Cindy White
The Something for Everyone Show: Poker Face is Back
Can’t agree on what to watch together? Consider putting on your Poker Face. Peacock’s acclaimed mystery-of-the-week series created by Rian Johnson (best known for Star Wars: The Last Jedi and, most relevant here, the Glass Onion films) and starring Natasha Lyonne, is finally back for another season after two long years. That’s great news for
It’s not HBO, it’s The Pitt: How streamers are embracing old TV network models
“It’s not TV, it’s HBO.” Remember that old tagline? For nearly all of its history, broadcast television has been fighting against the perception that it’s subordinate to film as a storytelling medium. Television was just media for the masses, as opposed to the more erudite aficionados of cinema (who, by the way, poured into theaters
Cha Cha Real Smooth
Cha Cha Real Smooth is a sweet, intimate antidote to all the noisy summer blockbusters out there. Filmmaker Cooper Raiff proves he’s someone to keep a close eye on.
The Bear S1
The Bear is a fast-tempo character study set behind the scenes of a family-run Chicago restaurant. It invites you in to pull up a chair and watch the drama unfold, but never lets you get too comfortable.
Derry Girls
Like the community and era they represent, the Derry Girls bring a feisty resilience to their teenage troubles, and in spite of the larger Troubles surrounding them, they’re unafraid to speak their minds and stand up for themselves.
The Mandalorian Refresher
If the notoriously fractious Star Wars fandom can agree that The Mandalorian is a worthy torchbearer as the franchise heads into an uncertain future, it’s got to be worth checking out.
The Umbrella Academy
The Umbrella Academy is a wildly imaginative take on the superhero genre, but it works mainly because of the strong characters and dysfunctional family at its core.
Cindy White
Summer Escape Binges: The Best Series to Transport You
The best escapist shows and movies with travel and exotic settings.
Teen Romance for the Sweltering Summer
There’s a particular teenage feeling of promise to summer for me. School is out, the sun is beating, and the space between June and September seems big enough to live a lifetime in. Even for someone staunchly past teenhood, the tickle of summertime is exciting, Teen Romance For Sweltering Summer and self-transformation– and these are
Round the World: Summer Camp Movies for Grownups
Ah, summer camp. Images of wood cabins, elaborate pranks, cringe-y talent show performances, and teens with raging hormones have filled our brains, thanks to what’s become a subgenre of American & Summer Camp Movies.. But summer camp stories take on different depths depending upon the decade and the country where they’re set, and they can
What to Watch with your Roommates
It’s difficult to share your home with someone you don’t share anything else with. But one of the easiest inroads to friendship is television, and one of the joys of living with others is introducing them to the shows you love, and vice versa. Watching Carrie meet Big for the first time with my new-to-the-show
A Watercooler Watch: Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything
Before social media and podcasts, there was one undeniable truth about news-making interviews: if a story mattered, Barbara Walters would be the one to tell it. Landing a one-on-one with her didn’t just mean publicity, it meant you had become part of a national conversation. But while the interview signified that you had made it,
Universal Language
An absurdist dramedy about the clash of two worlds, Universal Language entertains as much as it motivates. Beyond the madness lies an urgent plea for unity, an appeal that resonates with people hoping for a better, more harmonious future.
Industry S1
Industry is a series fueled by greed, drugs, sex, and money, and provides all of these ingredients in Federal Reserve-sized quantities. There’s never a dull moment.
Minx
The streaming series about the intersection between feminism and smut could endear even the most skeptical. And what it might lack in delicacy, it certainly makes up for in swagger.
The Sympathizer
Told through the perspective of a conflicted hero with contradicting loyalties, The Sympathizer is an ambitious examination of a spy who can’t help but sympathize — hence, the title of the series — with the enemy. It might make you rethink everything you were taught about the Vietnam War too.
Tehran Season 1
A timely, nail-biting spy thriller that you won’t be able to stop watching, Tehran is as illuminating as it is gripping.
Mrs. America
Mrs. America is a good place to start exploring where our current political and cultural divisions started widening. Anyone who lived through these years can vouch that there was a lot at stake.
The Family Stone
An all-star classic that inflicts just enough discomfort to feel cathartic because of its familiarity. You’ll feel like a member of this functioning dysfunctional family.
Dash & Lily
If all the usual formulaic holiday movies are starting to blend into each other, this YA Christmas love story is refreshingly different.
My Octopus Teacher
A stunning, often magical and emotional documentary that inspires awe and empathy, My Octopus Teacher brings a personal narrative to a nature documentary and captures the brilliance of a familiar sea creature like nothing before it.
Why are We So Obsessed with the NXIVM Cult?
As you might have heard, this year has seen the premiere of not one but two premium cable series focused on the rise and fall of NXIVM, the cult (or self-help organization, or pyramid scheme, depending on your point of view) at the center of an ongoing criminal investigation and court battle. First there was
The Women Who Make The Queen’s Gambit Worth Watching
There’s a scene in the new Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit when a Life magazine reporter asks teenage chess prodigy Beth Harmon (played by Anya Taylor-Joy) why the game appeals to her so much. Are the King and Queen pieces stand-ins for the parents she lost? No, she says, it was the board. “It’s an
The Social Dilemma
This doc will make you think twice before picking up your phone to check Twitter for the hundredth time in a hour, and that’s a good thing.