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Jen Chaney

TV Critic
@chaneyj
jen.chaney@nymag.com

Vulture and New York TV critic Jen Chaney previously worked for the Washington Post and has bylines at the New York Times and Vanity Fair. She also wrote As If: The Complete Oral History of Clueless.

  1. close read
    The Winds Have Shifted for Jimmy and Kim on Better Call SaulVisual cues and callbacks illuminate the dark implications of that shocking ending.
  2. chat room
    What Conversation With Friends’ Final Scene Means to Alison Oliver“I know people have such conflicted feelings.”
  3. movie review
    Downton Abbey: A New Era Is Really the Same Old Downton AbbeyFor better and worse, the Crawleys are at it again.
  4. tv review
    Conversations With Friends Thrives on What Goes UnsaidStrongly reminiscent of Hulu’s previous adaptation of a Sally Rooney Novel, the series puts sexual frankness at its center.
  5. tv review
    Hacks Seems a Bit LostThe Emmy-winning series hits the road in season two and needs some time to find its old rhythms.
  6. tv review
    The Staircase Defies ExpectationsA seminal true-crime story takes on new dimension in a scripted series that proves there’s still more to say about Michael and Kathleen Peterson.
  7. spoilers
    Ozark’s Finale Gave Us Shock Without SubstanceThe Netflix thriller’s final moments are emblematic of what often made the show more frustrating than fulfilling.
  8. tv review
    The 2022 White House Correspondents’ Dinner Was a Respectable-Enough RebootIt wasn’t Twin Peaks: The Return, but it also wasn’t, like, Heroes Reborn either.
  9. finales
    Pamela Adlon Looks on the Bright Side of Better Things’ EndThe creator-star on why she ended her show with a direct-to-camera Monty Python song and how it feels to end such a deeply autobiographical series.
  10. tv review
    We Own This City Dissolves the Line Between Cop and CriminalDavid Simon returns to the world of Baltimore police in a limited series that is not a sequel to The Wire, but is not not a sequel to The Wire.
  11. scene report
    Jon Stewart Gets Roasted, Lovingly, While Receiving the Mark Twain PrizeSteve Carell, Dave Chappelle, Pete Davidson, and more paid tribute to the former Daily Show host at the Kennedy Center.
  12. let’s do it again
    A Discussion of Blade Runner 2049 in 2022What a five-year-old movie can tell us about the future of franchises and whether movies are moving backward.
  13. tv review
    Barry Is Killer in Season ThreeAfter an extended hiatus, the HBO dramedy about Bill Hader’s hitman-actor is back and better than it’s ever been.
  14. citizen saul
    A Deep Dive Into Better Call Saul’s Colorful Cold OpenCo-creator and writer Peter Gould and director Michael Morris break down the Easter egg–packed scene that kicks off the final season in style.
  15. delayed gratification
    Severance Earned Its Cliffhanger EndingIt’s understandable to feel resentful of the abrupt denial of closure. It’s also the point.
  16. chat room
    Justin Bartha Welcomes All Interpretations of Atlanta’s Reparations Episode“I tried to connect to every little notch on the journey, the tick, tick, tick of the time bomb of him having no choice but to face reality.”
  17. q&a
    Patricia Arquette’s Work-Life Balance Is Out of Control TooThe Severance actor breaks down Cobel’s penchant for taking work home and why the Macrodata Refinement supervisor is obsessed with saving Lumon.
  18. close read
    This Week’s Atlanta Insists That Attention Must Be Paid“The Big Payback” makes a case for reparations and a case for how much small details can matter.
  19. tv review
    The Girl From Plainville Can Only Say So MuchDespite a strong Elle Fanning performance, this dramatization of the teen texting-suicide case can’t uncover the why of Michelle Carter.
  20. oscars 2022
    The Oscars Telecast Was a Disaster Without the SlapBy trying to be everything to everybody, the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony turned into a disjointed mess.
  21. emergency discussion
    Is Bridgerton Still Sexy in Season Two?Depends on how you feel about yearning.
  22. tv review
    Bridgerton Takes It Slow in Season TwoHeavy with sexual tension but light on actual sex, the new season isn’t quite a Whistledowner, but it’s not a ton of fun, either.
  23. chat room
    Adam Scott Prefers Baby Goats to Lil’ SebastianThe Severance lead on his love of The Twilight Zone, the mysteries of Lumon, and the generosity of Bono.
  24. q&a
    Looking for a Silver Lining With Better Things’ Pamela Adlon“Through Sam’s eyes, we’re seeing how this ugliness lives in the world. If you can laugh at it, it makes it less awful.”
  25. emergency discussion
    Does Winning Time Really Need to Look Like That?A constant-motion visual offense makes sense for this story, but whether it elevates or undermines the viewing experience is up for debate.
  26. tv review
    Winning Time Certainly Puts on a ShowThe HBO series about the Los Angeles Lakers during the Magic Johnson era is flashy as hell, and purposefully so.
  27. tv review
    Better Things Is One of TV’s Best ThingsThe fifth and final season of Pamela Adlon’s treasure of a series shimmers with humanity down to its very last moments.
  28. let’s talk about it
    In the Euphoria Finale, Real Life and Our Life CollideLexi’s play is key to everything.
  29. chat room
    Euphoria’s Alanna Ubach Modeled Suze After Her Best Friend’s Mom“She was the one you went to when you got pregnant. She was the one you went to when you were kicked out of school.”
  30. tv review
    Super Pumped Is Super ExhaustingThe anthology series’s Uber-focused first season mirrors the overconfident posture of its tech-iconoclast protagonist, for better and worse.
  31. chat room
    Euphoria’s Martha Kelly on the Terror of Playing Unlikable“Part of me was like, I hope there’s a way I don’t have to go full monster.”
  32. close reads
    Euphoria Found Its Focus, and It Was GoodIt was also excruciating, but that’s the point.
  33. vulture investigates
    How Much Time Has Passed on Ozark?It’s either less than you think or more.
  34. close reads
    The Fundamental Flaw in And Just Like That …Sex and the City made life over 30 look fun. And Just Like That … makes life over 50 seem confusing and sad.
  35. winter olympics 2022
    The Opening Ceremonies Glowed With a Political ChargeNBC’s live broadcast captured the divisiveness undergirding the unity at this unique Winter Games.
  36. emergency discussion
    What’s Going on With The Book of Boba Fett?And why should we care?
  37. tv review
    Janet Jackson. Can Reveal Only So Much About Janet JacksonThe Lifetime docuseries is a testament to both Jackson’s tenacity and the limits of showing us who she really is.
  38. tv review
    We Need to Talk About Cosby Wrestles With a Fractured LegacyW. Kamau Bell has made a thought-provoking docuseries that reckons with the two Bill Cosbys — up to a point.
  39. wine and crime
    A Run-on Review of The Woman in the House Across the Street …TL;DR: Maybe just rewatch Dead to Me.
  40. remembrances
    Meat Loaf Had the Audacity to Always Go BigNothing the late singer and actor did as an artist was ever subtle.
  41. sitcoms
    It’s the Perfect Time for Abbott ElementaryTeachers need to feel seen right now, and this very funny workplace comedy has its eyes wide open.
  42. endings
    The Yellowjackets Finale Gave Us All It Needed to GiveNot all mystery-box shows are built to sustain the speculation and scrutiny they invite, but this one has laid a strong foundation.
  43. meat deets
    The Yellowjackets Creators Clarify Season One’s Many MysteriesAshley Lyle and Bart Nickerson on Jackie’s journals, Taissa’s eyes, and whether [redacted] is really dead.
  44. reboots
    The Wonder Years Is Exactly What a Good Reboot Should BeThis week’s “Brad Mitzvah” episode is a great example of how a show can honor its predecessor while charting its own course.
  45. tv review
    Cheer Season Two Puts the ‘Real’ in Sports RealityIn confronting its own success, the breakout Netflix docuseries goes to some darker, heavier places in its extended sophomore season.
  46. remembrances
    The Filth and Kindness of Bob SagetHe was America’s Dad and a dirty comic, and his gift was that he could be both.
  47. tv review
    Euphoria Season Two Is a Whole VibeThe HBO series about teens, drugs, sex, and interpersonal drama returns, ready to do the most.
  48. interview
    Inside Station Eleven’s Fever-Dream-Induced Meeting of the KirstensMackenzie Davis and Matilda Lawler on shaping their character and portraying a pandemic while living through one.
  49. movie review
    The Tender Bar Is Too Modest to Make an ImpressionThe best part of George Clooney’s overly familiar coming-of-age story is Ben Affleck’s performance.
  50. chat room
    Succession’s Parking-Lot Scene Was a ‘Top-10 Worst Day’ on Set for Sarah Snook“I’m in high heels, and it’s a 45-degree incline. There’s rocks and stones. It’s a tight dress, and my makeup is melting off. And now it’s windy.”
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