“‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Season 3 Lends Thoughtful New Depth To The Hilarious Vampire Series”

I’ll probably be writing about this show forever, which feels appropriate because, y’know, vampires. Continue reading →

“‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Returns In Delightfully Funny Season 2”

Back on FX and staking its claim as pretty much the best horror show you’ll find on television. Continue reading →

“Power And Privilege Continue To Anchor Donald Glover’s One-Of-A-Kind ‘Atlanta'”

Atlanta is back on FX. I probably don’t need to say anything more than that. I shouldn’t, really. But hey, it’s back, and it’s still great, and it’s still painfully relevant, and I know that it’s probably weird for a white guy to talk about how rarely we talk about mental health in relation to black … Continue reading →

Feud, Nostalgia, and the Impossibility of Perfect Imitation

If you’ve been watching FX’s Feud, as I have, you’ve either been seduced and dazzled by its depiction of its period in both America and in Hollywood, as well as the central performances given by Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange; or you’ve been put off by the cheapness of Ryan Murphy’s recreation of the era and its … Continue reading →

TV Review: Taboo, Episode 1.08

I’m officially free of my Taboo-reviewing duties, at least until the next series (because there are two more, apparently, which is as much a surprise to me as it might be to you all) goes to air in 2018, presumably. If I’m being honest, I’m going to miss writing about this thing; I wouldn’t say I … Continue reading →

TV Review: Taboo, Episode 1.07

I think I finally figured out how Taboo could have been a better show to start with, and it involves introducing Lucian Msamati’s Sons of Africa lawyer way, way earlier in the narrative than “Episode 5.” George Chichester has a clear cause that could have given the story backbone; by contrast, James Delaney’s cause is muddled, which … Continue reading →

TV Review: Taboo, Episode 1.06

…man, I don’t even know with this Taboo show anymore, guys! I’m riding a fucking roller coaster here! The frosted side of me is in love with its unapologetic, bizarre narrative course as well as its aesthetic, which borrows as much from Game of Thrones and Deadwood as it does Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland. … Continue reading →

TV Review: Taboo, Episode 1.05

This week on Taboo: Andy can’t take it anymore, so he dives deep on the show’s lack of focus on its non-Tom Hardy people, especially its non-Tom Hardy people who are ladies. Maybe it’s Oona Chaplin’s lot in life to be cast as women caught under the heels of patriarchal violence, domination, and abuse; I don’t … Continue reading →

TV Review: Taboo, Episode 1.04

I’m a big fan of weirdness and debauchery in my visual media, and when you mash them together, all the better. So it’s fair to say that Taboo is slowly but surely becoming more and more my jam as it leans more into its weirdness and its flagrant aristocratic indulgences. To wit: This week’s episode, where … Continue reading →

TV Review: Taboo, Episode 1.03

Alright! A quality episode of Taboo! After the stumbles taken in “Episode 2,” it’s nice to see the show get its footing back by actually telling a story instead of just checking off plot points. Plus, people who are not Tom Hardy are now getting more opportunity to strut their stuff, though Hardy is still the … Continue reading →

TV Review: Taboo, Episode 1.02

Annnnnnd just like that, after Taboo‘s pilot episode, we see a steep drop-off in its palability. I wouldn’t call it “bad,” per se, but boy, it is way overstuffed; each time I thought I’d finished summing up the events of the second episode (titled, rather simply, “Episode 2”), I realized that I’d left something out. Plot, … Continue reading →

TV Review: Taboo, Episode 1.01

Since Brooklyn Nine-Nine is taking a break until April (April!), I’m satisfying my weekly TV recap cravings by reviewing Taboo, that wacky-ass Tom Hardy show on FX. It’s not bad! It’s also not great. The pilot starts off strong, and as you’ll see in recaps since, it stumbles a bit from being overburdened by plot; maybe if … Continue reading →

Paste’s 29 Most Anticipated New TV Shows Of 2017

A couple years back, I wrote a review of Justin Simien’s awesome feature debut, Dear White People, and assholes on the Internet decided that the best response to a film so named was to drop a bunch of racist-as-fuck comments in the comments section, without really reading the review (or seeing the movie, obviously). My editor … Continue reading →

TV Review: The Bastard Executioner, 1.10, “Blood and Quiescence/Crau a Chwsg”

“If The Bastard Executioner’s cardinal season can be summed up with a single word, that word is “rushed.” From the show’s premiere to its finale, “Blood and Quiescence/Crau a Chwsg,” every narrative thread, every plot point, every character arc has felt unjustly compressed, like so many square pegs being stuffed into round holes. This, in … Continue reading →

TV Review: The Bastard Executioner, 1.08, “Broken Things/Pethau Toredig”

“And for one episode, the cast of The Bastard Executioner set aside their petty squabbles, personal vendettas and unresolved beefs to unite for a greater purpose: hunting a rogue Frenchman. Corbett might be a murdering son of a bitch, and Wilkin might feel the utmost loathing for him, but when the newly-exiled Piers Gaveston goes … Continue reading →

TV Review: The Bastard Executioner, 1.07, “Behold the Lamb/Gweled yr Oen”

“Religion has played at least a subtle role in The Bastard Executioner from the beginning, but “Behold the Lamb/Gweled yr Oen” puts the misdeeds of the church at its forefront. Maybe that can’t be helped: the return of that dastardly archdeacon naturally courts episode-shaping discussions of God and belief, which begin immediately as Toran struggles … Continue reading →

TV Review: The Bastard Executioner, 1.04, “A Hunger/Newyn”

“After a two-part pilot and a pair of standalone episodes, The Bastard Executioner has become a show that’s fully worth watching. We’re too far past the point at which Kurt Sutter’s Welsh medieval torture baby could ever be called “perfect,” but where he’s contented himself playing solo rounds of speedball since the series’ premiere, he … Continue reading →

TV Review: The Bastard Executioner, 1.03, “Effigy/Delw”

“Effigies and snakes; that’s all The Bastard Executioner deigns to give us this week, all instances of rhinectomy aside. Annora’s growing collection of artisanal hanging serpents are probably the least important detail in “Effigy/Delw” (pronounced “del-oo”), but the sight of them suspended in air, gently lit by the blaze of her torch, does give the … Continue reading →

TV Review: The Bastard Executioner, 1.01, “Pilot”

“The clash of steel you hear in the two-part pilot for The Bastard Executioner, erstwhile Sons of Anarchy showrunner Kurt Sutter’s new FX passion project, isn’t just the sound of men crossing swords: It’s the sound of Sutter throwing down a gore-stained gauntlet somewhere in the vicinity of George R.R. Martin’s boots. A review of … Continue reading →

TV Review: The Comedians, 1.10, “Misdirection”

  “Since premiering in April, The Comedians has leaned on the generational gap separating its two stars for drama and mostly left their differences explicitly unspoken. A few episodes, like “Billy’s Birthday,” address the divide while remaining non-specific; it’s an age disparity rather than a personal one, seen in a brief moment where Billy crashes … Continue reading →