The Remorseless Mr. RipleyAndrew Scott’s phenomenal take on Patricia Highsmith’s con man anchors a deliciously mean adaptation.
ByRoxana Hadadi
tv review
Constellation Is a Mother of a Space StoryMove over, sad space dad. Noomi Rapace’s space mom is here to challenge assumptions about the galactic void as a place for self-discovery.
ByRoxana Hadadi
tv review
You Need to Watch All of EchoThe first Marvel series of the year is also the first one that can be binged right out of the gate. That’s a good thing.
The Decomposition of Rotten TomatoesThe most overrated metric in entertainment is erratic, reductive, and easily hacked — and yet has Hollywood in its grip.
ByLane Brown
tv review
Painkiller Wants This to HurtNetflix’s righteously angry opioid-epidemic miniseries refuses to humanize its villains.
ByRoxana Hadadi
tv review
Twisted Metal Runs on EmptyPeacock’s adaptation of the car-combat video-game series says “yes” to guns, wisecracks, and shit that looks dope, and “no” to thinking too hard.
Universes Collide in American Born ChineseThere’s a tender, vibrant coming-of-age story in Disney+’s new series, if you can find it beneath all the tiresome celestial conflict.
Finally, Some Freaky K-pop WritingEsther Yi’s debut novel, Y/N, is great parody, throwing readers down the hole of obsession in all its fevered absurdity.
Perry Mason Has Solved the Case of Perry MasonSeason two of the HBO revival moves beyond its protagonist’s origin story and into the courtroom, and becomes the show it was meant to be.
With Return to Seoul, a Star Is BornPark Ji-min’s remarkable lead performance elevates this withholding yet moving meditation on identity and culture to a masterwork.
ByAngelica Jade Bastién
classical-music review
Geffen Hall Has Found Its SoundIt’s finally what it ought to have been all along — and it’s so clear, it may be a little too revealing for some conductors.
The White Lotus Retracts Its FangsMike White’s HBO series remains well appointed and well acted in season two, but a creeping timidity undermines its satire.
ByRoxana Hadadi
network tv
Checking In on This Year’s New Network DramasLinear television’s fall freshman class has arrived, and we’re predicting which hour-long series are in it for the long haul, and which will burn out.
The Patient Is All Killer, No FillerSteve Carell and Domhnall Gleeson deliver strong performances in a thought-provoking thriller that succeeds by keeping its focus narrow.
ByJen Chaney
tv review
The Sandman’s Lost DreamNetflix’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s legendary comic works well when it has a strong sense of its titular character. If only it stayed that way.
Ms. Marvel’s Enthusiasm Is InfectiousIt has been too long since the MCU had a proper coming-of-age tale, and this confident, focused miniseries rises to the occasion.
Hacks Seems a Bit LostThe Emmy-winning series hits the road in season two and needs some time to find its old rhythms.
ByJen Chaney
tv review
Candy Leaves a Sour AftertasteHulu’s weightless true-crime miniseries has little sense of what it wants to say about the 1978 axe murder of Betty Gore, or why it should say it.
ByRoxana Hadadi
tv review
The Staircase Defies ExpectationsA seminal true-crime story takes on new dimension in a scripted series that proves there’s still more to say about Michael and Kathleen Peterson.
The Girl From Plainville Can Only Say So MuchDespite a strong Elle Fanning performance, this dramatization of the teen texting-suicide case can’t uncover the why of Michelle Carter.
ByJen Chaney
tv review
Halo Hasn’t Unlocked Its Full PotentialInitially bogged down by world-building and its own source material, this adaptation of the video-game phenomenon is still figuring itself out.
