TV Reviews

Viola Davis as Michelle Obama in The First Lady

'The First Lady' is far from perfect—but its lead performances make it worth watching

3:46pm April 13, 2022

by David Bianculli

Showtime's new 10-part series dramatizes the lives of three presidential spouses: Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama, played by Gillian Anderson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Viola Davis.

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Track star Moses Johnson (Tosin Cole) ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time in the AMC series 61st Street.

Arts

'61st Street' is a well-acted — but none too subtle — crime drama

5:00am April 08, 2022

by David Bianculli

AMC's new series takes a detailed look at the intersection of crime, policing and the courts. But while its story is compelling, 61st Street is ultimately marred by a script that seems too obvious.

Elizabeth Holmes, played by Amanda Seyfried, in the final episode of The Dropout.

Arts

'The Dropout' nails the ending – even though Elizabeth Holmes' story isn't over

10:19am April 07, 2022

by Linda Holmes

Confronted with the mess she's made at her startup Theranos, Holmes simply runs at the end of the Hulu show.

An American crime reporter (Ansel Elgort) allies himself with a frustrated police detective (Ken Watanabe) in the HBO Max series Tokyo Vice.

Arts

'Tokyo Vice' offers a stylized tour of Japan's criminal underworld

12:47pm April 06, 2022

by John Powers

HBO's new eight-part series follows an American crime reporter who intends to take Japanese journalism by storm — but first must learn how to navigate the churning opacity of 1990s Tokyo.

Arts

'Julia' takes on a new side of Julia Child — the challenges of newfound fame

5:01am April 02, 2022

by Linda Holmes

'Julia' examines Julia Child's ascent to celebrity.

Gary Oldman heads up a ragtag crew of intelligence agents in Slow Horses.

Arts

'Slow Horses' offers a gleefully corrosive vision of British intelligence

2:51pm March 31, 2022

by John Powers

Mick Herron's Slough House books center on a ragtag crew of intelligence officers who've blown their careers through bungling or bad luck. The first of those novels is now a clever Apple TV+ series.

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Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) reflects on his predicament in Disney 's Moon Knight.

Arts

In Marvel's uneven 'Moon Knight,' Oscar Isaac waxes and wanes

3:31pm March 29, 2022

by Glen Weldon

Isaac plays two faces of the Moon Knight in the Disney+ series, and is having much more fun as a goofy gift-shop clerk than he is as the man's glum cypher of an alter-ego.

TV Review: 'Starstruck' season 2

5:08pm March 27, 2022

by Linda Holmes

A look at the second season of Starstruck, the romantic comedy series streaming on HBO Max.

Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) asks to see your HALO in the Paramount series.

Arts

In a new streaming series, the familiar world of 'HALO' needs a little space

5:00am March 24, 2022

by Glen Weldon

The Paramount+ series, based on the game franchise, starts off stiff and familiar. It may take some time for the show, and its main character, to loosen up.

Oscar-winning actress Youn Yuh-jung plays the older Sunja is the Apple TV+ series Pachinko.

Arts

Deeply felt and unpredictable, 'Pachinko' follows the epic rise of a Korean family

12:15pm March 23, 2022

by John Powers

Based on the novel by Min Jin Lee, Pachinko follows four generations of a Korean family in Korea, Japan and the U.S. as they navigate broken hearts, broken homes, murder, suicide and more.