ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET
Hot Takes
DISPATCHES FROM MIDDLE-EARTH
BACK TO SCHOOL
The new series is a sublime portrait of the kinds of teachers we all hope are guiding our kids—and the nightmare parents, culture wars, and obstacles keeping them from doing so.
THE NAME GAME
A standing ovation for the delightfully bizarre names—Sazz Pataki! Bunny Folger! Professor Dudenoff!—and an attempt to figure why they’re integral to the show’s success.
SPOILER ALERT!
An hour into the stylish thriller, things take a disturbing, hard-to-watch turn that sours everything good that had come before it.
LEXICONAPALOOZA
Merriam-Webster’s chance to vote for the best (and worst) of words is still going. It’s a dictionary of modern delights.
TRADITIONS
Everything we can’t stop loving, hating, and thinking about this week in pop culture.
CALL YOUR THERAPIST
Sure, the hit HBO series is about power struggles, privilege, sex, drugs, and the messy lives of financiers. But at its heart, it’s about how parents can really screw you up.
‘SHE-RO’
An attempt to script a sensitive #MeToo storyline into the frothy show was as cringe-inducing as you’d expect—and proof that the series has outgrown its self-absorbed heroine.