Any dramatic series that starts with the hero wielding a gun in his underwear in the middle of the desert already has a lot going for it. When you add an outstanding cast, top-quality writing and a dark strain of humor, it's hard to think of any other television series that comes close to the magnificent achievement of Breaking Bad. That the series sustained this exceptional level of quality for five seasons is little short of a miracle.

And so it seems appropriate that Lena Dunham and Amy Poehler, influential female actors and writers in their respected realms of comedy, would choose this year to publish memoirs detailing their experiences as women in entertainment. Dunham’s Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s Learned, released in September, and Poehler’s Yes Please, published a month later, build on the now well-established trend of intimate autobiographies penned by female entertainers. In fact, in her preface, Poehler cites the memoirs of comedians like Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Silverman, and Rachel Dratch as inspiration for her own writing. 

“Now You See Me” starts with such energy and panache that it’s easy to imagine it becoming a classic. Alas, director Louis Leterrier (“Clash of the Titans,” “The Incredible Hulk”) allows the project to flag as it moves toward its final act. The picture’s flaws, most of which can be pinned on a weak twist ending, are frustrating, but primarily because the setup shows so much potential. 

 Writer-actress-producer Mindy Kaling, best known until now as Kelly on the Emmy-winning comedy “The Office” and the author of a New York Times best-selling memoir, will navigate the singles scene as the star of “The Mindy Project,” which premiered Sept. 25 on FOX. Kaling joins other Indian-American actors and writers making a mark on American TV this season — with stars such as Aziz Ansari and Kunal Nayyar continuing their successful runs on hit shows and rising child actor Karan Brar in Disney’s tween series “Jessie.”