"Empire" is a glorious, over-the-top mess, a "King Lear" soap opera with silly dialogue, pretty people, backstabbing galore and a soundtrack by Timbaland. It would be a tedious exercise instead of a guilty pleasure without Taraji P. Henson as Cookie, equal parts everywoman and Mama Bear in a mink coat, greeting rivals with a "Hey, Boo Boo Kitty!"
Read MoreBack behind bars: Netflix's 'Orange Is the New Black' digs deeper into its varied array of female prisoners in Season 2.
Sometime during her month in solitary confinement, Piper Chapman crosses over.
In the second season of "Orange Is the New Black," the bisexual blond Brooklynite becomes more like her fellow inmates than the people she left behind.
Teenage Wasteland: Why Arya Stark and Sally Draper rule Sunday night TV
One girl came of age in a mystical, surreal time that never really happened, the other in a decade that feels that way now. To the young and female, even those born into privilege, injustice waits behind every door, and the adults are always putting their hypocrisy on display.
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'True Detective' season finale: We may never know why Rust never sleeps.
The show, set to end its story after eight hourlong segments, has been analyzed at "Breaking Bad" levels of delightful, annoying geekdom, making it the latest frustrating, intricate TV drama turned social experiment.
Sunday nights have a lot of shows like that, because Monday mornings go down easier with a round of "Did you watch? Are you caught up?" My work friends, bless their hearts, maintain a spoiler-free zone - within reason. Don't be saving the "Game of Thrones" finale for four days, that's just rude.
Criminal Element: The end is near for 'Breaking Bad,' and it all boils down to not-so-basic chemistry.
Walter White treats the world like his personal chemistry set, but when he needed a street name for his criminal alter ego, he turned to physics.
He has relished his menacing nickname. During one of "Breaking Bad's" spaghetti Western-style desert showdowns, he made sure his reputation had preceded him.
"Say my name," he commanded his new business partner, who wearily replied, "Heisenberg."
A dying man of a dying breed: The final eight episodes of 'Breaking Bad' mark the end of an era of great bad guys.
Because the shows built around them usually win over critics, large audiences or both, sympathetic sinners are approaching maximum saturation. Even for repeat visitors to pop culture's darkest corners, somewhere between the pervasive misogyny on "House of Cards" and the Southie rage-aholics on "Ray Donovan," enough sociopaths in silk shirts already.
Under siege on TV: Women face a barrage of sexual violence
The sheer number of rape tropes clogging the TV listings begs for scrutiny. Are these stories just honest attempts to depict a harsh reality, a result of lazy showrunners pushing the "edgy" button, or cynical pandering to a misogynistic audience?
Read MoreDaydream believers: 'Mad Men' lets its women change their worlds
When AMC's acclaimed advertising drama "Mad Men" returns for its sixth season tonight, Megan Draper will still be competing with her husband's black moods, whiskey habit and wandering eye - if she hasn't lost already. Jessica Pare, who plays Megan, is fine with that.
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Bloody Sunday: HBO's fantasy series 'Game of Thrones' resumes with Season 3 of its harsh saga of tribalism and revenge, leading up to what could be some of the most violent television ever.
Watching "Game of Thrones" is an act of courage.
Not just because of the level of commitment it takes to grasp the implications of every scene in this ornate, medieval fantasy world, but because of the base emotions that its countless souls, sprawling realms and ruthless politics can stir.
Runway train: Tyra Banks' nemesis, British supermodel Naomi Campbell, brings her brand of reality to TV.
"Top Model," especially in its saturated, syndicated marathon form, is a haven to gaze upon and critique other women, especially those who haven't perfected walking on spikes without crying. It's a zoo-like, oddly validating experience for the woman who once spent her adolescent allowance on a strawberry-flavored lip gloss, trying to reconcile what she saw in Vogue, Elle and Harpers with her own closet, mirror and scale.
Read MoreMeth's dark mourning: The fifth season of 'Breaking Bad' and the five stages of grief
Tweakers still can't get enough of Walter White's blue-tinted "glass," and as the smoke from Season 4 settles, the players in Walt's slapdash inner circle are dealing with the murder of kingpin Gus Fring in their own ways.
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'Mad Men' is going mad with symbolism: On the eve of the Season 6 finale, we're weirded out over babies and Sharon Tate.
"Mad Men" is almost done with 1968, and Don Draper still hasn't evolved into a more upright human. He's retreated into the fetal position.
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