Portside

Why do reality television’s most popular stars so uncannily resemble the heroines of the 19th-century writer’s work?

Kunta Kinte and his family’s struggle to survive is rendered in a sleeker, visually gripping package without diluting the historical vestiges that endure in America.

Robert Schenkkan’s Tony award winning All the Way portrays Lyndon Baines Johnson in his finest hour, and its multi-media staging on Broadway was already cinematic in nature. HBO’s TV adaptation — directed by Jay Roach in collaboration with Schenkkan’s screenplay and airing Saturday — has upped the ante, giving us a leaner, less unwieldy and more intimate rendering.

The CBS drama’s dramatic finale brought a sad but fitting end to a show that has always been a little bit awkward about its female friendships.

“Saturday Night Live” veteran Dana Carvey resurrected his “Church Lady” character in a surprise appearance last night following Donald Trump becoming the presumptive Republican nominee this week.

The PBS-aired educational program 3-2-1 Contact was one of the best things on TV in the 1980s.

Le Carré's 1993 novel comes to life in a six-part AMC series. John Powers says the show, which jets from Egyptian streets to posh Alpine lodges, is one of the most enjoyable thrillers he's seen on TV. Over the years, le Carré's anger at those in power has become less ambiguous and more sharply focused, whether he's going after drug company profiteering or America's approach to the War on Terror.

New WGN America series brings story of Underground Railroad to the small screen.

According to data from the Center for Disease Control, black women have long faced high rates of depression and low rates of treatment. “Scandal” has been so groundbreaking in many ways; it’s curious that it hasn’t seized a really ripe, low-hanging opportunity to be more progressive in its depiction of black women’s struggles to safeguard their mental health.

Upending the patriarchy was always a part of Powerpuff storylines, as trio demolished villain after cackling villain en route to saving the bumbling Mayor of Townsville (voiced by Tom Kenny). That’s not going to change. If anything, the new series will go further, providing commentary both nostalgic Millennials and younger viewers can grok.