David Bianculli
David Bianculli is a guest host and TV critic on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. A contributor to the show since its inception, he has been a TV critic since 1975.
From 1993 to 2007, Bianculli was a TV critic for the New York Daily News.
Bianculli has written four books: The Platinum Age Of Television: From I Love Lucy to The Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific (2016); Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, 2009); Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously (1992); and Dictionary of Teleliteracy (1996).
A professor of TV and film at Rowan University, Bianculli is also the founder and editor of the website, TVWorthWatching.com.
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The Jan. 6 hearings have been packaged like TV shows: Each episode has a plot, and some special guest stars, announced in advance. As a miniseries, the verdict is in: This particular show is a hit.
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A new six-part documentary, directed by Ethan Hawke, pulls from interviews with the couple as well as with their Hollywood friends to provide an unvarnished view of their careers and lengthy marriage.
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Part comedy, part drama, Nathan Fielder's new show is a social experiment of sorts, where people work within elaborate sets to try to figure out ways to resolve complicated real-life situations. -
The Breaking Bad spin-off has been excellent since it debuted in 2015. As the series wraps up, the final episodes will determine just how great a show Better Call Saul ends up being.
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Bridges plays a former CIA operative who re-surfaces after decades off the grid in FX's seven-episode miniseries. The Old Man will hook you with its slow build and shifting perspectives.
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Evil, which premiered on CBS in 2019, has shifted over to the Paramount+ streaming service, where it's taken full advantage of its relocation. The latest season keeps increasing in intensity.
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HBO's miniseries centers on a group of creatives working on a remake of the 1916 serial The Vampires. Part comedy, part satire of the film industry, Irma Vep is a winning combination.
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Most of Netflix's special features Macdonald running through his set in one unbroken take. The rest is a small group of comics, including David Letterman and Conan O'Brien, talking about their friend.
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PBS's documentary details how Sondheim's landmark 1970 musical was adapted to the current Broadway version — pivoting on a gender switch that rewrites the central role as a woman instead of a man.
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Carlin's "Seven Dirty Words" act ignited an obscenity case in the '70s. We listen back to two archival interviews with the late comedian, and David Bianculli reviews a new HBO documentary about him.
