Fall TV Roundup, Week 11

 

We're closing in on Thanksgiving, a time when networks typically have slowed down. In this case, it looks like things are just about to heat up. Wondering what to watch? Let this weekly post be your guide as I review 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: We've seen shows and movies set in the world of big business before. HBO even has "Succession," that's one of its most popular series. Showtime has "Billions," which has done quite well. We saw The CW jump into the genre with "Devils" earlier this Fall. Now comes "Industry," set in England and airing Monday nights on HBO. To make these kind of shows work, you need a good hook. Compelling characters, a good tone, and stories you care about. That is why people obsess about "Succession," and why I'm always excited to see "Billions" back on the air. That's not the case with "Industry," which seems to want to substitute excess, like sex and drugs, for compelling stories and characters. It feels like a misfire that just exists, and I suspect it will struggle to build an audience on Mondays this Fall.
Pilot Grade: C-
Second Episode: C-

Thursday Nights:
B Positive, Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. on CBS (Premiered November 5)
About: This latest comedy centers on a man in need of a kidney and the old high school friend he meets back up with that offers to give him one. They end up, finally, becoming roomates in the second episode and comedy will ensue... maybe. I think the idea seems thin, and surely they'll have to build the characters and relationships more to have life beyond an initial 13-episode run. I like the cast here, led by Thomas Middleditch and Annaleigh Ashford, but the first two episodes, to me, were just OK. We'll see what comes of it moving forward.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C

Sunday Nights:
Moonbase 8, Sundays at 11 p.m. on Showtime (Premiered November 8)
About: This latest comedy is about a trio of would-be astronauts looking for a second chance by qualifying for a trip to the moon. To do that, they're training in a simulated base out in the desert. And things aren't going quite according to plan. This is meant to be a comedy, and the first episode sort of was amusing at times. The second episode, despite being about 24 minutes, felt pretty dry and not overly compelling. All six episodes are available to stream now on Showtime, but this feels like a miss and a bit too dull for me.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C-

Streaming Series:
Dash and Lily, Now Streaming on Netflix (Premiered November 10)
About: This series, based on the young adult novel, and follows a pair of lonely hearts who find each other, and a connect, over the Christmas season as they exchanges messages in a red notebook that takes them throughout New York. Dash (Austin Abrams) isn't a fan of Christmas, and had planned on laying low. Lily (Midori Francis) loves Christmas, but her family has left her this year and she's trying to find a new connection. This is a sweet, sometimes funny holiday comedy. The season is eight episodes, each about a half hour, and it works thanks to Francis and Abrams, and their chemistry in this journey. It follows about the kind of plot you'd expect for this kind of story, and plays out more like a longish romantic comedy, but I enjoyed it and finished the whole thing pretty quickly.
Pilot Grade: B+
Second Episode: B+

A Teacher, Now Streaming on Hulu (Premiered November 10)
About: This one focuses on Kate Mara, a high school teacher in Austin, Texas, who develops a crush and, soon, an affair with a student (Nick Robinson). This one is a 10-episode season, with the first three dropping on Tuesday and new episodes dropping in subsequent weeks. These, too, are around a half hour. I watched the first two and that was enough for me. It was very uncomfortable at times, which feels like a credit to Mara and Robinson, and the creepy nature of the plot. This one seems to be tracking toward something unsettling, which will likely make it appeal to only a specific kind of audience. Good performances, but this isn't one I want to spend a lot of time with.
Pilot Grade: B
Second Episode: B