Influential 'SNL' Sketches, the Real 'Schitt's Creek,' Explaining Taylor Swift's Dominance, and More ...
Some of our greatest hits.
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We’ve gotten a lot of new subscribers lately, so in the old-timey TV tradition of reruns—or the modern streaming tradition of binge re-watches—we’re offering up some of our favorite (and most popular) pieces from our archive today:
The 10 Most Influential 'SNL' Sketches Ever
Saturday Night Live started out as a network sketch comedy show whose 11:35 pm timeslot reflected its scrappy, counter-culture sensibilities. Fifty years later, it is a juggernaut that defines American pop culture. From movies to television to the internet and even music (have you
The Magic of Finding Fictional Buildings
It started with the Friends apartment — a six-story, light tan building with the classic zigzag of New York City fire escapes, and a cherry-red restaurant down below. I was 10 at the time and stared, completely mesmerized, every time the camera cut briefly to the exterior, just before sweeping inside…
A Dispatch from the Real Schitt's Creek
The sign on the baby blue warehouse buried in a blanket of snow says it all. “SORRY! BOB’S GARAGE IS CLOSED!” Underneath is a laminated copy of a New York Times article titled, “‘Creek’ Brings Stream of Fans,” which chronicles how Schitt’s Creek beckoned people from across the globe to a pocket-sized hamlet called Goodwood, Ontario.
How Nearly 200 Years of Fandom History Culminated in Taylor Swift’s Total Dominance
If there’s a gene for fandom-generating ability, Taylor Swift has it.
Her story has become so well-worn, like pop cultural wallpaper, that it’s easy to forget how extraordinary it is. She became a country-pop phenomenon in her teens, seamlessly switched to pure pop only to get bigger, switched again to indie folk and gained an even wider swath of fans for it, and has now become an omnipresent force, pop culture itself.
Why Is Nicole Kidman Always on My TV Now?
On the TV series Ugly Betty, magazine empire matriarch Claire Meade dares to launch her own magazine for menopausal women, Hot Flash, after she gets out of prison for murdering her husband’s mistress. This is treated as a joke and a major corporate liability. “Oh my God, look at this!” Regis Philbin quips during an interview meant to promote the magazine. “‘Brittle and horny? Afraid your bones will crack in the sack?’ Been there, done that!”
TV Critic Emily Nussbaum on the Messy, Enthralling History of Reality TV
We develop profound relationships with the critics we admire. We anticipate their likes and their dislikes, we enjoy seeing our preferences mirrored in their own, and sometimes we like being prodded toward something new that we might not have discovered on our own.
The New Pop Star Goddesses
Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift recently set their fans aflutter with a duet mashup of their songs “Espresso” and “Is It Over Now?” onstage during Swift’s Eras tour. Besides their shocking height difference, what was remarkable about this appearance was the sense that Swift was anointing Carpenter, who’s about a decade her junior, as part of the next generation of powerful Pop Star Goddesses. Where once
How Fictional New York City Captured September 11th
Exactly one month after hijacked planes hit the twin towers, killing almost 3,000 people, a hastily revised episode of Friends aired on NBC.
'Sex and the City' and Carrie’s Curls
If you’re like me, you’ve watched Sex and the City countless times. Not just one-off episodes, but also the entire series. When SATC became available on Netflix this past spring, I told myself I’d resist this time around, since I had just done a late season rewatch last year.
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