Fred Topel

Fred Topel has covered the entertainment industry since 1999 and specializes in film and TV celebrity interviews. He’s an expert on classic TV series such as Cheers, Seinfeld, and Gilmore Girls. Fred also covers new projects from Will Smith, Keanu Reeves, and Matthew McConaughey. He’s a member of the Television Critics Association and is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved critic.

Fred’s tenure as a film and TV journalist gives him a direct line to new seasons of TV and movie previews from his press junket participation, which provides readers with an inside look at what’s next in entertainment. He is particularly inspired by the ability of legacy series like Cobra Kai and Creed to bring back classic stories with new developments, and how new originals inspire the next generation — just like Karate Kid, Back to the Future, and Die Hard prompted his love for the industry.

Fred has watched every episode of The Simpsons, and collects movie magazines from the ’80s and ’90s (think Fangoria, Premiere, and CFQ) that occasionally provide inspiration for new articles. He follows the work of Outlaw Vern for his serious, critical approach to critiquing action films, and appreciates Vern’s ability to discover new talent who are making less conventional movies outside the studio settings.

Fred joined the Showbiz Cheat Sheet team in 2019 and is a graduate of Ithaca College. You can also see his work on /Film, Deadline, UPI, and many more on his Muck Rack profile. In addition to his social handles above, he tweets from @fredtopel.