David Bianculli

There was a lot of great television this year, but the winning moment came from HBO's special, The Howard Stern Interview: Bruce Springsteen, an extended two-plus hour conversation between two icons.

The look and tone are perfect — and the characters, settings and subplots are just what you hoped they'd be — in this new Netflix series starring former Disney Channel star Jenna Ortega.

There was a time when stars like Kevin Costner and Sylvester Stallone wouldn't stoop to appear on TV. But the landscape has changed, and now it's where they're finding some of their career-best roles.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is the most entertaining musical biography satire since Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Don't expect much truth in the telling here — but do expect some over-the-top fun.

The special effects are a lot more special than the stories in the Oscar-winning director's new Netflix anthology series. Still, most of the shows in this first, eight-episode run are worth watching.

Now in its fourth season, this anthology series claims the middle ground between a short SNL sketch and a full-length film. Its clever parodies include My Monkey Grifter, a riff on My Octopus Teacher.

Enter Me

Hulu's new comedy series is about the rebirth of an old comedy series — one that never existed. Reboot is the funniest sitcom about making a sitcom since the Showtime series Episodes.

Ken Burns' new three-part documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust, explores what everyday Americans knew — or didn't know — about what the Nazis were doing in Europe.

Amazon's Lord of the Rings and HBO's Game of Thrones prequels should please fans of the original works. Time will tell how well the shows set up, and are faithful to, the stories they're expanding.