Television

Messy And Absurd, 'London Spy' Mixes Espionage With Genuine Emotion

4:11pm January 21, 2016

by John Powers

Fresh Air critic John Powers says the five-part BBC America show pulls off something ambitious: It keeps viewers enthralled with its intensity, while catching them in "a lingering emotional undertow."

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Nielsen To Use Facebook And Twitter In New Social TV Ratings

7:04pm January 20, 2016

by Eric Deggans

Nielsen, the ratings company, says it has a way to track what TV shows are trending on Twitter and Facebook, which will give producers and advertisers a better way to measure audiences. NPR explores what this adds to the growing effort to measure online audience.

Queue Listen Now

Actor Idris Elba To U.K. Politicians: More Diverse Roles Needed

12:22pm January 18, 2016

by Tanya Ballard Brown

"When you don't reflect the real world, too much talent gets trashed," the Golden Globe winner says. Elba is scheduled to speak to senior TV executives and more than 100 members of Parliament.

Arts

With Leap To HBO, Big Bird's Got A Brand-New Way To Get To 'Sesame Street'

6:48pm January 16, 2016

by NPR Staff

Shiny new digs (in more ways than one) are reshaping the children's TV show, which premieres Saturday on HBO. The show's executive producer — and Elmo himself — tell how the neighborhood's changed.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Here Are The New TV Shows You Should Watch This Year

6:24pm January 15, 2016

by Eric Deggans

NPR reviews some of the new shows coming to network and cable television over the coming weeks.

Queue Listen Now

Review: 'Billions' Premieres On Showtime

5:03pm January 15, 2016

by Eric Deggans

Billions is a fictional drama informed by Andrew Ross Sorkin's reporting on Wall Street. It stars Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti as a hedge fund king and the prosecutor trying to bring him down.

Queue Listen Now

Green Bay Packers' Elijah Pitts runs with the ball during Super Bowl I against the Kansas City Chiefs at Memorial Coliseum on Jan. 15, 1967, in Los Angeles.

Sports

Super Bowl I Tape Was Erased Long Ago; Now The Game Will Air Again

2:17pm January 15, 2016

by NPR Staff

The TV networks that broadcast 1967's inaugural game erased it. Now the NFL Network has pieced together its own film with radio footage of the historic game; Super Bowl I: The Lost Game airs Friday.

Queue Listen Now

Paul Giamatti plays a U.S. Attorney with ambitions of becoming governor in the Showtime series Billions, which begins airing Jan. 17.

Showtime's Financial Drama 'Billions' Doubles Down On Melodrama And Machismo

2:07pm January 15, 2016

by John Powers

Critic John Powers says viewers shouldn't expect to learn about the inner working of Wall Street from the glossy new series Billions. Instead, the show offers clipping action and punchy dialogue.

Queue Listen Now

Ray Liotta and Jennifer Lopez play corrupt cops in the NBC drama, Shades of Blue.

Arts

Ray Liotta On 'Goodfellas,' Acting And His Return To TV

6:09pm January 12, 2016

"When I first started," Liotta says, "television was kind of like the wasteland. ... Now [it's] very respected." He plays a corrupt NYC police lieutenant on the new NBC series Shades of Blue.

Queue Listen Now

In the 1960s, Maggie Smith starred in the Broadway hit Mary, Mary. One reviewer called her a "gem of an actress, an undeniable dish."

Arts

'60s 'Dish' Maggie Smith Says, 'That Was Never Me'

2:51pm January 12, 2016

by NPR Staff

"It must be lovely to be beautiful, but that's a really difficult thing to lose," says Smith, now 81. Best known in the U.S. for her role in Downton Abbey, she's now starring in The Lady in the Van.

Queue Listen Now