Documentary backdrop image for TV Party (2005)

Documentary backdrop image for TV Party (2005)

200591 min0documentary

8.0/ 10(3 ratings)• TMDB

Art History Music History

TV Party

200591 min0documentary

8.0/ 10(3 ratings)• TMDB

Glenn O'Brien's public access show aired in New York City from 1978 to 1982 and featured guests like The Clash and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

“The TV show that's a party!”

Art History Music History

Genres

Director

Synopsis

Glenn O'Brien's public access show aired in New York City from 1978 to 1982 and featured guests like The Clash and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

People

Danny Vinik

Danny Vinikdirector

Danny Vinik

Danny Vinikwriter

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiatcast

David Bowie

David Bowiecast

Clem Burke

Synopsis

Glenn O'Brien stands at the helm of TV Party, a public access show that ran from 1978 to 1982 in New York City. Co-hosted by Chris Stein of Blondie and directed by Amos Poe, the program blends chaotic creativity with a unique style known as 'sub-realism.' Iconic guests like The Clash, Nile Rodgers, and Jean-Michel Basquiat contribute to its vibrant atmosphere. The documentary revisits this influential era through interviews with participants and original clips, drawing from 80 hours of archival footage.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Style Wars (1984)

Style Wars

1984•1h10m•★7.5TMDB

Subway graffiti artists in New York City created over 1,000 unique tags and murals during the late 1970s and early 1980s, transforming urban landscapes.

Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie (2013)

Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie

2013•1h27m•★6.0TMDB

The Morton Downey Jr. Show featured fistfights and a chaotic atmosphere, becoming a defining example of late 1980s television.

Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie

Pop Revolution: The 70s (2025)

Pop Revolution: The 70s

Four students were shot to death during a protest at a university, reflecting the tensions of the 1970s amid a backdrop of significant musical change.

Pop Revolution: The 70s

New York - Twin Parks Project - TV Channel 13 (2013)

New York - Twin Parks Project - TV Channel 13

In the Bronx, a citizens' movement launched the Twin Parks project to improve living conditions in a neighborhood that had shifted from 70% white to 80% Black and Puerto Rican since 1973.

New York - Twin Parks Project - TV Channel 13

Traveling to New York's Lower East Side (2023)

Traveling to New York's Lower East Side

During the 1970s, New York City's Lower East Side became an open-air marketplace for drugs, attracting a creative community amid rampant poverty and danger.

Traveling to New York's Lower East Side

Radio Daze (2025)

Radio Daze

In 2007, "The Midnight Barbecue" featured notable guests Tony Hawk and Shaun White at its final Camp Jeep event in Virginia.

Palestinian Hip Hop - Israel/Palestine (2008)

Palestinian Hip Hop - Israel/Palestine

20% of Israel's population identifies as Arab, yet they face significant social and economic challenges, which Palestinian hip hop artists address through their music.

Palestinian Hip Hop - Israel/Palestine

D.O.A.: A Right Of Passage (Special Edition) (2024)

D.O.A.: A Right Of Passage (Special Edition)

Punk rock culture in the late seventies is captured through interviews and live performances by iconic bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash, alongside infamous Sid & Nancy footage.

D.O.A.: A Right Of Passage (Special Edition)

Sound and Chaos: The Story of BC Studio (2026)

Sound and Chaos: The Story of BC Studio

Martin Bisi has recorded influential artists like Sonic Youth, Swans, and Iggy Pop at BC Studio in Brooklyn for over 30 years.

Sound and Chaos: The Story of BC Studio

Viva Elvis (2023 Biography) directed by Gerardo Rissotti (2024)

Viva Elvis (2023 Biography) directed by Gerardo Rissotti

Elvis Presley sold more than 1 billion records worldwide and starred in 33 films, becoming a key figure in 20th-century pop culture.

Viva Elvis (2023 Biography) directed by Gerardo Rissotti

You Don't Know Ivan Julian | Punk Rock Documentary | Full Movie (2025)

You Don't Know Ivan Julian | Punk Rock Documentary | Full Movie

Ivan Julian, a pioneering guitarist in New York's punk rock scene, reflects on his creative process and collaborations with notable artists like Richard Hell and Alejandro Escovedo.

You Don't Know Ivan Julian | Punk Rock Documentary | Full Movie

The Many Faces Of Rembrandt - Raiders of the Lost Art S02E03 - True Crime (2023)

The Many Faces Of Rembrandt - Raiders of the Lost Art S02E03 - True Crime

Rembrandt's artworks, created throughout his adult life, have been dispersed worldwide, each with its own unique history and significance.

The Many Faces Of Rembrandt - Raiders of the Lost Art S02E03 - True Crime

Explore TV Party

Cast & Crew Topics FAQ Stream

Where else to watch

Style Wars (1984)

Style Wars

1984•1h10m•★7.5TMDB

Subway graffiti artists in New York City created over 1,000 unique tags and murals during the late 1970s and early 1980s, transforming urban landscapes.

No digital watch option in your country

Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie (2013)

Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie

2013•1h27m•★6.0TMDB

The Morton Downey Jr. Show featured fistfights and a chaotic atmosphere, becoming a defining example of late 1980s television.

Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie

No digital watch option in your country

B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989 (2015)

B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989

2015•1h34m•★7.7TMDB

West Berlin in the 1980s became a center for creativity, featuring influential venues like SO36 and artists such as David Bowie and Nick Cave.

B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989

Paris Is Burning (1991)

Paris Is Burning

1991•1h18m•★8.0TMDB

Over six years, Jennie Livingston filmed the ball culture of New York City, capturing the lives of African American and Latino participants in the 1980s.

Paris Is Burning

All Tomorrow's Parties (2009)

All Tomorrow's Parties

2009•1h22m•★6.5TMDB

Over 30 bands, including Sonic Youth and Iggy and the Stooges, perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival, captured through fan-generated footage.

All Tomorrow's Parties

Studio 54 (2018)

Studio 54

2018•1h38m•★6.5TMDB

Studio 54, the iconic New York City nightclub founded by Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, became a cultural phenomenon in the 1970s, shaping nightlife with its exclusivity and celebrity allure.

The Pixar Story (2007)

The Pixar Story

2007•1h27m•★7.5TMDB

John Lasseter and key figures like Steve Jobs and Ed Catmull reflect on Pixar Animation Studios' evolution from a graphics company to an animation leader.

The Pixar Story

Browse more like this

Traveling to New York's Lower East Side (2023)

Traveling to New York's Lower East Side

During the 1970s, New York City's Lower East Side became an open-air marketplace for drugs, attracting a creative community amid rampant poverty and danger.

Traveling to New York's Lower East Side

No digital watch option in your country

D.O.A.: A Right Of Passage (Special Edition) (2024)

D.O.A.: A Right Of Passage (Special Edition)

Punk rock culture in the late seventies is captured through interviews and live performances by iconic bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash, alongside infamous Sid & Nancy footage.

D.O.A.: A Right Of Passage (Special Edition)

No digital watch option in your country

The Many Faces Of Rembrandt - Raiders of the Lost Art S02E03 - True Crime (2023)

The Many Faces Of Rembrandt - Raiders of the Lost Art S02E03 - True Crime

Rembrandt's artworks, created throughout his adult life, have been dispersed worldwide, each with its own unique history and significance.

The Many Faces Of Rembrandt - Raiders of the Lost Art S02E03 - True Crime

No digital watch option in your country

Wetlands Preserved: The Story of an Activist Nightclub (2010)

Wetlands Preserved: The Story of an Activist Nightclub

2010•1h33m•★7.0TMDB

On February 16, 1989, a former Chinese-food warehouse in Tribeca was transformed into a nightclub that combined music with activism.

Wetlands Preserved: The Story of an Activist Nightclub

Disco: Spinning The Story (2005)

Disco: Spinning The Story

2005•1h14m•★6.8TMDB

Disco music's rise in the 1970s is explored through insights from Gloria Gaynor, George Clinton, and Nile Rodgers, featuring performances by Donna Summer and the Bee Gees.

Disco: Spinning The Story

Black Flag: TV Party Target Video (1983)

Black Flag: TV Party Target Video

1983•30m•★7.8TMDB

Four live performances from Black Flag, including 'Rise Above' and 'Thirsty & Miserable,' were recorded at Target in San Francisco in 1981.

Black Flag: TV Party Target Video

Zoo Confidential (2010)

Zoo Confidential

2010•1h33m•★7.0TMDB

Access was granted to life behind the scenes at a major zoo located in Houston, Texas, revealing daily operations and animal care.

Zoo Confidential

TWST / Things We Said Today (2025)

TWST / Things We Said Today

2025•1h31m•★8.0TMDB

About 100 hours of 16mm newsreel and nearly 100 hours of 8mm amateur footage were used to depict the Beatles' historic concert at Shea Stadium.

TWST / Things We Said Today

Liquid Vinyl (2005)

Liquid Vinyl

2005•1h24m•★8.0TMDB

Superstar DJs discuss the history and future of electronic dance music, a genre that transformed club culture and elevated DJs to rock star status.

Here's a Piano I Prepared Earlier (2005)

Here's a Piano I Prepared Earlier

2005•49m•★7.0TMDB

Five musicians in the 1960s used unconventional methods like stuffing pianos with hay and rolling dice to select notes, challenging traditional music composition.

Here's a Piano I Prepared Earlier

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →