DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
2016
Nov
8
 
 
On Morning Joe this morning on MSNBC, the hosts and pundits agreed about the places on which to focus tonight – not the cable or broadcast networks, but the states, Florida and North Carolina. If one or both goes for Hillary Clinton, especially Florida, the night’s an early one. If they both go for Donald Trump, then it’s going to be a long night. We no longer have NBC’s Tim Russert and his “Florida! Florida! Florida!” mini-whiteboard – but in 2016, the
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Nov
8
 
 
One reason to check in on Fox News tonight is to watch the network news figure who, in this 2016 election, has been drawn into the fray, and the headlines, more than any other: Megyn Kelly.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Nov
8
 
 
I don’t know if it’s possible to fully separate the political from the equation, at least when it comes to coverage of presidential politics. Were I to look at all the cable news networks and sources, for example, and declare Fox News the best overall presenter of results and opinions, I might be branded as a conservative. Conversely, if I recommended MSNBC, I’d be more likely to be pegged as a liberal. I usually deflect such questions with the honest answer that my favorite so
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Nov
8
 
 
When Jon Stewart was at the helm of The Daily Show, a live edition of this show would have been an unmissable highlight. This year, because of Noah’s unexpectedly tepid run to date as Stewart’s successor, this seems more like a third-party candidate viewing choice. I’ll be watching, or at least recording, to see how he and his team does on this most important of political-satire nights – but if he doesn’t do something really memorable, he’s not likely to be me
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Nov
8
 
 
Stephen Colbert’s live show, on the other hand – competing directly against his old Daily Show haunt – absolutely is Must-See TV. It’s not only televised live, as was Colbert’s Late Show on CBS last night (and will be, again, tomorrow night) – but it’s unedited, and Colbert, in Showtime promos, has made it clear he intends to be much freer with his language, if not his comedy, than his broadcast network employers can allow. Hence, for starters, this spec
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Nov
8
 
 
Anyone who thinks a minor event like voting is going to shut down the television news industry’s coverage of the 2016 presidential election probably also thinks The Walking Dead is a spinoff from the Grateful Dead...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Nov
7
 
 
Even by the standards of police dramas, which for obvious reasons like to focus on repulsive crimes, the new import Deep Water touches on something especially abhorrent: the systematic murder of gay men for sport...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Nov
7
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: Yael Stone, who plays the outrageous and romantically unlucky Lorna on Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black, stars here in a role that takes her out of her orange jumpsuit and places her on the other side of the thin blue line. In this new TV import set in Sydney, she plays police detective Tori Lustigman, whose latest investigation into a brutal murder leads to a string of killings targeting gay men over decades. Episodes are streamed on the Acorn TV website beginning today.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Nov
7
 
 
Because of Election Night tomorrow, this week’s “election” on The Voice takes place tonight only, with all 20 remaining contestants performing live, and hoping to move on, thanks to viewer vote, to the Top 12. So far, this has been a year with a strong array of impressive talent, and some of them are bound to shine, as well as falter, in the glare of the live TV spotlight. But also, so far, the two new judges, Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys, have grabbed and used the spotlight shr
 
 
 
  
 
 
2016
Nov
7
 
 
Can you be sick of this year’s presidential campaign yet still have an appetite for political satire of the same contentious battle? NBC and Saturday Night Live are betting the answer is yes – and tonight are presenting a prime-time Election Eve special, showcasing the fine work, this season, of Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump, Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton, and Larry David as Bernie Sanders. For a full review, see Alex Strachan's TV That Matters -- and boy, is it nice to be bac