David Bianculli

David Bianculli is a guest host and TV critic on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. A contributor to the show since its inception, he has been a TV critic since 1975.

From 1993 to 2007, Bianculli was a TV critic for the New York Daily News.

Bianculli has written four books: The Platinum Age Of Television: From I Love Lucy to The Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific (2016); Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, 2009); Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously (1992); and Dictionary of Teleliteracy (1996).

An associate professor of TV and film at Rowan University in New Jersey, Bianculli is also the founder and editor of the online magazine, TVWorthWatching.com.

'Twin Peaks' Makes A Moody And Eccentric Return To TV

By David Bianculli • 8 hours ago

The original Twin Peaks series really was original — one of the most inventive, unprecedented, sometimes thrillingly unique TV series ever presented. David Lynch directed several episodes, including the very best ones: the mood-establishing pilot and the dreamy and nightmarish third episode with the Tibetan rock toss and the dancing, backwards-talking dwarf in the Red Room.

Streaming Services Put Female Characters At The Center With 'Anne' And 'Dick'

By David Bianculli • May 12, 2017

On Friday, two different streaming services present the first seasons of new drama series. Both are based on novels written by women, both have female characters squarely at their center — and both come to TV with accomplished women producers overseeing their adaptations.

A Salute To Filmmaker Jonathan Demme's Early TV Work

By David Bianculli • May 3, 2017

TERRY GROSS, HOST:

Hulu's 'Handmaid's Tale' Delivers A Timely And Feminist Message

By David Bianculli • Apr 26, 2017

TERRY GROSS, HOST:

'Fargo' And Bill Nye Make Promising Returns To The Small Screen

By David Bianculli • Apr 19, 2017

The 1996 Coen Brothers movie Fargo was so good, and so original, that when the FX cable network announced it was making a new version for television, I expected it to be awful — especially since the creator of the adaptation was Noah Hawley, a writer-producer who hadn't really done much.