The show is and always has been an incredibly well-acted soap, buoyed by Badgley’s excellent lead performance, and its continued commitment to taking things to crazier places than it ever has makes it more than worth your while.

The first couple of episodes of The Ark are rough, because the characters take time to settle in. But the first episode brings up enough intrigue to make those episode worth watching until everyone finds their place in the story.

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.

Not Dead Yet wastes the talents of Rodriguez and the rest of the cast in a show that’s shockingly unfunny.

As nascent true crime sensations go, a fan of the genre could do worse than Jack Murphy and the chronicle of Murf the Surf.

Season 2 of Bloodlands layers even more intrigue onto what’s generally a straightforward, unfussy detective drama, with James Nesbitt’s raw anger leading the way.

Season 2 of Harlem continues the winning formula from Season 1, thanks to its four great leads playing characters that are well thought-out.

There’s something incredibly charming and, dare I say, empowering about For the Love of DILFs lo-fi aesthetic.

Dear Edward has some good performances, but a lot of poorly-sketched characters shuffling their way through an extraordinarily bleak drama.

Do yourself a favor and show your kids the originals on Disney+, and pop in Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks to satisfy your own need for nostalgia. The Schoolhouse Rock! 50th Anniversary Singalong is just going to frustrate both you and your kids, and no one wants that.

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.

Gunther’s Millions presents an unbelievable story that goes from ridiculous to insane, but in a way that keeps the audience on its toes.

Brooker and his writing staff seem to be able to expertly balance the idea that, in the broad sense, what Cunk is saying as a presenter is correct, but her notions and opinions on those facts are completely bonkers. It’s that tension that makes Cunk On Earth work. ... Cunk On Earth is funny without straining for laughs.

The first episode of The Watchful Eye just shows characters being grafted onto lots and lots of plot, with no storytelling to speak of. It may get better, but we’re not going to be around to see if it does.

Boys In Blue isn’t an easy watch by any means, but it’s an important story worth telling, and the filmmakers walk a careful tightrope in telling it right.

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

Nothing about Wolf Pack works for us, and there’s not nearly enough of Sarah Michelle Gellar to redeem everything else that’s wrong.

Whether you’ve read Hannah-Jones’ work or are coming to it for the first time, The 1619 Project is a fascinating look at the Black population’s significant contributions to the building of the U.S., with a nuanced approach that was never in our U.S. History books.

The first episode of Extraordinary sets up a pretty funny premise; we just hope that the joke that everyone in the world has powers except Jen doesn’t quickly wear out when the novelty of it does.

To put it simply, Poker Face is a triumph — for Johnson and Lyonne, for modern-day TV, for the mystery genre in general, and — crucially — for Peacock.

The first episode, where the group is in the middle of the Hydra rolling crisis, doesn’t exactly reestablish what each person’s role is in the company, but definitely goes a long way of reestablishing their characters, just by showing how they’re reacting to the ever-escalating crisis. ... The second episode shows that the storytelling is still a little inconsistent.

The biggest flaw in How I Met Your Father, even two seasons in, is that I still don’t care how it ends.

Shallcross brings an endearing, almost wholesome approachability to the series that makes you want to see how things turn out for him and his group.

Who’s winning here? Not the viewers, not the queens, and not even any of the Real Friends™. This show could have been a Reel.

A worthy and interesting follow-up. Vox Machina, as powerful as each of its members are, can’t tackle everything on its own. And while it might seem like a somewhat lazy premise to saddle the Vox Machina with fetch quests, there’s nothing quick or simple about finding the Vestiges.

Because Accused manages to tell the story of how the accused in each episode finds themselves in that position, and does so without a lot of gaps, makes the series worth a look.

If the show does start to lose you, it won’t be for long. (Unless, perhaps, you’re a real therapist.) Breezy episodes and clever writing ripe with undeniable jokes and razor-sharp relatability help anchor Shrinking‘s effective execution. But its greatest strength lies in a charming cast with excellent chemistry and characters you can’t help but root for.

If you put global politics aside Fauda is still a pulse-pounding show that is never boring to watch.