Almost exactly 13 years ago, when I was still a freelancer for this site, I wrote a piece about how FX’s hit “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” owed a great debt to “Seinfeld” in its comedic embrace of characters that could politely be called misanthropic. The quartet of characters at the center of one of

Rarely has an animated show felt more like an extension of its creator’s personality than Netflix’s “Alley Cats,” a Ricky Gervais production from top to fuzzy bottom. It’s a disheartening reminder of how far the once-creative star of “The Office” and “Extras” has fallen, becoming almost a parody of himself with his “edgy” humor and

In this excerpt from his book The Otherworld: The Mythic Dimensions of Christophe Gans, author and RogerEbert.com contributor Scout Tafoya gets into the French director’s parallels to the great Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky and the video games that inspired his work. First person POV camera was de rigueur in Japanese games by the time Team

After an unlikely beginning as a series of NBC Sports TV commercials in 2013 and a spectacular, awards-spangled run on Apple TV as a beacon of mental health positivity and Capra-esque optimism, “Ted Lasso” ended on a near-perfect note. The Season 3 finale in May 2023 leaned into the time-honored rituals of TV finales, with

The events of Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” occur today: August 4, 2026. Like so many dates in science fiction, this one probably seemed far away when it was chosen, but once it was finally upon us, it passed like all days. This morning, I re-read the story, which is sent

We all know Chicago is a sports town that has been home to legends on a variety of basketball courts, football and soccer fields, hockey rinks, and so forth. Add to that the putting green occupied by Windy City golfers, of whom there have been an increasing number in recent years. I am not a

With “I Want Your Sex,” Gregg Araki mounts a long-awaited return to filmmaking in the same surreal, provocative key that long ago cemented his status as a true icon of queer independent cinema.  At the center of his latest is a volatile BDSM relationship that develops between contemporary artist Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde) and her

Sprinkled throughout the narrative of the sophomore season of “Diarra from Detroit” (relocated to Paramount+ after the shuttering of BET+ this year) are references to beloved stories in which a gang of friends comes together to solve a puzzle. “Scooby-Doo” gets a shoutout, so does “The Goonies.” But in the opinion of this writer, season

San Diego Comic-Con always has a few up-to-the-minute costumes (like someone dressed as Cyclospora lettuce), and a few looks especially popular among a wide range of people. This year, I saw Monkeys D. Luffy from “One Piece” in all shapes, sizes, and ages, easy to spot with the red vest, blue pants, and straw hat.

From Jean Harlow and James Dean through Simone Battle and Anton Yelchin, entertainment history is filled with instances of performers dying just as audiences had begun to appreciate how much they had achieved at a young age, and what incredible potential they had when they were taken. Just added to that awful roll call: Kaylee