Vinyl drags in its occasionally predictable, too infrequently surprising premiere and invites viewers down a rough road. It feels authentic; it looks and sounds believable. But the situations and characters in Vinyl are overly familiar in this post-antihero, peak TV era.

Somewhat shockingly, this 10-part, limited series quickly proves itself deeply engrossing and surprisingly entertaining, even though many viewers will know almost every beat of the story. Credit a strong cast--especially “American Horror Story” veteran Sarah Paulson as prosecutor Marcia Clark--and writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, working from Jeffrey Toobin’s book “The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson,” for turning this “trial of the century” into what could be the limited series of the year.

It's a mildly entertaining hour as far as crime procedurals go.

By episode two, Mulder and Scully are, jarringly, back on the job and once again investigating an X-Files case that may or may not involve alien-human hybrids.... [The third episode is] the best of the first three episodes but also the weirdest.

Jousting on ATVs aside, there’s not a lot of exciting, forward plot momentum in the first few episodes, but later episodes spend more time with characters in town, and episode four includes a plot twist that will either make viewers sit up and take notice or prompt them to turn off the TV.

The character [Zach Galifianakis] plays in Baskets (along with the main character's twin brother) is too often unfunny and too mean to the poor insurance adjuster, but I found [Martha Kelly's insurance adjuster character] and Chip's mother to be pretty entertaining.

It’s not so bloody to turn off viewers coming to it from lead-in “Downton Abbey,” but it’s also not so mercenary in its attempts to be compatible that it seems watered down.

If it digs in to explore the conflicts inherent in collaboration, resistance and protection of family, this soapy saga might have legs.

It's soapy and action-packed while still paying attention to developing its characters, the typical ABC Family Freeform mix of elements that's proved successful with its audience so far.

It's not terrible but it is quite MTV-y with a soundtrack that at times feels more like any typical teen angst drama and looks that suggest of-the moment fashions (male elves sport a variation on the manbun hairstyle).

Overlong compared to the compact, well-edited six hours of "The Jinx," "Making a Murderer" could use a lot of tightening. ... And yet it's a fascinating story.

Second Chance is pretty much another Fox attempt at a crime procedural crossed with a high concept.

There are moments when Shades of Blue feels like more than the sum of its recycled parts but then there's a manipulative, tension-filled scene that tacks in just the direction a savvy viewer could predict.

Their scrapes and misadventures in the pilot are quite reminiscent of "The Hangover" and the show got funnier as it went along. But as is often the case, personal taste will dictate whether one feels the need for a lesson from this Guide on a weekly basis.

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.

Childhood's End is more thought-provoking than many Syfy miniseries of the recent past even as it stumbles through plot holes.

The Expanse is pure space opera with political and cultural undertones that aren’t always communicated well, but there are compelling enough stories in the foreground that perhaps in time the detailed universe the series attempts to build will become clearer.

The show is just as strong as it was at the end of its first season. To be sure, Transparent isn't for everyone, and not because of its central transgender character, who’s actually one of the most likable of the bunch. Viewers are more likely to have a problem with the rarefied, tony Los Angeles setting, and the self-absorbed characters who populate the series.

The show clearly wants to be like the movie “Soapdish,” but Telenovela can’t quite pull it off. A second episode is considerably less funny than the pilot, a danger sign. The pilot episode has fun riffing on TV stars with swelled heads and telenovela camera trick clichés, and it all plays to Ms. Longoria’s comedic strengths.

Created by writer Justin Spitzer, Superstore has its funny moments as it alternately mocks People of Wal-Mart types while trying to protect the dignity of the store’s employees. It’s difficult for the show to have it both ways. Superstore is at its funniest when it’s also at its most ruthless and offensive, but those moments are few.

While appropriately grimy given the 1620s, rural North America setting (Although it was filmed in South Africa), the dour deprivation depicted proves dull over the miniseries’ first two hours.

The Man in the High Castle is a show that walks a fine line; it’s just intriguing enough to keep me coming back, but it doesn’t make me yearn to watch the next episode.

Director Kirk Thatcher is saddled with a fairly dated concept--family in crisis finds salvation off the grid with magical woodland monsters--that might have worked as a one-hour special but feels stretched to fill the film’s two-hour running time.

Jessica Jones could still use more levity, but its second episode reveals a streaming series that’s headed in a more balanced, intriguing direction.

Bunga stops a gazelle stampede with a big old passing of gas heard and shown in all its green-hued glory. Kids will love it, of course, and it's certainly better than fighting turtles but between tarnishing memories of the original film and that shouting honey badger, Return of the Road won't encourage co-viewing among children and their parents.

A lackluster entry that's unessential viewing in this age of #PeakTV.

The heart-tugging medical stories and conflicts all feel familiar, none of them delivered with anything that approaches a fresh twist.

AMC is airing only the show’s first hour this weekend, and if it leaves viewers confused about the world, come back for episode two, which fills in a lot of blanks about the Badlands and its characters.