"Top Chef" winner Hung Huynh begins his stint as executive chef at Solo in the Sony building on March 10, 2008 in New York City.

Should We Expect TV Chefs to Serve “Me on a Plate”?

Asian Americans navigate entrenched attitudes and expectations when it comes to their relationship with food—even while competing on Top Chef.
A promotional image for Yellowjackets

Girls Gone Greek

The most influential character on Showtime’s Yellowjackets is the one who goes unnamed: Dionysus.
Bill Clinton plays the saxophone on the Arsenio Hall Show, 1992

The Late-Night Circuit: Why Do Politicians Do It?

With a captive audience of millions and a relaxed atmosphere, the late-night talk show offers a good opportunity to make policy discussions more memorable.
An image of The Sandman

In the Gutters of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman

Gaiman’s stories echo with narratives from the Western canon, taken from folktales and communal memory, displaced into something that feels fresh.
A #buryyourgays hashtag over a black and white drawing of a cemetery

Can Fan Hashtag Campaigns Stop the “Bury Your Gays” Trope?

Organized fan hashtag campaigns put pressure on the entertainment industry to improve their writing for and treatment of LGBTQ+ characters.
A Video Player interface with a tv rating in its center

Film and TV Ratings in the Streaming Age

We've got Netflix, AppleTV, YouTube, and Prime literally in the palms of our hands. Do conventional movie and television rating systems matter to us?
Denée Benton as Peggy Scott on The Gilded Age

Julia C. Collins & the Black Elite of the Gilded Age

HBO's The Gilded Age has done its homework on Black History, creating a character based upon real life wealthy Black women of the time.
Close-up of a Man's smiling mouth

The Laugh Track: Loathe It or Love It

The use of a laugh track began with radio, and was taken up by the new medium of television in 1950. Both viewers and critics have loathed it ever since.
A screenshot from Squid Game

The Gruesome Truth at the Heart of Squid Game

Would you be willing to play games to get out of debt? Would you sell your organs?
The cast of the new Gossip GirlThe cast of the new Gossip Girl

Gossip Girls (and Boys)

Researchers found that male and female adolescents may respond differently to gossip or other forms of social aggression.