The New Yorker Presents

The show’s half-hour format does a lot to recommend itself to viewers and not seem too daunting an investment of both time and brain-space. It all feels inherently easily digestible, and the hopscotching through topics keeps things fun and effervescent.

Watching the series is a bit like skipping through the magazine--a little of this, a little of that, always interesting.

Should you care about avant-garde artist Marina Abramovic, ambient B-roll of an NYC barbershop, and sketch comedy featuring Paul Giamatti as french writer Honore de Balzac, you're in luck. Otherwise, prepare for an uneven watch that's often skippable as the unread issues piling up on your coffee table. [19/26 Feb 2016, p.109]

The result is a mixed bag, but one that--like the magazine--offers the opportunity to pick and choose as you go.

It’s not exactly groundbreaking for television, which has done these kinds of unscripted explorations for years, but it’s a nice little add-on if you’re already a Prime subscriber and someone who readily views Amazon’s TV offerings.... When the series moves outside to bring to life in HD the many stories readers have become familiar with through the years, the results are more mixed.

Simply put, there’s just not much sense of urgency in, or compelling need for, The New Yorker Presents, which will offer two new installments each Tuesday.... Even those who enjoy leafing through a hard copy of its pages might find themselves feeling a trifle bored trying to wade through the video version.