Legends, which is based on a novel by Robert Littell and produced by a team that includes "Homeland" veterans Howard Gordon and Alexander Cary, has an unusual sense of melancholy, which seems to emanate from Bean's soulful performance.

For all its volatility and rough textures, after a few episodes, The Knick begins to draw you into its idiosyncratic rhythms.

Based on that limited sampling [of two episodes], the premise strikes me as both fresh and familiar enough to make me want to see more.

The Strain gets off to a busy, icky, unpretentious start, mixing the vigor of a '50s Grade-B horror movie with a convoluted mythology about an ancient virus that turns victims into vampires.

Masters of Sex is better than ever.

It's a pleasant enough blend of travelogue and gentle humor.

That broader scope may prove to be an improvement in terms of how much deeper The Bridge can go in its cross-cultural storytelling. But the first two episodes of Season 2 are a bit all over the map.

If the rest of the 13-episode Extant remains as compelling as its first episode, this will be the standout show of the summer season.

The fact that the show remains watchable, if challenging, is a testament to Perrotta and Lindelof's convincing portrait of how our society might respond to such an event. And Theroux's performance is a much-needed anchor to humanity.

By the end of the first episode, we're already sick of Jamal and weary of Barry's complaining about being back home.

The Last Ship aims for a big-canvas feel, but based on the first three episodes, the one-dimensional characters and action movie cliché dialogue ("Guys, let's do this thing!") make it feel cramped.

Quibbles aside, watching this superb cast working together remains a pleasure, and it makes Season 2 of Orange Is the New Black an irresistible summer viewing choice.

Reilly is intense and watchable.... But other elements of Black Box feel unconvincing, and overfamiliar, which is disappointing, considering the potential.

The setting is convincingly snowy and wintry (it was filmed in Calgary, Canada), the writing is clever, and the actors are outstanding.

With its signature mixture of tiny details providing texture and easy storytelling flow, Mad Men lures us back into its final season with all the confidence in the world.

It's quite a story, but the pilot for Turn takes a long time to get going, and isn't all that compelling.

With an appealing cast, a relatively fresh setting and smart jokes ("Every party in Silicon Valley ends up like a Hasidic wedding," i.e., the men and women are always separated), Silicon Valley is definitely worth your time investment.

Based on the first two episodes available for screening, Crisis is more promising than other recent network attempts to create a series that tells an ongoing story.

As always, you can't judge a late-night host by a first show. But Meyers' debut indicates that his blend of intelligence and goofy humor will be a welcome addition to the crowded late-night neighborhood.