None of it works without a performer who knows exactly how to sell this kind of modern Columbo riff, and Lyonne completely gets “Poker Face.” She’s funny, engaged, charismatic, and perfect for the part, finding a great blend of wit and eccentricity.

At its best, “Shrinking” is a show about how decisions have unexpected ripple effects. One doctor decides to go off-book and that pushes his friends and colleagues to take leaps that they may not have otherwise considered. That’s an easily watchable concept. It treads water a bit too much in the middle of the season after its set-up has kind of drifted away and the writers are content to just bounce the now-established characters off each other, but this is also the section of the first season in which it feels the ensemble starts to gel.

Every episode of “The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House” is crafted with such precision and care that even a brief visit to its world proves itself to be a rich and rewarding experience.

Ultimately, the “Mayor Of Kingstown,” like Mike McLusky, might be too consumed with power vacuums and containing multiple fires to consider its bigger picture.

The various dynamics within the Hunters are a strength that is not overshadowed or outweighed by the over-the-top aesthetic. How sensational (or tasteful) audiences find the events depicted will vary, but “Hunters” has found a way to dial into hit squad theatrics of its alt-history landscape and address the deep scars that still reverberate.

It’s a show about damaged people who unload their trauma on one another, and the supernatural forces that will either tear them apart or hold them together. Somehow, either possibility feels equally likely, and potentially equally satisfying. That’s a hard trick to pull off, and it feels like “Servant” is a show that will be easier to appreciate once it can be viewed in its entirety. Until then, expect the unexpected.

Through the riveting craft of it all, the taut writing, excellent direction—filmmakers like Jeremy Webb, Jasmila Žbanić, Liza Johnson, and Ali Abbasi—exemplary cinematography and moody and melancholy music, Mazin and his co-creator and co-writer Neil Druckmann—the creator of the original video game—craft something that becomes visceral and primal.

Whether you watch (or hate watch) for the quintessential American in Paris, the eye-popping costumes, or the frothy low-stakes relationship conflicts — whether work or romances — “Emily in Paris” confidently strides forward.

It’s a big tapestry like “Yellowstone,” and Sheridan isn’t about to change his writing style for two big A-list stars. The show frankly seems to suffer when they’re not onscreen, but you still have to tip your 10-gallon brim to its creator for doing his own thing regardless.

Ultimately, “Willow” is an underdeveloped legacy sequel that somehow stretches the source material to its breaking point, while never reaching the same heights of good old-fashioned fun that a fantasy epic should have at its heart. By chopping up the story into tedious, overlong episodes, the magic has been bleached from its bones, leaving behind a rotting corpse that resembles its inspiration on the surface only.

It’s a passable addition to Starz’s growing monarchy-themed programming. It doesn’t do enough to stand out, and feels mainly superfluous.

Something is comforting about a spy show that doesn’t break the mold but just checks every box for what a program like “Slow Horses” should be.

Chastain projects fragility and toughness; Shannon can be equally terrifying and tender. It is very much their rodeo. ... Some themes of being taken advantage of are hammered home more than necessary, but the heart of the story is firmly in the palm of Chastain and Shannon’s hands. Whether showcasing the good or bad times, “George & Tammy” is a triumph.

It gets a lot of mileage out of that crossroads of violence and need—how far people are willing to go to better their situation is something that should never be underestimated. And it reminds one of a theme that Boal has often explored in his projects before: In combat, everyone is a hero, and no one is a hero at the same time.

If you like your Christmas specials with laughter and delight but, ultimately, an understanding of the innate bittersweetness and melancholy that can live beneath the merriment, this is likely the special for you. And the possibilities of what Gunn seems like he’s going to aim for in his final ‘Guardians’ installment, something potentially very poignant, sad, and special.

The plotting sets up numerous arcs that feel promising. And then “Wednesday” succumbs to what plagues so many Netflix shows—narrative wheel-spinning, a lack of momentum, and that sense that this would all have been a better film than a TV series. It never completely loses 100% of the energy of its premiere, but the ingenuity of the first hour fades as the season progresses like all of the colors in the wardrobe of Wednesday Addams.

A large part of the series’ undeniable watchability comes from understanding how Chippendales came to be so powerful, despite being so close (and so often) to tearing itself apart. Even if some of the show’s bigger moments fall back on the unsurprising credo that corruption always wins (or, rather, that dignity always loses), there’s plenty to gawk at here.

“Gangs of London” struggles to reconcile Sean’s contradictions, even though their presence doesn’t dampen Hardy’s various achievements.

While always bordering on too melodramatic, the series was always entertaining enough to forgive some of its perhaps too over-the-top and sensational writing conveniences and contrivances. But right now, it’s stagnating. The meal is edible, and perhaps for new audiences, it’ll still taste flavorful. But if you’ve been on the ride for five seasons and know all the way this colt bucks and lurches.

“Tulsa King” is adequate, semi-engaging, mildly charming, somewhat funny, and feels like it has potential, but mostly feels—so far—like just another Taylor Sheridan series about crime, the complications of their extended and found families, and the territories that people find themselves defending and living on, either by need or circumstance.

Some will never get past the sense that these are spoiled, privileged people complaining about having too much sex, money, and opportunities that they blow. That’s understandable, but there is still heartbreak and relatable, universal drama beneath that privileged veneer. In fact, it’s when people start to question the value of all of those hollow things that are supposed to produce happiness that truth can be found. Even if they have to go through trouble first.

Ultimately, creator James Richardson’s dramedy sinks because it is not a compelling enough sum of all its parts. While the writing is strong, it doesn’t make up for how tired shows and movies about complicated marriages are.

There are some slightly contrived overlapping moments and one particular narrative choice I found unnecessary. Still, on the whole, Blick’s intertwined story of the brutality and redemptive possibilities of the American West nearing the turn of the century is a gripping and memorable adventure.

While the pacing early on is somewhat erratic, and certain narrative elements fall on the clunkier side (see everything with Prince William), the performances remain riveting. ... The fifth season maintains the melodramatic antics that keep us wanting more.

The problem when writers don’t really know where to take a season is that it leads to shallow, self-serious dialogue. There are so many serious conversations this season that go absolutely nowhere. It just lacks the urgency of the first season, and the slower pace means there’s time to realize how thin these characters are. It feels at times like the writers have no idea what to do with them.

Given the peaks that this series reaches and the overall quality of the filmmaking, this is a smashing success.

Nothing remotely insightful has been said about the rich other than they’re terrible to the planet and to each other. At this point, it seems the show is mostly just interested in reveling in the spoils of the rich (there’s a particularly gorgeous villa featured in one episode) and that’s it.

Although the plot easily becomes mawkish, there is an intelligence and veracity wrapped within the show’s sleek and cozy shell.