Television

Can Just Anyone Write An Episode Of 'Friends'?

7:29am January 25, 2016

Andy Herd thinks a computer can write an episode of the 1990s sitcom. So far, the computer-generated episodes are gibberish. Herd thinks with a bit of editing he could sell the gibberish to a network.

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After #OscarsSoWhite, Academy Makes Changes To Increase Diversity

5:23pm January 23, 2016

by Michel Martin

Following criticism over a lack of diversity in the Oscars, the Academy Awards board of governors announced new programs to try to diversify the academy's membership by the year 2020.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprise their roles of FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully in six new episodes of The X-Files.

Arts

Mulder And Scully On Why The World Is Ready For An 'X-Files' Reboot

6:17am January 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

"People want a villain," says actor David Duchovny. "They want a reason, they want a cabal, they want a conspiracy." He and Gillian Anderson co-star in six new episodes of The X-Files.

FBI special agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) reunites with agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) in Fox's new X-Files series, which premieres Sunday night.

Arts

'X-Files' Reboot Brings Back Mulder, Scully And The Search For Truth

1:26pm January 22, 2016

by David Bianculli

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reunite in Fox's six-episode revival of its famous science fiction series. TV critic David Bianculli says the new X-Files is worth investigating.

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Steven Avery in the Netflix series Making A Murderer.

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Making A Murderer,' True Crime, Alan Rickman

7:34am January 22, 2016

by Linda Holmes

On this week's show, we talk a little about Netflix's high-profile true crime project and a little about the genre in general, then we touch on a fine acting career that has sadly ended.

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World News

Taliban Makes Good On A Promise To Target Afghan Media Networks

6:23am January 22, 2016

A suicide bomb attack killed six journalists from Afghanistan's independent television station, Tolo TV. Renee Montagne talks to Saad Mohseni, CEO Of Moby Group, the media company that owns Tolo TV.

Review: X-Files Returns To Television

5:45am January 22, 2016

by Eric Deggans

After more than a decade, the conspiracy-theory-laden cult series X-Files returns to television on Fox. How does it stand up to the original?

London Spy, Season 1, Episode 1, Danny (Ben Whishaw).

Arts

'London Spy' Begins With A Romance Between A Clubber And MI6 Agent

7:01pm January 21, 2016

by NPR Staff

The new BBC America show, written by author Tom Rob Smith, opens with a gay couple falling in love. Then one of them mysteriously disappears.

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Messy And Absurd, 'London Spy' Mixes Espionage With Genuine Emotion

4:11pm January 21, 2016

by John Powers

Fresh Air critic John Powers says the five-part BBC America show pulls off something ambitious: It keeps viewers enthralled with its intensity, while catching them in "a lingering emotional undertow."

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Arts

Nielsen To Use Facebook And Twitter In New Social TV Ratings

7:04pm January 20, 2016

by Eric Deggans

Nielsen, the ratings company, says it has a way to track what TV shows are trending on Twitter and Facebook, which will give producers and advertisers a better way to measure audiences. NPR explores what this adds to the growing effort to measure online audience.

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