Great writing begets great writing — and the commentary around the HBO smash hit is some of the best around.
HBO
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Making of Tom Wambsgans
“Before the final season of ‘Succession,’ Matthew Macfadyen and others explain the creation and expansion of the show’s most unlikely power player.”
Posted inArts & Culture
Which Way to Westeros?
With a plethora of fantasy appearing on streaming services, we take a look back at Adrian Daub’s essay on world-building maps.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Nathan Fielder Is Out of His Mind (and Inside Yours)
On the axis of cringe comedy, Nathan Fielder’s work on TV series Nathan For You ranks somewhere between Sasha Baron Cohen and Covering Your Eyes and Ears to Escape the Vicarious Embarrassment. But Lila Shapiro’s profile, coming just ahead of Fielder’s return to television, attempts to peel back the layers of artifice between man and world. […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
On “Succession,” Jeremy Strong Doesn’t Get the Joke
When I told Strong that I, too, thought of the show as a dark comedy, he looked at me with incomprehension and asked, “In the sense that, like, Chekhov is comedy?” No, I said, in the sense that it’s funny. “That’s exactly why we cast Jeremy in that role,” McKay told me. “Because he’s not […]
Posted inArts & Culture, Nonfiction, Story
The World’s Tallest Dwarf
Late capitalism gets an antihero show.
Posted inNonfiction
The 19th Century Lesbian Made for 21st Century Consumption
Jeanna Kadlec considers Anne Lister, the historical figure at the center of HBO’s Gentleman Jack, and the influence of other queer women who preceded her.
Posted inCulture
And What of My Wrath?
Cersei Lannister could have been a great antihero, but she was on the wrong show.
Posted inArts & Culture, Current Events, Nonfiction, Story
Let’s Talk About Sex Scenes
Countless women have been mistreated ever since sex became common on our screens. Hollywood’s newfound awareness of intimacy choreography can help change things.
Posted inEditor's Pick
How Coming Out Made Me Whole: High Maintenance’s Katja Blichfeld Tells Her Story
In this as-told-to personal essay, High Maintenance Katja Blichfeld speaks about the vital importance — and difficulty, particularly after being raised evangelical — of coming out as gay this past year, and ending her marriage to her collaborator.