I keep a semi-regular newsletter about television and the other art forms (film, the novel) it has allegedly killed. It’s called City Chicken, and you can subscribe here.
Selected Criticism
“Close Magic: Derek DelGaudio’s Illusions of Other People” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 4.1.21.
“Dance Yourself Clean: Lovers Rock x The Crown” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 12.29.20.
“On Not Seeing Tenet” / Slate / 8.31.20.
“L.A. Hallucinations: The Spiritualism of Better Things“ / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 8.26.20.
“Frog & Toad & Me” / Slate / 7.3.20.
“Process Stories, or Who Loves the Sixers?” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 4.13.20.
“Dear Television vs. the Psychometric Personality Quiz” / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 4.7.20.
“The Year in Yelling: Catastrophe / Marriage Story / Moonstruck“ / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 12.31.19.
“The Good Internet is History” / The Week / 11.6.19
“Why I’m a Dernie Bro” / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 6.25.19.
“Themes Are For Book Reports: On Game of Thrones“ / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 5.13.19.
“Deep Dad: The End of The Americans“ / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 6.1.18.
“Let’s All Binge-Watch Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” / Slate / 5.23.17.
“Bottle-Fed: The Girls Finale” / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 4.24.17.
“Gotta Hear Both Sides: On The Handmaid’s Tale“ / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 5.12.17.
“Westworld is Getting Old” / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 12.5.16
“Who’s Afraid of Serial TV?” / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 9.15.16.
“400 Blowies: Girls‘ Coming of Age, Finally” / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 4.22.16.
“Are We Not Kardashians? On The People v. OJ Simpson“ / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 2.3.16.
“Post-Cringe: The Leftovers and the Rise of Endurance TV” / The New Republic / 10.14.15.
“Original Programming: On Mr. Robot“ / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 9.8.15.
“Gods and Bachelors: On Lifetime’s UnREAL“ / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 7.15.15.
“The Waste Land” / Dear Television on Mad Men: The Finale / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 5.18.15.
“Age of Olson” / Dear Television on Mad Men / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 5.4.15.
“Not Safe For Work: Mad Men‘s Art of Cursing” / Dear Television on Mad Men / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 4.27.15.
“Space Station Getzinger” / Dear Television on Mad Men / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 4.20.15.
“Deep Cuts: Rachel in Furs” / Dear Television on Mad Men / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 4.7.15.
“Parenthood’s End: On Television’s Children” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 2.10.15
“Dear TV on Broad City” / The Slice / January – March 2015
“Is Beyonce the Future of Digital Cinema?” / Slate / 11.24.14.
“Necro-streaming: Notes on Watching a Dead Show” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 11.17.14.
“Open Concept: Why Do So Many People Watch HGTV?” / Pacific Standard / 9.29.14.
“The Fall and Rise of Joan Rivers” / Slate / 9.4.14.
“Get Lost: Why You Should Be Watching The Leftovers“ / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 8.8.14.
“The Big Chill and the Quarter-Life Crisis Film” / Slate / 7.29.14.
“She’s an Astronaut: On Mad Men 7.7″ / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 5.27.14.
“Saturday Night Lost: On Maya Rudolph and SNL Nostalgia” / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 5.22.14.
“Only Mothers Left Alive: On Mad Men 7.5″ / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 5.15.14.
“Plane in Vain: On Mad Men 7.1″ / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 4.15.14.
“Life After TV Death” / The Daily Beast / 4.14.14.
“Arya Stark, FTW: On Game of Thrones“ / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 4.7.14.
“Drinking and Dancing the Night Away: On Letterman’s Retirement” / Slate / 4.3.14.
“Theses on the Dance Moves of Ilana Glazer: On Broad City“ / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 4.2.14.
“Darkness, Yeah: On True Detective” / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 3.16.14.
“Where I’m Calling From: Philip Seymour Hoffman, 1967-2014” / Avidly / 2.3.14.
“Sketchy Comedy: On Broad City” / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 1.27.14.
“Heavenly Creatures: On True Detective“ / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 1.23.14.
“Disenchantment Artists: On the Anatomy of an Actor” / Slate / 1.8.14.
“No Future: The Sing-Off and the Art of A Cappella” / with Jane Hu / The Hairpin / 12.16.13.
“3 Ways of Looking at Arcade Fire” / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 12.4.13.
“Trust Fumes: On Staying with Homeland“ / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 11.20.13.
“The Fastest Show on TV: On The Good Wife“ / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 11.4.13.
“Greetings from Hellmouth, U.S.A.” / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 10.22.13.
“The Good Bros of Fox” / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 10.16.13.
“Streaming Pam Beesly” / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 10.9.13.
“Exposing Yourself on Television: Masters of Sex“ / Dear Television / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 9.30.13.
“Monica Potter’s Field: On the Emmys” / Press Play @ Indiewire / 9.17.13.
“Kill The Leading Man: Two Histories of 21st Century Television” / The Los Angeles Review of Books (Syndicated at Salon) / 8.14.13.
“On The Art of Rabble-Rousing: On Reza Aslan’s Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth“ / The Los Angeles Review of Books (syndicated at Bookforum)/ 8.11.13.
“Your Urine-Soaked Life” / Dear Television on Girls, Season 3 / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 1.16.14.
Dear Television on AMC’s Mad Men / Season 6
“What Sally Sees” / The New Republic / 6.24.13.
“Draper / Nixon” / The New Republic / 6.10.13.
“Status Quo Ante Bellum” / The New Republic / 5.27.13.
“The Great Man Theory” / The New Republic / 5.6.13.
“Just a Couple of Young Secretaries” / The New Republic / 4.22.12.
“Matthew Weiner’s Death Obsession” / The New Republic / 4.8.13.
Dear Television on HBO’s Girls / Season 2
“Girls Is Not fun.” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 3.20.13.
“Shit Together, or The Coming of Natalia” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 3.12.13.
“Scatology/Eschatology” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 2.26.13
“Grace Notes” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 2.11.13.
“You Probably Think This Show Is About You” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 1.30.13.
“Black Men, Republicans, et al.” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 1.22.13.
“You Wanted This, and Now You’re Getting It” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 1.14.13.
Dear Television on FOX’s New Girl and The Mindy Project
“How to Crush It” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 10.12.12.
“Groove Is In The Heart” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 9.26.12.
Selected Earlier Criticism
“Slapstick Sexposition: Girls vs. the Body Politics of HBO” / In Media Res / 1.9.13.
“The Passion of the Critic: J. Hoberman, Siegfried Kracauer, and the Future of Film” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 11.7.12.
“Serial Killer: On American Horror Story & Anthology Series” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 10.15.12.
Syndicated at Salon
The New Normal (review) / Slant Magazine / 9.10.12.
“Old Media: On Aaron Sorkin” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 7.8.12.
“Everything Happened: On AMC’s Mad Men” / The Los Angeles Review of Books / 3.25.12.
Luck (review) / Slant Magazine / 1.27.12.
“On Ted Danson’s White Period” / Salon / 9.21.11.
“The Nina Garcia Project” / The House Next Door / 8.31.11.
Phillip Maciak 