If nothing else, the finale for The Assassination Of Gianni Versace was always going to be interesting. The series started with ambitious goals to provide a true crime series, a character portrait of a killer, a time capsule of the ‘90s, and an overlapping examination of a number of issues ranging from classism to…

Here’s what’s up in the world of television for Wednesday, March 21. All times are Eastern.

After the inertness of last week’s mostly-meandering “Ascent,” this week’s “Creator/Destroyer” is comparatively more interesting and has a clearer focus. And though Assassination is still into shoehorning in parallels between various characters, it works better here (and confined to the cold open) than it did with…

As The Assassination Of Gianni Versace winds down toward the end of its season, there is a lesser sense of urgency present throughout. “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” was the clear highlight of season two and these last two episodes—ugh, titled “Descent” and “Ascent”—haven’t quite succeeded in keeping up the momentum. Neither…

Here’s what’s up in the world of television for Wednesday, March 7. All times are Eastern.

“Descent” is a lonely and isolating episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace, which is sometimes even heightened when Andrew is seen with other people. At the same time, it also remains unforgiving; there are instances where you almost want to feel sorry for him (the ending comes to mind) or when it offers hints…

Here’s what’s up in the world of television for Wednesday, February 28. All times are Eastern.

If there’s one prominent problem with the majority of true crime narratives, it’s that they put the focus entirely on—or grossly glorify—the criminal rather than spending time with the victims. The approach makes sense because that’s often what people want: the gory details, insight into a murderer so we can try to…

No episode of The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story has started where the last one leaves off. Narratively or geographically: Every week, the show takes a step back in time to further peel away the layers of the personal and cultural pressures that forged serial killer Andrew Cunanan (and, to a…

There’s a surrealness to “House By The Lake” that manages to heighten the creepiness—and trust me, this episode is plenty creepy. From the bizarre opening advertisement for Minneapolis to that strange dream sequence toward the end, “House By The Lake” plays around with reality, all while remaining completely…

Here’s what’s up in the world of television for Wednesday, February 7. All times are Eastern.

There’s a moment early on in The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story that, perhaps more than any other, sticks with you long after the image fades. Andrew Cunanan (a remarkable, terrifying Darren Criss), who we’ve already seen kill Gianni Versace, stands in the bathroom of a rundown motel room that…

In “A Random Killing,” it’s the silence that stands out. There’s silence on the other end of the telephone as Marilyn Miglin leaves a message for her husband, not knowing that he’s already been murdered. There’s silence when she swings open the door to find her house just slightly off—ice cream left melting on the…

Here’s what’s up in the world of television for Wednesday, January 31. All times are Eastern.

“Manhunt,” like the pilot episode, jumps back and forth in time and between characters, an approach that I’m still not sure totally works. Versace is still alive (save for a brief moment in the cold open that takes place after his death) and Andrew is on the run for a different murder: Lee Miglin. Yet “Manhunt”…

“While Johnson treads much of the same territory here as in his 1992 cult classic [Jesus’ Son]—addiction, crime, obsession, psychedelic transcendence—his final book is overall more concerned with what follows such madness. If Jesus’ Son proclaims, ‘Holy shit, after all the drugs and alcohol and violence, I can’t…