Emily Nussbaum

Emily Nussbaum (born February 20, 1966)^[1] is an American television critic.^[2][3] She served as the television critic for The New Yorker from 2011 until 2019.^[4] In 2016, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.

Emily Nussbaum
Nussbaum in 2015
Born	(1966-02-20) February 20, 1966 (age 59)
Education	Oberlin College (BA) New York University (MA)
Occupation	Television critic
Spouse	Clive Thompson
Children	2
Relatives	Bernard Nussbaum (father)

Early life

Nussbaum was born in the United States to mother Toby Nussbaum and Bernard Nussbaum, who served as White House Counsel to President Bill Clinton.^[5][6]

Nussbaum was raised in Scarsdale, New York, and graduated from Oberlin College in 1988.^[7][8] She earned a master's degree in poetry from New York University^[9] and started a doctoral program in literature, but decided not to pursue teaching.^[10]

Career

After living in Providence, Rhode Island, and Atlanta, Georgia, Nussbaum began writing reviews of TV shows following her infatuation with the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer^[11] and posting at the website Television Without Pity.^[12][13][14] She began writing for Lingua Franca and served as editor-in-chief of Nerve.^[15] She also wrote for Slate and The New York Times.^[10]

Nussbaum then worked at New York magazine, where she was the creator of the "Approval Matrix" feature and wrote about culture and television.^[16] She was at New York for seven years and was the culture editor.^[17]

In 2011, she became the television critic at The New Yorker,^[18] taking over from Nancy Franklin.^[19] She won a National Magazine Award for Columns and Commentary in 2014 and the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2016.^[20]

Personal life

Nussbaum is married to journalist Clive Thompson.^[21] They have two children.^[22]

Awards

• 2014: National Magazine Awards, Columns and Commentary. Honors political and social commentary; news analysis; and reviews and criticism^[23]
• 2016: Pulitzer Prize for Criticism^[24]

Bibliography

Books

• Nussbaum, Emily (June 25, 2019). I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-525-50896-0.^[25]
• Nussbaum, Emily (June 25, 2024). Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-525-50899-1.^{[26][27][28][29]}

Essays and reporting

• Nussbaum, Emily (November 15, 2011). "'Community' had low ratings. So what?". Culture Desk. The New Yorker.^[a]
• — (November 28, 2011). "Crass warfare : raunch and ridicule on 'Whitney' and '2 Broke Girls'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 87 (38): 72–74.
• — (December 12, 2011). "Final cut pro : the devolution of 'Dexter'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 87 (40): 92–93.
• — (January 2, 2012). "Warming trend : the sentimental smarts of 'Parenthood'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker.
• — (January 23, 2012). "Horsey Set : the upscale temptations of 'Luck' and 'Downton Abbey'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker.
• — (February 13–20, 2012). "It's good enough for me : the renaissance in children's programming". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker.
• — (February 6, 2012). "'Smash' : it had me at 'Hello!'". Culture Desk. The New Yorker.^[a]
• — (February 25, 2013). "Shark Week : 'House of Cards,' 'Scandal,' and the political game". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker.
• — (April 8, 2013). "To stir, with love : the modern cooking show, from 'Hell's Kitchen' to 'Barefoot Contessa'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 89 (8): 86–87.
• — (May 6, 2013). "Crass roots : 'Veep' grows up". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 89 (12): 72–74.
• — (June 3, 2013). "L.A. confidential : Steven Soderbergh's gorgeous homage to Liberace". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 89 (16): 68–69.
• — (June 10–17, 2013). "Trauma Queen : the pulp appeal of 'Law & Order: SVU'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 89 (17): 108–109.
• — (July 8–15, 2013). "Vice versa : good and bad in 'Orange is the New Black' and 'Ray Donovan'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 89 (20): 90–91.
• — (July 29, 2013). "Difficult women : how 'Sex and the City' lost its good name". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 89 (22).
• — (October 7, 2013). "Private practice : the hot-to-trot pleasures of 'Masters of Sex'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker.
• — (October 28, 2013). "Faint praise : the new network shows, from 'Trophy Wife' to 'The Blacklist'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 89 (34): 80–81.
• — (November 25, 2013). "Below the belt : comic aggression in 'Moms Mabley' and 'Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 89 (38): 128–129.
• — (February 10, 2014). "Sweet and low : 'The Fosters' and 'Broad City'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 89 (48): 80–81.
• — (March 3, 2014). "Cool story, bro : the shallow deep talk of 'True Detective'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 90 (2): 78–79.
• — (March 31, 2014). "Change agents : breaking code on 'The Americans' and 'Silicon Valley'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 90 (6): 66–68.
• — (April 21, 2014). "Castles in the air : the gorgeous existential funk of 'Adventure Time'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 90 (9): 106–107.
• — (August 4, 2014). "Gut reaction : gross-outs and grief in 'The Strain' and 'The Leftovers'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 90 (22): 70–71.
• — (December 15, 2014). "Small differences : he-said, she-said on 'The Affair'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 90 (40): 74–75.
• — (February 23 – March 2, 2015). "Last girl in Larchmont : Joan Rivers was a survivor of a sexist era : a victim, a rebel, and, finally, an enforcer". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 91 (2).
• — (March 23, 2015). "What about Bob? The strange allure of Robert Durst and 'The Jinx'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 91 (5): 96–97.^[b]
• — (March 30, 2015). "Candy girl : the bright-pink resilience of 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker.
• — (May 11, 2015). "The little tramp : the raucous feminist humor of 'Inside Amy Schumer'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker.
• — (May 25, 2015). "Good night : David Letterman's last weeks". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 91 (14): 76–77.^[c]
• — (June 29, 2015). "To serve man : the savory spectacle of 'Hannibal'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 91 (18): 62–64.^[d]
• — (November 23, 2015). "Sickness and health : stages of life in 'Gettin On' and 'Master of None'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 91 (37): 118–119.^[e]
• — (December 7, 2015). "American untouchable : the actor who fought to integrate early TV". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 91 (39): 79–81.^[f][g]
• — (February 22, 2016). "Waiting on the Man : big shots on 'Vinyl' and 'Billions'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 92 (2): 78–79.^[h]
• — (March 7, 2016). "Laverne & Curly : the slapstick anarchists of 'Broad City'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 92 (4): 59–61.^[i]
• — (March 21, 2016). "Swing states : the 'Realpolitik' of 'The Middle'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 92 (6): 102–103.
• — (April 25, 2016). "In living color : with 'black–ish,' Kenya Barris rethinks the family sitcom". Letter from Hollywood. The New Yorker. 92 (11): 58–69.
• — (May 23, 2016). "Big gulp : drinking and drama on 'Vanderpump Rules'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 92 (15): 82–83.
• — (June 20, 2016). "Crowning glory : the sneaky radicalism of 'Call the Midwife'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 92 (18): 84–85.^[j]
• — (July 11–18, 2016). "Empathy for the Devil : radical loss on 'Orange is the New Black'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 92 (21): 86–87.^[k]
• — (July 25, 2016). "Counting sheeple : political paranoia on 'Mr. Robot' and 'BrainDead'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 92 (22): 60–62.^[l]
• — (August 8–15, 2016). "Neigh sayer: the melancholy pleasures of 'Bojack Horseman'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 92 (24): 78–79.^[m]
• — (November 7, 2016). "Fox eats crow : the crisis of Fox News and the rise of Megyn Kelly". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 92 (36): 64–66.^[n]
• — (December 19–26, 2016). "Wikipedia Brown : a millennial private eye on 'Search Party'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 92 (42): 126–127.^[o]
• — (March 20, 2017). "Arch nemeses : bittersweet catfights on 'Feud'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 93 (5): 98–99.^[p]
• — (May 1, 2017). "Field notes : the disciplined power of 'American Crime'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 93 (11): 76–77.^[q]
• — (July 3, 2017). "Bling ring : the glitzy verve of 'GLOW' and 'Claws'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 93 (19): 70–71.^[r]
• — (February 11, 2019). "Star 69 : the perils of fame on 'The Masked Singer' and 'The Other Two'". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 94 (48): 70–71.^[s]
• — (March 4, 2019). "Cherry bomb". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 95 (2): 68–69.^[t]
• — (June 3, 2019). "In the current climate". The Critics. On Television. The New Yorker. 95 (15): 60–64.^[u]

Blog posts and online columns

• — (November 29, 2011). "'Homeland' : the antidote for '24'". Culture Desk. The New Yorker.
• — (December 6, 2011). "I hate top ten lists". Culture Desk. The New Yorker.
• — (December 21, 2011). "'Raising Hope' and 'The Middle' : two sneakily good sitcoms". Culture Desk. The New Yorker.
• — (January 9, 2012). "Dear PBS : the Laura Linney 'Downton Abbey' intros are freaking me out". Culture Desk. The New Yorker.
• — (February 23, 2012). "In defense of Liz Lemon". Culture Desk. The New Yorker.

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Notes

1. Available on website only.
2. Title in the online table of contents is "Robert Durst's new trial".
3. Title in the online table of contents is "David Letterman, revolutionary curmudgeon".
4. Title in the online table of contents is "The savory spectacle of 'Hannibal'".
5. Title in the online table of contents is "'Getting On' and Aziz Ansari’s 'Master of None'".
6. On P. Jay Sidney
7. Online version is titled "One man’s crusade to integrate TV".
8. Title in the online table of contents is "This season's big dirty dramas".
9. Online version is titled "The slapstick anarchists of 'Broad City'".
10. Online version is titled "'Call the Midwife,' a primal procedural".
11. Online version is titled "Empathy and 'Orange is the New Black'".
12. Online version is titled "TV dramas of political paranoia".
13. Online version is titled "The bleakness and joy of 'Bojack Horeseman'".
14. Online version is titled "Fox News, a melodrama".
15. Online version is titled "A millennial private eye on 'Search Party'".
16. Online version is titled "'Feud' : a bittersweet beauty".
17. Online version is titled "The disciplined power of 'American Crime'".
18. Online version is titled "The glitzy verve of 'GLOW' and 'Claws'".
19. Online version is titled "Celebrity delirium on 'The Masked Singer' and 'The Other Two'".
20. Online version is titled "Middle-school mortification on 'PEN15'".
21. Online version is titled "TV's reckoning with #MeToo".