Brad Paisley / LL Cool J song is like every “To be sure, both sides are guilty…” paragraph from a political story, set to a whiny soundtrack.
Game of Thrones Watch: Speak Softly and Carry a Big Crossbow
An episode focusing on the dispossessed and losers of war suggests that in Westeros, war does not take place only on the battlefield.
Why Roger Ebert’s Thumb Mattered
Far from dumbing down criticism, At the Movies–and that trademark thumbs-up-or-down–showed how instinctively Roger Ebert knew storytelling.
TV Weekend: Mortality (and Reefer) In the Air for Mad Men’s Return
As season 6 opens Sunday, some characters’ patterns continue, but all around is the sense that, eventually, everything comes to an end.
Arrested Development Returns May 26. Is This Your New Summer Blockbuster?
We’ll soon see if the Bluths are still funny. In the meantime, it’s intriguing that Netflix’s scheduling strategy has as much in common with the movies as with TV.
It’s Official: Fallon In, Leno Out at a Diminished Tonight Show
Leno is still number one in his time slot. But when he leaves Tonight, he’ll leave an institution smaller and less relevant than when he found it.
Justified Watch: We Have Met the A-Hole, and He Is Us
There was no Big Bad in season four, but that freed Justified to explore the bigness of the badness within its regular cast of characters.
Game of Thrones Watch: Freedom’s Just Another Word
The premiere highlighted what I hope will be a big theme of season three: freedom, as an absolute, as a relative term, as an ideal and as a liability. Also, giants!
Programming Note
Though no one seems to have informed the Greenland high-pressure block about this, it is spring, which means spring break for the Tuned In Jrs., which means that I’m going to be on vacation for the next week and a half.
Jaypocalypse 2: This Time It’s Different?
This time, NBC wants to ditch Leno for Jimmy Fallon, not Conan O’Brien. What could go wrong?
Agents of Channel Change: HBO Cancels Enlightened
Fans got some closure and two gorgeous seasons. HBO has its reputation as the network who makes one-of-a-kind shows–but within limits.