Wallace Shawn may recently have become eligible for Social Security, but the 65-year-old writer and actor shows no signs of slowing down. His latest play, Grasses of a Thousand Colors, had its London premiere in May; he has a recurring role on the hit TV series Gossip Girl; and a collection of his nonfiction, Essays, was just released this week. Tablet Magazine recently spoke to Shawn about his youthful ambitions, Judaism’s place in his life and work; and how Gossip Girl may be the key to Mideast peace.

What kind of person would go on a reality dating show with his mother in tow, giving every potential love connection the once-over? A nice Jewish boy, of course—one like Antonio Sabato Jr., the Italian-born heartthrob best known for gracing a 90-foot Times Square billboard wearing only his Calvin Klein briefs and a sultry half-smile.

Before there was Lucille Ball, there was Gertrude Berg. On the same network, in fact: Berg’s show, The Goldbergs, aired in primetime on CBS-TV when Ball’s antics were still confined to the network’s radio station. But, while Lucy is constantly in reruns, Berg—who, according to Aviva Kempner’s new documentary Yoo Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg, virtually invented ...

If you heard that Jaleel White, aka ur-nerd Steve Urkel from ’90s sitcom Family Matters, is starring in a Web-only TV show as a groom-to-be planning his wedding to a Jewish woman, you’d be forgiven for finding the news somewhat astounding. But the real surprise is that the series, Road to the Altar, is actually ...

Kings, which returned to NBC two weeks ago, is a modern re-imagining of the life of David, making it the only show on television to use the Old Testament as source material. Set in the modern city-kingdom of Shiloh, and awash in biblical allusions, Kings is also a political drama relevant to our time, where ...

If you’re a casting director in New York, you know that sooner or later, you’ll be asked to assemble a crowd of Hasidic-looking extras. But Hasidic characters are tricky to cast: secular actors usually need to be painstakingly outfitted with sidelocks, beards, and long black coats, and most actual ultra-Orthodox Jews tend to be leery ...

The new NBC drama Kings debuted last Sunday, offering a modern rendering of the Biblical story of David, complete with Shiloh, belligerent Philistines, and Goliath (in this case, a tank). In lieu of an episode guide, check out Robert Pinsky’s The Life of David, a Nextbook/Schocken book just published in paperback. In Matthew Brogan’s 2005 ...