Devoured this in one sitting on a flight - it does a great job of showing how HBO and streaming changed the TV landscape over the last two decades, and where we go from here. Timelines are occasionally a little wibbly-wobbly as it jumps between services, and it's occasionally a little repetitive, but I liked this a lot.

If you need to read a history of cable and streaming TV from The Sopranos to the present, you'll find Peter Biskind's account interesting, but lacking the magic that made Easy Riders, Raging Bulls (ERRB) so incessantly entertaining. Biskind alternates between the executives who decide what gets done and the creatives who actually do it. The creatives are much more interesting. The boardroom stories lack a character like Bob Evans from ERRB and are pretty boring; people seem to get fired before we really get to know who they are.

The formula will be familiar to those who read ERRB. Oddballs who buck the system spark a creative revolution, which is eventually mainstreamed by the suits upstairs. Perhaps that summary sells the book a bit short, as Biskind's accounts does embrace many contradictory elements. As a non-regular television viewer I learned plenty and I now realize there are some interesting shows I still need to see. But unlike ERBB which celebrated 70s cinema, this is definitely not a celebration of the triumphs of the peak TV era (although Biskind acknowledges the creative flourishing that occurred), but more of a dive into the venality of the entire industry.

As the leader of a nonfiction book club, I'm usually looking for books that will generate interest in a subject rather than just support that interest. Pandora's Box is strictly a supporter.

Thanks to netgalley for providing an early copy for review.

Peter Biskind writes a powerhouse look at the shows and tv channels that revolutionized modern tv in Pandora’s Box and much like TinderBox, he looks at HBO as well as FX. This is a phenomenal book for tv buffs!!

When I first discovered this book I was very excited since I'd read other books by Biskind focusing on movies — in fact I have a couple of signed copies on my shelf. Unfortunately, this let me down, a lot. I'm not sure that writing about TV is the right area for the author. The book doesn't know if it's a journalistic look at TV and streaming, a piece of criticism or a Television Without Pity recap of popular shows.

Having read both Tinderbox and It's Not TV, a lot of the first part of the book is an abbreviated version of that material. Some of the later chapters to offer good nuggets and thoughts, but even that gets weighed down by random editorialization about shows and stars. While the notes cite interviews with sources, it seemed like the majority was from other published sources or interviews Biskind did a long time ago.

Which results in a lack of cohesiveness and a solid progression of the material. They're almost individual essays put in an order to attempt to build to a narrative about the current state of TV. But even within the chapters the chronology and logic feel disjointed and randomly ordered,

Overall, I was disappointed and would find it hard to recommend to anyone but the most devout entertainment enthusiast.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher William Morrow for an advance copy of this new book that looks at the rise of prestige television, streaming services and the regression that both seem to be experiencing as money and smarter-than-thou executives leave their prints on the market.

I watched a lot of television as a child, but the rise of prestige television was never that interesting to me. I watched a few episodes of Sopranos, tried Breaking Bad, hated Walking Dead, didn't care a bit for Game of Thrones. They just weren't for me. Working in bookstores it would be all that you heard, especially when books came out for these shows around the holidays. I might be more of a movie person, its hard to say. Maybe growing up in the 80's and 90's I still think of television as a junky medium, cop shows, evening soaps, and shows that one could just watch, laugh and walk away. Not binge, which is something I can not imagine doing. Maybe I watched two episodes of a Marvel show once, to be honest. I was late to streaming, still using Netflix for the DVD's by mail as the selection was better. And to see what has happened in the last five years is amazing. And depressing for what might have been, and what has been lost. Peter Biskind, journalist and writer for many Hollywood magazines and great books on movies has turned his all seeing-eye on the rise of television, from shows to streaming and what the future holds, for the companies, writers, producers and actors.

The book begins with a look at HBO starting from a small company with little dreams, but one that used existing technology and sheer gumption to get ahead. HBO was also gifted with a unique group of executives, men who cared little for social niceties, and women who were willing to overlook the rampant sexual discrimination that was prevalent at the time. Desperate for content, and having enough shows that had Sex in the title, ie Real Sex, Hunt's Point Hookers, etc, HBO began to look at expanding their lineup and attracting talent. Drawn to HBO as they had nothing in the way of Standards and Practices came creators like Darren Star with Sex and the City, sure it had sex in the title, but it was aimed at woman, David Chase whose Sopranos put HBO on the playing field and make others take notice. Take notice in that others began to make television shows, upstarts like AMC and Showtime. Meanwhile a little company that sent DVD's by mail was starting to gain marketplace acceptance, and borrowing a lot of cash to make their presence known. A company that many HBO, Amazon and others had a chance to buy out, but didn't to their detriment, Netflix.

What an amazing read. A page-turner in that one knows what happens, but not how we got there. Peter Biskind can write both from the talent's point of view, why these channels offered more opportunities than networks, what working for this show biz geniuses was like, and from a business point of view, hemorrhaging budgets, stupid executives, sexual accusations. Biskind has done the research, talked to everyone that matters, mostly on the record, and told a history of an amazing time in entertainment where great things were being done, and suddenly money got in the way. And technology. And egos. And more. The book is both straight non-fiction with a bit of gossip that really makes one feel like an insider. And sometimes glad that one is not involved in this world.

I have been a fan of Peter Biskind's writing since Easy Rider, Raging Bulls Biskind's look at the 70's and its cinema. I really think this is Biskind's best as the scope is so large,and yet so well explained. Many of the problems that writers and actors have gone on strike for are here as nascent little hiccups, ready to metastasize into huge conflicts. Recommended for television fans, entertainment readers and for those like myself who want to see what all the hype is. This is the perfect gift for anyone who like media of any kind.

Peter Biskind has written extensively about the movie business but when it comes to television it feels like he really doesn’t have much to say. Most of what he says about HBO is either addressed previously or directed quotes from the HBO oral history that came out a year or two ago. His analysis of antihero television post-Sopranos is basically a retread of Bret Martin’s Difficult Men. He has a tendency to assume that a show that does poorly in ratings was inevitably bad, as though there’s any connection between a show’s success and its quality, or any way to predict either. He repeatedly refers to the hiring of any woman in an executive role as a byproduct of MeToo which is just straight up sexist. This book has very little to say about the past couple of decades of television and works better as a lit review.

An eye-opening look into the current state of one of my favorite things: television.

From premium cable practically inventing prestige drama to basic cable following suit to streamers exploding on our devices to...whatever sub-era we're in now, Pandora's Box covers it all. I really dig post-modern dives into our current culture; it's always fun and interesting to assess what we're all experiencing in real time and to guess what the future will bring. This would pair well with a few recent books written about HBO as well as Reed Hastings' book about creating Netflix.

Minor nitpick: I could have done without the author's editorializing, only because it wasn't consistent. It read like a straight nonfiction until he would randomly make a snarky comment, which put me off.

Good stuff. Thanks to the publisher and NG!

It's not TV, it's HBO. It's not HBO, it's streaming. It's not streaming, it's why the WGA and SAG are striking/about to strike. Peter Biskind's "Pandora's Box" covers the history of how TV became today's TV and why we will likely never see anything akin to one show receiving four Leading Actor nomination for a single show on broadcast television. Biskind gets everyone relevant to talk on the record about the last 24 years of television and content. A must read for everyone either interested in watching TV or working in TV.

Biskind brings the reductive, sweeping-but-shallow approach of his film books (EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS and DOWN AND DIRTY PICTURES) to bear on modern television. He aims to cover multiple streaming services/networks and literally dozens of shows, many of them the subjects of their own individual books. He responds to this editorial challenge by indulging in finger-wagging, turning PANDORA'S BOX into a tiresome catalog of bad behavior. The section on HBO's landmark THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW is dedicated to Garry Shandling's personality quirks. Whatever you think of SEX AND THE CITY, the show has made a significant cultural impact. Biskind limits his commentary to discussing sexual misconduct allegations against actor Chris Noth. The Amazon Prime section makes scant mention of THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL, while for all the material about Netflix there's precious little about the streamer's Emmy factory THE CROWN or STRANGER THINGS, which almost single-handedly saved the service. Biskind is more interested in ego battles in the C-suites than the creative process. It's unfortunate, given his access, as he seemingly spoke to everyone, with the most savvy quotes coming from filmmaker Steven Soderbergh. There's a great book to be written about this subject. PANDORA'S BOX isn't it.

Very interesting look at TV over the last 20 years and where it’s going. Some great insight. There were also some amazing dishy quotes. I preferred the parts that were about the shows themselves. The parts that focused on the streaming execs didn’t grab me quite as much.

NetGalley provided me a free e-copy in return for this review.