The Frame

Two prominent music critics look at where the orchestra has been and where it's heading; filmmaker Sandi Tan looks for a lost film of hers in "Shirkers."

Aoife O'Donovan, Sarah Jarosz and Sara Watkins all have successful individual careers, but decided to combine forces for their folk-Americana trio; how is "House of Cards" concluding without Kevin Spacey?; MOCA puts the spotlight on influential painter and film critic Manny Farber.

"The Good Place" creator Michael Schur and writer Jen Statsky talk about making a sitcom that takes on ethics and philosophy; as the Trump Administration reportedly considers rolling back civil rights protections for trans people, we revisit The Frame's 2017 roundtable discussion on transgender representation on television.

The award-winning Broadway smash with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul finally arrives in Los Angeles; how deep are Saudi Arabia's tentacles in American museums?; the Berlin-based performance group, Gob Squad, examines how we cope with aging.

The mezzo-soprano had a promising hoops career, but then she discovered singing; Netflix buys a huge production studio in Albuquerque; Janelle Monáe breaks down her song, "So Afraid."

She's a rare female minority show-runner, but her main goal is to let the mom character have some fun; how are immigrants depicted on TV?; the L.A. Master Chorale takes its show on the road.

Actor Peter Dinklage and filmmaker Sacha Gervasi on making "My Dinner With Hervé," about the French actor Hervé Villechaize; how do "The Conners" fare without Roseanne? L.A. Times TV critic Lorraine Ali shares her thoughts.

Muslim comedian Mo Amer once sat next to Eric Trump on an international flight. That's just one of many stories in his Netflix special "Vagabond." In the wake of Jamal Khashoggi's disapperance, Hollywood rethinks its relationship with Saudi Arabia. Plus, how Dieter Ruehle came to be the Dodgers' organist.

The popular politics podcast launches a weekly TV version on HBO leading up to the mid-term elections; the ReelAbilities Film Festival showcases movies and conversations to gain a greater appreciation of opportunities and challenges for differently-abled people.

The digital platform provides opportunities for comedy shows like "Everything Is Fine!"; the annual VF Summit draws the biggest names in Hollywood and Silicon Valley; Desert Daze claims a space on the music festival landscape.

Fox Searchlight invested a lot in "The Birth of a Nation," but now an old rape case against filmmaker Nate Parker has re-surfaced; Laika Studios CEO Travis Knight makes his directing debut with "Kubo"; pianist and composer Manuel Lima is spending 10 days inside a cube on the Sunset Strip.

The acclaimed cellist's interests in world music and education cross paths in The Silk Road Ensemble; a former policeman who's appeared multiple times on "COPS" says scripted TV has created unreasonable expectations for officers.

We continue our series on how police are depicted on TV with the creators of “COPS,” the longest-running reality show in TV history. Creator John Langley tells us about the show’s genesis and why it continues to be so popular; the Latino Comics Expo is unofficially known as the “Latino Comic-Con"; Comedy Central says Larry Wilmore's show failed to gain traction with viewers.

From refugee athletes to individual profiles, Olympics mini-docs are a big part of the broadcast and have been since the 1970s. NBC Sports' Jimmy Roberts joins us from Rio where he's reporting on his 16th Olympics; Part 2 of our look inside the Sundance Directors Lab, where eight budding filmmakers are encouraged to take risks and seize the opportunity of a lifetime.

We visit the Sundance Director's Lab where Robert Redford and a group of industry pros mentor up and coming filmmakers. Variety's chief TV critic Maureen Ryan breaks down the CBS news coming out of the Television Critics Association press tour; Colburn Conservatory of Music graduates endure stressful mock auditions to prepare for the real thing.

Actress Taraji P. Henson opens up about the career path that led her to her Emmy-nominated role of Cookie Lyon on the hit Fox show, "Empire"; amid the bad reviews for "Suicide Squad," we look at the unsustainable — but enduring — Hollywood business model of taking big swings at expensive movies in hopes of finding a franchise.

In our #CopsOnTV series, writer-producer Cheo Hodari Coker reveals what he learned about the LAPD while producing the police drama, "Southland," and how that connected with his experiences as a black man; the bad news/good news of NBC's Olympic ecosystem: broadcast viewership is down, but online streaming is booming.

In the first of a continuing series of conversations, former "Law & Order: SVU" executive producer Neal Baer says studios and networks want police to be depicted as heroes; how soon will virtual reality become a big thing in entertainment?

Stuntwoman and "American Ninja Warrior" contestant Jessie Graff teaches host John Horn some tricks of her trade; the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics has become a job for film directors; Aubrey Plaza's amateur basketball team, the Pistol Shrimps, has quite the following.

The comic actress' star-turn in "Ghostbusters" and another Emmy nod for "SNL" have her primed for bigger things; fans of the kids' show 'Doc McStuffins' are worried about the future of one of the few kids' shows with a black lead character; DanceSafe provides education and and even drug-testing at raves, but its hands are tied by a federal law.

Artist and animator Jorge Gutiérrez discusses the creative inspirations of the U.S.-Mexico border and the painting spree that led to his gallery show; HBO, Netflix and NBC face the press at the Television Critics Association; screenwriter, producer and former studio chief James Schamus makes his directorial debut with "Indignation."

Director Marc Osborne didn't want to make a straight-ahead adaptation of "The Little Prince," so he came up with a novel approach; "Equity" is the rare movie about Wall Street that stars and is made by women; Claire Boucher, aka Grimes, dissects her song, “Kill V. Maim.”