In the first two episodes with which it premiered, Disclaimer teeters between prestige drama and soapy psychological thriller, but writer/director Alfonso Cuaron’s ambition remains admirable.

There are a few flaws in the ‘80s-based, six-episode limited series Joan, but Sophie Turner isn’t one of them. She plays the titular character, real-life jewel thief “Godmother” Joan Hannington on whose 2002 autobiography, I Am What I Am: The True Story of Britain’s Most Notorious Jewel Thief, the series is based.

Aggressive and neurotic, non-Jewish sex/dating podcaster Joanne doesn’t know what a good relationship looks like and responds to considerate gestures with caustic defensiveness. Hip and cool rabbi Noah is Zen and pragmatic, comfortably old-fashioned yet modern and not the least bit corny. Yet there’s an undeniable chemistry between the two in this rom-com series whose on-point humor is tempered with an undercurrent of seriousness.

This three-part limited series pivots around Prince Andrew’s much-publicized alleged sexual activities with one of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficked young women, Virginia Giuffre (neé Roberts). Specifically, it focuses on the 2019 interview Prince Andrew gave to journalist Emily Maitlis for Newsnight, a BBC television news program.

Exquisitely shot Middle East landscapes, Alia Shawkat’s steely portrayal of a character in perilous danger, Bridges’ pitilessly pugnacious fight scenes, and his sparky chemistry with Lithgow make The Old Man a must watch.

Music documentary plus real-life scandal makes for a heady mix. The three-part docuseries Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam focuses on the late talent manager Lou Pearlman, mastermind and master scammer.

Academy Award winner Natalie Portman is narcissistic Jewish housewife-turned-amateur investigative reporter Maddie Schwartz and Emmy-nominated Moses Ingram (The Queen’s Gambit, Obi-Wan Kenobi) is Cleo Johnson, self-sacrificing mother of two who is doing what she needs to “step up” as a Black woman in 1960s Baltimore in this gripping noir thriller based on Laura Lippman’s bestselling 2019 novel of the same name.

The start of the third season of The Bear is more dramatic and melancholy than comedic. The stakes are set high as Carmy aims to attain his fine dining glory. The camera work is unrivaled, and the cast is swiftly and impeccably reintroduced when the new shift starts. The latter is in keeping with the sitcom conventions of yore, but this series defies easy categorization.

Lady Parts are an all-female punk group whose Muslim faith underscores their decisions, their actions and their music. Stereotypes are cast aside. In their place are four distinctive and well-crafted central characters.