Research Guides
Communication Studies: TV Reviews
This subject guide is a starting point for communication-related research, including mass media, speech communication, and more.
Reviews of television programs are written by professional TV critics and fans alike. TV reviews are published in newspapers, popular magazines (People Magazine, Entertainment Weekly), trade publications (Broadcasting & Cable, Variety), and on websites (official show websites, fan sites).
Search the library databases below to find TV reviews. Some databases include specific ways to search for television reviews. See some of the screenshots of search examples below.
You can usually find television reviews by simply searching for the TV show's name (in quotations if multi-word) in conjunction with the search term review*. TV programs with single word names can be more difficult to find so so you should add additional search terms such as TV, a network name, an actor's name, or another distinguishing keyword.
Examples:
- "schitt's creek" AND review*
- "all in the family" AND review*
- watchmen AND tv AND review*
Reviews of Current TV Shows
Use the following databases to find magazine and newspaper reviews of more contemporary TV and streaming shows.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
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Scholarly plus popular magazine articles (Time, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone) covering all fields. - Access World News This link opens in a new window
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American & international newspapers primarily from the 1990s to the present. - Global Newsstream This link opens in a new window
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American & international newspapers primarily from the 1990s to the present.
Search Example: Academic Search Complete
Academic Search Complete uses the subject term "television program reviews" that can be used to find reviews. Change the search box label to "SU subject terms."
Search Example: Access World News
Because there are thousands of newspapers included in Access World News, you are likely to find many irrelevant items. You can try narrowing your results by using "More Search Options" and changing the search box labels as shown.
Search Example: Global Newsstram
Use Advanced Search in Global Newstream find to reviews of TV series by using the "Document Type" option.
Reviews of Vintage TV Shows
Use the following databases to find magazine and newspaper reviews of TV shows that originally aired prior to 1990.
- Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
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American & British trade magazines covering film, music, tv & theater. - ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
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15 newspapers including the NY Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Defender & LA Times. - Readers' Guide Retrospective This link opens in a new window
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Index to American magazine articles published between 1890 & 1982.
Search Example: Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive
Like Global Newstream, Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive includes a Document Type option to find reviews.
Search Example: Proquest Historical Newspapers
Like Global Newsstream, Proquest Historical Newspapers includes a Document Type option to find reviews. If you find too many irrelevant results, try changing the search box label to "Document Title" so that the TV series is in the headline of the news article.
Search Example: Readers' Guide Retrospective
Like Academic Search Complete, Readers' Guide Retrospective uses the subject term "television program reviews" that can be used to find reviews. Change the search box label to "SU Subject."
