A review of—and behind-the-scenes details about—National Geographic Channel’s trippy new Darren Aronofsky-produced, Will Smith-hosted series.
American Idol’s premiere is familiar and icky, but new judges offer hope
ABC’s American Idol has a strong, protective, and playful judging panel, but has not lost its mean streak.
Citizen Rose is a vital portrait of Rose McGowan and her work
A review of E!’s Citizen Rose, a two-hour documentary about Rose McGowan’s activism, art, and pain.
Tabatha Coffey’s return on Relative Success with Tabatha is relatively successful
A review of Relative Success with Tabatha, Tabatha Coffey’s new Bravo show on which she helps struggling businesses, but it isn’t quite like her previous series—starting with the fact that she hugs someone.
Review: Undercover High, where adults go back to high school
Undercover High, which sends adults into high schools to find out what’s going on, has all the right pieces: an important social issue, public education, that needs more public discussion and attention, and a prime-time series is a great place to start; a polished production, with efficient storytelling and smooth editing; and charismatic young stars, both the 20-somethings who are pretending to be high school students and some of the actual high school students themselves.
A review of The Big Family Cooking Showdown, the BBC show on Netflix
If you need a television show to invite you inside from the cold, and wrap you in a warm blanket of food and family, The Big Family Cooking Showdown is here for you, and it’s brought The Great British Baking Show‘s best flavors with it. The cooking competition, which is on Netflix, aired earlier this fall… continue reading
Encore, Kristen Bell’s reunion of high school theater classmates, needs to be a full series immediately
High school classmates reuniting after 20 years to once again put on a production of Into the Woods in their high school auditorium, mentored by Kristen Bell and a team of Broadway talent: Why isn’t this already a full series? It was a special that aired last night on ABC called Encore, and turned out to… continue reading
Guy’s Big Project is Food Network’s most interesting new show in years
Guy’s Big Project, which stars Guy Fieri as he tests, mentors, and narrows a group of contestants who want their own food travel show like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, gets closer to being human than any show I’ve seen on Food Network in years.
Review: Bravo’s Stripped, which takes away participants’ things for 21 days
A review of Stripped, the Bravo reality show on which people give up all their possessions for 21 days, including their clothing.
Review: Floribama Shore is MTV garbage in an uglier package
The title of MTV’s newest series is not Floribama Shore. It is MTV Floribama Shore, that’s how tightly MTV is tying itself and its identity to the series, which follows seven people spending the summer in Panama City Beach. So if this show is MTV, what is MTV now? It’s a woman so intoxicated that she drops her… continue reading
Review: CNBC’s The Job Interview
A review of CNBC’s new half-hour reality series The Job Interview, which eavesdrops on real employers conducting real job interviews.
The Toy Box has improved in its second season
A review of season two of ABC’s The Toy Box, which has a new format, new judges, and less Noah.
A review of Scared Famous: VH1 reality stars scared silly
A review of VH1’s new reality competition Scared Famous, which has 10 VH1 reality stars competing against each other in a faux haunted house.
Review: Top Chef Junior is Top Chef with a side of condescension
When Top Chef Junior was announced, its youngest contestant was about two years old. He is now 11, because nine years have passed since Bravo said, in 2008, that it would spin off a teen version of its culinary competition. The show finally but quietly debuted last Friday, but not on Bravo. Instead, it’s on… continue reading
Review: American High School, an intimate look at real challenges
A review of American High School, a BBC Three documentary reality series that follows students at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School in South Carolina.