NEW SHOWS
Abbott Elementary – “Development Day” (A) / season premiere
Basically everything you could want in the season premiere to last year’s breakout comedy. Everything here plays to the show’s strengths: It’s realistic without being bleak, sweet without being saccharine and funny without sacrificing logic or heart.
BINGEING
Mad Men – Season 1 (B+ average)
After many years of stopping and starting this often slow-paced, character-driven show, I finally made it through the first season, and I now understand why everyone was so obsessed with it. Jon Hamm is giving the performance of a lifetime as Don Draper, but it’s the writing of such miserable characters that will keep me hooked until the end.