Melissa Maerz

It’s a grim season, but there are still enough great one-liners to remind you why Orange has earned a best-comedy nod from the Emmys.

Somehow, just like its unfortunately tattooed protagonists, UnREAL just gets smarter the more shameless it gets.

Watching their [Alex and Laura's] relationship deepen is a highlight. [3 Jun 2016, p.102]

Chandler's performance has gotten darker and deeper alongside an intimidating turn from (Owen) Teague.... When the plot focuses on John's unraveling, it's a taught work of suspense. [27 May 2016, p.53]

It’s a mind-bendingly expansive show, packed into a tiny, 60-minute slot.

The pilot is a slog. ... Watching them drive around in a Back in the Future-style DeLorean is a cute way to illustrate how space-time works, but the lessons are basic high school physics. [20 May 2016, p.55]

Yes, anything can happen in Bamford's world, and that sense of endless possibility make Lady Dynamite a joy to watch. [20 May 2016, p.50]

Even though she’s been given a get-out-of-jail-free pass from Netflix, Handler still chooses the same conventional structure that everyone else has. There are pre-recorded bits. There are interviews. Handler plays games with guests and stages silly moments meant to create memes.

At a time when series like Transparent and Getting On have explored later-in-life identity crises with greater depth, it’s hard to watch these women’s serious problems defused with sad spinster humor. Vin Diesel aside, the problem isn’t that Grace and Frankie are old and out of touch. It’s that the show is.

There are some decent rat jokes, but the best part is the way it makes the loneliness and exhausting competitiveness of the city feel all too human. [29 Jan/5 Feb 2016, p.105]