Television

Music & Culture

Showtime Helps Motown Records Mark Its 60th Anniversary

6:37am August 20, 2019

The Showtime documentary — Hitsville: The Making of Motown — tells the story of the most successful soul/R&B record label in music history from the viewpoint of Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson.

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Adam Devine, John Goodman and Danny McBride are all members of the family megachurch business in HBO's The Righteous Gemstones.

Arts

'The Righteous Gemstones' Takes Aim At Megachurch Millionaires

5:00am August 19, 2019

by Linda Holmes

In the HBO comedy created by and starring Danny McBride, a powerful preacher and his adult children are very poor examples to their flock.

Brett Gray (left) as Jamal Turner, and Peggy Blow as Abuela, a lovable, pot-smoking grandma, in the first season of the Netflix teen drama On My Block.

Netflix Curbs Tobacco Use Onscreen, But Not Pot. What's Up With That?

8:00am August 17, 2019

by Neda Ulaby

TV networks have standards that minimize tobacco use on shows, and Netflix now does, too. But streaming companies lack public policies about smoking cannabis onscreen, and doctors say that hurts kids.

Angel Parker, the subject of the first episode of Diagnosis, rests at the hospital with her boyfriend.

Arts

True Medical Mysteries Get The TV Treatment On Netflix's 'Diagnosis'

5:20pm August 16, 2019

by Linda Holmes

The Netflix series is like true crime with diseases instead of murderers, and it's even better when it pauses to consider the real challenges of health care shortfalls.

Arts

'Mindhunter' Actor Jonathan Groff On His Most Life-Altering Roles

1:55pm August 16, 2019

by Terry Gross

Groff told Fresh Air in 2017 that his work on HBO's Looking changed his life: "It's ... the most personal thing I've worked on." He stars in the Netflix series Mindhunter, now in its second season.

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Arts

Anthology Series 'Why Women Kill' Weaves 3 Mysteries In 3 Decades

2:35pm August 15, 2019

by David Bianculli

The creator of Desperate Housewives is back with a new dark comedy on CBS All Access that shifts between three different storylines. It stars Lucy Liu, Ginnifer Goodwin and Kirby Howell-Baptiste.

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Old-Style Televisions Show Up On Porches In Virginia County

6:55am August 15, 2019

Over the weekend in Henrico County, Va., TVs were left on the porches of more than 50 homes. Security footage shows a guy with a TV over his head making a delivery. The ID of the TV Santa is unknown.

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Janet Mock attends a red-carpet event for Pose earlier this month. Mock is a writer, director and producer of the TV show about ball culture in 1980s New York City.

Arts

On 'Pose,' Janet Mock Tells The Stories She Craved As A Young Trans Person

1:16pm August 14, 2019

by Terry Gross

As a writer, director and producer of the TV series about the underground ballroom community in 1980s New York, she says the work sometimes makes her tear up.

Fans wait in line for the opening ceremony at BronyCon 2019.

Arts

The Friends We Made Along The Way: After 9 Years, BronyCon Calls It Quits

11:55am August 14, 2019

by James Perkins Mastromarino

For the past nine years, bronies — fans of the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic — have gathered in Baltimore for BronyCon. This year's convention was the biggest ever, but also the last.

David (Dan Stevens) got his groove on, in more ways than one, in the final season of Legion.

Arts

'Legion' Ends Its Three-Season-Long Strange Trip

5:00am August 13, 2019

by Glen Weldon

FX's surreal, gorgeous, not-quite-a-superhero-show concluded with neither a bang nor a whimper, but instead with time travel, Pink Floyd, forgiveness and an outpouring of empathy.