MEDIA for STEALING THE SHOW
"[Joy] Press charts how a group of enterprising women and gender-nonconforming individuals have not only changed whose creative visions we are able to engage with, but what kinds of characters we can see on television and whose stories get to be told.... Even as Press details the specific ways that the women have changed TV, a great pleasure of reading 'Stealing the Show' is her nostalgic run-through of beloved shows and the things that made them tick. She captures their magic with some choicely worded phrases: the dialogue pacing 'Gilmore Girls' was 'like a Ramones song transposed to television or a Hepburn-Tracy movie on speed.' 'Girls' was like 'experiencing the world from a yoga position that is both enlightening and borderline unpleasant.'"
Stealing the Show is a wildly entertaining and informative jaunt through the creative upheaval that’s been taking place on TV screens over the past thirty years. Crucially, the book doesn’t treat women’s contributions to this awakening as a sideshow. Rather, Press’s book is something of an alternate history of the modern TV era, a persuasive rebuke to the now-familiar story of the brilliant male showrunners and their brooding male characters....Stealing the Show is such a fun read, it’s almost deceptively informative.
"Here is a collection of women who have managed to make television on their own terms, embodying proof that it can be done....The reporter really kicks into gear with a rich chapter on Murphy Brown, followed by a corker of a look-back at the making of Roseanne and the backstage chaos that was the price of working with a personage as unique as Roseanne Barr. "
Press...neatly nestles her TV revolution in the context of its times: While women’s breakthrough was enabled by channel proliferation and audience fragmentation, other social/cultural media shifts allowed creative voices to resonate louder than fractional ratings might suggest.
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Veteran cultural critic Joy Press offers a rollicking and revealing look at the talented, whip-smart women responsible for many of the TV shows we love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)
"Women have run successful TV shows for decades, but they still routinely face bias and unreasonable obstacles in the industry, as Press (former Salon entertainment editor) details in this powerful narrative that expertly weaves reporting, analysis, and anecdotes. ...Press’s chronicle of a pop-culture movement should inspire a new generation of women creators."
Press draws from decades of interviews, research, and reporting to create a vibrant behind-the-scenes look at the some of the most prominent women creatives in the industry and the role they played in bringing women-focused narratives to the forefront of modern TV and culture... An urgent and entertaining history of the transformative powers of women in TV.
LIBRARY JOURNAL (starred review)
The book is well-organized chronologically and is an absorbing read with some politics thrown in. There are fascinating interviews with female showrunners such as Roseanne Barr, Amy Sherman-Palladino (Gilmore Girls), Jenji Kohan (Weeds/Orange Is the New Black), and Shonda Rhimes (Scandal). ...Highly recommended for those who enjoy reading about the entertainment industry, how their favorite TV shows are created, and women.
BITCH MAGAZINE 30 Most Anticipated Nonfiction Books of 2018
Stealing the Show is informative and incredibly entertaining, and features insight from the very women who are continuing to make cracks in television’s glass ceiling.