James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 16hIf ordering in a cafe, “una mezzo Scaramucci, per favore” 0230 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 16hI believe in scientific measurement terms this is considered a demiscaramucci www.nytimes.com/2026/10/16/u...nytimes.comKatie Zacharia, Trump’s New Press Secretary, Is Fired After 5 Days (Gift Article)The ouster came as Ms. Zacharia was shadowed by questions about how she had presented her legal career and handled her first press briefing. 28715 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 17hAs much as it is cool to get a high-quality network show with an old-fashioned 20th-century 20 episode order, this show would’ve benefited from a streaming-style, double pump two episode premiere  0231 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 14/10/2026So NOW the store claims that the singing mouse is not for sale but if so why is the business LITERALLY CALLED CHUCK E. CHEESE I ask you 0483 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 14/10/2026I want to see the trailer scored entirely to “New Slang” by The Shins 0111 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 13/10/2026Right on time, there’s the “October Surprise” (an oak tree dumps a bunch of acorns on me as I’m biking past it) 0392 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 13/10/2026In seriousness I am an unapologetic Girls fan and actually think the Take Culture that sprung up around it drowned out how good and interesting it was as a straight-up TV show. I also think, like with many revivals, it's said its piece already. But hey -- 0290 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 13/10/2026Me a few days ago: I guess the true TV golden age of the 21st century was like a decade ago, the medium and the discourse around it was so vital and spirited Monkey's paw: *curls finger* variety.com/2026/tv/news...variety.com‘Girls’ Shocker: Lena Dunham Sets Revival at HBO With Allison Williams, Zosia Mamet, Jemima Kirke ReturningHBO is reviving 'Girls,' with Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Zosia Mamet, Jemima Kirke and Andrew Rannells returning. 1568 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 08/10/2026ofc this is all also a subjective matter of your tastes! I prefer small-bore shows like Halt and Catch Fire and experiments like Twin Peaks: The Return and the kind of half-a-drama-half-a-comedy show that some people like to crap on now, which was really coming into its own then 0100 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Anyhoo, I'm thinking more a range of several years than one specific year. It also can be true that a medium can be doing pretty well now but is not quite as interesting as a few years ago, and it's all cyclical. And again, I hate the term "golden age"! But that's where I land if forced 150 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Early streaming TV was more open to experiments. Mature cable had a range from GoT to High Maintenance. All these tiny platforms were taking a flyer on original shows. There was that stretch in 2016 where Atlanta, Better Things, One Mississippi, Fleabag and The Good Place came out w/in a few weeks 1240 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Doing publicity fgor the NYT 100 Best TV Shows list, the question I get over and over is "So are we in a golden age?" Which is a phrase I kinda hate but it got me thinking. I'd rather be watching TV today than, like 1986. But IMHO the recent creative peak was like 10 years ago, give or take 1431 0
Reposted by James PoniewozikAlan Sepinwall @sepinwall.bsky.social · 07/10/2026For The New York Times, I wrote about how Rod Serling create The Twilight Zone in part because it was the only way in the 1950 and 60s for him to comment on the subjects he cared about most, and how that's a good blueprint for contemporary media to deal with our surreal current moment:nytimes.comOpinion | ‘The Twilight Zone’ Created a Blueprint for Surviving Our Surreal Moment (Gift Article)With “The Twilight Zone,” Rod Serling created a durable blueprint for understanding our surreal reality. 10502129 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Also, half the discussion about them has been stupid shit about Emmy categories  010 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 07/10/2026The last time I thought the best new show of the fall was a broadcast drama, the year probably had two zeroes in the middle of it (and it might have been "The Good Wife"). Meet "Cupertino." [giftie] www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/a...nytimes.com‘Cupertino’ Review: The People v. A.I. (Gift Article)Robert and Michelle King have taken on law, politics and religion. Their delightful new legal drama suggests that tech might be the final boss. 213521 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Good takes! I especially agree with #5 -- for my money, a lot of what was most distinctive about the era were shows that proved how arbitrary the "comedy" and "drama" categories are, and I'd have slid many of them much high up the list 181 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I know it’s Tuesday, please just go with the reference 0192 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I will gladly pay you on Tuesday for a self celebratory political ad today www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/u... nytimes.comTrump Does Not Plan to Reimburse Taxpayers for Promotional Ads (Gift Article)A day after the president said his super PAC would pay for the ads, which had drawn bipartisan backlash, officials said that he meant moving forward. A new taxpayer-funded ad aired Tuesday. 1192 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I would read a study on how having come of age in the Suck dot com era made my specific cohort of writers addicted to hyperlinks-as-meta-writing 090 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 06/10/2026The distracted-boyfriend meme, but for me, my revision process and the urge to add one more hyperlink to my review instead 150 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 06/10/2026The replies here are like a Complete Unabridged Works of Points of View That I Will Never Understand Believing that consistency and "sticking the landing" are the highest aims of storytelling is anti-art 1445 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Yeah, I think a good way of staying sane is to just accept "I guess I just don't like this thing other people like" rather than spend 20 hours trying to prove yourself wrong 1230 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I write about TV for a living, and yet I still have a mental list of shows that I have been convinced to give "one more try" because "it really gets good" that I re-enumerate to myself like Arya Stark's revenge list 2300 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Forgot to re-up this for the anniversary. Listen to Adam! 0131 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 04/10/2026This makes me miss the 2000 WB teen soap parody Grosse Pointe 0110 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 02/10/2026This is like when Nixon consulted a Magic 8-Ball before approving the invasion of Cambodia 0111 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Spend a weekend in the Catskills, the maple syrup will pay for itself 120 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Rick and Morty at #101 is what this gif was made for 1112 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 02/10/2026static.klipy.comFrieren Blowing a KissALT: Frieren Blowing a Kiss 010 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 02/10/2026also whoever voted for this is my new best friend 290 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 02/10/2026The readers weighed in on the 100 best shows of the 21st century! First thoughts: * Derry Girls, New Girl, Bob's Burgers: well done * The Walking Dead, Shrinking, Mrs Maisel: you are out of your minds * was not expecting the top 4 shows to be completely unchanged? www.nytimes.com/interactive/...nytimes.comReaders Choose Their Top TV Shows of the 21st Century (Gift Article)The people have spoken. Here are their picks. 9180 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 02/10/2026You could do worse than to rewatch the FNL pilot this weekend 0172 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 02/10/2026I wrote about how FNL was a heartbreaker when it premiered 20 years ago, and it's a heartbreaker to watch today [giftie] www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/a...nytimes.com‘Friday Night Lights’ at 20: Can We Ever Get Back to Dillon? (Gift Article)The football drama’s themes of community and hope are just as moving today, but ever more distant. 39718 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 30/09/2026All my life in arts journalism there's been a tension between treating art as an expression that we should try to understand vs treating it as a product that we should make "consumer guides" for. Guess what! Turns out the "product" part of art is what AI does, and the "art" part still needs humans 0256 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Trick question. Broadcast television was invented in 1982, as a secondary revenue stream for the expensive monitors needed for ColecoVision consoles.  1332 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 30/09/2026This is why all Senate committees need a member from a Big Ten state 0242 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 29/09/2026I’ve had a few days now to take in the responses to the top 100 shows and I think the consensus objection is there should have been at least 200 of them 090 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 26/09/2026If you show up for a job interview and bring me an iced coffee I am hiring you on the spot even if you are unqualified 1716 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Yeah, I think there are many valid ways to do a list like this, but an interesting thing about this one to me is getting a sense of what the people who work in the medium think was best and most worth emulating on TV since 2000. Basically, it's what TV thinks of itself 030 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 25/09/2026You've got another chapter for your book now! 150 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 25/09/2026static.klipy.comElijah Wood and BoJack Horseman Game ShowALT: Elijah Wood and BoJack Horseman Game Show 040 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I just realized that I somehow did a "take these shows off the list" without mentioning Ozark. So I hereby nominate Ozark to be removed from the list. Replace it with nothing. Leave an empty space, like a memorial, for us to stare at and contemplate what we did 2510 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 25/09/2026on the other hand cough cough mad men cough 250 0
James Poniewozik @poniewozik.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I don't think it was? Same went for Beef. I wasn't in on this decision either but I assume it was thus for all "anthology series" (eg Fargo and AHS tho none of those seasons made the list). IOW, each season was treated as a separate work for ballot purposes. 120 0
