TV

A photo of Tuca, a toucan, and Bertie, a small bird, who are animated characters on Tuca & Bertie.

A Heartbreaking Loss: “Tuca & Bertie” Gave Trauma Survivors a Road Map for Healing

by Mary Retta
August 2, 2019 at 2:02pm
While Tuca & Bertiei s light and comical, featuring meat drawers, edible grandmas, and runaway boobs, it’s ultimately an ode to female friendship, healing, and survival. Read more »
A photo of Max from The L Word, a white person with brown hair and blue eyes. Max looks into the camera.

Missing the Mark: Where Are the Trans Women on “The L Word” Reboot?

by Mey Rude
August 1, 2019 at 9:39am
We need the most mainstream lesbian show in the world to actively normalize trans lesbians. Read more »
Gina Rodriguez, a Latinx woman with dark brown hair, stares at some standing in the doorway on Jane the Virgin

Pure Heart: How “Jane the Virgin” Turned Empathy into Power

by Mallika Khanna
July 31, 2019 at 12:07pm
Resistance onscreen can be as simple as giving space to characters who aren’t normally visible. Read more »
Samira Wiley and Uzo Aduba, two Black women, in Orange is the New Black. They both wear prison uniforms and are holding hands.

From Representation to Tragedy Porn: Did “OITNB” Fail Its Marginalized Viewers?

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
July 26, 2019 at 3:10pm
Did Orange is the New Black accurately represent marginalized people, or simply expose them to pain via tragedy porn? Read more »
a photo of Ramy Youssef, an Egyptian American man with short, brown hair wearing a green hoodie, black shirt, and black hair

Airing Authenticity: Does “Ramy” Need to Be Real to Be Fun?

by Umber Bhatti
July 22, 2019 at 7:48pm
Ramy Youssef chooses not to adhere to a collective narrative, instead homing in on his personal experience.  Read more »
A photo of Luke Parker, a white man, and Hannah Brown, a white woman, on The Bachelorette

Viewers Over Decency: How “The Bachelor” Franchise Keeps Failing Its Leading Ladies

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
July 17, 2019 at 3:41pm
The Bachelor franchise is willing to toss women into the flames of abuse for bigger ratings. Has it even earned the right to tell the stories of these women if it won’t protect them? Read more »
A photo of David Harbour, a white man with brown hair, as Jim Hopper in Stranger Things.

From Lovable Brute to Aggressor: How “Stranger Things” Turned Jim Hopper Into an Abuser

by Rebecca Long
July 15, 2019 at 12:24pm
The issue with Stranger Things is that its depiction of abuse seems unconscious and uncritical. A series that doesn’t recognize abuse only normalizes... Read more »
Nicole Kidman, a redheaded white woman, sits beside Meryl Streep, an older white woman with gray hair and glasses, on Big Little Lies

Scream On: “Big Little Lies” Shows That Abuse Doesn’t Always Die with the Abuser

by Caroline Reilly
July 12, 2019 at 11:01am
Big Little Lies never lets us forget that it’s a show about the inextricable hold that domestic violence has on those who experience it, witness it, and survive it. Read more »
a white woman with glasses with shoulder-length curls sits on a stage

Fear of a Feminist Lens: How Emily Nussbaum Pioneered TV Criticism

by Jourdain Searles
July 9, 2019 at 7:32pm
Nussbaum provides a roadmap for how to talk about television with an openness that sheds the hand-wringing that has plagued television criticism since its conception. Read more »
four white women and one Black woman stand together, in a conspiring stance, on Big Little Lies

Guilty Parties: “Big Little Lies’” Glorious Reflections on Female Penitence

by Aline Dolinh
July 3, 2019 at 11:38am
There’s something aspirational about the way Big Little Lies imbues even the most dysfunctional situations with a gloss of camp-adjacent catharsis. Read more »

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Best of Bitch

Films and TV Portray Abortion as More Dangerous Than It Is

by Erica Thomas
February 19, 2014 at 3:47pm
Films and television shows tend to present a skewed portrayal of abortion—when fictional movies and TV shows include a plotline about abortion... Read more »

Tina Belcher's Sexual Revolution

​​​​​​​Tina Belcher, an animated teenaged girl. She wears glasses and has black hair with bangs.
by Gabrielle Moss
May 6, 2014 at 11:57am
Tina Belcher breaks all the rules of network sitcoms. That's why she's wonderful.  Read more »

What I Learned About Gender and Power from Sailor Moon

by Soleil Ho
May 31, 2013 at 1:43pm
My life began in 1995 — the year I turned eight and became a divorced kid.    Read more »