The Many Lives of Catherine the Great The Many Lives of Catherine the Great
A new Hulu show presents the life of the Russian empress as a narrative of lean-in empowerment. But was it?
Jul 13, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Sophie Pinkham
‘God Friended Me’ Was the Strangest Show on TV ‘God Friended Me’ Was the Strangest Show on TV
Each episode of the CBS comedy-drama functions as a morality play for a peculiar worldview.
May 14, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz
Why Did the ERA Die? FX’s ‘Mrs. America’ Has Some Answers. Why Did the ERA Die? FX’s ‘Mrs. America’ Has Some Answers.
Phyllis Schlafly, the subject of a new nine-part mini-series, teaches feminists never to underestimate their political enemies.
Apr 30, 2020 / Column / Katha Pollitt
Watching Hong Kong Cop Movies After 10 Months of Tear Gas Watching Hong Kong Cop Movies After 10 Months of Tear Gas
The genre that propelled Jackie Chan and Chow Yun Fat to stardom has been tainted by real-life police brutality during protests.
Apr 16, 2020 / Jaime Chu
Philip Roth’s Dystopia Hits Awfully Close to Home Philip Roth’s Dystopia Hits Awfully Close to Home
HBO’s adaption of The Plot Against America is set in an alternative reality with the same anxieties as our own.
Apr 10, 2020 / Jeet Heer
The Beautiful, Baffling Mysteries of Paolo Sorrentino’s Vatican The Beautiful, Baffling Mysteries of Paolo Sorrentino’s Vatican
His television series, The Young Pope and The New Pope, tell us a story bigger than one focused on just church or state.
Mar 23, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz
Why ‘You’ Is So Terrifying Why ‘You’ Is So Terrifying
The Netflix show turns Internet obsession and the need for attention when we’re online all the time into a horror story.
Mar 2, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz
‘High Fidelity’ Is a Broken Record ‘High Fidelity’ Is a Broken Record
While the TV reboot breaks out of some of the original’s male-centered whiteness, it refuses to take risks that would make it more memorable.
Feb 19, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Julyssa Lopez
Madam Secretary, RIP Madam Secretary, RIP
Because in the Age of Trump, even centrists have dreams.
Jan 2, 2020 / Danny Goldberg
Is the ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Sequel Anything but Fan Service? Is the ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Sequel Anything but Fan Service?
Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments is caught between grappling with the politics of the moment and the politics of television success.
Dec 2, 2019 / Sarah Jones