Pursuit of Happiness doesn’t just go wider, it goes deeper. Ravi Patel has a way with words, and can draw surprisingly meaningful nuggets from his own life.

It is a must-watch doc. ... The enduring impression of this film isn’t of the interested actors who found it convenient to use Norma McCorvey — it’s of McCorvey herself.

From the get-go, Defending Jacob grabs and holds your attention, hour after hour, as you try to figure out whether the kid did it, and if the parents are going to make it through the trial without imploding. .... It’s the best Apple original series yet, and proof that like fine wine, some stories just need time to age and breathe a little.

Well-paced and efficient, Bad Vegan sucks you into Melngailis's personal drama and keeps you there.

Bless the Harts feels true right out of the gate.

Murderville isn’t remotely a murder mystery, or even a parody of a murder mystery. But it offers a fresh take on improvisational comedy, one of the few underrepresented subgenres in today’s television landscape.

The documentary does an admirable job of capturing those early days without a wink or sneer. ... I Love You, You Hate Me expertly marshals different pop-culture voices to explain how the anti-Barney sentiment bubbled up so easily. ... In the end the show makes a surprisingly persuasive case that maybe the Barney backlash of 30 years ago was the canary in the coal mine — that it served as an early warning of what a culture steeped in irony and conditioned to react caustically to everything on a screen could become.

Silicon Valley in many ways still feels like the hacker-house ensemble comedy it started out as, even though Pied Piper now has 532 employees and a thicket of fiduciary and ethical entanglements that have built up over the years and will drive the storyline these final seven episodes.

Torv, a Melbournite, does more than bring the usual steely determination to the role of a female ladder climber in a man’s world. She also brings vulnerability, while mostly keeping it concealed from her colleagues. ... [It handles] universal topics in a low-key, immersive storytelling style that fans of thoughtful drama should enjoy, regardless of their country of origin.

Edgar-Jones and Mescal are utterly convincing as two brainy kids who know instantly that they have a special bond, yet are clueless how to express it. ... It is a pleasure to watch, just as the book was a pleasure to read — except different.

Pretend It’s a City feels like a gift from the universe — a small, affectionate token that a lover might drop in the mail while traveling the world just to remind you that she’ll be back, and that she’s worth the wait. ... Watching it I felt a strange permission to imagine life returning to normal, as I know it will sometime this year. In my mind, I pretend I’m in New York, and I’m walking up Sixth Avenue, and by chance I look up from my phone — and there’s Fran Lebowitz walking the other way, judging me.

Spellbinding. ... Relying on a stylized version of the classic true-crime TV format, they keep the viewer squarely focused on the principal subject of this film, Gary Stewart, and his story, which is that his dad was very likely the infamous serial murderer known as the Zodiac Killer. ... To not feel for him is to miss the point of this show, which is really an investigation into the stories that each one of us are capable of telling ourselves and reinforcing in our minds every day, whether they are true or not.

This is an authorized portrait of a celebrity — albeit an unlikely and, by all accounts, wonderfully down-to-earth celebrity, which Julia certainly captures.

The series remains impeccably stylish, with exquisite sets, eye-catching costumes, and some pretty highfalutin dialogue for a story about uneducated criminals. Another strength of Peaky Blinders is that it's managed to stay fresh from one season to the next.

CSI was worth watching then and you know what? It’s worth watching now. The CSI: Vegas pilot pulls you right back in with its familiar video funnel effect, moody sets and stylized killings.

Like any good iteration, Mo takes its audience places the original [Ramy] didn't.. ... If you're expecting a series about a Palestinian refugee living in a U.S. border town to have its political moments, then Mo won't disappoint. Having said that, the show's greatest virtue may be that it rarely forgets that it's a fast-paced, breezy sitcom that doesn't linger too long on our conscience.

The resulting first season of this docuseries does not disappoint. Even if you know nothing about soccer or British club sport, if you like a good underdog story, this one will play its way right into your heart.

This well-done childrens’ show is better than any dumbed-down E/I show I’ve ever seen, and will arguably do more to change people’s eating habits than anything the USDA thinks it can do.

Between the taut plotting and the dark laughs, The Patient is expertly calibrated to lure viewers in. Episode 1 takes just over 19 minutes, and the run times grow slowly from there, along with the need to keep seeing how things will turn out.

Instantly likable prequel to Black-ish. ... Mixed-ish is a delightful example of how history — not nostalgia — can be used to help us see our present day more perceptively through the lens of yesterday.

Casting is key, and Annaleigh Ashford nails it as Gina. ... I enjoyed Bob (Hearts) Abishola immensely last season, but the show’s modest ratings suggest that this is a make-or-break year. And I like what I see so far here, so I can’t help but… be positive.

68 Whiskey moves confidently into the small but mighty clique of military comedies that balance the absurdist tragedy of war with the intense emotional bonds and improvised code of ethics on the front lines. ... Chalk up another win for the new kid on cable's block.

Loot isn't as successful as that Emmy-winning hit [Ted Lasso], but it's still a very enjoyable show that's handsomely produced, with a posh soundtrack and luxurious visuals. Rodriguez is excellent as the uptight foundation president, and there's just enough lampooning of the politically correct philanthropy world to give the jokes some bite.

Agents of Chaos, is not for the weak of stomach. ... Fortunately, he knows how to lighten the load. Imagine a four-hour Frontline investigation with a sense of humor and a rock-and-roll soundtrack — that’s Agents of Chaos in a nutshell.

It works because some serious comedy writers are on the team and have made improvements to the Ted Lasso cartoon from the NBC ads. ... The writing is sharp and fresh..

In the end, this show may wind up going the way of Rectify, an almost pure form of character drama in which storylines take a backseat to the sheer pleasure of watching a human being evolve before one’s eyes, as David Young does on David Makes Man. Either way, I know I'll be watching.

Another musical rom-com seemingly designed to cherry-pick the Crazy Ex audience. ... The songs are bright and clever, and the visuals reflect the show’s slightly bigger production budget, e.g., a simple animation that turns the office copier into a flip book.

Fact-based, fast-paced, and infuriating as all hell, Free Meek benefits from having the participation and financial backing of Jay-Z and his Roc Nation company; from the support of Meek’s tight-knit family that accompanies him every step of the way; and by having a fabulous explainer in Rolling Stone’ investigative journalist Paul Solotaroff, who helped nationalize the Meek Mill story in 2017 and whose silver throat makes anything sound like butter.