David Bianculli
David Bianculli is a guest host and TV critic on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. A contributor to the show since its inception, he has been a TV critic since 1975.
From 1993 to 2007, Bianculli was a TV critic for the New York Daily News.
Bianculli has written four books: The Platinum Age Of Television: From I Love Lucy to The Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific (2016); Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, 2009); Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously (1992); and Dictionary of Teleliteracy (1996).
A professor of TV and film at Rowan University, Bianculli is also the founder and editor of the website, TVWorthWatching.com.
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Lyonne plays a cocktail waitress with an odd psychic power: She can sense when people aren't telling the truth, which makes her a great (accidental) detective in this delightful new Peacock series.
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There was a lot of great television this year, but the winning moment came from HBO's special, The Howard Stern Interview: Bruce Springsteen, an extended two-plus hour conversation between two icons.
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The look and tone are perfect — and the characters, settings and subplots are just what you hoped they'd be — in this new Netflix series starring former Disney Channel star Jenna Ortega.
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There was a time when stars like Kevin Costner and Sylvester Stallone wouldn't stoop to appear on TV. But the landscape has changed, and now it's where they're finding some of their career-best roles.
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Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is the most entertaining musical biography satire since Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Don't expect much truth in the telling here — but do expect some over-the-top fun.
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The special effects are a lot more special than the stories in the Oscar-winning director's new Netflix anthology series. Still, most of the shows in this first, eight-episode run are worth watching.
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Now in its fourth season, this anthology series claims the middle ground between a short SNL sketch and a full-length film. Its clever parodies include My Monkey Grifter, a riff on My Octopus Teacher.
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The new four-hour Paramount+ documentary is told mostly through cellphone videos and police body cams. It is surprisingly not gruesome — the visuals are selected and edited very judiciously. -
Hulu's new comedy series is about the rebirth of an old comedy series — one that never existed. Reboot is the funniest sitcom about making a sitcom since the Showtime series Episodes.
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Burns' new six-hour series brings World War II history to life — and reminds us that our life, right now, is indeed history in the making.
