David Bianculli

The Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host, who died July 24, held the Guinness World Record for clocking more hours on camera than anyone else in the history of TV. Originally broadcast in 2011.

A new comedy from The Muppets Studio features familiar characters and a few new ones. But the Disney+ series isn't nearly as funny as the original — and many of its sketches go on too long.

Peacock launches with thousands of hours of old programs, plus a sampling of new ones. Most of the new shows are just average — except for Intelligence and The Capture, which are worth catching.

Filmed in 2016 when the actors were at the height of their comfort and performance levels, the steadycam and close-ups make the Broadway sensation impressively impactful on the small screen.

HBO's new 8-part miniseries stars Matthew Rhys in the title role. The show is full of delightful surprises, including its portrayal of Mason as a gumshoe — not an iconic defense attorney.

Critic David Bianculli recommends the BBC Shakespeare plays, now available on Britbox. He's also been previewing HBO Max, a new streaming service, and the PBS documentary, An Accidental Studio.

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.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Neil Patrick Harris, Josh Groban and Meryl Streep are just a few of the artists featured in Take Me to the World, a tribute to the iconic Broadway composer and lyricist.

Set in 2033, Amazon's new sci-fi series follows a dead character who has been brought back to "life" as a lookalike avatar in a virtual world. Upload is smart, funny — and imaginatively complicated.

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.

In addition to solving a case each week, Tommy features ongoing story lines involving the police chief's interactions with colleagues and family members. The scripts aren't fantastic — but Falco is.

Star Trek: Picard begins in the year 2399, when the captain, long retired, is tending to his European vineyard. But Picard doesn't stay Earthbound long in this CBS All Access show.

BBC America's new docuseries, Seven Worlds, One Planet, uses cutting-edge technology to showcase extraordinary creatures on seven continents. It's narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

NBC mixes music and drama in a risky new TV show about a woman who sees (and hears) people express their innermost thoughts in song.

There were a lot of great shows to watch on television this year — many of them on streaming services. At the top of the list is NBC's comedy about life after death.