Author archive: DAVID CANFIELD

Sample Pieces for Slate (see all my work here)

Industry Analysis & Reporting

On CBS During Election Season, Viewers Watched Trump's America in Primetime

HBO Led the Prestige TV Revolution, but Its Films Still Look Like TV Movies

Why Audiences Are Resisting TV's New Wave of Trumpian Crime Dramas

HBO Was One of the Best Networks for LGBTQ Representation. How Did It Become One of the Worst?

This Is Is and Empire Were Last TV Season's Biggest Dramas. Why Aren't Networks Following Their Lead?

When We Rise, ABC's Gay Rights Miniseries, Reflects an Outdated Way of Thinking About TV

Why It Matters That Stephen Colbert Is Now the Most Popular Person in Late Night

Features & Interviews

Once the Place for a Paycheck, TV Is Now Where Playwrights Make Great Art

Talking to the Designers of the Best Book Jackets of 2016

A Comprehensive History of the Strange, Sublime Collaboration Between Twin Peaks Creators David Lynch and Mark Frost

The Intimacy of a Stabbing: An Interview with Cannibals in Love Cover Artist Na Kim

These 12 Women Should Fill Out the Trump Administration on SNL

Want to Become a Morning Person? Partner With a Night Owl.

Reviews

A Worthy, Trump-Era Successor to The Wire, American Crime Dares Us to See the Real America

At the End of Its Record-Breaking First Season, This Is Us Finally Ran Out of Gas

Long TV's Most Politically Incorrect Show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Made the Case for Sensitivity in Season 12

Jane the Virgin Season 3 Was Messy, Fascinating, and Vital

Denial: How One Film Tried to Be a Sobering Trump Allegory, But Played More Like Liberal Wish Fulfillment

Queen Sugar Spent Its First Season Becoming the Most Political Show on TV

Feud Eventually Ignored Bette for Joan and Was All the Better for It

Jennifer Hudson Single-Handedly Turned Hairspray Live! Into Must-See TV

Faith and Family on Greenleaf, Summer TV's Unheralded Champion

Criticism

Long a Figure of Controversy, John Ridley Finds the Truth in His Art

How Two (Very) Different TV Shows Are Forcing an Important Conversation on Faith and Sexuality

The Outing of a Trans Contestant Was an Ugly Moment, but Survivor Was the Perfect Place for It

For a Nuanced Depiction of King George VI, Don't Watch The King's Speech. Watch The Crown.

The Gilmore Girls Revival's Disingenuous Appeal to the Gay Fan

How Big Little Lies Out-Feuded Feud

The Manipulative Melodrama This Is Us Is Escapism at Its Most Essential

On High Maintenance's Brilliant Deconstruction of the Gay Best Friend Trope

Awards Coverage

Why a Wrinkle in the Television Academy's Voting Rules Has Changed the Emmys for the Better

The Emmy Nominations Have Never Been More Important Than They Were This Year

The 7 Biggest Surprises of the 2017 Oscar Nominations

More Blogging & Quick Takes

Mother, Albert Brooks' Biting Mother-Son Comedy, Featured Debbie Reynolds' Last Great Performance

Bill Maher Wants You to Thank Him for the Downfall of Milo Yiannopoulos. Don't.

The Manipulations of HBO's The Night Of

Please Like Me Brilliantly Captures Gay Life but Needs a Network to Call Home

In This Is Us, Sterling K. Brown Has Become TV's Most Indispensable Actor

Leslie Jones Countered NBC's Ignorance with Passion During the 2016 Olympics

The Muddled, Sad Election Episode of South Park Reflected What We Were All Feeling

Fox's Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl Crossover Episode Was a Big Missed Opportunity

Larry Wilmore (and Jon Stewart) Said Goodbye to the Nightly Show with a Reminder of What Made It Great

Podcasting

Talking When We Rise, Get Out, and Billions on Panoply/Slate's Represent with Aisha Harris (1.30-20.00)

Sample Pieces for Indiewire (see all my work here)

Essays

• The Romantic Comedy Is Having a Revolution - And It's Happening on TV
• The Family Noir: Introducing TV's Newest Trend

• How The Last Man on Earth Season 1 Challenged the Function and Form of the Sitcom

• The Journey to Self-Acceptance: Why Looking Was One of the Most Important Shows on TV

• How The Slap Represented Broadcast's Failure to Copy Cable
• Why TV Movies and Limited Series Are More Diverse Than Feature Films

Interviews

• Rose Byrne on Transitioning to Comedy and Why Damages Should Be Considered Groundbreaking TV (Exclusive Interview)

• Blythe Danner on the Marginalization of Older Actors and Why She Loves Indie Film (Exclusive Interview)

• Bloodline Cast & Creators on Long-Term Plans, Forming an Off-Set Family and Kyle Chandler's Best Friend (Red Carpet Interviews & Coverage)

• From Virtual Reality to Interactive Documentaries: 'Sensory Stories' Showcases Immersive Storytelling (Museum Exhibition Coverage & Interviews w/ Artists) 

• How Veep Made Julia Louis-Dreyfus "More Understanding" Toward Politicians & What to Expect From Season 4 (Red Carpet Interviews & Coverage)

• Hugh Grant Says He Finds Most Romantic Comedies "Repugnant" at The Rewrite Premiere (Red Carpet Interviews & Coverage)

Features

• The 11 Best Modern Westerns

• Evaluation of Noah Baumbach's Filmography

• 5 Great Limited Series From the 2014-15 TV Season

• 5 TV Shows That Are Reshaping Their Networks' Image

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Blog Content

Reviews (2016)
All the Way
American Crime (S2)
The Americans (S4)
Billions (S1)
Broad City (S3)
Catastrophe (S2)
Confirmation
Empire (S2)
Ghostbusters
Glassland
Hail, Caesar!
Hap and Leonard (S1)
Horace and Pete (Full 1.1 review or complete season brief)
Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill
Little Men
London Spy
Louder Than Bombs
Love and Friendship
Midnight Special
The Meddler
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
Roots
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (S2)

Features (2016)
For the 2015 Oscar Nominations, a Missed Opportunity and a Wake-Up Call (Jan 14)
On The Revenant and the Year of the Artful Blockbuster (Jan 24)
On Unequal Representation, the Academy Proves It Can Lead (Jan 28)
Singular, Daring and Crazy: The Boundary-Breaking Moment for Network TV (Feb 4)
An Uneasy Oscars Puts Politics At the Fore (Feb 29)
For HBO, Togetherness Was a Good Show That Needed to Be Great (March 28)
In Year 5, Girls Grew Up – and Had Its Best Season Since Its First (April 18)
The Education of Alicia Florrick, or (The Education of The Good Wife) (May 10)
Pitfalls of Planning: In Their Second Seasons, Bloodline and Better Call Saul Take Different Approaches (May 31)
In Orange Is the New Black, a Harrowing Climax Sparked an Essential Debate (July 10)
Keep it Casual: Hulu's Gem Stands Out as Other Second-Year Series Make Wrong Turns (July 24)

Best of 2015
Top 10 Movies
Top 20 TV Series
Top 15 TV Episodes
12 Standout TV Performances
Personal Oscar Ballot

Film Reviews (2015)
Adult Beginners (Brief)
Amy
Anomalisa
Avengers: Age of Ultron
The Big Short
Beasts of No Nation (Brief)
Brooklyn
Carol
Chi-Raq (Brief)
Court
Clouds of Sils Maria
Creed
Crimson Peak (Brief)
The End of the Tour
Grandma
The Hunting Ground
I'll See You in My Dreams
The Intern
Inside Out
Joy
The Look of Silence (Brief)
Love and Mercy
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Mommy
99 Homes
Phoenix
Room
The Second Mother (Brief)
Spotlight
Spy
Steve Jobs
Tangerine
Trainwreck
While We're Young

Television Reviews (2015)
Mad Men Episodic Reviews (VII)
The Americans (III)
Bessie
Better Call Saul (I)
Bloodline (I)
BoJack Horseman (II)
Broad City (II), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (X) & Shameless (IV)
Casual (I)
Catastrophe (I)
The Comedians (I)
Empire (I)
Fargo (II)
Girls (IV)
Grace and Frankie (I)
HAPPYish (I)
Last Man on Earth (I)
Looking (II)
Master of None (I)
Masters of Sex (III)
Mr. Robot (I)
Orange Is the New Black (III)
Rectify (III)
Review (II)
Show Me a Hero
Togetherness (I)
True Detective (II)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (I)
UnREAL (I)
You're the Worst (II)

Features (2015)
January TV, and the Medium's Enduring Power (Jan. 3)
On the Success of American Sniper and Empire (Jan. 23)
Change, Identity and Negotiation in The Good Wife (Feb. 8)
The Oscars and the Tightening Hollywood Bubble (Feb. 23)
Mad Men, Bloodline, Empire and the Fascinating Year in Drama (Mar. 13)
Lee Daniels, Pop Art for TV and Empire (Mar. 14)
Bloodline Is Time-Shifting Noir, But Introduces a New Way to Binge (Mar. 21)
The Legacy of HBO's Late Looking (Mar. 25)
The End of Mad Men and the Era It Came to Define (Apr. 2)
The Good Wife's Continuity Problem (Apr. 29)
Power Deconstruction in Veep, Silicon Valley and Inside Amy Schumer (May 10)
Mad Men and the Ultimate Deconstruction of American Culture (May 18)
On Justified, a Cable Drama That Bucked Its Era's Trend (June 25)
Why Are We Taking True Detective Seriously? (July 7)
TV's Golden Age of Breakthroughs (July 13)
Emmy Nominations 2015: Analysis of Major Trends (July 16)
Episodic Criticism Reflects TV's Unique Artistry (And It Shouldn't Be Undermined) (July 21)
The Lessons, Trends and Surprises of Summer TV 2015 (Aug 26)
A Groundbreaking Year for Television, Aptly Reflected (Sep 21)
Sophomore Surge: The Essential Improvements of The Affair and The Leftovers (Oct 20)
The Leisure Class Shows Why Diversity Is About Quality (Nov 3)
Not Like Our Parents: Love, Confusion and Fulfillment in Millennial TV (Nov 19)
There Is No Justice, But There Is Mercy: The Extraordinary Humanity of Getting On (Dec 14)

Emmys 2015
If I Had an Emmy Ballot 
Nominations: What Happened and Why (July 16)
Critics Choice TV Winners: Analysis (June 4)
Critics Choice TV Nominations: Analysis (May 6)
Analysis of Drama Nominees (Aug 18)
Analysis of Comedy Nominees (Aug 27)
Analysis of Longform Nominees (Sep 1)
Analysis of Variety Nominees (Sep 10)
Winners: What Happened and Why (Sep 21)

Best of 2014
TV Series: Top 10
TV Series: Honorable Mentions
TV Performances
TV Episodes
Movies: Top 20
Movie Scenes

Reviews (2014)
American Sniper
Birdman (Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
The Comeback (II) & Getting On (II)
Dear White People
Force Majeure
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Honorable Woman
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
Interstellar
The Knick (I)
The Leftovers (I) 
Leviathan
Listen Up Philip
The Lunchbox
Masters of Sex (II)
The Monuments Men
A Most Violent Year
Mr. Turner
Nightcrawler
Olive Kitteridge
Only Lovers Left Alive
Selma
Still Alice
Transparent (I)
Two Days, One Night
Unbroken
You're the Worst (I)
Wild