Overrated/Underrated: The NFL must evolve or die, and it’s time to move beyond our zombie fascination

UNDERRATED

‘High Maintenance’ on HBO: For fans of this former Web-only favorite who wondered whether the absurdist-leaning series could make the leap to premium cable, worry no longer. This show about a bicycle-bound New York City pot deliveryman, developed by the husband-wife team of Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld, may have seemed easy to dismiss by those with ironclad views of our drug laws, but its recently completed six-episode run revealed the series as a gently humanist reflection of the many characters in city life to air on TV (whether you’ve ever inhaled or not).

Donny McCaslin’s ‘Beyond Now’: Maybe best known in pop circles for working with David Bowie on his jazz-infused “Black Star,� McCaslin has long been an inventive force on saxophone and as a bandleader. With Bowie casting a long shadow over “Beyond Now� — complete with cover of his instrumental “Warszawa� and the grim “A Small Plot of Land� — McCaslin has released one of his most engaging, immediate albums yet. Backed by his band of fellow “Black Star� alums Tim Lefebvre, Mark Guiliana and Jason Lindner, McCaslin confirms his standing as a musical shape-shifter in his own right.

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OVERRATED

Zombies: Oh, that’s right: Happy Halloween. And if you’re still struggling for a costume, it’s time to look past these creatures, who with luck will soon go the way of teenage vampires as a brief, all-too-common fright fixation in pop culture. Especially now that finally — finally! — some fans are losing faith in the nihilistic futility of the ratings monster “The Walking Dead� after its latest feel-bad fatality. Plus, given that we’re almost through a more-contentious-than-usual election year, haven’t we heard enough broad fantasies of the coming apocalypse, and can we finally turn our attention on the real worries?

Football’s invincibility: NFL broadcasts were once such a sure ratings bet that Hollywood awards shows scrambled to get out of their way. Now, with a glut of games and an eroding talent pool as a result of injuries inevitable in a sport built on real health risks, this durable money-printing operation isn’t the must-see TV of seasons past, with ratings down so far this season. Whether the result of a diluted product, ugly off-field scandals or a decline that comes when stars like Peyton Manning retire, the all-powerful NFL needs to make real changes to ensure that it and its players survive, and that’s something far harder to tackle.

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