While Berlin doesn’t bring anything new to the heist genre, the charm of Alonzo as Berlin makes the prequel worth watching for both fans of Money Heist and newcomers to the franchise.

The central mystery of Boglands is definitely intriguing enough to keep viewers interested, but we liked the fact that the characters’ personalities are solidly established before the investigation gets started.

The reason why Last Call: When A Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York is watchable is that it’s not just about a bunch of related murders, but about just how uphill of a climb the LGBTQIA+ community had in New York and elsewhere during a time that wasn’t all that long ago.

If The Anarchists were just about the movement itself, it would be boring and enraging. But because it’s about how the movement got infiltrated by people who made things increasingly chaotic and violent, we’re ready to see where the rest of the series goes.

Fallout does a good job drawing viewers into its expansive world without needing a ton of exposition to explain what’s going on. It helps that the show is visually stunning and filled with fine performances by Goggins, Purnell and others.

While some aspects of Everyone Else Burns might get repetitive in a hurry, there is more than enough stories revolving around the Lewises trying to live in the world while prepping for Doomsday to make for a pretty funny show with well-rounded characters.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story finds room to tell more complex tales of courtship, marriage, and forbidden love than the core series does. It’s the soapier aspect of Queen Charlotte that I found the most interesting, even if it took a while for all the pieces of the drama to fall into place.

The New Look may spiral into ridiculousness as the story gets away from its World War II beginnings, but it starts off as a unsparing look at how two French designers dealt with being under Nazi occupation.

Colors pop, details come out, and if you’ve got a big screen, some of the visuals are immersive. So, how is Obama as a narrator? He’s OK. His tone is more Policy Wonk Obama than Surprisingly Funny Obama or Soaring Orator Obama, but there are moments where his wryness comes through.

While Clipped lacks focus at times, the story of V. Stiviano outing Donald Sterling as a virulent racist is too well-done to not recommend the show.

Malcolm In The Middle: Life’s Still Unfair brings the original series’ chaotic energy to the 2020s, taking into account that the chaos just needs to be a little bit different nowadays.

Altered Carbon: Resleeved won’t knock anyone’s socks off, but it effectively pleases newcomers and hardcores alike.

A Thousand Blows does a good job of tying its stories together well, and tries to keep the action going in the process.

It would have been interesting for Unsolved Mysteries to get the authorities on record. But according to a postscript, those agencies denied a request to speak.

Tracker works mainly because Justin Hartley doesn’t try to reinvent his acting style to play Colton Shaw. And the show has just enough of a backstory, and quirky side characters, to give viewers reasons to tune in beyond the case-of-the-week stories.

The supernatural aspect of Harlan Coben’s Lazarus makes the series a bit different than most Coben mysteries. But at its heart it’s still a solid Coben murder mystery, with undertones about family history and relationships.

Despite our objections, On Pointe is still an interesting look at something we usually only see on scripted TV shows, exaggerated to dramatic effect. It shows that the life of a ballet student isn’t nearly as dramatic as what you see on shows like Tiny Pretty Things.

While there are a ton of head-scratching aspects of Blindspotting, there’s more than enough to recommend, especially the performances of Cephas Jones and Barron.

The seventh season of Virgin River isn’t doing much more than keeping the story moving at the pace it set back in its first season in 2019. But that’s what fans want, which is why the show will go as long as Netflix and the producers want it to go.

Crouch and his writers aren’t trying to confuse the viewers. As far as science fiction stories like this go, it’s a refreshing approach. .... Edgerton does a good job of showing both Jasons’ motivations.

Cassandra’s spirited opener is entertaining, and even though it points toward more predictable plot developments, it’s still worth sticking with for another episode or two.

Janet Jackson’s reticence to reveal herself is well known, especially when it comes to her personal life, so this doc’s access is very much without precedent. But it’s also revealing in its wealth of incredible archival footage.

As a dating show, Jewish Matchmaking is very watchable, especially because Aleeza is funny and warm and because most of her clients are really keeping an open mind. But it’s not really going to give non-Jewish viewers any real insight into the traditions and mores surrounding marriage in the various sects of the community.

While Rescue: HI-Surf isn’t the deepest drama we’ve seen, the rescue scenes combined with Wells’ knowledge of how to build characters around the action give us confidence that the series has potential.

Invasion is as much about human relationships that evolve in the face of an extinction event as much as it is about thwarting the invasion, and reestablishing these relationships, and introducing us to some new ones, will go a long way in not making this season feel like a rehash.

If you want to see a pretty straightforward series about two best friends going down different paths, then the gentle drama of The Makanai: Cooking For The Maiko House should fill the bill.

The writers and animators of WondLa do a good job of bringing Tony DiTerlizzi’s vision of an evolved Earth to life, and the voice cast is able to make the show funny and accessible to adults as well as kids.

Reasonable Doubt might not be as crazy as it was during its first season, but Emayatzy Corinealdi’s lead performance as Jax is as strong as ever.

Fire Country might be taking a bit of a soapier turn, but the fire rescue scenes are still well done, and the now-well-established cast work well together.

Followers moves a little slowly, but it’s visually stunning and is a good illustration of how people’s lives come down to numbers on social media.

While Obama: In Pursuit Of A More Perfect Union is likely more reverent than most people might like, it’s still an effective portrait of a president whose desire was to unite instead of divide.

Mastermind: To Think Like A Killer is an interesting look at the fascinating career of Dr. Ann Burgess, highlighting how she changed the way law enforcement looked at rape victims as well as serial killers.

Fans of Nailed It! will enjoy The Big Nailed It Baking Challenge, but we wonder if they’ll start tuning out once the contestants actually start nailing their challenges for real.

While we’re not in love with the separate storylines for the show’s main characters, season 3 of Dark Winds continues to combine Native mysticism with whodunits rooted in the real world, all anchored by the reassuring presence of McClarnon.

Season 4 of The Lincoln Lawyer retains its light touch, even though its main character is fighting a shocking murder charge from his jail cell.

Tracker has streamlined its storytelling once again in Season 3, and the show is better for it. What we hope is that Colter gets more complex cases like the one that involved The Process, while he tries to figure out how to confront his mother about his father’s death.

The Spencer Sisters is the type of show you might end up binging if you’re at home and not feeling great this coming fall. You’ll certainly be entertained by it, even if you don’t remember much about it after you’re done.

The sleeper stars of this first episode of season five are obviously the actors who get to play younger versions of the show’s core characters. ... Season 5 of Yellowstone, its longest yet, has the future of the Duttons, their ranch, and the complexion of the state they call home in its steady rifle sights.

While there isn’t a ton of character development as The Rig starts, the acting is excellent, and it makes the tension that’s building on the Kinloch Bravo feel palpable.

The Confessions Of Frannie Lanington succeeds because of the performance of Karla-Simone Spence, despite some disjoined storytelling that leaves viewers in the dark about some aspects of the story.

Delilah is a flawed but enjoyable law series that has a strong cast. We just wish the mystery that will carry the season was a bit more fleshed out.

The world that Andy Greenwald has set up in Briarpatch is one that’s worth visiting, despite the heavy hand on quirk.

It’s nice that Legacy makes its main character’s white-haired life in retirement believable, and not just as a prop to keep him in the orbit of LA law and order.

Even though we don’t completely buy the chemistry between Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This is funny enough, and the supporting characters robust enough, to keep us watching to see if Bell and Brody’s characters mesh a little better.

Black Doves isn’t going to blow you away with some revolutionary spy story. But the story is intriguing enough, and is improved by the chemistry between Knightley and Whishaw, with a big assist from Lancashire.

It’s good enough to stay with, that’s for sure. It does feel like, though, that the aliens are going to be beside the point in this show, kind of like the zombies became after the first season of The Walking Dead. And we’re not sure we want to see yet another series where other people are way worse than the unknown enemy that’s invading our world.

Despite our reservations about Delevingne as the host of Planet Sex With Cara Delevingne, the show manages to cover a lot of ground and still be informative about topics we thought we already knew a lot about.

Fans of Party Down, whether you watched it in the pre-Instagram days or caught up on it just recently, will eventually enjoy the show’s third season, but they may have to wade through a few disappointing episodes first.

We’ve only seen one episode, so it’s hard to say whether this new cast will actually resonate with the audience. But from what’s been shown so far, they certainly seem to have potential.

Pooch Perfect is great “folding laundry TV” because it’s light and fun, but the dogs and the groomers’ personalities will make you start rooting for some teams over others.

We’re going to stick with The Dropout because of Seyfried’s pitch-perfect performance as Holmes as well as the myriad guest actor performances that are already looking promising by the end of the first episode. We just hope that the show doesn’t continue to make Holmes the hero of her own story.

Love Fraud gets off to an interesting start, and only promises to get weirder and more interesting from there.

Red Rose starts off on solid footing, setting up a season full scary twists and turns that we hope don’t get too ridiculous.

Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage has a leg up on most of Lorre’s sitcoms because it starts with characters we already know and care about. Because of that, Lorre and company can delve into the more emotional parts of their relationships and let the funny come when it comes. There were a few funny moments during the first two episodes, but we hope those laughs come more often as the show becomes more established.

Despite some languid pacing and a surprising lack of laughs, the chemistry among the cast of The Four Seasons saves the show from being a pale remake of a film that was well-regarded 44 years ago.

With its vocals only, visuals denied structure, Building the Band could be a novel concept in a crowded field of reality-style singing competitions. Who knows if any of the bands these singers form will coalesce.

Wu-Tang: An American Saga mirrors and honors the expansive nature and broad range of creativity that defined Wu-Tang themselves, even if it sometimes struggles to hammer the whole thing into straightforward TV series storytelling.

Despite not really having a good idea how the show is going to get to its destination, the performances by Portman and Ingram make Lady In The Lake worth watching, hoping against hope that the story comes together at some point before the end of the season.

The Feud On Shelbury Drive does a fine job of spinning what seems to be a small dispute into a thriller that anyone who has an issue with their neighbors can relate to.

Dream Productions continues to effectively expand the Inside Out universe, which seems to know no bounds, given the fact that a preteen’s brain is so darn complicated.

Law & Order: Organized Crime isn’t “classic” L&O, but it’s got an intriguing continuing storyline and two fantastic leads.

As much as it feels like it’s two docuseries combined into a big unwieldy mess, Our Universe‘s graphics, photography and narration still make it a compelling watch.

Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1 retains the charm of past seasons, but it often feels like two clashing shows, competing for ultimate attention. .... My only hope is that that drama can be a bit more streamlined, a bit more sexy, and bit more focused on our wonderful season leads when Part 2 rolls out on February 26.

The tone of the show can be a bit too cheeky at times, but it does have a light touch, and Melanie’s almost-giddy sex-positive personality certainly helps the shy couples open up.

Faraway Downs doesn't entirely fix the criticism of white saviorism that Australia received. That would’ve been an impossible feat given Lady Sarah's character. That said, the series spends more time with the Aboriginal characters and expands on their origin story and aspirations, rather than casting them to the wayside. Overall, the series transforms the lukewarm drama into the grand epic that Luhrmann originally set out to make.

If you liked Season 2 of Search Party then Season 3 is more of the same. If you were shocked by the show’s dark turn at the end of the first season, though, don’t expect the show to go back to that season’s tone.

Couple Trouble is super-relatable, and light enough to make sure you’re not going to fight with your SO after watching it.

With Kreese back in the center of the action, everyone working towards Sekai Taikai and an extended final season in 2024 and “final battle” in 2025 on the horizon, we can see Hurwitz, Schlossberg and Heald focusing and being able to bring Cobra Kai to the finish line with a funny, emotionally affecting story.

Your enjoyment of the series will depend on if you want to go on that ride with Johan and his crew, as well as watch the flashbacks that Maggie reports to Johan. We thought the first episode moved along well; despite the fact that we didn’t really get to know the group of Winterers very well, aside from Arthur, Maggie and Annika.

While Beyond The Gates isn’t reinventing the daytime soap formula, just the idea that we’re being introduced to a new set of characters, and we’re getting a soap that features and affluent and powerful Black family, is more than enough to get us to keep watching.

Because of the funny moments, and the idea that these two coddled young men are now going to have to get into hardcore criminal activity, we are feeling pretty good about the prospects that the first season of Deli Boys will be entertaining.

We’re not 100 percent sold on Chad Powers yet, but if it concentrates on the redemption arcs and steps away from the goofiness, it should be a satisfying show to watch.

During the final third, things settle down and Ghosts shows some funny potential of where it can go.

Despite our reservations, Dead Boy Detectives is mostly fun to watch, and the flaws we saw in the first episode might be smoothed over as the season goes along.

For the most part, David Blaine Do Not Attempt is an enjoyable look at people who achieve amazing feats through endurance and control of their emotions. Blaine’s attempts at the stunts are sometimes pulse-pounding and sometimes ridiculous, but the show is never boring.

It may be a low bar, but if we’re watching a network series where we don’t roll our eyes or throw up our hands at what we’re seeing on the screen, there’s a good chance that we’ll want to see more of it. And Alaska Daily had enough to like to make us want to see more.

Power Book IV: Force is the Power sequel that’s got the loosest connection to the parent show’s universe. In fact, it sets itself up as a pure spin-off. But It does a good job of showing who the power players are in its story, and how Tommy Egan is ready to shake up the status quo.

The Chicken Sisters is a pleasant, often amusing show that has a good cast and wraps family drama in a refreshing package.

Because of Bates, Matlock is certainly entertaining to watch. But would the show be equally entertaining if she wasn’t there? We’re not sure.

Because of the twist at the end of the first episode and the series’ relative brevity, watching Sophie: A Murder In West Cork should be worth your time.

The characters in Koala Man are solid enough to make us think that the more time Cusack and his writers get to develop them, the better the show will get.

Ten Pound Poms works because its characters are easy to root for as they try to make new lives for themselves in Australia. And the fact that the show is working towards a conclusion ensures that the stories will stay focused.

007: Road to a Million is in many other ways just a conventional challenge-based reality show. But it makes the right moves to establish its Bond branding as a frame, and rejects much of the superficiality common to the genre.

Season 2 of Bloodlands layers even more intrigue onto what’s generally a straightforward, unfussy detective drama, with James Nesbitt’s raw anger leading the way.

The Pharmacist shows how sheer determination, fueled by grief and anger, can drive one man to affect change, even if it’s in the face of a corrupt bureaucracy or a massive corporation.

Howery keeps things moving and loose, and he pokes just enough fun at the contestants to help allay their nervousness. But the practices are so lacking in tension that they slow the game action down. ... If the producers can tighten the show’s pacing in subsequent episodes, it should make for a fun summer series.

American Nightmare teases out the story of Denise Huskins’ kidnapping to a bit of an irritating degree, but we do understand why the filmmakers did what they did. It’s a fascinating story of law enforcement and confirmation bias, one that needs to be on a platform like Netflix.

The chemistry between Bernal and Luna is at the heart of La Máquina, and we hope that the show’s producers lean on that for the rest of the season.

Bloodlands is a solid drama that moves through its story efficiently without a lot of fuss. And that’s a pretty welcome thing these days.

Not his best work but certainly his most ambitious and audacious endeavor yet, so it’s worth the effort to applaud his effort.

Thompson is definitely the main draw on Down Cemetery Road, but good performances all around and a sense of humor that makes us snicker makes up for a mystery that might be frustratingly slow to develop.

A Very Royal Scandal takes an event from the very recent past and gives it some fascinating context, aided by good performances from Sheen, Wilson and Scanlan.

We grant you that the first couple of episodes of The Investigation will be frustrating to watch, given what you know about the Wall case. But seeing these cops and prosecutors make their way through Madsen’s lies to get to the truth will be interesting to watch.

While Isabel doesn’t exactly dive too deep into Isabel Allende’s life, it doesn’t completely sugarcoat it, either, which is all we ask of a biographical docuseries.

Missing You is a solid thriller that may have you shaking your head at some of its twists. But good performances and an intriguing premise will make some of those silly twists easier to take.

As far as the show goes, it’s some pretty light drama that’s not supposed to bring up any moral dilemmas or force viewers to dig for deeper meaning. Esposito elevates everything he’s in. ... So far, the rest of the team outside of Stan feel like one-dimensional characters, but those may also fill in during the rest of the episodes. But, as heist dramas go, Kaleidoscope tries to concentrate on the heist as much as possible, which is always a plus.

Bridgerton Season 2’s main romance is a tortured affair that takes way too long to seal the deal. Bridgerton is still an enchanting bit of escapism, but fans might not fall as hard for its love story this time around. (Through no fault of the show’s leads.)

The first hour of The Lady And The Dale is a bit slow, but we know it’ll pick up once we get into the story of Carmichael’s marketing of The Dale and how it all came crashing down.