This was my 1st (full) year as TV editor @TheAVClub—though the pandemic made it difficult to plan for anything, TV Club still offered some of the most robust and discerning criticism. So here's a thread w/ just a sliver of the many great pieces we published
We kicked off 2020 w/ a piece on one of 2019's biggest shows, as @samanthanelson1 explored The Witcher and the lengthy tradition of fantasy bards https://tv.avclub.com/the-witcher-s-comic-relief-is-part-of-a-long-tradition-1840863565
In February, my brilliant colleague @ShannonL_Miller wrote an ode to Living Single, singling out the classic hangout comedy's essential episodes https://tv.avclub.com/10-essential-episodes-of-living-single-you-should-check-1841732437
Speaking of moving tributes, here's @kelleent on Lackawanna Blues, S. Epatha Merkerson, and the importance of giving credit where it's due, when it's due https://tv.avclub.com/lackawanna-blues-remains-a-powerful-ode-to-black-joy-an-1841666946
"David Simon had one hell of a run in the 2000s... And yet it’s possible Simon’s output in the 2010s eclipses what came before." @NoelMu unofficially closed out our best of the 2010s coverage w/ this rich retrospective on Simon's post-Wire career https://tv.avclub.com/in-the-decade-since-the-wire-david-simon-has-produced-1842448625
As we all tried to figure out how to be together and be there for each other while homebound, @Laura_Adamczyk & I held virtual watercooler sessions—sorry, Bulls Sessions—to pore over The Last Dance this spring https://tv.avclub.com/bulls-session-the-a-v-club-breaks-down-the-last-dance-1842886630
This spring, @MShellyConner traced the Black comedy lineage of the late, great Astronomy Club https://tv.avclub.com/tracing-astronomy-club-s-lineage-of-black-comedy-from-1842403042
In May, . @OliverSava weighed in on the notable absences from RuPaul's Drag Race season 12 https://tv.avclub.com/this-season-of-drag-race-is-missing-more-than-sherry-pi-1842965321
Also in May, I bid farewell to Vida while taking stock of the promises the show made and kept https://tv.avclub.com/the-powerful-poignant-vida-may-have-ended-but-its-wor-1843960923
As viewers rewatched or discovered Cheers for the first time during quarantine, @fauxbeatpoet homed in on one of its greatest sources of appeal https://tv.avclub.com/a-little-ditty-about-sam-and-diane-cheers-gave-tv-its-1844117668
. @KaylaKumari is a fantastic collaborator. I asked for a TV Club 10 on Xena: Warrior Princess, and by god (Zeus?) did she deliver. https://tv.avclub.com/10-episodes-of-xena-warrior-princess-that-solidified-i-1844368779
I brought on a few new members to TV Club this year, including @SER1897, who, in the midst of a wider reappraisal of cop shows from the entertainment industry, took a closer look at Law & Order's Paul Robinette https://tv.avclub.com/how-law-order-s-paul-robinette-embraced-his-revolutio-1844313479
In August, @roslyntalusan sent Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. off with this lovely tribute to one of TV's best sisterly duos https://tv.avclub.com/marvel-s-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-portrayed-sisterhood-bet-1844764367
In one of his many, many bylines this year, @SamBarsanti found a way to cut through years of meta jokes to find the saving grace of American Dad! https://tv.avclub.com/over-300-episodes-roger-evolved-from-american-dad-s-w-1844976145
. @mspriyankabose is someone who is always brimming with ideas, so it actually took us some time to land on the right angle for this Sailor Moon retrospective. But it was worth it. https://tv.avclub.com/sailor-moon-s-impact-on-modern-american-animation-remai-1844994160
Glad American Utopia got an HBO premiere, if only because it means TV Club laid claim to this poignant piece by @ErikMAdams https://tv.avclub.com/david-byrne-and-spike-lee-made-american-utopia-the-righ-1845396865
I knew Ashley Ray-Harris was going to knock this NXIVM docuseries comparison piece out of the park, but couldn't have anticipated her personal connection to the subject https://tv.avclub.com/in-the-nxivm-docuseries-showdown-seduced-is-the-clear-1845420016
Loved being able to read @DBAnthony's work on the A.V. Club again, esp. as he explored what makes Lord and Miller's oeuvre the "millennial generation's John Hughes." https://tv.avclub.com/clone-high-saw-phil-lord-and-chris-miller-define-their-1845572466
This piece by @megankirb on finding strength and representation in Steven Universe is a powerful combination of personal essay and cultural analysis https://tv.avclub.com/how-steven-universe-s-fat-bodies-helped-me-draw-my-own-1845830394
Again, this is only a fraction of what we produced in 2020. There were also incisive season reviews & so many recaps by TV Club stalwarts @CarolineSiede, @lafergs, @allisonshoe, @zhandlen, @Lesismore9o9, @saloni_g, (cont'd)
@DennisPerkins5, @sulagnamisra, @TheTeleverse, @EricThurm, @JoelleMonique, @Memles, @LisaWeidenfeld, @Plumberduck, @maria__giesela, @NotoriousREL, @kjohnson1585, @kylefowle, Donna Bowman, @vondoviak, @alanimv
And @skrishna, @roxana_hadadi, @jourdayen! And I've already have some new contributors—and pieces—lined up for 2021.
Just as much as writing and watching on my own, working w/ so many talented writers helps me to appreciate the breadth of TV offerings.
Just as much as writing and watching on my own, working w/ so many talented writers helps me to appreciate the breadth of TV offerings.