Eric Deggans

Tv and Media Critic for the Saint Petersburg Times

Eric Deggans appears in the following:

Showtime's 'Homeland' Now Depends On Carrie Mathison As Flawed Hero

Sunday, October 05, 2014

(Be warned: There are spoilers ahead, particularly if you haven't watched all of Homeland's third season yet.)

Showtime's widely-lauded terrorism drama Homeland returns Sunday facing a curious question for a show starting its fourth season.

What, exactly, is this series about now?

That was the biggest issue left by the ...

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Netflix's Adam Sandler Movies Could Be Big Wins Or Silent Flops

Thursday, October 02, 2014

Netflix has announced a deal to make four movies with comedian Adam Sandler exclusively for its streaming video service. It will also stream an upcoming movie while it's still showing in theaters.

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Fox's 'Gracepoint': An American Remake Best Viewed With Fresh Eyes

Thursday, October 02, 2014

Even though some TV critics hate Fox's new crime drama Gracepoint, you just might love it.

And that mostly depends on one thing: Whether you've seen the British TV series it's based on, Broadchurch.

That original series became a critical sensation after it aired on BBC America as a taut, ...

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FX's 'The Bridge' Finds Authenticity In Spanish-Language Scenes

Wednesday, October 01, 2014

"We're giving those 33 million Hispanics in the U.S. ... a point where they can actually identify themselves," says Demian Bichir, a star of the cross-border crime drama.

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Gilligan's Island At 50: A Goofy Show From A Time Of TV Innocence

Friday, September 26, 2014

It was 50 years ago today (Friday, Sept. 26) that the world was introduced to what may have been the oddest idea around for a TV comedy until Hogan's Heroes cracked jokes in a German prisoner of war camp a year later.

Yes, Hollywood wanted to make America laugh about ...

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Network TV's Fall Lineup Distinguished By Diversity

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

This season a dozen new network TV shows feature non-white characters as leads or co-leads. The shows aren't just notable for their casting diversity, but for how they talk about race and culture.

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How Not To Handle A New Voice In TV

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

This is what happens when voices that have normally been pushed to the background take center stage.

That's the reaction I usually offer these days whenever someone asks me about a race-based media firestorm — this time, in reference to the nuclear-sized backlash against New York Times TV critic Alessandra ...

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Deggans Picks 'Gotham,' 'Black-ish,' 'The Flash' Among Fall TV's Best

Monday, September 22, 2014

It's the TV's critics' version of the Super Bowl; or perhaps the Thunderdome.

More than 25 new shows will debut on network, cable TV and online this fall, starting this week. And if past results are any indication, very few of them will survive to a second season.

The very ...

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Examining Bill Cosby's Legacy As 'The Cosby Show' Turns 30

Friday, September 19, 2014

On the anniversary of the iconic series, NPR's Eric Deggans talks with the author of a new Bill Cosby biography about how the show and the comedian have shaped perceptions of black families.

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Competition Highlights Importance Of Fall TV Season

Monday, September 15, 2014

Network TV's fall season formally starts next week, when most networks unveil their new shows, and Nielsen starts counting ratings for the season. Which shows will succeed and which will fail?

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Why Michael Che's New Role Could Change More Than 'SNL'

Saturday, September 13, 2014

It seems some TV networks have gotten the message on late-night diversity and others have not.

Friday's news — that Saturday Night Live hired comic Michael Che to join Colin Jost behind the anchor desk on its popular "Weekend Update" segment — shows NBC's venerated late night comedy franchise may, ...

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'Sons Of Anarchy' Succeeds As A Soap Opera Geared Toward Guys

Tuesday, September 09, 2014

[Note: This post discusses plot points and story lines from previous seasons.]

The first episode of the final season for FX's biker drama Sons of Anarchy begins with a familiar scene: gang leader/hero Jackson "Jax" Teller brutalizing a man in jail, interspersed with images of his gang and family living ...

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Does It Matter That Rosie Perez Is The First Latina Co-Host Of 'The View'?

Friday, September 05, 2014

The View just made history in naming Rosie Perez as a new co-host of ABC's daytime chat show.

ABC revealed Wednesday that Perez would join former GOP strategist Nicolle Wallace, teaming with stars Rosie O'Donnell and Whoopi Goldberg when The View's new season debuts Sept. 15.

In hiring Perez, a ...

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CBS's Thursday Night Football: An Ambitious Alliance With A Lot At Stake

Thursday, September 04, 2014

On Sept. 11, CBS and the NFL will debut Thursday Night Football games. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says it's a sure bet that two of the world's biggest corporations have a lot riding on.

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New Amazon Series Pilots Fall Short Of A TV Revolution

Thursday, August 28, 2014

When it comes to original TV series, it's tough to understand exactly where Amazon is going.

At first, its strategy seemed simple: It went where big-ticket competitors like Netflix and HBO didn't, greenlighting comedies like Garry Trudeau's political satire Alpha House and the Silicon Valley series Betas, along with a ...

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Emmy Awards 2014: Safe Choices In A Time Of Groundbreaking TV

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

For TV critics, last night's Emmy Awards show was a bit like seeing an old flame promise to treat you better, only to slide right back into the same old disappointing behavior.

After nominating a slate of performers and shows that were among the most groundbreaking, diverse and different seen ...

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Past Winners Do Well At 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Plenty of statuettes were handed out Monday night at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. ABC's Modern Family won for best comedy series and AMC's Breaking Bad won best drama series.

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Eric Deggans Live-Tweets The Emmys

Monday, August 25, 2014

Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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Emmy Awards To Be Handed In Los Angeles

Monday, August 25, 2014

Matthew McConaughey or Brian Cranston? Orange Is the New Black or Modern Family? The questions about which actors and shows will emerge at the top of the TV industry get answered Monday night.

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TV's New Doctor Who Has An Old Connection To The Series

Friday, August 22, 2014

The BBC will soon air its first Doctor Who episode with Peter Capaldi as the show's hero, The Doctor. Capaldi says the 50-year-old series inspired him to become an actor.

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