I'm not saying Apple TV+ has an issue with repetitive storytelling, but the new drama Before is the service's third series featuring a renowned comic actor playing a man mourning his dead wife. Not the streaming platform's third series ever to rely on that hoary trope.

Hollywood history is replete with tales of young children possessed, preyed upon, or otherwise endangered by supernatural forces beyond their control. From The Exorcist to Poltergeist to Sinister and Annabelle Comes Home,

Crystal is an interesting choice to shepherd audiences on this creepy voyage, created by Sarah Thorp. The once-boyish comic actor leans into the trauma drama, his unshaven face gray, his clothes unkempt.

Crystal’s return to the screen is not, in fact, in a comedy series. Though you might be confused after watching the baffling, misbegotten “Before.”

WHAT IT'S ABOUT Eli (Billy Crystal) is a New York psychiatrist who has decided to give up his practice following the tragic death of his wife, Lynn (Judith Light) — until he's presented with one last case that he can't resist.