David Bianculli
David Bianculli is a guest host and TV critic on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. A contributor to the show since its inception, he has been a TV critic since 1975.
From 1993 to 2007, Bianculli was a TV critic for the New York Daily News.
Bianculli has written four books: The Platinum Age Of Television: From I Love Lucy to The Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific (2016); Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, 2009); Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously (1992); and Dictionary of Teleliteracy (1996).
A professor of TV and film at Rowan University, Bianculli is also the founder and editor of the website, TVWorthWatching.com.
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It’ll be tricky for the writers to hit the right comic and satirical tones for the remainder of this election, but SNL has a good cast this year, with some promising new additions.
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Kathryn Hahn stars as a witch who's lost her powers in Agatha All Along. To regain them, she has to assemble a witches’ coven and lead them on a journey down a magical, threatening witches’ road.
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With no costumes, no superpowers and no Batman, HBO's The Penguin is less like a comic book series than a crime drama — closer to The Sopranos than to the Batman movie from which it came.
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David Bianculli reviews Wise Guy, a documentary about the landmark HBO series. Plus, we listen back to archival interviews with creator David Chase, and actors Michael Imperioli and Lorraine Bracco.
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Season 4 brings a fresh influx of guest talent to Only Murders in the Building — but the new faces don’t outshine the crimefighting, podcasting stars: Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. -
Donahue, who died Aug. 18, hosted an issue-oriented, afternoon talk show that paved the way for Oprah and others. David Bianculli offers an appreciation, and we listen back to a 1985 interview.
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The 10-part Apple+ show, based on Carl Hiassen’s novel, is loaded with twists, turns and standout performances. Bad Monkey isn’t a great show, but it’s good, Florida fun.
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Guest programmers, including Spike Lee, Olivia Wilde and even Donald Trump, present and discuss two favorite films on this TCM feature. It's yet another way the network celebrates the love of movies.
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David Bianculli offers an appreciation of the star of Newhart and The Bob Newhart Show, who died July 18. In 1998, Newhart told Terry Gross that his signature stammer was not an affect.
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Time really does fly in this fun and charming adventure series, based on Terry Gilliam's 1981 film about a gang of thieves who steal treasures at different points in history.
