TV Reviews

Jessie Buckley and Josh O'Connor as Romeo and Juliet, and Lucian Msamati as Friar Laurence, in the new Romeo & Juliet on PBS's Great Performances.

Arts

A Pandemic 'Romeo & Juliet' Finds A New Language Of Love And Loss

8:25am April 23, 2021

by Linda Holmes

A cleverly made Romeo & Juliet, adapted from a planned theatrical run to a filmed version, embraces the promise and the romance of a large and empty theater as a place to situate a classic story.

Cartographer Alina (Jessie Mei Li) maps her own fate in Netflix's fantasy series, Shadow and Bone.

Books
Arts

'Shadow And Bone': Netflix's Latest Fantasy Series Is Tsar-tlingly Bingeable

5:00am April 23, 2021

by Glen Weldon

Netflix's new fantasy series contains many familiar elements, but a twisty, fast-moving plot and smart storytelling decisions make it a satisfying, eminently bingeable meal.

Arts

Kate Winslet, Brad Ingelsby On Their Newest HBO Crime Drama

7:59am April 17, 2021

NPR's Debbie Elliott speaks with Kate Winslet and Brad Ingelsby about their new series, Mare of Easttown.

Arts

Everybody Harbors A Secret — And A Motive — In HBO's 'Mare Of Easttown'

1:28pm April 16, 2021

by David Bianculli

Kate Winslet plays a small-town lead detective who's haunted by an unsolved case — and by her own past — in this excellent series. Mare of Easttown is both a mystery story and a character study.

Queue Listen Now

Amalia True (Laura Donnelly) leads a rag-tag team of women imbued with mysterious powers in The Nevers.

Arts

'The Nevers': When Steampunk Gets Foggy

9:00am April 09, 2021

by Glen Weldon

A surfeit of characters, ideas, themes — and familiar writerly tics — obscures the storytelling in the opening episodes of HBO's new series about Victorian women granted special powers.

Arts

Plots, Subplots And Wildly Fascinating Villains Abound In 'The Nevers'

1:29pm April 08, 2021

by David Bianculli

HBO's new series, which was initially created by Joss Whedon, is a superhero story set at the very end of the Victorian era. It features a team of outcast women with paranormal abilities.

Queue Listen Now

Gracie Emory (Melody Hurd) and Lucky Emory (Deborah Ayorinde) confront their traumas in Them.

Arts

'Them': The Trauma, The Trauma

9:38am April 08, 2021

by Aisha Harris

Amazon's new anthology series, executive produced by Lena Waithe, unrelentingly explores "terror in America."

Ken Burns' three-part documentary about American writer Ernest Hemingway (shown above) premieres on PBS April 5.

Arts

Ken Burns' 'Hemingway' Docuseries Dives Into The Writer's Complicated Life

2:42pm March 30, 2021

by David Bianculli

A three-part PBS documentary probes deeply into Ernest Hemingway's life and his writings. Among those featured are each of his four wives, who shed light on the author's troubled personal life.

Queue Listen Now

Tina Turner's Life Explored In New Documentary

7:59am March 27, 2021

by Eric Deggans

HBO's documentary on Tina Turner is presented as the 81-year-old singer's final word on her expansive life and career — a history she finds difficult to talk about.

Young Mark Grayson (voiced by Steven Yeun) follows in his father's footsteps and adopts the heroic identity of Invincible in the Amazon Prime animated series.

Books
Arts

'Invincible' Is Packed With Pulpy, Visceral Thrills — And Lots Of Pulpy Viscera

9:11am March 26, 2021

by Glen Weldon

A stellar voice cast helps ground this fantastical tale of a fledgling superhero's first forays into a job where the stakes — and the violence — are all too real.