David Bianculli

Critic David Bianculli says family dramas have always been one of television's most difficult genres to do properly -- without getting too sweet, too overwrought, or too predictable.

Last Sunday, the CBS drama delivered something major and unexpected. If you don't know what happened, and don't wish to, you may not want to listen, but Fresh Air's critic has a lot to say about it.

The British import Doll & Em is another inside-Hollywood comedy from HBO; Emily Mortimer and her real-life friend Dolly Wells play outsize versions of themselves.