Summer TV Roundup, Week 16

Summer is almost over. In many parts of the country (including here) kiddos are already back to school. And if not now, Labor Day is right around the corner. But still we're getting some new scripted premiers trying to establish themselves and grab and audience before the new fall onslaught begins in September. In these weekly posts I review the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this summer. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Monday Nights:
Lodge 49, Mondays at 10 p.m. on AMC (Premiered August 6)
About: This latest series for AMC, which follows the exploits of Dud (Wyatt Russell), his sister (Sonya Cassidy), a down-on-his-luck salesman (Brett Jennings) and the rest of the colorful folks that call Lodge 49 home isn't the most conventional series. It doesn't fall into a typical genre, and it moves at a genteel pace that is all its own. The pilot took a long time to lay out the characters and the central conflict, and the second episode didn't move a whole lot faster. But there's something about Russell as the lead that is compelling, and the actors around him are engrossing, too. I like Jennings and Cassidy, and I like some of the potential of the storytelling here. But I'd also like it to go somewhere in the near future. I thought the pilot had a lot of charm, but some of that wore thin for me in episode two. If there isn't a bit of an arc and a direction soon, I could see this show fading out of rotation, especially since its 10 episodes will bleed into the new fall season. Still, I'm not ready to give up yet, and that's largely a credit to this ensemble.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C

Tuesday Nights:
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cleveland Browns, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on HBO (Premiered August 7)
About: This serialized sports documentary takes viewers to training camp with a different team each year. This year it's the Cleveland Browns, who've gone 1-31 the past two seasons but made a bunch of changes geared toward competing. Still, these kind of shows live and die on the personalities in the room. And in the first episode, we spent a lot of time with coach Hue Jackson, a fine coach, but not the most outlandish personality. The first episode was OK, and introduced some of the players, but we need to get some more compelling storylines for this season to really have a hook. So far, it doesn't.
Pilot Grade: C

Carter, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on WGN America (Premiered August 7)
About: This is another international co-production for WGN, this time with Canada, featuring Jerry O'Connell as a renowned TV star detective who comes to his home town after a scandal. There he helps the police solve a crime and gets offered an honorary detective gig. This is like a poor man's "Grinder," only with law enforcement. The pilot was uneven, and though O'Connell has some natural charm, this series feels like a stretch. WGN has tried to stay cost-effective and relevant in this era of exploding original content by bringing in these shows from north of the border. Some I like better than others. This one has some potential, but it feels too gimicky. The same thing happened with "Take Two" on ABC earlier this summer, which was flat despite good actors in Eddie Cibrian and Rachel Bilson. "Carter" isn't going over new ground, so it really needs the characters and stories to pop in order to hook the audience. The pilot wasn't quite there.
Pilot Grade: C-

Wednesday Nights:
The Sinner, Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on USA (Premiered August 1)
About: The second season of this crime anthology features a new murder and a new killer, along with his overbearing mother played by Carrie Coon. That leaves Bill Pullman's detective Harry Ambrose to get to the truth while dealing with his own bad memories of his hometown. There's a lot of potential here, but so far the first couple of episodes have felt a bit thin. The crime and mystery don't seem quite as well developed (possibly because Season 1 came from a novel), and the characters don't feel quite as compelling. Anthology series are in right now, and after the success of "The Sinner" last summer it makes sense that USA wants to get in on the idea. I like Coon, and she's giving a good performance, but I'm not sold on the story yet. This one needs to do more to establish itself.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C

Streaming Series:
Insatiable, Now Streaming on Netflix (Premiered August 10)
About: This latest Netflix dramedy was originally developed for The CW, but likely would have been a little too edgy and dark. It makes a lot of jokes about body shaming, casual violence and pedophilia, and that likely would have been too much for a broadcast network to take on. Oh, and on top of that it really isn't very good. In fact, the characters and story in the first two episodes were so caustic I was wondering how it got picked up to series at all. Netflix is in the volume business when it comes to original content, and that means taking some broad swings. This show certainly is a broad swing, and one that's not likely to land a season two.
Pilot Grade: D
Second Episode: D-

All About The Washingtons, Now Streaming on Netflix (Premiered August 10)
About: Speaking of broad swings, this sitcom stars Rev. Run and his real life wife as a fictional married couple dealing with his retirement from the music business and trying to connect with his kids. It was originally developed for ABC, and is trying to go for that family comedy niche that the network was established on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. But it is on Netflix because ABC passed, and a few episodes will show you why. The pacing and writing is slow and doesn't work. The comedy isn't there, and the plots and characters aren't developed well enough. It's a short 10 episodes, each between 22-25 minutes, but it feels a lot longer because it is so dry. Again, Netflix is trying to build a massive content library, and one that's diverse. And this might appeal to some, but I found the two episodes I sampled quite painful. This feels like another one and done series.
Pilot Grade: D-
Second Episode: D-