Collecting many of Emily Nussbaum's television recaps, essays, profiles and commentaries, including a good chunk of the pieces which won her the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2016, I Like to Watch is one critic's assessment of where the medium stands, as well as how it got there and where it's heading. The opener cites Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the show that first consumed Nussbaum, but The Sopranos is the one that looms over the entire book. She assures readers that that HBO show is also a favorite of hers, but as the collection pushes on, her praise for it feels more customary and less heartfelt. Her heart lies with comedies; In one piece from 2008, she proclaims 30 Rock the best show on network television. In the introductory note to another, she heaps similar praise on Jane the Virgin. Nussbaum reliably backs up each stance she takes and, like any great critic, has the power to change your mind almost on the spot. (After reading "Cool Story, Bro," a merciless takedown of True Detective, I had to ask myself, "... Am I sure I actually like this show?") As someone hopelessly out of the television loop, I ended this collection excited for all the unseen material that lies ahead of me and motivated to get watching.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the complimentary ARC in exchange for this review and forthcoming blog coverage. (The post will appear on June 25 on Book Riot.)

I'm a big fan of Emily Nussbaum's, following her on Twitter and eagerly reading her New Yorker pieces whenever they're published, so it's no surprise that I liked I Like to Watch. I hadn't initially realized that the bulk of essays would be previously published pieces, but they are so well written, and intelligently chosen to illustrate the points she makes in the new essays. Heartily recommended for anyone who enjoys reading a smart commentator.

Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

A terrific collection of Nussbaum’s writing on television, this book is personal, witty, and thought-provoking. Critic Nussbaum explores tv writing, fans, commercialism, product placement, dealing with the legacies of predatory actors and directors, and other crucial topics in the medium. Highly recommended for tv and film consumers.

I was surprised that there were only two new essays in the collection, but it was nonetheless a nice trip down memory lane to read all Nussbaum's essays that captivated me over the years. There were some that I completely forgot about so it felt like I was reading them for the first time.

The essays are all linked by a common subject of television, but explores the different themes as the medium has changed. She traces the evolution of female protagonists, the role of sexual violence on TV, and my personal favourite: what to do about art when the artist is revealed to be a monster.

Like any essay collection, there are some that I liked better than others. At the top tier, I think her profiles on Kenya Barris, Jenji Kohan, and Ryan Murphy are the real highlights of this book. She pinpoints what makes them special as showrunners and how they've become trailblazers in the TV world. 

Nussbaum's longer essays, such as the ones on Louis CK and product placement were also really well done. I completely agree with Nussbaum that nobody has done product placement quite like 30 Rock did. It was quick, snappy, and stayed true to the humour of the show. 

Because of her essays, I'm more inclined to watch some of the shows she talks about. You know what, I might finally understand the hype around The Sopranos. And maybe I'll be kinder to Lost now that the rage has somewhat calmed down from fans. 

The only reason why this missed the mark to be a 5 star read because I wish she had included more newer pieces as TV continues to be a medium that changes

Decades in the making, this unassuming book represents the central thesis of one of the greatest television critics, Emily Nussbaum. I Like to Watch isn’t just a collection of TV criticism; it’s a defense of TV criticism and television itself, celebrating the medium’s unique power and charting its evolution throughout the post-Sopranos golden age. Five stars.

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Let’s get this out of the way: Emily Nussbaum is a spectacular television critic. She’s earned her acclaim, her place at The New Yorker, her Pulitzer Prize. As I took notes, I had to stop myself from jotting down man, she’s good at this every other page. She is one of my auto-read writers. Whether or not I’ve watched the show in question, I will read anything she writes about television. Sharp and witty, Nussbaum has a clear and incisive point of view as a critic skeptical of entrenched industry attitudes.

But a strong body of work isn’t enough to justify publishing this kind of collection. Most of these articles are available to anyone online; what’s the point of the book?

In this case, the whole is so much more than the sum of its parts.

It’s fun to take a tour through recent TV history, of course. Looking back, it’s interesting to note what Nussbaum didn’t know at the time; shows she couldn’t know were just around the corner and world events that were about to change culture. The farther we get, the more fascinating these articles will become as cultural artifacts.

But Nussbaum is doing more than just reminiscing. She’s chosen her pieces carefully to build a central argument about her role as a critic. As the articles chart the evolution of television, they also reveal Nussbaum’s struggle to defend her vision of the value of the medium. To Nussbaum, criticism is an act of love towards television itself. The arguments, the praise, the pans–they all say that TV is worth fighting over. Fighting for.

As The Sopranos pioneered “prestige television” and viewers started to take the medium seriously as an art form, Nussbaum was falling in love with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. To Nussbaum, both shows were pushing the boundaries of the medium in fresh, exciting ways. Both were bold and smart and entertaining, but only one was receiving breathless comparisons to highbrow film and endless think pieces in national outlets. The gritty, darkly-washed story of a middle-aged white antiheroic man was art; the brash feminist riff on high-school horror was junk food for teen girls.

This tension came to define her critical career. To Nussbaum, criticism is always about what sort of stories get to be “important.” Whose stories are worth telling? Who gets to tell them? How do we value different ways of making televison?

These tensions are at the heart of the job of any critic. Nussbaum’s opening essay, one of the only new pieces written for the collection, lays out these essential questions. That piece should be read by anyone who writes about books. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I read it, and the essay has gotten me seeing my work as a book blogger in new ways.

Not sure you’re in for the entire book? Begin with that spectacular opening essay, “How Buffy the Vampire Slayer Turned Me Into a TV Critic.” After that, the essays are best read in order, but you can pick out a sampling of what interests you. My don’t-miss picks are the articles on Archie Bunker and the “bad fan,” Sex and the City, 30 Rock and product integration, Jane the Virgin, black-ish, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

All these pieces are about the shows, of course, but the shows are only a starting place. Nussbaum is here to dig into the big questions about storytelling and culture. Whether she uses The Sopranos or Adventure Time to get there, you can be assured she’ll end up someplace insightful and surprising. While some articles dive into dark material or feelings of frustration, they always come from a place of curiosity, generosity, and deep love for the ever-evolving medium of television.

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Review posts to The Tin Kitchen June 17.

Nussbaum is my favorite critic in the New Yorker; her reviews are a delight, covering everything from reality television to the most prestigious of golden-age-dramas. Nussbaum's criticism is deeply feminist, and new essays in this book explore the aftermath of #metoo and the problems of labeling something "fluff" or "guilty pleasure" when it's aimed at women. The majority of essays collected here were previously published in the New Yorker, and each is prefaced with a few sentences of Nussbaum's more recent reflections, sometimes detailing the response or backlash to a particular piece, or reevaluating her original position. I could read 500 additional pages of her work; I hope this is only the first of many collections! (I also recommend following Nussbaum on Twitter).

Emily is an OG TV critic. I loved reading all her essays all in one place, even if I hadn’t seen the show before. TV criticism is a pretty unique craft, and so I love seeing one of the best being able to create something like this. It’ll definitely serve as a cultural artifact, because in some of these Emily grapples with TV shows in real time, and others as they’ve aged in unexpected ways. Hopefully this is not the last of her essay anthologies!

I follow Emily Nussbaum's column in The New Yorker and her twitter feed. The twitter feed gives me AHA moments in her short bursts of comments on television programs that are hot in today's market. The longer New Yorker pieces are much more informative and give me things to chew over at a slower pace.

EN's new book is a collection of published essays with two new ones and a great introduction to her genre of writing. I love that after Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Nussbaum moves to The Sopranos, one of my favorite TV programs of all time. I never tire of hearing about David Chase, the show's creator. He comes from a part of New Jersey I am familiar with, and a time I remember well.

Taking The Soprano viewpoint of television changing in the early 2000s, we move on to Sex and The City, The Wire, and then all that has come since that time. I am not fond of sit-coms, but I love the drama part of TV and still watch Law and Order: SVU and a few others. I must say that Netflix and Hulu are giving network television a good run for viewership, and I would extend that to app's where I can view international television programs. They are more interesting even though the narrative arc often follows the original NYPD Blue. I like procedural cop shows in any language.

I appreciate Nussbaum's take on the predatory men who have become famous and are now slowly or very quickly losing their audiences, their companies, as in Weinstein's case, and making room for a healthier work environment for women.

Emily Nussbaum is my TV guru, and I love this book. If you watch any television at all, you will enjoy her thoughtful commentary.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC of this book (June 25).

As someone who loves television and has always loved television, I love to read about television. And in the age of the internet and especially social media there is no shortage of thinkpieces and essays about television. But there is always a lot that can be said, which is why I was excited to read a book about television.

I have to admit that this book was not what I was expecting going into it. I really thought the writing would be a bit lighter, that this would be more of a pop culture website type of book (I obviously didn't read the blurb closely, I probably just saw it was a book about tv and got excited.) At times this kind of writing seemed dated to me as part of a collection given that it strays from the usual type of flash thinkpiece that we have become accustomed to thanks to the internet. That being said, this is a book for any lover of television, who looks beyond the television show as entertainment for an hour and deeper into what its place in society really is.

Some of the essays were stronger than others as is usually the case with essay collections. The longer in-depth essays like the one on Louis CK or Kenya Barriss were great but felt out of place in this collection due to their length compared to the others. But what I really, really appreciated about this book was the strength of Nussbaum's writing. She is such a great writer, using such wisdom and thoughtfulness, that even when you have not watched the show she is talking about, you find yourself interested and invested. In fact, some of the essays convinced me to watch shows I didn't think I was interested in - and that's not even the point of this book.

This is a definite winner for the serious television watcher.

I'm a big TV fan (though not quite as thoroughly well-watched as some people) so I was super excited by the premise of Nussbaum's book. Collected essays (many pre-published) by the Pulitzer Prize winning critic delve into shows as seemingly disparate as they are connected: Sex & the City, Adventure Time, True Detective, 30 Rock, The Sopranos, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Girls, The Unbreakable Jimmy Schmidt, and many, many more. While Nussbaum is undeniably a gifted writer and critic whose work makes for an enjoyable read, I think I was so would have enjoyed this slightly more if it had been filled with more new writing than a reprinting of old columns. While this never felt dated per se, I would have loved to read Nussbaum's thoughts on newer programming or, better yet, to have her talk about her own favorite shows and their impact (which she explicitly states this collection is not: this is what she considers her best works of criticism, not necessarily favorite programming.) Longer essays, too, like the ones on Louis CK, Kenya Barris and product placement were all well done, but in my opinion better suited as standalone pieces than part of a book. Overall, there were many essays here that I found entertaining (and I especially loved that you don't have to watch every show Nussbaum mentions to be able to enjoy the essays) but not necessarily illuminating. Here's hoping Nussbaum releases a personal essay collection tied to TV in the future; that I'd love to read.

This is a collection of essays featuring Emily Nussbaum's characteristically sharp, insightful writing on television. I have been a fan of hers for her sense of humor and eclectic taste. She is unafraid to present herself as a fan of the shows she likes, and never hesitates to dislike a show that is otherwise critically acclaimed.
The book covers a long timeline and offers an interesting portrait of the usual suspects (Sopranos,, Lost) but also her favorites (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Jane the Virgin)

This was such a fun, inspiring, interesting, and poignant read. I had actually not read any of Emily Nussbaum’s work before and I’m now a huge fan! I, like the author, have also always had a huge penchant for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one of the best TV shows that has ever aired on TV. I think I’m actually going to spend the summer watching reruns now after reading this book!

I Like To Watch is a compilation of some of the Pulitzer Prize winning TV critic’s essays and profiles. There is one on Buffy, another on Jenji Kohan, another on Kenya Barris and black-ish. You will find essays on The Good Wife, Scandal, Girls, as well as Sex and the City, Tina Fey, and content on the history of the TV series. There is also a sprawling, poignant, and interesting essay on #MeToo which questions the author’s, as well as our own, personal involvement and actions. All of these topics are covered in the book, and more.

I personally loved reading Emily Nussbaum’s thoughts on some of my favorite shows, and she also opened my eyes to shows that hadn’t been on my radar, or that I had never given a chance. I also had a good chuckle on the whole “intellectuals” don’t watch TV thing - took me straight back to university where I tried so hard to explain the brilliance of Buffy to some of my friends who couldn’t understand why I would be watching it (luckily I had others who had no qualms about watching TV with me AND debating poetry and literature). I love how Emily Nussbaum writes: she’s funny and honest, sharp and engaging, and has me wanting to read more.

I don’t think you have to be a proven fan of the critic to enjoy this essay collection - it’s great for just about anyone who loves TV I think!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book!

As an early adopter of TIVO and a massive fan of Friday Night Lights, Seinfeld, The Office, Bewitched, and a slew of other TV shows going back decades, I was delighted to find this book by someone who has made a career of embracing a medium that is often disparaged. As a writer and a teacher of writing, I have had many friends and acquaintances over the years who have boasted, "I don't own a TV." I've always found that particular self-righteous brag wildly pretentious. Nussbaum's story of her own life in television is refreshing, and her insights about the shows that have become part of the cultural conversation are worth the read. A delight for those of us who unapologetically delight in the opiate of the masses.

This collection of brilliant television criticism, profiles, and musings (originally published in the New Yorker) are smart, thoughtful and make for entertaining reading. My list of shows to watch just blew up as a result - added new shows, reminded me of shows I want to rewatch or move to the front of the queue, etc. In fact, I've resumed watching The Sopranos since reading a great essay about the show here gave me a hankering to revisit it!

This is not to say that this collection is 100% even (a few essays are less strong than the others), and there will be some spoilers inherent in some the essays (mostly for older shows) - but this is definitely a 4.5 on my scale, and a strong recommend if you enjoy television or intelligent takes on pop culture. You can still enjoy this even if you haven't seen the show it is discussing, but it's more fun if you have.

I like to watch too, but I love even more to read Nussbaum's work and watch. Fun! 4.5 stars.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a sharp book of essays by my favorite television critic, Emily Nussbaum. She writes about TV with such a keen, critical eye, and she always makes me think more deeply about why I love the shows and creators I love (or even the ones I dislike). I especially admire how she rightly gives stronger voices and meanings to shows that are just seen as “guilty pleasures” or “for women only,” which almost always have more substance and more to offer than they’re given credit for.

I received an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
The book was a thoughtful, eye opening and engaging take on TV (and pop culture in general). It reads as a collection of essays which weave nicely into each other. I would have liked the essays to have been updated to the writer's present day opinion, in some cases. Still, such a good read.

Nussbaum showcases her work from the New Yorker in this collection of essays about television. The book was thought-provoking and sometimes helpful.; for example, Nussbaum's clarity about The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel helped me to put into words my own feelings about the show. I think the book might have been even stronger if Nussbaum had reflected on some of the earlier pieces at more length, but perhaps that kind of meta-commentary is not of interest to everyone.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley for generously providing me a copy of this book to review.

There’s a peculiar joy that comes from reading sound media criticism. A very few people can somehow capture their intellectual passions in a way that makes their work intelligible for mainstream audiences (something that a lot of media scholars struggle to do).

Thankfully, Emily Nussbaum, the TV critic for The New Yorker, has done just this in I Like to Watch: Arguing my Way Through the TV Revolution.

The book is a collection of pieces, most of which Nussbaum wrote for various publications and a few that she wrote especially for the volume. Some are simply short reflections of a particular TV series, while others are more in-depth explorations of a particular series or showrunner (her lengthy piece about Ryan Murphy is one of the best in the collection). Though they vary in subject matter, they are united by Nussbaum’s distinctive voice and intellectual clarity, as well as her deeply personal encounter with the medium.

What I particularly enjoyed about the book as a whole was its willingness to look at television series that fall squarely outside the quality TV designation that seems to be all the rage (or was, at any rate) among those who think and write about television. Indeed, she begins the book with an anecdote about how it was watching Buffy, the Vampire Slayer that drew her into wanting to write about television.

Some of my favourite pieces in the collection focus on these “bad” texts, including Sex and the City, Behind the Candelabra (the HBO film about Liberace), Hannibal, and sundry others. However, she also gives sustained attention to more traditionally quality TV, and her essay on The Sopranos is particularly compelling and insightful. I also loved The Sex and the City essay, which makes the compelling case that this HBO series deserves just as much credit for vaunting HBO into the upper echelons of television production as more male-oriented series.

While most of the essays in the book focus on contemporary television, some also delve deeper into TV’s past, including a particularly erudite exploration of “bad fandom” and All in the Family. Thus, one of the through-lines that runs through the entire book is Nussbaum’s interest in fandom, both her own and that of others. All too often, fandom is something to be confessed to, rather than embraced and celebrated. The fact that Nussbaum, writing for one of the premier intellectual publications in the country, so openly embraces her own identity as a fan is refreshing.

Nussbaum’s style is nuanced and deeply thoughtful yet very accessible. If I have one quibble with her, it’s that I sometimes feel that she (like many mainstream critics) seems to believe that her realizations emerge out of a vacuum, when in fact there are huge bodies of scholarship conducted by television and media scholars that often reach the same conclusions that she does. Since this seems to be a problem with many working for mainstream publications–not just television critics–I won’t be too hard on her.

All in all, I very much enjoyed this foray through Nussbaum’s encounters with television. Highly recommended.

An incredible compilation of Nussbaum's newest and oldest TV reviews. A great collection by one of America's best cultural critics writ large, and probably the best TV writer around. I was entertained, impressed, and thoroughly satisfied as a fellow writer and watcher of TV.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this early copy.

I love TV so I decided to pick up this nonfiction focused on it. It was a good choice because I really enjoyed Nussbaum's look at TV and the debate if is low or high art. However I, struggled with this nonfiction mainly because I did not know a lot of the shows.