This so-called origin story is off to a horrible start, and the few cheap laughs that you’ll find in the first episode don’t necessarily make it worth hanging around for 10 long, awful installments.

The characters in Koala Man are solid enough to make us think that the more time Cusack and his writers get to develop them, the better the show will get.

Break Point is not a serious examination of the state of tennis going into 2023, but it is a pulpy binge-watch that will introduce you to the next generation of tennis stars. To put it bluntly, Break Point gives pro tennis the Kardashian treatment.

There’s novelty to be found in Pressure Cooker’s combination of two familiar formats, but ultimately you’re not seeing anything here that you haven’t seen before.

Yet for all that is so clearly wonderful about this show, it’s a series that can never escape its roots. The Last of Us is hands-down one of the greatest and most inspired video game adaptations brought to screen. But that’s the problem, isn’t it? No matter how sharp the writing, how inspired the visuals, how awards-worthy the performances, this will always be an interactive story forced into a passive medium.

While there isn’t a ton of character development as The Rig starts, the acting is excellent, and it makes the tension that’s building on the Kinloch Bravo feel palpable.

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test does its best to really show that the celebrities who are going through this extraordinarily difficult training aren’t getting any special treatment, from either the staff or the producers. We give credit for the celebs for participating, and many giving honest reasons why, and it’ll be interesting to see who makes it until the end of the ten-day training stretch.

With so many characters harboring so many secrets, or in some cases, secret feelings toward each other, the tension is already building in episode one. It’ll be a fun ride watching where this season of Ginny & Georgia goes.

Despite the distracting reenactments, Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street imparts a lot of good information about Madoff’s psyche, the structure of his Ponzi scheme, and why people invested in it in the first place.

Despite its very casual pace, The Lying Life Of Adults has an interesting family story at its core that will inform how its main character comes of age.

While the procedural part of Will Trent needs a lot of improvement, the characters are so well-established from the start that the first two episodes are entertaining and make us want to see more.

Treason has more than enough tension and intrigue to span its 5-episode season. As long as it doesn’t get too bogged down with unnecessary side stories, the show should be very entertaining.

Viewers will be drawn into the main story in The Control Room. We hope, however, they’re not distracted by the piecemeal flashbacks that build the characters’ backstories.

STREAM IT, but we’re not sure if our recommendation is going to stay that way after the first episode. As the story of Paul T. Goldman gets more outrageous, the less funny we think this meta-meta series is going to be.

As far as the show goes, it’s some pretty light drama that’s not supposed to bring up any moral dilemmas or force viewers to dig for deeper meaning. Esposito elevates everything he’s in. ... So far, the rest of the team outside of Stan feel like one-dimensional characters, but those may also fill in during the rest of the episodes. But, as heist dramas go, Kaleidoscope tries to concentrate on the heist as much as possible, which is always a plus.

Despite the years between sequels, the cast of The Best Man: The Final Chapters is a well-oiled machine, and it shows in this new series.

Alice in Borderland is bloody, violent, and sometimes stingy with narrative facts. But it revels in making or breaking the rules it’s created for its topsyturvy world, and the core characters are compelling and fully rendered.

As far as Sonic productions go, this is a bland adventure that you’d be better served skipping to play the newest video game, Sonic Frontiers. The establishing episode is 45 minutes of schlock that might work well as a video game, but it doesn’t translate well to the small screen, with its muddled premise, eye-rolling dialogue, and downright boring story beats.

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.

Part of Emily in Paris’ charm is that the show never takes itself too seriously. That charming tactic is implemented again in Season 3, but the writers make [a] refreshing, effective effort to give characters, storylines, and relationship dynamics some added depth this time around.

Berry handles this all with the understated, dignified charm longtime viewers of GBBS will find utterly familiar.

Jack Ryan has successfully evolved its formula of spycraft and gunfights to accommodate John Krasinski’s brand of charm. In other words, it’s solidly-built, with just enough of everything that a show in this genre requires.

Stream it, if only for the presence of Ford and Mirren, and the fact that we know that Sheridan’s shows get better as they go along. But the first episode of 1923 does not do the presence of its stars justice, has disjointed stories and a glacial pace.

The Recruit is a mostly silly show, but Centineo has more than enough charm to carry viewers through the more absurd parts of the season’s ongoing plot, and there are enough veteran actors in the supporting cast to make us think the comedy-thriller tone of the first episode will be able to be sustained for the entire season.

Recipes For Love And Murder is carried by a warm performance from Kennedy and a surprisingly gritty turn by Fisher. But the story takes turns that involve the viewer in its season-long arc, even if the tone is similar to the light-drama, light-comedic one that we see with most of the mystery shows on Acorn.

There is potential for Kindred to go awry if she show’s writers end up concentrating on the wrong side of Dana’s time travel adventure. But it’s definitely an intriguing premise that brings up so many questions that we’ll keep watching to see if they’re answered.

Stellar characters, great performances, killer action, and — once again — some of the best costuming work on television can go a long way in covering up structural flaws. This year, I was promised a badass fantasy show, and I got one. It just wasn’t the one I expecting.

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.