UnReal continues to give short shrift to the meta commentary on reality TV that made season one such fun.

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.

At times, Here and Now is exhausting. And yet, some of the characters, particularly Ramon and the Muslim family, are fascinating enough for the time being, despite how annoying so many other elements of the show turn out to be.

The series, a purported behind-the-scenes look at the Trump administration, has its intermittent funny moments, and the character designs of the people who populate Trump’s cabinet are entertaining. But the story that’s grafted onto the first episode — Trump has to find an anniversary gift for Melania — is sitcom-trite and reminiscent of the old Comedy Central series “That’s My Bush.”

Bellevue plays like a watered-down version of “The Killing.”

Ridiculous and filled with hospital show cliches.

Too much in the pilot gets short shrift at the expense of the show’s love affair with mood. Snow covers streets and then disappears in a scene set moments later; foreboding dialogue comes off as too on the nose. ... Episode two shakes off the unsavory visuals and moves the story and character relationships forward with less emphasis on the heaviness that hangs over the first hour, but by then, some viewers will have moved on.

Waco is a surprisingly pedestrian, paint-by-number docudrama. It’s fine but doesn’t soar like the two installments of FX’s “American Crime Story”: “People v. O.J. Simpson” and “The Assassination of Gianni Versace.”

Darkly funny and clever in its skewering of the modern workplace, Corporate offers a welcome release valve for any corporate drones who tune in.

Counterpart is one of those twisty shows that could threaten to become convoluted the longer it goes on, but in early episodes it’s more intriguing than it is confusing or frustrating.

“Versace" is not perfect--some episodes meander a bit and anytime the story takes viewers back to Versace and away from the other victims, it becomes less compelling--but it marks an early, strong entry for one of the best series of 2018.

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).

Created and written by Emmy winner Lena Waithe (“Master of None”), The Chi isn’t always an easy show to watch, but it imbues its characters with a humanity and complexity that makes the series commendable.

Season 4 is uneven. Three stories--“USS Callister,” “Black Museum” and “Hang the DJ”--are far superior to the others. There is much more graphic sex (albeit hilariously depicted in “DJ”) and violence than in past seasons.

Quirky and unlike any current TV comedies, it’s got smart, dumb-funny humor and a great comedic turn by Mr. McDermott.

The X-Files is back with a mix of convoluted mythology and more satisfying stand-alone stories.

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

While the realistic depiction of college is not in question, "grown-ish" borders on depressing in its sobering depiction of modern college life.

Other than Hailey and Happy all the characters are a different shade of terrible, which gets kind of boring unless you’re tuning in only for the fight scenes that invariably end in bloodbaths.

History’s Knightfall is pretty much just a “Vikings” knockoff set in a different, but still bloody, historical period. ... The show’s limited character development is entirely predictable.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a delightful, well cast hourlong comedic drama that occasionally detours into darkness but then quickly bobs back into the light.

The first two “Runaways” episodes offer an organized introduction to the kids — from jock to religious zealot — and their more intriguing parents in an entertaining enough fashion to make the show recommendable to anyone who hasn’t overdosed on comic book-based series already.

The pilot for “Future Man,” available Tuesday, takes a little too long to get to the show’s premise — viewers offended by the profane be advised: there are a lot of f-bombs — but “Future Man” is funny enough in its meta commentary on media culture that it’s sure to appeal to the young male audience it targets.

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.

It’s an admirable portrait of a character in a social class that’s underrepresented on TV, but it’s more depressing than entertaining. The struggle is real--but it’s not funny.

There’s timeliness to the never dull “Damnation” despite its period setting, particularly in episode two when a professor (Gabriel Mann, “Revenge”) disparages the “unwashed rural masses.” Just don’t go looking for any heroes: There are none to be found.

It’s more quiet and contemplative (and occasionally a bit dull) than it is propulsive. But viewers drawn to quiet, thoughtful character stories and a largely unknown story from women’s history may find “Alias Grace” engaging enough.