Angie Han

Shallowly conceived and haphazardly constructed, Kill Jackie is a thriller fatally short on thrills.

War understands better than anyone that sometimes what matters in a tale is not how factually true or morally righteous it is, but how compellingly it sweeps you along for the ride.

As it is, A Different World still manages the trick of going from looking like an exercise in Xennial nostalgia to delivering a portrait of youth that feels at once fresh and timeless.

For now, Line of Fire's drama remains on the right side of the divide between juicy and obnoxious. It helps that the chemistry among the ensemble is believably familiar.

Youth often feels both funnier and realer for recognizing how self-involved Alex can be. But its shrewdest, most quietly poignant insight is that being old enough to know better does not, in fact, always mean you act better.

The latest addition to his and Ryan Murphy’s murder-verse tries desperately to draw something, anything meaningful out of Borden’s saga, with all the finesse of a college freshman trying to crank out a 15-page term paper in the two hours before deadline — and with all the same power of persuasion.

While the show can be endearing in flashes — and while its affection for the sport shines brightly enough that you might find yourself daydreaming about taking up an oar yourself — underdeveloped characters and an under-explored world leave it short of a transporting experience.

While the show has its occasional moments of cuteness or cleverness, and only rare ones of active tedium, I found its eight half-hours more frequently felt like a show I wanted to laugh at more than I actually did.

It’s done quite well (and of the supporting cast, Robinson and Whitley, both veterans of sitcoms from that era, seem so at home that you’d think they’d been on this brand-new show for years already), but whether that makes it feel hoary or comforting will probably depend on whether you grew up watching similar series.

The show follows its own unhurried rhythm, turning on a dime between casually vicious and ooey-gooey sweet. But lacking the creative depth to make either tone land, it winds up a comedy of existential angst that’s rarely all that funny and only occasionally kind of moving.