Best Entertainment Commentary</a> at the Southern California Journalism Awards, and a 2020 finalist for Best TV Critic at the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards. Ben helped launch IndieWire’s Consider This series, which advocates for each year’s most deserving awards contenders, and he was on set for <a href=https://www.indiewire.com/author/ben-travers/page/2/"https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/veep-ending-julia-louis-dreyfus-final-day-on-set-hbo-1202140113/"> “Veep’s” final day of filming</a>. (Seeing Julia Louis-Dreyfus eviscerate another human being live, in person, changed him forever.) A lifelong student of Sylvester Stallone and more-recent scholar of “The Leftovers,” “Better Things,” and “BoJack Horseman,” he is also an experienced moderator, having led conversations for the Television Academy, Screen Actors Guild, PaleyFest, SXSW, ATX TV Festival, and San Diego Comic-Con (at Hall H, in front of 6,000 screaming fans). Prior to joining IndieWire, Ben served as an editor and critic at PopMatters, as well as a production assistant on major motion pictures. He holds degrees in journalism and cinema from the University of Iowa. He loves puns, baseball, black coffee, and soft sweatshirts. Follow him on Twitter @BenTTravers and Instagram @BenTravers5</p>" /> Best Entertainment Commentary</a> at the Southern California Journalism Awards, and a 2020 finalist for Best TV Critic at the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards. Ben helped launch IndieWire’s Consider This series, which advocates for each year’s most deserving awards contenders, and he was on set for <a href=https://www.indiewire.com/author/ben-travers/page/2/"https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/veep-ending-julia-louis-dreyfus-final-day-on-set-hbo-1202140113/"> “Veep’s” final day of filming</a>. (Seeing Julia Louis-Dreyfus eviscerate another human being live, in person, changed him forever.) A lifelong student of Sylvester Stallone and more-recent scholar of “The Leftovers,” “Better Things,” and “BoJack Horseman,” he is also an experienced moderator, having led conversations for the Television Academy, Screen Actors Guild, PaleyFest, SXSW, ATX TV Festival, and San Diego Comic-Con (at Hall H, in front of 6,000 screaming fans). Prior to joining IndieWire, Ben served as an editor and critic at PopMatters, as well as a production assistant on major motion pictures. He holds degrees in journalism and cinema from the University of Iowa. He loves puns, baseball, black coffee, and soft sweatshirts. Follow him on Twitter @BenTTravers and Instagram @BenTravers5</p>" />
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Ben Travers Writer Indiewire

Ben Travers

TV Critic

Ben Travers is the New York-based TV Critic and Deputy Editor at IndieWire, where he’s been writing reviews, analyzing industry trends, and interviewing key figures since 2014. He is the 2021 winner for Best Entertainment Commentary at the Southern California Journalism Awards, and a 2020 finalist for Best TV Critic at the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards. Ben helped launch IndieWire’s Consider This series, which advocates for each year’s most deserving awards contenders, and he was on set for “Veep’s” final day of filming. (Seeing Julia Louis-Dreyfus eviscerate another human being live, in person, changed him forever.) A lifelong student of Sylvester Stallone and more-recent scholar of “The Leftovers,” “Better Things,” and “BoJack Horseman,” he is also an experienced moderator, having led conversations for the Television Academy, Screen Actors Guild, PaleyFest, SXSW, ATX TV Festival, and San Diego Comic-Con (at Hall H, in front of 6,000 screaming fans). Prior to joining IndieWire, Ben served as an editor and critic at PopMatters, as well as a production assistant on major motion pictures. He holds degrees in journalism and cinema from the University of Iowa. He loves puns, baseball, black coffee, and soft sweatshirts. Follow him on Twitter @BenTTravers and Instagram @BenTravers5

Latest by Ben Travers
Benedict Cumberbatch stands on a subway platform with a furry, blue and white puppet monster in the Netflix series 'Eric'
'Kidding' Was a Good Show
Abi Morgan's sappy yet savage limited series follows a bad dad who — alongside his imaginary puppet monster — concocts a drunken, dangerous scheme to find his missing son.
'Shogun' stars Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne and Hiroyuki Sanada as Yoshii Toranaga, shown here having an intense conversation outside
Don't Forget the Actors, Emmy Voters
The new frontrunner for Best Drama Series has the strongest reviews among a down year for the category, and it's one of the few contenders led by people of color. But will voters respond?
Hoa Xuande in The Sympathizer, shown here standing in a cell with wooden walls, wearing a plain brown uniform
War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing.
After gut-churning torture scenes and eye-opening revelations, Episode 7 ultimately offers limited resolution. But there's immense personal significance in The Captain's attempt to restart.
Diarra from Detroit star Diarra Kilpatrick, shown here sitting next to a vase of pink flowers
It's a Hit
The star, writer, producer and creator shared how her comedic mystery got started, why it belongs on Detroit's Mount Rushmore of entertainment, and what's so shocking about Phylicia Rashad's role.
André Holland as Black Panther Huey Newton in 'The Big Cigar,' shown here sitting in a chair wearing a white button-down
Bring Back 'The Knick'
As Black Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton, the "Moonlight" and "High Flying Bird" star unveils more nuance than the speedy but stilted series around him.
Tadanobu Asano as Yabushige in 'Shogun,' shown here wearing a round hat and green robe
My Favorite Scene
The star behind "Shogun's" double-dealing fan-favorite broke down when Yabushige and Blackthorn first began their complex relationship (and it may be later than you think).
Pamela Adlon directs Ilana Glazer on the set of the film, 'Babes,' shown here wearing a brown hat and blue facemask
Pam's a Real One
After 44 episodes of "Better Things," Adlon's first film relies on her compassionate, experimental ethos to elevate a new motherhood story — this time in a hysterical, unfiltered crowd-pleaser.
Gary Oldman plays Jackson Lambe in 'Slow Horses,' shown here walking through a park with an ice cream cone
"Below Decks" Superfan Gary Oldman
Playing Jackson Lamb in the spy series is a dream role for the Oscar-winner, and he plans to stick with it as long as "Apple keeps us on the air."
Bridgerton Season 3 stars Daniel Francis as Lord Anderson and Adjoa Andoh as Lady Agatha Danbury, shown here talking on a red carpet
Bridgerton Week
"Stranger Things," "Squid Game," and "Wednesday" are often touted as the streamer's top titles, but Shonda Rhimes' blockbuster costume drama has an edge or two in Netflix's race for MVP.
Siobhán Cullen, Will Forte, and Robyn Cara sit at a small bar table in the Netflix series 'Bodkin'
Take Me Back to Ireland
With a game cast dramatizing true crime tropes (a small Irish town with suspicious townsfolk harboring dark secrets), "Bodkin" is primed to parody the popular, occasionally problematic genre. Instead, it merely adds to it.
Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly in 'Dark Matter,' the Apple series
Still Better Than "It's a Wonderful Life"
A scenic Chicago and solemn Joel Edgerton can't quite salvage Blake Crouch's adaptation of his own novel, about a married father who's forced to reconsider his life's biggest choice.
Side-by-side stills from 'The Acolyte,' 'Our Lady Jane,' 'Fantasmas,' 'Queenie,' and 'Orphan Black: Echoes'
From FX's "Clipped" to Apple's "Presumed Innocent" to Julio Torres' "Fantasmas" and many more, here's what we can't wait to watch this summer.
Top of The Line Weekly
A weekly digest that captures the best of our Top of the Line coverage.

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