David Bianculli

A new, 10-part miniseries follows the exploits of the Russian empress who rose to power in a coup against her own husband. The Great is shrewdly entertaining — if not exactly historically accurate.

We hardly get to know the lead character of new sci-fi comedy Upload — and the world of the near future in which he lives — before he stops living.

The burly actor, who died April 15, played the leading role in Death of a Salesman, in both the Broadway production as well as the 2000 TV movie. Dennehy spoke to David Bianculli in 1999.

Critic David Bianculli says both shows have uncanny parallels to today's world. Homeland's final season has been truly unnerving, while Penny Dreadful's new season centers on a supernatural villain.

TV critic David Bianculli recommends new shows, including FX's Mrs. America, as well as some off-the-beaten-path viewing alternatives, like free web showings of musicals from London's West End.

David Bianculli reviews HBO's new miniseries, which imagines that Charles Lindbergh became president in 1940. And we listen back to a 2004 with Philip Roth, who wrote the novel the series is based on.

Hulu's new 8-part miniseries Devs is a definite must-see, while the Disney TV+ show Amazing Stories, based on the 1985 NBC anthology series by Steven Spielberg, is more of a wait-and-see.

Fans of Breaking Bad will love some of the faces that show up this season in Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould's prequel/sequel series. It's already clear this show will be one of the year's best.