Rectify can be both hypnotic and heart-wrenching for viewers who have invested in these characters throughout the first two seasons. Season 1 remains the high point, though, and there doesn’t seem to be much time left to scale some of those peaks again.

Despite its lead characters' fragile makeups, Free Agents is a niftily scripted, bracingly grownup comedy when in the hands of its two leads.

Atlanta is very distinctively [Glover's] baby through and through.

This looks like a drama with a heart, a pulse and also the ability to skip a beat.

Too Big to Fail effectively follows the money while humanizing most of the moneychangers.

Absent the trappings of official power and high-stakes infighting by Selina and her team, the very blue banter at times seems both juvenile and excessive. ... The open question is whether Veep can sustain itself as a comedy about a festering ex-president who’s desperate to remain relevant in civilian life. But it seems likely.

Black-ish has a lot packed into its oft-amusing opening half-hour. It’s both fairly daring and also endearing, sharply written but with an overdose of narrative exposition. The kids and adults are all well-cast and there’s no laugh track to gum anything up.

This tautly emotional and up-close look at a mettle-testing day in Iraq seems certain to become its most resonant and valuable production to date.

It’s an acquired taste worth acquiring--or at least sampling. Because you just won’t know until you’ve tried.

Cinema Verite's strength is in dramatizing the off-camera seductions and betrayals that led to the Louds being vilified in many quarters before the entire family went on The Dick Cavett Show to both tell their side of the story and confront filmmaker Craig Gilbert.

Rust and Jacobs are the drive shafts, though, keeping Love on all fours with characterizations that likely will keep most viewers invested.

Dinklage excels in a very difficult role to pull off while Dornan keeps pace as his reluctant Boswell. Their love story, so to speak, is both an entertaining romp and a cautionary tale about a rocket ride to fame and the abundant excesses and afflictions that often are part and parcel.

Frankly, a little boredom sets in at times. ... How The Americans resolves their fates will be key to whether this series is remembered as a superbly rendered morality tale or a distinct disappointment after setting its bar so high. Season 6 so far is rife with both possibilities.

Season 5 of The Americans almost assuredly will round into form after a rather sluggish start compared to previous returns. In the initial three hours, the plot both thickens and sometimes congeals.

For the most part, though, You’re the Worst keeps clicking as a decidedly “adult” look at thirtysomething infantilism.

Crashing has enough mostly gentle amusements to keep it on track. And it’s increasingly easy to get on Pete’s side.

As a fan from the start, I didn't love it, but liked it well enough.

Moura as Escobar doesn’t bring the overall manic and sometimes comic intensity of Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in Scarface. He’s never dull, though, giving Narcos a thoroughly sinister presence who’s capable of anything and will stop at nothing.

The Bridge so far looks to have more promise than [Fox’s The Following, NBC’s Hannibal, AMC’s ongoing Season 3 of The Killing]. It’s still early, though.

Season 2 so far is still a watchable feast of decayed human flesh and frayed nerve endings.

Under the Dome parlays solid special effects and an intriguing storyline, giving CBS’ a bracing breeze of fresh air during a summer season that previously has been a playground for Big Brother and “procedural” crime series reruns.

Much of the performance footage is phenomenal in that respect. But in two hours time, the film could have dug deeper rather than coming to a screeching halt that almost rivals its subject’s high-pitched stage wails.

[Cress Williams] delivers the goods in Black Lightning as a title character of steely intent whose vulnerabilities are also a major part of his makeup. Are his powers a curse or, as he prefers to see them, a “blessing from God?” However things turn out, it’s already quite electrifying.

Entourage looks as though it still has enough juice--comedy, drama and Drama-wise--to make its last season a keeper.

As always, though, it’s all in the execution. And Supergirl’s plucky central character, very winningly played by Benoist, looks good to go for this season and beyond.

Game of Thrones seems to be getting better all the time judging from the four episodes sent for review. It’s just that it also seems to be taking longer and longer to get there in the interests of servicing all the returning and new characters in play.

Comic Book Men is a pleasant surprise and an overall splash of fragrant cologne on the smell test-flunking reality genre.

Roberts and Cannavale also contribute memorable characterizations while newcomer James makes Walter much more than a guinea pig. These performances and a solidly intriguing story make Homecoming worth your down payment. Stay the course and you’ll get a nice payoff as well.

Weiner’s end-game for his leading man does not appear to be brightly lit. Nor is Season 6 of Mad Men off to a particularly sparkling start creatively while we wait for the worst to come.

The cast is engaging, the premise is intriguing and the genre long has been CBS' ratings-rich specialty.

Intellectually challenging while arguably also going off the rails more than a few times, The Young Pope has its work cut out in luring a sizable audience.

Living in the Material World falls short of Scorsese's terrific two-part PBS film, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan.

Jackie Robinson connects all of these dots and gives a far fuller picture of the man than the pedestrian 2013 feature film 42 or 1950’s The Jackie Robinson Story, in which Jackie played himself opposite Ruby Dee as Rachel.

Marry Me runs a solid second to ABC’s black-ish in the informal competition for best new comedy series of the fall season. Episode 1 gets off to a terrifically inventive start, with Wilson and Marino teeing things up before further hitting their grooves apart from one another.

Outcast is beautifully composed cinematically, with a conveniently nearby woods providing an extra layer of creepiness. By the end of the initial four episodes, a spellbinding hook has been set, with the mythology enticingly unfolding amid week-to-week new vistas in exorcism.

TNT's brighter, shinier Dallas makes an impressively staged re-entrance Wednesday night.

Jack Ryan goes above and beyond the pro forma basics of getting the job done. This is a thrilling and energetic enterprise replete with well-drawn characters and propulsive action. Binge-watchers, start your engines.

Although Deadline Artist profiles both of them, the late Breslin (who died in 2017 at the age of 87) is the swaggering star of this time capsule. ... By the year 2015, both men looked frail and spent while seated next to one another for the purposes of this evocative film. Breslin remained pretty grouchy while the cheerier Hamill arrived in a wheelchair. It’s still something to see.

The dialogue crackles and the first featured case (in Episode 2) is buoyed by a guest appearance from Christine Lahti (Chicago Hope) as a very self-assured prosecutor.

In the end, Phil Spector succeeds on the strength of its two marquee thespians. Mirren is wonderful throughout, Pacino scores in double figures and they have enough scenes together to make it all well worth your while.

Despite some shortcomings, Hemingway & Gellhorn rates as time and money well-spent.

Solid writing and even sharper delivery (all without an intrusive laugh track) make this one of the season’s upper tier freshman comedies.

The main characters also aren’t clicking on all cylinders yet, save for the dastardly Varga and his bitingly delicious way of putting things. ... This latest Fargo likely will be quite a trip, with its principal creative force, Noah Hawley, not to be discounted in terms of coming through in the clutch.

Although her time on-screen is limited, Cruz makes some strong impressions as the ever-demanding Donatella Versace.

This is a concept that so far doesn’t lack for execution. Last Man On Earth has no chance at all to be a blockbuster in league with Fox’s new Empire. But it’s another distinctive example of what the Big Four broadcast networks should dare and do.

Not everything meshes perfectly. But far more often than not, House of Cards remains an absorbing tale of high-level government dysfunction populated by double-dealers who hold their aces under the table.

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.

Fox seems to be on the right track, though, with a lead character who has ample potential to gawkily bloom and grow.

The Americans remains one of television’s very best drama series. Still, this season so far is not up to the fly-high level of the first two.

The Detour isn’t always in full command of its absurdities, but the killer lines keep coming.

A surprisingly assured supernatural saga with at least a little something for everyone, plus non-stop eye candy for one and all.

The series repeatedly bounces around, but coherently so. And in the early going at least, Flynn’s performance is the more interesting and affecting while also consuming considerably more screen time.

Time of Death breathes new life into a handful who chose otherwise. And with this series, they also chose pretty wisely.

A reasonably fond look at some of country music’s most celebrated and talented self-destructive forces, most of them now dead.

After a ridiculous opening bit--in which Maya recklessly drives the entire family to a restaurant whose 50 percent off coupon will expire in three minutes--both Driver and the show settle into a solid and for the most part amusing groove.

Mr. Mercedes has yet to fire on all cylinders in the early stages of Season Two. But a nice slow simmer is well-suited to Gleeson’s talents as an actor who doesn’t mind taking his time in further molding a character with a gruff exterior and an old, buttered soul. It’s a beauty of a savory performance, with the bigger chills still coming. All in due time.

Angie Tribeca, starring Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation) in the title role, is hysterical at times, amusing in others and never far from a sight gag or throwaway line.

Throughout these first five episodes, Westworld continues to have a mind-bending mind of its own, sometimes to the point of being close to nonsensical. It’s also a non-stop killing field, and that gets to be off-putting after a while. But Westworld also remains picturesque, challenging and undeniably distinct.

A&E's Bates Motel is both mesmerizing and sometimes absurd in its rewind to Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) as a repressed 17-year-old.

Highmore plays his lead role to near-perfection amid all the considerable medical jargon and jockeying for position among his supposedly more enlightened colleagues. The Good Doctor engagingly drops Dr. Shaun in their midst as both a lamb and a lion with a muted roar. The story possibilities are readily apparent on a number of fronts in the best broadcast network medical drama since Hugh Laurie contrastingly bruised his way through House.

Arkin is a cinch Emmy nominee for his contributions and Douglas may well find himself along for that ride. The scenes with the acting class students for the most part don’t work as well. ... Viewers of a certain age may well respond with knowing head nods to the age-old predicaments that Sandy and Norman find themselves in. But the series might also have some traction with advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds.

Livingston excels as the point man, making Sam Loudermilk both his own worst enemy and a guy who would be damned interesting to be around. This is one of the ongoing TV season’s better new comedies.

ABC has far more family-driven sitcoms than any of its rivals. Splitting Up Together shows that the network is still finding new ways to make them work just fine.

The History network, in on-air partnership with Lifetime and A&E, has brought forth a Roots that stands tall on its own, but without surpassing the production that once gripped a nation and should still be seen by viewers of all ages.

This is a firmly grounded and compelling drama that’s both ripe for lampooning on Saturday Night Life and rich in story possibilities. Its us-against-them template holds solid over the first five episodes.

It’s a solidly told whodunit with a payoff that’s worth your investment.

I Love Dick very much shows as well as tells. ... A series that is completely willing to offend sensibilities while also engaging them.

It clicks, crackles and arrests attention with a blend of compromised cops, assorted criminals and homier family values.

It’s bright, sharp, without a laugh track and with a very well assembled ensemble cast headed by Ari Graynor in the Diaz role of a gold-digging, dumped divorcee looking to land another big fish.

You should give Luck a chance to slowly pay off. It proudly depicts a gritty/picturesque world that the ABC Family channel's Wildfire only airbrushed during its 2005-08 run.

It’s all very, very ambitious, with hits that keep on coming while storyline misses seem to be almost beside the point. Vinyl is thoroughly rousing at its core, a crazed, dope-filled, sometimes dopey trip that begins in 1973 and has nothing in common with the earlier, comparatively sedate decade brought to you by AMC’s Mad Men.

This is way too well-made a series to be dubbed a "guilty pleasure," even if a sizable percentage of the audience may watch purely for the visceral thrills of all that weekly bloodletting.

A smart, sedate Canadian production imported by ABC for a summertime run.

Murder in the First looks to have sturdy underpinnings. Bochco at this point has been around too long to learn entirely new tricks. Still, this is easily his best new series since NYPD Blue tried to break molds more than two decades ago.

The joy of last season’s discovery has given way to a hope that Rectify’s continued strong performances won’t be snuffed out by a steady downbeat of characters’ lives further unraveling.

What stands out is the letter-perfect ensemble casting, Morgan’s ability to perform as more than a caricature and the comfy fit of Tray’s adventures and misadventures.

Patience is recommended, because it takes a while for Mindhunter to embed its hooks and acclimate Groff, who at times seems to be almost painfully “finding” his character. ... Based on what we have, Mindhunter is plodding at times but promising in the main.

Overall impression: look for them [the episodes] to get better, stronger and funnier.

Blunt Talk’s overall absurdity at times over-reaches and grabs viewers too hard by the throat. Still, its excesses are offset by enough inspired lunacy to carry the day.

Billions is full of itself in a good way, with Giamatti and Lewis dynamically leading the way while a solid supporting cast hangs in with them. The perplexities of stratospheric finance are not easily digested at times. But you’ll never be too far from another scene in which one or the other protagonist hits the spot and makes this latest Showtime series worth both your time and your money.

It’s a daring, immersive undertaking by USA, while also being far removed from the usual true crime suspects--lately the Menendez Brothers and Waco-based cult leader David Koresh.

A surprisingly solid sitcom that for the most part keeps its balance amid one absurdity after another.

Life's Too Short is an acquired taste worth acquiring.

HBO’s three-and-a-half hour Elvis Presley: The Searcher is an evocative documentary without malice.

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.

The Affair for now has done its job by tantalizingly baiting its hook. The solid performances by its four principals further heighten both the drama and the expectations.

It's all quite sturdily built and well-acted, with characters one cares about.

This one looks like a keeper but certainly not a sleeper. Lowe’s recent track record and pre-sold star power already make The Grinder a comedy of which much is expected--and so far delivered.

Coal has the right stuff, putting viewers of a mind to hurt for these men--who hurt right back.

The Passage, which shows considerable promise in these early episodes. Thanks to Gosselaar and Sidney, the all-important human element goes hand-in-hand with all the sci-fi ins and outs.

It's all a lot to swallow, let alone digest. But Game of Thrones nonetheless is an undertaking worth applauding for its audacity if not always for its overall senses of direction or cohesion.

Major Crimes has the makings of a very sturdy reboot outfitted with a built-in philosophical debate over how justice is served. Supporting characters are newly invigorated, particularly Bailey's Provenza.

Ozark makes its bones via Bateman’s solid work, another reliably strong performance from Linney and an intriguing if sometimes over-populated immorality play that tantalizingly firms its grip.

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.

It’s a character study first and foremost, with a sure-handed sense of time and place.

Looking isn’t a comedy, but it’s much bouncier on its feet. Not slap-happy, but comfortable in its own skin as the three principals.

These guys know what they’re doing. And this time they’re doing it with a welcome edge in rousing, ribald times.

They have more than enough laugh out loud moments to justify this completely unexpected return trip to Camp Firewood, circa the summer of 1981.