It smoothly goes through its paces, with Hunt and Reiser engaged and looking happy to be together again. The “plots,” such as they are, tend to be mostly thin soup.

Haggard’s performance (she’s also a co-writer) is a marvel, whether she’s exuding vulnerability or dishing the sass. Used and abused but never quite de-fused, she propels Back to Life to the top tier of this season’s newcomers, with ample help from a crackerjack ensemble.

Aniston fully takes command and registers the best “serious” performance of her career while Witherspoon and Carell also are fully and convincingly invested. It all makes for a series that is anything but sunny side up.

Visually entrancing, pointedly provocative and all over the place in time and space, Watchmen might make even David Lynch drop his jaw at times.

Despite its varying trials and travails, Modern Love strives for an overall feel-good vibe that isn’t always entirely earned. For the most part, it’s gentle on the mind and soothing to the nerves in times when The New York Times front page is a steady drumbeat of downers.

Standout performances and what looks to be a sure-fire, durable premise give Fox’s Almost Family the key ingredients of a potentially long-running, soapy serial drama.

There’s no laugh track involved in any of this, which is heartening. And Goggins fares fairly well in this very tamped-down mode, even if a number of his previous characters clearly would want to choke Wade Felton to death.

Wednesday’s premiere episode veers back and forth story-wise almost as crazily as the show-starting wild ride. ... That’s the overall point and thrust of Stumptown, where a woman drinks, fights and has sex on her terms in the same manner numerous men did in an assembly line of earlier ABC action dramas.

Investing in ABC’s Emergence looks like it could be a winning proposition. And even if the suspense and premise begin to sag, there’s always Allison Tolman to keep hope alive. ... Tolman’s performance is thoroughly grounded.

The two lead performances make me want to see more. ... Prodigal Son is more than several cuts below that Oscar-lauded classic. Still, it’s better than chopped liver, of which Dr. Martin Whitly has shown he knows a thing or two.

Bob Hearts Abishola feels good -- and good to go -- the second Olowofoyeku enters the picture and begins riffing with Gardell. They seem to be made for one another -- at first as actors and eventually as characters whose future dating ups and downs should keep this show on a steady, agreeable course.

Whatever your thoughts about country music, expect to be immensely entertained, educated and even edified throughout this master course in pickin’, grinnin’ -- and so very much more.

Carnival Row, whether airborne or down-to-earth gritty, keeps flexing the power of its oft-breathtaking visuals. The worlds it creates are the greater sums of its whole while the messages it sends can be a little two telegraphed.

Dunst is the saving grace throughout a rollicking Season One that keeps delivering whenever she’s on screen. It may well turn out to be the TV performance of the year, with some very able assists from Pellerin, Rodriguez, Ditto and Levine.

The Righteous Gemstones is hallelujah-worthy for its performances, energy, comedy, dramedy and occasional little heart tugs.

There’s nothing technically new under the sun with BH90210. But it nonetheless feels that way via this fresh approach to what easily could have been a very wrong address.

Riveting at the start and somewhat less so as time marches on. Crowe’s portrayal of Ailes of course is the major drawing card, and he is nothing if not fully immersed. The characters around him can’t help but pale in comparison, but it would help if some of the supporting roles were more vividly acted.

After an energetic start and a nice twist at the end of Episode 1, City on a Hill slows its pace a bit.

Deadwood’s trademark blend of literacy and crudity continues to harmoniously co-exist. ... Deadwood: The Movie ends with beautifully paired scenes featuring Bullock and Swearengen. Both are moving in their own distinctive ways, bringing one of HBO’s very best series to an end that does David Milch proud. Very proud indeed.

Clooney and company have tried their utmost to navigate the swervy Catch-22. It may well be the last such effort. And they fare better than the movie did without fully sticking the landing. Then again, who could? Bronze stars to all.

Weighing in at two hours, 40 minutes and airing in one sitting, HBO’s What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali, is as thrilling today as it was in his yesteryears. ... What’s My Name doesn’t delve into its subject’s personal life, focusing only on his career in the ring and his activism outside of it. That’s more than enough to easily fill its extended running time.

Pleasant viewing it’s not. But in terms of capturing a time and place, the five-part miniseries succeeds on every level. ... HBO’s extraordinary retelling of what went down in Pripyat and the then Soviet Union at large is its own reward for now -- and a certain multiple trophy winner during next year’s awards season.

Wyle’s lead performance is solid, although more than a little weepy. ... Red Line is a revelation, though, in terms of introducing Aliyah Royale to a national audience. Her portrayal of Jira is terrifically compelling and natural. ... Red Line force-feeds more than it should. It has some messages of true value while also failing to resonate to the degree it could have and should have.

From a storytelling standpoint, the back-and-forth choreography is not without stumbles. Performance-wise, though, FX’s eight-part Fosse/Verdon is never less than all that jazz.

The show’s creative team, headed by creator Corinne Kingsbury and including Ben Stiller, so far have put together a show that’s surprisingly and bracingly watchable.

No one is really going for the jugular, though. Your funny bone is the main target, with the humor ranging from broad to subtle. .... So yes, these vampires still suck--but in a unique series that otherwise just tickles.

Be assured that Shrill gains its footing en route to being something special by the end of its first season.

Manhunt’s navigations of clues and dead ends at times are enough to keep this pot simmering if not boiling. Nor is there anything wrong with Clunes’ lead performance, which unfortunately is in service to a not-so-greater whole.