"Home Improvement" was a popular American sitcom that aired from 1991 to 1999. The show followed Tim Taylor, a handyman and host of a fictional TV show called "Tool Time," as he navigated the ups and downs of family life. Tim's wife, Jill, and their three sons, Brad, Randy, and Mark, were often the source of comedic mishaps as Tim tried to balance his career and family responsibilities.

Their friends acknowledge it always has been this way: Tina Fay gets lots of headlines and personal appearances while Amy Poehler does the majority of the comic heavy lifting. The trend continues in NBC's high-powered Thursday night comedy line-up as Fay continues driving "30Rock" to the top of Nielsen's charts and Poehler brilliantly busts-out gut-busters with her new sit-com "Parks and Recreation." In much the style of "The Office," Poehler's "Parks and Recreation" TV show works the popular mockumentary format; and her character, Leslie Knope, willingly gives voice to her relentless optimism as she speaks directly into the camera. Leslie serves as the Deputy Director of the parks and recreation department in Pawnee, Indiana, where she considers herself a rising star in the local political firmament. Think of her as the female equivalent of Steve Carrell's "Office" character, prone to pretzelating the truth with observations like, "These people are members of a community that care about where they live. So what I hear when I'm being yelled at is people caring loudly at me." Professionals devoted to the sad enterprise of explaining the jokes stress that Poehler's genius lies in her ability to make an obvious ditz both funny and sympathetic rather than just plain weak. Women may not feel inspired to vote for Leslie, but they cannot help loving her.

Does "Californication" have an audience outside Los Angeles? "X-Files" hero and heart-throb David Duchovny plays a novelist who's addicted to both sex and drugs but takes a shot at raising his teenage daughter on his own. For the real Hollywood housewives, this Showtime staple may seem at least as ripped-from-everyday-life as their own weekly melodrama, but how does it play Omaha and Schenectady? If blocked writers really were seductive, a million part-time bloggers would feel empowered to rewrite Lady Chatterley's Lover. Two salient features keep premier cable viewers tuning in for their weekly dose of SoCal self-pity: First, son of a playwright and alumnus of Princeton, Duchovny has enough empathy for his ostensibly tortured character that he can invest "Californication's" uninspired screenwriting with a little angst, a lot of sex appeal, and a soupcon of roguish charm. Second, whatever "Californication" lacks in substance and depth, it more than makes-up in graphic sex. Wasn't there supposed to be some sort of relevant family drama woven-in there somewhere?

"Insecure" is a comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO in 2016. The show follows the lives of two best friends, Issa Dee and Molly Carter, as they navigate their personal and professional lives in Los Angeles. The series explores themes such as race, relationships, and career struggles, with a particular focus on the experiences of Black women.

"Doom Patrol" is a TV series that premiered on DC Universe in February 2019. It was later picked up by HBO Max for its second and third seasons. The show is based on the DC Comics superhero team of the same name and follows a group of misfits who have been transformed by tragic events and given unique abilities.

"Bored to Death" seems so completely and consummately the work of Larry David it ought to come with some kind of designer label. Its characters show the same seen-it-all New York brusqueness that distinguished the most memorable characters on "Seinfeld," and the characters sleep-walk through their lives with the same un-self-consciousness as their cousins on "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Not surprisingly, therefore, David scored a prestigious nomination for a 2010 Writers' Guild Award. Based on a delectably quirky premise, "Bored to Death" stars Jason Schwartzman as Jonathan, a writer in search of meaning, adventure, and consolation has he struggles through a pretty routine midlife crisis. When his long-time girlfriend dumps him, walking roughshod all over his delicate ego, Jonathan becomes a Craig's List private detective. The New York Times explains, "One of the charms of "Bored to Death" is that the hero, a pothead and screw-up, secretly moonlights as a man of action" at least as much action as missing skateboards and cheating boyfriends can trigger. Ted Danson co-stars as George, a profligate publisher and socialite, who encourages Jonathan's new endeavor. Not surprisingly, Danson shows a marked tendency to steal all the scenes in which he appears. Mid-life man's marginalization probably is the well-spring of Larry David's most exquisite ironies.