We’re still wondering if Archive 81 can effectively put its timelines together into a coherent thriller. But it’s off to a promising start, due to good performances from both Athie and Shihabi.

The House is certainly off-putting and weird at times, but the animation is great and the stories moved along just quickly enough to keep us interested.

We’re giving a cautious recommendation to The Journalist because we think writer Michihito Fujii has established the bones of a good story. But it needs to avoid getting bogged down in the details of the corruption and just get down to the business of examining everyone’s motivations in the scandal.

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.

It’s intriguing enough to keep us watching. And, given the fact that the show gives a montage of Peacemaker’s story in The Suicide Squad, you shouldn’t need to see the film in order to get the series.

It does seem like Naomi is going to take its sweet time to explore its main character’s story. And that’s just fine with us, especially if it gives us more time to get to know what seems like an anomaly on TV these days, which is a teenager with her head on straight and a strong desire to find out more about herself.

Cheer Season 2 is, like the first season, an addictive triumph. It expands the narrative to include a rival cheer team worth (begrudgingly) rooting for and a new cast of characters to love. But the most impressive thing Cheer Season 2 does is honestly examine the fallout of Season 1. The documentarians capture the good, the bad, and the ugly. ... Cheer Season 2 is The Empire Strikes Back of contemporary sports docs.

It’s certainly not for everyone, but if it is up your alley, it elicits tears-streaming-down-your-face laughter, the kind of horrified guffaws only McBride and his team can deliver. ... All the hi-jinx and hysteria and humor are what make The Righteous Gemstones a thorough joy, but the deeper questions are what make it memorable, a true gem in a sea of shallow content.

Pivoting works because of its three leads, but they’re dealing with uneven stories that we hope will be worked out as its first season goes along.

Euphoria Season 2 is good, but not quite great. ... Without seeing the final pieces of the overall puzzle, it’s impossible to say if Euphoria Season 2 manages to succeed as a whole. What we have seen is as masterful as it is messy. Euphoria remains an imperfect gem that works best as a showcase for the next generation of towering acting talents.

Search Party cements itself as a modern comedy classic. ... Once again delivering perfect performances and writing sharp enough to cut.

While the writing is sharp on the miniseries, created by Marissa Jo Cerar (The Fosters), the performances take already strong material and make it resonant.

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.

The show touches on so many topics that can make for really compelling drama, but there seems to be a penchant for the show to default to action scenes and “scary cartel” tropes more often than not. ... We’re OK with a more action-oriented, good guy-bad guy show because Yung and the rest of the cast do a good job with the material they’re given.

A bittersweet, magical trip down memory lane, Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts offers everything you could possibly want out of a reunion special.

The Book Of Boba Fett continues this run of quality, giving us insight into a character that has long fascinated fans of the franchise. ... Morrison gives Fett a sense of regal humanity that makes his desire to reform the galaxy’s underworld under his watch plausible. And Wen, as she’s proven in the MCU, kicks major ass as Shand. Both bring the requisite senses of humor to their roles.

Around the World in 80 Days isn’t an earth-shattering Jules Verne adaptation, but it is a lovely one. Thanks mostly to the way it understands how to harness David Tennant’s magnificence on screen.

Stay Close benefits from fine performances and a story that gives just enough clues in the first episode to keep viewers intrigued and — more importantly — not frustrated with purposely obtuse writing.

With a few small exceptions, Emily in Paris Season 2 is basically just more of the same, and who could ask for anything more? ... Emily in Paris remains an undeniably watchable delight, short on substance but long on satisfaction.

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.

If you find Hallmark’s holiday movies to be a little too sappy for your taste, With Love will scratch that itch you may have for a warm family-oriented romcom, with just a bit more representation and edge.

The entertainment value of the show comes down to the personalities of the cast. For now, the cast members haven’t distinguished themselves from each other for the most part, but there are definitely beefs there.

Station Eleven is brilliant television. It’s one of the most profound meditations on love, loss, grief, and community I’ve ever seen.

Grand Crew, like its fellow freshman sitcom American Auto, has a lot to like but still needs some time to find its way. But at least the show will be entertaining to watch as it finds its comedic footing.

There are plenty of funny character-based situations, and the cast is displaying good chemistry in the first two episodes. But the “been there, done that” feeling of American Auto is pervasive, even if the first two episodes have some funny moments.

The Larkins is a good-natured bit of British comfort TV that is a great antidote to the heaviness of most current dramas.

We’re recommending Saturday Morning All-Star Hits! mainly because Kyle Mooney and Ben Jones do a good job of recreating the cheesy cartoons and teen-oriented shows we used to watch in the ’80s and ’90s, and we appreciate that the satire goes super dark at times. But we so wanted it to be a whole lot funnier than it turned out to be.

If you’re expecting another outlandish chapter of Tiger King, you’re going to be disappointed with The Doc Antle Story. In fact, the more we watched, the more we wanted to take a shower for a good half-hour just because we turned it on.