Eric Deggans

TV fans may notice an explosion of new material this week. That's because many networks and cable channels delayed airing new episodes or the start of news series until after the Olympics ended.

The best thing about late-night TV can also be the trickiest.

On the fringes of TV's big stage, shows airing after midnight can be a home for invention; a place where quirky personalities and developing talent can try things with the potential for massive success or demoralizing failure with relatively ...

When the interviewer for BBC Radio finally reached me Monday to talk about the failure of Piers Morgan's 9 p.m. interview show on CNN, she basically had one question, asked many different ways.

Are Americans finally tired of arrogant British TV personalities?

To be honest, there are signs of cultural ...

When Jimmy Fallon first stepped up to lead a late-night talk show in 2009, he looked like a teenager trying to drive his dad's Ferrari: a good kid who was out of his depth.

But little of that hesitation was evident on Monday night, when the 39-year-old comic finally took ...

If you spend much time talking about diversity in Hollywood, it's an argument you'll hear often: that ethnic and gender diversity is nice, but it doesn't make a movie profitable or bring ratings to a TV show.

But researchers at the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at ...

Not many people can say they got pushed out of a job twice while at the top of their game. But Jay Leno, the famously workaholic host of NBC's Tonight Show, is one who can.

By most measures, he should be one of the Peacock Network's most powerful stars; for ...

It felt like a rerun from a long-ago time, with a twist.

Once again, an NBC executive was facing a crowd of TV critic and reporters, saying nice things about Jay Leno just as he was leaving as host of The Tonight Show.

"It is no exaggeration to say that ...

First, let's acknowledge one thing: 12 Years a Slave has achieved something amazing and wonderful.

With nine Oscar nominations, it has proven a brutal story about the worst degradations of American slavery can attract the biggest accolades Hollywood has to offer.

In particular, seeing Steve McQueen within spitting distance of ...

Nothing exposes you like asking a tough question.

Like a boxer extending a jab, you reveal yourself in the moment, stepping aggressively to a subject in a way that also makes your vulnerable. Handle the moment badly, and like an off-balance prizefighter, you might be the one hugging the canvas ...

Who should be eligible to receive an award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People? And if that definition becomes flexible, what does that do to the mission of the award itself?

That's a question worth asking as the NAACP Thursday unveiled a huge roster of ...

Woody Harrelson has a simple explanation for how he handled playing the same detective over a 17-year span of time for HBO's newest foray into quality TV, True Detective.

"I just took off my wig," joked Harrelson, sporting a beard and his naturally receding hairline for a press conference here ...

It may seem, now that Saturday Night Live has hired a black female cast member and two black female writers, that the conversation about diversity on TV's most influential comedy show is over.

But it's just getting started.

That's because the surprise move by SNL executive producer Lorne ...

Celebrity revelations of same-sex relationships have moved from the covers of best-selling magazines to offhand comments in Facebook posts and lines buried deep in New York Times profiles.

One more lesson on the power of social media:

On Tuesday, while watching a panel of experts dissect the memorial service for Nelson Mandela on CBS This Morning, I noticed the program chose Toto's "Africa" as the song to play over a montage of photos showing the rain-drenched ...

[Plot details regarding Sunday night's Walking Dead midseason finale follow. Proceed at your own risk.]

This is a strange thing to say about a TV show which ended its fall season Sunday with the death of two children, a gun battle, waves of flesh-eating zombies and a decapitation.

But it ...

My name... Eric Deggans

Public radio employee since... Sept. 30, 2013

Public radio listener since... I owned my first car and could finally control the radio dial.

My job is... the coolest gig in the modern era, getting paid to watch television and tell people what I think about it ...

Problems with the rollout of the Affordable Care Act have been all over the news — and the not-quite news. Comedy Central's The Daily Show With Jon Stewart has been one news-ish outlet that hasn't been too kind in its coverage.

NPR TV critic Eric Deggans spoke with All Things ...

In the late ‘80s, comedian and actor Arsenio Hall became a late-night TV trailblazer. 20 years later, Hall returns to late night — and incoming NPR TV critic Eric Deggans shares his t...