What to watch and why
Recommendations from THR’s chief TV critic
‘Based on a True Story’ Review: Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina Lift a Show Low on…
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TV
‘TV’s Top 5’: Maureen Ryan on the Depths of ‘Burn It Down’ (Beyond ‘Lost’); Plus Finale-Mania
Rolling Stone’s Alan Sepinwall also joins this week’s podcast to break down the endings of ‘Ted Lasso,’ ‘Succession,’ ‘Barry’ and ‘Yellowjackets.’
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TV
‘The American Gladiators Documentary’ Review: ESPN Doc Is Entertaining but Evasive
Ben Berman examines the teased hair, tight spandex and ultra-competitive phenomenon that was 'American Gladiators' in a two-part documentary airing under ESPN's '30 for 30' banner.
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TV
Critic’s Notebook: The ‘Succession’ Series Finale Was a Brilliant Family Nightmare
Jesse Armstrong and Mark Mylod explored what made the Roy family so relatably unrelatable in the vicious, funny and haunting ultimate episode of the sublime HBO show.
‘Silo’ Review: Rebecca Ferguson in Apple TV+’s Intermittently Gripping Sci-Fi Series
Graham Yost's adaptation of Hugh Howey's books features Ferguson as a mechanic looking for answers about her dystopian society, with David Oyelowo, Rashida Jones, Tim Robbins and Common in supporting roles.
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‘A Small Light’ Review: Bel Powley Shines in NatGeo’s Sensitive Take on the Anne Frank Story
The actress plays Miep Gies, who helped hide the Franks and other families, in this eight-part limited series co-starring Liev Schreiber and Amira Casar.
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‘White House Plumbers’ Review: Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux in HBO’s Exhaustingly Hijinks-Heavy Watergate Comedy
Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck's five-part series argues that the people in charge of the Watergate break-in were, perhaps, slightly buffoonish.
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From Jeff Shell to Tucker Carlson: The Week in Entertainment Layoffs
Welcome to the 211th episode of TV’s Top 5, The Hollywood Reporter’s TV podcast. Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as […]
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‘Citadel’ Review: Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden in the Russo Brothers’ Big, Basic Amazon Spy Series
The stars play members of a secretive and endangered spy organization in the long-in-development thriller.
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‘Fatal Attraction’ Review: Joshua Jackson and Lizzy Caplan in a Paramount+ Remake That’s Not Worth Obsessing Over
The actors step into Michael Douglas and Glenn Close's shoes in this eight-part remake of Adrian Lyne's 1987 blockbuster.
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How ‘The Diplomat’ (and Keri Russell) Make Foreign Service Thrilling
Welcome to the 210th episode of TV’s Top 5, The Hollywood Reporter’s TV podcast. Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as […]
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‘Dear Mama’ Review: Allen Hughes’ Docuseries Grapples Admirably With the Complexities of Tupac and Afeni Shakur
The 'Menace II Society' director parallels the lives of mother and son in a five-part FX documentary.
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‘Dead Ringers’ Review: Rachel Weisz Delivers a Stunning One-Two Punch in Amazon’s Unsettling Drama Series
Identical twin doctors explore childbirth and fertility innovations in Alice Birch's six-part adaptation of David Cronenberg's 1988 film.
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‘The Diplomat’ Review: Keri Russell Toplines Netflix’s Smart and Diverting Political Drama
The eight-episode series from creator Debora Cahn centers on the newly installed American ambassador to Great Britain.
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‘TV’s Top 5’: Debating Max’s ‘Harry Potter’ TV Show
Welcome to the 209th episode of TV’s Top 5, The Hollywood Reporter’s TV podcast. Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as […]
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‘Personality Crisis: One Night Only’ Review: Martin Scorsese Shines a Light on Chameleonic Musician David Johansen
Scorsese and co-director David Tedeschi's Showtime documentary looks at the music and life of the New York Dolls frontman and Buster Poindexter alter ego.
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‘Am I Being Unreasonable?’ Review: Daisy May Cooper’s Hulu Mystery-Comedy Intrigues and Frustrates in Equal Measure
The 'Rain Dogs' lead and Selin Hizli are the creators and stars of this show about a pair of mothers with some very dark secrets.
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Critic’s Notebook: In Dealing With Death, ‘Succession’ Hits a Dazzling Peak of Inevitability and Shock
'Connor's Wedding,' the third episode of the fourth and final 'Succession' season, saw creator Jesse Armstrong and director Mark Mylod deliver — in absolutely stunning fashion — on something promised since the pilot.
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‘Jury Duty’ Review: Even James Marsden Playing James Marsden Can’t Give This Prank Comedy Much Purpose
Riding the trend of shows like 'The Rehearsal,' the Freevee series drops one ordinary, unsuspecting civilian at the center of a fake courtroom process peopled entirely by actors.
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‘Transatlantic’ Review: Netflix’s Glossy but Superficial Account of a World War II Rescue Network
'Unorthodox' co-creator Anna Winger's new limited series looks at Varian Fry and Mary Jayne Gold's heroic work shepherding European artists and thinkers to safety during the Holocaust.
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