HitFix welcomes Alan Sepinwall
What's Alan Watching blog will be relocating to HitFix. Huzzah!
This isn't Alan Sepinwall. It's Omar Little. All in the game, though. All in the game.
Credit: HBO
I've been following Alan Sepinwall for the past 15 years. Literally.
When I arrived at the University of Pennsylvania, he was the managing editor at 34th Street Magazine, the arts & entertainment rag at the college newspaper. He graduated, but continued to encourage me and I eventually became 34th Street managing editor myself.
For my first summer internship, I was a nearly inept fact-checker at the now-defunct P.O.V. Magazine, the first college intern they'd had since Alan Sepinwall.
Alan didn't get me my job at Zap2it, but he certainly made sure that the editor there scooped my resume and clips out of the garbage after I ignored a couple basic application requirements. Because of that gig, I was able tag along behind Alan into the Television Critics Association.
Perhaps all of that following is why I'm so pleased, excited and, darnit, honored to welcome Alan Sepinwall to the HitFix family. Since Sepinwall is so prone to mocking my anglophilia, I should probably say that I'm right chuffed.
[More puffery after the break...]
At HitFix, we like to think that we've assembled a team of some of the most distinctive and informed voices currently writing about television, movies and music. Adding Alan to Gregory Ellwood, Drew McWeeny, Melinda Newman and Katie Hasty should help take HitFix to that next level as a destination for news, reviews, analysis and insight.
If you somehow don't know Sepinwall's background, here's what we said in our press release this morning:
"One of the nation's most opinionated and influential critics, Sepinwall is know as a dogged supporter of quality television, proving to be a fierce advocate for shows including "Lost," "The Shield," "Breaking Bad" and "The Wire." Last spring, NBC executives went so far as to credit Sepinwall by name for his role in earning a renewal for "Chuck." Sepinwall's ties with the creative community have led to exclusive and exhaustive interviews with many of the industry's most respected showrunners, including David Simon, Matthew Weiner, Josh Schwartz and Vince Gilligan. When "The Sopranos" ended in 2007, creator David Chase granted only one interview and that was to Sepinwall.
In addition to his writing and blogging, Sepinwall found the time to write "Stop Being a Hater and Learn to Love The O.C.," the seminal chronicle of the first season of FOX's popular soap."
Leaving aside my respect for Sepinwall's criticism and his access to some of the industry's most esteemed creative talents, I'm almost equally excited to be welcoming the community that Alan has developed over the years at What's Alan Watching. It's one thing to accumulate a volume of traffic, but over the years, Sepinwall has cultivated what I consider to one of the Internet's smartest and most engaged fanbases. To read the comments on Alan's posts is to pour through the collected thoughts of the medium's most passionate and inquisitive viewers. We look forward to adding those conversations to the already thriving chatter on the site, as HitFix works to continue to develop one of the Internet's best communities of entertainment obsessives.
The whole HitFix family and I, we're feeling pretty good about our announcement today and not just because Sepinwall followed *me* somewhere.
Anyway, join me in welcoming Alan Sepinwall to HitFix!
A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupLA
April 26, 2010 at 2:33PM EST Reply to CommentWhat a coup for HitFix! Congratulations to all involved!
Podcasts will continue, right?
LA
adamkesher
April 26, 2010 at 2:39PM EST Reply to CommentWow! Great news. Sepinwall is the man. You guys are lucky to have him. Welcome to Hitfix, Alan. I'll continue to read your fantastic television criticism under your new roof.
7s Tim
April 26, 2010 at 2:45PM EST Reply to CommentSo now I don't have to hop between sites...works.
Jeff W.
April 26, 2010 at 2:55PM EST Reply to CommentIf this means Alan is better compensated for a brilliant blog that seemed to be written simply for the love of it, it's well deserved. Maybe now you can get HitFix to chip in for a podcast theme song?
dan
April 26, 2010 at 3:00PM EST Reply to CommentPodcasting will certainly continue. Firewall & Iceberg will just be under one cyber-roof, which may be advantageous in some way!
-Daniel
arash
April 26, 2010 at 3:08PM EST Reply to CommentWelcome aboard
Lenny Boyle
April 26, 2010 at 3:54PM EST Reply to Commentgreat news
Tyroc
April 26, 2010 at 3:57PM EST Reply to CommentTyroc
April 26, 2010 at 3:59PM EST Reply to CommentI just signed up so I can follow Alan here.
Fun site!
fred
April 26, 2010 at 4:35PM EST Reply to CommentI've been reading Alan's blog for a while now, and surely will continue to do so here, now that Firewall & Iceberg are officially united.
gina64
April 26, 2010 at 5:02PM EST Reply to CommentI'll be following Alan here, and I'm looking forward to checking out the rest of HitFix.
Bobman
April 26, 2010 at 5:24PM EST Reply to CommentThey like this
justjoan123
April 26, 2010 at 5:25PM EST Reply to CommentThey like this
washington
April 26, 2010 at 5:56PM EST Reply to CommentGreat to see Alan here. He's one of the best in the business, so this is a big-time score for you guys!
MoRyan
April 26, 2010 at 9:30PM EST Reply to CommentWho is this Sepinwall person?
Kidding. Great coup for the site. Look forward to What's Alan Watching 2.0.
DGB1966
April 26, 2010 at 9:53PM EST Reply to CommentNever heard of Hitfix before now, but I've been following Alan's blogs since his college days doing NYPD reviews online. I look forward to reading his commentaries almost as much as I look forward to the shows. Kudos on bringing him over! I'll be a regular visitor to the site.
lazygarfield
April 27, 2010 at 2:41AM EST Reply to CommentCool, now I mjst check out the TV section of HitFix more often.
And not to be a spoilsport, but there's a spelling/grammatical mistake... in the press release. Seriously.
It should've been "known" and not "know"
Trekscribbler You people stop with all the facts!
April 27, 2010 at 10:25AM ESTlazygarfield
April 27, 2010 at 2:44AM EST Reply to CommentOpps sorry.. now I *must* check out the TV section more frequently.
LoopyChew
April 27, 2010 at 2:49AM EST Reply to CommentWell, I guess I have no excuse to register for HitFix anymore.
LoopyChew Well, I guess I have no excuse to not register for HitFix anymore.
April 27, 2010 at 2:51AM ESTJanieJones
April 27, 2010 at 7:52AM EST Reply to CommentI'm excited about this news. I think the addition of Alan is wonderful!
Now, I know why I missed you two at Penn. I graduated two years earlier (because of starting college two yrs. ahead of schedule)-sorry off-topic.
quackamagooska@gmail.com
April 27, 2010 at 11:49AM EST Reply to Commentquackamagooska@gmail.com
April 27, 2010 at 11:50AM EST Reply to CommentGotta love the Sepinwall.
April 27, 2010 at 11:54AM EST Reply to CommentAlways gotta read what Alan is watching. Game's the game, yo.
Schmoker
April 27, 2010 at 2:31PM EST Reply to CommentSchmoker
April 27, 2010 at 2:33PM EST Reply to CommentBe nice to see you guys in the same place. Fewer mouse clicks are the new therbligs, especially with my carpal tunnel acting up. Here is to hoping for extra Firewall and Iceberg. Never have I enjoyed my time disagreeing with people more than when I listen to you guys. And that is a real compliment; not one of the backhanded variety.
Hatfield
April 28, 2010 at 2:18AM EST Reply to CommentI was very worried what might happen if the Star Ledger folded. Worries ameliorated!
Sean
April 30, 2010 at 6:30PM EST Reply to CommentDan: Please fix/update/enhance the comment section so we can read more than five or six posts on the main page.
As you know, Alan frequently receives anywhere from 20 to 50 comments per post. Sometimes over 100.
dan Sean - We're going to have an overhaul in our comment format either on Monday or Tuesday in advance of Alan's arrival. We're going to set comments to go down in chronological order (as you'd see on Sepinwall's blog and elsewhere) and we're also going to eliminate the need to skip through multiple pages to get to all comments. It's a process and we're gonna make the necessary tweaks to make Alan's transition as soon as possible for everybody. Just stick with us... -Dan
April 30, 2010 at 8:59PM EST