Eric Deggans

Tv and Media Critic for the Saint Petersburg Times

Eric Deggans appears in the following:

'SNL' Season Premiere Shows What's Right — And Wrong — With Its Political Humor

Monday, October 03, 2016

Saturday Night Live has returned for its new season. Politics took center stage in the show, which included Alec Baldwin's debut as Donald Trump.

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Review: HBO Hopes To Fill Sunday Spotlight With 'Westworld' Series

Sunday, October 02, 2016

HBO needs to find a big-ticket drama to fill out a Sunday evening time slot. They're hoping "Westworld," an elaborate sci-fi drama set in a Western-themed amusement park, will be a hit.

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Woody Allen Presents First TV Series, 'Crisis In Six Scenes,' On Amazon

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Woody Allen's first foray into television, Crisis in Six Scenes, debuts on Amazon Friday. The series is a six-part comedy set in the 1960s with a cast that includes Miley Cyrus.

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Hip-Hop And Superheroes Inspire 'Luke Cage' Showrunner Cheo Coker

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Cheo Coker was a well-respected journalist chronicling hip-hop and pop before he moved to film and TV. His latest gig is as showrunner on Marvel's highly anticipated black superhero series, Luke Cage.

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Fall TV Channel Flip: 4 Shows To Watch, And Some To Avoid

Monday, September 19, 2016

Does the fall TV season even matter anymore, in this age of #PeakTV? September is still the beginning of the season for broadcast networks — which still draw the most viewers and the big bucks.

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Juggernauts Repeat At 2016 Emmys, But Fresh Faces Get Their Due

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Game of Thrones, Veep and The People v. O.J. Simpson won for best drama, comedy and limited series — but some new names made splashes, too. NPR's pop culture crew live-tweeted the night's festivities.

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NFL Live Streams Thursday Night Football On Twitter

Friday, September 16, 2016

The NFL's Thursday night game streamed on Twitter's platforms on a variety of devices this week. Over 800 million Twitter users worldwide had free, live access to the game.

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Much More Than A 5-Year Mission: 'Star Trek' Turns 50

Thursday, September 08, 2016

Star Trek debuted on TV in 1966, and Starship Enterprise is still seeking strange new worlds. Co-star George Takei credits creator Gene Roddenberry's inclusive vision for Trek's enduring popularity.

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'Atlanta,' 'Queen Sugar,' Bring Modern Black Culture To TV

Tuesday, September 06, 2016

A new comedy by Community alum, Donald Glover, called Atlanta premieres on FX on Tuesday night. And over on Oprah's network, OWN, Queen Sugar premieres. Both shows reflect the push toward diversity in prestige cable television, with creators, stars and subject matter focused on black people.

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First-Time Nominations Reveal The Changing Face Of The Emmys

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Cuba Gooding Jr., Rami Malek and Constance Zimmer all have one thing in common: this year is the first time each has been nominated for an Emmy. Their nominations hint at deeper changes in television.

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NBC Declares Rio A 'Media' Success, Though TV Ratings Were Down

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

NBC broadcast more than 6,000 hours from the Summer Olympics on various platforms and hailed it as a big triumph, even though TV ratings dropped off substantially from London in 2012.

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Modern Television Portrays Complex View Of The Middle Class

Friday, August 19, 2016

As part of the All Things Considered series, "The New Middle," we take a look at how the middle class has been portrayed on television.

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Comedian Larry Wilmore Reflects On End Of 'The Nightly Show'

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore comes to an end this week. Host and comedian Larry Wilmore reflects on the show's failures and successes.

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Why Didn't 'Nightly Show' Connect With More Viewers? Larry Wilmore's Not Sure

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

The Nightly Show has had some viral moments, but had a hard time building ratings. It will air for the last time on Thursday; Wilmore says he feels the show was overlooked by Comedy Central.

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New TV Series Rely On Nostalgia To Hook Viewers

Friday, August 12, 2016

From Happy Days to The Wonder Years, television has long looked to the past for inspiration. Some new shows dig into 1980s and '90s nostalgia: The Get Down, Stranger Things and MacGyver among them.

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TV Networks Unveil Fall Lineup At Summer Press Tour

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Broadcast and cable networks unveiled their fall lineup to television critics. NPR looks ahead at the good, the bad and the ugly for the upcoming TV season, and how the business is changing.

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At TV Press Tour, Actors And Producers Of Color Speak Of Hollywood Struggles

Tuesday, August 02, 2016

More faces of color are turning up on TV, but at this year's Television Critics Association summer press tour, actors and producers spoke out about how hard it still is to get a foot in the door.

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As TV Networks Trot Out Fall Offerings For Critics, 2 NBC Shows Stand Out

Tuesday, August 02, 2016

As cable and streaming services continue to expand programming, the networks face increasing competition for viewers and buzz. Here's a check-in from the Television Critics Association press tour.

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Comparing Both Conventions As TV: Did Either One Get An Edge?

Friday, July 29, 2016

Now that the national conventions have concluded, NPR TV critic Eric Deggans looks back on both, judging them purely as television programs. Policy aside, did either convention make for compelling TV?

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Republican National Convention Parallels Reality Television

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Conflict, betrayal, false words: The Republican National Convention is playing out like a reality TV show.

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