The A.V. Club | Pop culture obsessives writing for the pop culture obsessed.

Illustration for The best TV shows of the year so far

Best Of The Year

The best TV shows of the year so far

Highlighting the programs that moved us, cheered us, and just flat-out impressed us during the first half of the year

The A.V. Club

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Illustration for Wednesdays Best Deals: iWatch Dogs Legion/i, Bomaker ANC Headphones, Nike Air Max, and More

Best Deals of the Day

Wednesday's Best Deals: Watch Dogs Legion, Bomaker ANC Headphones, Nike Air Max, and More

The Inventory Staff

Illustration for Pre-Order iWatch Dogs Legion/i on PlayStation 4 With a Rare $20 Discount

Best Gaming Deals

Pre-Order Watch Dogs Legion on PlayStation 4 With a Rare $20 Discount

Quentyn Kennemer

Illustration for Grab The iUnder Night In-Birth Exe: Late[Cl-R]/i Collectors Edition for $42 and Try To Pronounce This Name With Me

Best Gaming Deals

Grab The Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[Cl-R] Collector's Edition for $42 and Try To Pronounce This Name With Me

Elizabeth Henges

and Quentyn Kennemer

Videos

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Danny Trejo on life in quarantine, Animal Crossing, and his new nickname

Illustration for <i>Big Mouth</i>'s Brandon Kyle Goodman reflects on Pride Month, the need for Black, queer voices on TV

Big Mouth's Brandon Kyle Goodman reflects on Pride Month, the need for Black, queer voices on TV

Illustration for Game show expert Wayne Brady on his tips for playing—and hosting—<i>Family Feud</i>

Game show expert Wayne Brady on his tips for playing—and hosting—Family Feud

Illustration for <i>Irresistible</i>'s Chris Cooper and Mackenzie Davis talk working with cows, Jon Stewart

Irresistible's Chris Cooper and Mackenzie Davis talk working with cows, Jon Stewart

A-

Illustration for Starz’si P-Valley/i is a spectacular display of Black womanhood in all its hues and nuances

TV Reviews

Starz’s P-Valley is a spectacular display of Black womanhood in all its hues and nuances

“Let that stage be your stepping stone, not your tombstone.” That’s the number one rule at The Pynk, the gritty yet vibrant strip club that sits at the center of Starz’s newest hour-long drama series, P-Valley. Award-winning playwright Katori Hall’s…

Aramide Tinubu

Illustration for iFloor Is Lava /iis a live-action video game, and that’s awesome

Recommends

Floor Is Lava is a live-action video game, and that’s awesome

William Hughes

Illustration for iI May Destroy You/i doesnt have time for victim-blaming in its fifth episode

TV Reviews

I May Destroy You doesn't have time for victim-blaming in its fifth episode

Ashley Ray-Harris

B-

Illustration for With iIntelligence/i, Peacock provides David Schwimmer with an uneven return to TV comedy

TV Reviews

With Intelligence, Peacock provides David Schwimmer with an uneven return to TV comedy

Will Harris

Best Of

The best TV dramas on Hulu

The A.V. Club

What's On Tonight

Illustration for Mack and Deke embrace the ’80s in a totally tubular iAgents Of S.H.I.E.L.D./i

What's On Tonight

Mack and Deke embrace the ’80s in a totally tubular Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Allison Shoemaker

B+

Illustration for Netflix’s enchanting Walter Mercado documentary radiates with iMucho Mucho Amor/i

Reviews

Netflix’s enchanting Walter Mercado documentary radiates with Mucho Mucho Amor

Danette Chavez

Best Of

The best comedy specials on Netflix

The A.V. Club

Best Of

The best movies on Amazon Prime

The A.V. Club

From The Archives

Illustration for Television killed the cinema star: 16 more shows worthy of the films that inspired them

Inventory

Television killed the cinema star: 16 shows worthy of the films that inspired them

Gwen Ihnat,

A.A. Dowd,

Joshua Alston,

Molly Eichel,

and 5 more

Illustration for 10 episodes that show how iBuffy The Vampire Slayer /iblew up genre TV

TV Club 10

10 episodes that show how Buffy The Vampire Slayer blew up genre TV

Emily Todd VanDerWerff

Illustration for Elle Fanning picks her 5 favorite movies of all time, from iScarface/i to iPulp Fiction/i

Video

Elle Fanning picks her 5 favorite movies of all time, from Scarface to Pulp Fiction

Baraka Kaseko

and Marah Eakin

Inventory

Not without my daughter: 18-plus movies about rescuing children

Caroline Siede,

Gwen Ihnat,

A.A. Dowd,

and 9 more

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Recommends

The ultimate Hollywood “women’s picture” was the one that featured no men at all

Watch This offers movie recommendations inspired by new releases, premieres, current events, or occasionally just our own inscrutable whims. This week: With Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch moving from July to October, we’re singling out other…

Gwen Ihnat

Illustration for The best movies on Netflix

Best Of

The best movies on Netflix—now updated for July

The A.V. Club

Illustration for Danny Trejo on life in quarantine, iAnimal Crossing/i, and his new nickname

Video

Danny Trejo on life in quarantine, Animal Crossing, and his new nickname

Cameron Scheetz

Illustration for iGuest Of Honour/i has the style of classic Atom Egoyan, but none of the inspiration

Reviews

Guest Of Honour has the style of classic Atom Egoyan, but none of the inspiration

Mike D'Angelo

B+

Illustration for Andy Samberg falls into his own iGroundhog Day/i in the sweet and inventive iPalm Springs/i

Reviews

Andy Samberg falls into his own Groundhog Day in the sweet and inventive Palm Springs

A.A. Dowd

ICYMI

A-

Illustration for From infectious diseases to fake news, iThe Rules Of Contagion /iexamines how things spread

Reviews

From infectious diseases to fake news, The Rules Of Contagion examines how things spread

Rien Fertel

Recommends

Drugs, infidelity, and a telekinetic kid aren’t the half of this brash Pedro Almodóvar comedy

Lawrence Garcia

Interview

John Mulaney interviews Eric Hutchinson about music and never feeling at home in high school

John Mulaney

Illustration for There’s no iTenet/i this July—but you can watch Tom Hanks at sea and Charlize Theron on Netflix

Preview

There’s no Tenet this July—but you can watch Tom Hanks at sea and Charlize Theron on Netflix

The A.V. Club

Newswire

Halle Berry no longer seeking to play a transgender man after backlash: "I vow to be an ally"

Patrick Gomez

Podmass

The best podcasts of 2020 so far

Marnie Shure,

Zach Brooke,

Anthony D Herrera,

and 2 more

Illustration for iHamilton/i on Disney+ can’t replace the live theatrical experience, but it’s a triumph all the same

For Our Consideration

Hamilton on Disney+ can’t replace the live theatrical experience, but it’s a triumph all the same

Allison Shoemaker

Illustration for Determined to ruin iHarry Potter/i for us all, J.K. Rowling continues to tweet

Newswire

Determined to ruin Harry Potter for us all, J.K. Rowling continues to tweet

Patrick Gomez

Show allSee More

Newswire

Future Islands roar into the post-apocalypse with "For Sure," their first new song in 3 years

Future Islands’ The Far Field delighted us in 2017 with its grand and complex melodies, proving once and for all that the band amounted to more than frontman Samuel T. Herring’s eye-grabbing dance moves. As such, we’re delighted to report that the…

Randall Colburn

Clips

Anthony Anderson asks NASCAR's Bubba Wallace about Trump targeting yet another Black athlete

Dennis Perkins

Newswire

Andy Samberg speaks on Brooklyn Nine-Nine's uncertain path forward amid BLM protests

The entertainment industry’s current-day reckoning with its role in systemic racism extends beyond its most recent purge of actors (both the fired and the peacefully exiting ones) and all previous examples of anything resembling blackface. Some…

Shannon Miller

Newswire

Magnum P.I., MacGyver showrunner Peter Lenkov fired amid toxic work environment claims

Per The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, CBS has severed all ties with showrunner and producer Peter Lenkov. The split includes Lenkov’s removal from both of his revivals, Magnum P.I. and MacGyver, as well as the termination of his overall…

Shannon Miller

Great Job Internet

Read this: What Starship Troopers' bloodthirsty grunts can tell us about America in 2020

Paul Verhoeven’s oeuvre continues to pay dividends as the filmmaker enters his 60th year in the business, with even his notorious duds refusing to fade from the public consciousness. Showgirls, for example, just got itself a stellar documentary, and…

Randall Colburn

Illustration for HBO Max greenlights iYoung Love/i, an animated series from the Oscar-winning iHair Love/i team

Newswire

HBO Max greenlights Young Love, an animated series from the Oscar-winning Hair Love team

Shannon Miller

Great Job Internet

The Ayn Rand Institute took a PPP Loan, which is rich

Andrew Paul

Newswire

Elisabeth Moss is gonna play an axe murderer

Randall Colburn

Show allSee More

Interview

John Mulaney interviews Eric Hutchinson about music and never feeling at home in high school

John Mulaney and musician Eric Hutchinson are old friends. While the comedian is best known for his stand-up specials (and recent Netflix special John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch), Hutchinson has built a steady discography of soulful pop-rock,…

John Mulaney

Illustration for Netta reaches into her iGoody Bag/i, pulls out the looping banger, “Bassa Sababa”

Video

The best TV shows of the year so far

Wednesday's Best Deals: Watch Dogs Legion, Bomaker ANC Headphones, Nike Air Max, and More

Pre-Order Watch Dogs Legion on PlayStation 4 With a Rare $20 Discount

Grab The Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[Cl-R] Collector's Edition for $42 and Try To Pronounce This Name With Me

Danny Trejo on life in quarantine, Animal Crossing, and his new nickname

Big Mouth's Brandon Kyle Goodman reflects on Pride Month, the need for Black, queer voices on TV

Game show expert Wayne Brady on his tips for playing—and hosting—Family Feud

Irresistible's Chris Cooper and Mackenzie Davis talk working with cows, Jon Stewart

Starz’s P-Valley is a spectacular display of Black womanhood in all its hues and nuances

Floor Is Lava is a live-action video game, and that’s awesome

I May Destroy You doesn't have time for victim-blaming in its fifth episode

With Intelligence, Peacock provides David Schwimmer with an uneven return to TV comedy

The best TV dramas on Hulu

Mack and Deke embrace the ’80s in a totally tubular Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Netflix’s enchanting Walter Mercado documentary radiates with Mucho Mucho Amor

The best comedy specials on Netflix

The best movies on Amazon Prime

Television killed the cinema star: 16 shows worthy of the films that inspired them

10 episodes that show how Buffy The Vampire Slayer blew up genre TV

Elle Fanning picks her 5 favorite movies of all time, from Scarface to Pulp Fiction

Not without my daughter: 18-plus movies about rescuing children

The ultimate Hollywood “women’s picture” was the one that featured no men at all

The best movies on Netflix—now updated for July

Danny Trejo on life in quarantine, Animal Crossing, and his new nickname

Guest Of Honour has the style of classic Atom Egoyan, but none of the inspiration

Andy Samberg falls into his own Groundhog Day in the sweet and inventive Palm Springs

From infectious diseases to fake news, The Rules Of Contagion examines how things spread

Drugs, infidelity, and a telekinetic kid aren’t the half of this brash Pedro Almodóvar comedy

John Mulaney interviews Eric Hutchinson about music and never feeling at home in high school

There’s no Tenet this July—but you can watch Tom Hanks at sea and Charlize Theron on Netflix

Halle Berry no longer seeking to play a transgender man after backlash: "I vow to be an ally"

The best podcasts of 2020 so far

Hamilton on Disney+ can’t replace the live theatrical experience, but it’s a triumph all the same

Determined to ruin Harry Potter for us all, J.K. Rowling continues to tweet

Future Islands roar into the post-apocalypse with "For Sure," their first new song in 3 years

Anthony Anderson asks NASCAR's Bubba Wallace about Trump targeting yet another Black athlete

Andy Samberg speaks on Brooklyn Nine-Nine's uncertain path forward amid BLM protests

Magnum P.I., MacGyver showrunner Peter Lenkov fired amid toxic work environment claims

Read this: What Starship Troopers' bloodthirsty grunts can tell us about America in 2020

HBO Max greenlights Young Love, an animated series from the Oscar-winning Hair Love team

The Ayn Rand Institute took a PPP Loan, which is rich

Elisabeth Moss is gonna play an axe murderer

5 new books to read in July

Self Care is a timely beach read that skewers wellness and performative feminism

Two sisters are split apart by race in Brit Bennett’s stunning The Vanishing Half

Only Ottessa Moshfegh could have written Death In Her Hands, a grisly murder-mystery without a body

This Valley Of The Dolls history is as fun and tawdry as its subject

Banned Book Club gives deeply personal context to government censorship and violence

John Mulaney interviews Eric Hutchinson about music and never feeling at home in high school

Netta reaches into her Goody Bag, pulls out the looping banger, “Bassa Sababa”

The Chicks, Rufus Wainwright, and 19 more albums we can’t wait to hear in July

5 new releases we love: Sufjan Stevens tackles "America," Khruangbin gets lyrical, and more

Eurovision Song Contest winner Netta takes you inside her studio on the latest House Show