Season 2 isn’t anchored to any plot thread at all. Sure, the self-contained episodes are fun, but eventually, I wanted to see Dev progress a little, to develop as a character from one episode to the next. ... The subtle joys of Master of None more than make up for any minor structural quibbles.

Season 3 lacks a certain narrative drive that the previous two seasons had, as if it’s enough to just hang out and observe these characters without any major new developments. And it mostly is--but still, there’s something missing.

An intense drug deal plays out with character-based nuance, more about the personalities in the room than the chance that guns will start blazing, while an episode set largely in the holding room of a jail finds drama in the assorted, transfixing plights of one-off characters.

The People v. O.J. Simpson‘s true feat is its ability to build real suspense using moments burned into our national consciousness.

Brammall and Dyer both rise to the occasion as actors, lending Gordon and Ashley’s relationship a poignant complexity. A show like Colin From Accounts really is something to be treasured. It’s one of those small, lovely gems that almost feels too good to be true in today’s TV landscape.

Severance soars to new heights with its long-anticipated Season 2, exceeding our expectations by digging deeper and hitting harder than before.

Top-notch performances from an A-list cast are Mrs. America‘s greatest selling points, but make sure to bone up on the American political process ahead of time — or you might be lost.

Vince Gilligan aims high with his sci-fi series "Pluribus," and it mostly works, anchored by Rhea Seehorn's dazzling performance.

There were times I wanted The Rehearsal to be more conventionally structured or even more conventionally funny; it gets weirdly poignant at times — or poignantly weird, I’m not sure which — as it walks a fine line between inspired and demented. (One participant’s comparison of Fielder to Willy Wonka isn’t all that far off.) But I can honestly say I’ve seen nothing like it on television before.

The Lowdown, I should note, does threaten to disappear into its own quirk at times. It moseys along at a deliberate pace, and the meandering narrative tends to wander around like Lee after one too many hits of his vape pen. But that’s OK: This show dances to its own beat. It’s not trying too hard to impress us, and that’s endearing, in a way. It’s worth checking out just to bask in Hawke’s greatness.

Alien: Earth still feels at times like an eight-hour movie, slowly building to a chaotic climax, and it’s hard to see at this point how the story could continue for multiple seasons. Hawley has earned our trust by now, though… and once again, with a seemingly unadaptable franchise, he has delivered.

The key to The Deuce‘s success is the writing. Some familiar tropes and clichés are scattered throughout, but Simon and his Wire co-writer George Pelecanos find a way to look deeper and uncover the vital truth underneath.

The plucky, can-do spirit that made last season so special still endure.

FX’s Shōgun adaptation is a feast for the eyes with dazzling action sequences, but the muddled story falls short.

Clad in the silks and satins of 1700s France, Outlander‘s Jamie and Claire Fraser clean up nicely. What a relief, then, that the Starz series does, too, delivering a second season that explores their complicated relationship amid a historical plot with a looming, deadly deadline.

Showrunners Carly Mensch and Liz Flahive again manage to zigzag between the lowbrow silliness of the show-within-the-show and the higher-brow hijinks behind the scenes without giving the impression that the series has a split personality. ... Perhaps best of all, since Season 2 is so emotionally brutal, when we get a break that’s not of the heart variety, it doesn’t feel like a present, it feels earned.

A lovely and emotive series about the lives of immigrants in America.

It just feels like Simien was eager to expand the universe of his original film, and ended up overextending himself. The result feels more like a series of self-contained short films than a TV show. That puts the burden on the cast of mostly newcomers to command our attention in their solo showcases, and unfortunately, they largely come up short.

It requires a strong stomach, for one thing. (I can’t imagine binge-watching more than one episode at a time.) But for those who are up for it, it’s a highly compelling and artfully crafted step forward for the zombie genre — and for television in general.

Poker Face is a loving throwback to ’70s detective shows that works, thanks to a winning lead performance from Natasha Lyonne.

FX’s sharp, savage English Teacher takes a refreshingly unsentimental look at public schools — and is one of the year’s funniest new shows.

It is fun--an addictive and surprisingly witty thriller powered by two remarkable female performances.

Picard‘s final season brings back Next Generation favorites and introduces new wrinkles in what is easily the best season yet.

It takes a few episodes for Homecoming to start showing its cards, and the focus is on unspooling the mystery rather than building the characters, so emotional depth is sometimes sacrificed in order to keep the narrative freight train chugging along. But it is an awfully good mystery, after all, with each episode lasting just long enough and teasing us just enough to keep us hooked.

Sorry for Your Loss is like a beautifully written sad song: You’re not always in the right mood to listen to it... but when you are, it can reach you in places that nothing else can.

X-Men ’97 goes all-in on the requisite campiness, high-stakes action, and potent parallels that made the original, as well as the comics that inspired it, so much fun.

Legion has created a compelling world that firmly stands on its own.

If anything, Season 2 only gets richer as it digs deeper into these ladies’ lives. ... Savor this while it lasts, folks: This is as good as TV gets.