> Disclaimer: Network pilots now in circulation are not necessarily in the form that will air in the Fall. Pilots are often reedited and rescored, and in some cases even recast or reshot. So these critiques shouldn’t be taken as full TV pilot reviews, but rather as a guide to the general style and content […]
MANIFEST: Mondays 10PM on NBC Of all the Lost rip-offs we’ve seen over the years, NBC’s MANIFEST seems from its pilot to be the laziest, and perhaps the worst. Creator Jeff Rake (he has the eminently forgettable The Mysteries of Laura to his credit) has replaced the dense mythology of Lost with a set-up […]
DANCING ON THE EDGE: Saturday 9PM on Starz Starz’s latest British import, DANCING ON THE EDGE, seems on the basis of its first double-length episode to be intended for viewers who enjoy the jazzy millieu of Boardwalk Empire but find its pace too rapid and its violence too rude. It’s a well-produced, intelligent drama […]
THE STRAIN: Sunday 10PM on FX – Potential DVR Alert Although capable of finer things (notably his Oscar-winning Pan’s Labyrinth), the expert filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is one of those directors–you could call them Tarantinians–with a deep fondness for neo-schlock. It’s resulted in projects like the Hellboy series, and also Pacific Rim, where del […]
SHOOTER: Tuesday 10PM on USA – Change the Channel USA Network has had a tough time populating its post-Mr. Robot schedule. Sam Esmail’s series, while not a ratings blockbuster, has been a re-branding triumph, instantly changing the image of USA from the stodgy network of Monk and Royal Pains to something darker, younger, cooler, […]
DOLL & EM: Wednesday 9PM on HBO – If Nothing Else Is On… HBO’s romance with quirky British comedies of discomfort (and with the look and feel of micro-budgeted indie film) continues with DOLL & EM. It doesn’t hail from the Ricky Gervais team that gave the network Extras, Hello Ladies, Life’s Too Short […]
SAVE ME: Thursday 8PM on NBC – Change the Channel Note: This review was originally written after last year’s Upfronts, before it was known that SAVE ME would be held by NBC until the summer. It’s possible that the pilot underwent changes during the months that followed, although if it did, NBC didn’t publicize […]
INSTINCT: Sunday 8PM on CBS – Change the Channel It’s a coincidence that the movie Love, Simon and CBS’s series INSTINCT premiered over the same weekend, but both are facets of a newish stage in LGBTQ pop culture: the ordinary genre story that happens to have a gay lead. In the case of Love, […]