Critic’s Notebook
Critic’s Notebook: Capitalism and TV Today, a Love/Hate Story
In an ironic twist, some of the biggest perpetrators of corporate ruthlessness in the entertainment industry are currently producing several of the most honest portraits of our bleak economic moment.
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Critic’s Notebook: Hopelessly Devoted to Olivia Newton-John
If you were raised in a house tuned to AM radio in the 1970s and early ‘80s, chances are that the crystalline vocals of Olivia Newton-John, who died Monday at age 73 at her Southern California ranch, were a big part of your childhood soundtrack. This was especially true if you grew up in Australia, […]
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Critic’s Notebook: Is Late Night on the Verge of a Diversity Downgrade?
With 'Desus & Mero' and Samantha Bee canceled — and James Corden’s slot up for grabs — late night is at a crucial representational crossroads, THR's chief TV critic writes.
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Critic’s Notebook: Is Summer TV’s Island Fever the Cure for What Ails Us?
Tapping into our collective need for a vacation, HBO's 'The White Lotus,' Hulu's 'Nine Perfect Strangers' and Fox's 'Fantasy Island' offer varying levels of pandemic-era comfort and escape
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Critic’s Notebook: ‘I May Destroy You’ Finale Boldly Tackles the Challenge of Concluding a Rape Narrative
In the final episode of her boundary-pushing HBO series, creator-star Michaela Coel grappled with the difficulty of finding closure after trauma — and of ending a story about sexual assault.
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Critic’s Notebook: Apple, Disney and the Overwhelming Era of “Plus TV”
Apple TV+ and Disney+ have further flooded viewers with options, upping the ante in the seemingly endless streaming wars — but are the actual offerings worth all the fuss?
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Critic’s Notebook: Why Robert Evans Was Hollywood’s “Last Tycoon”
No matter how many scandals, divorces, drug charges, flop films and assorted other reversals the veteran studio executive and producer experienced — and survived — over his seven decades in Hollywood, Robert Evans always managed to stay in the picture.
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Critic’s Notebook: Biden Survives the Pile-On in Second Democratic Debate
The former vice president withstands a barrage of attacks from his fellow candidates, and this time manages to keep his head above water.
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Critic’s Notebook: In ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,’ Tarantino Creates an Indelible Time Capsule
Quentin Tarantino's 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' brings the viewer inside a crucial transitional moment that altered Hollywood — both the town and the industry — for good.
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Critic’s Notebook: 10 Emmy Nomination Wishes
Nominations for the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced Tuesday morning. From 'Ramy' to 'The Good Place' to 'The Haunting of Hill House,' The Hollywood Reporter's TV critic offers 10 nominations he's rooting for ahead of the announcement.
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Critic’s Notebook: John Singleton Changed How Black America Looked at Itself
John Singleton’s 'Boyz N the Hood' was a cinematic gamechanger, revealing the horror, beauty and humanity of L.A.’s South Central to an unsuspecting America.
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Critic’s Notebook: Stanley Donen Brought Flair and Freshness to a Fading Old Hollywood
The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy pens a critic's notebook over the passing of director Stanley Donen.
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