‘This Is Us’: The best show on TV, or one big manipulative trick? (Commentary)
Having already been renewed through its third season, “This Is Us” is a show we’ll be talking about for a while. After last Tuesday’s Season 1 finale, I Facebooked that it successfully made me cry in 18 out of 18 episodes, and that it’s the #bestshowontv. That hashtag was mostly used by other “This Is Us” fans
John’s top 10 TV shows of 2016
These were my 10 favorite shows of 2016: 1. “Atlanta” (Season 1, FX) – Donald Glover’s brainchild is a crazy mix of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”-esque wry observations (Earn’s inability to order a kids’ meal), envelope-pushing storytelling choices (the pundit roundtable parody) and outright horrific violence (Earn witnesses a murder, then moves on like it’s just another
I owe an apology to the Fall TV season: It’s been pretty great (Commentary)
When I saw the lineup of new Fall TV shows, I thought it looked like the worst selection in recent memory: Lots of unnecessary remakes along with tired new shows that didn’t have hooks. I owe the Fall TV season an apology, because it has turned out to be the best in the past 10
First episode impressions: ‘This Is Us’ (TV review)
It was already a strong show for its first 41 minutes – and had firmly earned a Week 2 return from me – but in the final three minutes, the premiere of “This Is Us” (10 p.m. Tuesdays, NBC) clinched its spot as the best pilot episode since “Lost.”
Fall TV 2016: 8 new and returning shows to watch among the minefield of remakes (Commentary)
The Fall 2016 season is Exhibit A in the case that TV is running low on original ideas: “MacGyver”(8 p.m. Fridays, CBS, Sept. 23) is a straight-up relaunch with a new cast, hoping to capture some of the popularity of the ’80s hit. Even though the movie franchise petered to a close 18 years ago with