Accessibility links
Eric Deggans Eric Deggans is NPR's first full-time TV critic.
Eric Deggans
Stories By

Eric Deggans

'Star Trek: Discovery' Is A Refreshing Triumph

Hong Kong action star Michelle Yeoh and Walking Dead alum Sonequa Martin-Green play Philippa Georgiou and Michael Burnham, respectively, in CBS' Star Trek: Discovery. Jan Thijs/CBS hide caption

toggle caption
Jan Thijs/CBS

Review

Television

'Star Trek: Discovery' Is A Refreshing Triumph

The new CBS series has eye-popping special effects and a classic Trek adventure story that has been updated for today's sci-fi audience.

'Star Trek: Discovery' Is A Refreshing Triumph

Listen · 4:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/553532524/553532527" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Television

TV Director Lesli Linka Glatter On Trusting Your Gut

Director Lesli Linka Glatter is one of the rare TV directors who's worked in high-quality television for three decades. Her newest project is Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders.

TV Director Lesli Linka Glatter On Trusting Your Gut

Listen · 5:22
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/553405789/553405793" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Television

Emmy Awards: 'Handmaid's Tale' And 'Veep' Win In Multiple Categories

Stephen Colbert hosted the 69th Emmy Awards Sunday night in Los Angeles. The Handmaid's Tale won the Emmy for drama series. Veep and Atlanta split the major comedy categories.

Emmy Awards: 'Handmaid's Tale' And 'Veep' Win In Multiple Categories

Listen · 3:39
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/551726557/551726558" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Television

NPR's Eric Deggans On Which Shows Deserve To Win

The 69th primetime Emmy Awards are tonight. But NPR TV critic Eric Deggans has awards of his own. He's voted on the shows he thinks deserve the "Deggys."

NPR's Eric Deggans On Which Shows Deserve To Win

Listen · 4:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/551604370/551604395" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Television

Review: Ken Burns' 'The Vietnam War'

Filmmaker Ken Burns and collaborators turn their lens to the Vietnam War in a 10-part, 18-hour documentary. It was six years in the making and includes rarely seen footage.

Review: Ken Burns' 'The Vietnam War'

Listen · 3:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/551163385/551163386" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Make It So-So: Fox's 'The Orville'

Where No One Has Gone Before, For Good Reason: (L-R): Penny Johnson Jerald, Mark Jackson, Seth MacFarlane, Peter Macon, Scott Grimes, Adrianne Palicki, J. Lee and Halston Sage star in The Orville. FOX hide caption

toggle caption
FOX

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Make It So-So: Fox's 'The Orville'

Unable to fix on a tone, the series "is trying so hard not to be so many things, it isn't fully any one thing," says critic Eric Deggans, who calls it "the strangest misfire of the fall TV season."

In 'The Deuce,' Sex Isn't Titillating — It's Business

Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Candy, a prostitute who begins to see a way off the street, in HBO's The Deuce. Paul Schiraldi/HBO hide caption

toggle caption
Paul Schiraldi/HBO

Opinion

Television

In 'The Deuce,' Sex Isn't Titillating — It's Business

David Simon's gritty new drama follows pornography's transition from back-alley pursuit to billion-dollar industry. The sex scenes are transactional, but also explicit, with equal opportunity nudity.

In 'The Deuce,' Sex Isn't Titillating — It's Business

Listen · 4:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/549474980/549550049" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Television

Facebook Prepares To Launch New Video Streaming Service

Facebook is rolling out it's new video streaming service this week. "Facebook Watch" is accessed by a button on the home page feed. Click and you get tons of shows, including a couple of originals. It's paid for by ads, which could be aimed directly at you, since Facebook knows all about you.

Facebook Prepares To Launch New Video Streaming Service

Listen · 3:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/547646681/547646682" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Television

'Game Of Thrones' Season 7 Finale: Epic In More Ways Than One

Game of Thrones fans found out what the episode title, "The Dragon and the Wolf," meant Sunday night, when season seven of the wildly popular HBO show came to an end.

'Game Of Thrones' Season 7 Finale: Epic In More Ways Than One

Listen · 4:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/546831738/546831739" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
NPR's Fall TV Preview: 11 New Shows To Watch Out For

Left to right: Michelle Yeoh in Star Trek: Discovery; Nathalie Kelley and Grant Show in Dynasty; Iain Armitage in Young Sheldon; and Adam Scott and Craig Robinson in Ghosted. CBS/CW/CBS/Fox hide caption

toggle caption
CBS/CW/CBS/Fox

Pop Culture Happy Hour

NPR's Fall TV Preview: 11 New Shows To Watch Out For

The broadcast, cable and streaming networks have a lot on tap for the remainder of 2017. The Pop Culture Happy Hour team, joined by NPR TV critic Eric Deggans, has a roundup.

NPR's Fall TV Preview: 11 New Shows To Watch Out For

Listen · 33:17
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/545082379/545909214" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Television

How Late Night TV Addressed Charlottesville And This Week In Politics

This week gave late night television shows a lot of material to work with — a recap and review of how they did.

How Late Night TV Addressed Charlottesville And This Week In Politics

Listen · 3:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/544727406/544727407" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A Radiant, Isolated Star: A New Documentary Tells Whitney Houston's Story

Whitney Houston performs in 1988. The new Showtime documentary, Whitney. "Can I Be Me," includes footage of her world tour in 1999. Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images

Review

Movie Reviews

A Radiant, Isolated Star: A New Documentary Tells Whitney Houston's Story

Whitney. "Can I Be Me" is an unauthorized documentary that marshals the voices of Houston's friends and former employees to tell an intimate, tragic story.

A Radiant, Isolated Star: A New Documentary Tells Whitney Houston's Story

Listen · 3:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/544200124/544365102" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Netflix, ABC Portrayals Of Autism Still Fall Short, Critics Say

Keir Gilchrist plays Sam, a high schooler who has autism, in Netflix's new series Atypical. Greg Gayne/Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Greg Gayne/Netflix

Opinion

Shots - Health News

Netflix, ABC Portrayals Of Autism Still Fall Short, Critics Say

Two new TV series feature main characters who have autism. While some are applauding the fresh take on the disorder, others worry that the shows send the wrong messages.

Netflix, ABC Portrayals Of Autism Still Fall Short, Critics Say

Listen · 5:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/542668400/542867118" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Television

'The Bachelorette' Concludes Landmark Season As Rachel Lindsay Gives Final Rose

The season finale of ABC's The Bachelorette aired on Monday night. This season featured the first African-American star, Rachel Lindsay, and a multi-racial cast of suitors for her hand in marriage.

'The Bachelorette' Concludes Landmark Season As Rachel Lindsay Gives Final Rose

Listen · 3:36
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/542286008/542286009" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript