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First Person

  1. adieu
    I’m Giving Up My Rock Hall VoteMy invitation to join the organization’s selection committee seemed like a sign of change. It wasn’t.
    By Allyson McCabe
  2. appreciations
    Los Espookys Was a BlessingIn the queer Latinx horror aficionados at the center of the series, I saw the people I surround myself with on-camera for the first time.
    By Reanna Cruz
  3. zach in paris
    Déjà Vu on the Emily in Paris Walking TourTwo hours chasing onscreen landmarks with the sole Emily-loving local in Paris.
    By Zach Zimmerman
  4. first person
    The Butler Journal Entry I Always Return ToThis page of the author’s journal is riveting for how it upends any tradition of shame around a relentless desire for success.
    By Hanif Abdurraqib
  5. first person
    The Voice of New York Is DrillIt’s the most captivating sound the city has heard in decades — and also the most misunderstood. Here, 19 NY drill artists set the record straight.
    As told to Camille Squires
  6. first person
    Losing My Teenage DreamBefore Colton Haynes came to Hollywood, he was confidently queer. Years of mixed messages in the industry changed that.
    By Colton Haynes
  7. first person
    How Mel Brooks Fell for Anne Bancroft“We started talking one day, and we never stopped.”
    By Mel Brooks
  8. first person
    Rachel Lindsay Has No Roses Left to BurnI thought I could change The Bachelor franchise from within. Until I realized I was their token.
    By Rachel Lindsay
  9. first person
    A Return to Stage FrightJacqueline Novak on reviving her critically acclaimed live show Get on Your Knees after a year away.
    By Jacqueline Novak
  10. first person
    I Couldn’t Imagine Being Happy. But I Could Imagine Being Carmela.I found my model for womanhood in an unlikely place: The Sopranos.
    By P.E. Moskowitz
  11. close reads
    The Mod Squad, Kojak, Real-Life Cops, and MeWhat I relearned (about well-meaning liberalism, race, my late father, and my young gay self) rewatching the TV cop shows of my 1970s youth.
    By Mark Harris
  12. close reads
    Indian Matchmaking Is Just Telling It Like It IsWhen the game itself is dirty, why yell at a mirror pointed at it, reflecting the moves for all to see?
    By Mallika Rao
  13. first person
    ‘We Can’t Hire You’Latino writer Alexis Pereira on the most discouraging TV job interview ever.
    By Alexis Pereira
  14. first person
    Navigating Hollywood’s Creative Police State#BlackLivesMatter protests are heading from the streets to Hollywood. But this time, it can’t be just a hashtag.
    By Mamoudou N'Diaye
  15. first person
    Our Brother KaizenHe would be called a murderer and a domestic terrorist. But to us, he was family. Our struggles with systemic racism growing up were the same.
    By The Lucas Bros
  16. first person
    I Am Obsessed With a Tragic Hidden Backstory in Animal CrossingSable is the only character in the entire game that gives you access to an actual story.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  17. first person
    My AppetitesJerry Saltz on eating and coping mechanisms, childhood and self-control, criticism, love, cancer and pandemics.
    By Jerry Saltz
  18. first person
    I Don’t Know How to Tell This StoryCecily Strong on grieving a loved one while quarantined.
    By Cecily Strong
  19. feature
    The Art World’s Mini-Madoff and MeBoozy nights and high-stakes art trades with Inigo Philbrick.
    By Kenny Schachter
  20. close reads
    The Florida I Know and Love Is Finally on TVWhen I watch On Becoming a God in Central Florida and Florida Girls, I’m transported back into my rose-colored memories of the Sunshine State.
    By Monica Castillo
  21. first person
    On Jane the Virgin, There Was No Shame in Being an Adult Woman Anxious About SexWhen I was a child, I underwent genital mutilation, a trauma that made it difficult to separate shame from sex. No show understood this like Jane.
    By Mariya Karimjee
  22. first person
    In Defense of Cousins Who Fall in Love, on Ramy and IRL(Not to be read by any of my cousins.)
    By Mallika Rao
  23. religion
    Ramy Can Teach You How to WuduThe Hulu comedy’s stunning first episode, “Between the Toes,” tackles the Muslim politics of cleansing for prayer.
    By Maham Hasan
  24. first person
    On PEN15, Everyone Is (Refreshingly) a BullyThe excellent mid-season episode, “Posh,” plays like a fable about race in American middle schools.
    By Mallika Rao
  25. first person
    Fast Food Deserves Better Than Donald TrumpComedy writer Bill Oakley comes to the defense of fast food after last night’s highly ridiculed White House feast.
    By Bill Oakley
  26. first person
    I Make Plays. I Write Criticism. I’m Not My Own Enemy.“The artist–critic war of attrition is boring. It’s a cliché.”
    By Sara Holdren
  27. first person
    Comedians and College Students Are Not EnemiesStand-up comedy is not “us versus them.” It is call-and-response.
    By Jes Tom
  28. first person
    17 Years After 9/11, I’m Still a Terrorist in Hollywood’s EyesThis week, we observe the anniversary of 9/11 and start a new fall TV season. As unconnected as those may seem, they are totally intertwined for me.
    By Amir Talai
  29. first person
    What I’ve Learned Performing Comedy at Over 50 College Campuses“When I started touring universities, my first impression was not Wow, these softies can’t take a joke! It was Oh dear God, they are so young!”
    By Sara Schaefer
  30. first person
    Gregg Turkington Speaks Out on the New ‘Popular Film’ Oscars Category“Oscar, you finally got it right.”
    By Gregg Turkington
  31. first person
    On 10 Years of the New New-Music Scene, and 30 Years of My OwnAs the city has become more global, I have watched the music world get healthier, more complex, and less hermetic.
    By Justin Davidson
  32. first person
    Was My Joke the Final Nail in Fifth Harmony’s Coffin?No. The thing about Fifth Harmony is that we never should’ve had a Fifth Harmony.
    By Emmy Blotnick
  33. Why I Wrote DetroitMark Boal on the inspiration for his new movie about the 1967 Detroit riots.
    By Mark Boal
  34. feature
    Jerry Saltz: My Life As a Failed ArtistDecades after giving up the dream for good, an art critic returns to the work he’d devoted his life to, then abandoned — but never really forgot.
    By Jerry Saltz
  35. first person
    What This Is Us Gets Right About Being a Black Kid in a White FamilyAs a black adoptee raised in a white family, watching the show touches on some truths.
    By Rebecca Carroll
  36. first person
    On Six Feet Under and Those Moments When Life and TV CollideIt’s a show that felt extraordinarily personal to many people for a simple, obvious reason: We all lose loved ones.
    By Jen Chaney
  37. first person
    Why Kimmy Has a Savior Complex on Unbreakable Kimmy SchmidtA savior mentality is one of the most difficult patterns for a former cult member to break.
    By Flor Edwards
  38. first person
    Crazy Ex-GF’s Greatest Legacy Is the Asian BroIf you grew up anywhere with a sizable, multi-generational East Asian population, chances are you knew, hung out with, or lusted after tons of Asian bros.
    By Jada Yuan
  39. first person
    Why I Tackled Mental Illness This Season on You’re the WorstIn this landscape of new shows debuting with alarming regularity, the challenge is to find a way to mature into something unexpected.
    By Stephen Falk
  40. holiday specials
    Sofia Coppola on A Very Murray Christmas“I do think the holidays have a sort of nostalgic melancholy and joyfulness to them, and Bill is so good with showing both those qualities.”
    By Sofia Coppola As told to David Marchese
  41. first person
    On Master of None, the Kids Are All Right, But the Parents Are BetterWhen I first watched episode two, “Parents,” I couldn’t quite catch my breath.
    By Mallika Rao
  42. first person
    The Mindy Project Brings TV’s First Awesome Arranged MarriageTarun and Sonu Lahiri are pioneers of a sort.
    By Mallika Rao
  43. first person
    What UnREAL Gets (and Doesn’t Get) About Life As a Reality-TV Producer“The pain of every reality producer is deploying her considerable talents to tell stories that are beneath her.”
    By Seth Grossman
  44. first person
    How I Became the Writer of Family Guy’s 250th Ep“For the last three years, I was the girl who reminded Seth MacFarlane about his appointments, not the comedy writer who would build the bones of Family Guy’s 250th episode.”
    By Jaydi Samuels
  45. first person
    The Cultural Gaps in a Cult Child’s LifeI was going to have to lie many times when questioned about my knowledge of pop culture.
    By Flor Edwards
  46. first person
    I Grew Up in a Cult. Here’s What Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Gets Right.Kimmy’s enthusiasm might seem questionable, but it’s not.
    By Flor Edwards
  47. first person
    My Summer in Joan Rivers’s Magical Joke FactoryBy her former intern turned friend.
    By Matt Bauman
  48. first person
    Joe Jonas: My Life As a Jonas BrotherThe real, PG-13ish version.
    By Joe Jonas