Rob Owen

It’s funny and occasionally freaky as the pilot introduces the characters who form a team that concocts horror scenes, whether at a quinceanera celebration or a will reading.

A funny, fresh comedy half-hour, “Alternatino” offers some welcome laughs amid the drama-heavy diet of summer TV.

“Pose” remains an above-average character-driven cable drama, but it all feels a little more forced this year as the writers attempt to invent new stories for this collection of generally likable, striving LGBTQ characters.

This second season is worth it just for the opportunity to watch Streep have fun. ... “Big Little Lies” still takes time for the gauzy flashbacks as Celeste grapples with assorted emotional responses during sessions with her therapist (Robin Weigert), but the whole enterprise feels peppier, poppier and more entertaining as viewers spend more time with these pretty people with pretty significant problems.

With the passage of time — all the characters look older, some more world-weary than others — there’s an elegiac quality to the tone of the whole piece as we see in the eyes of some characters the contemplation of what might have been and the quiet acceptance in some that their lives are drawing to a close. Knowing that series creator and the film’s writer, David Milch, 74, now suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, makes the whole endeavor feel even more personal and acute.

The new season, written by series creator Neil Cross, has multiple callbacks to season one (the denouement brings things full circle) and fills in the blanks on where Alice has been and on her relationship with Luther, perhaps with too much information at times (allusion and mystery works better for their relationship than flat-out explanation).

Mr. Quinto is creepy from the get-go. As Manx ages backward, he remains disturbing even as he comes to resemble a contemporary Quinto. ... But all that effort does little to make “NOS4A2” compelling television. The stories are disconnected at the outset and Vic’s home life is one-note rote.

American Princess” feels like it wants to be a “My Name is Earl”-style coterie of oddball characters but once it introduces the main cast over the first two episodes it does little with them that’s funny.

Showrunners Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson, veterans of “Under the Dome” and “Smallville,” sprinkle in enough science to balance the crazier elements of “The Hot Zone,” Peak TV’s version of a summer disaster flick.

Six hours may be an hour too many given the repetitive nature of the plot (the required mission count rises, then rises again and again) but star Christopher Abbott makes for a likeable, relatable Yossarian. It’s sometimes difficult to tell the supporting flyers apart but as the episodes unroll their personalities come through a bit more.

OK-not-great Indiana Jones-inspired series that adds terrorists — who blow up a pyramid in the first five minutes of the premiere. Tonally, it’s very similar to ABC’s “Whiskey Cavalier.”

Episodes improve after the pilot with a shift in focus to the characters and their relationships, but the season finale shifts tones again into a gear that seems like blatant begging for a second season.

The 15-minute episodes are an easy binge and the two lead characters — Ryan and work friend Kim (Punam Patel) — are often a hoot even if some of the secondary characters (a witch-on-wheels boss, in particular) and situations undercut the show’s attempts at realism.

Fans of dialogue-heavy, character-driven storytelling will be intrigued, but the redundancy of the setting renders “State of the Union” less bingeable.

At times overly earnest, “The Red Line,” written by Chicago playwrights Caitlin Parrish and Erica Weiss and executive produced by Ava DuVernay (“Selma”) and Greg Berlanti (“The Flash”), is imperfect, but its existence demonstrates broadcasters haven’t completely thrown in the towel on quality drama and for that viewers can be grateful.

Much of the humor is of the predictable, fish out of water variety ... but “Bless This Mess” is at its funniest when it gets weird with characters like Rudy (Ed Begley Jr.), who lives in the couple’s barn, and Jacob (JT Neal), the dim-witted son of the neighbors.

Fosse/Verdon proves to be a darker, more sorrowful meditation on the personal and professional lives of artists, but the eight-episode series benefits from Broadway tunes and re-created dance numbers from the pair’s many successful productions.

There’s not much to cracking “The Code,” which is a paint-by-numbers show if ever there was one.

Ms. Wilson delivers an Emmy-worthy performance that’s equal measures vulnerable and determined as Alison seeks the truth of her husband’s infidelities.

In episode two the tone lightens up a good bit – you can see network notes at work – and more typical CW storylines set in, including a romance with a bearded hunk (Casey Deidrick). This makes “In the Dark” more bearable but less unique.

When “WWDITS” hits a comedy vein, it can be extremely funny. It would be improved if viewers had the opportunity to dine out on the humor of its continuing storylines with greater frequency.

The Fix is not sophisticated drama, but it is smarter-than-average melodrama and Ms. Clark’s involvement adds an opportunity for viewers to play armchair psychologist.

The Act sags a bit near the middle of five episodes made available for review--perhaps fewer episodes would have made for a tighter run--but Ms. Arquette’s nuanced performance remains top-notch, and Ms. King proves a talented newcomer with a bright acting future.

Ms. Bryant is not as zany as she’s called to be on “SNL,” instead giving a down-to-earth performance in a grounded roll that’s sometimes searing in its emotional honesty.

“The Village” is certainly better and more ambitious than “Rise,” but it’s no “This Is Us.” Often, “This Is Us” comes by its emotional moments believably and naturally. For its lack of subtlety, “The Village” would be more aptly titled “All! The! Feels!”

In these new episodes, The Good Fight is at its best when the characters get honest about race within the majority black law firm in ways that feel startlingly real and, frankly, unique for a TV show.

Now Apocalypse is bizarre and will certainly be off-putting to many. For others, surely a smaller audience, there’s some titillating fun to be had in this guilty pleasure’s kinky weirdness.

Fans of CBS crime dramas will probably find “Gone” perfectly acceptable. Viewers who gravitate toward more complex, character-driven cable/streaming dramas will be unimpressed with the plots but may enjoy the local scenery.