Television

Highlights

S.N.L. at 50
‘Saturday Night Live’: 11 Defining Political Sketches
Since the 1970s, the late-night institution has offered up definitive impersonations of American presidents and other politicians. Here are its most memorable political sketches.
By Dave Itzkoff
CreditWill Heath/NBC, via Associated Press
The Lord of the Rings
‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 Finale Recap: Highs and Lows
The second season ended in a whirlwind of fire and steel, darkness and light, capping an eight-episode run with many ups and downs.
By Noel Murray
CreditAmazon Studios
1. Critic’s Notebook
  Vance and Walz’s Battle of the Network Co-Stars
  In what could be the last prime-time showdown of the 2024 campaign, the supporting players performed against type.
  By James Poniewozik
  CreditHiroko Masuike/The New York Times
2. ‘S.N.L.’ Recap: Maya Rudolph Returns to Play Kamala Harris
  The 50th season began with several surprise guests and alumni — including Dana Carvey, Jim Gaffigan and Andy Samberg — playing figures in the 2024 election.
  By Dave Itzkoff
  CreditNBC Universal, via YouTube

When ‘Saturday Night Live’ Debuted, They Were There. Here’s What They Remember.
With a new film about the show, and a 50th anniversary season starting, Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and others look back.
By Dave Itzkoff
CreditNBC, via Photofest
On ‘Downton Abbey,’ Maggie Smith Made an Icy Aristocrat Irresistible
The hit melodrama brought Smith the kind of fame she never wanted, but it is easy to understand why it happened.
By Louis Bayard
CreditCarnival Film & Television
An Appraisal
‘The Queen of the Villains’ Is a Complex Japanese Wrestling Drama
The five-part Netflix series tells the story of a female wrestler in the 1980s who might have gone a little too deep into character.
By Margaret Lyons
CreditNetflix
The Watching Newsletter
Desi Lydic Wants to Be in Central Park, Listening to Chappell Roan
“I love getting out and about early in the day, getting some fresh air and sunlight and seeing the city,” the “Daily Show” host said of her morning ritual.
By Kathryn Shattuck
CreditMike Blake/Reuters
My Ten
‘Freaks and Geeks’ at 25: ‘It Was Slipping Away the Entire Time’
The beloved high-school sitcom debuted in September 1999 and lasted one season. Paul Feig, Judd Apatow and others look back on the show’s birth, death and long afterlife.
By Saul Austerlitz
CreditNBCU Photo Bank

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In ‘La Máquina,’ Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna Get a Rematch
For their first screen roles together since 2012, the longtime friends undertook a Spanish-language series about a boxer who must fight for his life.
By Carlos Aguilar
Too Scared to Watch Horror Movies? These 5 Tips May Help.
How to get into the season, even if you’re squeamish.
By Maya Salam and Nadine Redlich
Ask Arts & Leisure
Your culture and entertainment questions answered by New York Times journalists and experts.
Best of Late Night
Late Night Heaps Scorn on Trump’s Latest Defense
Jimmy Kimmel said Donald Trump was “partially right” in denying interference in the 2020 election: “He tried to rig the election and failed to rig the election.’
By Trish Bendix
When John Amos Had Enough of the ‘Good Times’
The actor, whose death was announced this week, made it known he didn’t like the direction the hit show was going. His character was then killed off.
By Jonathan Abrams
Jay J. Armes, Private Eye With a Superhero Story, Dies at 92
With steel hooks for hands and a flamboyant personality, Mr. Armes captured the attention, and scrutiny, of reporters across the nation.
By Michael S. Rosenwald
The Watching Newsletter
‘Where’s Wanda?’ Is a Charming German Dramedy
A small-town European murder mystery but more stylish than most — and less miserable.
By Margaret Lyons
Love ‘Heartstopper’? You’ll Love These Books, Too.
Earnest love stories by Rainbow Rowell, TJ Klune and Talia Hibbert will tug at your heartstrings while grappling with real, often dark, issues.
By Jennifer Harlan
Best of Late Night
Late Night Sums Up a Strangely Chill V.P. Debate
Jimmy Fallon said viewers “were expecting a horror movie, but instead, they got a Hallmark movie.”
By Trish Bendix
What Can Body Language Reveal on ‘Love Is Blind’?
As Season 7 begins, an expert says figuring out a participant’s motivation is both an art and a science.
By Annemarie Conte