TV Insider

From playful opening credits to uncensored vanity cards at each episode’s end, you can’t take your eyes off of the latest spinoff of The Big Bang Theory, which thankfully and happily is unlike anything that’s come before.

What redeems The Hawk, both the show and the character, is the genuine earnestness that underlies this goofball’s delusional and raunchy bravado.

If some of the acting is wooden and the characters crafted from cardboard, many will find that a small price to pay for the creature comforts of an American classic revived for a new generation.

Even though such familiarity has been known to breed contempt, David’s cringe-inducing brand of confrontational contempt more often than not provides a refreshing bite of irreverence that in its own take-no-prisoners way is as patriotic if not as uplifting as the latest Ken Burns dissertation.

Never as intense as Stranger Things, but also never as surprising, The Boroughs charms while plucking the heartstrings as its characters, especially Sam, contend with grief, loss, and regret while displaying admirable resilience and a timeless respect for Bruce Springsteen.

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.