Winter TV Roundup, Week 13

Winter has turned into Spring, and the new shows keep on coming. This is the final week for Winter TV premiers, but we'll transition to Spring TV premiers (some of which begin tonight) next week. As always, I review the pilot and second episode of new shows. If you don't see a new show listed below, check previous weeks.

Tuesday Nights:
iZombie, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on the CW (Premiered March 17)
About: This is the latest show from the creators of "Veronica Mars," and it's also based on a DC Comics property. DC Comics has been a boon for the CW — with "Arrow" and "The Flash" dominating the networks ratings, and a new spin-off of those shows being prepped for the fall. But, if you do into "iZombie" expecting a superhero show, you'll be disappointed. If you go in looking for "Veronica Mars," well that might be more accurate. "iZombie" is a show built around a plucky female heroine who's been dealt a serious blow to what seemed like a near perfect life. She provides voiceovers to explain a lot of her actions and thoughts, and she uses biting sarcasm as a defense mechanism. I'm not sure about the source material, or how well this show meshes with that source material, but it certainly has the feel of "Veronica Mars." Liv (Rose McIver) is even some kind of amateur detective, and there is an over-arching mystery. This is a POV and storytelling style I like, but I'm not completely sold on this show. It also feels a little bit like a hybrid of the show "Tru Calling," which was about a morgue employee who could turn back time and see everything that happened by touching dead bodies. In "iZombie," Liv sees the memories of victims, helping to catch criminals, by eating the brains of victims. The first two episodes were amusing and interesting, but not incredibly compelling. It remains to be seen how this show continues to evolve and if the ratings are strong enough to give it a second season. This feels like the kind of show that needs some time to find itself, but I'm not sure it will get that time.
Pilot Grade: B-
Second Episode: C

One Big Happy, Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on NBC (Premiered March 17)
About: This is the latest sad attempt for NBC to jumpstart its sitcom production. It comes from executive producer Ellen DeGeneres, and it feels like a re-tread of a lot of different plots of other sitcoms. The central story is about a lonely lesbian, Lizzy (Elisha Cuthbert), who decides to have a baby with her best friend and roommate, Luke (Nick Zano), who then has a whirlwind romance and marries an English woman about to be deported, Prudence (Kelly Brook). Everyone still with it? Now they're all living together and hilarity ensues, except that it doesn't. The pilot for this show was one of the most painful half hours I've seen in a while, so by comparison the second episode was better. I was mildly amused a couple times, mostly by a running joke about marionettes. But that isn't enough to be satisfying or make people care. This show is bombing in the ratings, and rightly so. NBC hasn't had much luck developing a compelling sitcom the past few years, and this won't help. The fact this is one of only two sitcoms currently airing on the network — once known for its comedy prowess — is depressing. This is a bad show that isn't long for the airwaves.
Pilot Grade: F
Second Episode: D-

Wednesday Nights:
Barely Famous, Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. on VH1 (Premiered March 18)
About: This is the latest show from VH1. It's a semi-scripted series from sister Sara and Erin Foster, who are playing versions of themselves. It's a comedy that's meant to be a send up of the typical reality shows that follow famous people. There were some amusing moments in the pilot, and I thought there was some potential in the pilot. That all falls by the wayside in the second episode. The only difference between this show and "The Kardasians" is that the Fosters are in on the joke. Some of it was mildly amusing, but there really doesn't feel like any point to engaging in and tuning into this show on a weekly basis.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: D-

Impress Me, Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m. on POP (Premiered March 18)
About: This show originated as an online series and was picked up as the latest original programming on POP. The show centers on a pair of gifted impressionists — Ross Marquand and Jim Meskimen — who want to give up impressions to be taken seriously as actors. Both men are gifted at doing impressions, and that was a lot of the appeal of the first two episodes. There are some amusing situations, too, but there's not a lot to latch onto with this show. POP has tried to break into the crowded original programming world, offering the underwhelming sitcom "Schitt's Creek," which is paired with "Impress Me" on Wednesday nights. This is a fine, mildly entertaining show. However, given the crowded world of original content in which we now exist, a show needs more of a profile — especially on a little cable outlet like POP — to hook in an audience.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C-