Winter TV Roundup, Week 4

There are many, many new shows out there this winter, and it can be hard to keep up. Yet, I endeavor to help! In these weekly posts I review the pilot and second episode of as many scripted shows as I can get to. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Monday Nights:
The Alienist, Mondays at 9 p.m. on TNT (Premiered January 22)
About: This is a big swing for TNT, which adapted this period piece with sprawling European budgets and based on a popular novel from the early 1990s. It has a strong cast and lofty aspirations. I didn't love the first episode. It felt a little too been there, done that, which is a product of those type of shows exploding the past 20 years. I also noted that it felt like this show was creating a Holmes-Watson dynamic, which has also become well trod ground on the big and small screen over the past decade. While I didn't love the first episode, the second was a big step back to me. It was much slower in pace, and it felt like it was stringing the story out. I also didn't enjoy the big third act sequence, and I wasn't drawn into the potential "danger." There just isn't enough here to make the story compelling, and in a crowded landscape with a plethora of options, that's the one thing a show can't get past. This is a big swing for TNT, which is trying to change its profile, but to me it's a big miss.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C-

Tuesday Nights:
Black Lightning, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW (Premiered January 16)
About: This is an interesting addition to the crowded superhero marketplace. Black Lightning is a different kind of hero story, one about an older hero getting back into the game, and it also represents a different cultural viewpoint and tells a different kind of story. While it appears on the home of the D.C. universe, The CW, this one isn't connected, for now. That also gives it a little freedom in creating a world and set of heroes. I liked the first episode, and especially the performance from Cress Williams in the lead role. And I think there's plenty of potential here, but it's not there yet.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C+

Bellevue, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on WGN America (Premiered January 23)
About: This latest series to debut on WGN America is a Canadian crime drama starring Anna Paquin as a cop investigating the disappearance of a teen that seems to have links to crimes from her past. The first episode was moody and featured an interesting hook into the case. Paquin is the most famous performer, and is the lead upon which the entire series is built. And she handles it all well. I went into this show not expecting much given its location on cable and origin, especially in a marketplace saturated with these kind of stories. But whereas a show like "The Alienist" showcases its budget while falling into familiar tropes without making anything stand out, I thought this series followed a familiar blueprint in crime and characters but offered something of an interesting hook. I would credit Paquin for a lot of that. I don't know if this will be a great series, but I was engaged and even, at times, creeped out by the events of the pilot. Which, given the plethora of these kind of stories, seemed like an accomplishment. I'm curious to see how this one builds.
Pilot Grade: B-

Wednesday Nights:
Let's Get Physical, Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. on POP (Premiered January 24)
About: This is the latest sitcom from POP. It stars Matt Jones ("Mom," "Breaking Bad") as the slacker son of a fitness guru. When his father dies, he inherits a gym and a chance to get $8 million. But that means he has to get back to peak fitness and win a fitness competition against his former rival (Chris Diamantopoulos) who is married to his former girlfriend (AnnaLynn McCord). But he has the help of his mother (Jane Seymour) and $8 million reasons to follow the path. The pilot was amusing, developed story and characters, and moved at a good pace. I like the cast, too. This is the first show on POP that I've seen where I considered it might make its way into my regular rotation, which is saying something. It also feels like the kind of amusing broad concept sitcom that, at one point at least, used to be part of the network landscape. I'm curious to see episode two, but for now I'm cautiously optimistic.
Pilot Grade: C+

American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX (Premiered January 17)
About: The anthology crime series is alive and thriving. Whether the fictional variety ("True Detective," "Fargo"), the documentary brand ("Making a Murderer") or the docudramas, like "American Crime Story," audience appetites for these type of long-form stories told over the course of eight to 13 episodes has exploded the past few years. It's even led to mocumentary versions, like last year's "American Vandals." One of the most successful was the first iteration of "American Crime Story," which focused on the O.J. Simpson trial and aired in early 2016. It's been two years, but "American Crime Story" is back. But "The Assassination of Gianni Versace" isn't quite like the first story, either in terms of how the story is told or the style of storytelling, which moves between the past and present throughout each hour. And, in fact, the story of Andrew Cunanan's crime spree is being told in reverse. But as with the first installment, this iteration of the anthology seeks to tell you about these people and, more importantly, a bit about the culture and the world when these crimes and investigations happened. That, too, might not be something that people are as drawn to in this second installment, depending on their interests. I don't remember much about this crime spree. Both because I was in the midst of high school and not following the news as much, and because this wasn't nearly as high-profile an event as O.J., especially since I was living in California at the time. There also wasn't a high-profile criminal trial to follow for months on end. So that makes this more of an exploration of the actual acts than the aftermath, as it was with the first installment. There are still some wonderful performances, particularly Darren Criss as the killer. But his story is actually not incredibly compelling. It's creepy, sure, and what Criss brings to the role is interesting, but it's not enough to carry nine episodes. Which is why the series spends so much time exploring the lives of his victims and their sphere. In the first two episodes, that's meant plenty of time with Versace (Edgar Ramirez), his partner (Ricky Martin), and his sister Donatella (Penelope Cruz). All of them are doing a good job, too, but the more time spent with them the more it pulls you from the original hook of the series, which is the crimes and investigations. I loved the first season of this anthology series, but this second one has just been OK. I like the style that's used, and there's a strong cast, but the overall arc of the journey has been, for me, less compelling.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C+

Waco, Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Paramount (Premiered January 24)
About: I was just 12 years old when David Koresh and his Branch Dividians had a standoff with FBI and ATF officials near Waco, Texas. I remember some of that event, but not all of it. That's what's made "Waco" so much fun. The new six-part mini-series explores the teachings and following of Koresh (Taylor Kitsch), and some of the history of the time. Paramount is the new branding and name for Spike, and with "Waco" they're launching their first series. And this is a good one, or at least the first episode was. It took the action back nine months before the standoff in Waco, allowing the show to both show what was happening with the FBI through the debacle at Ruby Ridge, showcasing stars Michael Shannon, as an FBI negotiator, and Shea Whigham, as a S.W.A.T. leader. It also shows you Koresh as a figure and leader, and how he and his wife (Melissa Benoist) were able to build a following and a compound. Among his followers, actors like Rory Culkin, Paul Sparks, and Andrea Riseborough help give some context to the people in the compound. I was impressed by Kitsch in the lead role, and I was taken with the story in the first episode. That opening salvo ends just as the standoff is set to begin, presumably with the remaining five episodes filling in more of the story. Like the best of this genre, this mini-series explores a true story and helps fill in the gaps for those that want to know more about the event and how it shaped those who were a part of it. I enjoyed the pilot and the cast, and I think this could be a great first series for Paramount.
Pilot Grade: B-

Streaming Series:
Britannia, Now Streaming on Amazon Prime (Debuted January 26)
About: The latest series streaming on Amazon Prime is a co-production with the U.K. that focuses on the Roman forces seeking to conquer Britain during the time of the Druids. It features David Morrissey as a Roman General and Kelly Reilly as a native leader, among others. The pilot episode clocked in at about 70 minutes, but subsequent episodes are more like 45 minutes. I watched two and that's enough for me. There was a lot of action and a lot of magic going on here, but it just wasn't of that much interest to me. I had some trouble tracking characters and story, but at a certain point I also lost interest. One of the great things about the proliferation of content and content streams is more niche series, and I feel like "Britannia" fits that mold perfectly. There will be someone that loves this series, but that's not me.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C-

Mosaic, Now Streaming on HBO Go and the Mosaic App (Premiered January 22)
About: I wrote about the pilot for this last week. It's a mini-series that debuted on a choose-your-own-adventure style app platform in November, and was edited together as a six-part mini-series that aired over five days beginning last Monday on HBO. It comes from writer Ed Solomon and director Steven Soderbergh and was meant to be an experiment in storytelling. The cast is led by Sharon Stone, as a children's author whose disappearance, and apparent murder, is the impetus for this mystery. Her fiance (Frederick Weller) is convicted, but four years later his sister (Jennifer Ferrin) and the original investigating officer (Devin Ratay) begin to have doubts when her body finally turns up. I was lukewarm on the pilot, in large part because we don't even get to the murder. In fact, we don't really get to it until mid-way through the second episode, and the first two installments are both, at times, painfully slow. Because I already had it recorded and was curious, I kept going. The third, fourth and fifth installments piqued my curiosity and seemed to be planting red herrings. And I was drawn into the performances, particularly from Ratay (perhaps best known as the older brother in "Home Alone") and Ferrin. But the final installment, while never truly answering all the questions, ended in a place I thought was confusing. So what, ultimately, to make of "Mosaic." I liked the idea and some of the execution was good. (I didn't see the longer app version, but I'm curious). But overall, the final product was somewhat underwhelming. Still, if you'd like to see what it's like, the full experience is now streaming on HBO.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C