Let’s start with what “Shrill” isn’t: it isn’t a show about a fat woman taking pratfalls or being a cruel, easy punchline. It’s a confident, gently funny, slice-of-life show that benefits from the streaming model, where niche shows can find an audience, as it explores issues and characters y…

In Silicon Valley, the old adage “fake it ’til you make it” is often a guiding principle of fledgling startup companies. Sometimes, turning a good idea into a viable business and, potentially, revolutionizing society, requires a bit of smoke and mirrors. The danger, of course, is knowing how…

Watching “Arrested Development” is a lot like hanging out with an old friend. No matter how long you’ve been apart, you’re always happy to see them. And, like spending time with an old friend, that pull of nostalgia and shared memories makes it easy to fall into the same old routine. But at …

Growing up reading “X-Men” comic books, I never really considered the psychological toll fighting crime and saving the world would have on the young super-powered characters that often populated the teams. With few exceptions, the books often glossed over how traumatizing all that violence a…

It’s difficult to critique longstanding institutions. Over time, aged bodies like the Catholic Church or Congress become so towering and entrenched that even the sharpest criticisms tend to bounce off them or are waved off by defenders who dismiss them as subjective, petty, facile or ignoran…

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Most of us have to had to live in the shadow of a sibling who outshined us, who made our lives by comparison look unimpressive and disappointing. The new Comedy Central series “The Other Two” explores those anxieties to great effect.

Older generations like to talk about the golden age of parenting, when you could trust your neighbors, leave your doors unlocked and let your kids run free without care. The Netflix true-crime documentary, “Abducted in Plain Sight,” shows what happens when that approach goes horribly, horrib…

There is a universality in the teenage experience that supersedes time and place. No matter where or when you grow up, the highs and lows, the awkwardness, the emotions, the inevitable embarrassments will always be the same.

As we go through life, we carry our traumas with us. The pain, sadness and guilt we experience accumulates within us. How we choose or don’t choose to confront those experiences comes to define who we are and how we live our lives. Failing to confront them can create an unending loop of pain…

To the very end, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” has been a colorful burst of comedy and optimism. In their followup to “30 Rock,” Tina Fey and Robert Carlock dialed down the cynicism to create something that was equal parts unflappably charming and riotously funny.

Oftentimes, the most obvious question is the best one to ask. That’s the approach rapper and activist Michael “Killer Mike” Render takes in his new Netflix docuseries, “Trigger Warning with Killer Mike.”

With the snow piling up and cabin fever setting it, let’s spend this week taking a look ahead to what we’ll be watching this coming winter and spring.

“Black Mirror” is a television series that masterfully plays on the anxieties of living in the modern age. Its paranoid, pessimistic view of the creeping reach and influence of technology is made more chilling by its familiarity. Series creator and writer Charlie Booker approaches existing t…

It’s easy to get lost in the world of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino (“Gilmore Girls”), who has a knack for building specific, live-in worlds, has created a saccharine, candy-coated alternate-universe 1950s-era Manhattan full of luxurious spaces and gorgeous cl…

If Bruce Springsteen had retired 30 years ago, his legacy as one of music’s most profound and consequential singer-songwriters would already have been secure. But he kept working, kept touring, and kept writing and releasing new music. Along the way, he’s remained relevant in ways few of his…

Lets face it, 2018 was kind of a meh year for television. Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of good stuff out there, but with so much to watch, fewer shows now rise to that “Game of Thrones” level of ubiquitous must-watch TV. It also means that it’s difficult to stay current with some of …

The holidays and baking go hand in hand. It’s a festive time of year when we warm our kitchens and hearts with confectionary comforts shared with family and friends. With each bite, we recall fond memories and indulge in sweet, buttery, homemade delights as we appreciate the effort and care …

Could the recent cancellation of Marvel’s lineup of shows on Netflix signify the superhero bubble has burst? After a decade of dominance on the big and small screen, has the genre finally peaked? Not bloody likely. However, forthcoming shifts in the streaming-video landscape have resulted in…

It takes a lot to make it into the holiday-movie canon. Every year new films submit themselves for consideration, but few make the cut. Those movies worthy of the canon endure year after year because they capture something essential about the mood of the season: the anticipation and joy, the…

A decade ago, news that Julia Roberts was starring in a TV show on a streaming video service would have sent industry observers clucking with speculation that her career was on the skids. Today, it’s hard to imagine the Oscar-winning actor doing anything as interesting and ambitious as “Home…

“Bodyguard” begins in a state of extreme tension and never lets up. The hit BBC series, which premiered on Netflix last month, opens on a commuter train bound for London where police Sgt. David Budd (Richard Madden), who’s traveling with his two young children, discovers a female suicide bom…

Looking around the current TV landscape, you might wonder if we need yet another issues-based comedy talk show. The market feels a bit saturated. “The Daily Show,” “Last Week Tonight” and “Full Frontal” all take deep dives on complex topics, packaging journalism with jokes and leaving us (ho…

Growing up in the restaurant industry, I’ve learned a thing or two about cooking. I know my way around a busy kitchen. The sights, sounds and smells are baked into my mind like a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet: the sizzle of the sauté pans, the crackle of the grill, the hurried chop of kniv…

Casting shakeups are nothing new for television shows; actors may decide to depart for any number of reasons. However, depending on the series and the character, those absences can be felt long after the actor has left.

The best horror stories aren’t about ghosts or demons or knife-wielding murderers. The monsters that chase us into basements and down darkened hallways aren’t real; they’re merely grotesque manifestations of the human condition. The best horror stories are psychological; they poke and prod a…

If you’re going to make a puzzle-box mystery show in 2018, you better come correct. Landmark series like “Twin Peaks,” “The X-Files,” “Lost,” “Fringe” and “The Leftovers” have set a high bar. Each one was a sophisticated and fascinating example of how to build a gripping mystery that kept au…

Every time. Every time the depression horse show gets me.

The first season of “American Vandal” came out of nowhere. It was a surprisingly smart, well-observed parody of true-crime documentaries that blended low-brow comedy with high-concept execution. The result was a deadly funny, pitch-perfect representation of low-stakes high-school drama writ large.

Relationshipping, or “shipping” for short, is the act of rooting for the romantic pairing of the particular couple either in real life or within a fictional context. Shipping exists in all media, from young-adult novels and comic books to television and film and even real-life. If you’ve eve…