Television

Burning Down the Patriarchy with Valerie Armstrong’s ‘Kevin Can F**k Himself’

Burning Down the Patriarchy with Valerie Armstrong’s ‘Kevin Can F**k Himself’

Kevin James’ “average Joe” working-class sitcom characters play to a type well supported by the American patriarchy. Valerie James’ revenge comedy Kevin Can F**k Himself attempts to bury that dated format.

‘Perry Mason’ Season 2 Has Us Asking: Is Justice Possible? 

‘Perry Mason’ Season 2 Has Us Asking: Is Justice Possible? 

In the solid second season of HBO’s hit reboot of the legendary 1930s franchise, Matthew Rhys’ Perry Mason gets his day in court but seldom finds justice.

Will ‘That ’90s Show’ Include These 25 Nostalgia-Inducing Songs?

Will ‘That ’90s Show’ Include These 25 Nostalgia-Inducing Songs?

That ’90s Show creator Gregg Mettler says he loves ’90s music. Will his comedy include these 25 songs that make us nostalgic for the 1990s?

Post-Apocalyptic ‘The Last of Us’ Begs the Question – Do We Ever Learn? 

Post-Apocalyptic ‘The Last of Us’ Begs the Question – Do We Ever Learn? 

The characters in Craig Mazin’s hit series, The Last of Us, are just like the rest of us – violent, tyrannical, and on the verge of being irredeemable. Yet we hope for them, still.

‘Fleishman Is in Trouble’ Nails Middle-Age Malaise in the Tinder Age

‘Fleishman Is in Trouble’ Nails Middle-Age Malaise in the Tinder Age

Middle age is inherently bleak in ‘Fleishman Is in Trouble’, and there’s no easy cure for the early-40s blues, but Tinder takes a swipe at it.

The Best TV Shows of 2022 (That You May Have Overlooked)

The Best TV Shows of 2022 (That You May Have Overlooked)

The White Lotus, House of the Dragon, and Stranger Things picked up the hype, but there are more best TV shows to tick off before the new year.

The Revulsion Should Not Be Televised: On ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities’

The Revulsion Should Not Be Televised: On ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities’

H.P. Lovecraft’s masterful method of telling a horror story eludes “Pickman’s Model” and “The Dreams in the Witch House” from Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.

‘Miss Sherlock’ Homages Sherlock Holmes with an Androgynous Twist

‘Miss Sherlock’ Homages Sherlock Holmes with an Androgynous Twist

The television show Miss Sherlock bends and twists the conventional Japanese character into something that fills the world of Sherlock Holmes.

Why Do Voters Want Women Candidates to Be Like Parks and Recreation’s Leslie Knope?

Why Do Voters Want Women Candidates to Be Like Parks and Recreation’s Leslie Knope?

Ten years after Parks and Recreation’s campaign-focused season 4, real-world female political candidates still liken themselves to Leslie Knope. Is that the kind of candidate 2022 needs?

‘The New Female Antihero’ (excerpt)

‘The New Female Antihero’ (excerpt)

The New Female Antihero explores how misogyny undermines television’s strong female antiheroes and how that, in turn, stunts our culture’s ability to embrace feminism.

PopMatters Seeks Television Critics and  Essayists

PopMatters Seeks Television Critics and Essayists

We are interested in articles about quality television shows. These TV series challenge prejudices and subvert assumptions, and are as artful in their depiction as the best cinema.

Why Tribalism Matters in Reality Show ‘Big Brother’

Why Tribalism Matters in Reality Show ‘Big Brother’

Reality television show Big Brother has a traceable racial bias, but its contestants and fans often mistake their tribalism for racism.

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