It’s exhaustive and it’s exhausting, and for a certain type of Beatles fan (like, I suspect, Jackson himself) it’ll be an irresistible delight. ... To embrace these near eight hours, you need to completely surrender to his pacing, to glory in every day of the Beatles’ sessions at Twickenham Studios and then at the smaller recording studio in the basement of their Apple headquarters. You may find yourself wishing that the boys would please shut up and play their instruments on a number of occasions, but the film clings to those endless conversations with the tenacity of McCartney trying to coax the right guitar line out of Harrison.

The power of "Leaving Neverland" lies in the faces of the two men telling their stories, and the anguish of mothers trying to measure their own complicity. It’s hard not to see truth in those faces, but no doubt many will continue to resist.

God what a good show this is. Who cares who killed who?

People of Earth earns kudos for going for the stars, but it also suffers from a failure to launch.

While there may be some hidden truths in the intended comedy, the scenes often come across as judgemental and ill-conceived.

Chemistry wasn’t the problem with either version of the pilot. Indeed both actresses are fine in the role, as is LeBlanc; it’s the show itself that could use some work.

It’s an honest, unflinching look at dating, relationships and life, told from a refreshing and hilarious perspective.

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

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

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.

[Conviction] is a mess from beginning to end, full of clichéd characters and confusing rules.

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.

An overly jokey screenplay that lacks the sharpness of Allen’s best work. And the problem is also Allen, who has largely stopped acting in his own movies. As Sidney, he can be lovably doddering and still delivers the occasional quip with style. But more often, he’s the least compelling character on screen.

Westworld gives you a lot to consider, and immerses you so completely in its manufactured reality that you’re never distracted from its complicated questions. The best thing I can say about it is that after seeing the first four episodes, I’m very eager for more.

Comfort food television is a necessary and worthwhile product, but MacGyver is so bland it’s not even fun for a Friday night in.

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

It’s like the writers are just throwing ideas on a wall to see what sticks. Nothing about this pilot feels finely tuned or carefully constructed. It’s a shame, actually, given the great chemistry between Perabo and Sunjata in the first place.

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.

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.

[Minne Driver] jumps into it headfirst which helps the original sale, but as she settles into the role she will have to adjust the tone in order to toe the line between endearing and annoying. ... The real story here though is breakout star Fowler. For a kid who has minimal dialogue he has loads of star power thanks to fantastic facial expressions and giggle-worthy reaction shots.

Bull is certainly a light, breezy offering that could help you unwind after a long Tuesday. But if you’re looking for something with a little more meat and meaning, you’re going to have to visit another courtroom.

It’s a unique blend with four very distinct but compelling stories, proving there’s plenty of drama to be mined from real life. It doesn’t hurt that each of the actors is perfectly cast in his or her role, driving home the beautifully written scenes that often pose pertinent and universally relatable questions.

Creator Michael Schur (“Parks and Recreation”) must be commended for not only playing to Bell and Danson’s strengths but much like he did with his previous NBC hit, Schur creates a place for lesser-known cast members to truly shine.

Ultimately, this meandering, often brilliant show is held together by Glover, whose charming, sensitive presence is akin to the way Atlanta bops along on its own bemused frequency.

From one episode to the next, it’s always a bit of a surprise which character will become the story’s central figure, the writers seemingly able to make any of its dramatic players utterly gripping.

It sounds gimmicky and completely set up, but with this bunch it works.

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.

The show’s centerpiece remains Malek’s mesmerizing turn as Elliot, as well as his chemistry with Slater‘s Mr. Robot. Excavating that much emotion from deadpan narration is a tough gig, but Malek continues to find new shades of neutral both in voiceover and in his scenes.

The Night Of doesn’t break new ground so much as it showcases a group of actors, writers and directors working at an exceptionally high level, merging potentially familiar genres into a thoroughly absorbing study of disparate characters brought together by a murder whose perpetrator remains a mystery.

Maybe over time Roadies will settle into a groove, but as of now it’s yet to find its rhythm.

What makes Jenny and Lola so likable is that they are resilient, brave and fully realized in ways the teenage girls in the nearly three-decade-old original were not.

Simmons pushed back on Barkley’s rankings, as only a true fan can. It’s this informed jousting, the back and forth between devotees of sports that could make Any Given Wednesday appointment viewing for sports fans. ... It’s classic Bill Simmons, a man with questions and answers, with a new forum where he can drop the mic and let others do the same.

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.

Season 4 is so rich and dense with characters, backstories and subplots that some of its more interesting new additions remain mere teases. As always, the flashbacks remain the strongest aspects of the series.

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 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.

OJ: Made in America lays out of all the evidence patiently, giving all sides their due. It is eminently fair.

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.

Roots is at once a more intimate and explicit document than was its forerunner and no less compelling, if you can endure the harshness of the spectacle that accompanies it.

Jay Roach‘s smart direction and the brilliant script by Robert Schenkkan (adapted from his Tony-winning play) are essential to capturing the dynamics of an era and its principal players. Likewise, Bill Corso’s impressive make-up is indispensable to getting these historical characterizations just right. But the acting’s the thing, and there’s not a disappointing performance in this stellar ensemble cast.

[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.

At times Famuyiwa is so concerned with including the myriad supporting players that the film can be more of a competent procedural than a riveting, insightful exploration of a crucial moment in American politics. But those worries are mostly tempered by the slow reveal of the film’s true agenda.

In its seventh season, Archer remains as reliably funny and lovably immature as ever.

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.

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.

There are lots of juicy twists and some melodramatic intrigue, and Kerrigan and Seimetz execute them with nicely chilly precision. But The Girlfriend Experience is at its best when it puts aside plot machinations to deliver a sympathetic but clear-eyed portrait of a woman discovering herself.

Unfortunately, by the end of the first hour, viewers may find themselves looking for a pulse rather than committing to future installments, let alone pondering the state of female medical practitioners in the industry and their work-home life balance.

This is a television show at the very peak of its powers, confident and controlled. The cast and crew have done their part--your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is simply to tune in. You won’t regret it.

Only mildly amusing and tending toward broad, obvious gags, this Fox late-night program, which is executive produced by the Lonely Island, could develop and grow in confidence over time. But for now, there’s not much life to this Party.

Underground celebrates the small, exceptional group of black and white heroes who risked it all for the sake of freedom. And it’s that story, the amazing cast and the historically accurate writing behind the drama that make this series worth the investment.

While Frank may not be as wily as he once was, he’s still not someone you want to cross. Departing showrunner Beau Willimon is proving that while he’s leaving the show after this season, he’s leaving with a bang.

There are so many self-satisfied references to the off-screen lives of the stars and what’s happened to them in the intervening years, you might sometimes think you’re watching a “Saturday Night Live” skit version of the show.

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.

Later episodes get bogged down in subplots that feel like busywork meant to keep our characters apart, and perhaps there aren’t any major revelations to this show’s look at dating in your 30s. But Love’s modest, hesitant misadventures are charming in their own right. Maybe it’s not quite love, but it’s definitely like.

At times there seems to be too much going on in the pilot, between Richie running away from gun-wielding lunatics, attempting to sign new talent, working to keep his existing roster, finagling a deal to sell his company and balancing his precarious home life. But it’s no greater a flaw than most pilots attempting to set up the scheme of things face, and the action never seems bogged down or tied up in specifics.

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.

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).

She’s an experienced stand-up comedian with a quick wit and a sharp tongue to go with it. Not Safe proves she’s ready to topline a show.

With Full Frontal, TBS truly has a comedy show that’s sure to become part of the cultural conversation and possibly fill the void felt by Jon Stewart‘s departure. There’s so much scathing, insightful, intelligent funny packed into Full Frontal and Bee’s ability to land a joke is beyond impressive.

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

With Horace and Pete, [Louis C.K.'s] ambitions can sometimes outrace his execution, but the commitment of his cast to a consciously old-fashioned kind of drama reminiscent of Arthur Miller and Eugene O’Neill makes the pilot exciting even when it’s a bit stilted.

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 production managed to capture the overall cheesy tone present in the original while moving through the many numbers with lightning speed. The three hours flew by quicker than expected at the outset thanks to giggle-worthy moments and fun numbers, with things really picking up in terms of overall entertainment and production value at the two-hour mark.

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 FX limited-run series is every bit as watchable as the insanely watchable trial.

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.

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.

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

[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.

This sitcom’s battering ram of madcap inanity can run aground when a particular episode doesn’t have an especially memorable storyline, and perhaps Angie Tribeca caters too much to an audience in thrall to the old “Airplane!” style of so-broad-it-hurts humor. From the 1980s’ “Sledge Hammer!” to the more recent “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” smart-aleck cop comedies are nothing new. But in its minute-to-minute pleasures, Angie Tribeca is one big goofy grin of a sitcom. Season 2 can’t come quickly enough.

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.

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.

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.

Other than presenting Kazinsky with the late holiday gift of a starring role, there’s not much else to Second Chance. The twins feel as if they’ve been grafted onto the plot from another series, while DeKay’s sole note for much of the first few episodes is pissed off. Other shows have tackled estranged fathers and sons better.

Not fun enough to be trashy and not resonant enough to make you care.... Lordy, is it silly--and worse, it lacks the wit or sharp self-awareness to own up to its campiness or help make its melodramatic elements more palatable.

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.

By the end of the first hour you’re not entirely sure what happened or who is to blame, but you’re left with an unsettling feeling that even when the truth does surface the story won’t be tied up with a neat little bow as it would be in so many other crime dramas on television.

Fantasy fare like this generally has a pretty low bar to clear and a pretty forgiving target audience, but the heavy-handed jargon, pointy elf ears and brooding self-seriousness of The Shannara Chronicles might be too much for even those fans. It doesn’t help that the characters seem to be allowed to switch from talking dour fantasy-novel heroes to bored millennials whenever the mood strikes them.

Writer and creator Julian Fellowes provides a sweet parting gift, indulging fans with closure on so many dangling storylines, while offering fiery and long-overdue exchanges between some of the most popular characters.... His ensemble of actors is equally generous, each giving such steadfast performances in these last episodes of the award-winning series.

The show is satirizing smug, middle-class white folks who resent any threat to their status quo, but the only viewpoints presented on Bordertown are those of smug, middle-class white folks and smug, middle-class liberals who resent the white folks’ resentment.

Instead of being nags or props, the female costars on this series are just as fleshed out and funny as their male counterparts, and the comedy is all the better for it.

It’s hard to hit pause on Making a Murderer once it’s rolling through the queue.

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.

Smart, sincere and punctuated by four-letter obscenities in the way Burr’s stand-up routine is.

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.

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

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.

In the end, those hate-watchers had little to complain about other than occasional uneven camera angles, a missing Toto (he disappeared after the first scene) and the long three-hour running time; strong performances, fun dialogue and dazzling numbers rounded out an overall solid outing this time around.

Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce is worth watching this season because Marti Noxon and company are moving beyond Abby’s first taste of sexual freedom and addressing more of the harsh realities divorce entails. The guest casting alone makes the show watchable and Lisa Edelstein’s Abby continues to be an engaging, appealing catalyst for the show’s stories.

Season 2 is bolder, stronger, and more audacious because now, actions have consequences.... For a TV show, the stakes don’t get much higher and Soloway nails it all with ease.

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

A compulsively compelling series that grows richer and more emotionally nuanced as it gains momentum, The Man in the High Castle milks its provocative what-if premise for plenty of smart suspense and subtle shading.

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.

It’s a complex protagonist, the kind we don’t see enough of on television or in studio films.... This series feels like the first superhero show really just for grown-ups--and it totally works.

None of these [Dick Wolf Chicago] shows are groundbreaking. All have dialogue is lumpy. But for viewers who crave the familiar, there is something comforting about attractive people saving the day.

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

Defined from the outset as a cheater, [Jean] comes across as pensive brat whose hot, supportive wife isn’t enough to keep him satisfied. Aside from his skills with bleach and a Q-tip, there’s very little so far that compels one to root for this hero to succeed. But that’s hardly a reason to dismiss the show entirely. There are some inventive twists and well-placed comic moments.