“Schmigadoon!” manages to both expose and celebrate the formulaic structure of traditional musicals; theater buffs will love the sheer audacity of it all.

Even though Loki delivers his usual subservience-is-freedom speeches and has bouts of self-analysis, the touch here is pretty light. Hiddleston is a wonderfully physical comic actor, all twitches and muttered asides, and Wilson offers a casual contrast to Loki’s royal airs.

Harlots, on Hulu, is certainly audacious. And ambitious. But whether it will be able to pull off it’s fine-line feminist balancing act remains to be seen; this show may end up groundbreaking or it may end up a train wreck. In the meantime it’s hard to look away.

The question of whether artificial intelligence can gain consciousness is obviously timely. The question of whether Wood and company can make Westworld as emotionally viable as it is fascinating to watch remains to be seen. Still, try looking away.

Creator Sam Levinson always pushes further than most, shoving the desperation and disillusionment of a young and apparently mostly hopeless generation right in front of the camera. It’s strong stuff. It’s meant to be. “Euphoria” is its own kind of twisted high.

The disconnect between propriety and reality keeps the miniseries on constant edge. The entire cast is fine, but Hall steals the show.

Creators Amanda Peet and Annie Wyman keep the show loose enough for cute side storylines — David Duchovny! — but never let things wander aimlessly. With six quick episodes they offer a glimpse at the absurdities of modern academic life and cultural sensitivities, while also dancing on romantic comedy notes. Nice.

This show fits perfectly into the network's mystery/cop-heavy schedule and audiences should be able to blur right through it comfortably. As comfortable blurs go, Battle Creek is indeed a success.

There are knocks in Seduced and Abandoned, but none of them seem that hard.

“The Afterparty” runs in too many directions at once and as a result never gets anywhere in particular.

Like the tremendously successful “American Crime Story: The People v O.J. Simpson,” HBO’s new film, the ultra-sharp Confirmation, is a look back at the muddled ’90s, when racism and sexism were shockingly overt, and one could be used to undercut or confuse the other on the public stage.

The system is a mess, no doubt, fully awful, unfair and brutal. And “Stateless” approaches this head-on. It just would have been nice to reflect more on those who are abused than the white folk who cage them in. Again, yeesh.

“Teenage Bounty Hunters” is pretty much as good and bad as you’d expect it to be. Well, maybe a bit more bad. Which is unfortunate because the show’s young leads — Maddie Phillips and Anjelica Bette Fellini — have wonderful chemistry, batting teen nonsense, emotional eruptions and giddy observations back and forth with crisp timing.

The series looks promising, if puzzling.

At times the somewhat corny diversions distract from the slow-moving main attraction. Still, true-believer horror fans will likely bite into The Strain, even if nonconverts find themselves able to resist.

Mostly this is old news repackaged as a classic sports redemption story. It’s efficient and watchable, but hardly a revelation.

It doesn’t follow the usual rhythms of television--Apatow puts the long in longform storytelling--but there are times when you want to tell him to just get on with it already.

It’s intimate stuff and a clear showcase for the actors, who are uniformly fine. The weak spot is Brooke’s weekly episode — she’s struggling with sobriety, a struggle that’s overly familiar.

She’s absolutely as funny as she was two years ago, which was pretty darn funny. But the humor--most of it revolving around sex, body issues and relationships--feels dated.

[A] captivating and undeniable classic. [26 Aug 2005, p.2E]

"Saved by the Bell" is a throwback that looks forward, embracing the past while living in the now. And it shows that you can teach the old school some new tricks.

When the dramatic scenes work, especially in the opening episode directed by Duvernay, there’s a real family feel. But later episodes can come off too earnest and scripted, veering toward the afterschool special feel of yore. ... But this series is about spirit and perseverance and cultural chasms and race. It’s the sort of thing that should be shown in schools and probably will be, to the benefit of all.

There’s no question Hollywood loves to look at itself and a TV show about a TV show is more than a bit indulgent. But audiences also like to look at Hollywood and “Reboot” at least manages to be witty and entertaining.

To be sure, there are some fine performances, notably by Olivia Wilde as Richie’s former Warhol girl wife; Juno Temple as an ambitious gofer who wants to work her way up; and Ray Romano as Richie’s beleaguered right-hand man. But they’re mostly drowned in the confusion as the show veers from drama to farce to mostly poor musical interludes.

"jeen-yuhs" is a vital document on how we got this far.

Showtime’s favorite psychopath is watching his life unravel. Again. Which is tough for Dexter but probably good for the audience.... Last year, the ship was righted as Deb disintegrated and Dexter found true love. Will this season bring justice, cheap thrills or a violent conclusion? Hopefully, all of the above.

While still elaborate, feels a bit slight, tepid and drawn-out compared to the first season. For many it won’t matter — look at those gowns! But let’s be frank: Next season, turn up the heat.

For those who crave monsters and gore at any cost, this may do. All others beware.

The show is mostly a slow-burn look at Kyle as he tries to make sense of all the damage that seems to follow--and grow--around him. He may yet turn to prayer.

If you make it through the messy early episodes, “League” turns out to be a sweet show and downright wholesome in its own way.

"Pam & Tommy" doesn't make fun of them or their relationship, but shows it for what it is: a match made in the stars. James' physical transformation is astounding (she's aided considerably by prosthetics), and she finds the warmth within Pam, the naïve small town girl with dreams that perhaps outweighed her talents. Stan is clearly going for it in the role of Tommy, and he softens some of the rocker's harder features and less desirable traits; he makes him lovable.

No matter what, the show returns with the same sense of modern-day paranoia and urgency that fueled its best seasons, and however over-the-top it goes, its real-world geopolitical concerns are real-world geopolitical concerns.

"Peacemaker" is guilty of taking itself not seriously enough. At least it has a sense of humor, too bad it's limited to the level of limericks scrawled on the inside of bathroom stalls.

“The Third Day” runs haywire in so many directions the fear is it might pull a “Lost” and amount to nothing. But by the third episode it’s clear that’s not the case; writer Dennis Kelly ties it all together in wondrous fashion and then lets the firestorm burn on. It’s glorious stuff.

This four-part documentary about the theft of 13 works of art from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990 is a rambling if entertaining search for the possible culprits in a major real-world whodunit.

Not strange enough to be scary, but probably strange enough to be fun. [17 Sept 2002]

The show isn't perfect--the female characters are weak, Graham can get a bit wild-eyed and the killings get progressively more bizarre. But creator Bryan Fuller has a good grip on the material and Mikkelsen sets a tone that's both chilling and intriguing.

Nip/Tuck isn't perfect, but with its flawed, fumbling and very human cast of characters, it's a cut above the usual TV drama. [22 July 2003, p.5E]

Smarter and more creative than ABC's "Desperate Housewives," that other show about superficial suburbia, "Weeds" has edgier and wittier writing. [6 Aug 2005]

Unfortunately, the positives are overwhelmed by so many disjointed things going on at once. For the most part it doesn’t matter that these are 20-year-olds playing 14. What matters is there’s simply too much that feels like plot fodder for a show stuffed with too many characters.

The set-up isn’t unique, of course. There have been numerous shows about doctors and lawyers and such having to fight their way to success in a crowded field. The difference is those characters usually do something redeeming along the way. These people are just plain greedy and flippantly vile. Which doesn’t mean they can’t make for a guilty pleasure. And they’re a varied lot.

Halt is wise enough to play this out against Gordon’s stress over providing for his family, Joe’s mysterious background and Cameron’s cute pixie haircut. The ad men in “Mad Men” changed a great deal; the people who put a computer in every home changed everything. And that keeps Halt and Catch Fire interesting.

"Yellowstone" has always been the kind of show that it seems like Sam Elliott should be in — in the series, Forrie J. Smith plays a senior ranch hand who looks like he could be Elliott's stunt double — so it's fitting that Sheridan has found a way to weave him into "Yellowstone's" DNA. "1883" is expansive enough to stand on its own, but its ties to the original series give it grounding. We know where it's eventually headed, but that doesn't take away from the journey of getting there.

Pitch has a simple enough premise: It follows the first female player in major league baseball. Interesting. But what do you do with it? That’s the question that lingers over this new Fox show, which is undoubtedly timely but also seems somewhat dramatically limited. ... The series wisely looks at the isolation that’s resulted from Ginny’s single-minded pursuit of baseball.

Cavill remains fine as Geralt, with his absurd physique and long white hair. He has mastered the art of the humorous grunt and it’s still fun to watch him handily slaughter dozens of men at a time or take on some comic-book looking creature. But there was an audacity to this show’s first season that now seems buried beneath plot complications.

It’s all very efficient, well-made television, but just as it’s lacking in fun it’s lacking in fire.

While it's certainly not the most innovative new show this season, it knows exactly what it wants to be, which isn't a full-on copy of "CSI" but close enough to seem familiar. And it delivers the same slick, well-produced, well-acted sort of analytical whodunit as the original. [23 Sep 2002]

The new "Fargo" isn’t terrible — it’s loaded with talent, the story rolls along, there’s lots of nice dialogue. But it’s just not near as good or unique as the previous three seasons. Great shows breed great expectations.

The infectious nature of evil is an underlying theme here. This is one case where an infection doesn’t move quickly enough. Is it watchable? Sure. Is it memorable? Nah.

Complications ensue, super powers are wielded, all as you’d expect. Actors keep straight faces despite the silliness (possibly a real superpower) and the show maintains a young adult sheen. It flows by, which is all it intends to do.

“Winning Time” is an Adam McKay (“Don’t Look Up,” “The Big Short,” “Anchorman”) production and it’s a rowdy mix of quick cuts, famous names, salty scenes and frenetic energy. The casting is just delicious. ... This one’s got a lot of bounce in it. Again, Big fun.

“Tales from the Loop” is so low-key it stands out simply by not standing out. There are no mega-explosions apparent, no eye-popping special effects or gore celebrations. It offers meditations on man in a modern world beyond easy control. Which hardly seems like science fiction.

Baranski is a goddess of acerbic condescension, but that can only go so far, and Coon’s quest to become as big a snob as her neighbors doesn’t exactly qualify as inspirational. Still, it sparkles and is highly watchable.

It’s all a bit fuzzy, but then it’s all in good fun. Television has plenty of room for strong female characters.

Strained at times, wandering at others, “Perry Mason” finds its footing eventually and by its end you may want to watch a second season even as you hope it’s better than the first.

It’s “Veep” at a car company. You could do worse. The cast is strong and the characters become clear in the opening episodes. ... Early episodes are a bit loose, but creator Justin Sptizer knows workplace comedies.

The show certainly has plenty of diverse star power--Chris Rock, Amy Poehler and Michael Cera also appear along the way--but its shaggy approach wears thin until Cyrus shows up. Then again, save the best gift for last.

Lush, often surreal, filled with contradictory characters and backstabbing intrigue, The Young Pope is one of the more remarkable television shows in memory.

Murder in the First” isn’t outright bad. It’s just an extremely derivative police procedural.

Gaffigan offers some nice ugly tourist notes, but as the show goes on he leaves Spain behind. At the end he’s riffing on American rodeos and talking about the Toledo Zoo. Not surprisingly, he’s funnier on home ground.

At first it seems like Daniels is going to mainly satirize our modern world, which the show does reliably and deliciously. But as “Upload” progresses a conspiracy theory pushes forward and the underlying theme of income inequality becomes clear. Still, “Upload” never forgets to be funny.

There are a lot of characters and talent involved here--Mary Elizabeth Winstead notably plays the bride who was left behind--but The Returned is very much a show propelled forward by its story and the questions it raises.

“Okay” suffers from the same bloat as far too many streaming shows; its 140 minutes contain at most 90 minutes worth of material. Which is too bad because Lillis is an oddly arresting actress and the use of super-powers as a metaphor for teen angst and raging hormones is at least time-tested.

It’s a rich mix of intrigues with the occasional bout of brutal violence as Delaney tries to build his own empire and assumedly reclaim his one true illicit love.

A sprawling look at the gay liberation movement in the U.S. during the past five decades, spread over eight hours, featuring an abundance of talent, occasionally too earnest, at times heartbreaking, and pretty much always eminently watchable.

He's not really stretching here, he's adding to the bank of Pete Davidson characterizations he's already done. It's gotten him this far, sure. But with "Bupkis," the well has run dry.

The highly watchable second season does a good job examining questions of family, trust and friendship while offering up plenty of shootouts, fights and dicey situations to keep things moving. Unfortunately the writing here can get pretty lazy in those dicey situations.

The violence factor is as high as the candy-colored production values, Kate Walsh returns as the dripping-evil top villain, and Ritu Arya adds snap as a sharp-talking wild card. Race and LGBTQ issues provide ballast, but for the most part “The Umbrella Academy” is just inspired bloody silliness the second time around.

"Swarm" plays with form the way "Atlanta" was able to completely switch styles from one episode to the next, and it finds freedom in its narrative looseness. If only it had more going on underneath its hood. ... But at least with Fishback in the driver's seat, the ride is never dull.

The gore level is playful, not scary, and the idea that true love conquers all, even a craving for human flesh, permeates the show. Sheila, Joel and Abby can still live the American dream, it will just taste a bit odd.

The real cement here is two Oscar-winning actors painting a portrait of aging lovers staring down their eventual demise. There is no greater dilemma or darkness. And “Night Sky,” to its credit, knows and shows this.

"Genius" isn't a dud, and it could never be, not with its subject, Vance's commanding performance or the landmark music it's built around. But while it sings, it's not quite worthy of Aretha's crown.

It’s all technically impressive. And it’s all a monumental bummer.

As a six-episode project, you’d expect precision, compactness and speed; instead it basically, at least for the first four episodes, wanders toward the inevitable.

The slow burn approach actually works nicely, assuming you can calm your appetite for immediate destruction.

Things go bad quickly, which is to be expected. The challenge with this show will be to keep it appropriately Crazy Town without letting it get Loony Bin bad.

“The Sandman” stands out visually. A parade of fine actors — Joely Richardson, Charles Dance, Stephen Fry — weave in and out, with David Thewlis particularly strong as an escaped mental patient. Still, the show remains comic-book thin on character and plot conveniences are everywhere. “The Sandman” dreams of being more than it is, but it’s still pretty good.

This is all in the name of torch-passing, handing off the role of Hawkeye from Renner to Steinfeld, and it's more exciting, one supposes, than doing it in a press release. But just like Hawkeye himself, nothing here feels essential.

What The Newsroom lacks in vampires, serial killers and terrorist love affairs, it makes up for with topicality, intelligence and messy romances.

It’s not going anywhere you’d likely suspect, and the big reveal episodes have a lot of explaining to do, but this hyper-paranoid, time-twisting and addictive show is actually laying a foundation for something. How that something eventually plays out remains a question, but the ride there is an undeniable kick.

This is a Tim Burton production, so it looks great. But looks wouldn't matter if Jenna Ortega's deadpan wasn’t just as elastic as it needed to be — she consistently pushes outside the caricature enough to keep things lively.

As gritty, dysfunctional family, crime-fueled dramas go, Animal Kingdom roars with dark promise.

Is GGR the best show on television? No, but it’s pretty solid.

Kirby's nobody's girlfriend and even if she is constantly on the verge, she perseveres. Good stuff.

Truth is, Johnny's predicament has a mix of emotional trauma, supernatural hoodoo and old-fashioned conniving that just might work. Or not, depending on how often the writers beat the same drum -- saving a small kid every week will get old quick. For now, let's give the show the benefit of the doubt. [14 June 2002]

For now, though, The Leftovers is properly mesmerizing.

As the show flies by, the nightly scare stories work more effectively than the lumbering haunted house stuff, and of course all of this is housed in a Young Adult world that may be a bit gory but is essentially wholesome.

Big issues of body, mind, identity and technology shuffle around the Altered Carbon universe, but the show often drags its feet in order to fill its individual episodes’ running times.

It’s all very silly, but there’s bite beneath some of the yuks.

Obviously "Shantaram" is your basic sprawling story set in an exotic location with an internationally diverse cast. It repeats itself, occasionally flies in the face of plausibility, and has a tendency to stagger instead of sprint. But Hunnam charges through it all, determined to bring the essentially flawed Lin to life. Ultimately he succeeds.

“Avenue 5” seems more likely to just drift off into the void. There are, of course, good people at work here. Hugh Laurie stars as the spaceship’s clueless commander, Josh Gad is the clueless zillionaire funding the spaceship, Suzy Nakamura plays the tycoon’s clueless assistant. You get the drift.

At first, it seems like your typical show from the CW, overstuffed with bushy-haired teens in a sci-fi situation. But after a while the series, based on a book by Kass Morgan, reveals influences ranging from “Lord of the Flies” to “Battlestar Galactica,” with more than a few hints of “The Hunger Games,” “Lost” and “1984” tossed in.

The nice thing is it pretty much works. Oh, there’s a great deal of silliness and some false notes — it is a ghost story, after all and some explanations add up while others just drift away. But in the end “Bly Manor” dares to make at least some sense (which is likely blasphemy to Henry James fanatics).

Maybe this will all become coherent. But then maybe it shouldn't. Sometimes messy is better.

Gervais mostly finds a balance between humor and deep darkness, though he sometimes falters (far too much time is spent on an obnoxious therapist). And, like many comic actors, he seamlessly transitions to drama; even better, he poignantly walks the tightrope between despair and laughter.

Surprisingly, it pretty much all works. The dark secrets (there are many) balance with the apparent fluff, making for an engaging, never-dull series. Maybe the Gilmore Girls should have had guns.

“The Undoing” is somewhat undone by its dawdling pace. In truth this is a movie’s worth of story dragged out over six slow hours.

The production values are high, the acting efficient, the story teems with twists and turns.