This comedy isn’t getting nearly the respect, or even the buzz, it deserves. But the acting is as smart as the writing – and in this very meta family law and show-biz comedy, that’s saying a lot. Rob Lowe is a lot of fun to watch, but so is Fred Savage.

2016

May

THE NIGHT MANAGER By David Bianculli

Part 4. It’s taken half of this miniseries, but Tom Hiddleston, as the hotel manager with many aliases, finally has been welcomed into the inner circle of Hugh Laurie’s ruthless arms dealer. So what happens now? And how does he keep his cover intact, wreak revenge, and keep his distance from the arms dealer’s alluring mistress? Or, at least, one or two out of those three? Keep watching, because The Night Manager has surfaced as one of the best TV surprises of the year.

2016

May

THE VOICE By David Bianculli

In case any lingering questions remain about whether these reality competition series in general, and this one in particular, are of more benefit to its judges than its contestants, consider this. On the same show as the Top 9 artists perform live in hopes of advancing to next week, current judge Blake Shelton teams with recurring judge Gwen Stefani to debut “Go Ahead and Break My Heart,” a song from his new album. Oh, and since meeting on The Voice, of course, they’re now toge

2016

May

GOTHAM By David Bianculli

Last week, it was Jon Snow on Game of Thrones who was resurrected from the dead. Tonight, it’s Azrael (the villain formerly known as Galavan) – and next week it’s Fish Mooney. Both have been brought back by mad scientist Hugo Strange (BD Wong, pictured), who’s already revived the villain soon to be known as Mr. Freeze. Busy guy.

2016

May

INDEPENDENT LENS: "PEACE OFFICER" By David Bianculli

This documentary’s story line wouldn’t be believed, at least by me, if it had been presented as fiction. But this really happened: William Lawrence, a former sheriff, established in Utah one of the state’s first fully outfitted, specially trained SWAT teams – one of which, many years later, ended up killing his son-in-law in a dramatic confrontation. After that, Lawrence looked into that incident, and others, building a hefty dossier regarding controversial police-related

2016

May

BATES MOTEL By David Bianculli

The creepiness of this series is beginning to go into overdrive, but in ways that make perfect sense of the madman to whom we were introduced in 1960’s Psycho. In recent episodes, we’ve seen Norman, since being released from the asylum, threatening his mother’s new husband with an axe, cutting a peephole into his mother’s bedroom to watch the newlyweds as they slept, and climbing into bed with his mother for warmth after the heater in the house conked out. And this is aft

2016

May

FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE By David Bianculli

Friday night, Bill Maher gets to chime in on current events on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. Saturday, “Weekend Update” gets to have its say on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Sunday, John Oliver has the weekend’s last word with HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. And on Mondays, just before the late-night broadcast talk shows step up to bat, there’s one more voice to be heard: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, in prime time on TBS.

2016

May

MOURNING THE LOSS OF ‘THE GOOD WIFE’ By Ed Martin

What’s to become of broadcast television now that CBS’ The Good Wife has reached the end of its run? It’s an important question...

2016

May

PBS' 'WALLANDER' COMES TO A SATISFYING END By David Hinckley

Our final visit from melancholy Swedish detective Kurt Wallander proves slightly unsettling. In a good way. Sort of...

2016

May

THE GOOD WIFE By David Bianculli

SERIES FINALE: The best drama series on broadcast TV, for many years now, has been The Good Wife, the Robert and Michelle King show – part legal drama, part political drama, part family drama, and that’s only part of it – that has followed the long and winding road of Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) as she redefines herself after her politician husband (played by Chris Noth) was caught in a sex scandal involving prostitutes. This series has made my Top 10 list for its enti

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