Welcome to Now See This, THR chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg’s weekly viewer guide newsletter dedicated to cutting through the daunting clutter of the broadcast, cable and streaming TV landscape! Comments and suggestions welcome at daniel.fienberg@thr.com.

A 'Murders' of Shows

Only Murders in the Building doesn't premiere until Tuesday on Hulu, but the mystery-comedy from Steve Martin and John Hoffman is probably the week's viewing standout, a clever and effectively twisty half-hour that's an uncomplicated pleasure to watch. Maybe spend the weekend catching up on highlights from the show's stars, like Martin's Planes, Trains and Automobiles (Hulu) or Bowfinger (HBO Max), Martin Short's Innerspace or Clifford (both HBO Max) or Murders breakout Selena Gomez's extremely likable Selena + Chef  (HBO Max, again).

Detachable 'PEN15'

Hulu's PEN15 debuted the first half of its second season all the way back in September — it was only seven episodes, but it snagged a well-deserved comedy series Emmy nomination — but no plans have been announced for the remaining episodes. To help calm those PEN15  withdrawal jitters, Hulu is releasing a 38-minute animated special. Basically the season's eighth episode, "Jacuzzi," with an animated polish, the special finds the girls in Florida for a vacation that takes a predictably cringey turn. I initially thought the animation stripped away some of the pleasure of Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine's performances, but it becomes unexpectedly logical, and I loved getting this brief return to Anna and Maya's uncomfortable teenage universe. Check out the creators' visit to the TV's Top 5 podcast for discussion of the second season and its COVID-19 challenges.

How I Met Your 'Other'

If it feels like it's been a hundred years since The Other Two premiered on Comedy Central, you have a strange problem with perspective, since there was no TV in 1921. However, it has definitely been 2.5 years since Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider's comedy about family and fame last aired a new episode, but it's back and it's on HBO Max now. It's the kind of show where if you like it, you probably love it. I don't love it, but I appreciate its satirical edge and the performances by Heléne Yorke, Drew Tarver and Molly Shannon. One show I do love is FX's What We Do in the Shadows , which returns Sept. 2. Based on the third season's first couple of episodes, it remains a hilarious vampiric comedy, so it's not too late to catch up with it on Hulu (or to watch Shadows star Matt Berry in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace on Amazon).

With 'Vacation Friends' Like These…

A bunch of movies are hitting streaming ahead of the weekend … but maybe not anything to get excited over? Our Lovia Gyarke calls the Hulu comedy Vacation Friends — featuring the talents of Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji, John Cena and Meredith Hagner "raunchy and occasionally amusing." Speaking of limited praise, Robyn Bahr calls Netflix's gender-swapped He's All That  "no worse than the original." I mean… Huzzah! And, sticking with Netflix, the streamer has an animated The Witcher spinoff movie titled Nightmare of the Wolf that Angie Han compliments for its 81-minute running time and some world expansion for Witcher fans. For documentary fans, Discovery+'s Lily Topples the World  is a suitably inspiring look at social media and domino-running ace Lily Hevesh (and it's much better than Netflix's Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed). Or maybe, if you resisted its theatrical run, you just want to watch Cruella as it arrives on Disney+.

Right Said 'Ted'

Forgive me for quickly wading into the discourse. One year ago, Ted Lasso brought us together in healing. This summer, though, Ted Lasso is tearing us apart, or at least it is if you're on Twitter, where The Daily Show producer Daniel Radosh caused a minor tempest by declaring it "the steepest decline from S1 to S2 in TV history." He's objectively wrong — Friday Night Lights, Twin Peaks , Unreal,  Big Little Lies, True Detective and SO MANY MORE could claim that distinction — but I think a lot of the problem is that, week to week, the plot-driven stakes of the first season were more visible than the character-driven stakes of the second season. Trust me, those character-driven stakes become more visible over the next couple of episodes, including Friday's installment, written by TV's Top 5 guest Brett Goldstein . Personally, I think the first season was a hair overrated and the second season is maybe being a hair underrated and, end of the day, it's still a show that brings me joy.

This Week's THR Staff Pick 

Senior writer Seth Abramovitch raves, "Once you’re all in, Drag Race fandom can be a time — (and money) — consuming habit. Still, $4.99 a month for WOW Presents Plus, the streaming service from Drag Race producers World of Wonder, is a small price to pay for access to all the international editions, including Drag Race Holland, currently in its second season. There’s a certain ineffable chemistry that makes a Drag Race  season click, and this one has it in abundance — a mix of compelling characters, ribald drag-queen camaraderie and, of course, gag-worthy runway. My favorites are the haughty Countess, the dressmaking genius Vivaldi and Vanessa Van Cartier, who oozes a Dietrichian charisma — but the skill level across the board is quite high. Even the host, Fred van Leer, has stepped his kitty up, with better makeup, gowns and more incisive critiques. So what are you waiting for? Tune in and watch them 'lip-sync voor hun leven!'"