Outcast tries to maintain a sense of tension from episode to episode (only the first four have been made available to critics) but too many sags in the storytelling allow doubt to creep in.

Almost every episode trades on our familiarity with the type--the heavy sidekick, the dumb, bullying jock, the knockout who wonders if she should be with the heavy sidekick instead of the dumb, bullying jock--but that familiarity too often comes perilously close to breeding contempt.

24: Live Another Day does action scenes really well, but the dialogue suffers: It can be overly melodramatic and expository.

When stacked up against a series like “The Leftovers,” which also examines a cult, it feels flat at first. But once the story does finally get rolling, the intersecting elements begin to build towards a compelling story with more complexity than first meets the eye.

For a show about highly trained, incredibly intelligent agents, Quantico’s pilot often succumbs to lame-brained plotting and a less-than-convincing portrayal of its specialized milieu.

It’s Siff and Malin Ackerman, as Axe’s loyal wife (who’s like a sober Michelle Pfeiffer in “Scarface,” all sharp blonde bob and sharper tongue) who simply, by virtue of their talent, keep Billions from devolving into an exercise in white privilege and machismo, something it constantly threatens to do.

Although there’s nothing new here, per se, it’s still a solid hour of watchable drama that often plays out more like a movie than a television series.

This is silliness for its own wonderfully ridiculous sake.

Even if subtlety isn’t going to be part of the equation, Burns makes up for it with his wiseguy humor, rapid-fire dialogue and a high volume of plot.

Onstage, Gaffigan can be winning as a regular guy. But The Jim Gaffigan Show is merely ordinary.

Finding the proper balance for dramedy isn't easy and Girlfriends’ Guide fails miserably at that task.

It’s a charming and quirky romantic tale with an overarching twist thanks to the notion that the world may indeed be ending, and it’s pulled of by two completely watchable leads.

The Get Down exudes the filmmaker’s operatic, lovingly campy spirit, and in small doses there’s a sugary rush to his ecstatic sequences of crowded dance floors, fervent gospel choirs and kids hanging out on the roof of their apartment complex, dreaming of a bigger world. But it’s what’s in-between those standalone moments where The Get Down gets bogged down, the drab storytelling lacking the punch of the show’s period-rich production design and outfits.

Bunbury is a star in the making as the leading character. ... Gosselaar is unrecognizable thanks to some newly acquired facial hair. As a result viewers will pay more attention to his equally strong performance and interactions with Bunbury throughout the hour. Mo McRae, Ali Larter and Tim Jo round out the solid cast, making for a pretty entertaining hour.

That the limited series squeaks by as just entertaining enough is a disappointment considering the pedigree of everyone involved and the reputation of its source material.

For all of its ambition, the drama feels lopsided at times because Winfrey, Whitfield, David and Dandridge’s performances are so dominate and riveting, they dwarf everything else. In order to compel viewers to keep coming back, Wright and company will have to either focus solely on the big four--more Oprah, please--or flesh out the ancillary portrayals so that they’re more distinctive.

The surrealness almost disguises the repetitive plot of returning home as a manchild. But as a series, Baskets is more bleak than amusing.

[Davis'] performance is riveting; you can't take your eyes off this powerful creature when she's on the screen. Alas, the students aren't nearly as compelling.... When the action shifts to them, the drama suffers.

Despite the kitchen-sink feel to it all, Extant has much going for it. Berry impressively handles the task of playing a woman who's coming to grips with both a interstellar conception and a laboratory-built “son.” And so far the series has done a good job of balancing the gee-whiz gadget fetishism of science fiction with the need for characters that the viewer will care about.

A serviceable but mostly by-the-numbers remake of a brilliantly nuanced French series.

Corden is a talent worth watching for his sheer likability, musical and comedy talent, and genuine love of culture, pop and otherwise. He’s bending the late-night comedy show formula to fit his skill set, which given this first outing, is impressive.

Madam Secretary has the pedigree and potential to be a great show. It just has to be more original.

Milioti and Feldman infuse a lot of freshness into what could've been a stale and staid outing. They are deftly convincing as a couple of young and attractive professionals who look for love, find it and have to figure out what to do next. All viewers have to do next, is start watching.

We’ve all seen this world mined before in movies and TV programs alike. What makes Teachers stand out is the way in which all of these humorous Katies handle the trouble their offbeat and sometimes lewd and rude characters have made.

The exceptionally well-cast The Red Road starts well, but slips in the second episode.

Fear the Walking Dead pulls off a great feat in prequel land: using that nagging sense of inevitability to its advantage. It shouldn’t work, but it totally does.

It’s moody, strange and a bit surreal, while still pulling you into its world and making you believe in it.

The Expanse is indeed expansive with the universe it sets up within the pilot and through the characters presented. Unfortunately though there’s so much going on in the pilot that it quickly becomes a convoluted romp through space that’s more about showcasing the wasteland that humans have become than developing characters viewers will remember, let alone invest in watching.

Highlighted by a deliciously sleazy turn from Ellen Barkin, Animal Kingdom slowly finds its footing, but it remains to be seen whether the characters’ low-life machinations will produce sufficient drama to justify audiences’ patience.

The show moves quickly to establish not only Jane’s superior physicality, but also her hard-wired do-gooder tendencies and willingness to join the fray. At the same time, Blindspot creators seed their story with memory flashbacks intended to suspend the tension surrounding the character.

Overall, Ballers is good bro-down TV in the same vein as “Entourage.” Dwayne Johnson does a solid job of leading the ensemble, and he’s totally believable as a guy who’s best buds with athletes.

Most characters are reduced to a single joke repeated endlessly, under the assumption that the repetition of words or phrases constitutes comedy.

Viewers’ patience for the show and its dreamlike pace will likely depend on their appetites for soul-searching about the afterlife.

At the outset the pilot is a fun and adventurous romp without ever feeling campy or overdone. ... Where the plot gets bogged down is in the overall mysteries introduced in the pilot, namely those surrounding the Lucy character.

He looked like he was enjoying himself throughout the half hour--a key quality in today’s late-night landscape. But most of all, he looked like a guy who might have the audacity to try to replace Jon Stewart. And that he just might pull it off.

It’s frustrating to watch these four men fumble every opportunity to straighten out the mess they descend ever deeper into.... But it’s worth giving Mad Dogs a chance to prove itself to the end of season one. If the action ramps up and the bickering dies down, these dogs could have a few more miles in them.

Despite the lack of A-list Hollywood star power, the mysterious show boasts strong characters and compelling actors bringing them to life. And though the story sometimes meanders about like a child at play in a schoolyard, the premise holds enough intrigue to call viewers back to experience more.

Separately, the Short family members are worthy of a glimpse and can garner a chuckle. Together, they’re abrasive and unlikable.

The producers and creator Jeremy Carver have deftly retrofitted a familiar film for the small screen with smart present-day touches and solid performances.

Season 3 begins strongly and is a joy to behold--with heightened stakes.

Sweeping and complex with a large cast of characters to delve into, The Outsiders isn’t necessarily new or gripping television, but it’s structured drama that delivers results thanks to the likes of Peter Tolan and Paul Giamatti at the helm as executive producers.

The pilot for NBC's Marry Me isn't love at first sight, but there's enough potential there to expect that with time viewers may adore it.

The show does a good job of setting up a lot of conflict in a very short time, but I'd be more invested if I got to know the characters more — and if they had more dimension..... It felt too contrived.

Molly’s extraterrestrial and emotional challenges threaten to overwhelm both the character and the actress, but Berry rallies in the second half of the premiere, seeming to finally embrace the absurdity of the space-invader plot with a “if we’re doing this, let’s do this” determination.

On one hand, the microscopic nature of Kevin from Work is fresh and daring in a millennial-friendly sort of way as are Reid and Spara’s attractive visages and tangible chemistry. On the other hand, the webby approach and the caricature heavy supporting cast erode the show’s legitimacy.

The show’s half-hour format does a lot to recommend itself to viewers and not seem too daunting an investment of both time and brain-space. It all feels inherently easily digestible, and the hopscotching through topics keeps things fun and effervescent.

With Daniel Chun penning a quick-witted script, Grandfathered subverts every hokey cliche that it nearly crashes into by maintaining a savvy self-awareness.... The brand of humor will remind viewers of “The Mindy Project” and the short-lived “Ben and Kate” with one-liners delivered so quick you could almost miss them. The supporting--are largely believable and charming.

The problem is that Gracepoint lacks the expression and personality of either "The Killing" or "Broadchurch."

Longoria remains radiant. Whether a sitcom spoofing soap opera is still relevant in 2015 remains to be seen--but this one is certainly a worthy addition to your weekly viewing.

For the most part the show works, and the parts that don’t may just be growing pains from anyone familiar with the old stuff. But one major concern keeps bubbling up: The original series had a lovingly dusty vaudevillian style, an affectionate throwback to a show business world from decades earlier, while this just feels like stuff from five years ago.

In the end, it’s all about the stellar cast and the insightful and sharp writing.

The series is appreciably unsettling, but thus far it won’t make your head spin.

[Amy Schumer] remains a potent original, torpedoing gender inequality and smartly dissecting cultural and sexual norms. And yet, Season 4 of the show also unconsciously struggles with heightened expectations.

No part of the equation that makes up Galavant is subtle. It piles on the songs, the choreography, the bawdy humor and the clever writing. That deep dive into the genre is what will help viewers shake off the doubts we had going into it. Galavant is a uniquely enjoyable ride.

Subplots surrounding Green’s southern belle daughters, espionage and PTSD do little to move the series along and would’ve been better shortened or left on the cutting-room floor. That said, such distractions do little to dilute Mercy Street as the imperative Civil War narrative it truly is.

Everything about this comedy felt canned, artificial and forced. The dialogue was awkward enough that the actors didn't look comfortable delivering their lines, the audience wasn't always sure when and how to react, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could take it.

The pacing in the early episodes can be uneven, and some plot points you see coming from a long way off. But BrainDead is promisingly original, a deft combination of the tropes of a horror movie, the pace of a forensic drama and the barbs of a political satire that’s thoroughly of the moment.

It helps that the show is well-acted, and that everything from the fonts to the costumes to the camerawork are gorgeous. You may need a while to puzzle out what's happening on screen, but at least you can enjoy some lovely scenery.

It’s all wonderfully led by an unrecognizable Richard Dreyfuss in the leading role and Blythe Danner as his wife, Ruth.... Where Madoff falls short is in developing the man’s complex relationships with his sons, wife and those who beg him to take their money. While the narrative certainly scratches the surface, it’s not often that it delves any deeper as the writers choose instead to grandstand Dreyfuss’ performance as the leading man.

The miniseries’ balance between individual narratives and humanity’s collective destiny remains a bit wobbly throughout.

In the end, this “Around the World” is more cringeworthy than fun.

The best that can be said about The Magician thus far is that it has so many balls in the air that you’re tempted to stick with it just to see where it’s going. Even then, though, the show puts more stock in atmosphere and attitude than in distinguishing its characters or sci-fi fantasy terrain from those of comparable projects.

It’s a visual, visceral romp into what is being set up to be another haphazard foray into the world of horror, as imagined by Murphy and his writing counterpart Brad Falchuk. The show has rarely made sense in terms of story, and this is no exception.

The result is a clunky hour of bad one-liners and exposition.... The narrative tightens up in Episode 2, at least, as the series settles into a Monster-of-the-Week format. That allows Duchovny and Anderson to play to their respective strengths, but it also feels like the show is marking time.

Marriage and its trials and tribulations emerge as something of its own character as the show presses on.

The entire two-hour pilot is parody, on top of parody, on top of parody. The sentences coming out of Chanel’s mouth are beyond anything a clichéd mean girl would utter in other high school or sorority movies, while every homage to films like Scream or Urban Legends is taken to the extreme. What makes it work is Murphy’s renowned world-building.

It’s heightened reality at its finest as Vaughan and her associates (Elvy Yost, Jay Hayden and Rollins) proceed to track down the con artists who hacked them and stop them before too much damage is done.

[Arthur Darvill's Rip Hunter is] definitely the best part of the show. Which is all the more aggravating when he gets sidelined for long stretches in favor of the more familiar characters.... Some things work great, though. A 1975-set bar fight involving Lotz, Miller and Purcell is quite fun, and the action in general scenes genuinely work, helping the fledgling series come together. But when the characters stand around and talk, things start to feel silly.

The writing is fairly predictable on the pilot, which plays a lot of emotional notes we're all very familiar with on TV.... Problems aside, there's a “Wonder Years” quality to Red Band Society that transports viewers back to those simple firsts in life, the coming of age rites of passage that we all instantly understand and can connect to.

By episode three, Tomlin and Fonda find their comedic voices and cement Grace and Frankie as the candid and humorous series it truly is.

This big-box comedy is stocked full of broad and easy laughs familiar though they may be.

The plotting is pretty perfunctory, but McDorman wears the show’s hyperbolic intensity lightly, as if playfully mocking the hard-boiled self-seriousness around him. But he also brings pathos to Brian’s gnawing sense of failure.

Ferguson's voiceover hits the holiday season sweet spot: Just sentimental enough. Frankly decorous sex scenes and brutal conditions for men and women help save The Red Tent from becoming overly cloying. It's got just enough red blood pulsing through it to avoid that.

Luxe environments mixed with bitchy teen entitlement and karmic vengeance drive Scream beyond its slasher-exploitation film genesis to a stylish metaphor about a new generation’s excesses and mean-girl cruelty.

The fictional Crystal and Gad have zero chemistry as the series launches, which becomes a pivotal part of the plot as the series progresses. Unfortunately, their real-life counterparts portrayed this lack of comedic chemistry so well in the beginning that it not only impacted the development of show within the show “The Billy & Josh Show,” it was leaving a lukewarm first impression of The Comedians as well.

By the end of its premiere, Selfie became a watchable show with actual potential. I'm just not sure most people will be able to hang in there that long to see it unfold.

While the characters sometimes border on cartoonish, they also manage to showcase an underdog quality that will have the audiences rooting for them anyway, and they’re somewhat grounded by the rest of the cast, including librarian Abbey Logan (Maria Thayer).

The attempt to ground the show in reality feels unnecessary and not fun, because nothing here is all that unbelievable.

The series once again attempts to pair the straight-shooter with the oddball muck-up in an attempt to allow both characters to find middle ground. In the process, hilarity ensues. Except when it doesn’t.

There are some nice emotional touches here. Early on, we see both men grappling with mortality in believable ways: Murtaugh paying close attention to the heart monitor on his smartwatch, or Riggs hunkered down in self-medicated mourning. But they’re only touches, brief moments of departure from the original formula.

While [John Malkovich] does indeed dig into the pirate role with relish, it's not enough to save the show.

The Messengers is an appealing and entertaining cross between “Heroes” and “Supernatural” and has the potential to be just the hit The CW needs and viewers deserve.

Stewart and Scarborough make Blunt Talk worth watching, as they’re an offbeat co-dependent pair who clearly have great affection and respect for each other, and watching Stewart embrace Walter’s often loony behavior is a treat.

Meanwhile, there’s Bosworth, throwing glacial glares and selling her soul to impress her father and compete with upstart Connor, giving a beautifully restrained, imminently watchable performance that conveys depths with very little. Too bad there’s not more of her and less of everything else.

This resulting premiere is an offering that feels haphazardly stitched together--the audience often left pondering the relevance of each scene. By Episode 3 that pace and journey shift to relevant and thoughtful, but it sure is an exhaustive journey to finally get there.

While the pilot script excels in efficient plot building, it lags in dialogue and character development.

[There's] a lot of dying and when that's added to the death or deaths of the week--this is a one-note procedural after all--the morbidity starts to mount on a series that's already weighed down by clumsy mythology and storytelling.

Into the Badlands may not have a ton of smarts, but so far it’s a twisty, agreeable distraction.

It's just a good story, cleverly told. It's not going to resolve the troubles in the Middle East, but then again, neither has anything else.

Houston’s life comes across as if outlined in simple, declarative statements with limited depth of emotion and introspection.

This is an offering best served in small doses to really appreciate some of the nuances built into each episode.

Following the firmly established formula, director Anthony C. Ferrante delivers predictably amped-up action and less camp on this third swipe at the chum bucket. But that doesn’t stop it from being a fun, if less hilarious, ride.

Harden’s unfortunate typecasting is the least of the ailments afflicting Code Black. When blood isn’t flying everywhere and the doctors aren’t rushing from one disaster to the next, derivative characters bombard the screen with familiar tropes.

CBS's new comedy The McCarthys is well written and terrifically cast. Star Tyler Ritter is effortless in his delivery and grounds the comedy that can take family bonding to extremes.

There's a fun dynamic between John and Chas that is yet to be explored, while we haven't even met the third member of our trio yet.

By the sixth or seventh time someone ominously intones, “It’s coming,” you’ll be just about exhausted. Some things shouldn’t necessarily be reborn.

Sumptuous costuming and a believable period setting aren’t enough to make up for weak storylines that intend to make more of killer Lizzie than she actually was.

Unfortunately the end result is a cast of supporting characters that fall flat without the proper development, and a lead that never quite opens up to the audience.