NPR

From 'Buffy' Superfan To Pulitzer Prize, A Critic Celebrates TV On Her Own Terms

Emily Nussbaum's new book, I Like To Watch, is a collection of essays that span her career and the age of prestige TV. She wants to "explode and expand" the types of shows we take seriously, she says.
Emily Nussbaum is the TV critic for <em>The New Yorker.</em>

Back in the mid-'90s, Emily Nussbaum was working on a Ph.D. in literature at NYU. But the TV on the other side of the room just kept catching her eye.

"I was sitting on my sofa," Nussbaum says in an interview. "I had a small, junky television. I had broken the extremely rudimentary remote control. I had to get up from the sofa, walk over to the television, turn the big plastic dial ... it made a nice clunky sound."

TV technology has come a long way since then. And so has Emily Nussbaum, who made a career out of writing about television.. And her new book is a collection of new essays and previously-published writing called .

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR5 min readIndustries
China Makes Cheap Electric Vehicles. Why Can't American Shoppers Buy Them?
American drivers want cheap EVs. Chinese automakers are building them. But you can't buy them in the U.S., thanks to tariffs in the name of U.S. jobs and national security. Two car shoppers weigh in.
NPR4 min readInternational Relations
Hamas Says Latest Cease-fire Talks Have Ended. Israel Vows A Military Operation Soon
The latest round of Gaza cease-fire talks ended in Cairo. Meanwhile, Israel closed its main crossing point for delivering badly needed humanitarian aid for Gaza after Hamas attacked it.
NPR7 min read
How One Stretch Of Interstate 20 Through Alabama Tells The Story Of American Workers
Three high-profile labor disputes have unfolded in central Alabama over the past several years, with Amazon warehouse workers, coal miners and autoworkers all speaking out for change.

Related Books & Audiobooks