Matt Roush

Their sordid cycle of disappointment, humiliation and bitter recrimination is riveting, but also at times predictable, as we nervously begin to expect the worst even in rare moments of harmony, and creator-writer Gadd never fails to deliver on that threatened promise.

Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair is a raucous hoot of a four-episode reunion that, unlike so many shows on streaming or just about anywhere, leaves us wanting much more. Yet we’re also happily satisfied with the reboot’s breezy, boisterous brevity.

Stay with the twists and turns, even the occasional groaners, for a satisfying finish, providing a fairy-tale happy ending for some and for others a bittersweet reckoning that whatever hurdles life throws at you, nothing is as important as friendship — and perfecting the next joke.

At times, when the tone veers into adolescent gossip, mean-girl rivalries, and mad crushes (including one tangled love triangle), it can feel like how the story might appear on a channel like Freeform. But at its best, which is to say its worst, the premise is as unsettling as ever.

If you’re looking for a solid tearjerking catharsis, you might find it here.

The tonal imbalance is even greater when the procedural aspects, grisly as they are including in the graphic autopsy scenes, too often take a back seat to overwrought domestic angst that makes you want to kill most of the people on screen.

As a companion piece to the network’s other lone-wolf crime drama, Tracker, it’s a decent fit.

Over 10 labored episodes (which I do not recommend saving up to watch as a binge), I felt my interest waning in Reggie’s delusional quest for renewed glory. .... But just as in 30 Rock, it’s the gags that keep us coming back. And Reggie is full of them.

Put aside any fears of a sophomore slump. Think second-year sensation, as Hulu’s post-apocalyptic Paradise exceeds expectations with a surprising, emotionally exciting, and robustly suspenseful new chapter.

Bottom line: If you liked Scrubs then, you’ll almost certainly like it now. And if you’re new to the party, you’re in for a treat.