Why The Amazing Digital Circus could have used better worldbuilding
"Worldbuilding" isn't a dirty word; it's how you make a story feel emotionally real.
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The new Great American Novels: 9 books from the Trump era that earn the title
Some great reads that will help you understand America at 250.
Four reasons A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was a great adaptation
And one way it could have been EVEN BETTER.
Episodes Monday Rundown June 29–July 5 2026
This week: Interview with the Vampire, The Quarry Girls, and fireworks.
Check out what premium Episodes subscribers were reading in June!
Here's what our premium subscribers were reading in June.
How the Toy Story toys are a little like vampires (preview)
A special look at this week's premium Friday newsletter!
How the Toy Story toys are a little like vampires
Both the venerable Pixar franchise and Interview with the Vampire use immortality to explore personhood.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Episode 6, "The Morrow"
"A true knight always finishes a story."
Is Friday Night Lights TV’s greatest show about everyday sacrifice? (preview)
A special look at this week's installment of Emily's ongoing look at the best TV of the 21st century.
Is Friday Night Lights TV’s greatest show about everyday sacrifice?
It's a show about marriage, yes. But also a show about giving things up in hope of a better future.
Episodes Monday Rundown June 22–28 2026
This week: Supergirl, Toy Story 5, and a different take on Disclosure Day.
Disclosure Day is about what we refuse to know
Spielberg's latest is oddly naïve, except when it's about me, specifically.
sale
A heartfelt plea for your support during our Pride sale
It's a great time to subscribe to Episodes. Our sale runs through Tuesday.
trans
What's the matter with trans panic media?
Scholar Katherine Alejandra Cross on why it's so profitable to "sell panic to trans people."
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Episode 5, "In the Name of the Mother"
"What if this is the best there is?"
Rundown
Episodes Monday Rundown June 15–21 2026
This week: The Death of Robin Hood, The Furious, and two different takes on Anne Rice's Immortal Universe.
Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo, theater kid
Or: Why Olivia Rodrigo was voted most likely pop star to write a musical in her 40s.
community
Community is a sitcom about dissociating
Is that why I liked it so much?
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Episode 4, "Seven"
Whither Tanselle?
Olivia Rodrigo
Episodes Monday Rundown June 8–14 2026
This week: the new Olivia Rodrigo, Ragtime at Lincoln Center, and an exceptional novel.
Happy Pride! Take 20% off a subscription with our Pride sale
Hello, loyal Episodes readers! Happy summer, and happy Pride! Episodes is proud to be a queer-owned and -operated publication, and for the last few years, we've run a sale at the end of June to celebrate that. Until the end of the month, you can take 20
Mailbag
June mailbag!
This month: historical TV shows we want to see, procedurals for the whole family, and how to hide an ET.
movies
People don't want YouTube movies. They want something new.
The considerable success of Backrooms and Obsession might lead Hollywood to learn all the wrong lessons. Again.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Episode 3, "The Squire"
In which Lily finally learns how to spell "Targaryen"