I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution

I Like to Watch collects cultural critic Emily Nussbaum's essays and reviews about television from the past two decades. The pieces range from examinations of groundbreaking shows to broader analysis of TV as an art form during its creative renaissance. Nussbaum, a Pulitzer Prize winner and The New Yorker's television critic, brings her perspective to discussions of gender representation, anti-hero narratives, and comedy's evolution. The book includes both previously published work and new original essays, including a piece that confronts how to evaluate art made by morally compromised creators. The collection tracks television's transformation from a dismissed medium into a central part of contemporary culture. Through close readings of specific series and industry-wide observations, Nussbaum builds an argument for television criticism as essential cultural discourse. This book maps the intersections between art, entertainment, and shifting social values during a pivotal period in media history. The essays reveal how television both reflects and shapes ongoing conversations about power, identity, and storytelling in American life.

Readers appreciate Nussbaum's sharp criticism and analysis of TV shows, particularly her pieces on The Sopranos, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Lost. Many note her ability to examine shows through feminist and cultural lenses while maintaining accessibility. Readers liked: - Clear writing style with humor and passion - Defense of TV as a serious art form - Cultural context and analysis of shows' impacts Readers disliked: - Collection feels disjointed - Some essays dated or repetitive - Focus on older shows from 1990s-2000s - Too much personal commentary One reader noted: "She makes you want to rewatch everything she writes about with new eyes." Ratings: Goodreads: 4.0/5 (2,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.4/5 (180+ ratings) Common criticism includes the book's structure as collected essays rather than a cohesive narrative, with some readers finding certain pieces less engaging than others.

All The Lives I Want by Alana Massey A collection of essays examining pop culture and feminism through personal narratives and critical analysis of television, music, and celebrity.

TV (The Book): Two Experts Pick the Greatest American Shows of All Time by Alan Sepinwall A deep dive into television history with critical frameworks for evaluating shows and understanding their cultural impact.

From Daytime to Primetime: The History of American Television Programs by James Roman A comprehensive examination of how television programming evolved and shaped American culture from the 1940s through the present era.

Better Living Through Criticism by A. O. Scott An exploration of the role of criticism in culture, drawing from film, literature, and television to demonstrate how critical analysis enriches audience experience.

The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall A chronicle of television's transformation through the analysis of groundbreaking shows that changed the medium from 1997 to 2012.

📺 Emily Nussbaum won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2016 while serving as the television critic for The New Yorker. 🏆 The book includes Nussbaum's influential essay about Joan Rivers that won the National Magazine Award for Columns and Commentary. 📱 The collection traces TV's evolution from a "vast wasteland" to what Nussbaum calls "the signal art form of the twenty-first century." 📚 The essays explore how the rise of social media and binge-watching have fundamentally changed how audiences engage with television shows. 🎭 Nussbaum originally planned to become a professor of Victorian literature before discovering her passion for television criticism while writing about "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" online in the 1990s.