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.

Return of the Mackey

Normally I like to focus on new stuff — otherwise this would be an oldsletter — but Sunday is the 20th anniversary of the premiere of The Shield on FX. Not only is the pilot, written by creator Shawn Ryan and directed by Clark Johnson, a still-visceral shocker, but it changed the original programming game for both basic cable in general and FX in specific. Some seasons of The Shield are better than others, but the performances —starting with Michael Chiklis, Walton Goggins and CCH Pounder — are almost all astounding, and the final season, particularly the actual finale, are all-timers. The full run of The Shield is on Hulu, but if you're simply not in the mood for seven seasons of LAPD antiheroes, this week marked the 25th anniversary of the premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is also on Hulu — though even that coming-of-age action-comedy-horror classic has to be looked at through 2022 eyes, unfortunately. 

The Long and Winding 'Upload' 

When the first season of Greg Daniels’ Upload  premiered on Amazon, I really enjoyed the quirky satirical world-building of its future, in which the afterlife was coopted by technology and commercialism. What I didn't love so much was the corporate espionage murder mystery plot. The second season, premiering Friday, unfortunately feels much more plot-driven and therefore a bit less funny and a bit less focused on the love story with Robbie Amell's Nathan and Andy Allo's Nora. I still find Allo incredibly charming and the background jokes often delight, but my curiosity about the motivations behind Nathan's murder is close to nil. 

We Must, We Must, We Must Increase Our 'Bust Down'

Speaking of the great Walton Goggins, he plays a mysterious doctor who helps the titular dementia patient played by Samuel L. Jackson recover his memories and uncover some personal mysteries in Apple TV+'s The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. I thought Jackson was playing a bit too much to the back row of the theater, but Dominique Fishback was phenomenal in this six-part limited series. Our Angie Han said the performances, and not the central mystery, are the reason to watch. Offering a very different six-episode run is Peacock's comedy  Bust Down, featuring a Chris Redd-led ensemble, which Angie deemed "bracingly silly."

What's Up, Doc?

You can prepare for one of next week's big scripted releases by listening to Minx creator Ellen Rapoport talking about '70s pornography, penises and Faye Dunaway on this week's TV's Top 5 podcast. But if you want something more grounded, you have options. Netflix's The Andy Warhol Diaries , from executive producer Ryan Murphy and director Andrew Rossi, does a fine job of getting past Andy Warhol's public persona to find the man behind the pop art. Or you can brace yourself for Tuesday's premiere of Amy Berg's two-part Phoenix Rising, focusing on Evan Rachel Wood's victims' rights advocacy, on HBO.

The 'Turning' Test

Disney hasn't been making it easy to want to support Disney this week, but reviews for Pixar's new feature Turning Red have been tremendous. Our David Rooney calls the Disney+ streaming release "original, funny and tender," even comparing it to Céline Sciamma's Petite Maman, the sort of reference kids love. Rooney was less enamored with  The Adam Project, criticizing the Netflix time travel drama's "goopy sentiment," and quibbling with star Ryan Reynolds' ability to blend "his usual glib schtick with off-brand sincerity." In that case, just watch Drive My Car again.

This Week's THR Staff Pick 

Tongue-in-cheek, senior business editor Ashley Cullins raves, "Sometimes you want to watch really great TV, and sometimes you just need a mental palate cleanser. If you’re looking for the latter and enjoy hate-watching reality TV and gossiping in group texts, you really can’t find less substance and more yikes than season two of Netflix’s Love Is Blind . One early highlight, if you can call it that, is a contestant finding maybe the creepiest way possible to ask "Are you hot and how much do you weigh?" in a show that's supposed to be about finding love based on what's under the surface. Either the editors are evil geniuses or the casting directors found the best worst love-seekers of all time, maybe both, and it makes for an absolutely delicious dumpster fire."