Whatever happened to that Spielberg kid, anyway?

I found Elordi so exasperating on Euphoria, though the great majority of that is how terribly that character is written. He’s incredible in Frankenstein.

For Emmy magazine, I interviewed Matthew Macfadyen about getting to know Charles Guiteau: www.televisionacademy.com/features/onl...

Had a great time moderating the PaleyFest panel for Pluribus last night, with Vince Gilligan, Rhea Seehorn, and Karolina Wydra.

In the free Friday What's Alan Watching? newsletter: a milestone for my Rod Serling biography, Pluribus, Diane Ladd, Hank Azaria sings Springsteen, and a lot more. Read! Subscribe! Share! Sing about a groovy lady!

Happy Pluribus Day! If you haven't already checked out Vince Gilligan's new sci-fi series and are curious if you should start, here's my review, with the bare minimum of detail regarding its very high concept:

PaleyFest NY kicked off with a bang as @sepinwall.bsky.social moderated a fantastic Pluribus panel, and as a post-panel bonus, Vince and Rhea channeled Johnny and Ed on our (actual) Tonight Show set

This was right before there was an audience question about Twilight Zone, which led to Vince Gilligan asking me to fact check him in real time.

And if you've already watched the first two episodes, I dug deep on what happens, what it means, and why the show works:

If you've already watched the first two Pluribus episodes, I had a lot of thoughts on all the things Vince Gilligan, Rhea Seehorn and company are doing so well right from the start:

I'll be moderating tonight's Pluribus discussion, so if you were lucky enough to already have tickets, say hi!

Happy Pluribus Day! If you haven't already checked out Vince Gilligan's new sci-fi series and are curious if you should start, here's my review, with the bare minimum of detail regarding its very high concept:

In the free Friday What's Alan Watching? newsletter: a milestone for my Rod Serling biography, Pluribus, Diane Ladd, Hank Azaria sings Springsteen, and a lot more. Read! Subscribe! Share! Sing about a groovy lady!

If you've already watched the first two Pluribus episodes, I had a lot of thoughts on all the things Vince Gilligan, Rhea Seehorn and company are doing so well right from the start:

Vince Gilligan’s new Apple sci fi show Pluribus, reuniting him with Rhea Seehorn, left me giddy. My review: www.whatsalanwatching.com/review-vince...

Spent the night watching Hank Azaria’s Springsteen tribute band, as one does on a Thursday in New Jersey.

I'm sorry that I crashed Apple TV's servers. I'll try to do better.

Vince Gilligan’s new Apple sci fi show Pluribus, reuniting him with Rhea Seehorn, left me giddy. My review: www.whatsalanwatching.com/review-vince...

The Netflix miniseries Death By Lightning turns a historical footnote — Charles Guiteau's assassination of President James Garfield — into a grand entertainment, with wonderful performances by Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Shannon, Betty Gilpin, and, especially, Nick Offerman. My review:

Me celebrating the verdict

Fortunately, the Sandwich Guy didn't try throwing one from the vending machine at WNYX. That could have been a felony charge.

Some masochist assembled a 20-minute "greatest hits" compilation.

I haven't seen All's Fair, and I trust my colleagues' assessment that it's godawful. That said, I find it hard to think any show, even this one, could be worse than Pink Lady and Jeff, a variety show whose two main stars spoke no English.

All Pluribus review are embargoed to tonight at 9 Eastern, when the first two eps drop. I'll have a review live at that time, and a recap of the premiere tomorrow morning, all at www.whatsalanwatching.com

The Netflix miniseries Death By Lightning turns a historical footnote — Charles Guiteau's assassination of President James Garfield — into a grand entertainment, with wonderful performances by Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Shannon, Betty Gilpin, and, especially, Nick Offerman. My review:

Me when I finally found the original source of a Rod Serling quote I really wanted to use in the book, but worried I couldn't because I had no evidence he'd actually said it:

Hot damn, The Lowdown finale was a great conclusion to a great debut season. My review:

Netflix has new seasons of TV with Keri Russell (Diplomat) and Matthew Rhys (The Beast in Me) within the same month, while Sarah Snook (All Her Fault) and Matthew Macfadyen (Death By Lightning) have new streaming shows dropping this week. Co-stars staying in close proximity.

The mess on my desk was raging wildly out of control. Eventually, I have to put some items back on it, but going to spend the rest of today basking in its current minimalism.

1. The man's got good taste. 2. Trying to imagine what new shows he was complaining about in fall of '14. Scorpion? The Mysteries of Laura? Selfie?!?!

Hot damn, The Lowdown finale was a great conclusion to a great debut season. My review:

The only Ryan Murphy shows I've loved unreservedly were ones where others were the chief creative force (Pose, The People v. OJ Simpson), but there was a time when his strengths as a storyteller made it worth sitting through his weaknesses. That feels very long ago.

"Consider Helen" is an all-timer, both for its own quality, and as a case of how one ep can completely reframe how you think about a TV show. RIP.

My review of this week's The Chair Company, where we finally learned about Ron's mysterious jeep tours company, and the ripple effects it still has within his family, while the conspiracy began a prank war against him:

My review of this week's The Chair Company, where we finally learned about Ron's mysterious jeep tours company, and the ripple effects it still has within his family, while the conspiracy began a prank war against him:

star trek and famous art: a thread

On this day in '94, ABC aired David Caruso's final ep of NYPD Blue. Though his departure (for a movie career that didn't work out) was acrimonious, the cast and crew had nonetheless prepared a going-away party for him. Instead, he walked off the set in this shot, headed straight to a car, and left.

In today's free What's Alan Watching? newsletter: Apple, Ruth Wilson, and Emma Thompson try to recreate some Slow Horses magic with Down Cemetery Road, plus Pluribus plans, Taylor Sheridan on the move, Doctor Who news, and more. Read! Subscribe! Share! Take your socks off!

A: Please subscribe to my YouTube channel! www.youtube.com/@theericgold... B: I'm giving away a Digital code for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Lemme know your favorite FF character and a quick reason why and I'll randomly choose a winner.

I spoke with @saulausterlitz.bsky.social from Ministry of Pop Culture about the post-Peak TV era and the importance of TV that wants to be TV: ministryofpopculture.substack.com/p/were-defin...

Happy Halloween! I’m Dr. Rabinovich, but everyone calls me Dr. Robby

Just bagged a white whale for the Rod Serling book.

In today's free What's Alan Watching? newsletter: Apple, Ruth Wilson, and Emma Thompson try to recreate some Slow Horses magic with Down Cemetery Road, plus Pluribus plans, Taylor Sheridan on the move, Doctor Who news, and more. Read! Subscribe! Share! Take your socks off!

If you see this, quote with a robot that isn’t from “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” “Doctor Who,” or “Transformers.”

Meanwhile, as I wrap up the first draft of the Rod Serling biography, it's staggering to look at the cultural footprint of Twilight Zone, and to talk to showrunners and filmmakers whose work would seem to have *nothing* in common with TZ talk about what a huge influence it is on their work.

In other good renewal news, FX ordered a second season of Adults. I really enjoyed the twentysomething hangout comedy's first season, and am looking forward to more.

One of a precious few revivals (see also The Conners, Party Down, Twin Peaks: The Return) that still felt vital when we returned to these characters after so much time away.

Preliminary work on The Wire book begins with me rewatching every episode, both to refresh my memory and make sure there's nothing important missing from my notes when I recapped them the first time. So far, nothing's been missing. Young Alan really had his act together.

In the penultimate ep of The Lowdown season 1, Lee's good intentions run up against the dark realities of the people he's investigating. My review:

Bonus good thing: Walter Mosley wrote last night’s episode and graciously agreed to talk about it. www.indiewire.com/features/int...