CBR - TV Reviews

Letterkenny Season 12 Review

Sam Stone — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 20:58:39 GMT

After twelve seasons running from 2016 to 2023, the popular Canadian comedy series Letterkenny has come to a planned end just in time to close out the year. Running for six episodes, all directed by series co-developer and executive producer Jacob Tierney, Letterkenny's final season runs with a much tighter focus than preceding seasons and a loose, overarching narrative rather than complete standalone episodes. And while Letterkenny doesn't end with a definitive conclusion, giving itself room to revisit and explore, it does feel bittersweet watching these familiar characters go off into an uncertain future.

Reacher Season 2 Episode 5 Review

Joshua M. Patton — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 17:46:32 GMT

With the first half of Season 2 behind him, Jack Reacher and the rest of the surviving special investigators are finally starting to find more answers than questions. It's a bigger season than the first, with four times as many locations. However, the mystery itself continues to unfold slowly. It's a deliberate choice on the part of the storytellers because as much as Season 2 is about the murder of their former colleagues, it's also about the mystery of Reacher himself.

The Artful Dodger Episode 1 Review

I-j Wheaton — Wed, 27 Dec 2023 17:30:17 GMT

Just in time for the holiday season, Hulu's irreverent Charles Dickens-inspired action-adventure drama The Artful Dodger is premiering, featuring Thomas Brodie-Sangster as the eponymous Artful Dodger. The cast is filled with familiar faces, including Maia Mitchell as Lady Belle Fox, Damon Herriman as Captain Lucien Gaines, musician and composer Tim Minchin as Darius Cracksworth, and legendary British actor David Thewlis as an unexpected face from The Dodger's past. The first episode is written by series creator and showrunner James McNamara, directed by Jeffrey Walker, with director of photography Damian Wyvill.

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1 Review

Sayantan Gayen — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 21:00:16 GMT

The Shonen genre reached its zenith when the manga industry expanded its reach to American audiences who lapped up the action-adventure stories about the eternal battle between good and evil. However, bringing the same success to live-action media has proven difficult, making fans wary of their favorite franchises getting Netflix adaptations. Undoubtedly, when the streaming platform announced its plans to revive Yu Yu Hakusho in 2022, it divided the fandom, even if the recent One Piece live-action gave them a little ray of hope.

What If...? Season 2 Premiere Review

Hannah Rose — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 18:00:17 GMT

Marvel has thrived on the multiverse for some time, with comic book runs and films set across different timelines. Since its debut in 2021, Marvel's animated series What If...? created a format where Marvel's greatest heroes and villains are free to explore realms and universes unbound by the conventions of the MCU canon. This year, just in time for the holidays, Marvel's What If...? is back for its second season, ringing in the season of hope and good wishes with two action-packed tales of goodwill. Premiering on Disney+ starting December 22nd and airing a new episode every night over nine nights, What If...? Season Two is a great holiday treat for Marvel fans.

Reacher Season 2 Episode 4 Review

Joshua M. Patton — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 15:00:18 GMT

The first three episodes in Reacher Season 2 delivered a more unsettled hero than fans have come to expect from the former special investigator for the US Army Criminal Investigation Division. Reuniting with his former unit after some of them were killed, shook him but not as much as the notion that one member is still alive and responsible for the deaths of their colleagues. A man of action driven by facts and observation finds himself in the center of a mystery that challenges what he believes in ways he never thought possible.

Reacher Season 2 Episode 3 Review

Joshua M. Patton — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 21:17:16 GMT

Reacher Season 2 launched on Prime Video with a trio of episodes, and by the time credits roll on the third, it becomes clear why. Season 1 debuted all eight episodes on the same day, so viewers were able to binge-watch it from start to finish. Season 2, Episode 1, "ATM," wouldn't be enough for viewers to latch onto the story that will unfold weekly from this moment on. Each episode feels like a larger story in three acts, and the final moments of "Picture Says a Thousand Words" introduce the true mystery of the threat facing Jack Reacher and his former unit of special investigators. They've found a clue about a missing team member and his connection to the villains this season.

Culprits Review

Sayantan Gayen — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 14:45:16 GMT

Over the years, the heist genre has become a refuge for thrill seekers with the meticulous plans, the clever execution, and the accompanying explosions sending beads of sweat trickling down the foreheads of invested audiences, hoping to see more of the action. Like fairy tales, where everything ends happily ever after, most stories focus on the act of stealing itself and rarely show the aftermath of the crime. Culprits is the latest addition to the genre - a Disney+ and Hulu original TV series that moves away from the cliched formula and entrenches itself in a cat-and-mouse game on a worldwide scale. The premise promises to turn the lives of its characters upside down, but whether it pays off in equal measure is the real question.

Reacher Season 2 Episode 2 Review

Joshua M. Patton — Sat, 16 Dec 2023 14:00:18 GMT

The premiere episode of Reacher Season 2 successfully introduced a mystery more personal to its central character than the murder of his brother Joe. The first season's adventure tied directly to Jack Reacher's past, and this continues in the sophomore outing. As a former special investigator for the US Army's Criminal Investigation Division, a new problem threatens the only family he has left. The situation gets much worse by the end of "What Happens In Atlantic City," and the normally stoic Reacher may be starting to come unraveled.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Review: Disney Plus TV Series Succeeds

Ben Wasserman — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 20:26:40 GMT

Near the end of Percy Jackson and the Olympians' first episode, the title character quizzically notes that the Minotaur is wearing his underwear. The observation happens as the mytholgical beast pursues Percy, his mom and his friend Grover Underwood. Watching the bus-sized monster charge right at them, trying to run young Percy off the road, is a tense scene. There's an inherent goofiness to it when when viewers realize the Minotaur's pulling off this assault in just his tighty-whities, but that doesn't make it any less suspenseful.