MOST RECENT ARTICLES BY:

Kathryn VanArendonk

Staff Writer
@kvanaren
kathryn.vanarendonk@nymag.com

  1. bless the child
    The Continuing Adventures of the Artist Formerly Known As Baby YodaAre you there, Force? It’s me, Grogu.
  2. docuseries
    How John Wilson Made the Perfect COVID-Era TV FinaleThe documentarian discusses the unexpectedly moving episode of his HBO series.
  3. comedy review
    Nate Is the Most Astonishing Special of 2020It’s endlessly rich, uncomfortable, and also there’s an enormous rubber dick.
  4. close reads
    What the Hell Is Happening With Masks on Network TV?This is what the middle ground of COVID-19 storytelling looks like, and it’s both unsatisfying and distracting.
  5. tv review
    The Flight Attendant Is a Goofy-Sad Escapist Caper for Our TimesIt feels odd to call a thriller a romp, but that’s about where this snappy, Kaley Cuoco–starring HBO Max series lands.
  6. how everything works
    How The Crown Made Gillian Anderson Look Like Margaret ThatcherThat wig was as hard, and as hard to make, as it looks.
  7. comedy review
    Kevin Hart Desperately Wants Your AttentionIn his great new Netflix special, the stand-up gives plenty of f**ks.
  8. backstories
    How Emma Corrin Became The Crown’s Princess DianaFidgety hands, a voluminous fringe, and other details that made the people’s princess click into place.
  9. royal order
    So, You Want to Start Watching The CrownCan you dive into the Netflix series for the first time with season four? Sure! But there are some things you should know first.
  10. tv review
    Industry Trades On Known QuantitiesAt this point, the new HBO drama feels defined more by its influences than its characters.
  11. tv review
    The Crown Has Finally Gotten to the Good StuffThe fascinating trio of Elizabeth (Olivia Colman), Thatcher (Gillian Anderson), and Diana (Emma Corrin) make the series’ fourth season its best yet.
  12. close reads
    The Bachelorette Is Best When It Breaks All the RulesIt should’ve broken a few more.
  13. election 2020
    Watching CNN on Election Night Felt Like Being Dipped in Boiling OilBelieve it or not, it doesn’t have to be like this.
  14. best of 2020
    The Best TV of the Year (So Far)We Are Who We Are, The Good Lord Bird, and The Queen’s Gambit are some of the brightest bright spots among 2020’s televisual offerings.
  15. vulture bets on berry
    What the World Needs Now Is Matt Berry to Play BatmanIntroducing our new column, “Vulture Bets on Berry.”
  16. sweet jesus
    Hot Damn, Timothy Olyphant in The MandalorianHis hair is perfect.
  17. viewing guide
    Which NXIVM Docuseries Is Right for You?Fear not: Keith Raniere’s strange obsession with volleyball will show up regardless of which of these three docuseries you pick.
  18. cameos
    I Can’t Stop Thinking About These 14 Seconds in How to With John WilsonWait, is that Kyle MacLachlan?
  19. comedy review
    Everything’s Fine Is a Frantic Hour of Hot PotatoSarah Cooper has her own Netflix special, but she can’t quite hold her own.
  20. tv review
    The Great How to With John Wilson Defies ExpectationIt’s incredibly poignant with a surprising number of dicks.
  21. qui-bye
    Did 2020 Kill Quibi? Or Did Quibi Kill Quibi?Name aside, the upstart streamer actually had a lot of things going for it — and it failed in spite of all of them.
  22. book excerpt
    How the Sitcom Mirrored, and Shaped, Your Idea of New York CityAn excerpt from The Encyclopedia of New York.
  23. chat room
    T’Nia Miller Is Happy She Was Wrong About Bly Manor Episode 8“I thought, Nah, babe, this is Netflix. Just keep it real. But oh my God, they know what they’re doing.”
  24. movie review
    What the Constitution Means to Me Film Unleashes a Boiler Full of FlamesWhen everything feels too overwhelming to watch at home, Heidi Schreck’s Broadway show (streaming on Prime Video) hits the right chord of anger.
  25. tv review
    Thank God Social Distance Is SadNetflix’s new coronavirus anthology series doesn’t offer any answers, but unlike so much COVID-era entertainment, it does offer honesty.
  26. docusoaps
    How Nyle DiMarco Made Deaf U the Messy Teen Drama of His Dreams“I didn’t want to make a PSA. I wanted something that would draw hearing people into our world.”
  27. hello fellow wimps
    A Scaredy-Cat’s Guide to The Haunting of Bly ManorEndure the terror with the help of our episodic breakdown of all of this season’s jump scares, alarming dolls, and weird cracks in the wall.
  28. tv
    Reality TV Glows UpDocuseries like The Vow are television’s latest prestige offering, but they’re not so different from their trashier predecessors.
  29. tv review
    What, Exactly, Is a Docusoap? Deaf U Is Here to Explain.Netflix’s new series weaves in and out of journalistic observation and voyeuristic, messy stories about cliques, sex, and snobbery.
  30. tv review
    Love Torture and Conspiracies? Utopia Is for You.If you can grind your way through the blood and horror, this Gillian Flynn adaptation occasionally makes its way into mesmerizing territory.
  31. vulture recommends
    Stath Lets Flats Will Scratch That Office Itch Like Nothing ElseDon’t sleep on this show.
  32. emmys 2020
    The Highs, Lows, and Hmms of the Mostly At-Home EmmysCongrats to the rich white TV families of the world.
  33. close reads
    Actually, the Cultiest Part of The Vow Is the Night VolleyballLong before anyone in NXIVM got to the point of branding, there was volleyball.
  34. creepy-ass islands
    At What Point in The Third Day Would I Have Run Away Forever?On the one hand: this weird island has cool festival puppets. On the other: pretty much everything else.
  35. close reads
    P-Valley Reclaimed TV Strip-Club Drama for the DancersThe pole-dancing workplace drama is a rebuttal to the Bada Bings of the TV world, but it’s also so much more than that.
  36. tv review
    The Boys Are Back to Blow Your Mind, Literally and FigurativelyGleefully violent as ever, Amazon’s dark superhero story ups the ante on its most suggestive ideas about media image-making and corporate control.
  37. fall preview 2020
    47 New and Returning Shows to Watch This FallAnd here you thought there would be no new TV to watch …
  38. vmas 2020
    No One Can Tell Me the VMAs Weren’t a SimulationThe performances took place in the only setting available: a disembodied, placeless nowhere.
  39. close reads
    Yellowstone Is the Most (Anxious, White, Male) American Show on TVIt’s no coincidence that a story about outside threats to an insular way of life is one of cable’s biggest dramas.
  40. what we do in the shadows
    Cheers to You, Jackie DaytonaThis What We Do in the Shadows spot for Lucky Brew’s is here to remind you how much you miss bars and definitely not-a-vampire bartenders.
  41. close reads
    The All-Virtual DNC Is Good, ActuallyFor the first time, the national convention was designed primarily as a screen experience rather than retrofitted for TV.
  42. close reads
    I May Destroy You’s Structural EpiphaniesIn the penultimate episode, Arabella remembers what has been eluding her all season. But it is what comes just before that is the true revelation.
  43. tv review
    Ted Lasso Fails Upward, CheerfullyAn improbably pleasant continuation of a 2013 marketing gimmick, the new Apple TV+ series nonetheless feels like a time warp to the recent past.
  44. extremely online
    On Top of Everything Else, Apparently There’s Still Baby NutDon’t we have enough to deal with?
  45. trauma
    Last Chance U’s New Season Takes an Unexpected, Sad DetourThe episode “Greyhaven” is about football, sure, but it’s more about the trauma echoing through the family of fantasy author Marion Zimmer Bradley.
  46. nasty
    The ‘Clean’ Version of ‘WAP’ Is Actually So Much FilthierIt’s much more detailed in a sensory way.
  47. trope patrol
    Death to the Sardonic Needle DropHow many incongruously cheerful songs playing over a violent montage is too many? Ask The Umbrella Academy.
  48. comedy review
    The Audacity of Sam JayIn her Netflix special, the comedian locates power in the places where it is often overlooked.
  49. emmys 2020
    What We Do in the Shadows Writer Stefani Robinson on Jackie Daytona, Ghost Sperm“It’s liberating but also a little terrifying to write this episode that’s stupid and funny for the sake of being stupid and funny.”
  50. tv review
    The Umbrella Academy’s Second Season Takes a Trip to NonsensevilleWhat the new season lacks in internal logic or consistent stakes, it makes up for in violent fight scenes set to peppy, ironically cheerful pop songs.
More Articles