![\"Black-ish_ABC\"](\"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Black-ish_ABC.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u2022 \u201cblack-ish\u201d<\/strong> (ABC). The diversity of life is celebrated within the seeming confines of an upscale African-American family whose patriarch is determined to uphold a sense of cultural identity for his four kids. Starring Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross as his far-less-fretful wife, it\u2019s a smart comedy that addresses race, culture and class with a colorblind brand of relatability\u2014plus plenty of laughs.<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cFargo\u201d<\/strong> (FX). This deliciously deranged series channeled the 1996 crime classic while setting off in fresh new tracks across the Minnesota tundra. Its brand-new crop of oddball characters was led by Billy Bob Thornton as Lorne Malvo, a sotto-voce psycho on a byzantine trail of deadly mischief. Black comedy never shone so bright.<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cGirlfriends\u2019 Guide to Divorce\u201d<\/strong> (Bravo). Truth may be stranger than fiction, but sometimes fiction is more true-to-life than truth. Exhibit A: This fine new comedy-drama, the first scripted series on a network identified with reality fare such as the \u201cReal Housewives\u201d franchise and \u201cMillionaire Matchmaker.\u201d Lisa Edelstein is a how-to author dispensing radiant advice for a successful family life while her own marriage is coming apart. You might call it an adult variation of \u201cSex and the City,\u201d full of mature emotions and challenges (divorce isn\u2019t for sissies), but also spiced with grown-up fun.<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cGotham\u201d<\/strong> (Fox). The comic book crowd can embrace it as an \u201corigin\u201d series about the lad who would grow up to become Batman. Fans of noir thrillers can savour the sleek storytelling and brooding stylishness. \u201cGotham\u201d has everything: larger-than-life characters completely at home in the free-floating world of this crime-ridden city. A terrific cast (led by Ben McKenzie and Donal Logue) that plays the twisted narrative completely straight. And gorgeous production values. Were it on premium cable, this broadcast-network series would be worth the price.<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cJane the Virgin\u201d<\/strong> (CW). Jane Villanueva, a young Miami woman whose eyes are trained on professional success and whose knees have stayed virtuously clamped together, finds her plans upended after she\u2019s mistakenly impregnated with a specimen meant for someone else. After that, the show is as unpredictable as Jane\u2019s life, and as big-hearted as she is. Based on a Venezuelan telenovela, it stars the effervescent Gina Rodriguez in a multicultural world that feels genuine yet buoyed with wonder.<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cLast Week Tonight with John Oliver\u201d<\/strong> (HBO). A balm for the imminent pain of losing Comedy Central\u2019s \u201cThe Colbert Report,\u201d this weekly half-hour swiftly proved itself with its in-depth looks-plus-laughs at serious subjects that \u201cserious\u201d TV news routinely overlooks. Employing a style that\u2019s been called \u201cinvestigative comedy,\u201d Oliver has applied his British brand of wry bemusement to gender-pay inequality, anti-gay laws in Uganda, exaggerated claims for Miss America scholarships and net neutrality. In these seminars-cum-sermonettes, he\u2019s hilarious and illuminating.<\/p>\n<\/a>