Judy Berman
@judyberman.bsky.social
TV critic & union woman @ TIME. Writer & catastrophist @ Brooklyn. Exhausted & bored @ Twitter. Guess I'm here now, too.
Just the definitive image of "whither girlboss feminism?" in 2025. Yorgos could've stopped there.
It probably says something that, a couple weeks after seeing Bugonia, the one moment that has stuck with me is Emma Stone singing along to "Good Luck Babe." I hope there are 100 alternate takes with different songs in the bonus material
November 19, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Just the definitive image of "whither girlboss feminism?" in 2025. Yorgos could've stopped there.
It probably says something that, a couple weeks after seeing Bugonia, the one moment that has stuck with me is Emma Stone singing along to "Good Luck Babe." I hope there are 100 alternate takes with different songs in the bonus material
November 19, 2025 at 4:21 PM
It probably says something that, a couple weeks after seeing Bugonia, the one moment that has stuck with me is Emma Stone singing along to "Good Luck Babe." I hope there are 100 alternate takes with different songs in the bonus material
Sometimes I think RHOSLC is the best TV show? Like does your fave have a full act of 1 cast member preaching at the Pentecostal church she runs with her husband/step-grandpa, interrupted by the resident "Mormon 2.0"/tequila entrepreneur confessing she does liquor sponsorships for Church of Satan?
November 19, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Sometimes I think RHOSLC is the best TV show? Like does your fave have a full act of 1 cast member preaching at the Pentecostal church she runs with her husband/step-grandpa, interrupted by the resident "Mormon 2.0"/tequila entrepreneur confessing she does liquor sponsorships for Church of Satan?
Reposted by Judy Berman
It's not a foolproof plan but every political debate from now on should be a Normal Guy competition. Ask them to describe grocery shopping in detail. Talk about what it's like to have a friend
November 19, 2025 at 2:13 AM
It's not a foolproof plan but every political debate from now on should be a Normal Guy competition. Ask them to describe grocery shopping in detail. Talk about what it's like to have a friend
An underrated absurd aspect of All’s Fair is the casting of Ed O’Neill in a role that’s supposed to be earnestly moving
November 18, 2025 at 11:23 PM
An underrated absurd aspect of All’s Fair is the casting of Ed O’Neill in a role that’s supposed to be earnestly moving
Kim K is not an actress, at all—AT ALL—but there is something fundamentally serene about her demeanor that makes her kind of calming to look at. I have always thought this.
November 18, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Kim K is not an actress, at all—AT ALL—but there is something fundamentally serene about her demeanor that makes her kind of calming to look at. I have always thought this.
Cannot overstate how much better All's Fair becomes when Sarah Paulson is the center of a scene, but good lord, still, in the very first scene of the new episode: Her apparently teenage daughter is old enough to joke around with about meth but not old enough to sit in the front seat of the car?
November 18, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Cannot overstate how much better All's Fair becomes when Sarah Paulson is the center of a scene, but good lord, still, in the very first scene of the new episode: Her apparently teenage daughter is old enough to joke around with about meth but not old enough to sit in the front seat of the car?
To make a completely inane observation about a story that's driving every good person I know in media up a wall: Nuzzi and Lizza would be great names for friendly monsters in an Italian Sesame Street. That double-Z sound just screams plush fuzziness
November 18, 2025 at 4:55 AM
To make a completely inane observation about a story that's driving every good person I know in media up a wall: Nuzzi and Lizza would be great names for friendly monsters in an Italian Sesame Street. That double-Z sound just screams plush fuzziness
Reposted by Judy Berman
don't say "happy holidays," say "happy staggered Stranger Things season 5 premiere dates"
November 15, 2025 at 4:44 PM
don't say "happy holidays," say "happy staggered Stranger Things season 5 premiere dates"
I mean, it is kind of funny that it took SAG a century to realize SAG is not necessarily the most enticing acronym for an organization of, by, and for beautiful people
November 14, 2025 at 8:39 PM
I mean, it is kind of funny that it took SAG a century to realize SAG is not necessarily the most enticing acronym for an organization of, by, and for beautiful people
I see it's time to read another article that will make me lose hope for my profession on multiple levels, and will in no way enrich my life otherwise, but that I fundamentally lack the self-control to resist.
November 14, 2025 at 6:52 PM
I see it's time to read another article that will make me lose hope for my profession on multiple levels, and will in no way enrich my life otherwise, but that I fundamentally lack the self-control to resist.
Though I have been livid about Hollywood's shameful backsliding w/r/t representation... this is not exactly the fix I had in mind
November 14, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Though I have been livid about Hollywood's shameful backsliding w/r/t representation... this is not exactly the fix I had in mind
Is this a safe space to say I find the new Robyn single a little goofy?
November 14, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Is this a safe space to say I find the new Robyn single a little goofy?
Reposted by Judy Berman
I hate that AI has made me approach cute animal videos with an air of suspicion. I resent having to harden my heart to the possibility of an unlikely friendship between a very large dog and a very small one
November 14, 2025 at 2:01 PM
I hate that AI has made me approach cute animal videos with an air of suspicion. I resent having to harden my heart to the possibility of an unlikely friendship between a very large dog and a very small one
I seem to be in the minority on the new Dangerous Liaisons riff, but listen: It is a lush period drama starring hot people who only have sex, talk about sex, and plot revenge. In French. Female gaze to the max. We deserve this.
'The Seduction' Is a Steamy, Feminist 'Dangerous Liaisons'
HBO Max's first French-language series recasts the Marquise de Merteuil as a wounded woman fighting for freedom
time.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:07 PM
I seem to be in the minority on the new Dangerous Liaisons riff, but listen: It is a lush period drama starring hot people who only have sex, talk about sex, and plot revenge. In French. Female gaze to the max. We deserve this.
So how is everyone who was like "Calm down, critics, All's Fair is just a lil dum-dum escapism! Let people enjoy things!" feeling after that Niecy Nash date rape episode?
November 14, 2025 at 12:08 AM
So how is everyone who was like "Calm down, critics, All's Fair is just a lil dum-dum escapism! Let people enjoy things!" feeling after that Niecy Nash date rape episode?
The Beast in Me is no masterpiece, but as you can probably imagine, the pleasures of watching Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys play cat and mouse in a far-fetched sort of Janet Malcolm meets Robert Durst scenario outweigh the oofs.
'The Beast in Me' Is Claire Danes' Best Role Since 'Homeland'
The ideally cast, impeccably paced, diabolically addictive Netflix thriller is one of the year's most suspenseful rides.
time.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:59 PM
The Beast in Me is no masterpiece, but as you can probably imagine, the pleasures of watching Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys play cat and mouse in a far-fetched sort of Janet Malcolm meets Robert Durst scenario outweigh the oofs.
Got to see Earth play an hour of slow, wordless, pained, radiant drone (their album Hex) the other night. It put me into a headspace I rarely get to occupy these days, as the world is so fast/content packed/anxious. Anyway, I think it's important to find ways to remember humanity isn't all bad
November 13, 2025 at 4:34 AM
Got to see Earth play an hour of slow, wordless, pained, radiant drone (their album Hex) the other night. It put me into a headspace I rarely get to occupy these days, as the world is so fast/content packed/anxious. Anyway, I think it's important to find ways to remember humanity isn't all bad
You bet I'm gonna start telling people who send me incomprehensible messages that they email like Epstein
November 13, 2025 at 3:59 AM
You bet I'm gonna start telling people who send me incomprehensible messages that they email like Epstein
Salo was a documentary, the truest film ever made, one that slides farther down the spectrum from metaphor to literal reality every year
November 13, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Salo was a documentary, the truest film ever made, one that slides farther down the spectrum from metaphor to literal reality every year
Heather Gay has a worthwhile (and deeply upsetting) documentary series about Mormonism out today. I wrote about it and the Mormon Wife (TM) propaganda machine:
In 'Surviving Mormonism,' Heather Gay Takes on the Church
Only slightly undermined by RHOSLC’s silliness, Gay's emotional interviews expose what Mormon-wife mania leaves unsaid
time.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Heather Gay has a worthwhile (and deeply upsetting) documentary series about Mormonism out today. I wrote about it and the Mormon Wife (TM) propaganda machine:
Took the opportunity of book-list season to write about some of my favorites of the year, from Oyinkan Braithwaite, Melissa Febos, Naomi Xu Elegant, Sophie Gilbert, Aria Aber, Lily King, and Omar El Akkad
The 100 Must-Read Books of 2025
Discover the novels, memoirs, biographies, and more that entertained and enlightened us
time.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Took the opportunity of book-list season to write about some of my favorites of the year, from Oyinkan Braithwaite, Melissa Febos, Naomi Xu Elegant, Sophie Gilbert, Aria Aber, Lily King, and Omar El Akkad
Just watched Die My Love midway through reading Tony Tulathimutte's Rejection, and wow can art fuck you up (complimentary)
November 12, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Just watched Die My Love midway through reading Tony Tulathimutte's Rejection, and wow can art fuck you up (complimentary)
The summer of 2016 felt like standing on a stormy beach watching the tidal wave that has since engulfed us rise up from the inky deep. Everyone old enough to understand wtf was going on was constantly having a panic attack. Gen Z, I am begging you to dream bigger.
November 12, 2025 at 12:45 AM
The summer of 2016 felt like standing on a stormy beach watching the tidal wave that has since engulfed us rise up from the inky deep. Everyone old enough to understand wtf was going on was constantly having a panic attack. Gen Z, I am begging you to dream bigger.
Paging So Percussion
Maddie went a few days without a gong performance but then we saw that the mallet had fallen down behind the sideboard. She's back to her regular schedule now.
November 9, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Paging So Percussion