Alison Herman
Staff Writer
Herman writes about culture in general and television in specific. When not fighting a losing battle against Peak TV, she tweets at @aherman2006.
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The Psychology of Cringe Comedy: Why We Love to Watch What Hurts Us
From ‘Da Ali G Show’ to viral TikTok videos, cringe comedy persists within pop culture. And oftentimes, the genre’s appeal is as much about the way we perceive ourselves as the comics we watch performing it.
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‘A League of Their Own’ Is a Solid Spiritual Heir to ‘GLOW’
Like the prematurely canceled Netflix series, ‘A League of Their Own’ adapts a once-minor bit of sports trivia to refract modern standards of representation through rich period detail
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The Great HBO Freak-out of 2022 Was Unwarranted, but Understandable
In light of what happened at Warner Bros. Discovery’s earnings call, some of the rumors that flew ahead of the event look borderline histrionic—but consumers had good reason to fear for the worst
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‘The Sandman’ and ‘Paper Girls’ Are a Different Kind of Comics Show
Two new series from Netflix and Amazon, respectively, take a more unorthodox approach than the traditional superhero story
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‘Industry’ Is Adapting and Expanding in Its Second Season
Taking a cue from ‘Succession,’ the London-based finance series has begun to explore deeper themes of family
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Peacock Needs Shows Like ‘The Resort’ to Start Catching On
With just three Emmy nominations and a substantial gap in subscribers, can Peacock help buried treasure like ‘The Resort’ make its way to the surface?
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Late-Night Television Is Moving Backward
In a notoriously static genre of TV, the loss of ‘Full Frontal With Samantha Bee’ and ‘Desus & Mero’ feels particularly acute
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Nikki Glaser Has Some Advice for the Contestants of ‘FBoy Island’
Nikki Glaser, host of ‘FBoy Island,’ wants contestants to break the rules. And they should keep laughing at themselves: "Especially once they’re eliminated and there’s no more money or women on the line, they relax and they become so fun."
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Issa Rae’s ‘Rap Sh!t’ Is the Show We Thought ‘Atlanta’ Would Be
Following on the success of ‘Insecure,’ the HBO Max comedy explores the grit and grind of achieving fame, rather than the effects of it
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Practice Does Not Make Perfect
We can’t actually anticipate all of life’s twists and turns, let alone influence them. But Nathan Fielder is committed to trying in ‘The Rehearsal,’ even when life involves something as stubbornly unpredictable as other human beings.