This new season seems more forced than usual.

USA's Royal Pains is an amusing, enjoyable addition to basic cable.

There's little that's magical about the cold, poorly paced Magicians pilot. It takes 16 minutes until Quentin arrives at Brakebills and feels longer. The pilot is rife with drab colors and while the story has potential, it made me want to go find the book rather than watch more of the TV series.

It’s not that great.

A small town, character-driven drama that’s enjoyable enough even if the characters are not entirely believable.

Nobodies has its amusing moments--and plenty of celebrity cameos in the premiere, including Maya Rudolph, Jim Rash and Jason Batema--especially when it explores the disdain more successful writers have for, say, animated kids show writers. But tolerance for uncomfortable comedic moments will vary by viewer.

A surprisingly engaging procedural drama. 9-1-1 brings to mind early “ER.”

It’s entirely possible The Last Ship could turn out to be a cruise to nowhere, but in its first three episodes, it’s at least a fun ride.

Co-created by Paul Reiser (“Mad About You”) and David Steven Simon (“The Wayans Bros.”), there’s a warmth to the “There’s Johnny” pilot that’s extremely appealing, especially in an era of cold, cynical comedies.

Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll may not be easy to swallow, but it digests comfortably.

Of the couples comedies to debut so far this midseason--NBC's "Perfect Couples" in January, Fox's "Traffic Light" last week--CBS's "Mad Love" (8:30 tonight, KDKA-TV) is probably the best. That's not to say it's a great show, but it is the least groan-inducing.

Ailes’ now-infamous skulduggery may have irrevocably damaged political discourse, but recounting it all makes for a wildly entertaining, occasionally painful, deep dive into the history of Fox News Channel and an excavation of one of the ways the current polarized American political climate came to exist.

It’s all fluffy, sexy, mindless fun, the TV equivalent of a summer beach read.

Much of the humor is of the predictable, fish out of water variety ... but “Bless This Mess” is at its funniest when it gets weird with characters like Rudy (Ed Begley Jr.), who lives in the couple’s barn, and Jacob (JT Neal), the dim-witted son of the neighbors.

The easily offended should steer clear, but viewers with an appreciation for outrageous humor are likely to have a good laugh watching Little Britain USA.

Fans of legal dramas should be intrigued by Phil Spector, a well-paced 90-minute character-driven film.

"Shark"... is clearly a "House" imitator, but a pretty crisp copy.

For the People is OK but not great, too all over the place for any of the legal cases to make much of a dramatic impression.

The seemingly unsustainable plot cries out to be a one-shot movie rather than an ongoing series. It’s too bad, too, because the show’s themes resonate in this #MeToo moment, but a “no good can come from this” plot gets in the way.

Although I'm wise enough not to cross Jordan, I don't really want to watch more of this formula-driven show. [24 Sep 2001]

Fans of zombies and the absurd may want to tune in but there's nothing funny or interesting enough in Ugly Americans to keep me coming back.

Against all odds, this week's premiere turns out to be a competent, highly watchable hour of television, the most promising broadcast network premiere since "Southland."

"Day Break" is both dark and frustrating.

Essentially a prime-time soap, Bomb Girls is a well-plotted, smartly written soap that doesn't shy away from, shocking, even gruesome, plot turns in showing the dangers of working in a bomb-making factory.

Mockingbird Lane is funny, fanciful, a visual treat and, perhaps surprisingly, full of heart.

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]

It is indeed sinfully bad.... The plot is predictable and the acting generally hammy.

Fresh, funny and fearless, Alone Together introduces two new voices whose exploits are far more relatable than some recent past series about young people (cough, cough, “Girls,” cough, cough).