By the time you hit the fifth of its eight episodes you may find yourself yelling at the screen in amazed delight.

[It] sounds pretty dark, and it is, but the wonder of both Atwood’s novel and the series is that it actually manages to be playful and witty at times.

Raylan, despite his tendency to shoot people, is something of an old-fashioned hero, complete with white cowboy hat. Here’s to the simple but effective balance, and to the complications that threaten to topple it.

It’s all very complicated, but at the same time easy to follow and terribly mesmerizing and haunting.

Massive, cruelly dense, absurdly complicated and absolutely thrilling.

Thrones exults in the unexpected.

Near flawless in execution while filled with rarely seen intelligence and complexity, the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge plumbs the depths of the seemingly mundane and finds cruelty, resentment, dogged insecurity and finally, if not hope, then some level of honesty about life’s attraction.

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.

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

Smart without being smug, Nip/Tuck is surgically altered television perfection. [5 Sept 2006, p.5D]

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

There are some fine supporting performances here--most notably from Bradley Whitford as a loyal-if-appalled Hubert Humphrey, Melissa Leo as the beleaguered Ladybird Johnson and Stephen Root as J. Edgar Hoover. But, beginning to end, this is a tour de force for Cranston. Great stuff.

Relentlessly silly from beginning to end, if this show doesn't make you laugh out loud, or at least shake your head in constant bemusement, you're a member of the wrong species. [8 Nov 2001, p.5C]

Flint is a timebomb, and Flint Town is an impressively crafted tick-tock of things going wrong with a place, one after another.

Created and written by David Simon (“The Wire,” “The Deuce”), “The Plot Against America” isn’t some garish exploitation of goose-stepping Nazi nastiness. It’s far too wise for that.

"The White Lotus" is still a buzz of capitalist hypocrisy, absurd indulgence, clueless privilege and mordant wit. The beautiful people have changed for the most part, but the abundant anxieties and kinks beneath their shiny surfaces are apparently universal.

“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.

“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.

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.

“The White Lotus” sneaks essential questions in between the laughs. It is certainly among the year’s best TV offerings.

Feud: Bette and Joan is delicious fare, a mix of catty gossip and vile manipulation, a look at the dark underbelly of celebrity culture and the desperation that comes with aging out of the limelight.

“Midnight Mass” moves from slow-burn to absolute fireball. Creepy becomes gory and then goes bonkers. The final two episodes of this seven-episode show are both hard to watch and impossible not to watch.

“For All Mankind” is simply one of the best things on TV. Aside from being uncomfortably prescient — the Russia/U.S. tensions induce cold shivers of recognition — it balances what might be with what is, mixing the not-all-that-fantastic with well-grounded human drama. Prepare for blast off.

"Cheer" depicts the turmoil of high competition and the double-edged sword of fame. And it lays out what makes the world of cheerleading so addictive, both for its participants and for viewers.

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

Mr. Robot remains one of the most dizzying, intoxicating, challenging shows on television, a gripping look at mental illness and brilliance run amok, tied to an essentially sweet, if damaged, character. It’s a show that poses Big Questions and dares to leave them hanging.

Yeun and Wong are both excellent, meeting the material and consistently finding new wrinkles, new layers, in their characters.

You already know the outcome. Yet you can’t stop watching, thanks to Murphy’s flashy dramatization, which is just the approach the “Trial of the Century” richly deserves.