"Girls," written by and starring Lena Dunham, was initially the subject of overwhelming praise for telling the story of twenty-something New York females in a new way. But in the two weeks since the series premiered, "Girls" went from being praised to being the object of overwhelming vitriol. From the blogosphere to the New York Times, critics have asked: Why does this show, which takes place in Brooklyn, New York in 2012, have an entirely white cast? Russell Robinson is professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley and the author of a study on race, ethnicity and gender casting in Hollywood. Melissa Silverstein is the editor of Women and Hollywood and the artistic director of the Athena Film Festival.

From Oprah to Piers Morgan, the world loves a good talk show. And if the multiple seasons of Celebrity Apprentice have taught us anything, audiences also love reality TV shows featuring pseudo celebrities. Yesterday, a program premiered that’s a tiny bit of both. Entitled "The World Today," the new talk show is hosted by Julian Assange, the man most famous for founding WikiLeaks. Alessandra Stanley, television critic for The New York Times, watched the first episode of "The World Today." She shares her thoughts on whether Assange might be the next Ellen, or just another candidate for Celebrity Big Brother.

The glossy world of "Sex and the City" may never have been real, but it seems further from the truth than ever before. Recent college graduates who once flocked to New York for jobs in finance, publishing and the arts are finding themselves making lattes and babysitting to make ends meet. Until now, these once-privileged young men and women were missing from TV. Filmmaker Lena Dunham has set out to change that with her new show, "Girls."

Have you ever looked at a stop light, a slice of pizza, or the hot air coming out of your hair dryer, and wondered: What and who went into making this? A new four-part PBS series called “America Revealed” delves into this question; scaling back from small everyday items to give viewers a big picture view of how America functions. Along the way, it doesn’t just unveil the secrets of how stuff is made; it also tells a story of America’s history and people. The series is hosted by Yul Kwon, an attorney, businessman, and technology expert, who you might also recognize as the 2006 winner of the reality show “Survivor.”

Don Cornelius, the creator of "Soul Train," died Wednesday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He began his career as a journalist who wrote passionately about the civil rights movement.  After noticing the lack of African American music on popular television, he created the Chicago-based show "Soul Train" in 1970 to showcase the funky blending of gospel and R&B that is soul music. It quickly gained an audience and went into syndication nationally a year later. Celeste Headlee looks back on why "Soul Train" was groundbreaking and reflects on the may ways that Cornelius' legacy lives on. 

"All-American Muslim," a new reality TV show premiering on TLC this Sunday, takes a close-up view at what it is like to be Muslim in America through the lives of five ordinary Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan — a city known informally as "America's Muslim Capital." Newlyweds Nader and Nawal Aoude are one of the couples featured on the show, and discuss what it was like to let cameras into their lives.

"Sesame Street" has introduced the children of the world to a number of neighbors over the years, from Oscar the Grouch to Linda, the deaf librarian, to Maria and Louis, who spoke English and Spanish with equal proficiency. But what viewers may not realize is that "Sesame Street" also introduced them to an undocumented immigrant. His name was Carlo, on both the show, and in real life. Carlo the character was a teenager who worked in Mr. Hooper's store for five seasons.

"It's true," actor Jason Bateman tweeted on Sunday. "We will do 10 episodes and the movie. Probably shoot them all together next summer for a release in early '13. VERY excited!" Bateman was on stage at The New Yorker Festival for a reunion with the cast and creator of "Arrested Development," the much-loved, short-lived sitcom that aired on FOX for three seasons from 2003 to 2006. Mitchell Hurwitz, the show's creator, used the occasion to announce that a long rumored "Arrested Development" movie is in the works, as well as limited-run series telling the story of where the characters have been for the last few years. Dave Itzkoff, culture reporter for The New York Times, was in the audience and reports on the latest.

Actress Christina Hendricks stopped by The Takeaway's studios earlier this week for a taping of the Movie Date podcast. Hendricks has two movies opening in theaters this week, "Drive," an arty action thriller starring Ryan Gosling, and "I Don’t Know How She Does It," a comedy starring Sarah Jessica Parker. She also stars as Joan Holloway in "Mad Men," a role which has earned her two Emmy nominations (tune in to the Emmys telecast this weekend to find out if she wins).

This spring, we’ve been sitting down with some of America’s most fascinating elder statesmen and stateswomen: older Americans, long past retirement age, who are nonetheless still working to change how we live and work in this country in a series called “In My Experience.” Today, our guest is comedian, movie star, and seven-time Emmy award winning TV legend Betty White. In addition to starring on “Hot in Cleveland,” White is also the author of a new book “If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won’t).”

Actor Ted Danson is having a phenomenal year on television. He has hit roles in three hot series: HBO's "Bored to Death" which he stars alongside Jason Schwartzman and Zach Galifianakis. He shows up every now and again on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and shares the screen with Glenn Close in "Damages." But our beloved "Cheers" bartender is mostly fired up about his latest off-screen project, ocean conservationist. He has co-authored a book that looks at the state of the oceans and how we can save them. He says he loves the ocean and wants to make it easy for anyone to help.

Most of us prefer to fast-forward through TV commercials in our everyday lives. But on Super Bowl Sunday, the ads are almost as hyped as the game itself.

Featuring celebrity endorsements, special effects, and the kind of humor that pushes the envelope, Super Bowl ads have the potential to become iconic, and our digital age, viral. Not surprisingly, this also means the price of a commercial is high. For this past weekend’s game, companies paid approximately three million dollars per thirty second spot. (Check out some of the ads after the jump.)

We hear a lot of negative messages about culture and creativity in modern China. We hear about censorship and a lack of free speech, about internet restrictions (no Facebook) and too many bribes. But when it comes to music, TV, communication, and creativity in general – are our perceptions of China totally off base? And for that matter, what are modern Chinese people’s perceptions of America and our culture?

Ricky Gervais, why don't you host every awards show from now on? Every single one. I don't care if it's the Oscars or the Employee of the Month awards at Wal-Mart. I think it would make life a little sweeter, even if we were cringing the whole time.

This Sunday, awards season officially kicks off with The 68^th Annual Golden Globe Awards, which will be broadcast at 8 p.m. eastern time on NBC. Also known as the happiest awards show in Hollywood, the Globes is an event where alcohol is served throughout the night, TV stars and movie stars mingle, and comedies and dramas are given equal recognition. But in addition to the misbehaving, winning, and losing, what else should we be keeping our eyes on at this year’s ceremony?

When it comes to the Golden Globes, there are certain bets you can place that you're more or less guaranteed to win.

For example, want to bet that at least one person will stumble onto the stage with a drink in hand? Sure, especially if there's money on it. Want to wager that the camera will pan over to Jennifer Aniston whenever Brad Pitt is on stage? Well, that's a gimme.

But what about wagers that are less obvious — about winners and losers and predictors for the Oscars? I have some tips that might help you out.

New Nielson data says that Americans watch an average of 34 hours of television per week. Is it time to re-think your priorities if you watch television for almost the same amount of time as you spend at your full-time job?

We’ve been asking you to complete this thought…”You know you’re watching too much TV when…” and have received plenty of responses.

All week long we're talking with some of our favorite guests from 2010 about the year that was…the good, the bad, and the ridiculous. Today, our subject is the year’s big breakups, and our guest is author, humorist, and newshound Andy Borowitz. But rather than just talk about or look at the breakups, we’re also inviting listeners to participate and answer a quiz that we’re calling the Takeaway’s 2010 Breakup Quiz.

In the late 1960s, Dick Cavett began hosting TV’s hippest, smartest ninety-minute conversation on legendary talk show “The Dick Cavett Show.”

From the beginning, his guests and topics ranged from the popular to the intellectual; and included Groucho Marx, Jimi Hendrix, Salvador Dali, Norman Mailer, Marlon Brando, and Katherine Hepburn.

His discussions of society and culture were just as compelling — and often controversial — with topics ranging from the Vietnam War to pornography.

It's a debate that's been around for as long as the Internet has been around: How do we keep the information superhighway open and beneficial for the public in a world that seems increasingly driven by corporations? The question has inspired plenty of debate about modern treatment of older principals, but author Tim Wu insists this debate isn’t new. He says it’s been around as long as communication structures have existed — from the telephone and radio to television.