"Black Doves" does go off the rails, but it does so with a wink. Everyone in the cast understands this is not deadly serious and gets into the energetic spirit. But it is the pairing of Knightley and Whishaw that make "Black Doves" fly high.

The three lead Latino characters, and the actors who play them, in Netflix’s breezy, Miami-set comedy/drama are so likable and charismatic you can’t help but kind of fall in love with them. I defy you not to.

Apple TV+’s seven-part adaptation of Laura Dave’s 2021 page-turner improves as it progresses, tossing out solid twists and then hitting us with a satisfying wrap-up.

Yes, it strains credibility. So what? Most creations from talented author Harlan Coben (Netflix’s “The Stranger,” “Safe” and “The Woods”) do. We’re hooked from the first episode. With its tongue-in-cheek humor and wild twists, this will become your next guilty pleasure.

The writing remains sharp as a stiletto, and the cozy mystery is puzzling enough to keep us guessing. Streep and Rudd make it even more entertaining. They’re having a grand time, and so will you.

Marvel buffs will be able to collect their fair share of Easter eggs, but this one can be enjoyed by a PG-13-suitable crowd that prefers action (this one is pretty violent, though) with a relatable plot that doesn’t require you to watch all in the MCU canon to understand what is going on. In supporting roles, Kingsley Ben-Adir stands out in this promising leap forward for Phase 5 of the MCU.

Any mother with a newborn will feel like they’ve stepped into their worst nightmare when watching this well-done Paramount+ six part series based on Sarah Vaughan’s novel.

“Fallout” never lags for one second and dangles from one cliffhanger to the next. The cast makes it all engaging — Goggins, in particular, rips into the show’s juiciest part and does wonders with it. This’ll be a major hit, and it deserves to be.

The series doesn’t need to warble on for as long as it does, but what compels you to watch is Rivera.

While nothing in “A Very Royal Scandal” is particularly eye-opening (except for what happened to Maitlis after that interview), it’s worth the watch to see two actors at the top of their game.

Both Binoche and Mendelsohn handle their larger-than-life characters with grace, never slipping into caricature mode. Mendelsohn, in particular, gives a tender, calibrated performance, one that’s particularly strong in early scenes involving his attempt to find his sister Catherine (Maisie Williams) during the occupation.

Due to modest budget, “The Institute” isn’t a vintage King production — even though the author is an executive producer on it — but it keeps you on edge and speculating why these children are made to suffer.

“Griselda” doesn’t necessarily elevate the bar for drug-running dramas — except for Vergara’s performance, Knut Loewe’s exceptional production design and the dead-on costume designs and hairstyles. But its mission is accomplished with such ferocity and clarity of purpose. Dig out that old pair of angels flight pants and just enjoy.

Yes, it has a rough spots (a bit involving Hsu singing in a car goes on way too long) but it rights itself every time because of the comedic and dramatic chops of Hsu and others in this talented cast.

A promising start of what could well find John Creasy (Abdul-Mateen) reprising his role as the PTSDing loner.

The plot gets so dense you practically need a road map to follow its many paths, but that is part of the fun of a mystery-thriller that hits you with surprise after surprise.

“Fight Night” is funny and violent and not only touches on the blatant racism of that time but has an assured grasp of ’70s styles (the feathered locks of Terence Howard — who plays a member of the mob — are a sight to behold). But it really punches above its weight when Cheadle, Hart, Jackson and Henson are onscreen.

Creator Howard Overman understands that an action film can’t stand on the merits of its thrills alone and needs interesting characters to make it all that more involving.

Breezy, sunny series (each episode is just under 30 minutes). .... You have the right fixings for a comedy that we can only hope will graduate to a sophomore season.

Director Jessica Palud loosens up the buttons on this whole affair and never lets things lag in creator Jean-Baptiste Delafon’s bad people behaving badly period piece with a take-command performance from Vartolomei.

Showrunner Joe Barton’s production isn’t in the same leagues, but it’s good enough thanks to the dedication of its two leads — Paul (“Wandavision”) Bettany as the conniving and cruelly envious Salieri and Will (“The White Lotus” season 2) Sharpe as the bad boy 18th century groundbreaking composer with daddy issues.

Tropper’s series does meander, but even if it’s not run as tightly as a ship as it could be, its original premise and its ability to make many of these characters interesting as they show flickers of humanity and then do something appalling keep you watching. The primary reason remains Hamm.

But it is the luminescent performance from Reinhart as the binding agent that calms Hal’s boyish ways that sticks with you the most.

Showrunner Adi Shankar (“Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix”) takes time and care with the multi-layered world building while pumping it all up with adrenaline, heavy-metal-esque action sequences. They razzle dazzle.

Since many of the men in the study haven’t been extensively interviewed, the National Geographic series does say something new, a feat, given there have been a number of films — some good, some bad — focused on the subject. Eisner balances those personal reflections with one of Zimbardo’s final interviews.

“Lessons in Chemistry” could have been tighter (trimmed to six episodes), and a subplot about Black neighbor Harriet (Aja Naomi King) fighting racial injustice could be more developed. Still, “Chemistry” comes up with a winning formula in the end.

My only beef about this intricately plotted season is that its eighth episode lacks a true ending, making us gnash our teeth for another season.

Season 2 finds love and lust commingling for Molly (the episode with her exhaling at a blissed-out retreat with Benjamin Bratt is the season’s high point) as well as for her crew.

Director Justin Chadwick keeps it all running at a fast clip while the Hughes/Boyle odd-couple pairing clicks. And the historical elements punch up a convoluted mystery that has surprising ties to actual events.

All of it’s handled well and Hahn is terrific, resulting in “Things” being one of Reese Witherspoon’s best Hello Sunshine productions yet.

As Desiree, Cox radiates charisma, a quality that pairs perfectly with her dad Wallace.

[Crime novelist Michael Connelly's] no-nonsense approach on this four-parter makes for a compelling view of an investigation and a crime that still lives in the shadows of the Hollywood sign.

Unlike some series, the extended length of this one benefits the decades-spanning story arc, with each episode cycling us through Russian history and showing how the changing political winds whisked away some in power leaving the powerless to find strength, love and greater meaning.

This edgy and sensual period piece slowly reveals what led to that pile of bloodied corpses.

Each episode runs less than 25 minutes and is instantly bingeable. It’s a well-made entry, better than some of the live-action films.

Never staid and often kinky, “Mary & George” stumbles halfway through but remains chew-up-the-scenery entertainment, a spicy affair that gets more outlandish and wicked with each episode. It helps that Moore and Galitzine are so good at forming this chess-like alliance and that a trio of top-notch directors — Oliver Hermanus, Alex Winckler and Florian Cossen — never let the high drama topple over into outright camp.

What distinguishes this is how it opens a window into American Indian culture and heritage while telling a brisk, exciting mystery that steers Disney+ to a new horizon of not only more complicated and edgier storytelling but one told from an often overlooked perspective.

“Senna” does less well when chronicling his love affairs, including with Brazilian TV host Xuxa (Pâmela Tomé), which seems perfunctory and less than revealing. Another bump in the road comes in the fictional creation of a female journalist (Kayla Scodelario) who pops in and out and serves as narrative shorthand for Senna’s sports career and how the media portrayed him. Fortunately, the magnetic performance from Leone makes up for much of those misgivings, and brings the series satisfactorily over the finish line.

Is it better than “Bridgerton”? Oh no, dearest readers. But it’s still a lot of kooky fun.

With a killer soundtrack and an unpredictable storyline, Rapman’s series is one of the best streaming surprises of the summer.

All told, this is a heartbreaking look at a devastating tragedy that leaves a community and a family grappling with the heartbreak and wondering if they played a part in what happened. It’s powerful and finds Graham being a force in front of and behind the camera.

“Boots” improves as it goes along and the plot veers into the odyssey of closeted servicemen who have to hide their love and live in fear of being revealed.

The concept might seem silly, but the story by author Blake Crouch — who serves as showrunner and executive producer here and who also wrote many of the episodes — works, and challenges us to ponder what lengths we would go to if we were in not only Jason’s shoes but his wife Daniela’s as well (Connolly gives the role more dramatic shading than usual).

“Shining Girls” is undeniably kooky, but the characters, situations and the city itself are so vividly brought to life that you’ll be dying to figure out what happens next. Just watch it with the lights on.

It also deals, at times seriously, with issues about overcoming trauma. All of this makes one hope that this “Liars” club sticks around [at] least for its junior year. We might even follow them to grad school.

An extra-cozy mystery series that once again begs for another season.

Some of the bits don’t fly, such as a character being afflicted with “bird blindness,” a joke that makes a big thud. But getting to hang out with these bad boys and girls as well as one of our favorite sidekicks, the American eagle, Eagly — who faces his own threat — makes you forget about the dents here and there.

The primary reasons to tune into the sophomore season of Apple TV+’s thoroughly enjoyable but risk-adverse series about the exploits of the likable but L.A. neurotic besties Syliva (Rose Byrne) and Will (Seth Rogen) are: 1. Byrne. 2. Rogen. 3. Luke MacFarlane.

Director/executive producer Todd Harris emphasizes the action and does it with style to spare for each of these exciting, briskly told tales united by the actions of a secret Wakanda group called the Hatut Zaraze.

There’s a lot of family background and drama to set up, which explains the need for the first episode to clock in at nearly 80 minutes. But the episode never lags, as it creates indelible characters, peppers in a few spicy moments and revels in the period details of the time, all richly brought to life.

If you manage to survive the first episode without losing your lunch, you’re in store for a disturbing, supremely well-made horror show that’s written, acted and directed with Ari Aster-like skill.

“A Thousand Blows” builds to a climax as secrets get revealed and motivations become circumspect. It’ll leave you dangling and begging to jump into its ring once more.

The ones who makes this all work are the two leads. Kingsley is a natural-born showman and channels legendary thespian vibes with every line he delivers, while Abdul-Matten II makes you feel the neuroses rooted in the psyche of his trying-too-hard character, who feels like an imposter.

Either you’re gonna love this unruly behemoth or bemoan the sorry state of blockbuster entertainment. Honestly, I kind of dug it and love the pairing of the main stars who appear to be having fun at toying with each other and this “Mission: Impossible”-like scenario.

Amazon Prime fantasy/steampunk series’ second outing is on fire, an improvement over Season 1, which was decent but plodded at times. The pacing issues are gone and the metaphors from Season 1 remain; in fact they’re even more pointed.

It’s ghoulish fun to see it all play out, but “Welcome to Derry’s” ambition sometimes outstrips its execution. The special effects can look corny and the story overloads us with too many characters. But each are given King-sized personalities.

The cast is good but it’s the shock-a-minute story that makes this hard to shake off.

“The Waterfront” is a keeper because of the outrageous behavior of its morally compromised characters — with Grace leading [t]he way.

“The Residence” never achieves the same frothy fun that Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” series so effortlessly does except for its last Christie-perfect episode, but it’s still quite a bit of fun.

Each outlandish episode is filled with wicked wit and even busts out with a bit of song and dance. A revolving team of guest voices descend to these fiery pits of what will likely turn into a cult sensation.

By giving more weight to the personal side of the men’s lives and what Coretta and Betty contributed to the movement makes “MLK/X” one of the more well-rounded personal portraits of each.

“Vladimir” works because it is indeed funny and sexy but also because it has fully developed, complicated characters — the too-smart-for-their-own-good sort that are having a hell of a time sorting out their lives.

This eight-episode spinoff of Amazon Prime’s R-rated superhero series “The Boys” is better than it has any right to be. That’s because it cribs from the best elements of “The Boys” — outrageous behavior, shocking violence and, of course, an irreverent attitude.

While this streaming version could have been told in less than eight hour-length episodes, showrunner Nikki Toscano’s compelling take gets everything else right.

As you probably guessed, “Sunny Nights” switches from chuckles to beatings (a waterboarding scene goes on much too long) and even bloody deaths. The disparate parts create a gumbo filled with so many ingredients that it keeps us surprised and discombobulated.

“Mr. Throwback” isn’t always smooth, and gets off to a bit of an awkward start in the first episode, but turns into an irreverent meta comedy that scores more three-pointers than bricks.

That’s a lot of names and narratives to keep track of, but the story lines intertwine nicely, even if you might need a list of the characters to reference. No matter. If you’re a kaijū fan and prefer jigsaw-puzzle-like storytelling, not to mention great action sequences, this one — or at least the eight episodes released for review — crushes it.

“Forever” keeps in step with Blume’s style by not seeming like it comes from an adult perspective. That comes through in the conversations (topics include a hit manga series and popular music). The leads also are painfully real.

An ace meld of mythological elements and outlandish action sequences. It’s a mashup of “Stargate” and a superhero series as “hunters” stalk and take down evil entities itching to get out of their alternate dimension.

It’s a well-made series that exposes corruption, trafficking and injustices perpetrated on families.

This is an extra-busy series that hopscotches too often. Carrel and company are all stellar and worth crowing about but plucking out a few side stories might well make this a smoother, more tonally consistent show.

Crisply animated (particularly when it ventures into SF’s Chinatown) and gives us a multi-layered fantasy that’s unpredictable and even addresses issues of racism, sacrifice, family dysfunction and defying how others label you – without becoming pedantic.

“Smoke” is well-made and tremendously acted, and while the plot does go up in — ahem — smoke late in the game, the actors always keep us invested.

“Ironheart” points MCU in an intriguing direction and gives us characters we’d like to see more of in the future.

Each of the seven episodes speed by, but the final one let me hoping that Prime renews this one pronto to tie up its many threads.

Rian Johnson’s appreciation for serialized stories where the villains get their comeuppance in the end is well-served in this irresistible Peacock series that’s as funny as it is sharp.

Each short (20 minutes or so) episode contains better character development and proves to be more sure-footed than the live-action 2022 theatrical blockbuster “Jurassic World: Dominion.”

One of the best mystery/thriller series going delivers the intensity in its third and final season. Unfortunately, it stumbles near the finale, speeding through and forsaking the resolution of a new murder so it can get to the chewy stuff. ... Given this is the final season, it’s not that big of a deal-breaker. ... I just wish there would have been one more episode to wrap up that other crime.

It’s their interplay and the two actors’ natural charisma that draw us in. The writing is as nimble and spirited as the leads — not a shock since the screenplay is by playwright David Ireland (“Cyprus Avenue”), who ditches the schmaltz in favor of tart, edgy interplay.

While it might seem awfully bleak, there’s humor too, including a four-legged troublemaker locked up at the jail. It’s a series that’s hard to resist.

Who’s responsible for the buried body of a drag queen decomposing in the basement of a rundown Victorian in Louisville, Kentucky? That question keeps you watching this compelling two-episode, true crime series directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato.

It’s a better and more cohesive series than Murphy’s “Grotesquerie” and slams home a harsh point — that we are all to blame when it comes to worshipping beauty.

You never quite know where “Sunny” is heading and that’s a good thing. The series leaves the door wide open for a Season 2 and I’d gladly walk through it.

The eventual big reveal leaves you with more questions than answers. No matter, this is a tightly wound, decent financial thriller worth a binge. It’s made all the more suspenseful for its lead characters’ honest and realistic antics.

There are obvious parallels to today’s bizarro political landscape and its annoying, blustery players, and the topicality of that adds spice to “Sausage Party: Foodtopia.” But more than anything, it’s the series’ oh-they-didn’t-just-go-there naughtiness, terrific vocal cast and ridiculous situations that make you laugh uncontrollably.

“Girlfriend” is hardly high art, but it is an outright gas.

Of course, anyone with a low tolerance for sugary sweet, sometimes sticky sentimentality would want to suck on a pack of lemons afterwards. For others, this is pure comfort and joy.

It’s cheeky, irresistible and undemanding from start to finish. Hopefully, there will be a Season 2.

Toss in an invitation to engage in a threesome, and this racier season, which, of course, is resplendent with gorgeous costumes, period details and classical-contemporary music, is just as much of a great escape from wretched reality as, says, a corker of a romance novel.

“Running Point” is far from perfect but it still has Hudson and she’s sinking three pointers every time.

Two theatrical films (both received poor reviews and not the blessing of Riordan) preceded this impressive eight-episode spectacle, which wields a Riordan-approved (he executive produced) Midas touch that’ll appeal to kids and Bullfinch-loving adults.

That’s a lot of characters to keep track of, and while things bounce around like a “Ben-Hur” chariot, the series keeps you mightily entertained — even in its most ridiculous moments.

Series creator Rachel Bennette keeps it pithy, but it really comes to life whenever Rhys appears on the scene; his character is far more interesting than any other and reminds us of what a tragedy it was that “Perry Mason” received the ax from HBO.

Season 2 rebounds and embraces its kitschy self and is all the better for it. Burnett finally gets her chance to shine (and speak — first season she was mum).

“Hotel Costeira” balances the beauty of the Amalfi Coast with often humorous but compelling plots and subplots — a dreamy mix indeed.

“Murder Before Evensong” has just enough edge — including a zinger of a finale — to keep us hooked.

The actors enlisted to play the lengthy list of suspects are a treat. “Moonflower Murders” is pure comfort food for the mystery lover, and holds true to the Christie spirit.

Showrunner Akiva Goldsman takes full advantage of the 1979 setting and fashions a successful psychological thriller filled with good performances and taut direction. But this series belongs to Holland and he’s shattering to behold. His emotionally staggering performances takes “The Crowded Room” to a whole new level.