David Bianculli
David Bianculli is a guest host and TV critic on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. A contributor to the show since its inception, he has been a TV critic since 1975.
From 1993 to 2007, Bianculli was a TV critic for the New York Daily News.
Bianculli has written four books: The Platinum Age Of Television: From I Love Lucy to The Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific (2016); Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, 2009); Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously (1992); and Dictionary of Teleliteracy (1996).
A professor of TV and film at Rowan University, Bianculli is also the founder and editor of the website, TVWorthWatching.com.
-
Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany star as a witch and an android in the newest entry in Disney's Marvel universe. WandaVision is framed like a sitcom, but will likely get much more dramatic.
-
At times, TV brings us live coverage of something so shocking that we'll never forget it. The image of Trump supporters attacking the Capitol ranks as one of the most momentous events ever broadcast.
-
Playing a retired millionaire who unexpectedly wins his bid to become mayor of Los Angeles, Danson takes the spotlight and shines, sticking every landing on every line.
-
COVID-19 precautions kept us physically apart, but Fresh Air TV critic David Bianculli says shows such as Schitt's Creek, Better Call Saul, Fargo and Lovecraft Country provided virtual connection.
-
Bryan Cranston is a judge whose life is torn apart when his teen son is involved in a car accident with a mobster's son. The legal twists and dramatic turns are nonstop in this Showtime miniseries.
-
The Carol Burnett Show, which aired from 1967-1978, recently started streaming. We listen back to Terry Gross' 2003 interview with Burnett, and TV critic David Bianculli checks in with her now.
-
Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant star as a married couple on the brink of unraveling in David E. Kelley's new HBO miniseries, based on Jean Hanff Korelitz's novel, You Should Have Known.
-
Based on a trial from 1969, Aaron Sorkin's new Netflix film draws from actual transcripts — as well as a series of flashbacks to political unrest that took place in Chicago in the summer of 1968.
-
Showtime's five-part documentary about the famed Los Angeles club contains plenty of laughs. But it also says a lot about fame, about the drive to succeed, competition and friendship.
-
The new installment of the FX anthology series deals with racism and sexism in 1950 Kansas City. But don't let the period trappings fool you: Fargo's conflicts sizzle with resonance to today's world.