Emily Nussbaum
The New Yorker
Contact Emily
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Emily:
Emily Nussbaum
Emily Nussbaum won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 2016. Previously, she worked at New York for seven years, editing the Culture Pages (and creating the Approval Matrix) and writing both features and criticism. Her anthology, “I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution,” was released in June, 2019. → Read More
Uncertain Attraction in “Work in Progress” and “Dare Me”
An indie comedy about a misfit looking for love, and a clear-eyed examination of a small town full of dangerously bored kids take new spins on established genres. → Read More
Emily Nussbaum Picks the Best TV Shows of 2019
Here are more than ten shows that I happened to like and remember on the day that I wrote this list. → Read More
The Incendiary Aims of HBO’s “Watchmen”
Damon Lindelof’s update to Alan Moore’s graphic novel is a bombshell, reordering the fictional universe and writing buried racial trauma back into comic-book mythology. → Read More
The Search for Pizzazz at the Impeachment Reality Show
Emily Nussbaum on the spectacle of the televised House impeachment hearings and how narrative and storytelling could impact them. → Read More
Mixed Débuts on Apple TV+ in “The Morning Show” and “Dickinson”
Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell’s depiction of a #MeToo crisis is a pricey, glum misfire, while Emily Dickinson’s makeover is a sweet and original surprise. → Read More
“Evil,” “9-1-1,” and the Appeal of the Network Procedural
Emily Nussbaum reviews Michelle and Robert King’s “Evil” and Ryan Murphy’s “9-1-1,” which prove, in the era of cable and streaming, that there’s still life in old-school formats. → Read More
In Ukraine, a TV President to Rival Trump
Emily Nussbaum on Volodymyr Zelensky’s performance in “Servant of the People,” a genre-bending series that blends Ryan Murphy wackiness with Sorkinian uplift (minus the hubris). → Read More
“Our Boys” and the Economics of Empathy
Emily Nussbaum reviews the galvanic new series, set in Israel, which emphasizes how easily dehumanizing rhetoric can sway vulnerable minds, and which should feel uncomfortably relevant to American viewers. → Read More
The Niche Celebrity Satire of “BH90210”
Emily Nussbaum reviews a sweet meta-reboot of the hit nineties teen soap opera, which is just smart enough to feel clever and just silly enough to feel relaxing. → Read More
“Sherman’s Showcase” Celebrates a Lost TV Genre
Emily Nussbaum reviews “Sherman’s Showcase,” a loving homage to a fake “Soul Train”-like show and its iconic host. → Read More
“Years and Years” Forces Us Into the Future
Emily Nussbaum reviews the dystopian-realist series “Years and Years,” which is meant to serve as an alert to what’s going on in front of our eyes and where it might lead. → Read More
Off-Kilter Humor on “Los Espookys” and “Alternatino”
Emily Nussbaum reviews the silly and satisfying new series “Los Espookys” and “Alternatino,” which can be loose and healthily illogical, with plenty of big laughs. → Read More
How “When They See Us” and “Chernobyl” Make Us Look
These new true-story series manage to make depressing, traumatic material not merely watchable but mesmerizing. → Read More
TV’s Reckoning with #MeToo
Emily Nussbaum on the creators who are visibly struggling to adjust to the changing landscape, rejecting the “very special episode” path and seeking something more honest. → Read More
What Survives After the “Game of Thrones” Finale
Emily Nussbaum writes about the finale of “Game of Thrones,” which offered closure for characters like Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), and others. → Read More
CBS Censors “The Good Fight” for a Musical Short About China
Emily Nussbaum writes on CBS self-censoring a segment of “The Good Fight” that was critical of Chinese censorship, and how China has become too big of a market for media corporations to ignore. → Read More
Chick Magnets on “Gentleman Jack” and “Killing Eve”
Emily Nussbaum reviews the TV series “Gentleman Jack” and “Killing Eve,” which examine the masks that women wear in public. → Read More
Losing Her Mind: “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” Ends with Hope
Emily Nussbaum writes on the finale of the TV series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” starring Rachel Bloom and created by Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna. → Read More
What Does It Take to Be a Female Genius?
“Fosse/Verdon” and “Documentary Now!” parse the gender politics of artistic mastery and the difference between doormat and muse, Emily Nussbaum writes. → Read More