About That "Good Wife" Finale...

A day later, I still love the series finale of CBS' The Good Wife. Alicia Florrick dusting herself off, straightening her peplum, and getting on with life is all the closure I need from this show.

The slap, Alicia's expression, and the fact that once again she'll have to pick herself up and reinvent herself is more than enough for me. Ultimately, whom she ended up with is less of interest to me than who she ended up being.

So many things came full circle and fulfilled Alicia's character arc from the pilot episode, in a finale that was filled with touches both big and small (Judge Cuesta, pitted evidence) that recalled the pilot. An ending with precision, poise, and promise that didn't wrap things up nearly but also offered a deep sense of closure and a fulfillment of the journey that this show took its viewers on over the last seven seasons. I'll miss you so much, Alicia and Co.

At the Cinema: "Captain America: Civil War"

Loved Captain America: Civil War. A little overstuffed (exactly as much as I expected), but immensely entertaining, from the philosophical implications to the fight sequences. The Russo Brothers did a fantastic job at managing the vast array of moving pieces and keeping them, well, moving swiftly — shifting from pathos to comedy and back to pathos over the course of a breezy two and a half hours.

Spoilers in the Age of Social Media, Binge-Viewing, and SEO

Apropos of last night's (very expected) "unexpected twist" on Game of Thrones, it's interesting to me to see how much the needs of journalistic outlets covering entertainment — SEO, heds, deks, and thumbnails, for example — continue to diverge from readers' needs, as outlets struggle to compete with one another for a chunk of the same readership. 

Outraged viewers scream, "SPOILERS," "How could you?" and level outrage over photo selections, plot-centric heds, etc., while writers and editors are going to try to position their stories to get the best clickthrough/share rates via social and homepage. Often, that amounts to language or image selections that are highly specific, hyperbolic, and/or plot-centric.

Given the increasingly fierce level of competition for entertainment outlets, is there any solution that will please both outlets and readers, particularly in an age in which social media and binge-viewing are oddly both de rigueur? 

And I’m especially curious — for TV reporters/critics, are you more or less sensitive to spoiler issues lately and do the demands of the trade to find and keep audience have anything to do with your choices in terms of story elements?

What I'm Watching: "The A Word"

Loved BBC One's The A Word so much. Six episodes were not enough of this remarkable, heartfelt, beautiful family drama. Need more ASAP, please.

While the entire cast of the Lake District-set drama is aces, Morven Christie is fantastically fierce as the mother of a child diagnosed with ASD — though the show itself isn't just about Joe's diagnosis, but instead follows each of the family members as they grapple with their own hard truths and uncomfortable situations. Joe is the thing that ultimately brings them together, rather than pushes them apart.

And I'm beyond thrilled that The A Word will return for a second season! Television needs more shows like this one: it's deft, nuanced, and impassioned.

(Season 1 comes to the U.S. on July 13 on SundanceTV. I highly recommend.)

What I'm Watching: "Line of Duty"

BBC Two's Line of Duty Season 3 is a masterclass in tension, escalation, and plotting. Absolutely electrifying from start to finish.

Daniel Mays plays, as always, a complex baddy with malevolent intensity and does so perfectly, while Keeley Hawes — so sublime in S2 — returns as disgraced copper Lindsay Denton for a tour de force performance that demonstrates Hawes at her finest and fiercest.

Seasons 1-2 are already on Hulu with Season 3 joining them on May 1. A true tour de force that ties together long-simmering plot lines from the first two seasons with grit and horror. I'm in awe of this show.

I Need More "iZombie"

Two hours of iZombie is exactly what the doctor ordered for tonight (don't ask), although I wish that it weren't the finale — I need more Liv and Co. in my life and this season has been so fantastic that I'm crushed that it's over already. (Remember last year when iZombie aired new episodes all the way into June? I do.)

Despite needing more iZombie in my life, I thought that this was a perfect season finale from start to finish — featuring a reveal (Clive finally knows!), a twist, two Rob Thomases (!), and a new enemy (frenemy? ally?). Who can say? All I know: The wait for Season 3 is going to be bloody painful.

Nothing Lasts Forever, Not Even HBO's "Togetherness"

Brett & Michelle & Alex & Tina forever. Togetherness, you'll be missed.

My Latest TV Obsession: The CW's "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"

Q: Could Crazy Ex-Girlfriend possibly be any better than it already is?

A: No, because it's perfect, especially this week.

I loved every second of this week's episode (#‎bearmergency), particularly as Rebecca (the always amazing Rachel Bloom) breaks her cycle of behavior — with Josh, Greg, Valencia, and Paula — and chooses a different path for herself. Plus, "Heavy Boobs" may just be the most inventive, witty, and unforgettable song ever written.

This show has it all: Humor, heart, subversion, and boba tea. What more could you ask for?

I'm in Awe of Tonight's Episode of HBO's "Girls"

Tonight's episode of Girls ("The Panic in Central Park") was nothing less than spellbinding, from the scene under the water to Marnie finally coming up to the surface.

I loved the randomness and precision of the Charlie story here: After failing and becoming addicted, this is how he would remake himself, as a tough guy. But his newfound confidence and cocksure charisma hide his true self:  a screw-up addict surrounded by guys who catcall women. Like the girl in the bathroom, Charlie's fantasy ruptured.

And so does Marnie's and she finally breaks free of Charlie's spell, her disillusionment, and her fears, and leaves Desi for good. An astonishing, beautiful, and heartbreaking half-hour, I thought.

What I'm Watching: "The Night Manager"

I just finished The Night Manager, which will definitely be going on my list of my favorite shows of 2016. An electrifying, intoxicating, heady brew that left me wanting more. 

Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman, Elizabeth Debicki (so great already in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.), Tom Hollander, David Harewood, and Hugh Laurie are all stellar here and the gorgeous direction by Susannah Bier is riveting, making this a "must-watch" in every sense.

What can I say about Colman in that incredible "sports day" scene? It is a masterclass in acting from start to finish. And after The Night Manager, I can definitely see Tom Hiddleston as James Bond. He's all sinew and charm as Pine.

What I'm Watching: "Happy Valley" Season 2

Season 2 of BBC One's Happy Valley was incredible: every single second of Sarah Lancashire's stunning performance, that final scene, the beautiful bleakness of the North, finding the language.

Bring on Season 3 of because the wait for more is going to be excruciating. Bravura television on every level. Bravo, Sally Wainwright.

If you want to see well-written television roles for women of ALL AGES, look no further than Call the Midwife and Happy Valley. An oasis.

I Cannot Stop Thinking About Amanda Peet This Season on "Togetherness"

My god, Amanda Peet this season on Togetherness? Absolutely aces.

Can we please all talk about that orange juice scene and the scene at the end of this week's episode? Please?

"Switched at Birth" To End Its Run

I'm so gutted to lose this show, which will end its run early next year, but I hope that it will get the perfect ending it so richly deserves.

Switched At Birth took its title concept and infused it with a nuanced exploration of identity, race, class, communication, and connection. Television is ultimately better for Switched at Birth existing. It was — and is (we still have one last batch of episodes to look forward to in 2017) — a beautiful, emotional, daring, brave show in every sense.

You meant a lot to so many. You'll be missed more than you know. 

"The 100," Character Deaths, and Loss

Fictional character deaths matter. They matter intensely, in fact. 

There’s an intimacy that comes with television as a medium; the characters on television are, after all, fictional people that we invite into our living rooms and bedrooms on a weekly basis. For some viewers, television characters might feel as real — if not more real — than the actual people around them. 

The relationship we have with television is inherently personal. These are characters that we see change and grow from the comfort of our couches and our beds, and with whom we spend countless hours week after week, year after year. If the cinema is popular culture’s church — a holy place of silence and darkness (which has sadly now been invaded by cell phones and loud talkers) — then television is the equivalent of popular culture’s confessional, a place where we can see ourselves reflected. It’s personal, it’s private, and yet we use it to commune with something larger than ourselves. 

All of this is to say that I’m not surprised that fans of The CW’s dystopian drama The 100 were shocked and angered and saddened by the death of one of its breakout characters on the March 3 episode (“Thirteen”). Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey) — the fierce and ferocious commander of the 12 tribes of Grounders that our main characters have encountered since returning to Earth — was a phenomenal character: strong and gritty, powerful and mysterious. She had so much potential in terms of story, both in terms of learning about the nature of mercy and how her leadership could change the century-old ways of the Grounders (how forgiveness could be more powerful than vengeance) and her relationship with the similarly flinty Clarke (Eliza Taylor), the teenage de facto leader of the Sky People, whose own sacrifices have powered the series to become one of the most brutal and uncompromising explorations of power structures and survival in the face of unspeakable horror.

The two leaders were in love, their scenes throughout the past two seasons sparking with the chemistry of sexual attraction, and their feelings were finally consummated in “Thirteen,” as when faced with the notion of separation, they fell into bed together. It was only through the machinations of Lexa’s chief counsel Titus (Neil Sandilands) that Lexa died inadvertently by his own hand, an ironic twist of fate as Lexa, hearing gunshots from Clarke’s chambers, rushed to her lover’s side to save her, only to be felled by a bullet from her own protector’s hand.

It was, like all things on The 100, brutal and bloody, though Taylor and Debham-Carey turned out remarkable performances for both the love scene between Clarke and Lexa and for Lexa’s heartbreaking death scene, one that unlocked a primary mystery about The 100’s backstory and resolved several questions about Grounder culture and customs while tying into the underlying mythology of the show. It was an immensely powerful scene of death and loss and love.

The dead lesbian trope has been well-played out on television and I couldn’t help but think about the murder of Tara (Amber Benson) on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, (who is similarly killed in the crossfire by a man who wasn’t specifically targeting her) when watching Titus accidentally kill Lexa on The 100. But I don’t feel that The 100 falls into this trope, per se. Yes, Lexa dies because of her relationship with Clarke, but only because she tries to save Clarke because they’re in a relationship. She’s in the wrong place at the wrong time, but she dies a hero, rather than a tragic victim. And the show has pushed Clarke to deal with the loss of a lover before; in Season 2, the show killed off her male lover, Finn (Thomas McDonell), by having Clarke herself murder him to prevent Lexa (!) from ritualistically and painfully killing him.

Neither Clarke nor Lexa’s defining characteristic was their sexuality — in fact, sexuality is always treated on The 100 as an aside rather than the sole thing that defined the characters. Lexa and Clarke’s relationship made no one blink twice, other than the political ramifications of their union. Their romance was problematic only because of the political, rather than sexual lines that it crossed. Lexa believed that feelings were weakness, but gave into her passion and sentiment for Clarke. She obtained a moment of happiness before her life was so cruelly cut short. I do believe that there are an immense number of story possibilities for Clarke that will emerge from Lexa’s death, which will leave a vacuum in the power struggle among the Grounders (and the Skaikru). I believe that Clarke will have to find the strength to live again, just as she did after Finn’s death. And I believe that the show will eventually find another romantic match for Clarke, although I do hope it’s another woman as strong and commanding as Lexa.

Would Lexa’s death have cut so deeply had she and Clarke not consummated their relationship? Absolutely. The show dangled their love in front of the viewer — look how beautiful, look how tender!, it said — before hermetically sealing it off, making the sting of Lexa’s death all the more palpable as Lexa and Clarke’s romance, after a season and a half of simmering, smolders with passion and then explodes into pain and grief and rage. All we’re left with is dust. But that’s all that anyone is left with, The 100 would seem to say: Life is short and survival is hard. But I also wouldn’t have wanted Lexa to die before she and Clarke could have been together. If she had been killed without having that sumptuous, gorgeous bedroom scene, wouldn’t that have been even worse? It might be cold comfort to think that Lexa went to her grave happy, but she had at least those moments of bliss with Clarke before her life was snuffed out.

Couples — whether gay or straight — rarely stay together on The 100. If the reverse were true, I’d have a far bigger issue with the killing of Lexa. But life on the Earth of The 100 is nasty, brutish, and short… and so are the romances between the show’s characters. To date, only one couple (Octavia/Lincoln) has made it through the last two and a half seasons with both characters intact, and with Ricky Whittle set to star in Starz’s American Gods, I can’t help but feel that Clarke will soon have someone else with whom to grieve before long...

Golly Gumdrops: Masterpiece Studio Crosses 1 Million Listens!

Absolutely huge news: MASTERPIECE STUDIO has crossed the 1 million listen threshold only a few weeks after launching. In fact, we've doubled in just three weeks, which is astounding.

Thanks to all of you, our MASTERPIECE Studio podcast crossed the 1 million listens mark- onward! cc: @televisionary pic.twitter.com/BGRJDGh86x

— Masterpiece PBS (@masterpiecepbs) February 22, 2016

A sincere thank you to everyone out there who has been listening, tweeting, Facebooking, and interacting with us. It's been a pleasure. And a thank you of a different sort to everyone who has worked so tirelessly on this podcast with me: Nathan Tobey, Kathy Tu, Rachel Aronoff, Barrett Brountas, Olivia Wong, and Bruce Kohl. You are amazing.

It's been, as Lady Edith might say, bananas.

Some Freelance Writing Advice

While I've largely been on-staff during my journalistic career, I have done a fair amount of freelance writing in my time for a variety of outlets. So when a friend, who is embarking on a new career in freelance writing, asked me for some advice via email, I ended up writing back with a quite a few suggestions to keep in mind when you're starting out on the adventure that is freelance writing.

These are the ones that came to me right off the top of my head, but I thought I'd share them here:

1. Leave the ego at the door.

While you’ve heard the adage that rejection is a bitter pill to swallow, be ready to deal with something even worse than rejection: silence. I’ve been on both sides of the freelance equation: I’ve been a freelance writer at some really great publications (and some not great ones) and I’ve been an editor who has bought freelance pitches. Editors are super-busy dealing with the writers they have on staff, their bosses, the copy, deadlines, etc. Freelance pitches are often at the very bottom of their burgeoning to-do list.

2. Be persistent, but not too persistent!

Find that fine line between checking in via email if you haven’t heard back and pestering editors. Never, ever, ever telephone an editor about a pitch!

3. Find out who’s buying.

Make an Excel spreadsheet of every publication you’d want to write for, contact info for relevant editors (or general freelance pitch email addresses). Scan the mastheads for the exact area you’re looking to write for AND where your story pitch would fit in. Front of the book story? Don’t pitch the features editor! (And vice-versa.) It helps to keep everything in one place: contact info, publications, pitches, dates emailed, responses, etc. This is your dashboard. And will help you begin to spot emergent patterns as you go along.

4. Find out who is on staff and who isn't.

Likewise, keep track of whether you’re seeing a lot of stories in outlets from writers who are on staff (i.e., appear on the masthead) or don’t. Mediabistro is a fantastic resource for freelancers and often have insider info on who to pitch, what percentage of stories come from freelance vs. in-house, what sections are open to freelance or new writers, etc. 

5. Be specific in your pitch(es).

Don’t send 10 pages of random info. Again, editors = super-busy. Cut to the chase. Who are you? What can you offer? What are your qualifications, experience, connections? Do you know chefs, winemakers, publicists, etc.? Send 3-5 story pitches in the body of the mail. Keep them short, snappy, and to the point. Why would someone want to read this story? Why are you the only person who should write it? Why does it make sense for this particular publication?

Also, tailor your pitches. Never start with "Dear Editor," which is the kiss of death. Personalize them at the start as well as being specific in terms of a targeted pitch. And double-check before you press send. Nothing is more embarrassing than sending the wrong email to the wrong editor.

6. Write every day.

Seriously: Every. Day. As a freelancer, you live or die on your freelance rates, which tend to be low. How quickly you can write copy and turn it around, clean and pristine, will determine how many other stories you can write per month and therefore how much you can actually earn. Practice, practice, practice. Didn’t sell that freelance pitch? Write it anyway and post it on your blog. Get to know AP Style and check the style guides for any publications that you’re writing for. Clean, snappy copy goes a long, long way to making editors happy.

7. Get to know your industry on a national and local level.

Interested in covering food outside of New York? Well, who are the local chefs in Oakland/San Francisco who are up and coming? And who are their publicists? How can you get on the list for restaurant openings/parties, etc.? What is happening in SF or Wine Country that is new, novel, or innovative? Want to cover entertainment? What are the stories that you're not seeing covered by the major city newspapers, the trades, and the general interest entertainment press (EW, Vulture, etc.)? Can you get to these stories first before they become covered by the New York Times or others?

8. It's about ideas.

Write down every idea that you have, no matter how insignificant it might seem at the time. You never know where a story thread or inspiration will come from.

9. Be fearless.

Contact anyone and everyone, even if it’s a cold pitch. Don't be afraid to get a no.

10. Brand yourself.

Every pitch needs that graf about who you are and why you’re amazing and your experience/background, writing credits, etc. Refine this graf. Live it, breathe it, love it. It is your best friend. It needs to be on the tip of your tongue every time you meet someone new and every time you pitch an editor. It should seem effortless and natural but also impressive. Don’t be boastful but also don’t be modest. Sell yourself as much as you’re selling your ideas.

Be sure that you have active social media accounts (Twitter, especially) and that you're especially engaged with the topic(s) that you're looking to cover... and that you're not posting things on your personal accounts that prospective editors/employers would be horrified to see. 

11. Keep track of every work-related expense.

Find a good accountant who can help you with itemized deductions. Check with the city you live in to see if you need a business license to operate as a freelancer. (Word to the wise: in SF and LA, as a freelancer, you do.)

Are there any other specific questions that you have about freelance writing? Ask me and I'll answer them in the comments...

Televisionary Turns Ten: A Look Back

Ten years ago today, I decided to start a television blog. 

That choice was both a capricious whim and an intense need to find creative fulfillment in my professional life. I was working in television development at the time and wanted a way to offer commentary on the shows I was watching and the trends that I was noticing at play within the industry. It was a secret endeavor at first. I posted for a few weeks without telling anyone and then, slowly, began mentioning it to some incredibly supportive friends and people around me. It was a side project, something that was solely mine.

And then Televisionary took on a life of its own and pushed my life and career into some very unexpected and amazing directions. I could never have predicted 10 years ago the places to which that one single decision has lead, including a major career shift. In that time, I've written for some formidable outlets and interviewed some incredible people. I've broken news, reported, recapped, edited, and written criticism and profiles. I've had the pleasure of working with some amazing colleagues and peers and have fulfilled a lot of my own personal goals along the way. I'm incredibly proud of what I accomplished both with Televisionary and with the other professional endeavors I embarked on in the time since then. 

A decade ago, I sat down in front of a computer screen and began a story that has taken me here, to today and to an industry and a media culture that is now vastly different. It feels as though a long chapter has come to an end, although I'm excited to see what's next for me, for the media, and for television as a whole. 

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Masterpiece Studio Crosses 500,000 Listens!

Some big, big news for me: my podcast, MASTERPIECE STUDIO, the official companion podcast for PBS' Masterpiece, crossed the 500,000 listen mark on Monday after just a few weeks of launching! We're already well on our way to hitting the 1 million threshold (soon!), but I had to share this piece of good news.

Thanks to everyone who has listened to the podcast and tweeted/interacted with us over these last few weeks! And if you haven't had the chance to check it out, you can listen to MASTERPIECE STUDIO on iTunes, Stitcher, PBS.org, and also right here on this very website. Be sure to subscribe!

What I'm Watching: "Dickensian"

I'm absolutely loving ‎Dickensian on BBC One — a cracking adaptation that plucks characters from various Charles Dickens novels and deposits them side by side into a 30-minute soap narrative in the British soap tradition of EastEnders (no surprise then that creator Tony Jordan worked on the Albert Square-set show).

The characters may be, er, Dickensian, and the plot serialized in the fashion of Dickens himself, but the storytelling rhythms fuse both Dickens and EastEnders to full effect: loads of subplots, an omnibus' worth of characters both high and low, and an innate sense of setting. This might not be Albert Square, but the street that these gentlemen, ladies, urchins, and vagabonds inhabit feels lived-in and vibrant, a world of gated gas-lit mansions, fleabag public houses, gritty warehouses, all existing under the constant threat of the workhouse or the debtor's prison.

If you've ever wondered how Honoria Barbary, Amelia Havisham, Inspector Bucket, Fagin, and the Cratchits would get on, then Dickensian is the show for you. No word on whether the 20-episode first season will eventually make the trip across the Atlantic, but I can only hope that some U.S. outlet (Netflix? Acorn?) will pick this up soon — it's such a fun, engaging show featuring characters that you already know intimately but who still manage to surprise you.

What I'm Watching: "Call the Midwife"

Well, this week's episode of BBC One's Call The Midwife — which returns to PBS in March, I believe — wrecked me completely. The always amazing Liz White (Life on Mars' Annie) was absolutely incredible as Rhoda. (White is, it should be noted, also great in an upcoming episode of Season 2 of Grantchester as well, where she plays a very different sort of wife and mother.)

If you're not watching Call the Midwife, you're missing out on one of television's great dramas — and perhaps the best emotional catharsis you'll experience all week. Call the Midwife makes you CRY HARD, even when it's in happy mode: I can't manage to get through an episode without at least tearing up, if not sobbing outright. It is an innately beautiful drama about birth and death and everything in between.

And, in an era in which female reproductive rights are being fought tooth and nail, it depicts the rigors and marvels of childbirth and the socialized medicine of Britain's National Health Service. It's also just a cracking drama that features a plethora of well-crafted female characters of all ages.

Further reading:
BuzzFeed: "7 Reasons Call The Midwife Is One Of The Best Shows On Television"
The Daily Beast: "Call the Midwife: Miranda Hart’s Chummy Browne Steals the Show"