I Like to Watch

Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution

By: Emily Nussbaum

Narrated by: Emily Nussbaum

From The New Yorker’s fiercely original, Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic, a provocative collection of new and previously published essays arguing that we are what we watch.

“Emily Nussbaum is the perfect critic—smart, engaging, funny, generous, and insightful.”—David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • Chicago Tribune • Esquire • Library Journal • Kirkus Reviews

From her creation of the “Approval Matrix” in New York magazine in 2004 to her Pulitzer Prize–winning columns for The New Yorker, Emily Nussbaum has argued for a new way of looking at TV. In this collection, including two never-before-published essays, Nussbaum writes about her passion for television, beginning with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the show that set her on a fresh intellectual path. She explores the rise of the female screw-up, how fans warp the shows they love, the messy power of sexual violence on TV, and the year that jokes helped elect a reality-television president. There are three big profiles of television showrunners—Kenya Barris, Jenji Kohan, and Ryan Murphy—as well as examinations of the legacies of Norman Lear and Joan Rivers. The book also includes a major new essay written during the year of MeToo, wrestling with the question of what to do when the artist you love is a monster.

More than a collection of reviews, the book makes a case for toppling the status anxiety that has long haunted the “idiot box,” even as it transformed. Through it all, Nussbaum recounts her fervent search, over fifteen years, for a new kind of criticism, one that resists the false hierarchy that elevates one kind of culture (violent, dramatic, gritty) over another (joyful, funny, stylized). I Like to Watch traces her own struggle to punch through stifling notions of “prestige television,” searching for a more expansive, more embracing vision of artistic ambition—one that acknowledges many types of beauty and complexity and opens to more varied voices. It’s a book that celebrates television as television, even as each year warps the definition of just what that might mean.

FINALIST FOR THE PEN/DIAMONSTEIN-SPIELVOGEL AWARD FOR THE ART OF THE ESSAY

“This collection, including some powerful new work, proves once and for all that there’s no better American critic of anything than Emily Nussbaum. But I Like to Watch turns out to be even greater than the sum of its brilliant parts—it’s the most incisive, intimate, entertaining, authoritative guide to the shows of this golden television age.”—Kurt Andersen, author of Fantasyland

“Reading Emily Nussbaum makes us smarter not just about what we watch, but about how we live, what we love, and who we are. I Like to Watch is a joy.”—Rebecca Traister

©2019 Emily Nussbaum (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“You’ll be delighted. . . . Nussbaum’s essay about men, art, and the MeToo movement is alone worth the price of the book.”—The Washington Post

“Sometimes I’ll just be sitting around, reading something this woman’s written, and I’ll actually think, Why doesn’t somebody just put all of Emily Nussbaum’s writing into a book? And now somebody has! Except I Like to Watch is more than I knew I wanted. It’s got some of the Nussbaum hits (on The Sopranos, on Girls, on Joan Rivers, on Vanderpump Rules, for starters). But it’s also more: a work of sustained philosophical argument (What is television?) and resonant personal reflection (What does fandom cost?). It’s a book by a critic who loves an art form ardently and remains committed to both questioning the people who make the art and interrogating the ardor itself.”—Wesley Morris, critic at large, The New York Times

“Emily Nussbaum is the perfect critic—smart, engaging, funny, generous, and insightful. All of these talents are on display in this marvelous anthology of her essays on television. They illuminate the shows shaping our culture and the power of this flourishing art form.”—David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon

Writing worth reading, whether you or not you like to watch

I missed a lot of the tv reviewed here, but it didn’t matter. Nussbsum’s review are valuable social critiques more generally and her writing is exceptional. I like to listen!

Interesting pretty quick read

For those who have read Nussbaum’s NY reviews, this is just a collection of them. I didn’t pay enough attention in ordering and thought there would be some new material here. That’s on me and I still found her takes on last 20 years of TV a pleasant read. The Middle and interview with Jenji Kohan were personal highlights. Each chapter is a distinct review so was able to skip past those of shows never watched/cared for.

Must read for TV lovers

Been a fan of the author’s TV takes and any free (not a New Yorker subscriber) articles I could come by for many years. This collection of essays and reviews was so enjoyable and interesting on many levels. Emily’s respect and critique of television as both an art form and entertainment shines through.

Genuinely recommend for anyone who loves TV and reviews!

A must for tv watchers

If you want to understand television in the 21st century and how it fits into the history of the medium, and you want to read exacting criticism of your favorite shows, this is your book. Great collection of essays by a superb critic.

If you enjoy TV then this is worth a listen

I enjoyed the book and found the essays fascinating. It made me look at shows I’ve watched in a different light and has made me intrigued about shows I’d avoided before. Fascinating and well written.

Smart, Smart, Smart

Smart and engaging from a great writer and brilliant contemporary thinker. Read by the author who has a lovely alto voice.

An excellent collection of criticism

Emily Nussbaum's book features detailed analysis of culturally significant television shows and strong insight into the medium as a whole. Her essays also trace a unique history of television, especially over the last two decades of major changes for consumers and producers. The narration is solid, maintaining a nice flow that can be difficult to achieve in non-fiction audiobooks.

I don’t.

This was a fantastically good production. The essays were interesting and compelling and kept me interested even though there were many shows that I haven’t seen and will not watch. The author’s honesty about artists and heroes and bad men was about the most cogent essay I have encountered on the topic. While I don’t think she manages to be completely undogmatic in the whole of her narrative, when it comes to “me too” she gives an insider’s account that is also an examination of her own grappling with art and in a way, guilt. On a lighter side, I now have a note on my phone with a list of shows that should keep me glued for longer than I’d like. Winter is coming. I enjoyed every minute of listening to this book.

Yes, this is worth a credit! 💯

I’ve had the audiobook literally two days, and I’ve now listened to almost all of it. I absolutely see myself listening to it again, especially as I choose what shows to watch or to watch again through her critic’s eye. Some shows she loves - Girls, for example. I had a hard time getting beyond one episode for some reason; now that I’ve listened to Emily, I have a better idea why and I’m willing to go back. Her pieces on Joan Rivers and the Marvelous Mrs Maisel were especially insightful. Listen to this book for insight into American culture, politics, art, gender, and yes, even just for entertainment. It’s a great guide to TV - some shows better than others - that is an instant classic.

makes me want to watch more TV

I was especially keen to listen to this book for the lengthy essay on Louie C.K. and difficult men, which turned out not to be the best essay in the book. But then I listened twice to the standout piece on Joan Rivers and loved several others, such as those about Jenji Kohan and Kenya Barris as well. Nussbaum makes me want to watch more, not less TV. As for the Louie C. K., Nussbaum seemed for once a little over her head trying to find a way to make consistent judgments about work produced by artists with repellant moral flaws. It is a difficult topic.