Angie Han

A little bit twisty, a little bit funny and ultimately so frothy it’ll disappear from memory faster than bubbles from a champagne coupe, this Hong Kong-set English-language Hulu drama may not be your next obsession. But under the right circumstances, it could be an ideal distraction.

The connection between the two leads is most charming in the early tween years. .... But Every Year After is full of undercooked details that get brought up only as an excuse to bring its would-be lovers together or pull them back apart, and then get discarded when they’re no longer needed for that purpose.

If the instigating incident feels overly contrived, the emotions it dredges up feel real enough to make up for it — and nowhere more so than in Walker’s fearless, ferocious performance.

But what Not Suitable for Work lacks in of-the-moment freshness, it makes up for in comfort-food familiarity. Chief among its assets is a very solid cast, who share the sort of affable chemistry that makes you want to flop down on the couch right alongside them.

Star City posits a much darker vision, and arguably one much more in keeping with our own current national mood. It makes for a bleak time — but some very compelling drama.

To be sure, the series even at its clunkiest is never less than perfectly watchable; any show that sees Woodard shooting at monsters or O’Hare preparing to thwack one with a meat cleaver can’t help but be at least a little amusing. But it’s a letdown for a story with bright early gleams of potential.

While Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed might not be the most enjoyment I’ve ever derived from a TV show, its addictive combination of light comedy, unpredictable twists and sharp character work — all anchored by Tatiana Maslany’s fearless-as-usual lead performance — add up to one hell of a good time.

So watchable is Beth that it’s almost enough to make up for the fact that her co-lead barely registers at all. .... Throw these big personalities (and Rip) together, and Dutton Ranch comes away with a tangle of storylines that land ever slightly more often than not.

Less steamy, less emotional and, somehow, possibly even less interested in the sport of hockey than Heated Rivalry, Off Campus is unlikely to supplant the earlier series in most romance lovers’ hearts. But once you get over the show it isn’t, the show it actually is has modest pleasures of its own to offer.

It does what every worthwhile adaptation does (and what so many other recent re-adaptations have failed to do), which is make the story feel complete unto itself.