Its formula is tried and true — but has also grown stale. Hardcore fans of Stranger Things will likely find nothing wrong with the new season, as is their wont. They’ll love the nods to Barb (Shannon Purser) and character reunions. They’ll obsess over potential love triangles and thrill over creepy new flourishes. I personally wish the show had reined it in a bit, focused on the core cast over the newbs, and tried something truly creative with its storytelling instead of just nostalgia baiting.

Despite a fine performance from Perez, we fear we’re not going to see enough of her to make suffering through the generic main characters of Now And Then tolerable.

Night Sky is a decent series that is nudged into the very good category because of the performances of J.K. Simmons and Sissy Spacek.

With some funny moments, well-researched information, and an entertainingly fast pace, The G Word With Adam Conover entertainingly tells people about how various government agencies help Americans, but isn’t afraid to call them out if they work against our interests.

The storytelling of Angelyne leaves a lot to be desired, but Rossum’s performance cuts through the script gymnastics, making us curious about what parts of Angelyne’s life the series will explore.

We would have really liked Conversations With Friends if it were a movie or maybe even a four-part limited series. But there just doesn’t seem to be enough narrative energy to sustain the story for 12 episodes.

There’s nothing about this new version of The Time Traveler’s Wife that hooked us in so we could take this romantic ride with Henry and Claire. It doesn’t help that the show is cheekier than it really needs to be.

We’re tentatively giving The Essex Serpent a recommendation because the performances of Danes, Hiddleston and the rest of the cast can overcome the series’ plodding pacing in parts. But we’re just not sure how many people are going to make it through all six episodes when it seems like the first one doesn’t do much to set up the story.

There is also the reasons why the seemingly put-together Candy managed to snap to begin with. Going back to reconstruct all of that will be interesting to watch, especially given the performances of Biel and Lynskey. ... Candy makes a good case that more true-crime dramas should be about the lead up and the aftermath of an event, not the event itself.

The Big Conn is one of those docuseries that moves along at a good pace while not leaving out much pertinent information. It’s as intriguing as a good scripted drama, and that should be the goal of any true crime docuseries.

While adding boys into the mix takes away some of the singular magic of the first season, The Wilds remains an extremely entertaining and beautifully performed series.

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.

Girls5eva continues to build out its quirky, colorful world in Season 2, and each new face and development only makes it all richer. ... A showcase for some seriously funny women and infectious ear worms.

While Clark may dabble a bit too much in making Clark Olofsson into a hero, it’s still an entertaining look at how Olofsson saw his life, whether the stories are true or not.

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.

As a whole, The Staircase is a worthwhile watch, mainly for the performances by Firth, Posey and Collette. But you might get more satisfying information about the Peterson case by watching the documentary or docuseries.

We don’t expect The Pentaverate to get much funnier as the season goes along. And the longer we watch, we think the more painfully unfunny most of the gags are going to get.

Instead of a rehash of an event that could be easily researched, Meltdown: Three Mile Island takes a familiar event from the past half-century and fills in people’s gaps in information and debunks commonly held beliefs about the event.

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.

[Bayer's] comedy chops here easily remind you of how she shined behind the Weekend Update desk with in-over-their-head characters such as Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy or flailing meteorologist Dawn Lazarus. ... The pilot, directed by Michael Showalter, has an even slower burn than say, Search Party, which he co-created.

The opening salvo of The Offer fails to convince us that 10 hours of a “true” Hollywood making-of story is worth sitting through. Haven’t we seen enough of this back-patting, inside-joke stuff lately? Rewatch The Player instead. Oh, and The Godfather, too.

Stream it, but only for the performances of Roberts, Penn and the rest of the cast of Gaslit. The series leans too hard on the farcical to help viewers come away with any real information about the Republican side of the Watergate scandal.

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.

Under the Banner of Heaven turns Krakauer’s sprawling look at the roots and evolution of Fundamentalist Mormonism into a well-made detective drama. It’s not as transcendent as its source material, but it is a gripping watch, full of fantastic performances and horrifying reveals.

A Very British Scandal benefits from fine performances and a scandalous story that touches both on early feminism and salacious scandal.

Despite our reservations on the style choices by Dimmock, the story of Captive Audience is compelling, and the twist that involves Cary is what has us most intrigued.

Transcendent. ... Besides the characters, and the plot, which treats its teen LGBTQIA+ stories both frankly and gently, the pacing of the show is also pitch perfect. At eight, half hour episodes, it practically flies by; but works as both a four hour binge, or episodically. Each character’s storyline, every relationship is perfectly arched over the course of the season, while still leaving plenty of room for growth and exploration in a potential Season 2.

Because Laurie wanted to stay relatively faithful to the story, viewers are going to have to sit through some predictability to get to the witty dialogue and the inevitable reveal of the killer.