DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
2019
Sep
23
 
 
SERIES PREMIERE: Last night, the Emmys were televised live. Tonight, it’s the official start of the 2019 fall TV season – but rather than list all the new and returning shows, I’ll limit mentions on Bianculli’s Best Bets to the shows I’ve actually enjoyed, or expect to. That makes it a much shorter list, and eliminates some smaller pleasures: hoping to see Sean Spicer eliminated on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (would an old tape clip from&n
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
Sep
23
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: There’s no Adam Levine this time around, so Blake Shelton must make do with a different type of on-air chemistry: with returning judge Gwen Stefani, whom Shelton romanced after sitting next to her in his red judge’s chair. Also judging this cycle: John Legend and Kelly Clarkson. Oh, yes, and there are competing singers to watch, and hear, too…
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
Sep
23
 
 
Tonight’s episode is titled “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?,” and covers the years 1968-72. That makes sense, because it includes the seminal 1972 multi-album release of the same name by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I remember getting that album when it was released, and being, at the time, almost totally ignorant of the artists and music showcased in the album’s gathering of past giants of country music. But if you’ve been watching Ken Burns’ Country Music&
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
Sep
23
 
 
The mid-Eighties are tough on the NYC neighborhood known as the Deuce: the spread of the disease identified as AIDS is decimating the gay community, the bath houses are attracting new interest from medical authorities as well as police, and the porn theaters are searching for ways to survive despite the rise of X-rated home-video releases. Two of the main characters in The Deuce have their own porn-related survival tactics: Candy (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is pushing to direct and produce &ld
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
Sep
23
 
 
Even in the age of Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy, some TV shows still feel too unpleasant to sit down and watch...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
Sep
23
 
 
CBS’ new courtroom drama very much feels like a warmed-over, cut-and-paste job from high-octane producer Shonda Rhimes...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
Sep
23
 
 
In the end, after three hours of an Emmy night long on moments and even longer on memories, Game of Thrones and Fleabag emerged as winners of the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards for outstanding drama and comedy series respectively...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
Sep
22
 
 
This year’s Emmy Awards will be hostless, but not prizeless. And while the final season for Game of Thrones may give that HBO series a sentimental edge in some quarters, other quarters were so disappointed by the finale that it may be a wide-open contest across the board.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
Sep
22
 
 
Episode 5. The opening episode of this second week of Ken Burns’ Country Music documentary series, “The Sons and Daughters of America,” covers a very short period, from 1964-68. But when you remember what was happening during those pivotal, explosive years, that sharp focus makes sense. And when you’re looking at, say, women’s rights and civil rights, who better than to channel those respective concerns in the world of country music than, respectively, Lor
 
 
 
  
 
 
2019
Sep
22
 
 
This week, the guest is former Hollies and Crosby, Stills & Nash member Graham Nash. In the past, Nash has hosted his own radio and TV shows about music, so he’s very at ease talking about the subject. And, as a conversationalist as well as a musician, he plays well with others – including, in this case, Paul Shaffer, who gets Nash to explain the development of “Teach Your Children” and other classic songs.