Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
If there’s any such thing as a national consensus anymore, surely it is this: The 2016 presidential election has been one embarrassment after another for the United States. The Republican Party—no stranger to unmitigated disaster—really outdid itself this year, watching powerlessly as Donald Trump steered the clown car off a bridge. Meanwhile, the chair of…
“Jesus Christ, I really have too much Batman stuff,” Michael admits to The Dot and Line as we catch up with him on the podcast, his approach to tracking down guests (fans and creators alike) who connect with the character, and the dutiful, almost religious, love of Batman: The Animated Series he’s cultivated for twenty…
TV news is corrupt and incentivized to accentuate conflict over clarity, with Washington’s media and politicians constituting “an incredibly corrupt and blinded, symbiotic terrarium,” according to Jon Stewart. The comic-satirist and longtime TV host left no doubt that he’s not softened toward the media, government or the political process since exiting “The Daily Show” during…
When CNN boss Jeff Zucker took the stage at Great Big Story’s NewFronts presentation to talk about the content his digital network has lined up for the coming year, he said something he’s never had to at a TV upfront: “These are not built-if-sold concepts. These are real projects that will grow our brand.” Five…
Ellie Kemper as Kimmy Schmidt, left, and Jane Krakowski as Jacqueline Voorhees. (Eric Liebowitz/Netflix) The second season of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” debuts on Netflix on Friday, which will no doubt send viewers on a binge-watching spree to either re-watch Season 1 or catch up on episodes they missed. Ellie Kemper stars as the titular character, who…
“He has free rein to do whatever he want,” network chief says There’s no premiere date for Jon Stewart‘s “Daily Show” follow-up on HBO yet, but network chief Richard Plepler suggested the project could debut before Election Day this coming November. “Yeah, I’m hopeful,” Plepler said in an interview with CNN’s Brian Stelter for the…
If ever there was an election cycle that called for the sharp satirical analysis that Mr. Stewart and Mr. Colbert once provided on a nightly basis, it is this one. Their successors, Trevor Noah (“The Daily Show”) and Larry Wilmore (“The Nightly Show”) provide their share of edgy satire, but they are relatively new and…
One of the biggest challenges to fully appreciating The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is keeping up with the rapid-fire pace of its jokes, which are rattled off so quickly that you couldn’t possibly catch them all in one viewing. A prime example of this is the way that Titus seems to come up with at least…
If you watched this past Sunday’s season premiere of Game of Thrones, you were treated with a brief return to Dorne, that south-most region of Westeros where last season’s most boring storyline took place. And then, after seeing one of the show’s greatest deviations from the books, you started wondering what the hell is happening…
Last night, an investment bank and a venture capital firm co-hosted a premiere screening of a farcical premium cable show about tech companies. It sounds like the setup to a joke, but like on the show itself, it’s not clear who gets the last laugh. A few minutes before the crowd of industry insiders gathered…