Ben Travers

Ben Travers is the Los Angeles-based TV Critic at IndieWire, where he writes reviews, conducts interviews, and provides extensive awards analysis related to today’s best and most popular television projects. Along with his award-winning Emmy predictions, he covers film and television festivals, including Sundance, SXSW, and ATX TV Festival. He's also an experienced moderator at Comic-Con PaleyFest, the Screen Actors Guild, the Television Academy, Film Independent, the International Documentary Association, and various other events. Prior to joining IndieWire, Ben served as an editor for PopMatters, worked as a production assistant at Walt Disney Pictures, and earned degrees in both journalism and film production from the University of Iowa. If you're looking for .gifs, follow him on Twitter @BenTTravers.

Television / By Ben Travers

‘Room 104’: Mark and Jay Duplass Are Saving Filmmakers By Bringing Them to Television

Mark and Jay Duplass’ HBO series is so efficient, Season 3 is already wrapped.

Dec 18, 2018 1:35 pm /

Television / By Ben Travers

True Detective Season 3 Mahershala Ali Carmen Ejogo

Nic Pizzolatto Helped Write the ‘Deadwood’ Movie — So David Milch Helped Write ‘True Detective’ Season 3

In a press conference Monday, the “True Detective” creator also responded to Season 2 criticism and explained what’s different about the new season.

Dec 18, 2018 10:10 am /

Awards / By Ben Travers

"First Man" Ryan Gosling and "The First" Sean Penn

‘First Man’ and ‘The First’: Why Two Stellar Space Stories Crashed and Burned

Damien Chazelle and Beau Willimon’s ambitious projects are being abandoned, and both failed launches stem back to misinformation.

Dec 16, 2018 3:00 pm /

Television / By Ben Travers, Hanh Nguyen, Steve Greene and Liz Shannon Miller

Susan Kelechi Watson, Donald Glover, and Hong Chau best actors 2018

The Best TV Performances of 2018

Television was bursting with talent in 2018, and these performances will leave a mark for many more years to come.

Dec 13, 2018 2:45 pm /

Television / By Ben Travers

Gritty (Flyers Mascot) and Pooka (from Hulu's "Into the Dark")

‘Into the Dark’: Hulu’s Insane Holiday Horror Movie Helps Explain America’s Mascot Fixation

“Colossal” director Nacho Vigalondo’s eerie episode of “Into the Dark” plays like an origin story for the alternatively cute and creepy Flyers’ mascot.

Dec 13, 2018 2:26 pm /

Television / By Ben Travers

"Champaign ILL" Season 1 Adam Pally Sam Richardson

‘Champaign ILL’ Review: Adam Pally and Sam Richardson Pop in Sharp YouTube Comedy

As buddies spoiled rotten before going broke, the two comedians light up a YouTube Premium series set in central Illinois.

Dec 12, 2018 7:13 pm /

Television / By Liz Shannon Miller, Ben Travers, Steve Greene and Hanh Nguyen

The 20 Best TV Moments in 2018

From death to lies to sex, this was a year of glorious insanity.

Dec 12, 2018 4:14 pm /

Television / By Ben Travers

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 2 Zachary Levi Benjamin

Benjamin on ‘Mrs. Maisel’: He’s Just a Tall, Handsome Prop — And That’s OK

On this week’s Very Good TV Podcast, we discuss how Zachary Levi played an unusual role in Season 2: the male love interest as symbolic fantasy.

Dec 12, 2018 2:31 pm /

Awards / By Ben Travers

POSE -- "Pilot" -- Season 1, Episode 1 (Airs Sunday, June 3, 9:00 p.m. e/p) Pictured: Indya Moore as Angel. CR: JoJo Whilden/FX

SAG Awards 2019 TV Snubs and Surprises: ‘Pose’ and ‘Westworld’ Out, ‘Ozark’ and ‘The Kominsky Method’ In

SAG members narrowed their vision and voted for a lot of the same shows multiple times, which means many deserving nominees were snubbed.

Dec 12, 2018 11:21 am /

Television / By Ben Travers

‘True Detective’ Season 3: New Trailer Digs Into the Romance Driving Mahershala Ali

After a disappointing Season 2, the HBO series returns with Oscar-winner Ali as the haunted detective and Carmen Ejogo as his love.

Dec 12, 2018 9:03 am /

Television / By Ben Travers

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Rachel Brosnahan

‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’: Season 2 Ends with a Risky — and Necessary — Reproach

Maybe it’s time to let the old ways die, but the ending to Season 2 reminds us how much of Midge is still wrapped up in being Mrs. Maisel.

Dec 7, 2018 8:00 pm /

Television / By Liz Shannon Miller, Hanh Nguyen, Steve Greene and Ben Travers

The 30 Best TV Episodes of 2018, Ranked

In a year which shattered our concept of reality, these episodes put the pieces together.

Dec 7, 2018 12:30 pm /

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‘Room 104’: Mark and Jay Duplass Are Saving Filmmakers By Bringing Them to Television

Nic Pizzolatto Helped Write the ‘Deadwood’ Movie — So David Milch Helped Write ‘True Detective’ Season 3

‘First Man’ and ‘The First’: Why Two Stellar Space Stories Crashed and Burned

The Best TV Performances of 2018

‘Into the Dark’: Hulu’s Insane Holiday Horror Movie Helps Explain America’s Mascot Fixation

‘Champaign ILL’ Review: Adam Pally and Sam Richardson Pop in Sharp YouTube Comedy

The 20 Best TV Moments in 2018

Benjamin on ‘Mrs. Maisel’: He’s Just a Tall, Handsome Prop — And That’s OK

SAG Awards 2019 TV Snubs and Surprises: ‘Pose’ and ‘Westworld’ Out, ‘Ozark’ and ‘The Kominsky Method’ In

‘True Detective’ Season 3: New Trailer Digs Into the Romance Driving Mahershala Ali

‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’: Season 2 Ends with a Risky — and Necessary — Reproach

The 30 Best TV Episodes of 2018, Ranked

Newswire

Eros Now Launches Quickies Original Strand With ‘Date Gone Wrong’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Hear Woody Guthrie’s Lost Recording of ‘Hoodoo Voodoo’

Texas Congressman-Elect Dan Crenshaw Reaches Out To ‘SNL’s Pete Davidson After Troubling Instagram Post

The Voice Season 15 Finale Recap: Was the Right Singer Named the Winner?

‘The Voice’: Top 25 Sexiest Female Artists Ever, Ranked Worst to Best