Television

by Lauren Rothery

Bojack Horseman meets Joan Didion in this smart, sly, and irresistibly stylish debut novel about a jaded movie star and the two differently conflicted women in his orbit.

An aging, A-list movie star lotteries off the entirety of his mega-million blockbuster salary to a member of the general viewing public before taking up with a much younger model. His non-famous best friend (and often lover) looks on impassively, while recollecting their twenty-odd years of unlikely connection. And an aspiring filmmaker, unknown to them both, labors over a script about best friends and lovers while longing for the financial freedom to make great art.

Told in their alternating, intricately linked perspectives, Television is a funny, philosophically astute novel about phenomenal luck, whether windfall or chance encounter. Like Joan Didion’s classic Play It as It Lays, but speaking to a since irrevocably changed Hollywood, it portrays a culture in crisis and the disparities in wealth, beauty, talent, gender, and youth at the heart of contemporary American life. In this glittering but strange new world, lit up by social media and streaming services—what, if not love, can be counted in your favor?

With plays in chronology, stretches of bright, nimble dialogue, and a profoundly modern style, Lauren Rothery’s debut novel is a slim but arresting feat of literary impressionism, and marks the welcome arrival of a significant new talent to the landscape of American fiction.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Adult, Ebooks, Audiobook, The United States Of America

256 pages, Hardcover

First published December 2, 2025

Reviews

[Maria Dora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Television is a sharp debut. Lauren Rothery writes with a cool and perceptive voice, capturing the strange mix of intimacy and isolation that comes with fame, art, and ambition. I especially admired the way the story shifts between three distinct voices, each grappling with success and longing in their own way.

At times, the emotional distance of the prose made it a slower read for me, but I think that restraint is part of what Rothery is exploring. The characters disconnect from their own desires and from each other, but I found myself rooting for Helen. If you loved the Apple series “The Studio”, this book is 100% for you.

A bold, stylish first novel from a writer I'll definitely be following.

*this was an ARC kindly provided by Ecco / Harper Collins & NetGalley

[Elizabeth Tuttle · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever taken Intro to Sociology, you know Durkheim has a whole thing about balancing integration and regulation - people require a moderate balance of their connections to their community and rules to guide their behavior or else they lose their shit. And few things are more deregulating than wealth and fame. Above all else, this novel romanticizes the regulation consistency provides. What if we rejected the social script of constantly chasing wealth and innovation and instead accepted and valued what (and who) is in front of us?

Television is told from three perspectives: Verity, our sometimes-sober actor lotterying off his salary from a dumb movie franchise he hates, his sometimes-lover best friend Helen, and a young, aspiring screenwriter using her art to reflect on the nature of relationships. The story does not have as much depth as the "Bojack Horseman meets Joan Didion" description would imply and I would have liked a greater differentiation in voice between Verity and Helen, but there's something quite charming about the enduring dynamic between the two friends as they reflect on their own histories and desires. The book also touches on youth/beauty and age gaps, but does so without a moralizing standpoint which I appreciated.

The prose and social observation make this a strong debut, I'll be happy to keep an eye out for future novels by Rothery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Stefan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*, maybe. Liked a lot of it (some great lines, and I enjoyed reading about Verity and Helen), but some choices were strange (why bother with Phoebe’s chapters, for example?). Seemed unfinished, in some ways — it seemed to get shallower as the book progressed. There was a vagueness to the story that was probably meant to be a “stylistic” choice, but ultimately felt more like the author just didn’t know how to write it. Still, an interesting read and I’ll keep my eyes out for the author’s next book.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but didn't find myself excited to read it. It felt both old and current, the mention of cell phones (called rectangles) was really the only giveaway that it was current day. I really enjoyed Helen and didn't really understand why Phoebe was brought in until the end. Some great scenes, interesting format, and a quick read.

[Ruben · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

Lauren Rothery can certainly write and her characters are sharp, independent thinkers.

The story is about the friendship/relationship between a playwright and a movie star who decides gives to away his salary in a lottery.

Although I found the ideas original, as a novel it left me kind of cold. Themes are fame and looks vs quality... When everything felt read to come together, unfortunately the story just continued plodding along.

[Misha · Rating 2 out of 5]

(rounded down from 2.25)

I couldn't tell you what this was even about or why we even had Phoebe chapters. A complete mystery with characters who feel really shallow and talk incredibly inauthentically with each other about literally nothing, and there is also not really any plot aside from the lottery concept. I have absolutely no idea what went on, but there were some interesting sentences now and then, so it wasn't a total wash, but close enough, honestly.

[Delainie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is not it.

[Vincent Scarpa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some scattered thoughts on this one follow. I couldn't make them cohere because I'm achey all over from two vaccines yesterday. Blah blah blah...

**

By the end, I was more or less sold on the project of this novel, which came as something of a surprise considering at the halfway mark I wasn't sure I'd finish it. There's a considerable stretch in the middle where I lost interest, but I was also moving at the time — it's possible I would've been more engaged throughout under more accommodating circumstances.

**

I have to say: Were I Rothery, I would've fought tooth and nail not to have my novel compared to Play it as It Lays on the back cover. Even if my novel were reminiscent of Didion's classic, which — and it's not a fault of Television's — Television just isn't: Rothery's interests seem to me vastly different from Didion's; her style is impressive in its own right but it's not as chiseled or cool or cruel as Didion's; etc.

**

I don't want to give a false impression, though: there is much to be impressed by here — the sentences most of all. I loved this passage, for example:

“Some people you meet them and you imagine this movie together. The two of you make a kind of movie and then it’s over. Other people, what you imagine isn’t a movie, because it keeps going. It’s television. Maybe that won’t make sense to you if you’re twenty and used to watching about three hundred things at one time, but television was when you wanted to tune in every Monday at eight o’clock, week after week, for years. Even after the whole series ended, you’d tune in for the reruns. It wasn't about the plot, you just weren’t tired of them yet. It didn’t need to be sexy. It was romantic. If you can’t see how romantic television is, you're blind.”

**

I was ultimately quite charmed by the relationship Verity and Helen manage to navigate with one another, impossible-seeming though it was at times.

**

Ultimate verdict: I'll keep an eye out for Rothery's next.

[Ava ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Such moments, apparently, were not to be pursued. I don’t know why, don’t ask me. It didn’t make any sense to me that such moments should so reliably start fires, but my entire adult life supported the affirmative. Who the hell should care if I went on a bender for two and a half weeks? I always came back. Who the hell should care?”

(4.5 ★) Many long passages in this book could exemplify its stunning prose, but to quote them adequately would require quite a bit context- and that, to me, is a sure sign of some really good writing. Lauren Rothery puts a damn good foot forward with this character-driven debut, and I was pleasantly surprised by its ability to live up to the likes of Joan Didion and Bojack Horseman, as mentioned in the summary.

When you meet Verity, you recognize Bojack instantly- they’re both the kind of brooding, self-sabotaging alcoholic man with the charm to get by, but not the self-awareness to make any sort of change. I’m very drawn to characters like this, but was even more attached to Verity specifically because he didn’t frustrate me as much as Bojack does. Helen, too, drew me in with her practicality and casual observations, and together the duo made for about 250 pages worth of very “LA in the 60s”-inspired storytelling. Phoebe was also a beloved character, adding a nostalgic, sort of whimsical narrative that balanced out Verity and Helen’s chaos.

I hadn’t really gotten the Didion comparison until the end, when you look back on what you read and realize it was a glimpse into a few people’s vaguely uninteresting lives, full of thoughts and completely lacking in plot. Understandably, this could be a turn-off for some, but I left with the same feeling I had after “Play It As It Lays” in the sense that you come for the vibe and leave with a better sense of how people are. The vintage sort of cynicism, too, was oddly such a delight to come back to- referring to cell phones as “rectangles,” recurring feelings of hopelessness as an artist, criticizing sellouts, the list goes on. You feel it kind of heavy, in the middle especially, in that Didion-esque way of not trying to be harsh, just honest. Because of this, Television was one of my favorite reads this year and I’ll absolutely be one of the first in line for Rothery’s next novel.

Advanced readers copy provided by NetGalley.

[Scott Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Television by Lauren Rothery is a satire of Hollywood and the movie industry. The plot is a little thin and occasionally hard to follow; the highlight is the prose. Rothery’s novel alternates first person chapters between Verity, an aging actor, and Helen, his companion, editor, and sounding board. About a third of the way through the book a screenwriter named Phoebe. There is more plot, but that is all you really need to know.

In some ways the novel owes something to the work of Joan Didion; for example:

Everybody thinks they’re Joan Didion when they write about the flowers or the river (location 490).

There are quite a few references to filmmakers such as Tarkovsky, Bergman, Bunuel, Satyjit Ray, Chaplin, Kurosawa, Scorsese, and others.

And there are many passages commenting on filmmaking I thought worth remembering:

The trouble with having an idea for a screenplay is you have to write the screenplay. A real idea for anything kind of haunts you. Whether you know how to do it or not. I hate writing. But you have to. God help you if you’re one of those people who just talks about writing something (location 1379).

Kurosawa said that even a great director could not make a good movie with a bad script (location 1946).

Let me just end this review by quoting the only time I found the word television.

The two of you make a kind of movie and then it’s over. Other people, what you imagine isn’t a movie, because it keeps going. It’s television. Maybe that won’t make sense to you if you’re twenty and used to watching about three hundred things at one time, but television was when you wanted to tune in every Monday at eight o’clock, week after week, for years. Even after the whole series ended, you’d tune in for the reruns. It wasn’t about the plot, you just weren’t tired of them yet. It didn’t need to be sexy. It was romantic. If you can’t see how romantic television is, you’re blind.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a free copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

epub. 256 pgs. 30 September 2025. Scheduled for publication 2 December 2025.

[Mayra Kalaora · Rating 4 out of 5]

i loved this book. i didn’t want to put it down. the writing was really awesome. it had many good sentences. it didn’t really go anywhere but i think that’s fine. that’s probably the point. i cannot believe the synopsis begins with “bojack horseman meets joan didion.” who let that happen. i can’t wait to see what else ms. rothery puts out

[Lydia Hephzibah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4

setting: USA
rep: n/a

This one is all about the prose and the style rather than the plot, of which there isn't much, but I really enjoyed the writing once I got into the book - took me a few chapters to sink in. the audiobook was well narrated and the three narrators really helped, though I was really put off in Phoebe's first two chapters because anytime she's speaking when she's in France, there's a second voice speaking the French beneath her English and it was completely disorienting

[Michelle]

I'm hoping this is a book version of la la land meets daisy jones and the six by taylor jenkins reid with a dash of "shots on the hood of my car" by Kesha. Basically, I want at least one degenerate and /or a tragic figure that makes it in the end.

[df parizeau · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I appreciate the gall to try to write satire in 2025, Hollywood has been done. This was a total snooze fest with about as much excitement and character as a box of digestive cookies.

[Sofia Jeličić · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think a book can be thought of as well-written when you find yourself wishing the author had done some thinks a bit different, but find yourself reading nonetheless. This was exactly what the novel was like for me. It was a quick read, starting off with a very strong premise which becomes more and more abstract as the story unfolds, it felt as though there were gaps appearing throughout the plot (if there even was one), and that it became very difficult to realize what was happening. The characters were brilliant, and you can obviously spot the talent for prose, and the writing itself was very interestingly half-british half-american sounding. However, as I do not live in LA among television people, are they really like this? The dialogue made little sense to me and mostly just seemed nauseatingly pretentious. And I think the whole thing might have worked so much better if it was simply longer and there was more thought given to the very interesting, yet abandoned, story, and less to undecipherable abstractions. The experience of being an artist was very personally portrayed, and was one of the most interesting aspects of it. So I'm very torn on this book, but I can't give it less than four stars because it really did set a certain mood (very reminiscent of Play it As it Lays), and for a first novel it's extremely accomplished. I look forward to more of her work.

[Callum Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten years ago I wrote a fanfiction in which one of the characters called the cigarettes he smoked “death sticks” and everytime any of the narrators in this book called a cellphone a “rectangle” I got flashbacks to writing that fanfiction and thinking I was super cool and edgy. At first, I thought it was funny and a good quip since it was the aging characters who said it and I took it as a kind of rejection of technological advancements while still acknowledging their presence. But then the mid-twenties character said it and I lost faith.

There was nothing tying me to this novel or these characters. It felt like watching a sitcom with too many laugh track additions—if the audience has to tell me what’s funny or what’s smart or what’s existential, what is the point of the story? Honestly I was just bored.

And the ending too was pretty bad, but it was just like the rest of the book where things just happened and you could wonder why or you could just keep going without a care.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Television by Lauren Rothery. The characters, their dynamics and banter, it all worked for me. Filled with thought provoking lines, I found myself flying through this book over the course of a night.

Told through three POVs, I felt each character had a clear distinct voice and it was interesting how their perspectives played off one another.

The blurb caught my interest - “Bojack Horseman meets Joan Didion in this smart, sly, and irresistibly stylish debut novel about a jaded movie star and the two differently conflicted women in his orbit”. If it piques your interest too, I’d highly recommend adding this novel to your TBR

Thank you @eccobooks for a copy of this fantastic book in exchange for an honest review

[James B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Ecco for the ebook. In a small diner in LA, Helen keeps seeing the most startlingly handsome young man. She eventually talks to him. She eventually takes him home. And there he stays until he becomes one of the biggest actors in the film industry. They stay touchstones in each other’s lives as we follow them through the years including when he comes up with a wild scheme to lottery off his film salary, open to anyone with a ticket stub for the film.

[ariana⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆]

YOU HAD ME AT BOJACK HORSEMAN!!!! my fav tv show ever

[Tom Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good. I would have liked the ending more if things turned out worse for everyone.

[Paula W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Ecco, Lauren Rothery (author), and Libro.fm for providing a free audiobook of Television narrated by Lauren Rothery, Rebecca Lowman, and Paul Michael. Their generosity did not influence my review in any way.

Although this is Lauren Rothery’s debut novel, I have listened to multiple audiobooks narrated by Rebecca Lowman and Paul Michael, and they are always great. No complaints about them.

The book itself, however, was not for me. I feel sure I will be in the minority on this one, but I didn’t enjoy it. It has a wonky chronology, not much of a plot, mostly unlikable characters who are even apathetic about their own story, and what the blurb calls “a profoundly modern style” which I guess covers the odd structure and some other things. I feel like the author should have picked one of those instead of all of those. It was too much chaos for me.

There is good stuff in here, and I will definitely keep my eye on this author for future projects. 2.5 stars.

[Melody]

This had pretty strong “literary debut” energy in every possible sense, but there were enough good sentences that I’m curious to see where Rothery goes next.

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[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is never enough. There is never–but you probably now that. from Television by Lauren Rothery

Verity was stunningly handsome and a successful actor in a role he disdained. Helen, his friend and sometimes lover, a screenwriter, is necessary to him, but he can’t help but take up with other women who are drawn by his fame, most recently one way too young. But he returns to Helen.

In another storyline, a struggling young writer, Phoebe, is floundering, success elusive; her script versions are included in the novel.

He was stalked by millions all his life. He was always famous to himself. Odds are, you either think you deserve your good luck or your bad luck. from Television by Lauren Rothery

Verity decides to give away the proceeds from his latest “sorry excuse” of a movie. Ticket holders are put into a lottery. It drives up sales and profits. “…I try to give it away and it just boomerangs back to me,” he complains. He has enough. Streaming services pick up on the idea, and movie theater sales tank.

It is a thin plot. But the beauty of the book is in the writing.

There are SO many great sentences and paragraphs.

“That’s what moving forward in your life ought to sound like. Metal gears grinding.”

“The light in the penthouse felt sort of stale, as though the sun had been left out too long.”

“There are things that will upset your balance in the British Museum.”

“I wasn’t bored of her. I was bored of how I acted around her.”

And my Sunday Sentence(s): “That feeling. Fear and joy. Irritation without mark. A nauseating, awful, pleasurable longing. Like craving a cigarette without knowing what a cigarette is.”

I loved references to things I love, movies, and writers. Talking in a “Herzog accent.” Quoting Tennyson’s Tears, Idle Tears. Limelight as a favorite Charlie Chaplin movie. Watching the Twilight Zone and It Happened One Night. A quote from Hannah Arrendy. References to Joan Didion/Dominic Dunne and Sylvia Plath/Ted Hughes.

And my favorite thing of all: Verity’s singing Barrett’s Privateers by Stan Rogers. How many times did my husband and I burst out singing that song while traveling in the car, listening to Fogerty’s Cove? Wondering if it was a bad influence on our son, singing “Goddam them all” in the chorus.

This modern sea shanty tells the story of a teenage sailor who goes to sea hoping to capture a Yankee ship. The crew would get a portion of the spoils. Sounded like easy money: “we’d fire no guns, shed no tears,” but the ramshackle ship is blown up in the battle, leaving him “a broken man” without legs, the sole survivor.

The dreams of wealth, the lies that lure you, the brutal reality of your choices, being left broken, how surviving isn’t always happy–this song is Verity’s lament, and too often our own lament. Having it all and success can be as brutal as striving and failing. Answered prayers and dreams deferred leave their marks. Are we all destined to be left broken?

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.

[Collins Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lauren Rothery's Television is a sharp, incisive exploration of fame, intimacy, and the economics of desire in contemporary Hollywood. This debut is deceptively slim but devastatingly effective a novel that understands how wealth and celebrity distort human connection in ways both grotesque and heartbreaking.
Rothery's command of structure is immediately apparent. The three interlocking perspectives the aging movie star, his non-famous confidante/lover, and the struggling filmmaker create a prismatic view of an industry and culture in freefall. The comparison to Joan Didion's Play It as It Lays is apt, but Rothery brings her own distinctly modern sensibility: this is Hollywood refracted through streaming services, social media metrics, and the precarity of creative labor in the 21st century.
What impressed me most is Rothery's restraint. The prose is spare, the dialogue crackles with intelligence, and there's a philosophical rigor here that never feels academic or overwrought. She captures the particular loneliness of proximity to fame how being adjacent to massive wealth and recognition can feel both intoxicating and annihilating. The non-famous friend's voice, in particular, is rendered with remarkable emotional precision.
The novel's treatment of gender, age, and economic disparity feels urgent and unflinching without being didactic. Rothery trusts her readers to draw connections, to sit with the uncomfortable questions about what we value and why. This is literary fiction at its best: formally adventurous, culturally astute, and deeply human.
Television announces Lauren Rothery as a major new voice in American fiction. Highly recommended for readers who appreciate autofiction, experimental structure, and incisive cultural critique.

[Surya Pratap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Television by Lauren Rothery is a quiet but striking exploration of how media, memory, and modern loneliness shape our lives. Rothery writes with a soft, observant voice—nothing dramatic, yet everything deeply human. The book feels like scrolling through late-night channels, each chapter revealing pieces of a life we often overlook in the rush of everyday noise.

Rothery’s strength lies in capturing small moments that feel strangely universal. A commercial playing in the background becomes a reminder of forgotten dreams, a sitcom laugh track feels like a mask over real emotions, and the simple act of watching TV becomes a mirror to the characters’ inner worlds. The writing is intimate, almost poetic, and gives a sense of drifting between reality and reflection.

What makes this book special is its ability to turn a common object—a television—into a powerful symbol of connection and escape. Rothery invites us to question how much of our lives are lived passively, consumed through screens, and how much meaning we miss when we stop paying attention to our own stories.

Overall, Television is thoughtful, atmospheric, and emotionally subtle. It’s the kind of book that lingers in your mind long after the final page, making you reconsider the quiet spaces in your life.

[Agnes Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Television is one of the most unexpectedly absorbing novels I’ve read in a long time. Lauren Rothery has this remarkable ability to capture both the shimmer and the hollowness of modern celebrity culture with writing that feels effortless but cuts deep.

The alternating perspectives are handled beautifully, each voice feels distinct, conflicted, and painfully human. The aging movie star is equal parts fascinating and tragic, and the best-friend/lover dynamic adds a surprising emotional tenderness. But the aspiring filmmaker might be the character who stayed with me the most; her longing, ambition, and frustration felt incredibly real.

The whole book has this cool, impressionistic style that reminded me of Joan Didion, but with a contemporary bite that makes it feel fresh rather than imitative. It’s smart, stylish, and deeply observant, a satire that still cares about the people inside it.

Slim, sharp, and full of insight, Television is the kind of novel you can read in a single sitting but think about for days. Highly recommended.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rothery’s prose shines here in her debut novel. Television is strong on characterization, but may disappoint those looking for a stronger plot. The 3 main characters are: Verity, a popular aging Hollywood actor; Helen, his best friend, sometime lover; and a young screenwriter Phoebe. Each character alternates telling their story. Verity, tired of his career, decides to run a lottery and give away the proceeds from his latest film.

The galley of audio edition has a few problems. Rothery reads the part of Phoebe and her voice is weak compared to the more experienced Rebecca Lowman and Paul Micheal. Also the Phoebe chapters when she is in France have another voice speaking French underneath her English dialog. I’d really like to know what the production team thought they were doing here? It’s beyond irritating and totally disorienting for listeners.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wowowow just relentlessly insightful, funny, weird, cultured--in an interesting, interested to be alive way, not a pretentious irritating way. I am in general a Plot Woman but even though nothing much happens in these pages I was breathlessly interested the entire time. (While noting that two of the three POVs were markedly more delightful than the third.) This is one of those books you savor over the course of days, and because of its plotlessness you're never lost, just instantly rapt by its intelligence about the human condition (again: in a fun and funny way, if very dry and clear) and engaged by its characters and their tastes and the places--LA diners, European beaches, the sides of highways--they move through. I picked it up at a bookstore to read one page and just couldn't stop. A real 2025 sleeper hit for me.

[D]

This debut novel came highly recommended but didnt totally hold my attention. Verity and Helen seemed flat and allegorical in a way that was intermittently entertaining, and the sort of big bang scene near the end was the best writing in the book, but also they just made me hate LA (I think this book hates LA too). There’s the question or tension here around men who pick hot women over smart complicated ones, and this book felt written on behalf of the smart complicated ones, but I’ve stopped finding that question so interesting as I’ve gotten older and realized most men are kinda just misogynists. Helen is wasting her time!

The Phoebe sections felt pretentious to me, which I imagine was the point, but they were kind of unbearable to get through.