Contributor: Paul Asay

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

The Righteous Gemstones

The Gemstone family is anything but righteous. And the ironically named Righteous Gemstones is anything but as well.

Speechless

Can a disability be funny? In ABC’s new sitcom, it is. Too bad the show can be a bit foul, too.

American Ninja Warrior

It’s American Idol without the singing, Wipeout without the gleefully mean-spirited narration. This is American Ninja Warrior, the latest entertainment import from Japan—and it might be one of the cleaner shows on television.

Defiance

It’ll be a brave new world around here in the year 2046. Should we be fighting for it or against it?

Duck Dynasty

UPDATED REVIEW: Sure, this may be part of what some call “redneck television.” But when it comes to family, the Robertsons are true blue.

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

The only reason this show exists is to pay homage to one of 2001’s least-watched and most poorly reviewed sex comedies.

The Whispers

The Whispers is a creepy supernatural serial that’s not particularly innovative or creative, but it’s not unwatchable, either.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

These heroes in a half shell are back, this time on Nickelodeon via a new computer-animated show. And they’ve still never met a baddie they didn’t want to beat up.

Trial & Error

When it comes to family viewing, Trial & Error feels like one long trial and a whole lot of error.

The Fosters

UPDATED REVIEW: The Foster family is a throwback to shows from the 1950s and ’60s, where families were largely aspirational. This, its makers suggest, is how a healthy family looks—sort of like The Waltons with a rainbow-friendly vibe instead of black-and-white traditionalism.