Killing It is a comedy that could work on network television today, except for all the F-bombs. It’s got a good premise. ... Though, I'd argue that Killing It would’ve worked better without all the F-bombs.

The vast audience for Vikings is clearly the target for Valhalla, and those viewers won’t be disappointed, but they also won’t be blown away; the show takes a while to find its way.

At its strongest, this series gives solid, easy-to-grasp explanations for why the human brain likes dividing the world up into “us” and “them” and why that impulse is so hard to resist. At its weakest — specifically, the two episodes after the one airing on Sunday — Why We Hate is more like How We Hate, dwelling too long on the political divide in America and the role social media plays in pitting people against each other.

Make some popcorn and plan to watch the two-episode origin story in one sitting. It might be the most satisfying addition to the Western genre since Godless.

It verges at times on hokey melodrama. ... So, yes, I’m disappointed. But I'm recommending Dopesick anyway, because quite honestly I don’t think the show was designed for a viewer like me. ... Hulu has apparently decided that this adaptation of a nonfiction book should resemble a very long movie-of-the-week — but you know, a lot of people like to watch those.

[Magic and the Lakers] transformed sports in the public’s eye from just a game into show business. You’ll see how in this colorful, explosive, thoroughly entertaining series.

Its computer-desktop motif and Zoom-like video conferencing are rather prescient, given that the show was made months before the COVID-19 pandemic. But other attempts to freshen the Muppets formula felt unnecessary and gratuitous.

Sometimes it takes an ordinary thriller or procedural to make an extraordinary point. The Spy offers entertaining proof of this.

The Jim Gaffigan Show, his 2016 TV Land sitcom, was aptly named since Gaffigan was the only person funny in it. And that still was almost enough to save the show. Almost. Jim Gaffigan: Pale Tourist feels like one of those near-misses, too, but it’s less than two hours of your life and loaded with laughs, so I’d still recommend watching it.

A Teacher is not about the guys. This is a star vehicle for two women — Mara in front of the screen and Hannah Fidell behind it. ... If you want to see a creative female mind exploring how female power, when it runs into the brick wall of societal taboo, can be self-destructive, A Teacher is your show.

Episodes begin disorientingly in the middle of something and build toward a reveal, which isn't a bad way to go when you have 25 minutes to tell a thousand-word story, but the payoff doesn’t always seem worth it.

Fan fiction may not be the best way to describe Dickinson, but I think it captures the overall adoration of the poet that went into the making of this show. ... All of this is pretty engaging. But then at seemingly random moments Dickinson shape-shifts into a sitcom, and that’s where it loses me.

On Briarpatch that protean mind [of creator Andy Greenwald] is put to surprisingly good use. Maybe the best idea Greenwald had was taking Benjamin Dill, the hero of Ross Thomas’s long-forgotten 1984 detective novel Briarpatch, and turning him into Allegra.

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.

When the show focuses on the reward and the struggle of the work, it’s fabulous. ... Even if it can get preachy, Alaska Daily’s warp-speed dialogue and efficient, network-TV execution ensure that viewers won’t get too bogged down in sermonizing.

The show's confusing, non-linear approach, combined with a plodding pace, makes it a challenge in the early going. ... Patient viewers who can put up with the show's pace and depressing atmosphere will be rewarded in the end.

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.

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.

Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker is a highly watchable bit of what I call rock-and-roll history. It’s a subgenre that tries to bring the past alive with modern dialogue and a ripping soundtrack. ... Spencer delivers the goods.

For Life joins a growing number of series devoted to exploring wrongful conviction and the ordeal that convicts must go through to have their cases retried and verdicts overturned. But it stands out in two ways. First, unlike nonfiction series like Free Meek and Confession Tapes, For Life has the look and feel of an ABC courtroom drama. Second, it’s based on the life of a real-life person, Isaac Wright Jr., a man whose story is so incredible Disney+ should consider making a companion documentary or podcast. ... After two episodes of For Life, I’m in.

All of this works better if you watch it as a comedy or whatever genre bucket you think Shyamalan belongs in. Indeed, if you try to watch Servant as a horror show, or a suspenseful thriller, I think you’ll be disappointed and even a bit bored. ... Whether Servant can deliver on this promising start, only time will tell.

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.

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 adulterous senators to anti-LGBTQ European demagogues to African gangster-statesmen, The Family shows over and over how The Fellowship was co-opted by politicians to curry favor with the evangelical power structure. ... What The Family doesn’t do is explain why The Fellowship exists in the first place. Why were so many upstanding men (and, um, some women in there, somewhere) not only drawn to Fellowship work but committed to it for years?

The storylines are darker, sexier. They also arc across episodes — I recommend watching at least the first two to get the full flavor. Also, Episode 2 is stronger, with the loss of intimacy explored through both comic and poignant storylines. It’s a network show, so don’t expect The Leftovers. But Fantasy Island is back and it’s in good hands.

Even though the set-up is familiar and the dialogue is shopworn, The Lincoln Lawyer still works. It delivers likable characters who are easy to root for as they stand up for the unfairly accused. There's comfort to be had in this type of storytelling.

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.