Critic’s Notebook: TV Picks: ‘Blacklist,’ ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D,’ ‘Gotham’ and ‘Fresh Off the Boat’

Several people have asked me recently if I am still able to watch television without thinking like a critic, as in “for fun.” I tell them the two are not mutually exclusive; as a critic you begin to see much of the world in different ways, some of which are very fun. But I know what they mean: Left to my own devices, are there shows I would watch anyway?

Of course! Many of which have recently begun new seasons. A few:

“The Blacklist,” Red and Lizzie on the run! And now Lizzie’s taken refuge in the Russian Embassy, and Red’s bouncing around in a truck full of baguettes! While the Syndicate closes ranks and threatens its own! The show had me at James Spader, but I stayed for the creative criminals and lunatic conspiracy. NBC, Thursdays, 9 p.m.

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“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” I loved this show even during its rocky first season, which turned out to be a preface for the dissolution of its titular agency during “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” Since then, Agent Coulson and his team have effectively built a story apart from but still part of “The Avengers” universe. And now Constance Zimmer is in the picture, as the head of a black ops unit looking for Inhumans. Constance Zimmer! Can it get any better? ABC, Tuesdays, 9 p.m.

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“Gotham.” The discovery of the Bat Cave! The emergence of the Joker! The rise of the Penguin! Jim Gordon tightens his jaw as only Benjamin McKenzie can to keep his moody, broody city from completely imploding. Fox, Mondays, 8 p.m.

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“Fresh Off the Boat.” Constance Wu’s Tiger Mom always makes me laugh, but in the second episode of the new season, she made me cry. Like fellow sophomore “black-ish,” “Fresh” has hit the ground running. ABC, Tuesdays, 8:30 p.m.

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