Curt Wagner

Marco Polo flits between storytelling styles without completely tying them together as successfully as "Game of Thrones" does.... By the fifth and sixth episodes the action picks up, the intrigue deepens and the stakes some higher.

Coleman's rich performance matches Capaldi's as Clara struggles with the regeneration of her Doctor.... The Doctor may be different, but he's as entertaining as ever.

[Bean's] nearly the only reason to watch this retread mashup of team-based crime/spy shows and the "Bourne" films.

Despite its supporting cast of international actors who bring even thinly drawn characters to life, Outlander truly shines when Balfe shares the screen with either Heughan or Menzies.

It's not easy to watch, but the Steven Soderbergh-directed period hospital drama sure is worth a look.

History tells us what the Manhattan Project unleashed on the world, but Manhattan conjures a compelling (fictional) journey for the men and women who made it happen.

The short, 41-minute opener (I'd DVR it and fast-forward through the commercials) is slickly filmed, generally well acted and ends with an intriguing revelation. But so little feels new and fresh.

Live Another Day starts its 12-episode run in a typically gripping if superficial and improbable fashion, but you'll get no complaints from me.

Salem as a whole reflects the difference in the work of West and Montgomery. Yet its wildly uneven premiere has enough going for it to make me watch at least another episode.

It remains one of TV's most compelling series, period.

While we appear to be in for a depressing ride, fear not: Creator Matthew Weiner still has a few winks and tricks up his sleeve.

Fargo the TV series--confident as Lorne Malvo--stands firmly on its own. You betcha it does.

The former WWII code-breakers of this excellent British import don't deflect bullets with magical bracelets. They use their brains, determination, courage and pleasant demeanors like stealth weapons, covertly undermining postwar expectations to right wrongs no one else seems to notice.

Silicon Valley is a funny, insightful, blistering satire.

It may not be as intriguing as "Thrones" or as tense as FX's spy thriller "The Americans," but Turn--which touches on still-relevant topics like torture, homosexuality and politics--offers a fresh spin on the War of Independence.

The first three episodes of the epic fantasy's fourth season reach new heights at times, offering enough twists, shocks and action to make us forget last season's mind-blowing Red Wedding.

While the storytelling is generally riveting, Hirst and his team occasionally drop a few stinkers in the dialogue. The exceptional cast—which also includes Katheryn Winnick as Ragner's wife, Lagertha—is able to rise above those bombs. It's their distinctive portrayals that, for me, bring this Dark Ages tale to life.

Unlike in "Homeland," the show's main conceit grows even more complex and fascinating by including the Jennings kids.

If only writers John Brownlow and Don Macpherson focused more on Fleming's wartime spy-jinks than on his extended mating dance with the already married and cheating Ann.

While its glimpses into the democratic world of piracy are interesting, Black Sails could cull a few plot barnacles and give viewers more action.

[Broad City] feels like a series of sketches that often hit but sometimes miss.

Scheuring gets sidetracked by the trite redemption stories of a hooker (Conor Leslie) and a Canadian Mountie (Marton Csokas). But those are small hiccups in this entertaining, expansive tale of one man's fight to keep his humanity, which he discovers is more valuable than all the gold in the Yukon.

With its strong performances, subtle details and believable situations, Looking presents a convincing portrayal of everyday life--either gay or straight.

Chozen will get more compelling once it focuses on that feud over loutish buffoonery and references to prison sex--which aren't that funny even the first five times they're made. For now, though, it simply mines the gay rapper premise for cheap laughs.

Hints of a deeper mythology are revealed, too, suggesting that Helix will move beyond its stop-the-virus story into something even more intriguing. In the meantime, it's a suspenseful, scary thriller.

[Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey's] riveting work would be worth the admission alone, but the hauntingly beautiful True Detective excels in every way.

The Spoils of Babylon is an entertaining and spot-on spoof of the overdone potboiler miniseries of the 1970s and '80s.

As an exercise in recreating a noir drama, Mob City has all the trappings we've seen better in "L.A. Confidential" and other projects, but little of the thrill.