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Jen Chaney

TV Critic
@chaneyj
[email protected]

Vulture and New York TV critic Jen Chaney previously worked for the Washington Post and has bylines at the New York Times and Vanity Fair. She also wrote As If: The Complete Oral History of Clueless.

  1. callbacks
    The 9 Best Easter Eggs in the Veep FinaleDid you catch all these callbacks to previous episodes?
  2. chat room
    Timothy Simons on Veep, Jonah’s Presidential Chances, and Anti-Vaxxers“I like the idea of being a blunt instrument to show how absolutely idiotic it is.”
  3. close reads
    Did Game of Thrones Have a Better Battle Than Avengers: Endgame?Two pop-culture juggernauts, two massive fight sequences, and a ton of lessons about what makes onscreen battles work.
  4. chat room
    Bill Hader on Barry Season 2’s Journey Into (More) DarknessThe series co-creator/star talks going to even darker places in season two, the relevance of those flashbacks, and where Barry Berkman goes from here.
  5. close reads
    The Message of Sunday’s Game of Thrones? Never Underestimate a Teenage Girl.“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” reminds us how far Sansa, Arya, and Dany have come.
  6. tv review
    Killing Eve Season Two Maintains Its Sick, Distinctly Female Sense of HumorSandra Oh, Jodie Comer, and everything else about this spy show still rule.
  7. spoilers
    Saying Good-bye to You’re the Worst With Aya Cash, Chris Geere, and Stephen FalkIs Gretchen and Jimmy’s finale romantic or cynical? For the creator and stars of the FXX comedy, it’s a no-brainer.
  8. tv review
    You’re the Worst Nailed a Simply Perfect FinaleThe anti-rom-com rom-com ended exactly the way it should have.
  9. tv review
    Barry Is Still, Thankfully, As Dark As EverThe HBO series starring Bill Hader as a conflicted hit man is still taking sharp shots in season two.
  10. spoilers
    Decoding The OA: Part II’s Extremely Meta EndingIt’s the most OA thing The OA: Part II could possibly have done.
  11. close reads
    Jordan Peele’s Us Is a Bone-Chilling Allegory for Generation XThe movie’s references, and its use of Hands Across America, speak directly to those who were born in the ’70s and grew up in the ’80s.
  12. chat room
    The Act’s Joey King Grapples With Munchausen, Murder, and Patricia Arquette“People keep asking Gypsy, Why didn’t you just stand up? It’s really not as simple as that.”
  13. tv review
    The OA Part II is a Glorious, Ridiculous Mind-benderYou’ll either love it or you’ll hate it. Unless you’re just totally confused by it.
  14. appreciations
    A Eulogy for the Dearly Departed One Day at a TimeEven though Netflix canceled it, this sitcom mattered.
  15. tv review
    The Act Explores a True-life Tragedy in Wrenching DetailExceptional performances from Patricia Arquette and Joey King enliven Hulu’s limited-series telling of the story of Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard.
  16. tv review
    Hulu’s Shrill Is a Funny, Fabulous Showcase for Aidy BryantThe SNL standout shines in this new Hulu dramedy.
  17. tv review
    Queer Eye Season Three Is Fun, But a Little Too FamiliarWe may have reached the tipping point on Tan’s French tucks.
  18. true crime
    The Unsettling Parallels Between Leaving Neverland and Abducted in Plain SightIf the HBO documentary is believed, Michael Jackson had a lot in common with Bob Berchtold.
  19. remembrances
    Remembering Luke Perry, Who Will Forever Be Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210In memory of a gloriously sensitive ’90s bad boy.
  20. close reads
    True Detective and the Wave of Crime TV About Murky MemoryFrom fictional dramas to real-life docuseries, the biggest crime shows of the moment want us to reassess the past.
  21. awards season
    Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper Singing ‘Shallow’ Was the Highlight of the OscarsIt was sexy, it was intimate, and it totally lived up to the hype.
  22. tv review
    At Home With Amy Sedaris Is a Bizarre ComfortSedaris continues to be her delightfully weird domestic self in season two of her TruTV sketch-comedy series.
  23. tv review
    Amazon’s Lorena Docuseries Will Make You Rethink the Bobbitt CaseThe Amazon docuseries takes a deeper look at the woman who became infamous for cutting off her husband’s penis in 1993.
  24. tv review
    Miracle Workers Fades Into the So-So BeyondSteve Buscemi is God, but this TBS comedy doesn’t have much higher power.
  25. tv review
    One Day at a Time Is Still Old School in Its Third SeasonIn season three, this traditional sitcom has more obvious flaws, but still has plenty of charms, too.
  26. oscars 2019
    An Oscar Win for ‘Shallow’ or ‘All the Stars’ Would Be Significant. Here’s Why.Popular songs used to rule the original song category at the Oscars. Could a win for A Star Is Born or Black Panther change that?
  27. true crime
    Abducted in Plain Sight Director on Why the Brobergs Were in ‘Absolute Denial’Skye Borgman answers lingering questions about her absolute shocker of a true-crime documentary.
  28. tv review
    PEN15 Is an Irresistible Millennial Coming-of-age SeriesThe Hulu series finds creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle going back to middle school to tap into all your Y2K nostalgia.
  29. close reads
    From Groundhog Day to Russian Doll, the Inescapable Power of the Time LoopPop culture is no stranger to stories in which people keep reliving the same event. But Russian Doll digs into deeper territory.
  30. true crime
    Abducted in Plain Sight Is a Documentary That Must Be Seen to Be BelievedThink of the wildest story you’ve ever heard, multiply it by 50, and then you’ll have a sense of how nuts this doc is.
  31. no day but yesterday
    The Highs and Lows of Rent: LiveThe live musical that wasn’t actually live. Until the very end.
  32. spoilers
    Why Do I Feel So Conflicted About Chidi and Eleanor on The Good Place?Chidi and Eleanor’s relationship doesn’t always feel natural, yet I’m still rooting for this sitcom couple to end up together.
  33. unbreakable kimmy schmidt
    Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Ends But Still Feels Alive, DammitThis Tina Fey sitcom is still smart as hell.
  34. tv review
    The Other Two Is the Year’s First Great New ComedyThe Comedy Central sitcom about the adult siblings of a preteen pop star is great, right from the get-go.
  35. tv review
    Broad City Is Back for One Last Time, and That Feels RightAbbi and Ilana are still funny, but Broad City is taking its final bow at the right moment.
  36. the crime scene
    Why 2014 Was a Watershed Year for TV CrimeFive years ago, True Detective kicked off a golden era for prestige limited crime shows.
  37. tv review
    SMILF Season Two Is an Intimate Portrait of Womanhood, With an AsteriskDespite allegations about SMILF creator Frankie Shaw, season two excels at depicting the personal struggles of its women.
  38. tv review
    Which Fyre Festival Documentary Is Right for You?Honestly, the Netflix and Hulu docs are both worth your time.
  39. tv review
    Black Monday Isn’t Worth the InvestmentIn the ’80s Wall Street comedy, greed is good, and also one-dimensional.
  40. close reads
    What The Good Place Teaches Us About Politics“The Book of Dougs” makes a sly political point, but it’s not made in blatantly political terms.
  41. tv review
    The Passage Is Decent, at a Time When Decent Might Not Be EnoughFox’s adequate adaptation of Justin Cronin’s vampire novel keeps exposition and plot development flowing at the cost of nuance.
  42. theater
    Amy Heckerling on the ’90s Hits That Made It Into Clueless, the Musical’N Sync got in. The Backstreet Boys? Sadly, that didn’t work out.
  43. tv review
    You’re the Worst Is Still the Best in Its Final SeasonWill Gretchen and Jimmy actually get married? One of the great pleasures of the final season is finding out the answer.
  44. tv review
    The 2019 Golden Globes Were Anything But a RhapsodyThe show had its moments (Regina King! Glenn Close! The Americans!), but was mostly a disappointment.
  45. awards season
    Who Should (and Will) Win at the Golden Globes This Weekend?A Star Is Born or Bohemian Rhapsody? Killing Eve or Homecoming?
  46. tv review
    Tidying Up With Marie Kondo Is Surprisingly WatchableIn Marie Kondo’s Netflix reality series, conspicuous consumers are just like us.
  47. tv review
    A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Review of Black Mirror: BandersnatchEveryone’s talking about Black Mirror’s interactive movie. But is it any good? Hopscotch through this review to find out.
  48. let it d’oh
    How The Simpsons’ Christmas Debut Changed TV“Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” felt like a watershed moment 30 years ago, and seems even more significant in retrospect.
  49. tv review
    With The Innocent Man, Have We Reached a True-Crime Tipping Point?The Netflix series, based on John Grisham’s book, is a cautionary tale for the genre.
  50. best of 2018
    The 10 Best TV Scenes of 2018The year’s most memorable TV moments, from The Americans to Sharp Objects.
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