Rosamund Pike leads the charge in The Wheel of Time, Prime Video’s action-fantasy epic based on the long-running book series by Robert Jordan. With so much story to adapt in so little time, how does the potential Game of Thrones heir stack up? The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories …
With the names of comedy heavyweights Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd above the title, you’d probably expect Apple TV+’s The Shrink Next Door to be a silly laugh riot. But fair warning: It is not. The episode running times are actually a clue: The premiere is just 35 minutes, like a comedy, but later episodes …
The Shrink Next Door Review: Therapy Turns Toxic in Apple’s Creepy Dramedy Read More »
RELATED STORIES Judge Judy is still dispensing justice in reruns on daytime TV, but if you want new cases? You’ll have to head to IMDb TV, where the honorable Judith Sheindlin stars in a new courtroom show, Judy Justice, that made its streaming debut on Monday. (IMDb TV is a free-with-ads streaming service available through …
Judy Justice: What’s Your Verdict on Judge Judy’s New Show? Grade It! Read More »
My first thought while watching the proudly weird, thoroughly charming new comedy Ghosts was: How is this on CBS? To be fair, the Eye network has moved past the days of “fat guy with a hot wife” sitcoms lately with a host of more thoughtful and bittersweet comedies like the recently departed Mom. But still, …
Ghosts Review: Please Watch This Quirky CBS Gem Before It Disappears Read More »
TV’s reboot and revival craze is showing no signs of slowing down — they have to run out of old shows to redo at some point, right? Right?!? — and ABC’s new take on The Wonder Years ups the ante by offering a double dose of nostalgia: a wistful remembrance of an ’80s TV show …
The Wonder Years Review: ABC Reboot Takes Us on a Nice, Safe Nostalgia Trip Read More »
Do we really want to watch a thriller about a devastating virus that kills off half the planet and condemns the survivors to life in a chaotic hellscape? Surprisingly, after watching the first four episodes of FX on Hulu’s Y: The Last Man, my answer is: Yes, actually, we do. Y: The Last Man — …
TV docudramas always walk a fine line between illumination and exploitation. But American Crime Story‘s first installment, The People v. O.J. Simpson, broke the mold by doing the impossible: It gave us a fresh perspective on a story we thought we already knew so well. It had depth, it had nuance, it made us rethink …
“Sometimes it’s easier to figure out someone else’s secret than it is to deal with your own.” That observation by Steve Martin’s character in Hulu’s new comedy Only Murders in the Building is a nice little summary of the show… and of the current true-crime craze, too. Only Murders — premiering Tuesday, Aug. 31 on …
It’s always amusing when two TV shows pop up at the same time with the same basic concept… but the differences can also be instructive. After The White Lotus premiered just last month on HBO, now Hulu’s new drama Nine Perfect Strangers also follows a crew of mismatched strangers as they get more than they …
Nine Perfect Strangers Review: Hulu’s Spa Retreat Is a Campy, Confused Mess Read More »
At the height of my wrestling and boy band obsession, I wrote a crossover fan fic in which *NSYNC’s Justin Timberlake dated a WWE wrestler who was best friends with the Hardy Boyz and Lita. It was not good. On the other hand, Starz’s upcoming drama Heels (premiering Sunday, Aug. 15 at 9/8c; I’ve seen …
Who says college campuses and comedy don’t mix these days? Netflix’s new series The Chair — debuting Friday, Aug. 20; I’ve seen all six episodes — proves they still can, mining plenty of sly laughs from a supposedly humorless setting. (It’s rarely laugh-out-loud hilarious, mind you, but more mildly “oh, that is funny” amusing.) Rich …
The Chair Review: Netflix’s Comedy Finds the Funny in Campus Conflict Read More »
Well, Mr. Corman is certainly Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s vision. Not only does the actor star in the new Apple TV+ dramedy — in his first regular TV role since he was a wisecracking teen alien on 3rd Rock From the Sun — but he also serves as creator, writer, director and executive producer on the project. …
Mr. Corman Review: Apple’s Ballad of a Bored White Guy Just Sounds Whiny Read More »
Like the scrappy soccer team it follows, Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso is a bit of an underdog. After all, it was based on a series of NBC Sports commercials, which isn’t the most promising start, and it debuted to little fanfare last summer on a new streaming service that hadn’t found its breakout hit yet. …
How would you like to find yourself living inside a classic movie musical? Your answer to that may very well determine how much you’ll enjoy Apple TV+’s new comedy Schmigadoon! (premiering Friday, July 16). It’s a very affectionate, very specific parody of Golden Age musicals, and theater nerds will undoubtedly adore it… but others might …
Schmigadoon! Review: Apple’s Satire Is a Sweet, Tart Treat for Musical Junkies Read More »
Loki is ready for his close-up, as the star of Disney+’s third live-action Marvel series (premiering this Wednesday — yes, Wednesday — June 9). Is the trickster still a treat when given much more to do than steal the occasional MCU scene? Replaying and then picking up immediately after Loki’s appearance in Avengers: Endgame — …
We all know the stereotype of the long-suffering sitcom wife, right? She’s way too hot for her proudly immature husband, and she quietly stays in the background while he hogs the spotlight? Well, AMC’s new dramedy Kevin Can F**k Himself — premiering Sunday, June 20 at 9/8c — aims to blow up that stereotype, promising …
Kevin Can F**k Himself Review: AMC’s Suffocating Satire Isn’t Joking Around Read More »
When HBO announced last year they were reviving In Treatment, I thought, “Of course.” After all, the drama is perfect for the pandemic era, since it’s a simple set-up of psychologist and patient, just talking in a room — a string of interconnected two-handers, pared down to the barest of dramatic bones. The new revival …
In Treatment Review: HBO’s Revival Digs Deep, But Finds Mixed Results Read More »
Tina Fey comedies are almost a distinct genre at this point. The formula, established by 30 Rock and followed closely by Kimmy Schmidt and Great News, seems to be confidently quirky characters delivering rapid-fire punchlines laced with ultra-current pop culture references, with quick cutaways and peppy music bopping along in the background. It doesn’t always …
Girls5eva Review: Peacock’s Delightful Girl Group Comedy Is 2 Good 2 Miss Read More »
When Regina King confidently strutted her way through Union Station at the top of this year’s Oscars broadcast with candy-colored movie-style credits popping up behind her, I got excited that this year’s show might actually be different. And indeed, it was… but that’s not necessarily a compliment. Yes, Sunday’s Oscar broadcast on ABC comes with …
Remember that Friends episode where Chandler, Monica and Ross want to go see Hootie and the Blowfish, but Rachel, Phoebe and Joey can’t afford to? It’s notable, not only because Monica ends up making out with a Blowfish, but because it directly addresses a taboo subject on TV: money. Most sitcoms act like struggling young …
Home Economics Review: Money Does Matter (For Once) on ABC’s Sitcom Read More »
RELATED STORIES When The Nevers‘ first footage dropped earlier this year, I distinctly remember thinking, “Ooh, it’s steampunk Buffy with corsets!” Now that the drama, created by Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s Joss Whedon, has released its first four episodes to the press, I can confirm: It is, indeed, steampunk Buffy with corsets — and for …
HBO’s new limited series Mare of Easttown asks for our patience… but it rewards it as well. The seven-hour murder mystery starring Kate Winslet — debuting Sunday, April 18 at 10/9c; I’ve seen five of the seven episodes — is the definition of a slow burn, taking its sweet time to immerse us in the …
Mare of Easttown Review: Kate Winslet Shines in a Slow Burn That Catches Fire Read More »
RELATED STORIES Whether lacing up against the peewee league’s elite Hawks, Team Iceland at the Junior Goodwill Games or Eden Hall’s dominant varsity team, The Mighty Ducks built a lasting legacy as the scrappy underdogs who play the game fairly and still end up on top. The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers (premiering Friday, March 26) …
Like WandaVision before it, Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier serves up Marvel-ous set pieces while also being afforded the time to delve deep into the characters’ mindsets. Only the first episode, premiering Friday, March 19, was screened for critics, but its 47-minute running time nonetheless promises feature film-caliber action sequences, as well as …
NBC’s new sci-fi drama Debris opens with a fairly standard action scene, with federal agents chasing black-market crooks through a luxury hotel. But the crooks aren’t selling guns or diamonds; they’re selling fragments of a destroyed alien spaceship that are scattered across the globe. And when a hotel maid innocently touches one of those fragments, …
Debris Review: NBC’s Fast-Paced Alien Drama Spins a Tantalizing Mystery Read More »
It’s not a great sign when watching a new show just makes you think about other, better shows. That’s the case with Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia — premiering Wednesday, Feb. 24 on the streamer; I’ve seen five of the ten episodes — a mildly cute, kind of boring new dramedy that wears its pop-culture inspirations proudly …
True story: Despite being a Smallville superfan, I have had zero interest in Superman & Lois since the day it was announced. For one, it overlaps with Supergirl’s own run on The CW (which we now know to be ending), and TV’s Girl of Steel has already and liberally borrowed from her cousin’s comic book …
Even given TV’s current obsession with rebooting and reviving anything and everything, The Equalizer is an curious choice. The original 1985-89 CBS series, starring Edward Woodward as a spy-turned-private eye who cleaned up a crime-ridden New York City, is only a hazy memory to most viewers and plays like a dusty relic these days. (He …
The Equalizer Review: Queen Latifah Rules in CBS’ High-Octane Reboot Read More »
I’d love to say that I was wowed by Netflix’s series adaption of Kristin Hannah’s novel, Firefly Lane (dropping Wednesday, Feb. 3). Truth be told, I dive into every show that I’m tasked with reviewing hoping the same thing — to be dazzled, stunned, impressed. I was none of those things. There was nothing there that …
What would Silence of the Lambs be without Hannibal Lecter? The coldblooded cannibal genius played by Anthony Hopkins is one of the most iconic villains in film history — but, due to nagging rights issues, his name can’t even be uttered in CBS’ new drama Clarice, which follows FBI agent Clarice Starling a year after …
Clarice Review: CBS’ Bland Lambs Sequel Suffers From a Lack of Lecter Read More »
