We were surprised how engaged we were with Sweet Tooth, even though it’s a show about a virus that wipes out most of humanity; it’s not something you want to contemplate as the real pandemic we’re suffering through winds to a close. But good performances and an adaptation that grounds things into some sort of reality saves the show from eye-rolling preciousness.

Love Life‘s second season surpasses the first just by shifting the focus away from a subject we’ve seen so many times to one that has a messier, and more interesting, story.

At this point Only Murders In The Building rides on the chemistry among Martin, Short and Gomez, and in Season 4, that chemistry is well-established. We just hope that Charles, Mabel and Oliver are as much fun running around Hollywood solving murders as they are running around New York.

While the first episode of We Were The Lucky Ones is a bit confusing and the show has too many characters to keep track of, King’s and Lerman’s performances anchor the series and make it worth watching, even if the rest of the characters won’t get as well-explored.

Like a night plastered at your favorite bar, it may not be the most important or essential show this year. But, god, is it a blast.

When Cobra Kai really clicks is when the nostalgia factor is balanced by the interactions of the current group of kids. That balance is certainly out of whack in the first two episodes, but it’s something we hope gets restored later in the season.

If you’re a West Wing fan, you’ll love this special. If you’re not, you won’t even go find this on HBO Max. And that’s what makes us wonder about if the special’s message will actually land with the people with whom they’re trying to communicate.

The acting is stronger than ever, now that Badgley’s Joe has a worthy opponent, and you won’t be able to see the season’s big twists coming. No matter why you initially enjoyed YOU, you’re going to fall in love with this new season, and Love Quinn.

Baghdad Central is well-written, -directed and -acted, and the debut episode sets the table for some potentially vigorous drama.

The interview with Gacy is what makes John Wayne Gacy: Devil In Disguise so fascinating; it certainly paints a different picture of him than what viewers are likely used to, well beyond the Killer Clown archetype that has been how he’s been characterized over the past four decades.

Despite some stylistic touches that sometimes distract, The Andy Warhol Diaries is a fascinating look inside the mind of one of the 20th century’s most famous figures, a person who had no intention of letting anyone but his closest friends and family see his real self.

The fact that the five Liars on the show are in group therapy together for the shared trauma the endured last season is the grounding force of the show. .... The new season brings a new killer, new romances and friend dynamics, and enough changes from last season to make it feel like it’s not just treading the same ground.

With furious fight action and a noble hero to follow through its pitched battle tension, Last Samurai Standing feels like a limited series well worth your time.

Despite the length and dodgy pacing of the first episode, Portobello is an entertainingly detailed retelling of one of the strangest stories in recent Italian history.

While not hilarious, Sunny Nights works because of Carden’s performance, the premise’s clash of sensibilities, and its ability to give viewers a glimpse at Sydney’s seedier side.

With performances like those delivering scripts this tight, surrounded by period-accurate sets, lighting, effects, credits, costumes, etc., WandaVision is itself a masterclass in sitcom history and a sincere depiction of what the format means to people. This show is more than a Marvel show, and that’s evident from the first three episodes.

Another distinctive addition to Apple TV’s impressive library that delivered several agonizing jump scares, loads of laughs, and intrigued until the last second of the 10 episode season.

If you like straightforward British procedurals based on classic characters, than Dalgliesh won’t disappoint. But there seems to be a lost opportunity to dive more into Dalgliesh’s interesting character, especially given who is playing the detective this time around.

The charm of Anna Lambe and the Arctic small-town setting make North Of North a breezy, fun watch.

Harlem may feel like a show that you’ve seen before, but the four stars are more than charming enough, and the writing is clever enough, to make the show stand on its own.

The beats of the season are rote, the characters verge on cringe-worthy cliche, and The White Lotus seems to be lazily conforming to a formula that’s already inspired countless pale imitations since its 2021 series launch. .... The biggest thing the The White Lotus Season 3 has going for it, though, is its phenomenal cast. The actors that Mike White has assembled give each character a pathos that maybe wasn’t originally there on the page. .... Ultimately, The White Lotus Season 3 is still the best at what the show sets out to do.

The Great North has some work to do to get to the level of its cousin shows, Bob’s Burgers and Central Park. But with a great voice cast and Bouchard overseeing things, it should get there eventually.

Like On My Block, Freeridge is a fun show about a tight group of friends dealing with some strange goings-on in their neighborhood. Strong character development and confident lead performances make the show a very easy watch.

We’re not sure the second season of Beef is going to be as satisfying as the first season was, but the story has a lot of places it can go, so we’re hopeful we can connect to it as the season goes along.

The Comedy Store is looking like a pretty comprehensive history of stand-up comedy over the last 50 years, especially comedians who made their name on the west coast. The fact that it’s directed by someone who went through the grind himself makes it all the more intimate and surprising.

Invincible continues to give viewers one of the more nuanced superhero stories we’ve ever seen, and while the show finds itself in a dark place in Season 4, it’s still a compelling show to watch.

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

Guadagnino concentrates so much on the teenagers that the adults might get the short end of the character stick. ... The first episode of We Are Who We Are takes its time to get to where it wants to go, but the ride is pleasant because we’re so intrigued by Fraser and his various relationships.

While Yellowjackets has its storytelling issues, it does seem that, with everyone settled into the story, that the stakes will be ramped up in Season 2. That should help keep our minds off the show’s glaring flaws.

UnPrisoned is a funny show that deals with some pretty heavy generational issues, and while it still rides on the fantastic chemistry between Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo, the rest of the cast is getting some meaty material, as well.

The first eight (of ten) episodes of Only Murders in the Building Season 3 left me feeling decidedly “meh.” Sure, you can’t really snub your nose at Meryl Streep bantering with Martin Short — even I have to admit that watching the show’s stars collide is worth the price of admission — but the storytelling kept letting me down.

The improvised scenes are where the show crackles with energy, even if old farts like us can’t understand 100% of the skaters’ lingo. ... Also, the energy among the five stars is palpable, given the history that they’ve had in the past few years. When the group splits up, things get more stilted.

Elon Musk’s Crash Course is yet another example of how The New York Times Presents concisely presents complicated news stories in a fast-moving, compelling package that gives viewers more than enough depth to understand the issue and who the players are.

Castlevania: Nocturne is an exemplary way to take a popular game series and turn it into one of the most exciting animated adaptations yet. It remains to be seen the heights that animated Richter Belmont will reach, but we’re confident we’ll be left impressed.

This show isn’t perfect, but I keep finding myself willing to forgive Task its trespasses thanks to all of the other miracles it pulls off.

This is a winning portrait of two guys in South Central L.A. with opposing life philosophies who find they each have something to learn from the other.

From hip hop’s inception and its emergence and growth, Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World offers a powerful message that connects influence, innovation, and a unifying beat to how we continue to think and speak about the artform today.

The Greatest Show Never Made is a fun docuseries about a scam that could only have seemed to happen in 2002, at the start of the reality TV frenzy.

Here in season three the very real challenges faced by Diddly Squat give him true pause, and that creates an effective balance against the usual gripes and galavanting. We’re invested in how Clarkson’s going to solve his farm’s host of problems, and particularly enjoy it when the solution as he sees it meets real world whammies.

The Change is a funny show with a simple premise, which works mostly because of Bridget Christie’s winning performance.

While we wish there was a bit more of Ruth Ellis’ backstory at the beginning of A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, it’s still an intriguing story about the last woman executed in Great Britain, with a fine lead performance by Lucy Boynton.

[Reacher] doesn’t live in anything resembling a rules-based society, either. It’s more like a closed loop existence. And if you’re inside, he’s either helping you or killing you. Everything else gets sorted out in between, which makes for a refreshingly simple, satisfyingly trashy viewing experience.

Lebowitz is hilarious, and Scorsese captures her humor, as well as her love of New York City, very well. You may not want to binge Pretend It’s A City, because one can only take so much “New York humor,” even those of us who know the city well. But it’s certainly worth taking in an episode or two at a time.

The docuseries is entertaining despite its structural machinations, because it takes the phenomenon of Chippendales as seriously as it should be taken.

A howling satire of our real world and the superhero fictions we create, The Boys also features a ripping mean streak all its own. It’s brash. It’s bloody. And if the boys wanna fight, you better let ‘em.

Kid Cudi and Barris do a fine job of making Entergalactic feel like much more than a vehicle for Cudi’s latest music; it’s a hip hop take on a familiar story, but is a satisfying watch despite knowing how it’s going to turn out.

Julie is full of great performances, peppy pop songs, and a solid storyline we’re excited to dig into.

John Simm is the main reason why Grace is such a watchable show. The mysteries are sufficiently engaging to keep the show from dragging, but Simm is the real attraction here.

Julia continues to tell the story of Julia Child’s rise to pop culture ubiquity in a way that’s funny and warm, with an ensemble of well-written characters whose stories we also want to follow.

Invincible continues to tell very human stories about Mark and the superheroes of the GDA, highlighting the main storylines of the season while keeping other stories cooking with a very good cast of celebrity voices.

We’re not sure if throwing Ethan back into the mix, even if he somehow gets tangled up with the people chasing after Elliot, is the best idea, either. But there’s more than enough good stuff going on in Season 2 to override those concerns, at least for right now.

Fans of Fielder’s comic work might struggle to find familiar laughs in The Curse, but the series is a deftly woven tapestry of tension. At its best, The Curse‘s surrealist approach edges close to the creative heights of another Showtime series, Twin Peaks: The Return. At its worst, the social satire feels a bit too on the nose, especially on the heels of an “Eat the Rich” cinematic boom.

The Serpent Queen has just enough irreverence to make what could have been a boring period story a lot more interesting, emphasizing Catherine de’ Medici’s cunning over being prim and proper.

Lockwood & Co. is a lively adaptation of the book series, helped along by good chemistry between its leads.

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.

Single Drunk Female gets off to a strong start with its first episode and gets better as it goes along, because it builds a world of nuanced characters right from its first scenes.

Bosch: Legacy is pulpy, procedural fun in the tradition of both Bosch and the storied, sometimes sordid history of fictional Los Angeles gumshoes that dates all the way back to Phillip Marlowe.

It’s interesting to revisit 1999, to look at the crackly VHS footage and say “What did it all mean?”, especially in the context of the decade that came next. Trainwreck: Woodstock ‘99 doesn’t dig all the way into those larger questions. But it does offer a primer, and its share of insights.

It’s a well-acted show with some reasonably intricate foreign relations plotting at its core that would have been right at home on network television in the 2000s or 2010s, save for a few f-bombs here and there. Our opinion of the show hasn’t really changed in that regard, though we do think that the plot is now getting so intricate, the show may be nudging itself more towards the “prestige TV’ end of the spectrum.

If you didn’t watch Filthy Rich and you want to find out more details about the Epstein case, Surviving Jeffrey Epstein will give you all of the details you need to know, but mainly through the testimony of the girls (now women) that Epstein and Maxwell victimized.

Booster retains his command of the stage and the audience throughout. ... You will laugh, even if you’re not gay or Asian.

It is a will-they-or-won’t-they rom-com? Is it a friendship story? Is it a saga about moving into adulthood and figuring out your life and your priorities and enduring heartbreak and loss? Will it make you cry? Yes, it’s all of those things, and it manages to capture all the muddled, complicated, aching emotions of them all.

Ken Bruns doesn’t reveal a lot of new details in Benjamin Franklin, but he paints a complete picture of a statesman that most people only know his many life highlights.

If you don’t expect a lot of conflict or high drama, you should be able to sit back and enjoy Julia for the light, fun biography it’s intended to

Minx improves on a fun first season with an even more fun and ambitious second season, with an ensemble that’s clicking and meaty (pun intended) storylines for everyone in that ensemble.

Few shows are as skilled at sorting through the intricate, hypocritical, and quiet forms of hurt better than this thriller. But just because Servant has gotten more introspective this go round doesn’t mean the chilling drama has lost its edge.

John Wayne Gacy is certainly more empathetic of Gacy’s victims and their families than many other serial killer dramatic series have been. The approach is enhanced by Michael Chernus’ excellent portrayal of Gacy.

Some episodes pick up days after their previous installment. Some take place months, or even years down the line. At times it can be a bit jarring. Suddenly, the House of Evangelista jumps from being ballroom mainstays to largely absent legends. Characters who barely dabble with drugs have full-blown addictions. But this season has so much heart, these little logical leaps can be forgiven. If anything, they add to the ethereal feeling of the series’ conclusion.

Where the series shines is in the little details, especially when it discussed the lives of the other six crew members who died along with McAuliffe.

If there’s any character in the Trek universe that can carry a season-long story arc, it’s Jean-Luc Picard.

The fact that Raniere took what could be seen as a calculated, logical, scientific approach to his program fascinates us even more. When you hear him talk, he sounds less like a motivational speaker and more like a college professor or a wonky tech CEO. ... The Vow benefits from access to people like Vicente and Edmondson, plus lots of footage from various NXIVM organizational videos, meetings, and other insightful stuff.

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.

Hysterical isn’t the be-all, end-all for documentaries about women in comedy. But it’s a step in the right direction. ... f you’re not already a comedy nerd and need an awakening, this is a good start. But for a deeper dive, I’d recommend the singular documentaries of legends such as Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, or Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley.

All American: Homecoming has some generic elements that we hope get straightened out over time, but its compelling cast and some of the potential stories set up by the first episode have us intrigued.

There are nuggets of information in there that are enlightening. ... For the most part, though, it feels like we’re going to see four hours of mostly praise and maybe some good-natured ribbing from associates who think Branson tells his own story in a more grandiose way than how it actually happened. Your enjoyment of that will depend on how you feel about Branson.

Berry handles this all with the understated, dignified charm longtime viewers of GBBS will find utterly familiar.

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.

Waddingham knows what her fans – and Ted Lasso fans – want, and she delivers.

The Night Agent is still perfectly good “watch while doing laundry” TV, but it feels like the third season is even more lunkheaded than the first two, and the absence of Buchanan is huge.

The fact that they [the Stidhams] did sit down to talk to the filmmakers makes the docuseries 200% better. And that’s mostly due to the magnetic and somewhat unhinged personality of DeAnn Stidham.

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.

English Teacher is still a funny workplace comedy, despite the fact that the Alvarez’ character is becoming more self-righteous as the series goes along.

From witty one-liners and endearingly exaggerated personalities to physical comedy, musical numbers, and more it bears repeating that Shrinking is very funny and never maudlin. The series excels at giving viewers emotional whiplash (complimentary), but the team hasn’t just mastered the art of flicking from poignant to playful scenes on a dime.

The show's aesthetic is somewhat voyeuristic, but not in a bad way.

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.

Watching Murder on Middle Beach often feels like spying on Hamburg’s most private therapy sessions. This is thanks to Hamburg’s deeply intimate filmmaking style that refuses to turn off the camera even when he’s at his lowest moments. ... Altogether that’s where Murder on Middle Beach excels, in its intimacy.

Us manages to be funny and heartfelt despite documenting what looks to be the end of a long marriage. Even if the story isn’t for you, though, you may just watch so you can start planning your next big vacation.

Lupin continues to be a very satisfying watch because of Omar Sy’s performance and the well-written and executed heist scenes.

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.

We’re lucky that we get to watch this woman on the court, but this interesting, insightful, and inspiring documentary also shows how lucky we are to get to know her in this way.

The Wilds is a show that could have been a kitschy disaster, or one that’s so grim that it turns viewers off. But the girls who have to fend for themselves on this remote island are so well-defined that we’re finding ourselves intrigued by how they’ll change during their time together.

It’s an intimate portrait of artists at work, and stands in stark contrast to the very public, very pop persona that has characterized Swift for much of her career.

Sweet Tooth continues to be an engaging and fun story, which is pretty impressive for a show about the human race being quickly wiped out.

It’ll be an entertaining May the Fourth binge, and likely an engrossing one for Star Wars fans of all levels.

The Fall And Rise Of Reggie Dinkins is as reliably funny as any Fey/Carlock production, with smart writing and a great cast.

We do admit that Ripley gets off to a bit of a sleepy start. But we’re intrigued by both Scott’s take on Tom Ripley and Zaillian’s decision to give Patricia Highsmith’s story a noirish patina.

Watchable, despite all of the ridiculousness. ... We’re going to give Reasonable Doubt a chance because Emayatzy Corinealdi is a sexy force to be reckoned with as Jax, and her cloudy ethics and taste in men is what gives some of the silliness in the series some depth.

As rough as the first episode may be for some viewers, just imagine if NBC hadn’t given Seinfeld a second chance after that sitcom’s initial struggles in both plot and ratings. Let’s see how Bust Down unfolds.