Summer TV Roundup, Week 12

We're in mid-July and the stream of summer premiers is steady. In these weekly posts I look at the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this summer. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Tuesday Nights:
The Outpost, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW (Premiered July 10)
About: The CW has begun to get into the scripted summer premier game in recent years, often airing cheaper co-productions. "The Outpost" really falls in that category. The show would not last long during the traditional broadcast season, and might not even last long this summer. It's set in a world like ours, but with more magic. It's a middle ages sword and sandal epic, designed around a girl with special powers whose village and family was wiped out by mercenaries and vicious warlords. Now grown, she's seeking revenge. It's a cliche a minute, and not that compelling. The pilot, in fact, was one of the worst I've seen this year. It's hard to image anyone getting excited about this show or really getting into it.
Pilot Grade: D

Wednesday Nights:
Bobcat Goldthwait's Misfits and Monsters, Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on TruTV (Premiered July 11)
About: Anthology series are becoming a bigger part of the TV landscape, and this one is a comedy horror anthology. The pilot episode featured Seth Green as the voice of a popular cartoon character who begins to be haunted by said character in real life. Things go off the rails quickly. I'm curious to see how this kind of format plays out in another episode, but telling a complete story in 22 minutes isn't easy. Especially when you're walking the line between the absurd and the absurdly unsettling. The pilot grade was a little bit of both. Green was good, but the story was a little weird. This kind of series is going to live and die episode-by-episode based on the premise and cast. So far, this was OK. But I don't know if it's the kind of commitment folks are going to want to make since it changes so greatly week-to-week.
Pilot Grade: C

Sunday Nights:
Sharp Objects, Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO (Premiered July 8)
About: This latest series for HBO is a limited series based on the novel from Gillian Flynn. The eight-episode first season will incorporate the plot of the novel, but you could always see this show return with an original story. It worked for "Big Little Lies," and clearly HBO wants something similar from "Sharp Objects," which stars Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson and is directed by "Big Little Lies" director Jean-Marc Vallee. The pilot was well shot and paced, with TV vet Marti Noxon teaming with Flynn on this adaptation. And the acting is good. I like Adams in the lead role, and am enjoying Chris Messina as the burn out detective working on the murders. However, the plot of the first episode was dry and quite often brutal. TV series, particularly prestige drama series, have gotten very dark in recent years. "The Handmaid's Tale" set a new bar in 2017 (and again this year with its second season), and "Sharp Objects" feels like a show that fits in that dynamic. That makes it sometimes a difficult watch. The second episode felt similarly brutal at times, and I'm thinking the entire investment will be an emotional slog. This isn't the kind of show you look forward to as an escape. And that's probably my biggest concern. It's artfully crafted, but it's a big time bummer. For now I'm drawn enough to the art to be curious (but those who've read the book know it doesn't get any better for our heroes). We'll see how long that holds.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C