History's Knightfall is a sword-slinging adventure series that sprinkles historical figures, such as royals and a pope, in with a story line about the Templar knights’ search for the lost Holy Grail.

The chief hero, Landry (Tom Cullen), is a super serious and complicated monk who is an unstoppable force in battle.

Related > TCA16: History Sets 'Knightfall' Series

The story starts with the knights losing their Holy Land stronghold of Acre in 1291 — and losing the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper during the evacuation. Then it zooms ahead 15 years to Paris.

The action sequences (the swords are very sharp and there’s a fair amount of maiming) are excellent. There’s good scenery and golden-lit castles and chapels. The knights are honorable and deity-fearing, at least in the two episodes screened. The vibe is a little Game of Thrones, as it would, especially in the early scenes in Acre.

Cullen is a solid, deep-voiced lead. His Landry must overcome some rash tendencies if he is to lead his knights to that mislaid cup.

A genuinely strange program, adapted from a famed graphic novel, Happy! stars Christopher Meloni as Nick Sax, aptly described by Syfy as an intoxicated ex-cop turned hit man, and he hams things up to perfection.

A twisted Christmas holiday tale takes place in which a little girl, Hailey (Bryce Lorenzo), whose mom is connected to the police somehow, is kidnapped by a disgusting bad Santa. The little girl has an imaginary friend, Happy.

Related: Watch Syfy's "Happy" Trailer

Happy is visible to only Hailey and Sax as a little blue flying unicorn voiced by Patton Oswalt. Happy’s mission is to get Sax to come and save Hailey.

The humor here is dark and, without Meloni’s brilliance in the duets with it, Happy the character might grate a little bit too much. Lili Mirojnick as a heavily involved cop and Medina Senghore as Hailey’s mom keep the Hailey subplot ticking. Some brilliant visuals, especially in the opening sequence.

Effective as a realistic military drama — and frightening in passages where soldiers in vulnerable positions are under fire from streets and rooftops — The Long Road Home has the added benefit of being based on the true, nonfiction book (by ABC’s Martha Raddatz) about a deadly ambush in Baghdad’s Sadr City district on April 4, 2004. The eight-hour drama matches the time the soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division were under fire. And, as good military dramas do these days, the story is told from the perspective of the soldiers and their anxious families back in Fort Hood, Texas.

Related: Read More MCN Reviews

Eight U.S. soldiers were killed and 65 wounded on “Black Sunday.” It started out as a banal mission escorting Iraqi sewage trucks and escalated to the point where two convoys of rescuers and the original task force were involved in raging gunfights in too-lightly-armored vehicles. Sadr City was supposedly the safest place in Iraq, and the war was considered basically over.

The production — on sets built in and around Fort Hood — is first rate with attention to detail in every frame. Notable performances are turned in by Jeremy Sisto as Staff Sgt. Robert Miltenberger, who headed to Iraq with strong premonitions that he would die there; Michael Kelly as Lt. Col. Gary Volesky, the incoming battalion commander who idealistically had believed “people are going to see amazing things from us” in their peacekeeping mission; and Jason Ritter as Capt. Troy Denomy, who led one of the rescue convoys. Kate Bosworth stands out as Gina Denomy, at home with a newborn, coping with her husband’s absence.

Showtime will take a behind-the-scenes look at the 1970s standup comedy scene with its new drama, I’m Dying Up Here.

The series, executive-produced by Jim Carrey, features an ensemble cast of aspiring standups performing at a Los Angeles club run by nurturing but tough-as-nails veteran Goldie (Melissa Leo). The series opens with one of the club’s alums, Clay (Sebastian Stan), actually making it out of the club and onto the stage at The Tonight Show, where he’s a big hit — much to the joy and envy of his fellow would-be stars.

A series of events following Clay’s performance, however, portrays the often-fleeting nature of standup success, and soon the comics face their own fears and insecurities as they seek to break through in the tough and unforgiving comedy world.

The pilot episode sets up the dynamics that will be in play throughout the series as the comedians — Goldie’s Club veterans Cassie (Ari Graynor), Bill (Andrew Santino), Ralph (Erik Griffin) and Edgar (Al Madrigal), as well as fresh-off-the-street newcomers Eddie (Michael Angarano) and Ron (Clark Duke) — test the boundaries of their onstage skills, and their relationships with each other and with the outsiders who will ultimately influence their careers.

While the premise is comedy — and the standup routines are generally funny and at times very risqué — I’m Dying Up Here paints an often-dark picture of the scene and the lengths comics will go to break through. It doesn’t play favorites with any characters, balancing the euphoric highs of excelling under the TV’s bright lights, to the devastating lows of losing a coveted spot on the club’s main stage, to the pride-humbling prospect of paying to sleep in a closet for a shot at performing in the club. Viewers shouldn’t expect a laugh a minute, but they also shouldn’t expect to be bored.

The title is revealing, in terms of whether or not this HBO Films look at Bernie Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme will spread blame beyond Madoff (played Robert De Niro) to other members of his family, mainly wife Ruth (Michelle Pfeiffer) or sons Mark (Alessandro Nivola) and Andrew (Nathan Darrow).

He does lie when he says that he acted alone: The decision to set up fake accounts with fake trades to support fake income paid to investors was his, but Madoff had plenty of help carrying out the massive fraud from Frank DiPascali, the crude henchman played here to perfection by Hank Azaria.

Anytime the sons tried to find out more about the secretive Madoff advisory business, though, Bernie bluntly put them in their place and made poor Mark feel he must apologize even for asking.

De Niro’s Madoff doesn’t exude charm. At times, he sounds a bit like Jimmy “the Gent” Conway from Goodfellas when getting angry, scolding his 8-year-old granddaughter for bothering him with questions at dinner about Wall Street’s meltdown, for example. Mostly he’s either stressed out and edgy or passively trying to gain sympathy after getting caught.

Diana B. Henriques, the New York Times reporter who interviewed Madoff in prison (and whose book on Madoff is a source for the screenplay), plays herself and helps hold the story together nicely, asking Madoff the hard questions and getting mostly evasive answers.

IFC’s new baseball-themed series Brockmire takes a big swing for the comedy fences.

The series stars Hank Azaria as Jim Brockmire, a throwback play-by-play baseball broadcaster calling balls and strikes while providing whimsical and history- laden baseball stories to listeners. But after coming home early one day and witnessing his wife Lucy (Katie Finneran) cheating on him, Brockmire suffers a drink-infused, profanity-laced meltdown on air during a live telecast, costing him his job and career.

Related: IFC's 'Brockmire' Trailer

After traveling the world for a decade providing commentary on virtually every sporting event imaginable, Brockmire is lured back to the states to call baseball games by Jules (Amanda Peet), owner of the Frackers, a fictional minor-league baseball team located in a small Rust Belt town. Brockmire is led to believe he will announce Frackers games for a local radio station, but nearly walks away from the gig after Jules reveals that his commentary would only be heard by two dozen or so in the decrepit ballpark.

Despite the setback, Brockmire — drawn by his love of the game and smitten by Jules — decides to try to recapture his life, reputation and legacy as a big-time sports announcer, in the uncomfortable but surprisingly charming confines of the minor leagues.

Related > Q&A With Hank Azaria: Turning a Sports Comedy Dream Into Reality [subscription required]

Azaria, who first debuted the Jim Brockmire character in a Funny or Die short Web series, is terrific as the unconventional, rough-around-the-edges announcer who is trying to adapt his nostalgic, 20th-century view of baseball and the world to today’s hipper, more fast-paced environment. Indeed, Brockmire — who doesn’t own a computer and doesn’t surf the Web — is unaware that his on-air breakdown and subsequent embarrassing post game press conference a decade ago has gone viral, and that his wife’s name has become synonymous with a nefarious sexual act.

It’s hard not to like Brockmire, and viewers will find themselves rooting for him to succeed. The dialogue is sharp and funny, although parents may want to keep their children away from the show’s heavy R-rated language and situations. Overall, Brockmire should be a major-league hit for IFC.

FX has had success reimagining established franchises such as Fargo and tailoring them to fit its “fearless” approach to scripted-series making. Legion certainly fits that bill.

Legion is based on a Marvel comic book character derived from the X-Men franchise, but bears little resemblance to the X-Men movies, or any other comic book-derived TV series for that matter.

The series stars Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) as David Haller, a troubled and seemingly mentally ill young man who throughout his life has struggled to make sense of his life and surroundings. The pilot starts off with a visually arresting medley of David’s early childhood, mixed with memories of traditional childhood activities and very violent disturbing events borne from his uncontrolled psychosis. David is eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and housed in a psychiatric hospital.

A diet of prescribed medications tempers David’s afflictions somewhat until he meets another hospital patient, Syd (Rachel Keller), who begins to unlock some of the mysteries of David’s mind.

In the pilot, Legion producer Noah Hawley (Fargo) tries to put the viewer into David’s world through a wild and visually alluring trip through how David perceives — and often confuses — the real world with his imaginary voices. Throughout much of “Chapter 1,” viewers themselves may be unable to rectify what’s real and what’s imagined. But if viewers are willing to stay patient and engaged through the often confusing twists and turns within the first three-quarters of the pilot, they will be rewarded toward the end as David begins to realize that he may not be as sick as people made him out to be and not everyone he comes in contact with has his best interests at heart.

Legion fans will like FX’s interpretation of the Marvel franchise, while the series should hold the interest of non-comic book aficionados who like a good psychological-themed, fantasy drama.

BET brings the lives and career of R&B and hip-hop group New Edition to life in this new limited (six-hour) series.

The New Edition Story chronicles the 1980s Boston-area singers as they grow from boys looking to land a record deal to men in control of their own careers. Two different sets of actors play the six members — Ronnie DeVoe, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant — as kids and young adults.

The story begins with four members of the band securing a local talent manager Brook Payne (Wood Harris), successfully auditioning for him one night in a dark alley as he leaves a local club.

Payne eventually adds his nephew to the group — the original New Edition — and it quickly gains a following, playing in local clubs and arenas. Record label owner Maurice Starr (Faizon Love) steps in and their careers catapult.

As they gain national attention, rivalries within the group threaten to tear them apart. Their moms also press management to pay the kids more.

BET does a good job weaving in numerous plot developments and nicely transitions the New Edition kid actors to the teen versions during a scene where the group is onstage performing one of their many hit songs. New Edition fans will also appreciate the soundtrack.

Six is a drama series with a solid premise, blending the working and personal lives of Navy SEAL team members: armed combat abroad; interpersonal and financial challenges at home. SEALs, we learn, are highly trained, though not immune to getting shot, and aren’t paid well enough to afford private school tuition or IVF treatments.

The cast is a good one, led by Walton Goggins (Justified), Barry Sloane (Saints & Strangers) and Kyle Schmid (Copper). Somehow it doesn’t quite gel, though, at least in the four episodes reviewed. The stateside family stories feel like they are tacked on and, of course, aren’t as compelling TV as a raid on Boko Haram or a firefight in Afghanistan.

Watch the 'Six' Trailer

A Homeland-lite secondary plot involving a radical Islamic (American) terrorist who wants revenge against Goggins’s character pops in and out. Goggins’s “Rip” Taggart, after washing out as a stressed-out SEAL, is put into a situation where he must summon up his best action hero moves and, we hope, rescue the innocent civilians and redeem himself as his former colleagues rush to his aid — if they can find him on time.

As with other History productions (see Roots, Vikings), the action does feel authentic and the Boko Haram aspect is interesting. It just doesn’t measure up to a full Six.

Nat Geo has teamed with producers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard to take a unique look at the colonization of Mars in a new series that’s part scripted show and part documentary.

The scripted drama portion of Mars mostly takes place in the year 2033 and follows the efforts of an internationally-based space organization to put humans on the red planet. The pilot episode does a good job of building up the drama surrounding what must be a nearly perfect approach to the crew’s perilous attempt to land on the planet’s surface.

Related Video:Actress/Singer Jihae Discusses Her Role in National Geographic’s ‘Mars’

The series deftly introduces the crew of Daedalus, led by commander Ben Sawyer (Ben Cotton), through testimonies, interviews and flashbacks about the attempt to successfully land on Mars.

The documentary side of Mars takes place in 2016 and features commentary from real-life scientists and experts such as Neil deGrasse Tyson and NASA astronaut Charles Bolden on the science behind space travel to Mars. The segments provide a thorough, research-based account of the potential benefits and risks inherent in successfully travelling millions of miles in space, and add authenticity to the belief that the mission is within the realm of possibility.

Watch a preview of 'Mars.'

The one problem with Mars is that the intertwining of the scripted and documentary elements has the unfortunate adverse effect of slowing down the pace and continuity of the scripted storyline. While some viewers might be fascinated with the facts on how people will survive on Mars — which is explained in full detail — often those factual elements interrupt the more dramatic points of the crew’s mission. Nat Geo too often asks viewers to wade through science class during times where they may just want to get lost in a good action drama.

Ultimately, Mars is a fun and informative ride into space exploration that will take viewers on a mission to a future world — and, potentially, a new television genre.

Hulu’s new thriller Chance starts off focusing on the struggles of mental illness but evolves into an exploration of the darkest corners of the human mind.

Series star Hugh Laurie (House) plays psychiatrist Eldon Chance, a brilliant but somewhat flawed doctor tasked with evaluating patients with mental disorders and recommending specific forms of treatment through other doctors.

Chance, already dealing with a difficult divorce and his spotty relationship with his teenage daughter, encounters troubled patient Jaclyn Blackstone (Gretchen Mol), an attractive woman with multiple personalities.

He’s drawn into the life and circumstances of Jaclyn, who complains of being abused by her husband Raymond (Paul Adelstein), a rough-and-tumble homicide detective. When she ends up in the hospital after a particularly violent beating, Chance begrudgingly looks to step in to avoid what he believes to be an impending tragedy. At the same time, while trying to sell a high-priced piece of furniture, he makes acquaintances with D (Ethan Suplee), a bulky-but-unassuming antiques restorer with a dark past that feeds into Chance’s impulse to make things right for Jaclyn.

But soon Chance realizes that teaming with D could lead him into a dark underworld of violence and unscrupulousness that he may not be prepared to accept.

The pilot episode for Chance slowly sets the stage for the unraveling of a plot that weaves in elements of corruption, violence, betrayal and psychological power — all of the things that make Chance a good thriller.

The a Word is a warm, sometimes stressful family drama series set in England’s lush Lake District, with an excellent cast, sharp dialogue, British humor and honest interpersonal situations. Checks all the boxes, really, and more.

Watch the trailer.

It starts out with a little boy wearing big headphones and holding a pinwheel aloft, walking by himself down the middle of a road between two big hills. A van headed toward him pulls up and the driver gets out. Then the little boy, whom we learn is called Joe (Max Vento), gets in the van with two men. A little weird, but OK. The men drop Joe at home and it turns out this is a morning routine — his 30-something parents, Alison (Morven Christie) and Paul Hughes (Lee Ingleby), greet him ahead of his birthday party for turning 5 years old.

During the party, it becomes clear Joe has trouble communicating with the other kids and with adults, except through the music he loves and shares with his dad. The first person brave enough to state a concern about Joe to his parents is the physician wife of Alison’s brother: they’ve moved back to town to repair their marriage after she had an affair, so her opinion is not exactly welcome. And thus various family stress lines start to be revealed while Joe is set on a path to being diagnosed with autism and Alison and Paul — and their 16-year-old daughter, Rebecca (Molly Wright) — move through stages of recognition and action for Joe while managing issues like, for example, Paul’s challenging project of building a gastropub and Rebecca’s feeling neglected.

Turns out there are many communication issues all these family members face, including the patriarch, Alison’s 50-something widower dad, played by Christopher Eccleston. Great performances all around, well-rounded storylines and six very satisfying episodes rate this import a solid A.

Related:What History Wants You To Know About 'Roots'

How do you keep a family together over generations when its members are enslaved, broken apart and suppressed in the most brutal ways imaginable? Through the power of a story — the story of the family’s founder, and of his African traditions.

This version of Roots — “reimagined” as four two-hour TV movies, nearly 40 years after the original miniseries aired on ABC — is strong on the Mandinka warrior origins, as one might expect from a History production that aimed to add new information and insights learned over the decades. Kunta Kinte, the young man captured in West Africa and sold into slavery in the United States, played by LeVar Burton in the original, is vividly portrayed here by Malachi Kirby in nights one and two.

Anika Noni Rose also especially shines as Kizzy, daughter of Kunta Kinte and Belle (Emayatzy Corinealdi) — the brutality and violence they endure is truly shocking and many moments are very moving. “We fight when we have to, but first we have to survive,” an adult Kizzy tells her son, Chicken George (Regé-Jean Page), and you have to see what that survival costs to appreciate the impact of those simple words.

After the initial sequences in Africa (filmed in South Africa), the tension feels almost nonstop, from capture to the slave-ship horrors through plantation experiences, with few moments of emotional relief achieved via revenge or the reunion of parted loved ones. That changes during night four, which also is when some of the historical events (such as Nat Turner’s Rebellion and the Civil War) feel a bit more forced in. Overall, though, the four movies flow together through many moments of holding one’s breath.

Roots airs over four consecutive nights, simulcast on A&E and Lifetime as well as on History.

RELATED:Bringing ‘Underground’ to the Surface: A Q&A With John Legend | MCN Original Video: Content Spotlight on 'Underground'

WGN America shines a light on the Northern escape of slaves from the South in its new original series Underground.

The series, created by Misha Green and Joe Pokaski, stars Aldis Hodge (Straight Outta Compton) as Noah, a field slave who has tried to escape his slaveowners several times, only to be caught and beaten for his transgressions. Yet his thirst for freedom is never quenched, so – armed with a map outlining the road to the North -- he plans another attempt at escape, but this time he tries to bring in others to join him on his journey.

Meanwhile inside the house serving the plantation owning family is Rosalee (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), who along with her mother Ernestine (Amirah Vann), lives a more comfortable existence than the slaves in the field, yet slaves they remain.

A chance encounter in which Rosalee is ordered to tend to Noah’s wounds from a violent lashing due to his last escape attempt sets the stage for an eventual joining of the two as they both look for the freedom that exists for themselves and other slaves outside of Georgia.

Noah’s plan is not without fear or consequences, and the series’ initial episodes brilliantly capture the grit and passion of the slaves’ desire to be free and the perils they face in obtaining their goal. The action within the plot will have viewers on the edge as executive producer John Legend cleverly weaves both contemporary and period music to gin up the often thrilling scenes incumbent to the planning of the slaves’ ultimate escape. The opening scene in particular sets the tone for the series as a slave runner is pursued through the woods to the beat of Kanye West’s "Black Skinhead."

Underground also benefits from a strong supporting cast, which includes Noah’s partners Moses (Mykelti Williamson), Sam (Johnny Ray Gill) Henry (Renwick Scott) and Zeke (Theodus Crane), as well as his nemesis Cato (Alano Miller). Outside the plantation, farmer August Pullman (Christopher Meloni), abolitionist lawyer John Hawkes (Marc Blucas) and his wife Elizabeth (Jessica De Gouw) contribute a different, nuanced perspective to the main slave escape plot.

While the series’ title is based on the real-life Underground Railroad that allowed slaves to escape the southern states through an intricate network of trails, much of the series’ early action takes place on the plantation. Undoubtedly future episodes will further weave that historical element into what is a very entertaining series that will have viewers anxiously awaiting the next weekly episode.

Netflix takes a shot at romantic comedy with its new series Love.

The Judd Apatow-produced series follows the unlikely pairing of nice but nerdy Gus (Paul Rust) and the rough-around-the-edges but likable Mickey (Gillian Jacobs).

After each endures a crushing breakup, the two eventually meet and form a unique friendship that looks to blossom over time: Every stage of the relationship from the often awkward, but humorous getting-to-know-you phase and beyond is charted throughout the 10-episode run.

Viewers will have to decide for themselves whether they want to hang in with the evolution of the relationship between the clingy and overly nice Gus and the rough-edged but somewhat insecure Mickey.

Love doesn’t pull any punches in its examination of the ins and outs of a modern relationship, which should play well with Netflix’s younger, binge-viewing subscribers.

Love is created, written and executive produced by Apatow, Paul Rust and Lesley Arfin.

RELATED:MCN Original Video: Content Spotlight > The Cast of TruTv's New Scripted Series ‘Those Who Can't'

Keeping on brand, truTV will look to tickle the funny bones of young viewers with its first scripted-series foray, Those Who Can’t.

The sitcom follows a group of frustrated and inept teachers who often times behave more irresponsibly and childishly than the high school kids they’re tasked to teach. Adam Clayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl and Ben Roy, members of comedy troupe The Grawlix, star as the three most misdirected of the educators, with Maria Thayer joining the crew as Abbey Logan, a well-intentioned librarian willing to participate in the often-corrupt hijinks of her fellow co-workers.

There are hijinks galore. In the pilot, Spanish teacher Loren Payton (Cayton-Holland), gym teacher Andy Fairbell (Orvedahl) and history teacher Billy Shoemaker (Roy) all conspire to teach a lesson to school jock and bully Bryce, who consistently exploits the teachers’ shortcomings and insecurities. In one humorous scene, Bryce and a couple of friends play paintball with an unsuspecting Shoemaker at his home.

When the three teachers fail to set up Bryce’s expulsion through Principal Quinn (Rory Scovel) — who routinely excuses all of Bryce’s misdoings with each check his wealthy father writes to the school — the three turn to a unlikely set of students to administer schoolyard justice. Librarian Logan offers the final blow to the revenge plot by tattooing Bryce’s signature calling card on one of the student’s prized possessions.

Those Who Can’t offers up a lot of the typical sophomoric humor one would expect in a high school-themed comedy, but also features charming characters that viewers will want to follow just to see how much more mayhem and mischief they can create.

TruTV is high on Those Who Can’t, having already green-lighted a second season of the series months in advance of this week’s series premiere. As a vehicle to reach young viewers looking for comedy, Those Who Can’t hits its mark.

Childhood’s End, based on the popular science-fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke, begins with an alien invasion in 2016, but unlike other portrayals of extraterrestrial beings coming down to destroy earth, these “overlords” come in peace. In fact, the aliens actually bring about peace around the world as they quickly eradicate poverty, disease, hunger and any form of violence, from countries dropping bombs on their enemies to a local drug dealer shooting people after a deal gone bad.

The aliens chose a human, Missouri farmer Ricky Stormgren (Mike Vogel), to deliver its messages to the people, and he is quickly smitten by the aliens’ overtures. The only unsettling thing regarding the visitors is their reluctance to reveal themselves to the world, fearing that their appearance would be disturbing.

After years of relative calm and peace, the aliens — headed by a leader named Karellen (Charles Dance) — become accepted by the public at large. Others are not convinced that the aliens have humanity’s best interest at heart, though, and believe their benevolence is too good to be true.

The idea of an alien invasion is not new and has been portrayed many times both on film and on the small screen. But Syfy finds a way to distinguish itself from the others by providing an interesting and somewhat unsettling story that reveals a lot about human nature, morality and who is ultimately responsible for one’s own happiness and contentment.

The English settlers (invaders?) who’ve left the Mayflowerstart exploring the woods of Massachusetts and come upon a small, possibly abandoned Native American village and find some stored corn. The armed men quickly realize the natives might have saved it as seeds to plant. “God is testing us,” the devout William Bradford (Mad Men’s Vincent Kartheiser) says. “God is blessing us,” a hungry comrade replies. “He keeps us from starving.”

Survival trumps morality. They take the corn, a decision that reverberates throughout this long story about the struggles faced by the Mayflower pilgrims and the varying natives they encountered, befriended, betrayed, supported and fought against.

The Mayflowerbrought people seeking religious freedom (saints) and others after a fortune in the New World (strangers). The natives all, understandably, mistrusted the newcomers. One chief, Massasoit (Raoul Trujillo), decides it’s in the Pokanokets’ interest to make an alliance with them. The crucial native to the whole scenario is Squanto (Kalani Queypo), a former English captive who can translate. He’s a complicated character, and there are dualities and complications throughout the story.

I found the narrative straightforward and compelling without a lot of forced situations. The skirmishes feel real but not overly violent. The most interesting characters, to me, were Squanto and Massasoit, with honorable mention to Stephen Hopkins (Ray Stevenson) of the strangers, a former Jamestown colonist who grapples with what makes a savage. It’s a compelling story that’s well told, though often grim. And you don’t have to wait until the end to see the Thanksgiving feast.

Studios presents an alternative history lesson with this new original drama. Based on a Philip K. Dick novel, it’s set in a 1962 U.S. ruled by the Axis powers after their triumph in World War II.

Alexa Davalos plays Juliana, a San Francisco resident who comes into possession of a reel-to reel film from her sister, who is killed by the Japanese police force. It shows the U.S. winning the war. She eventually meets Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank), a 27-year-old from New York who’s working with the resistance, but isn’t all that he seems to be.

From executive producer Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), The Man in the High Castle starts slowly and takes time to establish parallel plot lines. It’s a fascinating, espionage- themed thriller with potential to hold viewers throughout a 10-episode run. Watch the trailer here.

Netflix delves into the Colombian drug wars of the 1980s in its new scripted series Narcos.

The 10-episode series stars Boyd Holbrook as DEA agent Steve Murphy, assigned by the U.S. government to help stop the flow of cocaine into the U.S. from Colombia, a trade spearheaded by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura).

The series follows Escobar’s rise from smalltime smuggler to multi-millionaire drug lord, producing and smuggling cocaine into Miami. The chronicling of events — as narrated by Murphy, and seen mostly through his eyes — paints a chilling portrait of a low-key but methodical and murderous Escobar, who controlled politicians and police as part of his infamous drug operation.

Escobar’s reach and influence is made apparent early in an encounter with police not already on his payroll after he is stopped for smuggling electronics. Escobar chillingly discusses personal details about each officer’s family members, forcing the cops to capitulate.

Narcos creators Chris Brancato, Eric Newman and Carlo Bernard paint a grim yet entertaining view of the dark and bloody 1980s drug trade, weaving its fictional retelling of Escobar’s story with period news footage. The contrast effectively helps put into perspective Escobar’s dominance of the drug trade as well as the somewhat ineffective war against drugs both abroad and in the U.S., including an infamous speech from then President Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan, urging Americans to “Just say no.”

While Narcos doesn’t play as a documentary, it nevertheless provides a very detailed and often grizzly account of a time and a subject matter that still resonates with — and some may say still haunts — America today. Viewers will be fascinated with and entertained by the historical narrative Narcos provides throughout its 10-episode run.

RELATED:IFC Adds Two Seasons of 'Documentary Now'

Documentary Now! combines well-constructed parodies of such famed docs as Grey Gardens and Nanook of the North with the extemporaneous comedy of stars Fred Armisen and Bill Hader to create laugh-out-loud TV.

Armisen, Hader and Seth Meyers are cocreators, executive producers and writers and recruit such guest stars as John Slattery and Jack Black.

Black plays a Shane Smith-like host of a Vice-like gonzo news show in the second episode, Dronez: The Hunt for El Chingon, which is playing now on Vice.com and numerous other platforms, including IFC.com, YouTube, Dish channel 102 and IFC’s TV-everywhere extensions. Dame Helen Mirren solemnly introduces each episode.

MCN Hot Spot: Watch the 'Blunt Talk' Trailer

Patrick Stewart’s Walter Blunt is a former British officer who served in the Falkland Islands war and hosts an interview show, Blunt Talk, on U.S. television. We meet him in a hotel bar one evening, downing Scotches and telling a story about one of the Duke of Windsor’s friends who cut off a soldier’s testicles in New York.

Emotionally fragile, “recently divorced for the fourth time,” prone to bad decisions and misguided acts of gallantry, Blunt goes on a brief bender and ends the night nearly fired. He persuades the network to give him one last opportunity on the air, where he pulls off a painful ratings coup. Resurrected, he’s determined to maintain his job and “take care of my viewers.” That involves delivering stories of hope and telling the real truth, however many lies are required to do it.

His next misadventure forces him into a ludicrous Plan B that has very little chance to succeed. But that’s better than conceding defeat. “I would rather go out like this,” he declares. “A fool’s mission is still a mission.”

Creator Jonathan Ames (Bored to Death) has said he blended elements of Howard Beale in Network and P.G. Wodehouse in this new series, green-lit for two 10-episode seasons. The supporting cast is led by Adrian Scarborough as Blunt’s trusty valet, Harry. Jacki Weaver plays Rosalie Winter, his stolid executive producer, ready for a spooning session with the star as needed. Romany Malco is Bob Gardner, the network president who backs Walter but warns him, quietly, “Bob giveth, Bob taketh.”

Notable guest stars include Moby, as himself, sort of; Ed Begley Jr. as Rosalie’s husband; and Richard Lewis as Blunt’s unorthodox therapist.

RELATED:'Tut' Unwraps 1.7 Million Viewers in Premiere Run

A little bit Spartacus, a little bit Game of Thrones, this miniseries imagining of Egypt’s boy king, Tutankhamun, as a warrior hero in search of honor, love and truth is highly formulaic but also colorful and fun.

The best parts of night one (of three) are the bright-colored palace architecture in the imagined Thebes and the battle scenes in the desert, with hundreds of extras and horse-driven chariots.

Avon Jogia is fine as Tut, who’s forced to marry his sister but later finds love when he surreptitiously goes off to fight with his armies, learning the truth about palace plots being hatched by such stock characters as the ambitious General Horemheb (Nonso Anozie, last seen in Game of Thrones), High Priest Amun (Alexander Siddig, also a GOT alum) and Vizier Ay (Ben Kingsley, who does not seem to be over-inspired by the role).