Judy Berman

For everything of value it adds to the story, Flanagan’s take can still feel a bit cluttered. There are too many interconnected framing devices. .... Yet at the core of this series is a perceptive diagnosis of that problem.

It can be quite exciting. But as the season progresses, sparse character development and minimal insight into the absurdity of possessing—let alone fighting over—sums of money that could sustain hundreds of upper-middle-class Steven types add up to a frustrating lack of perspective.

The new episodes don’t have quite the same spark of energy and wit that made the original a classic. .... But the show does share with its predecessor vibrant characters, appealing performances, and a keen sense of how the personal intersects with the political. It’s more than enough to justify the return trip.

Disjointed but breezy, it coasts on the chemistry between its leads.

The title’s rueful humor conceals an emotionally complex truth. This is a perceptive, spit-takingly funny show.

Just about every character surprises us, at least once, for good or ill. That complexity serves a thematic purpose as well as a narrative one.

It’s not every year that the Emmys leave us wanting more. To the remarkable extent that they did so in their second 2024 ceremony, the Levys deserve a lot of credit—and perhaps an invitation to do it again in 2025.

Spanning just eight minutes, the opening segment proved to be an accurate preview of a mediocre NBC and Peacock telecast that was by turns hasty, random, heavily reliant on big-name cameos, and not much of a showcase for Hargitay at all.

All the raw material for an unscripted family drama is present. Somehow, though, the fireworks tend to fizzle as soon as they’re lit. .... You probably have to be a diehard Earle girl to find this stuff compelling. And even if you are, you might be disappointed by how many climactic Earle Meets World scenes, from Ashtin kicking Alix out of her New York apartment to Cooper goading Alix to come at her, unfold in now-ancient vertical videos that already have millions of views.

Lanterns is smarter, more mature, less formulaic, and more stylishly made than the identikit Marvel brand extensions that are now the industry standard. Yet it’s missing the history and personality that gave Watchmen its power.