Summer TV Roundup, Week 6

 

We’re into June and starting to see a slowing of the new content. The ongoing Writers’ Strike will doubtless impact the rest of the year and likely have impacts longer than that. But we have new content at this point, so you’re probably wondering what you should check out. Let this post be your guide as I review the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this Summer. Don’t see a new show on this list? Check previous weeks.

Mondays:
The Rising, Mondays at 8 p.m. on The CW (Premiered May 29)
About: The CW is entering a new phase. The bulk of that phase is bringing in series from elsewhere to fill the Prime-Time hours. While that will be a part of the Fall launch, the Network isn’t waiting. We’re getting a double dose of imports on Mondays this summer. The first is from England and is the better of the two. It’s centered on a 19-year-old girl, Neve (Clara Ruggard), who wakes up in the middle of a lake. She makes her way home, trying to remember what happened the night before. It doesn’t take her long to realize something is wrong. Her family can’t see her and they are looking for her. Soon, Neve realizes she’s dead. The quest of the series is clearly going to be figuring out the who and why, in addition to seeking justice. Most of the pilot was about introducing the characters—including her mother, father, stepfather, and step siblings, boyfriend and others in her sphere. It’s a concept we’ve seen before, even during this TV season. It’s not incredible, but I liked Ruggard in the lead. The first hour was intriguing enough to make me wonder where this eight-episode season is headed.
Pilot Grade: C+

Barons, Mondays at 9 p.m. on The CW (Premiered May 29)
About: The other imported series this summer is set in the 1970s in Australia. It focuses on a group of friends who are surfers. It’s dealing with relationships, businesses both commercial and illegal, and these friendships. It also touches on the issues of the era, including the looming Vietnam War. It’s meant to mirror the real rise of rival surfing companies Quicksilver and Billabong. The pilot was more than a little flat. The idea is OK, but I wasn’t drawn to the characters, or the world being built. Like The Rising, this series first season runs eight episodes. It doesn’t seem like a series that needs to be sought out.
Pilot Grade: C-

Fridays:
Deadloch, Streaming Fridays on Prime Video (Premiered June 2)
About: Another series that hails from Australia, this one is a contemporary murder mystery. It centers on a pair of mis-matched investigators. One is the local Sergeant (Kate Box) who has plenty of experience is forced to contend with a wild detective (Madeline Sami) from Darwin who has her own ideas. Can they come together to solve the case before they drive each other crazy? That’s the challenge for the series, with runs eight episodes. Each are at least an hour, with the first three dropping Friday and subsequent episodes dropping weekly. The first two episodes had some moments. It’s meant to be a mix of comedy and drama, and some of it works well. But, overall, it felt a little dry. I wasn’t taken with the central case, nor was I drawn to the ancillary characters. For those looking for something a little different, it’s OK. But it doesn’t feel like an essential draw.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C

Sundays:
The Idol, Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO (Premiered June 4)
About: HBO’s latest project is a high-profile collaboration from Sam Levinson, who gave the cable network Euphoria, and The Weeknd. Levinson directed the pilot which focuses on Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), an embattled pop singer trying to launch a comeback tour. She battles another Internet scandal and meets a night club owner, Tedros (The Weeknd), to whom she’s drawn. Can he help unlock the talent deep inside? Will they have a torrid love affair? Will anyone in the audience care? I guess those are the questions. This is a talented cast that includes Dan Levy, Hank Azaria, Rachel Sennot, Eli Roth and Jane Adams, among others. But the first episode plays more like the protracted introduction to an adult film than anything else. There’s nudity. There are sex scenes. There are fetish sequences. But there isn’t much in the way of story or characters to make you care, at least that was the case for me. The series is slated to run six episodes for the first season and, admittedly, the final sequence was perhaps the most interesting of the hour. We’ll see if it picks up.
Pilot Grade: C-