Fans of podcast sensation “Serial” and anyone intrigued by a good character-driven murder mystery will want to jump on board HBO’s six-part documentary series The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst.

The humor is quick and smart, often poking fun at the conventions of period dramas and the perceived privilege of the wealthy.

The series remains smart and thought-provoking but it's also quite funny.

It may do some good, but it's still a piece of TV entertainment that, first and foremost, must succeed as a revenue generator for ABC. That realistic, not cynical, caveat aside, Big Give is certainly more positive than "Big Brother" or numerous other reality shows.

The animated comedy returns in stronger comedic shape in its fourth season.

An animated series with an odd mix of historical figures and parodies of teen-appeal TV, advertising and music. It's a bizarre combination, to be sure, but it works. [12 Jan 2003, p.D-3]

To the credit of writer James Graham and director Stephen Frears (“A Very English Scandal”), “Quiz” rigorously offers both sides of the story and allows viewers to decide.

Last summer Oxygen's The Glee Project proved a better TV show that Fox's "Glee" and it appears that may be more true in the show's second season.

With A Year in the Life, there actually is a plot that propels the characters forward and that might be the highest praise possible for any TV revival.

It's a true character piece with top-notch acting all around. [21 Mar 2004, p.TV-5]

It's the characters of Banshee and their labyrinth of relationships that make the show an engrossing, entertaining portrait of a fictional small town.

It's a sensitive, one-hour portrait of three teens: one gay, one lesbian, one transgender.

An exhilarating, fast-paced competition filled with colorful characters, "The Amazing Race" is a pulse-pounding good time.

Roth's Lightman is not nearly the curmudgeon Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) is, nor is he as entertaining, but Lie to Me has the makings of a fine procedural for viewers who can't seem to get enough of this type of series.

Although The Beat rises above much of what's on TV - and everything else on UPN - it is nowhere near as complex and layered as "Homicide." But it may be just as off-putting to some viewers.

Tonight's premiere has a zippy energy that can be attributed to the writing and Mr. Cumberbatch's riveting, gonzo performance. He plays Sherlock as authoritative and arrogant but also with a hint of excited madness that makes for an engrossing new take on this classic character.

A splendid cast, headed by Shelley Long, a college-educated cocktail waitress, and bar owner Ted Danson, make Cheers something to cheer about. [19 Oct 1982, p.34]

It's mysterious and exciting, a suspenseful and tense action-drama. [6 Nov 2001]

Did the new network screw up the show? Not that I could tell from the incomplete first episode sent for review (no judge's remarks or eliminations).

Season four promises more of the same while expanding on stories in the books and in some cases improving on what could be long literary slogs.

It’s a mammoth, epic undertaking that starts with a smart opening episode. “Déjà Vu,” beautifully written by Geoffrey C. Ward, manages to both deliver the expected (images of Vietnam, first-person accounts of fear and heroism in combat) and the unexpected (a history of the conflict that drills down beyond the immediate run-up all the way back to the beginning of French colonialism in 1858).

Season two pulls viewers back on board with intriguing plot twists, more light moments and strong performances.

Issa’s troubles--and Insecure itself--feel authentic even if the series is only intermittently funny.

Clearly this show is not for the easily offended. Not everyone will appreciate this kind of humor, but anyone who values smart, provocative comedy that's about truth telling will be intrigued.

The payoff--Black Mirror promises no happy endings but the conclusions are always thought-provoking--is worth it.

No reservations, just a ringing endorsement for Comedy Central’s The Other Two, a smart half-hour comedy.

Smart, clever and punctuated with moments of warmth that avoid treacle, ABC’s Downward Dog delivers delightful comedy thanks to an angsty canine character with a psyche that is more human than mutt.

Most sketch comedy shows decline with age but IFC's Portlandia continues to show signs of smart, savvy, new comic life in its fourth season.