There’s still so much more room for “Westworld” to break its icy tension with clever levity, or just enjoy the bizarre nature of its wild reality. (This is still the show with replica robots and cloning, yet it never duplicates the fun of a “Mission: Impossible”-style mask reveal.) Instead, it’s resolved to do what its done before to the best of its abilities, like a piece of A.I. tasked with replicating the human experience, but tapping out after it learns “excitement” and “deception.”

Trying to wedge the elevated, stagey banter of a network single-cam into a show that borrows heavily from a shiny Apple TV+ in-house aesthetic only invites more dissonance than it’s worth. The result is a show as stuck between worlds as Molly is.

The humor is heavily meta. Deferential jokes about how difficult it can be to make a successful sequel work to acknowledge the obvious bumpiness and, hopefully, excuse some of it. All of these adjustments, both subtle and glaring, may grind on viewers seeking the same cozy experience they remember, but growing pains are part of the process in an ongoing series, and “Only Murders in the Building” still sports the simple joys of Steve Martin and Martin Short’s incredible skills.

While “The Bear” may not be one of the best shows in the world, its own act of service is appreciated. Storer and Calo invite us into a fast-paced, high-risk world, hoping to entertain us; hoping we can empathize with those living in it; hoping their gesture is more than just a piece of filler in TV’s content machine. And it is, for those who enjoy a little heat.

Without losing the show’s main thread, “Evil” can dip into spy thriller, disaster story, headline response, or, yes, horror tale with an ease that gets more impressive with each passing episode.

“Players” uses the form to pick apart what drives each of these people. There’s no need to choose between someone telling a good story and someone living that story in real time when the show finds illuminating ways to capitalize on both.

Dark Winds may seem similar to other detective shows but it’s more than that. With well-written and sharply defined characters, plus an invigorating and tightly wound story, it’ll be hard to wait a week for each episode to drop.

The series isn’t content to be a saucy exploration of the Tudor era, but instead a searing examination of the politics of the time. Think of it like “Succession” with French hoods.

The combination of this young star, production team, and creative elements is exactly what the premiere episode declares: Cosmic.

If “Irma Vep” ’96 is a quintessential Ship of Theseus, swapping and refitting planks until it’s impossible to say where performer ends and performance begins, Vikander, through Mira, is an actress who can conjure a sea-ready vessel at will for whatever each new situation demands. She’s also a main vector for this “Irma Vep” and its more mischievous side.

Plenty of Season 3 moments arise from certain characters’ stubbornness to relinquish the past and embrace a new set of possibilities with fresh people at the lead. “For All Mankind” still manages to be a compelling, propulsive show, even if it often falls prey to that same idea.

“The Boys” is a black comedy, an action extravaganza, and a vicious editorial all rolled under the same cape. Doing any one of these things half as well as what’s seen in Season 3 would be a challenge, and doing them all while maintaining its own distinct identity makes “The Boys” that much more impressive.

Chunks of plot are bluntly stated in long stretches of dialogue, but Watts does earn our attention with carefully blocked action. ... With his loyal dogs affixed to his side, the FX action-drama expects its audiences to follow suit, lapping up Dan’s final, stubborn, show of force. If that’s fine by you, then sit back and enjoy one more swan song. It won’t be the last of its kind.

Whenever Boyle manages to tamp down the faux-provocative visual put-ons and let this group work as a group, that’s when “Pistol” gets closest to capturing the energy it’s striving for. ... For most of the rest of the show, “Pistol” tries too hard to make the case for a band that never really needed any help to make an impression.

[The] dilemmas are familiar to “Star Wars,” but that doesn’t make them any less engaging. Under McGregor’s welcoming wing, “Obi-Wan Kenobi” uses nostalgia like a weighted blanket: surrounding you with characters you already love, warming you with an uncomplicated quest, and inviting you to lay still, sans complaints, in order to appreciate what little time you have left with Obi-Wan.

Season 4 feels like it’s been designed to produce good data rather than quality entertainment. The algorithm once heralded for so much of Netflix’s success and derided for ignoring the human factor certainly feels present here, as any remaining strangeness gets usurped by formula.

If you’re a fan of flashy hilarity than “Angelyne” is for you. The series captures a camp quality and Rossum is utterly captivating. She finds the nuance in a character whose an icon, even if it’s just in her own mind.

Like too many streaming TV shows that come across as stretched-out movies, "Night Sky" trickles out its premise over a full, frustrating season. ... Spacek and Simmons, both Oscar winners, help make even the most dragged out bits watchable.

“The Essex Serpent” tells a story where faith rarely manifests in ways other than preachers shouting about sin and love is rarely felt without being laid bare in plain terms. Regardless of what it is that Cora is destined to find out in the water, it’s hard not to want a little more from this show than what’s floating on the surface.

While the six hours can get bumpy in plotting (and frustrating when the story’s perceptiveness clashes with its lead’s innocence), “Conversations with Friends” paints a sophisticated psychological portrait of when youthful ambitions and adult realities come to a head.

Season 2 hums along in such a smooth, pleasurable manner that you want more of everything, which is both an unfair demand and an encouraging reminder of how valuable “Hacks” has become.

There’s a more pragmatic approach here that still finds room to live in the psychological margins while trying to make sense of a senseless death. There’s a bit of messiness on the way to its ultimate conclusions, but given the nature of why this show exists in the first place, tidiness wouldn’t suit “Candy” anyway.

Somehow the way “Strange New Worlds” addresses our present moment feels the most effective narrative choice to date.

Campos trusts his cast to find the right notes, while coordinating the timelines so the black comic bits never overwhelm the story’s urgent drama. Together, these human elements work to reinforce the series’ examination of subjectivity.

Fitting in enough context so that unfamiliar audiences understand how the past and present connect can create disjointed, cumbersome episodes. ... All these flaws may prove trivial if the series’ ideas grab you. But all the apparent and admirable love put into this sprawling adaptation may only boil down to one or two simple truths. Faith, in the wrong hands, can embolden dangerous men. If you don’t know that by now, “Under the Banner of Heaven” will slowly, painstakingly make its case.

What she discovers is the roots of another eight episodes that take the series’ premise and further makes good on its infinite promise. It’s a new path that transfers attention from a handful of characters from the first season in favor of zeroing in even more on the greater Winograd-Diaz tapestry, including Becca and Alma’s mother Camila (Constance Marie).

“The Baby” really seems to be having fun the more it leans into its Brothers Grimm-adjacent DNA. Rather than a Rumplestiltskin type sent to hound Natasha until she breaks, it’s a worldless little tyke in a 15-pound package.

Whether you’ve been hooked since that first scene or grew weary during the bleak ensuing seasons, “Ozark” remains true to itself as it comes to a close.