We were pleasantly surprised by how mature of a show School Spirits was, not just because of List’s steady lead performance, but because it doesn’t delve in the current cliches that drag down most high-school dramas. In other words, no house parties and no sex scenes (yet); it’s just a fun, ghostly mystery to watch.

It’s definitely a story that’s worth following, even as it goes back and forth in time, thanks to the fine performances by Kingsley and Karanja as the older and younger Washington Black. It’s surprising how much continuity there is between the two performances.

Wolf Like Me is more drama than comedy, but it works either way, despite its strange premise. Much of that is thanks to Gad and Fisher, but it’s also because Forsythe has ground the show’s more supernatural elements in reality.

Little Fires Everywhere has issues, but it’s a very watchable show that should be buoyed by Witherspoon’s and Washington’s performances.

A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder rides on the charm of Emma Myers, but there’s also a solid mystery to get to the bottom of, which isn’t always the case in shows like this.

You certainly need to be in the mood to laugh at slapstick in order to enjoy Man Vs. Bee. But there is no one on the planet who does slapstick better than Rowan Atkinson, and this series shows off all the skills that have made his career so successful.

Hazbin Hotel is very queer, raunchy, and fun. The animated comedy is filled with memorable songs, exciting character arcs, and a thrilling story. The episodes will have you on the edge of your seat, while filling your heart with equal parts joy and angst. Even if it doesn’t sound like it’s fit for you, get it a try.

Our mild recommendation for Loot continues from its first season to its second. The relationships between the characters are growing, which is great, but the show is just not as funny as it should be, and that’s always disappointing.

Red Alert tries its best to show the harrowing experience of October 7 in southern Israel while concentrating on the heroic acts that happened that day. It’s a balance that’s at times hard to maintain but it is also worth watching.

We still appreciate Wiig’s performance as Maxine, as well as the performances of Janney, Duffy and more. But Palm Royale is so in love with its own sense of late-’60s, early-’70s kitsch and piling on characters and plotlines, that those performances often get lost under a blizzard of words.

Legendary feels completely immersive. Everywhere you look, it’s a ball. And when Legendary gets into the competition gig, it slays. The performances in the first episode are, well, legendary. ... The show’s called Legendary for a reason.

Let’s just say timeline-jumping isn’t the only storytelling method Fogelman borrowed from his most successful series. It certainly sets up some intriguing possibilities, but let’s hope that it’s not the main driver of the story Fogleman and company want to tell. They’ve done a good job of setting up the personal relationships at the center of Paradise, as well as the timeline, and that’s where they should concentrate things.

The Seduction is a good looking series with fine performances and enough kinkiness to satisfy fans of boddice-ripping period dramas.

Land Of Women is a pleasant-enough show that has a story that will go down easy, with good performances sprinkled throughout.

The Pale Horse looks great, and has fine performances. But Sewell’s slimy protagonist is the lynchpin that makes this one of Amazon’s better Christie adaptations.

One Night Only finds Adele personally refreshed and professionally primed, a place her legions of adoring fans will certainly enjoy hearing about in both performance and interview.

Despite the fact that the interview portions of African Queens: Njinga feel more like window dressing than anything else, the dramatic segments are well-written and acted, making those talking head segments less intrusive.

STREAM IT, but only if you’re a huge fan of soccer in general or Beckham in particular. There’s lots of great footage of Beckham on and off the pitch over the past three decades and just enough personal stuff to keep viewers engaged. But don’t expect too much in the way of revelations or controversy.

We’re suckers for the “howdunit” format of Elsbeth, and Preston has such a good handle on the character that we are looking forward to watching her catch wily killers week after week.

Sure, The Night Agent could get better. But the first episode established that it’s a show with a lot of stock characters and a conspiracy that doesn’t start in a particularly interesting way.

The show still tends to bog itself down with too many characters and stories, as well as the gimmickry of Coop’s narration intruding on what’s going on. .... The addition of Marsden is promising, though. .... We hope his presence focuses the story in a way that we didn’t see previously.

We’re concerned about the pacing of 1883 and how it depicts Indigenous people, but the story is compelling, and Sam Elliott’s multi-layered lead performance is more than enough to keep us interested.

Squid Games takes a fresh idea and spins it into a thrilling drama; we hope it continues to build the tension we saw in the last 20 minutes throughout the season.

Steeltown Murders has the potential to be a really intriguing mystery that spans 30 years, as long as the scenes from the Seventies flow well into the scenes from the Aughties and vice versa.

It feels that Trying is going to try (pun intended) to get the emotional wringer of the adoption process right instead of falling back on TV cliches about it. It also helps that Smith and Spall play a couple that are great together and you want to see get what they’ve been hoping for.

Year Of The Rabbit has Berry hitting the right comedic notes, helped by a funny supporting cast and a setting that’s always ripe for comedy.

Sunny presents an interesting near-future scenario where a woman questions everything she knew about her marriage and life. The mystery she investigates may end up being mundane, but the performances of Jones and Sotomura — and the relatively brief episode run times — make it a fun ride to go on.

The recreations on A Wilderness of Error are irritating, and it doesn’t really feel like it’s going to answer any questions or break new ground in the 50-year old MacDonald case.