[Televisionary]

The long-awaited return of the NBC comedy — now back under the watchful eye of creator Dan Harmon — distances itself from its disappointing fourth season. Gas leak year, people. At BuzzFeed, you can read my latest story, " Community Season 5 Feels Like An Old Friend Has Finally Come Home," in which I review the first few episodes of Season 5 of NBC's Community . (YES.) I’ll admit that I was somewhat wary when three episodes from Season 5 of NBC’s Community surfaced on my desk last week. After all, the fourth season of the Dan Harmon-created gonzo comedy — which was Dan Harmon-less, after all — left a lot to be desired. I choose to look at it as an alt-reality version of a show that I had cherished in its first three seasons: The characters vaguely resembled that Greendale study group with whom I had spent so many virtual hours, yet they didn’t feel quite right. Something was off — the plots felt too contrived, and the show wandered into a broadness of comedy that

Showtime’s espionage thriller wrapped up its third season and much of its overall narrative. So where can the show possibly go in Season 4? WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. At BuzzFeed, you can read my latest feature, "Where Can Homeland Go From Here?" in which I look at the third season finale of Showtime's Homeland and where the show could possibly go from here. (Answer: wherever it does, I likely won't be watching as I'm fatigued with this show at this point.) With Sunday’s season finale of Homeland (“The Star”), Showtime’s espionage thriller seemed to fold inwards upon itself, offering up a 20-minute epilogue that felt very much like a conclusion for the series, an alternately intelligent and deeply frustrating drama, depending where in its overall narrative you were at any given time. (It was, however, renewed for a fourth season earlier this year.) In its often maddening and meandering third season, Homeland found Carrie (Claire Danes) pretending to be on

Season 3 of Shonda Rhimes’ additive ABC drama offers not only a pulse-pounding thrill ride each week, but also a canny exploration of self-determination. Spoilers ahead, if you’re not caught up. At BuzzFeed, you can read my latest feature, "How Scandal Turned Into An Exploration Of Free Will," in which I take a look at the third season of Shonda Rhimes' addictive ABC thriller. Scandal ’s seven-episode first season, which aired in early 2012, gave very little indication of just where this riveting drama would go by its third and current season. At first glance, it appeared to be a legal drama centering on Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) and her team of misfit lawyers, a group of very damaged people lured into the arena by Olivia’s gritty strength and forged into self-made gladiators. Their elite crisis management firm operated in Washington, meaning that the show’s title came into play fairly quickly via a slew of high-profile cases. Olivia had ties to the fictiona

Was it all just a terrible nightmare? Malcolm in the Middle ’s Hal may have eaten too many fried Twinkies before bed, according to a new DVD extra. [UPDATED] At BuzzFeed, you can check out my latest post, "This Breaking Bad Alternate Ending Must Be Seen To Be Believed," in which I take a look at an alternate ending for AMC's Breaking Bad , one that invokes Newhart and, well, Malcolm in the Middle . Fans of AMC’s Breaking Bad continue to mourn the death of the antihero drama in their own unique ways, but thanks to this DVD extra — from the Breaking Bad: The Complete Series DVD box set, out November 26 — fans of the science-wielding antihero have yet another chance to imagine a different fate for Bryan Cranston’s Walter White. In this case, an alternate ending to the show itself, which — heavily borrowing from the iconic ending of Newhart (which referenced the earlier The Bob Newhart Show ) — imagines that the entire narrative of Breaking Bad was a dream exper

Mindy Kaling’s single-camera comedy is not only hitting all of its marks in its second season, it’s surpassing them… and leaving New Girl in its wake. At BuzzFeed, you can read my latest feature, "Why The Mindy Project Is No Longer A Work In Progress, But Perfection," in which I write about why The Mindy Project is perfect (and what Fox's New Girl could learn from it these days). The noticeable creative decline of Fox’s once-sterling comedy New Girl — which this season has offered some head-scratching plot developments (who exactly was calling for the full-time return of Coach?) and a dearth of actual comedy — has had a unintentional silver lining of sorts. It’s allowed the show’s winsome timeslot companion The Mindy Project — created by and starring Mindy Kaling — its own opportunity to shine. And, let’s be honest: The Mindy Project is currently glowing with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns. Season 2 of this sharp comedy has continued with the stre

ABC’s quirky blended family comedy — the one that isn’t Modern Family — has quickly become a bright spot in an otherwise largely dull season of television. At BuzzFeed, you can read my latest, feature, "9 Reasons Why Trophy Wife Is Amazing," in which I offer nine reasons why you should be watching ABC's stellar comedy Trophy Wife , which airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. Make no mistake: You should be watching ABC’s Trophy Wife . Created by Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins, this witty show — which was picked up last week for a full season of 22 episodes — might just be the best new comedy of the 2013-14 season. It’s a perfectly sweet-tart confection that focuses on a sprawling Los Angeles family connected by marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Meet Pete (Bradley Whitford), a lawyer who’s lousy at picking spouses, a concept quickly summed up in the opening title sequence. His first ex-wife is prickly doctor Diane (Marcia Gay Harden); his second ex-wife is spacey oddball Ja

You won’t just become addicted to Sundance Channel’s French-language drama about people returning from the dead; it will haunt your dreams. "Your Next Television Obsession Is French Supernatural Thriller The Returned " In the opening sequence of extraordinary French thriller The Returned , a yellow butterfly, pinned and placed in a display case, mounted on a wall, unexpectedly flutters back to life and smashes through its glass prison. It’s an enigmatically beautiful moment, and an apt metaphor for the overall premise of The Returned (which premieres Oct. 31 at 9 p.m. on the Sundance Channel), a collision between the worlds of the living and the dead that leaves both shattered. Created by Fabrice Gobert (who shares directing duties with Frédéric Mermoud) and based on a 2004 film of the same name, The Returned (in French, Les Revenants ) is unlike anything else on television, on either side of the Atlantic, an atmosphere-laden and character-driven drama that deftly ble