Features

Martin Scorsese says there are too many Travis Bickles running around nowadays

00:56

Mick Jagger says The Rolling Stones could give $500 million to charity

00:50

The feud between Howard Stern and the world’s smuggest man, Bill Maher, has come to a tentative ceasefire

01:06

100 Episodes

100 Episodes

How did Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. go from pop-culture behemoth to scrappy underdog?

In 100 Episodes, The A.V. Club examines the shows that made it to that number, considering both how they advanced and reflected the medium and what contributed to their popularity and/or longevity. This entry covers Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.,…

Alex McLevy

100 Episodes

15 Minutes or Less

Low Budget Sketch Show wrings laughs from every penny

Perhaps the most tragic subgroup in the Harry Potter universe is the non-magical offspring of wizards known as Squibs. Though they live in a wondrous world and are constantly surrounded by marvels, they can never truly partake. This is essentially…

Business Work employs a potent mix of the absurd and banal

Having an office job is a drab reality for most 9-to-5 employees. No matter how great a job might be, there’s something inherently dull and depressing about the cubicles, fluorescent lights, and forced chatter of a standard American workplace.…

On Next Time On Lonny, madness is always just an episode away

Sketch comedy has historically struggled on American TV, in part because the form doesn’t provide much to hook viewers. On television, character is king. Audiences respond to affable personalities, and to the quippy camaraderie of folks they would…

Good Cop Great Cop finds the dark side of whimsy

Whimsy is a tricky thing, particularly for a comedy show. As many a mediocre improv scene has shown us, a premise that tips too far toward the fanciful runs the risk of floating off into space, unmoored by any rules or reality. While comedy requires…

24 Hours Of TV

The gap year: 24 hours of Y2K TV

The year 2000 was a transitional one for TV, which might speak to the number of teen-centered stories on the air. The premiere of The Sopranos in 1999 helped usher in another golden age of television, its second season heralding the time when, accord…

The A.V. Club

Dedication, animation, and Passions: 24 hours of 1999 TV

Though the Y2K bug turned out to be a dud, the TV of 1999 was anything but—there were good to great offerings in every medium, from animation to procedurals to sex-positive dramas. The debut of The Sopranos ushered in the era of the antihero (on the…

The A.V. Club

Sex, cities, sock puppets, superheroes, and short skirts: 24 hours of 1998 TV

The TV of 1998 feels more like the end of something than the beginning. Dawson’s Creek and Will & Grace were pointing to a new direction for their respective networks, but pioneering comedies like Seinfeld, The Larry Sanders Show, Living Single, and …

The A.V. Club

Explore the TV of 1993 by watching 24 straight hours of it

Looking for a way to remember everything that was everything in 1993? You could do far worse than going back and looking at some of the most significant television of the era. The year proved to be oddly momentous for the medium, as the choices…

Kyle Ryan,

Gwen Ihnat,

Josh Modell,

Zack Handlen,

and 10 more

A Very Special Episode

In one of HBO’s finest hours, Tom Hanks recalled the last time we went to the moon

On May 10, 1998—20 years ago next spring—HBO aired “La Voyage Dans La Lune,” the final episode of From The Earth To The Moon, a 12-part miniseries that would go on to win an Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries. Directed by Jonathan Mostow and written by…

A very special 1970s nightmare, starring Vincent Price, H.R. Pufnstuf, and the Brady Bunch

In the 1970s, just about anyone with a Q Score in the double digits landed their own variety series. Musicians, comedians, magicians… if you had any kind of name recognition at all, you were issued a spangled jumpsuit and consigned to a flashing…

A very special Breaking Bad pulled a train robbery, and proved the power of plot

Take Snowfall, FX’s buzzy drama about the connection between crack cocaine, the CIA, and gang violence in 1980s Los Angeles. I admired enough elements of the show to keep watching throughout this past summer. But when the first season reached the…

A very special Friends from 1997 debated the meaning of “on a break”

At the start of 1997, the world had just gone through a year that included a bombing at the Atlanta Olympics, the arrest of Ted “The Unabomber” Kaczynski, a deadly terrorist attack on a U.S. military base in Saudi Arabia, and mass shootings at both…

Game of Thrones

The Mailbag Of Thrones on the series finale, what Bran knew, Jon's fate, and what it all means for the books

We learned a lot from Game Of Thrones’ series finale, “The Iron Throne,” like how there is literally no failure too big to get Tyrion fired, dragons have an uncanny understanding of symbolism, and the Citadel is a four-month college. But the show’s…

The Mailbag Of Thrones answers what the hell just happened and if things will get better in the series finale

We learned a lot from Game Of Thrones’ “The Bells,” like how a master of whispers needs to remember the importance of whispering, not even a golden hand can get you past security, and kissing your aunt can help prevent genocide. But the episode…

Why didn’t Daenerys torch Euron, whose side is Jaime on, and more burning Game Of Thrones questions

We learned a lot from Game Of Thrones’ “The Last Of The Starks,” like how coffeehouses are already gentrifying the North, you should never sit near Tormund when he’s drunk, and the guy who makes giant crossbows is now the richest person in Westeros.…

Mailbag Of Thrones tackles prophesies, Melisandre’s track record, and questionable war tactics

We learned a lot from Game Of Thrones’ “The Long Night,” like how the safest place in Westeros is on the front line fighting for the good guys, riding straight into an impenetrable wall of dead soldiers you can’t even see is surprisingly a bad idea,…

Once In A Lifetime

Once In A Lifetime

You can go home for the holidays this year, if only in a Lifetime Christmas movie

You don’t have to actively hate Christmas to be a Scrooge in a Lifetime movie. All you have to say is, “It’s not my favorite holiday,” or even, “A full 12 days of celebrations? Doesn’t anyone have to go to work in this town?”, and suddenly an entire…

Katie Rife

One Season Wonders

How Commander In Chief, starring Geena Davis as POTUS, flamed out

ABC's 2005 series about the first woman president was a certain hit, until it was voted out by behind-the-scenes drama

Joshua Alston

With practice, Fox sports drama Pitch could have knocked it out of the park

Like its protagonist, Pitch had a tremendous amount of potential. Premiering September 22, 2016, the Fox sports drama from Dan Fogelman (This Is Us, Crazy, Stupid, Love.) and Rick Singer (American Dad!, Younger) boasted a crackerjack cast, including…

Danette Chavez

Jump Street spin-off Booker failed to create a Sam Spade for the ’90s

In the world of TV spin-offs, it is essential to name your new series after the transitory character to remind people exactly why they’re supposed to watch: a chance to see a familiar face in a whole new light. It’s a hit-or-miss proposition. For…

The WB’s Grosse Pointe was ahead of its time, but it’s also hard to watch 20 years later

In many ways, The WB’s Grosse Pointe is a time capsule, perfectly preserving the Teen Beat celebrity culture of the end of the millennium. In others, it was ahead of its time, providing a peek behind the Hollywood façade in ways most viewers…

Patrick Gomez

Peak Season

Peak Season

To save itself, Homeland had to get over the loss of its leading man

Previously on Homeland…

Joshua Alston

Peak Season

24’s most satisfying season is not its most celebrated

Previously on 24…

Joshua Alston

Peak Season

In its stellar 3rd season, Fringe combined the best of both worlds

Previously on Fringe…

Joshua Alston

Primer

Everything you need to know about Nick Fury as Secret Invasion arrives

After years of end credit scenes and cameos, the former S.H.I.E.L.D. director takes the lead in his own Disney+ series

Cindy White

Special Guest Star

Special Guest Star

Steve Martin got to show his “wild and crazy” side again on 30 Rock

In the season-three episode “Gavin Volure,” Martin went from suave charmer to unhinged fugitive

Special Guest Star

EGOT winner Rita Moreno went for her second Emmy on The Rockford Files

Rita Moreno played a recurring character on the classic 1970s detective series with her old friend James Garner

Special Guest Star

Sally Field subverted expectations (again) to win an Emmy on ER

In Special Guest Star, Gwen Ihnat takes a look at a standout turn by a performer in a TV series, noting what effect the appearance had on the actor, the series, and the TV landscape overall.

TV Club 10

10 episodes of Girlfriends that celebrate the sisterhood of Black women

Friendship was the core of the beloved eight-season UPN/The CW sitcom

Alexis Reliford

10 essential episodes of Living Single you should check-check-check out

For primarily Black audiences, Fox’s five-season 1990s hit was a microcosm of a culture that felt familiar, relatable, and unburdened by dated stereotypes

Shannon Miller

10 episodes that take DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow from bad superhero show to best superhero show

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow is a weird show on every level—conceptually, plot-wise, and even in its overall journey. It was built as a spin-off from both The CW’s Arrow and The Flash, but it’s not really about fan-favorite characters who necessarily…

Sam Barsanti

and William Hughes