Television

Content type
Collection

Paula Abdul Releases First No. 1 Hit Single “Straight Up”

November 22, 1988

On November 22, 1988, Jewish singer, performer, choreographer, and television personality Paula Abdul released her single “Straight Up” from her debut album, Forever Your Girl. The song became Abdul’s first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1989.

Rachel Brosnahan accept flowers from a man.

I’m Tired of Trying to Root for Midge Maisel

Sarah Jae Leiber

Over and over, Midge hurts people who trusted her, and the show lets her get away with it.

Topics: Television, Comedy
Still from bat mitzvah scene of And Just Like That...Includes Charlotte, her husband, children, and officiating rabbi

How 'And Just Like That…' Reflects Bat Mitzvah History

Judith Rosenbaum

In its season finale, And Just Like That...captures how the bat mitzvah has evolved over the last century. 

Asude Kalebek as Rasel in Kulup

Missed Kulüp When It Came Out? You Can Now Binge the Whole Delicious Series.

Mirushe "Mira" Zylali

The show depicts Sephardic women in all their messy complexity. But when it comes to Turkey’s oppressed minorities, it could dig deeper.

Libby Stein-Torres from The Ghost and Molly McGee

Libby Stein-Torres joins a growing pantheon of Jewish female cartoon characters

Ariel Finkle

The Ghost and Molly McGee is about to air a Hanukkah episode, and I’m kvelling.

Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp and Annaleigh Ashford as Paula Jones

FX’s Impeachment: A Study in Caricature and Misogyny

Sarah Jae Leiber

By putting some of the show’s female stars in prosthetics, FX’s Impeachment is guilty of the same misogynistic behavior for which it faults the media.

Molly Yeh and Marissa Wojcik

How a Celebrity Chef Helped Me Connect with My Mixed Heritage

Marissa Wojcik

Celebrity chef Molly Yeh inspired me to share my Jewish fusion recipes with the world.

"Survivor" Collage by Judy Goldstein

"Outwit, Outplay, Outlast": Where are the Jewish Women on "Survivor"?

Judy Goldstein

Out of 20 Jewish Survivor contestants, only six have been women.

Topics: Television

Joan Nathan

Award-winning journalist and cookbook author Joan Nathan is a transformative figure in documenting and exploring the evolving Jewish experience both in America and around the globe through the powerful lens of food. A long-standing contributing writer to The New York Times and Tablet Magazine, Nathan is the author of eleven books, as well as hundreds of articles, podcasts, interviews, and public presentations about Jewish, global, and American foodways. 

Sara Sugarman

Sara Sugarman is a Welsh-born movie director and actor, who made her mark as a small-screen performer before stepping behind the camera to direct international award-winning movies with a Welsh twist.

Mayim Bialik

Mayim Bialik is most famous for starring as the titular character in the early 1990s series Blossom and, in the 2010s, on Big Bang Theory as Amy Farrah-Fowler. She is also known for being one of the few observant Jewish actors in Hollywood and for holding a PhD in Neuroscience from UCLA.

Dorothy Fuldheim becomes television’s first female news anchor

December 17, 1947

When Channel 5 WEWS-TV, Cleveland’s first commercial television station, asked her to be its nightly newscaster, Fuldheim, on December 17, 1947, became television’s first female news anchor and possibly the first female television news commentator.

Diesel La Torraca as Austin, Brianne Howey as Georgia, and Antonia Gentry as Ginny in Ginny & Georgia

"Ginny and Georgia": A Jewish Feminist Take

Rose Clubok

Ginny and Georgia raised significant questions for me as a Jewish feminist. Given its recent renewal for a second season, I think these questions are worth engaging.

Judith Sheindlin

For two and half decades, former New York family court Judge Judith Sheindlin has riveted daytime viewers, racked up awards, and sold thousands of books to people hungry for the tough love of a tough Jewish mother. Millions of viewers who watch Judge Judy every day are treated to many Yiddish words and wisdom the jurist uses on a parade of deserving participants who enter her TV studio courtroom.

Kathryn Hahn as Rabbi Raquel in "Transparent"

Rabbi Raquel Has a Place in the “Hahnaissance”

Sarah Jae Leiber

Let's not forget Kathryn Hahn's most Jewish performance: Rabbi Raquel in Transparent.

Topics: Television

Nina Totenberg

Nina Totenberg has broken important stories on the United States Supreme Court during more than four decades of covering legal affairs for National Public Radio. She helped bring to public attention the previously hidden issue of sexual harassment during the controversial confirmation hearing of Justice Clarence Thomas and has received numerous accolades as a path-breaker in the male-dominated world of Washington journalism.   

Joey Soloway

Activist, director, and creator of groundbreaking and critically acclaimed series such as Transparent, I Love Dick, and others (and writer for series such as Six Feet Under and United States of Tara), Joey Soloway (previously known as Jill) is also a social activist, considered one of the strongest advocates for women, queer, and nonbinary identities in Hollywood. Soloway identifies as nonbinary, and Judaism, feminism, and modern Jewish culture are resonant themes in their work.

Bridgerton promotional image

'Bridgerton' is Frilly and Problematic, but We Want More

Abby Richmond

Based on romance novels by Jewish author, Julia Quinn, Netflix's Bridgerton leaves us wanting more.

Topics: Television
Gilmore Girls Friday Night Dinner

We Need a Jewish Bechdel Test

Ariel Finkle

Too often Jewish characters are the butts of jokes or used as trauma porn fodder. Enter the Finkle Test.

Topics: Television, Film
Missy and her parents on Netflix's "Big Mouth"

Loving Cartoons as a Black Woman: Thoughts on Jenny Slate Leaving 'Big Mouth'

Erica Gerald Mason

Last month, Jenny Slate announced she would no longer voice Missy, a biracial teen, on Netflix's Big Mouth.

Topics: Television
The Plot Against America Promo Image

"The Plot Against America" and the Jewish Insult

Ilana Diamant

The Plot Against America exemplifies how "Jewish" speech illuminates the diversity in class, culture, and politics of the Jewish people.

Screen capture from Unorthodox

Is "Unorthodox" Good for the Jews?

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

For Jews, representation onscreen is complicated. Does Unorthodox succeed?

Rose Weissman, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Is Rose Weissman in on the Joke?

Ilana Diamant

When will The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel's Rose Weissman be given a chance to shine?

Topics: Television
Ilana Glazer in "The Planet is Burning"

Ilana Glazer’s Stand-Up Special Is Not on Fire

Emma Cohn

One of JWA's Rising Voices Fellowship almumnae reviews Ilana Glazer's stand-up comedy special The Planet is Burning.

Topics: Television, Comedy
Mrs. Maisel Season 3

Review: "Mrs. Maisel" Season 3

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

How does season three of Mrs. Maisel stack up?

Topics: Television, Comedy

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