James Poniewozik
Chief television critic at The New York Times
James Poniewozik (Chief television critic at The New York Times) has appeared as a guest on 2 episodes in TMT. Topics they speak about most include Rectify (TV series), Jackass (TV series), Antihero.
In their words
Positions and remarks grouped by topic, each with the exact quote and where it was said.
Rectify (TV series)
Poniewozik says Rectify would have been in his personal top 10 and recommends viewers seek it out on streaming.
“a show that I not only would have put on this list that is not on it, but I probably would have put in my top ten”
The Daily: The Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 55:21
Jackass (TV series)
Poniewozik argues that Jackass deserves recognition as an anarchic work of American art.
“I think you could make a strong case for putting Jackass on this as like a great work of American art”
The Daily: The Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 54:17
Antihero
Poniewozik traces the antihero lineage from Tony Soprano to Walter White and Succession.
“It's pretty easy to draw a line from Tony Soprano to Walter White”
The Daily: The Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 51:03
The Sopranos
Poniewozik argues that although The Sopranos is absent from the list, its influence is visible throughout it.
“The Sopranos is not on the list, but also it is everywhere on the list”
The Daily: The Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 50:05
Breaking Bad
Poniewozik suggests that whether Walter White seems corrupted or innately bad may depend on whether viewers watched weekly or binged.
“I honestly think that the way you see that... might well depend on, you know, how you watched the show”
The Daily: The Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 44:07
The Wire
Poniewozik says he was stunned The Wire did not rank first, calling it one of TV's greatest achievements.
“I should start off saying that I was actually really stunned to see that The Wire did not end up as number one”
The Daily: The Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 35:28
Mad Men
Poniewozik says he has rewatched Mad Men more than any other show in the top of the list, four or five times in full.
“I've watched this show probably more times than anything on the top of this list”
The Daily: The Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 32:50
Succession (TV series)
Poniewozik argues that Succession made the Roys' pain recognizable without excusing their behavior.
“it was able to make all this very real without excusing any of the horribleness”
The Daily: The Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 28:48
Fleabag
Poniewozik says Fleabag's protagonist would have been rejected by a traditional network in the 1990s as unlikable.
“Fleabag is somebody, if you pitch this, you know, to CBS in 1992... or whatever, you know, you are not surviving that pitch meeting well”
The Daily: The Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 22:20
Veep
Poniewozik praises Veep for its cynical view of people as grasping and inept.
“it comes from this beautifully cynical notion of human nature that people are just, you know, grasping and inept”
The Daily: The Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 16:42
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Poniewozik argues that Curb Your Enthusiasm, with shows like the British Office, helped define cringe comedy.
“It kind of defined this genre of entertainment cringe comedy, for lack of a better word”
The Daily: The Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 13:34
30 Rock
Poniewozik argues that 30 Rock succeeded because it had something to say, unlike pure joke machines such as Family Guy.
“if you are just the unending joke machine, you end up with Family Guy”
The Daily: The Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 10:20
The New York Times 100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century
Poniewozik says he was surprised by how many comedies made the top 10, given a bias toward dramas.
“It actually surprised me that there was this much comedy in the top ten”
The Daily: The Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (Sep 27, 2026) · Listen from 6:17
Adolescence (TV series)
Poniewozik called Adolescence a critical achievement with single-take episodes but noted an after-school-special vibe.
“I will say, critically, as a whole, it's quite an achievement”
The Daily: Sunday Special: The Best TV of 2025 (Dec 21, 2025) · Listen from 50:16
Pluribus (TV series)
Poniewozik said Pluribus explores collectivism versus individualism and whether bliss without free will beats discontented individuality.
“whether it is better to be blissful and have no free will or to be discontented but an intact individual”
The Daily: Sunday Special: The Best TV of 2025 (Dec 21, 2025) · Listen from 47:03
Appearances
The Best TV Shows of the 21st CenturyThe Daily · Sep 27, 2026 · 57 min
Natalie Kitroeff talks with Times colleagues Gilbert Cruz and James Poniewozik about the New York Times list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.
Sunday Special: The Best TV of 2025The Daily · Dec 21, 2025 · 1 h 1 min
Gilbert Cruz, James Poniewozik and Alexis Soloski review 2025's television, from conspiracy dramas and revived rom-coms to Andor, Pluribus and The Lowdown, then play a TV quiz.
Often appears with
- Gilbert Cruz · 2 shared episodes
- Natalie Kitroeff · 1 shared episode
- Andy Cohen · 1 shared episode
- Alexis Soloski · 1 shared episode