Instead of making Diane Dunbrowski a walking Chicago joke machine, the creators of Chicago Party Aunt have actually given her a heart and a rudimentary moral code. And that will be how the show will be able to sustain itself for multiple seasons.

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.

Fire Country has more story and stronger characters at the outset than a CBS procedural like this usually has, and that’ll carry the show when the fires start looking all the same as each other.

Though optimism for its worthy cause is infused in every scene, there’s an underlying sadness to Hollywood.

Clarice, the character, has been turned into a quivering mess, and Clarice, the show, makes the fatal mistake of thinking that Clarice’s trauma is the most interesting thing about her. ... The real problem with CBS’s version of Clarice stems from the writing. ... While Episodes 2 and 3 show promising signs of Clarice using her investigative skills, that’s all undermined by scenes where supporting characters can get her to unravel with a few mundane questions.

Mainly because Sophia Bush and Jason Isaacs are compelling to watch — individually and together — Good Sam rises slightly above the run-of-the-mill network medical procedural. But the relationships and characters will have to evolve to keep us tuning in.

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.

Avatar: The Last Airbender accomplishes a rare feat for a live-action adaptation of an animates series: It brings new people into its world while giving fans of the original more than enough to keep them watching.

Gutsy reveals enough insight about the Clintons and the people they talk to make it watchable, even enjoyable. We just wish there was more depth to the episodes.

The performances of Ashford and Quaid, and the wry tone of Happy Face are what makes us want to keep watching.

The show comes off more like an exhausting parody than anything else. ... There were distractions beyond Zellweger’s fat suit. Doing a fictionalized take on the absurdity of a true crime story lends itself to too many stylistic flourishes that aren’t necessary. ... There also seems to be very little in the way of subtlety or shading to the story.

A fine lead performance from Justin Theroux, in addition to a story that’s been rejiggered just enough to make it more modern than its source material gives this new version of The Mosquito Coast a real chance to be the next talked-about series.

Tell Me Your Secrets is a bleak show that withholds information in order to ramp up the mystery, but to the detriment of a coherent story.

Twisted Metal is noisy and violent, with some decent performances, but that’s about it.

There is no need to watch Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal if you already watched The Ashley Madison Affair. But if you haven’t, it’s an entertaining — if cringe-inducing — docuseries about the dating site and how its users got exposed when its weak security was breached.

Snowpiercer‘s middling pilot is saved by its leads. We’re intrigued to see what Manson can do with the characters and story he inherited from episode 2 on.

There are funny moments in Frank Of Ireland, but Frank is so cartoonishly awful that we wonder how he ever got friends or a girlfriend to begin with. Either way, we’re not intrerested in finding out.

The story is what’s going to keep viewers watching, because there aren’t really any compelling characters to latch onto.

Life On Our Planet is a fascinating look at how life evolved on Earth, with stunning visual effects that show how long-extinct species might have lived.

Fool Me Once has enough potential for some intriguing plot twists, and more than enough solid performances, to make up for some awkward dialogue and plot points that feel like they’re going to unnecessarily complicate things.

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.

While Martin’s gritty, skeptical, and brutal look at the genre appealed to an HBO audience, I’m not sure Jordan’s romantic, mystical, and hopeful version will be as ubiquitously embraced. The Wheel of Time can’t be the next Game of Thrones. It’s just not in the source material’s DNA. But Prime Video’s series has the chance to be the first true Wheel of Time, and that excites this all-too-earnest nerd to bits.

The Irrational works mainly because of Martin and the backstory he has with Hill’s character and the bombing case. The mysteries themselves are pretty bad, but that will matter less if the continuing story is good.

I found The Girl Before frustrating, if not downright ludicrous at times.

56 Days is supposed to show the erotic chemistry between two people that led to a wild affair then a gruesome murder. But the affair feels artificial and the investigation of the murder feels excruciatingly drawn out, and the timeline jumping makes the show tiring to watch.

While it’s hard to say based on only three episodes that the show is anywhere near back to the heights of the beloved first season of the series, Neal has a steady handle on what works on Killing Eve. ... The show is at its best when it’s as off-kilter as Comer’s performance as Villanelle, and the first three hours capture that tone only sporadically

We were left frustrated that Little became more like a character in Lauren’s story, not knowing much more about the killer at the end of the hour than we knew in the beginning.

Love In The Time Of Corona isn’t telling any stories that’ll blow you away, but the couples have understandable chemistry, and the production values are surprisingly high, given the restrictions the producers and crew were under.