We are in the company of the best teacher most of us never had, one who joyfully shares knowledge that is too interesting to be intimidating and who trusts us to keep up.

Human brings the science behind the study of the history of homo sapiens down to, well, a human level, thanks to the enthusiastic storytelling of Ella Al-Shamahi.

Much of the series will be revelatory. .... Ms. Al-Shamahi maintains a kind of breathlessness throughout, an air of earnest astonishment, which becomes a bit repetitive. Her apparent fear is that we viewers need to be reminded of, and impressed by, how remarkable so much of the human past has been. We probably do. .... Detective work of a very advanced order and, “Human” makes it accessible.

Recreations of prehistoric life are happily kept to a minimum, and made suitably blurry and distant. The fun of the show is in the present world — it is fun, and quite beautifully filmed. .... Her [Ella Al-Shamahi] excitement is not so much contagious as it is seductive.