Winter TV Roundup
Week 9
How many shows is too many? I’m not sure if anyone has come up with an answer to that question, save for what fits into their schedule. But we may soon all be asking that question. The calendar has flipped to March, and over the next two months there will be a ferocious onslaught of new shows in addition to a lot of returning shows. That means there will just be a lot of shows total. But how many will be worth your time? If you’re a frequent reader of this space, you know I will often share thoughts on veteran shows, of which there are plenty. But in this weekly space, I review the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this winter/spring. Hopefully this helps you in wading through the tidal wave of scripted television in 2018. Don’t see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.
Monday Nights:
Living Biblicaly, Mondays at 9:30 p.m. on CBS (Premiered February 26)
About: As I mentioned last week, I saw a screening of this series before it aired as part of a focus group at TV City in Las Vegas. (Some go to party and gamble, I go to see what is coming in TV. We all have to have hobbies, right?) And I mentioned that while the pilot was amusing, the episode I saw is better. (That episode is actually 1.03, which airs next Monday.) But this is a series that is worth giving a chance, especially if you’re a person of faith. It isn’t perfect, but it presents a more open and respectful take on our faith that most of what’s on TV, and that’s refreshing. I’m not the only one who felt that way. And I think these are the kind of shows we should be supporting. Now it’s completely possible things go off the rails, and they corrupt the theology and we need to give up. But that hasn’t happened so far, and additionally this has been a more clean sitcom than most currently airing on TV. The first episode established the premise, and the second episode began the sort of formula of tackling a subject each week. The second episode focused on false idols, and made some interesting commentary on Chip’s (Jay Ferguson) addiction to cell phones, something we’re all guilty of. (The third I’ve seen is about what it means to be a good neighbor, and I loved it). I still like the parts with Chip’s God squad (Ian Gomez and David Krumholtz) the best, but I like the potential here. And, as mentioned above, I think this is the kind of comedy we need to support and give a chance.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C+
Good Girls, Mondays at 10 p.m. on NBC (Premiered February 26)
About: NBC put a lot of marketing weigh behind this dramedy starring Christina Hendricks, Retta, and Mae Whitman. It’s about three women, all mothers, who are cash strapped and decide to rob a grocery store for a little cash to get by. And they almost get away with it, except the grocery store is a front for a gang, and they very much want their money back, or want to kill the ladies and their families. There’s all sorts of other drama in their personal lives, too. Ruby (Retta) has a sick daughter, and needs a lot of money to pay for doctors and medicine. Beth (Hendricks) has a philandering husband (Matthew Lillard) who also got them in WAY too much debt. And Beth’s sister, Annie (Whitman) has an 11-year-old and is in the midst of a custody battle with her wealthy ex (Zach Gilford). And, inevitably, the ladies get pulled into a life of crime to cover the debts they can’t repay and, ideally, come up with some scratch to cover the problems that led them to an ill-conceived criminal plan in the first place. This show is a combination of comedy and drama, and so far the comedy pieces work a lot better than the parts of the show that are meant to be menacing. That might change, but somehow I’m skeptical. The real change might be the need for the parts meant to be menacing to just go away all together as the show leans more into the comedy. We’ll see. NBC threw a lot of marketing weight behind the show both during its broadcast of the Super Bowl and during the Winter Olympics, and seeding it on Monday nights behind “The Voice” is an indication they both believe in the show and want it to succeed. But that doesn’t always happen. (Just consider “The Brave,” which was in this same position in the fall and is now off the air, likely to never return.) I like this series, or rather the potential of this series, slightly more than “The Brave.” That being said, it might just be a victim of bum timing. If this was a show that debuted during a slower time of the year, like the summer, I might stick with it for a few more weeks to see if the show can smooth over some of the aspects I’m not wild about. This isn’t a bad show. It’s fine and has a decent cast and some potential. But, as mentioned above, there is a TON of TV on the air right now. And I’m not sure this is good enough to make the cut. Judging by the ratings, I’m not sure it hit with audiences the way NBC had hoped, either.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C
McMafia, Mondays at 10 p.m. on AMC (Premiered February 26)
About: Speaking of shows with a decent cast that are just fine, we come to AMC’s latest series, “McMafia.” The network wants to have a hit, but this co-production with the U.K. isn’t quite that. It wants to be “The Godfather,” or something along those lines. It centers on Alex (James Norton), the Russian-born son of a gangster who went straight, got educated, and started a successful hedge fund. Until family ties, and the dangerous family business, derail his desire to go straight. Will it cost him his relationship with Rebecca (Juliet Rylance), who spends her days rooting out corruption? Will it cost him his legitimate business, which he’s now using to launder money for a Russian-born Israeli gangster, Semiyon Kleiman (David Strathairn). It’s all in an attempt to protect his family and bail himself out of hot water, but it’s all just so…pedestrian. There were a few elements about the second episode that were intriguing. The cursory look at human trafficking that ended in an unexpected place. The work Kleinman is doing to try and build his criminal empire. But then it all shifts back to Alex and his life, and worse yet his family. And that part feels so stale and been-there-done-that better, that it’s hard to feel compelled. And, again, if this was a different situation where there was fewer competition maybe I’d be more drawn to the parts that work. But I don’t really care about Alex and his inevitable fall into becoming a gangster. In fact, he’s not ever really fighting it that hard. And I’m not really connected to his family, business or world, no matter how much the series chooses to focus on it. So for me, the show is fine but a pass.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C
Shoot the Messenger, Mondays at 10 p.m. on WGN America (Premiered February 26)
About: Stop me if you’ve heard this set up before: a reporter about to break a big story gets drawn deeper and deeper into a criminal conspiracy. Yet, we’ve seen it before, and we’ve seen it done much better. “Shoot the Messenger” is a new premier for American audiences, but it was an eight-episode limited series in Canada in 2016. So we know it will resolve, in some way, after six more episodes. But the bad news is that after watching the first two, I don’t really care about the resolution or the characters they’ve built. The show’s central character, Daisy (Elyse Levesque), is a somewhat unlikeable train wreck with self-destructive tendencies. I thought the pilot was unevenly paced and slow, and the second episode wasn’t much better. There are simply better options.
Pilot Grade: C-
Second Episode: C-
Final Space, Mondays at 10:30 p.m. on TBS (Premiered February 26)
About: This animated series comes from producer Conan O’Brien, and creator/star Olan Rogers. It’s about a guy named Gary (Rogers), a prisoner in space, who goes on some wild adventures. So I’m going to make this quick, neither the humor nor the format was something I’m into. However, it was creative in some ways and it has a talented voice cast. If these kind of shows are your thing, then this will be one you might enjoy. Otherwise, it’s not worth seeking out.
Pilot Grade: C-
Second Episode: C-
Tuesday Nights:
Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G., Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on USA (Premiered February 27)
About: USA used to be famous for its light, breezy blue sky TV. I watched a bunch of their series, so I should know. But somewhere along the line, the network’s brass caught a new vision and decided to compete in a robust cable market they needed to find their edge. Some of them have been hits with critics, like “Mr. Robot,” but it doesn’t feel like any of this has really connected with a mass audience. (“Suits” debuted during the blue sky days and doesn’t feel quite as gritty as what’s come later.) The latest attempt to catch an audience is “Unsolved,” which is a true crime series. It’s also set up to, potentially, be an anthology series that follows a different case each season. The first season focuses on the 20-year-old murders of Tupac (Marcc Rose) and Christopher “Biggie” Wallace (Wavy Jonez). Now, true crime series are hot right now. “American Crime Story” made a big splash in 2016 with a look at the O.J. Simpson case, while its current run on the murder of Gianni Versace is a mixed bag. But when done well, these can be engrossing for an audience. And let me say, the pilot for “Unsolved” is great. I was hooked and I have a lot of high hopes for this adventure. The story takes place in three time frames. In one frame, it’s looking at the rise of Tupac and Biggie, and their friendship. In another frame, it’s looking at the original investigation in 1997, led by LAPD Detective Russell Poole (Jimmi Simpson). And in the final frame, it’s looking at a re-examination of the case in 2006 by LAPD detectives Greg Kading (Josh Duhamel) and Daryn Dupree (Bokeem Woodbine) as a result of a lawsuit filed by Biggie’s family. I like the potential here, and the way this whole thing can unfold. And the performances were solid in the pilot. Duhamel and Woodbine work well together, Simpson was great as the driven and intuitive Poole and both Rose, who played Tupac in a movie, and Jonez do a nice job bringing these guys to life. As with all true crime stories, what gets you hooked is the way the story unfolds and the performances. And that’s what sets this apart from failed attempts at the genre, like the Menedez story NBC tried to tell this fall. I wasn’t expecting to love “Unsolved,” but I thought it was a great pilot, and I’m hoping that as the series continues it will give more of the same.
Pilot Grade: A-
Wednesday Nights:
The Looming Tower, Wednesdays on Hulu (Premiered February 28)
About: Anyone who is of a certain age remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing on September 11, 2001. I was in college, and I remember getting a call early in the morning saying we’d been attacked, turning on the TV and seeing the second tower of the World Trade Center collapse. It’s been 16 and a half years, and I still remember that day vividly, as most Americans do. The new Hulu series, “The Looming Tower,” is based on a non-fiction book of the same name that tracks the law enforcement efforts prior to that day, and the failure of the FBI and CIA to coordinate well enough to share vital information that might have prevented the attacks. We’ve had a wave of true life crime stories and explorations. Just last week “Waco,” a six-part docudrama on that stand off, wrapped up its run. And all of these are fascinating because it helps people understand more of what happened. (Though you could also just read the book, which many reviewers have noted is better). This series has a number of strong actors, including Jeff Daniels, Peter Sarsgaard, Bill Camp, and Michael Stuhlbarg. The first three episodes dropped on Wednesday, with subsequent episodes dropping weekly on Wednesdays, as has become the practice of Hulu with its original programming. I’ve watched the first two, and it’s interesting. But no matter how much you invest in the characters and in the investigation, we know how it’s going to end. And watching it, you can’t help but reflect on that day, and those events, which is likely going to be a turn off for some. In addition, despite an interesting premise and source material, and a solid cast, the first two episodes were just OK. The parts that focus on following the evidence are fascinating, and the in-fighting between the FBI and CIA is interesting, but the focus on the personal lives of those involved is less compelling, and actually serves as more of a distraction at times. It also seemed like the second episode wanted to say something about religion, both Catholic faith and Muslim faith, but I’m not sure what it wanted to say, and I’m not sure the show knew what it wanted to say, either. Again, I’m fascinated by the subject and interested enough in the production to keep going (at least for a bit), but this isn’t nearly as compelling as I’d hoped.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C+
