Fall TV Roundup, Week 10

 

Network premiers are starting to roll in, and we'll get some additional new options for viewing. But will any of them be worth your time? Let this weekly post be your guide as I explore the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this Fall. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Monday Nights:
Industry, Mondays at 10 p.m. on HBO (Premiered November 9)
About: This latest series is set in London and follows a group of young people who are trying to break into the competitive world of banking. If that sounds like the set up to any number of shows and movies in the past, that would be correct. This one had a pilot directed by Lena Dunham, but the story felt by-the-numbers. There is stress, pressure to excel, and some turn to drinking, drugs and casual sex. There are difficult waters to navigate, but our heroes manage to get the sale in the end... All of it feels like something we've seen before, and there wasn't enough in the characters themselves to make this one feel compelling. I suspect that's why it's a Monday night offering.
Pilot Grade: C-

Thursday Nights:
B Positive, Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. on CBS (Premiered November 5)
About: The latest CBS sitcom from Chuck Lorre lands in a plum spot on Thursday nights between "Young Sheldon" and "Mom." The series focuses on Drew (Thomas Middleditch), a recently single father who finds out he needs a kidney or he's not gonna make it. At a wedding, he bumps into an old friend Gina (Annaleigh Ashford) who just volunteers to give Drew a kidney. Hilarity then ensues, or at least it's meant to. If this feels like an odd set up for a sitcom, that's because it is. There is a good cast here, but I thought the pilot was a little awkward. Is there potential? There could be, but this also feels like it might be a tough sell.
Pilot Grade: C

Sunday Nights:
Roadkill, Sundays at 10 p.m. on PBS (Premiered November 1)
About: The latest PBS import from overseas is a short series about a politician in England (Hugh Laurie) who is fighting his way through scandal and navigating choppy personal waters. The first episode was about laying out the world and the potential challenges, while the second episode deepened the mystery. I think the cast is solid, and I liked the potential of the idea. However, I just couldn't get pulled into the mystery of the series. Others might feel differently, but this didn't feel compelling enough to rise above the crowded marketplace.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C

Moonbase 8, Sundays at 11 p.m. on Showtime (Premiered November 8)
About: This latest comedy from Showtime is about a group of would-be astronauts trying to prove their worth at a training base in the middle of the dessert. John C. Reilly, Fred Armisen and Tim Heidecker are the trio trying to get through the training exercise. There was a surprise fourth guest in the pilot that I won't spoil because it's part of the joke, but needless to say that provided some of the humor here. This is an odd show, but the pilot had a certain kind of charm. I'm curious to see how it shakes out and if it can sustain the intrigue and laughs with what feels like a somewhat thin set up.
Pilot Grade: C