It kind of goes without saying, but here we go anyway: Humphrey Bogart’s portrayal of Dashiell Hammett’s genre-defining private detective character Sam Spade in the 1941 noir classic The Maltese Falcon is one of the all-time great movie performances. Bogie’s brooding gumshoe is vulnerable and cynical at the same time, rattling off terse one-liners while trying to solve multiple mysteries, including the murder of his partner. He’s unforgettable, and few have tried to fill his fedora. That is, until now. In AMC’s slick, six-episode crime thriller Monsieur Spade, which premieres January 14, Clive Owen takes on the titular monsieur. - John DeVore Read More

Oh, Gator. In all your time trying to get the upper hand on Ole Munch, have you ever actually stopped and thought about the kind of man you’re dealing with? Fargo Year Five’s penultimate episode opens in a tiny ice-fishing shack, with the runt of the Tillman litter begging for his life as Munch heats the tip of a knife. Gator tried bartering with cash, “girls,” even a fucking flamethrower. But Munch, as we know, is less concerned with such...mortal things. It was never about the money he was cheated out of by Roy at the beginning of the season. It’s about the debt itself. Now, Munch’s “mama” is dead, and there’s only one language Munch speaks, one currency that could ever repay that loss. “A rabbit screams because a rabbit is caught,” Munch simply responds, the blade now glowing red hot. - Tom Philip Read More

“A wise guy walks into a psychiatrist’s office.” It’s a simple, funny, intriguing enough elevator pitch, and 25 years ago—on January 10, 1999, to be precise—the world got to see just what creator David Chase & Co. could do with it. But what’s striking, a quarter of a century later, is not just that this series ended up changing television. It’s also that, even after the many fantastic shows it influenced, nothing that has come since has managed to hit quite like The Sopranos. It’s steeped in the time it aired but incredibly relevant today. (You could dedicate a college course—and they probably exist—to the series’ examination of wealth disparity, xenophobia, racism, religion, death, family, feminism, art, global politics, urban decay, existentialism, and so on.) It’s genuinely shocking and envelope pushing and creative and meta. Its soundtrack rules. It’s very, very funny. And, of course, it’s anchored by two of the greatest performances of all time—on TV or otherwise—thanks James Gandolfini and Edie Falco. It’s …. a lot, and yet somehow seems to succeed by these weirdly specific metrics that only The Sopranos has. There is, indeed, no other show like it. And there won’t be. Which is all to say: Narrowing down this list to just 25 episodes was incredibly tough. So, please, be nice. - Tim Lowery Read More

There’s a moment halfway through Echo (out January 9 on Disney+ and Hulu)—a years-later spinoff of the mostly cheery (and underrated) Hawkeye series—where a seemingly small plot point plays out in such a way that feels unexpectedly moving and speaks to the power that these superhero stories have when they manage to pair the perfect actor with the perfect character. And that’s what Marvel seems to have done with Echo star Alaqua Cox. - Sam Barsanti Read More

What will become of the CW? It’s the question on everyone’s (read: a niche community of genre-TV enjoyers) minds. The network that was once a haven for soapy teen television and schlocky superhero fare (non-derogatory!) has come under new ownership, and new ownership is taking the CW in a new direction. Beyond targeting an older demographic and importing shows from Canada, it was unclear what that direction would be. Now we have an answer in the form of the first original programming for the rebooted network, premiering January 17: Wild Cards, a new CW show with an old CW face. - Mary Kate Carr Read More

For the generation that came up in the ’90s, before the internet could worm its cruel, pitiless tentacles around our minds and hearts, it was TV that shaped us. Game shows allowed people to dream of nicer stuff for the house. Talk shows gave everyone something to bicker about around the table. But it was sitcoms that gave audiences a moral True North—or, at least, they were designed to, which might help explain why television would soon metastasize into a cynical, postmodern wasteland and why most of us have grown into adults with the vagueness of ennui informing every day of our waking lives. Anyway, Seth MacFarlane’s Ted, the latest film series to be spun off into a show (out January 11 on Peacock), incorporates these aspects of TV’s yesteryear—with a strong focus on the family sitcom structure—into a prequel about a young boy and his talking teddy bear. - Jarrod Jones Read More

Early on in Boy Swallows Universe, which premieres January 11 on Netflix, 13-year-old Eli Bell breaks down in sobs at the end of a very rough week. When his stepdad asks him why, Eli sputters, “I don’t know! I’ve just got a whole lot of tears inside me. I can’t help it.” - Jenna Scherer Read More

Jodie Foster in her first major TV role is already Appointment Television. But Jodie Foster, with a badge, starring in the much-anticipated fourth installment of True Detective, as directed by one of horror’s freshest, freakiest minds? Well, that’s arguably the television event of the year. - Christina Izzo Read More