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Kathryn VanArendonk

Critic
  1. exit interview
    Bill Lawrence Is Still Figuring It OutDespite a rapidly shifting TV landscape, the Shrinking and Ted Lasso co-creator hasn’t abandoned his earnest worldview.
  2. comedy review
    Mae Martin’s Campfire HourSAP is mysticism all the way through. It’s about marveling at the strangeness of being a person.
  3. tv review
    Succession Still Has a Few Surprises LeftIn its final season, the HBO juggernaut keeps redefining itself, charting new business battlefields and emotional terrain.
  4. highs and lows
    The Highs, Lows, and Whoas of the 2023 OscarsJenny the Donkey! David Byrne hot-dog fingers! An Oscar for Michelle Yeoh! What more could you want? (An Oscar for Angela Bassett.)
  5. exit interview
    A (Now Unredacted) Interview With You Co-creator Sera GambleBreaking down all the details of season four’s whodunit, that big twist, and the long arc of Joe Goldberg.
  6. exit interview
    Rian Johnson Wants Poker Face to Break Expectations Without Breaking FormThe creator of Peacock’s howdunit discusses the virtues of episodic structure and the challenges of keeping it satisfying week after week.
  7. emergency discussion
    History of the World, Part II’s Beautiful Commitment to StupidityLet’s celebrate how surprising and impressive it is to see a show lean this hard into total idiocy.
  8. comedy review
    Selective Outrage Struggles to Escape Its Own GimmickChris Rock’s live comedy special wants to be electric, but Netflix’s first attempt at the form fails to meet its own moment.
  9. tv review
    Perry Mason Has Solved the Case of Perry MasonSeason two of the HBO revival moves beyond its protagonist’s origin story and into the courtroom, and becomes the show it was meant to be.
  10. by order of the king
    ‘I Still Don’t Know What It Was’An oral history of Kings, the ambitious, expensive, and admittedly weird drama on which NBC bet its prestige-TV future and lost.
  11. backstories
    ‘If That App Existed, It Would Replace God’Mrs. Davis creators Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof map the audacious road to one nun’s crusade against AI.
  12. resource management
    Give It Up for the Last of Us Menstrual CupEllie’s item upgrade is a perfect combination of video-game mechanics and character-based detail.
  13. tv review
    Party Down Has Time on Its SideThe cultishly beloved cater-waiter comedy returns in peak form, using the 13-year gap between seasons to its best advantage.
  14. comedy review
    Marc Maron After the World EndsIn From Bleak to Dark, the typically cantankerous stand-up turns toward grace.
  15. yelling
    It’s Time for a Departure From ‘Bottle Episode’Another format-breaking episode, another widespread misapplication of a specific TV term. This must end.
  16. chat room
    Poker Face’s John Darnielle Wants to Hear the Rest of ‘Merch Girl’ Too“I’m about the 11th cleverest writer of my generation, but ‘Merch girl had nothing up her sleeve’ I was extremely happy with.”
  17. tv review
    Poker Face Shows Its HandRian Johnson’s murder anti-mystery is direct, sturdy, and radically uninterested in catching viewers by surprise.
  18. comedy review
    Jerrod Carmichael Couldn’t Make the Golden Globes Settle DownCarmichael made room for silence. The Globes made the room a party.
  19. highs and lows
    The Highs, Lows, and Whoas of the 2023 Golden GlobesFirst whoa: We’re doing the Globes again.
  20. the year in sea-view
    The Best Bodies of Water on TV in 2022Oceans, ponds, rivers, even man-made water features: These are indispensable elements of screen storytelling.
  21. best of 2022
    The Standout TV Performances of 2022Individually and collectively, these 14 performers embody what made this year’s television interesting and special.
  22. a long talk
    ‘If You Need to Throw Anyone Under the Bus, Let It Be Me’Kelli Giddish joined SVU in 2011 as Olivia Benson’s new partner. She departs a beloved figure in her own right.
  23. cancelations
    TV Has Always Disappeared. This Feels Different.When titles disappear without warning, the whole streaming space starts to seem less stable.
  24. finale thoughts
    Jennifer Coolidge Tried to Get Mike White to Change The White Lotus’s Ending“Mike likes to stick to reality.”
  25. this thing’s incredible
    This Audio Player Is Parenting My ChildrenScreen-free and easy to use, the Yoto Mini gives my podcast-obsessed 5- and 8-year-olds the right balance between parental oversight and kid freedom.
  26. best of 2022
    In 2022, Good TV Was a Gut FeelingOur critics break down what goes into naming the best of the year.
  27. emergency discussion
    How Is His Dark Materials Going to Pull This Off?The series’ final season takes on the difficult task of translating many heady, absurd, and arguably heretical elements from The Amber Spyglass.
  28. best of 2022
    The Best Comedy Specials of 2022The year’s best releases had some urgency behind their existence: capturing this thing at this moment.
  29. best of 2022
    The Best TV of 2022Television’s future looks hazier than ever, but these shows make a clear case for optimism.
  30. comedy review
    Matt Rogers Makes the Yuletide GayThe comedian’s special, Have You Heard of Christmas?, is the gift that keeps on giving.
  31. honorary degree
    Lee Pace Stays Just Out of ReachThe recipient of this year’s very official Vulture Honorary Degree is a master at making us want more of him.
  32. vulture honorary degree
    The Lee Pace MethodWhether he’s playing a bashful pie-maker or the emperor of a galaxy, Pace says he always leaves a bit of himself onscreen.
  33. giddy-up
    All Them Newfangled Ways to Watch Yellowstone Are a MessSeason five’ll take some wrangling.
  34. comedy review
    Mike Birbiglia’s Existential ExercisesIn his Broadway show The Old Man and the Pool, the comedian dives into the anxieties of aging.
  35. comedy review
    Lil Rel Howery Is So Happy to Be HereI Said It. Y’all Thinking It. isn’t a special about genre-defining narrative precision. It’s about feeling very, very good.
  36. finales
    The Good Fight Carries OnAfter six seasons spent toying with escapism, the frequently surreal legal drama ends with its feet on the ground.
  37. emergency discussion
    Does The Crown Like the Royals or Not?A season about the Diana and Charles divorce would seem like a prime opportunity to tear into the monarchy. And yet …
  38. role call
    Lee Pace Answers All Our Questions About Pushing Daisies“When I got cast in The Hobbit, Peter Jackson said, ‘We loved you in Pushing Daisies. That’s why you’re here.’”
  39. emergency discussion
    Where Does For All Mankind Go From Here?We have some humble suggestions/demands for season four.
  40. network tv
    Checking In on This Year’s New Network DramasLinear television’s fall freshman class has arrived, and we’re predicting which hour-long series are in it for the long haul, and which will burn out.
  41. finales
    A Few Questions for That House of the Dragon FinaleExposition, dragons, and more excruciating childbirth leaves us with the promise of bigger and bloodier things to come.
  42. comedy review
    With the Return of Inside Amy Schumer, at Least We Still Have FartsThe new season reflects the comedian’s intense anxieties about Now — sometimes too directly.
  43. close read
    The Fantasy-Prequel ProblemHouse of the Dragon and The Rings of Power have been presented as shining new jewels in the streaming pantheon. They also belie a lack of imagination.
  44. emergency discussion
    What Is Time on House of the Dragon?The series’ frantic rush forward tests the efficacy of the TV time jump — and viewers’ ability to keep up.
  45. comedy review
    Welcome to Hasan Minhaj’s Inspirational School AssemblyIn The King’s Jester, the comedian’s boldness gets packaged into a too-slick presentation.
  46. fire and blood
    Why Did That Episode of House of the Dragon Look So Bad?Possible explanations, not excuses, for why you couldn’t see anything.
  47. exit interview
    Sterlin Harjo Is Not Afraid to Sacrifice a Good IdeaThe Reservation Dogs showrunner leads by instinct: “There are a lot of first ideas out there. You have to break through that for it to be good.”
  48. comedy review
    At His Best, Nick Kroll Is a Mischievous Little DemonIn Little Big Boy, Kroll excels when he leans into the juvenile.
  49. close read
    House of the Dragon’s Brutal Birth Obsession Isn’t Realism. It’s Cruelty.In three separate instances, the Game of Thrones prequel reduces a birthing woman to the limits of her body.
  50. endings
    C’mon, Industry, Whisper Sweet Nothings to MeThe HBO series wields financial jargon like a magic spell. In its second-season finale, Harper’s sorcery runs out.
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