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History of TV: Contemplating 'Six Feet Under'

January 20, 2022

Six Feet Under is inextricably linked to my university years. We were both just starting in 2001, and as a bird who’d just flown the nest for the first time to experience life, this show about death became utterly captivating. On a rewatch now two de...

History of TV: We listened (and laughed) to Dr. 'Frasier' Crane for 11 years of comedy gold

January 13, 2022

One of television’s longest-running comedies is NBC’s Cheers spin-off, Frasier. The early-'90s sitcom, which debuted as part of the quintessential network fall lineup in 1993, may have even outshone its predecessor by being one of that decade’s first...

History of TV: We're all gonna be okay because Issa's 'Insecure' is in the world

January 6, 2022

Actress, writer, and producer Issa Rae broke the mold of television with Insecure, which ended its five-season run over the holidays. If you followed Rae in the early 2010s, then you might be familiar with The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl, he...

History of TV: 'The Golden Girls' golden era

December 30, 2021

What would the world do without Betty White? The famous actress perhaps originally became that way for her role in The Golden Girls, though these days she might be better known for that meme about Captain America finally dating someone his own age — ...

History of TV: The 'Arrested Development' saga

December 17, 2021

Ruminating on Arrested Development is a bit like prepping for American Ninja Warrior. The quirky comedy that, to many, defined the genre for the early 2000s is a minefield of politically (in)correct humor, as deeply layered as the banana business the...

History of TV: The MCU's noir turn in 'Jessica Jones'

December 9, 2021

Gritty shades of gray, moody aesthetic, and the sarcastic, cynical voiceover of Jessica Jones (in a role made for Krysten Ritter) open the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s second chapter of its Netflix era. Part of the quartet that made the short-lived Th...

History of TV: Peeling back the layers that made 'Dexter' such a guilty pleasure

December 2, 2021

With the return of everyone’s favorite serial killer in a new limited series (that feels weird to write and definitely says something about culture at large, though we’ll get to that in a minute), fans everywhere are getting the finale they always wa...

History of TV: 'One Tree Hill' doesn't want to be anything other than what it is

November 18, 2021

And that is teenage drama at its best. I was halfway through university when One Tree Hill premiered on The WB back in 2003. A romantic teen drama? Not too far off from where I was in life and I, too, hailed from a small town where you either fell in...

History of TV: Why 'Girlfriends' are the best friends

November 11, 2021

In September 2000, audiences were introduced to Girlfriends' Joan Clayton (Tracee Ellis Ross), Maya Denise Wilkes (Golden Brooks), Lynn Ann Searcy (Persia White), and Antoinette “Toni” Marie Childress Garrett (Jill Marie Jones), along with Monica Cha...