In ‘Succession,’ Who Is the Joke Really On? In ‘Succession,’ Who Is the Joke Really On?
The show is heralded as a nuanced and cutting critique of the 1 percent. But whose side is it really on?
Oct 17, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz
How Can the Novel Represent Sexual Abuse Honestly? How Can the Novel Represent Sexual Abuse Honestly?
Looking at a string of scandals at a performing-arts high school, Susan Choi’s Trust Exercise grapples with trauma like few novels this year.
Oct 2, 2019 / Erin Schwartz
The Dirtbag Magnetism of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s ‘Fleabag’ The Dirtbag Magnetism of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s ‘Fleabag’
Across its two seasons, the show and its creator’s antic imagination tore apart TV storytelling conventions.
Aug 5, 2019 / Erin Schwartz
Is ‘Veep’ Still Funny? Is ‘Veep’ Still Funny?
The show’s vicious political satire defined a decade of comedy, but its last season lacked the same punch.
Jul 16, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz
‘The Sopranos’ Is the Id of New Jersey ‘The Sopranos’ Is the Id of New Jersey
How the Garden State’s surreal political culture made its most famous television show.
Jun 6, 2019 / Erin Schwartz
Harmony Korine’s Boomer Fable Harmony Korine’s Boomer Fable
The Beach Bum, starring Matthew McConaughey, is all about excess, anarchy, and baby boomers.
Apr 22, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz
The Claustrophobic World of Anna Burns’s ‘Milkman’ The Claustrophobic World of Anna Burns’s ‘Milkman’
Her Man Booker–winning novel offers a haunting look at daily life during The Troubles.
Feb 21, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz
‘Survivor’ and the Strange Thrill of Late Capitalism’s Reality TV ‘Survivor’ and the Strange Thrill of Late Capitalism’s Reality TV
The show fabricates a society to study how power is distributed within it, and in doing so, magnifies the demands that capitalism makes of ordinary people.
Dec 18, 2018 / Erin Schwartz
In ‘The Haunting of Hill House,’ Hell Is Other People In ‘The Haunting of Hill House,’ Hell Is Other People
The Netflix series is the latest contribution to a recent horror renaissance.
Nov 12, 2018 / Erin Schwartz
The Curdled Worldview of Matthew Weiner’s ‘The Romanoffs’ The Curdled Worldview of Matthew Weiner’s ‘The Romanoffs’
The Mad Men creator’s new TV series for Amazon is a flawed and shallow send-up of miserable former aristocrats.
Oct 16, 2018 / Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz