Age of the Anti-Hero Continues

"If it's ever said that we did for Detroit what "The Wire" did for Baltimore, it would just be the highest compliment. I wouldn’t presume that we’re yet anywhere close to being mentioned in the same breath with that show." — Chris Mundy, producer/writer for "Low Winter Sun"

AMC is a network in transition. "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men" put the network's original programming on the map. But both are aging. "Breaking Bad" is in the midst of its final eight episodes. "Mad Men" returns for another season next year, but that will likely be it.

So the network needs new life. "Hell on Wheels" has a niche audience, "The Killing" had a tremendous third season but hasn't attracted many new views, and "The Walking Dead" is a ratings juggernaut so long as it sticks to slaying copious amounts of zombies.

On Sunday, behind the premier of the final eight episodes of "Breaking Bad," AMC launched it's next great hope — "Low Winter Sun." The show is adapted from a British series of the same name, and it's adapted by Mundy — who worked on "Criminal Minds." The show stars Mark Strong, who was the star of the original, and has a gritty feel.

It knows what it wants to be. Mundy said it in that opening quote — it wants to be AMC's "The Wire." But it doesn't have that heft. Instead, it feels all too familiar in this age where every prestige drama seems to revolve around an anti-hero.

"Low Winter Sun" focuses on cops in Detroit. The city looks grim and gritty, and those that carry badges are similarly tarnished. The show opens with two detectives killing a colleague and making it look like a suicide. And these are supposed to be the heroes... or at least one of them is. The pilot episode is aptly titled "The Goat Rodeo," which is a friendly euphemism for the world it creates.

There are plenty of dark deeds done by men, but there is little inspiration for the audience to care. Sure, this might develop into a compelling drama. But right now I don't see it. The show relies on a lot of cliches and a lot of stories that have been done in earlier, better prestige dramas. The presence of familiar faces and decent actors can't cover all that up.

Worse yet, the impassioned speeches offered by characters in the pilot episode seemed wildly out of place. It was meant to offer a weight to the story that it hadn't earned. In fact, the opening 15 minutes felt more like a spoof of crime dramas from Christopher Guest than an earned gritty drama.

AMC was home to prestige fare, but those shows are aging off the air. If "Low Winter Sun" is an example of the next wave, AMC may soon fade from award bait to irrelevant. It can happen fast, too, just ask NBC.

Pilot Grade: C-