Critic’s corner

I love David Cross, who was one of the best things about “Arrested Development.’’ He played the never-nude, gay-but-not-gay former shrink Tobias Funke. He was also memorable on “Just Shoot Me,’’ as the fake-slow Donnie. Tonight, IFC premieres Cross’s new six-part comedy miniseries, in which he plays a clueless temp employee who stumbles into a job in London introducing the Brits to an energy drink called Thunder Muscle. The show has plenty of culture-clash humor, with Cross’s Todd as the ugly and stupid American, but it’s also a twisted farce with sick jokes aplenty. It’s not must-see, but worth a half-hour, if you like Cross. Will Arnett, another “Arrested Development’’ alum who’s currently appearing with Cross on “Running Wilde,’’ shows up here as Todd’s crass boss. Pictured (from left): Blake Harrison, Arnett, Cross, and Sharon Horgan.

Boardwalk Empire Sunday at 9 p.m., HBO

The first, Martin Scorsese-directed episode of this new series was a little stiff. The dramatic intensity was stifled by all of the period set design and costuming. But with each week, the Prohibition series set in Atlantic City becomes more loose, raw, and engaging. The broad narrative focuses in on a few characters, including Jimmy Darmody, the veteran played with smoldering anxiety by Michael Pitt. The casting of Steve Buscemi as the lead has been controversial, but I’m a supporter. He seems like the perfect ironic center for this story about excess and booze. He gives us an uptight, somewhat haunted guy who can barely experience pleasure, but who presides over one of the pleasure capitals of the country.