Eric Deggans

Tv and Media Critic for the Saint Petersburg Times

Eric Deggans appears in the following:

Encore: 'First Lady' series is compelling when it dramatizes the unseen moments

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Showtime's limited series, The First Lady, weaves together the stories of three of America's most distinctive presidential spouses. (Story first aired on All Things Considered on April 17, 2022.)

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'First Lady' series compels when dramatizing the unseen moments

Sunday, April 17, 2022

Showtime's new limited series, The First Lady, weaves together the stories of three of America's most distinctive presidential spouses.

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Hulu's 'The Kardashians' continues a modern saga: a family famous for being famous

Thursday, April 14, 2022

If you hated this family before, The Kardashians won't change your mind. But the show humanizes them.

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The aftermath of Will Smith's slap illuminates the links of Black Hollywood

Sunday, April 03, 2022

What does it mean for the elite circle of Black actors, directors and producers in Hollywood when moments like Will Smith's slap at the Oscars happens?

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TV streaming service CNN+ has launched

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

CNN+ is part of a larger trend as cable and broadcast outlets turn to streaming to retain audiences. What does this mean for the future of cable news?

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Should Will Smith have been allowed to collect an Oscar after he slapped Chris Rock?

Monday, March 28, 2022

When the moment came for the Oscar show's producers to step up and say that someone who commits violence on live television doesn't get their moment in the winners' circle, the producers blinked.

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Donald Glover's surreal dramatic comedy 'Atlanta' returns to FX

Thursday, March 24, 2022

The third season of Atlanta kicks off in a different place from where it ended. Despite the four-year hiatus between seasons, the break has done nothing to curb the show's penchant for risk-taking.

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Netflix brings back 'Servant of the People,' starring Ukraine's President Zelenskyy

Sunday, March 20, 2022

Netflix has brought back the TV satire in which Volodymyr Zelenskyy plays a history teacher who unexpectedly becomes president of Ukraine.

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How 'The Godfather' used Italian culture to reinvent the mafia story

Thursday, March 17, 2022

I didn't know it when I watched it the first time, but The Godfather set a template for authenticity in filmmaking.

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Samuel L. Jackson is a man sacrificing everything in 'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'

Friday, March 11, 2022

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, Samuel L. Jackson's first lead role in a live action TV series, is a compelling meditation on the power of personal history — disguised as a murder mystery.

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The Brian Lehrer TV Ratings Quiz

Thursday, March 10, 2022

Test your knowledge of television ratings with NPR's Eric Deggans.

Jodie Comer on how 'Killing Eve' has changed her life

Tuesday, March 01, 2022

BBC America's Killing Eve is returning for its fourth and final season. Star Jodie Comer, who won an Emmy and drew notice in Hollywood playing assassin Villanelle, says the show changed her life.

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'Law and Order' reboot nods toward race and policing, but plays it safe

Thursday, February 24, 2022

The original Law & Order series is returning with new episodes after over a decade, this time appearing to only address modern law enforcement issues.

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The mystery in 'Severance' grows more creative and compelling with each episode

Friday, February 18, 2022

The new Apple TV+ drama Severance asks what might happen if a corporation discovered how to disconnect employees' work and non-work memories.

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Netflix's 'jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy' is (mostly) genius

Thursday, February 17, 2022

The three-part docuseries tracks the rappers rise, starting as an up-and-coming producer in Chicago.

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Super Bowl's commercials are overshadowed by the big game and halftime show

Monday, February 14, 2022

The Los Angels Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in Sunday's Super Bowl. The game and halftime show eclipsed a collection of uninspired commercials.

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The best (and worst) Super Bowl commercials: Lizzo, cranky Zeus and more

Monday, February 14, 2022

The commercials during this year's game weren't serious or poignant enough to speak to the modern moment.

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'Inventing Anna' showcases Shonda Rhimes' talent for stories about women and power

Saturday, February 12, 2022

Netflix's new show Inventing Anna tells the story of how a magazine journalist unraveled the real-life saga of con artist Anna Sorokin, who posed as a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey.

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Dramatic reboot 'Bel Air' proves sometimes, you should be careful what you wish for

Friday, February 11, 2022

Bel Air, a reboot of the 90s classic The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, starts this weekend on Peacock. But in dramatizing the sitcom, the creators lost what made The Fresh Prince so fun in the first place.

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I have a name for what fueled Joe Rogan's new scandal: Bigotry Denial Syndrome

Wednesday, February 09, 2022

Joe Rogan doesn't think of himself as a racist. But that doesn't mean his language isn't harmful.

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