The Romanoffs ’ Misconduct Episode Is Depressing and UnnecessaryAs a defense of an accused man, “Bright and High Circle” fails as both a drama and a polemic.
best of 2018
Nov. 2, 2018
The Best TV Shows of 2018 (So Far) Atlanta , Sharp Objects , Pose , Killing Eve , Better Call Saul , and more.
There Is Life After Death for House of Cards and The Conners Both shows are fascinating, though each ends up being mainly about the void left by the loss of its star.
close reads
Oct. 17, 2018
What Sorry for Your Loss Understands About Mourning a Loved One It’s emotional work to watch this sterling Facebook Watch series.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 4 Beats the OddsShows like CXG rarely get onto mainstream TV, much less sustain their concept over the long haul.
Lodge 49 Nails the Sad Absurdity of Modern LifeIt’s a charming stroll through the ruins of late capitalism that feels real and metaphorical at once.
Better Call Saul Ends a Bleak, Beautiful SeasonSaul caps off its best season yet with a bruisingly sad finale.
The Romanoffs Follows Privilege All the Way DownMatthew Weiner’s first TV project since Mad Men is another portrait of white people in decline.
Amazon’s King Lear Captures the Heart of a Classic Shakespeare Tragedy At its best, the Anthony Hopkins-led adaptation feels as current and as timeless as a nightmare.
Who Gets to Define Jane Fonda? The HBO documentary Jane Fonda in Five Acts reduces the Hollywood legend, even as it strives to exalt and empower her.
The Good Cop Is an Uneasy Comedy About Corrupt PoliceThis Netflix show doesn’t have nearly enough self-awareness to handle such serious issues.
The New Magnum P.I. Shows a Lot of Promise The CBS reboot’s pilot captures most of what made the original great.
Sorry for Your Loss Is a Wonderfully Sensitive Show About GriefThe Facebook Watch drama is meticulously observed and often cathartic.
emmys 2018
Sept. 17, 2018
emmys 2018
Sept. 14, 2018
Emmy Predictions: Who Will and Should Win in the Drama Categories? Who will come out on top between The Americans , Game of Thrones , and The Handmaid ’s Tale ?
The First Is a Very Different Kind of Space DramaThe Hulu series is an intimate story about astronauts and their families struggling through the messy business of living.
BoJack Horseman Season 5 Goes Deep on Grief, Addiction, and Sight GagsThe BoJack-centric storylines are terrific, and the stand-alone episodes about other characters are even better.
emmys 2018
Sept. 12, 2018
The Deuce Season Two Takes a Big Leap ForwardThe HBO drama jumps ahead to an era of glitter balls, platform shoes, cocaine, and the open sale of sex.
Why Does Iron Fist Season Two Exist? It’s an improvement in the way that stubbing your toe is an improvement over jamming your finger.
The Seductive Horror of Sharp Objects Every episode left me feeling anxious and depressed, yet immediately eager for more.
Mayans M.C. Doesn’t Quite Measure Up to Its PredecessorKurt Sutter’s Sons of Anarchy follow-up is a show with its own personality and focus, though by no means a great one.
What Sharp Objects Understands About Memory Nobody goes about their days living only in the present moment.
Better Call Saul Season 4 Is Great Because It’s PatientThe pleasures of Better Call Saul are almost entirely visceral and emotional.
Castle Rock Is Creepy, But Can’t Escape Its Own DemonsThe Hulu series struggles to prove itself equal to Stephen King.
Pose Is a Deeply American Story of Self-CreationThis is a powerful show about family as ideal, reality, and metaphor.
Snowfall Season Two Is Like a Solid ’80s B MovieIn its second season, FX’s Southern California drug epic makes some notable improvements.
stand up comedy
July 12, 2018
Sharp Objects Is So Much More Than a Small-Town Murder MysteryThe HBO mini-series is a psychological exploration of the many ways that society hurts and manipulates women.
vulture tv awards
June 27, 2018
The Best Actress on TV Is Sandra Oh Sandra Oh’s entire career has led to this quietly revolutionary performance in Killing Eve .
4 Showrunners on How They Pulled Off This Season’s Most Shocking TV Plot Twists Jane the Virgin , The Americans , The Bachelor , and Star Trek: Discovery surprised us all, even detectives on the internet. Spoilers ahead!
The Bold Type Stands Out in Season TwoThe Freeform series balances melodrama with stories about workplace politics and journalistic ethics.
Pose Is the Culmination of Ryan Murphy’s Entire CareerThis queer musical-dance series is unprecedented on TV.
Queen Sugar Season 3 Is a Lovingly Composed Family DramaThe Ava DuVernay series never sacrifices emotional realism for the pop of a soap-opera twist.
Picnic at Hanging Rock Is a Decadent Feast for the SensesIt’s the sapphic, David Lynch-influenced mystery-thriller that you didn’t know you needed.
The St. Elsewhere Finale at 30 All these years later, what does Tommy’s snow globe mean?
The Cultural Vandalism of Jeffrey Tambor It’s impossible to watch Arrested Development or Transparent without thinking of the horrible allegations made by his co-stars.
The Changing Legacy of Tom Wolfe, Chronicler of Changing Times Wolfe made his reputation explaining the young to the old and the cool to the square. But time caught up with him eventually.
HBO’s Fahrenheit 451 Is One of the Key Pop Culture Works of the Trump Era It speaks directly to the persistent cultural conditions that made Trump possible.
Sharon Horgan’s Motherland Captures the Insanity of Early Parenthood It’s one of the first sitcoms since Horgan’s Amazon dazzler Catastrophe to make me slightly injure myself while laughing.
Ali Wong’s Hard Knock Wife Is a Hilarious, Cathartic Follow-up to Baby Cobra The explosive physicality of Wong’s delivery is what gives this special most of its power.
Dear White People Levels Up in Season TwoIt’s done this by embracing the drama’s essentially rhetorical nature.
Kid Gorgeous Is a Comedic Milestone For John MulaneyIn his new Netflix special, John Mulaney riffs on age, mortality, and physical decline.
The Unnerving Delights of Atlanta Robbin’ Season Atlanta ’s miraculous second season gives you what you didn’t know you wanted.
Giancarlo Esposito Is in Westworld Because Anthony Hopkins Loves Breaking Bad A case of ‘synchronous’ admiration with Anthony Hopkins led to his surprise Westworld cameo.
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