I loved watching Candice Bergen as Murphy Brown! The show definitely reminded me of classics like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but it was so much bolder. Before that, most female characters on TV were supposed to be sweet and easy to like. But Murphy Brown was different – she was a single woman over 40 who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, even if it meant being a little difficult. It was refreshing to see a woman like that on screen!
The show really finds its footing and delivers some of its strongest episodes as it progresses, with the cast and writers becoming more confident in their roles. Here are a few acclaimed crime dramas that truly hit their stride after their first couple of seasons and became classics.
HBO consistently delivers high-quality shows across all genres, including the critically acclaimed post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us and the clever, though sometimes uncomfortable, comedy The Comeback. It’s also a go-to for gripping crime thrillers. While shows like The Sopranos and The Wire remain iconic, another standout series offered a darkly comedic, yet surprisingly hopeful, story centered around a compelling lead character. Barry, which ran for four seasons from 2018 to 2023, featured Bill Hader in a particularly memorable role. Co-created by Alec Berg and Hader himself (who also directed many episodes), the show consistently subverted expectations.
Twelve years ago, director Scott released a large-scale biblical movie that critics didn’t love, but audiences turned out to see. Released in 2014, Exodus: Gods and Kings earned $268 million globally, covering its $140 million production cost. While it wasn’t a massive hit – final costs were likely around $200 million – the film still found an audience despite receiving a 29% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Now, viewers can once again experience this action-packed retelling of a classic Bible story.
Project Hail Mary is a 2026 science fiction movie created by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who also directed it. The screenplay is by Drew Goddard, and it’s based on the 2021 novel by Andy Weir. Ryan Gosling plays Ryland Grace, a man who wakes up by himself on a spaceship and discovers he might be the only one who can save Earth.
The horror-comedy Send Help is now available digitally, and fans and critics are loving it. Released a week ago, the film has quickly gained a following and is currently Sam Raimi’s best-reviewed movie on Rotten Tomatoes, earning a 93% rating – the same as his acclaimed Spider-Man 2.
Did the Peaky Blinders movie deliver a satisfying conclusion? The Immortal Man has generally received positive reviews, and for good reason. It’s a thrilling, action-packed film with a compelling story involving Nazis, making it enjoyable even if you haven’t seen the series. However, the movie unfortunately undermines the strong ending of the TV show by relying on a tired trope common in crime dramas.
The new series could also enrich the original Lord of the Rings trilogy by sharing previously unknown details about Middle-earth and its people. We saw this happen with Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit films, which added context to the world and characters of The Lord of the Rings. For example, a line of dialogue from Gimli in The Two Towers was cleverly linked to an event that occurred in The Battle of the Five Armies, giving the original trilogy new layers of meaning.
With a new Batman casting search underway, several well-known actors are being suggested by fans, including Alan Ritchson (known for Reacher), Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain), and Jonathan Bailey (Wicked). Jensen Ackles, famous for playing Dean Winchester on Supernatural for 15 years and recently appearing in The Boys, is a particularly popular choice. Now, as he prepares to work with Supernatural creator Eric Kripke again on a new series, a co-star is publicly backing his potential entry into the DC universe.
This animated series takes place in the Star Wars universe, after the events of Order 66 and the Clone Wars, during the Empire’s early days. Darth Maul is trying to regain control of his criminal organization on the planet Janix and get revenge on Emperor Palpatine and the new government. While pursuing his goals for power and revenge, he meets Devon Izara, a Jedi Padawan who survived Order 66.