RAY DONOVAN:  Sunday 9PM on Showtime It’s a bit surprising that RAY DONOVAN has been a steady performer for Showtime, considering that its tone tends toward the glum and monotonous, but next to Homeland, it’s one of the network’s more consistent titles.  Despite that success, Showtime deposed series creator/showrunner Ann Biderman at the end […]

  CONSTANTINE:  Friday 10PM on NBC Previously… on CONSTANTINE:  John Constantine (Matt Ryan), a character who originated in DC Comics, is a demon-hunter, trying to regain his own soul (which he lost by allowing a young woman to die) by saving humans from otherworldly attacks.  He has a magic map that tells him where hellish […]

  RED WIDOW:  Sunday 10PM on ABC The “2-hour premiere” of RED WIDOW actually consisted of the pilot that was shot before last year’s upfronts, combined with the first regular episode (both halves written by series creator Melissa Rosenberg, with the pilot directed by Mark Pellington and episode 2 by Daniel Sackheim).  Watching the combination […]

  ABBY’S:  Thursday 9:30PM on NBC Unless the general public cares about a multi-camera sitcom being shot outdoors, NBC’s new ABBY’S may face a tough road.  Aside from that technological distinction (handled with seeming effortlessness by director Pamela Fryman), Abby’s feels like the kind of sitcom that might have tried to coast off the vibe […]

  THE RED ROAD:  Thursday 9PM on Sundance Channel – If Nothing Else Is On… “Ponderousness” is odd branding for a cable network with fledgling original programming to embrace, but after Top of the Lake, Rectify, The Returned and the new THE RED ROAD, it’s pretty clear that Sundance Channel is very comfortable with its […]

  THE GOOD FIGHT:  Episodes Release Each Sunday On CBS All Access – Binge-Worthy If THE GOOD FIGHT were actually a CBS drama, the spin-off of The Good Wife would instantly become the network’s best show–and one of the most promising anywhere on broadcast TV.  But while a slightly edited version of the opening episode […]

  MIXOLOGY:  Wednesday 9:30PM on ABC Previously… on MIXOLOGY:  On one night, in one bar, ten people variously search for romance or its temporary facsimile through the course of the season’s run.  We were briefly introduced to most of them last week, but the pilot concentrated on Tom (Blake Lee), a likably dweeby guy who’d […]

> THE HOUR:  Wednesday 10PM on BBCAmerica:  Potential DVR Alert Here’s what’s wrong with BBCAmerica. Don’t get me wrong:  it’s marvelous that BBCA exists to bring us shows like Luther, the original (and superior) Torchwood, the also original (and even more superior) Being Human, and now THE HOUR.  The problem is that a BBC “1-hour” […]