麻豆官网

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”

If you鈥檙e all caught up on this sitcom, now鈥檚 a good time to re-watch it all with Season 7 just around the corner.

If you鈥檙e not a regular viewer, change that.

鈥淣ine-Nine鈥� is not so much a cop show as it is a light sitcom about cops. Leading the cast is former 鈥淪NL鈥� smug-mugger Andy Samberg as Jake Peralta, the alpha detective with daddy issues. Another standout is former 鈥淗omicide鈥� star Andre Braugher as the robotic, hospital-corners precinct captain, Raymond Holt.

What else makes this show great?

• Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews)鈥� love of speaking in the third person. (鈥淭erry loves yogurt!鈥�)
• Captain Holt鈥檚 faithful corgi, Cheddar.
• The annual heist competition.
• Everything about Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti).
• The recurring sorta-villains, including 鈥淧ontiac Bandit鈥� Doug Judy; Keith “The Vulture” Pembroke; and cannibal Caleb John Gosche.聽

NBC did the world a favor when it picked up what Fox dropped.

Stream it on: Hulu, YouTube TV

“The Thick of It”

Years before he brought 鈥淰eep鈥� to HBO, writer-producer Armando Iannucci was satirizing British politics. Much of 鈥淭he Thick of It鈥� will look familiar: the X-rated language, the single-camera style, the failed political machinations, the continual sucking up, the brutal insults etc.

Even if you don鈥檛 know the fundamentals of British government, you鈥檒l appreciate the similarities to Selina Meyer鈥檚 D.C.

Also noteworthy: Malcolm Tucker, the foul-mouthed Scotsman who serves as the prime minister鈥檚 enforcer. Peter Capaldi dominates every scene he is in.

CLOSED-CAPTIONING ADVISORY: Malcolm鈥檚 Scottish accent/vulgarities can be tough to understand.

Stream it on: Amazon Prime

“Succession”

First of all, please understand that 鈥淪uccession鈥� is not about Australian Rupert Murdoch; his News Corp. media empire; and his children, who are all positioning themselves for the future as their aging father struggles to regain his health.

No. This is about Scotsman Logan Roy (Brian Cox); his Waystar RoyCo media empire; and his children, who are all positioning themselves for the future as their aging father struggles to regain his health.

See? Different.

鈥淪uccession鈥� is something of a dramedy, in that there are laughs (Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are show-runners). But with other writers like Frank Rich (鈥淰eep鈥�) and Jesse Armstrong (鈥淭he Thick of It鈥�) on board, its focus is on how money and power are one and the same.

Are any of the characters likeable? Goodness, no — not with pros like Brian Cox and Kieran Culkin reading the lines.

But you probably won鈥檛 mind when the mud is flying.

Stream it on: HBO Now

“Westside”

We take you now to Australia鈥檚 Canada 鈥� New Zealand 鈥� for this comedic drama set in decades past. It chronicles the exploits of Ted and Rita West (David de Lautour and Antonia Prebble, respectively), a loving couple who earn their coin by . Ted鈥檚 a safecracker; Rita dabbles in fencing.

Ted, fresh out of prison, balances his family duties with the equally important work of managing his crew of burglars 鈥� and having keggers in his backyard.

鈥淲estside鈥� is wildly popular in N.Z., in part because it鈥檚 a prequel to perhaps the most popular, critically acclaimed show in Kiwi history, 鈥淥utrageous Fortune.鈥澛�

It鈥檚 fun and (be advised) frequently sex-drenched. The bad news is that there aren鈥檛 enough episodes: Amazon Prime only has three seasons currently, and even though Season 6 is in the works, Seasons 4 and 5 haven鈥檛 dropped stateside.

Sounds like a heist is in order.

CLOSED-CAPTIONING ADVISORY: New Zealand accents can be tough to understand.

Stream it on: Amazon Prime

“John Mulaney and The Sack Lunch Bunch”

Netflix premiered comedian John Mulaney’s special for kids late last year. The vibe is big-budget 鈥淪esame Street,鈥� with music, dancing, sketches. Throughout is self-aware writing that is a cut above the fare generally fed to kids and even us adults.

The 鈥淪NL鈥� veteran鈥檚 Broadway chops are strong. (He co-stars in the long-running 鈥淥h Hello!鈥� 鈥� also on Netflix.) The execution of it all is flawless. 鈥淧lain Plate of Noodles鈥� is a highlight, as is 鈥淕irl Talk with Richard Kind.鈥�

Also nice: interviews with cast members and guest stars about their greatest fears. They鈥檙e all good reminders that it鈥檚 OK to be scared, even after you鈥檝e grown up.

Stream it on: Netflix

“Detroiters”

Most of us can probably name at least one weird local commercial from when we were growing up. 鈥淒etroiters鈥� follows two young ad men who make them: best friends and brothers-in-law Tim Cramblin (Tim Robinson) and Sam Duvet (Sam Richardson). The pair have taken over the ad firm once run by Tim鈥檚 dad … before he was institutionalized.

While they don鈥檛 have the competition鈥檚 resources, they scheme to steal clients with enthusiasm (see above), even if it鈥檚 misguided much of the time.

鈥淒etroiters鈥� is silly, weird, mindless and probably what many of us need right now.

Stream it on: Google Play

“I Think You Should Leave”

The aforementioned Tim Robinson was a bit player on 鈥淪NL,鈥� and later moved to the writer鈥檚 room. Many of his sketches that didn鈥檛 make it on SNL did make it onto this Netflix series.聽

It鈥檚 all out of left field: somehow turns into a scene involving a sleazy record producer. A wienermobile crashes into a men鈥檚 clothing store, and the obvious culprit is stealing suits. An actor needs help figuring out his motivation as mascot.

And above: A vintage carnival organist fills in at a funeral.

It鈥檚 strange stuff that stands up on repeated viewings.

Stream it on: Netflix

“The Mandalorian”

The latest 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� trilogy has reached its end with 鈥淩ise of Skywalker.鈥� Talk of more films remains that — just talk —聽 for now.

TV鈥檚 history with the mythology . 鈥淭he Mandalorian鈥� redeems it.

If you鈥檙e not into 鈥淪tar Wars,鈥� don鈥檛 sweat it. Jon Favreau keeps it easy for the non-faithful to enjoy. It鈥檚 set in the era after the empire鈥檚 fall (i.e., post- 鈥淩eturn of the Jedi鈥�) and follows a mysterious bounty hunter with — as we find out — a strong moral core.

And yeah, there鈥檚 that thing that looks like a baby Yoda. If it talks in season 2, it will probably melt down Twitter.聽聽聽

The pacing is brisk, the look is polished, and the acting is top-shelf. Casting legendary director Werner Herzog and his distinctive accent, for example, was a master stroke. Other big name actors include Amy Sedaris, Carl 麻豆官网s, Nick Nolte and Jason Sudeikis.聽

More streaming series like this Disney+ offering will likely be how The Force stays with us in the years to come.

Stream it on: Disney+

“Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse”

Here鈥檚 a movie to break up the monotony.聽

It鈥檚 a comic book movie. Yes, those seem to be our sole cultural export these days, but keep an open mind here. 鈥淚nto the Spider-Verse鈥� is not a CGI-heavy film featuring trendy actors du jour doing glorified cosplay for 90 minutes.聽

It鈥檚 a breathing, moving comic book, with emotive, next-level animation that raises the bar by, oh, a mile or so.

If you鈥檝e already heard good things, know that 鈥淚nto the Spider-Verse鈥� probably exceeds them.聽

This origins story is not about Peter Parker. Rather, it鈥檚 another name the comic nerds will recognize: Miles Morales, a New York cop鈥檚 kid who does graffiti when he鈥檚 not buried in homework.

Miles meets Peter Parker, who (minor spoiler) dies. Then he meets him again. No point in getting into the why. It will all make sense.

If you鈥檙e hungry for pure popcorn fare, this really is as good as it gets.

Stream it on: Netflix

“Cobra Kai”

When we last saw karate bully Johnny Lawrence back in the mid-1980s, he had walked away from his sensei 鈥� after literally getting his face kicked in by 鈥淜arate Kid鈥� Danny LaRusso.聽

Thirty-four years later, reality is still kicking Johnny in the face. He鈥檚 an estranged father, struggling for odd jobs and socializing with his best friend, a six-pack of Coors. Indeed, the times have seemingly passed him by. Does anyone else still love hair metal?

And to make it all even worse, Danny LaRusso owns a successful auto dealership that 鈥渒icks the competition.鈥�

鈥淐obra Kai鈥� is a curious follow-up series to the 鈥淜arate Kid鈥� movies. As we all live in a post-“Sopranos,” antiheroes-are-OK world, one can鈥檛 help but root for Johnny as he starts his own dojo 鈥� even if he is a bit of a jerk.聽

While the writing and acting can be painful, the nostalgia is strong enough to break a concrete block.

Stream it on: YouTube TV

“The Boys”

Another comic-book narrative merits another plea to keep an open mind. This one is unlike anything DC or Marvel is cranking out 鈥� and it鈥檚 darker than Batman鈥檚 worst night.聽

The premise: What if The Caped and Superpowered were terrible people? And what if they all worked for an enormous corporation? 鈥淭he Boys鈥� follows a ragtag band of vigilantes who take them all on 鈥� in a world where PR, so far, has hidden the truth from humanity.聽

It is . Yet it鈥檚 fun and, at times, hilarious. Seth Rogen is one of the executive producers, which is probably why its sense of humor is refined.

As Billy Butcher 鈥� the hard-drinking alpha alpha and closet Spice Girls fan 鈥� Karl Urban knocks it out of the park with a cricket bat. Antony Starr is also great as the psychopathic, detached Homelander. And Jack Quaid (Dennis and Meg Ryan鈥檚 kid!) is great, too, as the average guy who joins Billy et al. to take on 鈥淭he Seven.鈥�

Season 2 rolls out later this year. Now鈥檚 the time to get caught up.

Stream it on: Amazon Prime

“Joe Pera Talks With You”

Is it an art film? Is it ? Is it comedy?聽

It鈥檚 all of the above.

Comedian Joe Pera stars as what one assumes is an exaggerated version of himself: a young-yet-grandfatherly choir teacher in small-town Michigan. The episode titles do a better job of explaining it: 鈥淛oe Pera Talks You Back to Sleep鈥�; “Joe Pera Takes You to Breakfast”; “Joe Pera Gives You Piano Lessons”; and so on.

The fourth wall frequently disintegrates as we learn about Joe鈥檚 life, which includes a budding relationship with a doomsday-prepping band teacher. The vibe is reminiscent of 鈥淣apoleon Dynamite鈥� or a Wes Anderson film, frequently accented with moments of heartbreaking beauty.

Not far from all of this is a subtle acknowledgment that these are anxious times, and that small-town America has seen better days.聽

But as Joe will tell you, it’s OK: There’s a fish fry Friday night.

Stream it on: YouTube TV, Hulu

HONORABLE MENTIONS: “A.J. and the Queen,” “Outrageous Fortune,” “Fleabag,” “Shrill,” “Schitt’s Creek.”