Easily the best comedy special of the pandemic, if not the best “content” of any kind from the pandemic that you’ll see, putting everything we’ve felt over the past year and a half, and still feel, as each of us figure out what comes next.

So far, Better Call Saul Season 6 belongs to Kim Wexler. ... It’s gratifying to see her finally take the lead. It’s also a shift that gives Better Call Saul a deeply ominous quality. In its first two episodes, Season 6 doesn’t feel like a finale. It feels like just another twisting saga in Vince Gilligan’s corrupt world.

For all of the seriousness of his revelations, Carmichael does manage to keep things from getting too dark.

There’s good TV, there’s great TV, and then there’s the new Barry, a magnificent season of television that will unquestionably find its way onto your own personal best of the year list.

The final season of Reservation Dogs looks like it’s going to take some creative risks, which is going to make a pretty damn good series even better.

Reservation Dogs improves on its excellent first season by deepening the community on the rez, making it less about the Dogs and more about traditions, people who think they know the traditions but don’t, and just how funny and rich life there can be, even if people have to be creative to get by.

How To With John Wilson is a show that’s perfect for streaming when you’re in the mood for something with a little weirdness, a little optimism, and a lot of funny.

Somebody Somewhere has that settled-in feeling that make good shows become terrific shows in their second seasons. Some characters may be gone, but the show’s comedic core and its heart are still there, and we’ll follow its slice-of-Midwest-life vibe for the entire season.

It may have taken four years for Atlanta to come back, but it’s lost none of its daring in the interim. We do prefer the episodes where Earn and crew are all together, but we’re looking forward to seeing where Glover and company take their storytelling this season.

The first four episodes of Succession‘s final season are absolutely magnificent. Armstrong and his writers’ room finally let the metaphoric dominos they’ve been setting up for three seasons fall. The dialogue is as brutally sharp as ever and the ensemble cast pulls out some of their best, most devastating work yet. ... Succession Season 4 isn’t just good. It’s poised to handily sweep the 2023 Emmys.

The final frame of the pilot challenges your notion on how the rest of this journey will go. ... These two slaves are going to be free at some point, but what they will encounter on their way north will create enough tension and empathy to keep viewers’ attention beyond the first episode.

Even though Season 2 of The Bear isn’t as frantic as Season 1, we get to know everyone at the restaurant better this season. And the second season is shaping up to be funnier than the first.

The Pitt Season 2 is a perfectly executed season of television. Rather than buckling under pressure, the HBO Max show’s cast and crew returns with wholly-deserved swagger. .... An early, strong contender for the best show of the year.

Somebody Somewhere looks like its going to end the way it began, as a funny, emotional, poignant show with characters we love to spend time with.

Evil continues its smart combination of weekly cases with strong character arcs, all with the Kings’ dry sense of humor intact throughout the first episode of Season 3.

Andor Season 2 is a glorious, life-affirming experience. There’s action, drama, and even romance, but most importantly, there’s fire. Andor will set your soul on fire and give your heart the courage it needs to keep going.

Succession somehow only gets better in its third season, giving us more relentless nastiness, ridiculous humor, and remarkable performances. This is the stuff great TV is made of.

Despite the self-indulgent aspects of The Last Movie Stars, Ethan Hawke has created a fascinating docuseries about one of the biggest Hollywood power couples ever, as well as the issues that defined their marriage.

Thanks to a fine performance by Whishaw and a well-struck balance between the funny and tragic, This Is Going To Hurt has the potential to be one of the best new series of 2022.

In the first two episodes, the tension between Ava and Deborah gets things off to a strong start.

It’s A Sin is an emotionally resonant look at how the young gay community in London lived their lives with the constant threat of AIDS over their heads. The cast has great chemistry with each other, which will help strengthen their stories.

In the end the depressed horse show didn’t just give us a way to vocalize our own vulnerabilities, insecurities, and mental anguish. It also gave us hope for a better future, as well as a guide for us all to find our own happiness.

Season 3 of Dickinson is an emotionally powerful and fulfilling journey through the final seconds of the final episode that found this reviewer’s eyes wet multiple times. ... What Smith has done is use Dickinson’s work as inspiration to create a new, artistic feat of her own (along with the hundreds of other people who work on the series), one that redefines what television can be.

9/11: One Day In America is tough to watch. But it very effectively brings back the feelings from that harrowing day, even as it highlights the moments of kindness that filtered through all the darkness and death. It’s a great illustration of what that day was like and should be shown to students for decades to come.

Because of the shooting style, each promises to have the same intensity as the first episode, and we’re looking forward to seeing just how the case — which at first blush, looks like it’s a pretty strong one against Jamie — tests everyone involved, and their perceptions of just who is capable of horrific acts like Katie’s murder.

Maya And The Three works on two levels: Battle scenes and colorful animation for the kids, goofy jokes and a good story for the adults.

The endearing, energetic Mosley makes Last Chance U: Basketball a compelling watch.

Emergency: NYC shows compelling cases and healthcare providers who understand the gravity of their jobs. We just wish it took more of a critical look at the healthcare system.

There is certainly a relentless darkness about Barry that gets even darker in its final season. But Hader and Berg still throw in enough absurd moments and character-based humor to keep things from careening into full-on drama. But we’re definitely expecting the final season to be heavily dramatic, and we’re on board for it.

The access that the filmmakers have gotten makes this series all the more fascinating to watch.

The Responder continues to be a compelling watch, mainly because Martin Freeman is so good at barely containing Chris Carson’s rage.

We want to see more of Marcus, whom we think got the short end of the narrative stick in Season 2. But for the most part, if the rest of Season 3 of Hacks is as satisfying as the first episode was, we’ll be pretty happy.

With this hour, he allows us, too, to accept the inevitability of death and loss while also embracing the courage of feeling whatever grief or levity might come our way. Either way, we can put down the bat and pick up the feather. So to speak.

The alchemy of Season 1 was the intense chemistry Anderson and Reid shared. Zaman, Hayles, and Bogosian are all ferocious scene partners for Anderson, but none of them come close to capturing the lightning storm that is Louis and Lestat. That said, Interview With the Vampire remains the rarest of treats on television. It’s a soapy, gothic fairy tale full of sensuality, gore, and incredible performances.

While the last few seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm can’t match the consistency of its earlier ones, there are always funny moments when Larry complains about something and/or he gets his comeuppance for his grouchiness. In the first episode of Season 11, there’s both, plus a promising new season-long arc. That’s more than enough for us.

For half a decade, The Righteous Gemstones has quietly been one of the best comedies on television, providing laughs and joy to anyone with a sick sense of humor and possibly a touch of religious trauma. The fourth and final season, which premieres on March 9 on HBO, is no exception and proves to be a hallelujah of a sendoff to one of television’s most underrated hits.

Despite the scope of this final season, though, the show is still accessible to fans and non-fans.

While it feels like a 101-level course in LGBTQIA+ representation in TV, Visible: Out On Television is still a good overview of just how far the medium has come in this regard, and how far it has to go.

Just as rambling, hyper-specific, and brilliantly dumb as this series always has been. ... If you love the show for its weirdo characters, Mr. Nimbus will leave you quoting and thrusting to his every line. If sci-fi insanity is more your speed, there’s a time-altering B-plot that is so perfectly Rick and Morty you’ll be shocked the show hasn’t done it before.

Asura doesn’t depict this family’s secrets as melodrama or a bustling mystery to be unraveled, it slowly and methodically lets us get to know these well-drawn characters. The family is not dysfunctional in an unrelatable way, like the Roys on Succession or Yellowstone‘s duplicitous Duttons, what’s so engaging is the fact that their problems, and the emotions that spill out as a result, are entirely possible and could happen to any of us.

Fraggle Rock: Back To The Rock has all the charm that made the original series so popular, and it’s made in a way that it’s completely easy to make a new generation of fans get into the show immediately.

So far so good for Secrets of the Whales. Nature-doc lovers will eat this stuff up like, I dunno, a generous-of-spirit orca to a half-eaten stingray.

Long Story Short is a warm family comedy that will hit home to some degree to anyone who has a loving but complicated relationship with their families.

There are still plenty of gruesome jokes to make you nearly gag, like a platoon of tampon surfers and a teenage boy’s penis that has a Long Island accent for some reason. But this time around the changes everyone is going through are a bit more abstract, for the better.

The case of the Beatrice Six is an interesting one, and we’re pretty sure that once Mind Over Murder gets into the details of how the six got arrested, convicted and exonerated, it’ll move better. But you may want to have your finger on the fast forward button during the first couple of episodes.

The first two episodes, which is what ABC sent to critics, are equally as funny and heartwarming as the best of the show’s excellent first season.

Through it all, Jean Smart continues to reign supreme. She once again delivers an iconic performance as Deborah Vance and Emmy voters should be prepared to hand her yet another trophy this fall. Hacks Season 2 isn’t just good. It’s freaking great.

The Bear is more dark comedy than a laugh riot, but its anarchic style and family vibe make for a kinetic show that might have some surprises in store for its viewers.

Star Wars: Visions feels like the best Star Wars we’ve had all year. ... Star Wars: Visions may be too good. ... It makes you wish that Lucasfilm would loosen the reigns a bit. It turns out that Star Wars feels most like Star Wars when it’s defying all expectations.

Our Planet II is chock full of spectacular scenes of animals on the move, but it also shows us things we might not have known about the whys and hows of how certain species migrate.

Eyes On The Prize III: We Who Believe In Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015 is a compelling companion series to the 1987 original, putting the civil rights movement into a modern context through the stories of the people at its forefront.

Women Wearing Shoulder Pads gives us a weird, somewhat creepy, but ultimately funny story about women and cuys in 1980s Ecuador.

While This Is A Gardening Show has some degree of Zach Galifianakis’ brand of awkward comedy, it doesn’t overwhelm his enthusiasm for the subject and how much that enthusiasm informs each episode.

Even though Muhammad Ali is getting the “Ken Burns treatment,” the docuseries Muhammad Ali is reverent but unafraid of digging into what made Ali tick and the people who influenced the most.

It shouldn’t be profoundly emotionally moving. Nevertheless, The Rehearsal Season 2 is all of these things and more, thanks wholly to the mad genius its creator, director, and star, Nathan Fielder.

Fanning and Hoult are as winning as ever, and the series wastes no time diving back into its playful retelling of one of Russia’s most famous monarch couples.

We’re not sure how much more juice there is left to squeeze from the lemon that is Ashley and Gordon’s odd relationship, but Colin From Accounts tries its best to do just that, while expanding what we know about the world around them.

Baby Reindeer is a very bingeable show because it’s funny while being incredibly dark, and it doesn’t take the easy way out when it comes to its characters. So, while we cringed every time Martha further wheedled her way into Donny’s life, we also wanted to know what would happen next. That’s not something we’ve said about a lot of shows lately.

The mood is taut and tense as the final six episodes of Top Boy play out, with Dushane and Sully vying for control of the East London drug trade and the Summerhouse estate existing at the center of a changing social climate.

No longer just a spinoff, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds goes boldly into its second season with terrific crew chemistry, more far-flung adventures on tap, and even more depth added to characters who already feel like classics.

Whipsmart, funny, and audacious from start to finish, Hacks Season 5 will keep you laughing and guessing until the last moment. .... Much like Smart, the show ends by cementing its legacy as one of the greatest comedies of the 21st century.

This show honors them and their hard work and you can’t help but feel it in your heart.

If the only reason why you watch The Responder is to see Martin Freeman barely hold it together, then it’s a pretty good reason to watch the show. The rest of the plot is incidental to a performance by Freeman that utilizes all of his copious ability to be the aggrieved everyman who’s ready to crack at any moment.

Netflix’s new version of The Baby-Sitters Club is a total triumph. It’s sweet, funny, hopeful, but most of all, encouraging. The message to girls, young and old, is that we are stronger together. The Baby-Sitters Club might be a pitch perfect show for kids and tweens, but it’s sure to become a feel-good obsession for grown women and men alike. It’s that good.

While not as enjoyable as Season 1, Season 2 of Schmigadoon! still has a lot going for it, especially if you’re a theater buff who felt that the 1960s — and especially the 1970s — was when Broadway was at its peak.

Rain Dogs promises to be an interesting examination in a certain kind of found family that’s by turns darkly funny and warmly inspiring.

Yet another spectacularly bold, absolutely brilliant, and shamelessly brash season of television, but it’s also darker, grander, and more culturally relevant than any season of the show before.

It won’t really make sense of you haven’t already seen I Hate Suzie season one. If you’ve already seen that, you’re definitely going to want to STREAM IT. (If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you binge all the available episodes this weekend.) This new Christmas-ish extension of the show dives deeper into Suzie’s turmoil and tragedy and it’s a marvel to watch Piper toggle between her emotions so seamlessly.

Severance Season 2 is exemplary.

Tim Robinson’s new series of psychotic vignettes are just as funny (if not more so, on occasion) as his first season, and that’s largely thanks to some genuinely unhinged writing and an amazing group of guest stars.

With much of its principal cast back in the saddle, Borgen: Power & Glory is a welcome return for a terrific Danish political thriller that hasn’t let up the tension since its 2010 premiere.

The chilling tale of how we started fighting the same battles we’re still struggling with in 2020.

Kogonada and Justin Chon’s direction, Soo Hugh’s writing, and the work of Pachinko’s outstanding ensemble cast weave together a story that is both huge in scope and humble in its beauty. Pachinko is perfectly exquisite (though not quite perfect) and will stick with you long after the credits roll.

It’s another series by Vince Gilligan that’s both visually and dramatically compelling to watch, especially with Rhea Seehorn being featured throughout.

In its second season Tuca & Bertie is unafraid to get deep, and we’re all better for it.

Servant of the People is a surprisingly fun watch for an American viewer — a political fish-out-of-water comedy in the vein of movies like Dave, Bulworth or Head of State.

The funniest show on TV is back for its final season. ... The show is as fantastic as it always was. ... It's a fitting end to the chapter and thankfully it hasn't lost any of its charm, punchy dialogue, or hilarious performances during the time off.

Little America continues to give positive stories about the immigrant experience in the U.S. without glossing over problems or covering things over with a thick layer of sweetness. The stories are inspirational but grounded in reality, and the second season is as entertaining as the first.

Season 3 finds Spear, dead but not down, on a journey he doesn’t know the shape of, which only means more opportunity for this series’ already impressive animation and storytelling.

Pachinko continues to be a show that deftly handles its sprawling settings and themes to make for a compelling multi-generational drama.

We’re not investing in the stakes of the missions Archer and the team take on. We’re investing in all of the goofs, crass moments, and self-involved absurdities that come along with it. That’s what was funny in 2009, and it’s funny in 2023 as Archer prepares to shut it all down.

Painting With John does take some getting used to, but once you’re into the show’s rhythms, it feels like a relaxing way to end your day.

The Other Two is so dense with jokes, even if not every single one hits, it’s consistently, reliably funny. Between the industry humor, the gifted physical comedy, and the characters who are ever-evolving, the show is still reliably sharp, dark, and full of surprises.

Bridget Everett’s subtle and charming performance is just one reason we like Somebody Somewhere. The first episode also does a good job setting up a great ensemble that we look forward to getting to know.

Industry Season 3 is a fabulous level up for an already great show. The impressive ensemble cast continues to excavate the beautiful, broken characters the[y] play.

A story that’s full of drama and emotion, punctuated with moments of comedy that are truly dark.

Elizabeth Is Missing is a film that will leave you depressed, especially after the final scene, but happy you were able to watch the great Glenda Jackson put in a great late-in-life performance.

Michaela Coel is a riveting actor, and talented writer and both come to the fore in I May Destroy You. We’re looking forward to seeing how she deals with the issues of consent and sexual assault on the series, all the while doing so with a sardonic bent that this topic usually doesn’t receive. The balance she tries to achieve will be fascinating to watch.

The Charles and Diana soap opera shines in part because of its built-in cache, but mostly because Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin are the season’s standouts. ... Less impressive is Gillian Anderson’s Margaret Thatcher. ... But it’s a credit to showrunner Peter Morgan and Emma Corrin herself that Princess Di doesn’t takeover the entire show. There are still standalone episodes devoted to peculiar moments for the monarchy.

Despite its compressed format, Vietnam: The War That Changed America has remarkable footage and fascinating interviews with people who had a first-person perspective of what it was like to fight the Vietnam War.

If actors believe comedy is hard, then improv comedy is harder. Translating a live improv comedy show to a TV audience? That’s double-diamond difficulty. And Middleditch and Schwartz are among comedy’s moguls.

More than past installments, Rick and Morty Season 6 intertwines classic adventures with more plot-heavy elements for a season that feels more confident in itself than ever before.

Even if Pluto strikes some sci-fi watchers as a bit derivative or self-serious, animation fans should appreciate its designs, fluidity, and invention. This is a great-looking show, and effective testimony for how sometimes fantastical stories are better-served by animation rather than live-action.

After you watch it, you’ll be more aware of just what can go wrong, even when people’s lives are on the line.

Arcane continues its considerable dramatic momentum from the first season.

Human brings the science behind the study of the history of homo sapiens down to, well, a human level, thanks to the enthusiastic storytelling of Ella Al-Shamahi.

The result is a defiantly unpredictable mix of cringe and pathos that delivers a distinct blend of genuine emotion and laugh-out-loud humor. In a streaming world that thrives on conformity, The Rehearsal is the audacious outlier that delivers a wholly unique viewing experience.

Big ideas here. Profound at times. But they’re encased in an oddly buoyant and funny context that also manages to be substantial and emotionally resonant. Salazar and Odenkirk are in tonal concert within the trippy setting and concept, finding comedy and affection in the material and making it seem effortless. ... To not continue watching Undone would be foolhardy.