Ben Travers
@bentravers.bsky.social
IndieWire Critic & Deputy Editor, TV • TCA Member • Formerly of a Few Podcasts • He/Him • Ann Dowd calls me “honey” (and don't tell me if she calls everyone that).
Reposted by Ben Travers
wrote an essay about the lowdown, and how it can be hard to think about drama at a time when there never seem to be consequences for bad guys, and how the lowdown offers us a way out
www.vulture.com/article/the-...
www.vulture.com/article/the-...
Drama in a Time of No Consequences
The Lowdown finds hope in a world where most crimes go unpunished.
www.vulture.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:22 PM
wrote an essay about the lowdown, and how it can be hard to think about drama at a time when there never seem to be consequences for bad guys, and how the lowdown offers us a way out
www.vulture.com/article/the-...
www.vulture.com/article/the-...
As a critic, pull-quotes are weird because sure, it’s nice to see your words magnified in support of a show you love, but if those words are so generic they could be anyone’s, I don’t get the excitement.
Whether it’s a tiny outlet or a major one, I think the entire space could pull back quite a bit on the hyperbolic pull quotes. Like how many “masterpieces” do we get a year now?
November 14, 2025 at 3:05 PM
As a critic, pull-quotes are weird because sure, it’s nice to see your words magnified in support of a show you love, but if those words are so generic they could be anyone’s, I don’t get the excitement.
Reposted by Ben Travers
Gen AI is a tool that allows people to cheat themselves of growth.
A pretty bleak thing that GenAI is revealing is that a significant percentage of the population seems to have no interest in actually learning or doing anything. They want to ChatGPT their way out of hobbies, art making, everything... www.thecut.com/article/woul...
The People Using ChatGPT to Cheat at Their Hobbies
Why are so many of us letting AI have all the fun?
www.thecut.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Gen AI is a tool that allows people to cheat themselves of growth.
Reposted by Ben Travers
truly the most convincing argument to watch a show I have ever read
A piece @bentravers.bsky.social was born to write: www.indiewire.com/lists/death-...
The ‘Death by Lightning’ Dudes, Ranked from ‘That Guy’ to ‘My Man!’
A scientific breakdown of what the 'Death by Lightning' cast brings to James Garfield's unconventional picnic table (so to speak).
www.indiewire.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:02 AM
truly the most convincing argument to watch a show I have ever read
Reposted by Ben Travers
A piece @bentravers.bsky.social was born to write: www.indiewire.com/lists/death-...
The ‘Death by Lightning’ Dudes, Ranked from ‘That Guy’ to ‘My Man!’
A scientific breakdown of what the 'Death by Lightning' cast brings to James Garfield's unconventional picnic table (so to speak).
www.indiewire.com
November 8, 2025 at 9:45 PM
A piece @bentravers.bsky.social was born to write: www.indiewire.com/lists/death-...
Explaining to my tiny nephew that I was late to play with trucks 🚜because his grandma asked me if I liked the Springsteen movie and we missed our train. 🚂
November 8, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Explaining to my tiny nephew that I was late to play with trucks 🚜because his grandma asked me if I liked the Springsteen movie and we missed our train. 🚂
Good show. www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
‘Pluribus’ Review: Vince Gilligan’s Intrepid Sci-Fi Series Is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts
Bucking convention at every turn, 'Pluribus' can be fitfully satisfying from scene to scene but its big ideas create a potent overall impact. [REVIEW]
www.indiewire.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Good show. www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
Impossible to overstate how much Shea Whigham Shea Whighams in this. Top-tier entertainment.
www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
‘Death by Lightning’ Review: Michael Shannon Leads a Rollicking Elegy for the American Experiment
Recounting James Garfield's assassination, 'Death by LIghtning' is a Netflix series driven by a rip-roaring cast, wily humor, and keen insight.
www.indiewire.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Impossible to overstate how much Shea Whigham Shea Whighams in this. Top-tier entertainment.
www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
I was amped after the first episode of "All Her Fault" — Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning teaming up in a trash TV mystery to expose the perverse laziness of disconnected dads? hell yes! — but then it... kept going. And going. And yawn. www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
‘All Her Fault’ Review: Don’t Blame Sarah Snook for Peacock’s Missing-Kid Mystery Falling Apart
In a trashy-fun whodunit that overstays its welcome, a young boy is taken and his family members become the prime suspects.
www.indiewire.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:03 PM
I was amped after the first episode of "All Her Fault" — Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning teaming up in a trash TV mystery to expose the perverse laziness of disconnected dads? hell yes! — but then it... kept going. And going. And yawn. www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
Reposted by Ben Travers
As the cold reality of Cuomo’s defeat sets in, this is a moment for centrists to ask themselves: Have we lost touch with the common voter? Get out and spend time in the tattoo parlors and dispensaries. The drag shows, community gardens and outsider art galleries where Real New Yorkers congregate
November 5, 2025 at 5:23 AM
As the cold reality of Cuomo’s defeat sets in, this is a moment for centrists to ask themselves: Have we lost touch with the common voter? Get out and spend time in the tattoo parlors and dispensaries. The drag shows, community gardens and outsider art galleries where Real New Yorkers congregate
Reposted by Ben Travers
People fucking hate this guy. They fucking hate ICE. They fucking hate how much power he has. He is at 63% overall disapproval to 37% approval. That's lower than their poll after January 6th. And this poll was done before he started intentionally starving people. I wish our media would reflect this.
November 3, 2025 at 7:41 PM
People fucking hate this guy. They fucking hate ICE. They fucking hate how much power he has. He is at 63% overall disapproval to 37% approval. That's lower than their poll after January 6th. And this poll was done before he started intentionally starving people. I wish our media would reflect this.
October turned out to be a pretty great month for TV, from exciting series premieres (🪑) to standout new episodes (🍔) — and a few random gems scattered throughout (🧢). A little roundup: www.indiewire.com/gallery/best...
The Best TV from October — New Shows, Great Finales, and Hidden Gems
In October, 'Bob’s Burgers' delivered its 300th episode, 'Mr. Scorsese' introduced himself, and Tim Robinson began his reign over HBO.
www.indiewire.com
November 1, 2025 at 2:00 PM
October turned out to be a pretty great month for TV, from exciting series premieres (🪑) to standout new episodes (🍔) — and a few random gems scattered throughout (🧢). A little roundup: www.indiewire.com/gallery/best...
Bonus good thing: Walter Mosley wrote last night’s episode and graciously agreed to talk about it. www.indiewire.com/features/int...
October 29, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Bonus good thing: Walter Mosley wrote last night’s episode and graciously agreed to talk about it. www.indiewire.com/features/int...
Reposted by Ben Travers
When I say “Welcome to Derry” is way sillier than it is scary, just know I’m generally a big ‘fraidy cat.
And when I complain that Pennywise isn’t around much, you should also know I hate clowns.
www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
And when I complain that Pennywise isn’t around much, you should also know I hate clowns.
www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
‘Welcome to Derry’ Review: HBO’s ‘It’ Prequel Series Is the Wrong Kind of Clown Show
'Welcome to Derry' floats down Pennywise's sewers in an eight-episode first season that's light on frights and weighed down by mythology. [REVIEW]
www.indiewire.com
October 22, 2025 at 9:59 PM
When I say “Welcome to Derry” is way sillier than it is scary, just know I’m generally a big ‘fraidy cat.
And when I complain that Pennywise isn’t around much, you should also know I hate clowns.
www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
And when I complain that Pennywise isn’t around much, you should also know I hate clowns.
www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
When I say “Welcome to Derry” is way sillier than it is scary, just know I’m generally a big ‘fraidy cat.
And when I complain that Pennywise isn’t around much, you should also know I hate clowns.
www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
And when I complain that Pennywise isn’t around much, you should also know I hate clowns.
www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
‘Welcome to Derry’ Review: HBO’s ‘It’ Prequel Series Is the Wrong Kind of Clown Show
'Welcome to Derry' floats down Pennywise's sewers in an eight-episode first season that's light on frights and weighed down by mythology. [REVIEW]
www.indiewire.com
October 22, 2025 at 9:59 PM
When I say “Welcome to Derry” is way sillier than it is scary, just know I’m generally a big ‘fraidy cat.
And when I complain that Pennywise isn’t around much, you should also know I hate clowns.
www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
And when I complain that Pennywise isn’t around much, you should also know I hate clowns.
www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
Reposted by Ben Travers
we are in a self-awareness crisis
October 19, 2025 at 7:20 PM
we are in a self-awareness crisis
Available now on Apple TV!
Really loved Rebecca Miller’s Martin Scorsese documentary, “Mr. Scorsese” — which, among other highlights, features a plainly uncomfortable Leonardo DiCaprio saying the words “a woman’s buttocks” while breaking down the opening shot of “The Wolf of Wall Street.” www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
‘Mr. Scorsese’ Review: A Vivid, Studied, Enormously Entertaining Portrait of a Cinematic ‘Cornerstone’
The Martin Scorsese documentary series deftly mines his angels and demons in interviews with Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, and the man himself.
www.indiewire.com
October 17, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Available now on Apple TV!
Reposted by Ben Travers
Get your tickets now!!! Honestly, don’t miss my friend and colleague, the extraordinary Namir Smallwood, and our scrappy Chicago cast.
#Bug @mtc-nyc.bsky.social
#Bug @mtc-nyc.bsky.social
Tickets to Bug on Broadway starring Carrie Coon will go on sale tomorrow!
Tickets to BUG on Broadway Starring Carrie Coon on Sale Tomorrow
Tickets for the Broadway premiere of Bug, written by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts and directed by Tony Award winner David Cromer will be on sale this week. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets!
www.broadwayworld.com
October 14, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Get your tickets now!!! Honestly, don’t miss my friend and colleague, the extraordinary Namir Smallwood, and our scrappy Chicago cast.
#Bug @mtc-nyc.bsky.social
#Bug @mtc-nyc.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben Travers
I had to stop watching during dinner because I kept choking from laughter. 🪑 www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
‘The Chair Company’ Review: Tim Robinson’s Superb HBO Series Digs a Hilarious, Hypnotic Rabbit Hole
A frustrated family man's simple customer-service complaint turns into an ever-deepening conspiracy in HBO's 'The Chair Company' from Tim Robinson.
www.indiewire.com
October 9, 2025 at 10:18 PM
I had to stop watching during dinner because I kept choking from laughter. 🪑 www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
I had to stop watching during dinner because I kept choking from laughter. 🪑 www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
‘The Chair Company’ Review: Tim Robinson’s Superb HBO Series Digs a Hilarious, Hypnotic Rabbit Hole
A frustrated family man's simple customer-service complaint turns into an ever-deepening conspiracy in HBO's 'The Chair Company' from Tim Robinson.
www.indiewire.com
October 9, 2025 at 10:18 PM
I had to stop watching during dinner because I kept choking from laughter. 🪑 www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
Reposted by Ben Travers
Really loved Rebecca Miller’s Martin Scorsese documentary, “Mr. Scorsese” — which, among other highlights, features a plainly uncomfortable Leonardo DiCaprio saying the words “a woman’s buttocks” while breaking down the opening shot of “The Wolf of Wall Street.” www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
‘Mr. Scorsese’ Review: A Vivid, Studied, Enormously Entertaining Portrait of a Cinematic ‘Cornerstone’
The Martin Scorsese documentary series deftly mines his angels and demons in interviews with Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, and the man himself.
www.indiewire.com
October 4, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Really loved Rebecca Miller’s Martin Scorsese documentary, “Mr. Scorsese” — which, among other highlights, features a plainly uncomfortable Leonardo DiCaprio saying the words “a woman’s buttocks” while breaking down the opening shot of “The Wolf of Wall Street.” www.indiewire.com/criticism/sh...
Reposted by Ben Travers
They ruined Google search for nothing
So far at least, Americans are lukewarm about AI summaries in search results. Relatively few who have seen them think they're extremely or very useful (20%) or have a lot of trust in the information they get from them (6%). New data from @pewresearch.org: www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
October 5, 2025 at 4:54 PM
They ruined Google search for nothing
I didn’t write much about the performances in “Monster” Season 3, in part because they’re the least of its problems and in part because of this. (And, as always, because I’d already written 1000+ words.)
“Let me hire all my favorite actresses and allow them space to give the worst performances of their careers” - Ryan Murphy
October 5, 2025 at 3:15 PM
I didn’t write much about the performances in “Monster” Season 3, in part because they’re the least of its problems and in part because of this. (And, as always, because I’d already written 1000+ words.)