Spring TV Roundup, Week Two

So many shows, so little time. The spring has brought plenty of new offerings — including a bevy of new streaming shows. But how many are worth your time? In these weekly posts I review the pilot and second episode of new shows. Don't see a new show below? Check previous weeks.

Tuesday Nights:
Weird Loners, Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on FOX (Premiered March 31)
About: This is FOX's latest attempt at a sitcom. For its first two episodes, "Weird Loners" was given the prime spot behind "New Girl" that was occupied by bubble sitcom "The Mindy Project." The latest comedy — centering on four aloof loners in their 30s looking for love and/or connection — failed to find an audience. And for good reason. The pilot was dry and wildly uneven. But it offered a faint glimmer of hope in a last act bit at a wedding that offered the only genuine laughs and smiles of the episode. I had wondered if the show would build on that or be more like the first half of the pilot. It turns out the second episode was even more dull, even more ridiculous, and even more lacking in laughs than the pilot. There are some talented performers here, but this show lacks a voice, consistency, and a purpose. It arrived D.O.A. judging by the ratings, and the creative performance has matched that outlook. Worse yet, it's snatched the time slot of the far superior "Mindy Project."
Pilot Grade: C-
Second Episode: D-

Your Family or Mine, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on TBS (Premiered April 7)
About: This is the latest sitcom from TBS, a network that's struggled to find identity in its original programming. This likely won't help. It's got a challenging and ponderous set up. It centers on a central couple, and it appears the episodes will alternate between the interactions of his wacky family and the interactions of her wacky family. Comedy gold… or not. To be fair, the pilot wasn't bad. It had some interesting moments and some potential. But who knows what the show is going to be like long term since the second episode will feature mostly new characters and set ups. Kyle Howard and Kat Foster are likable in the lead roles, but it remains to be seen how this show's storytelling structure will work week-to-week.
Pilot Grade: C

Thursday Nights:
Olympus, Thursdays at 10 p.m. on SyFy (Premiered April 2)
About: I don't give a lot of F grades to shows. Usually, especially with pilots, I try to give some latitude, hoping a show will find itself and improve, at least a bit. There was nothing to give the benefit of doubt to with "Olympus," a ponderous show that didn't make any sense. Episode two was more of the same. After two hours in this world, I don't really know who the characters are, what they're trying to accomplish, or what this show is about. People come and go, and the whole thing feels like a parody of the movie "300." They take themselves seriously, but I'm not sure why. This show is a train wreck, and it makes me wonder how it landed on the air in the first place.
Pilot Grade: F
Second Episode: F

The Comedians, Thursdays at 10 p.m. on FX (Premiered April 9)
About: This is a show that takes a big swing and, judging by the pilot, ends in a big miss. Billy Crystal and Josh Gad are both likable, talented performers. None of that translated to the pilot for "The Comedians," a half hour based on a European show about two famous comedians — one younger and one older — who are forced to try and make a show together. In this American version, Crystal and Gad play lightly fictionalized versions of themselves in a mock documentary about their failed attempt to make a variety show for FX. That's a complicated set up, and one that requires some good, nuanced performances to pull off. That doesn't happen here. Most of the pilot was incredibly awkward and dumb, like the concept itself. There's talent here, but it's been hidden in a narrative morass. I think this is a show that might be better on paper than on the screen.
Pilot Grade: D

Sunday Nights:
A.D. The Bible Continues, Sundays at 9 p.m. on NBC (Premiered April 5)
About: NBC is desperate for a hit, so reviving the "Bible" mini-series that scored for History Channel in 2013 and turning it into a limited series seemed like a windfall. (I say limited series because there have been indications that, if successful, "A.D." could be given additional seasons.) I wasn't wild about the pilot, which just replayed the crucifixion narrative in predictable ways. Sure, this series has more seasoned actors and a bigger budget, but it was an all to familiar story executed about as you'd expect. In the second episode, the story beats are familiar, but I found myself really pulled into the story and the execution. There were parts of the episode and the construction of the storytelling I still don't like, but the writers and producers used a surprisingly deft and emotional touch with some of the sequences between Jesus and the Disciples. I especially liked the way Thomas was portrayed, and the way Peter reacted when he realized Jesus was calling to them from the shore in Galilee. It evoked an emotional response I hadn't felt during the pilot or the previous mini-series. It gave me hope that this could be a powerful, in-depth look at the foundation of the early church. As a Christian, I was grateful to see some of that portrayed on Sunday nights on network TV. So far this isn't a great series, but it has potential.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: B-

American Odyssey, Sundays at 10 p.m. on NBC (Premiered April 5)
About: A funny thing happened Sunday night, my feelings about NBC's new shows got reversed somehow. On initial viewing, I appreciated the way "American Odyssey" used an all-to-familiar formula to create a show. It wasn't highly original or great, but it was somewhat interesting and nicely put together. The follow up was weaker. It didn't really seem to build on the pilot's promising points so much as keep trudging along. It didn't really build up the characters or build up interest in the story. Sometimes a series takes a while to find itself, and that could be true of "American Odyssey." But whereas I found the pilot compelling at points, the second episode was dull. It feels like the series might be slipping too much into an over-exposed, over-played formula. And given its ratings in a crowded Sunday night marketplace, time is a luxury it can ill-afford.
Pilot Grade: B-
Second Episode: C

Wolf Hall, Sundays at 10 p.m. on PBS Masterpiece (Premiered April 5)
About: The second episode had more Damien Lewis as King Henry VIII, which is great, but it was also a little slower and less interesting. The story of this six-episode limited series follows the rise of Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance), and advisor to King Henry VIII who rose from humble beginnings to a place of power. The pilot episode featured a lot of Cromwell's back story, which was fascinating. The second episode was more about back room dealing, and it was less so. The acting is good and the story is about a little explored time in history, which is appealing. But it remains to be seen if this will be compelling as a weekly limited series.
Pilot Grade: A-
Second Episode: B

The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, Sundays at 10 p.m. on Lifetime (Premiered April 5)
About: Ugh. That's how I felt watching the second episode of this series, based on the real life woman who may or may not have killed her parents with an ax. What is clear is that Lizzie lived a quiet life as a social pariah after being acquitted at trial. What's also clear is that this weekly series cares little about facts and historical figures. They're instead attempting to cast Lizzie Borden — as played by Christina Ricci — as some kind of days of yore Dexter, who kills to make her life better but tries to live a normalish life. I'm not buying it. The series is drab and uninteresting, and it's curiously put together. It uses completing inappropriate modern music and seems intent on making at least part of each episode a gore fest for Lizzie. Um, pass.
Pilot Grade: F
Second Episode: F

Steaming Series:
Resident Advisors, Now streaming on Hulu (Premiered April 9)
About: Hulu, like all other streaming services, realizes that to hook a market share you need original content. "Resident Advisors," which dropped last Thursday, is all about providing that original content. It's a half hour comedy about resident advisors and a resident director at a wild and crazy residence hall on a college campus. Though it traffics heavily in cliches, there were some things about the first two episodes that made me think about that college experience. And plenty about it that didn't. Maybe I was sheltered a bit as a college student, but some of the basic premise of the series seemed ridiculous. The cast — led by Jamie Chung and Ryan Hansen — is OK, but their characters are generic. The show comes from producer Elizabeth Banks, and could be a funny premise. But the execution here isn't great. This show is passable, but hardly compelling enough to find in a crowded marketplace.
Pilot Grade: C-
Second Episode: C-

Marvel's Daredevil, Now streaming on Netflix (Premiered April 10)
About: If you're produced by Marvel, you can pretty much print money. It's an empire that's long dominated at the Box Office, has taken over the small screen, and now is part of the streaming world, too. "Daredevil" is an interesting and challenging property. In 2003 the "Man without fear" made his debut on the Big Screen, with Ben Affleck in the starring role, to pretty mixed reviews. I enjoyed the movie for what it was, but if you go into this new series expecting that, you'll be shocked. In terms of tone, the new "Daredevil" is much grittier and darker. In a tone that's worked for other D.C. Comics heroes — such as Christopher Nolan's Batman and the CW series "Arrow" — this is about a man without special powers driven to make a difference in his city. And unlike other superhero stories that create fictional places of strife, "Daredevil" is very much grounded in the here and now of Hell's Kitchen in New York City. Matt Murdock — played aptly by Charlie Cox — is a blind lawyer by day and a crime fighter by night. The pilot introduces the world and the characters, but the second episode fills in some of the cracks. It also concludes with a fairly intense and epic action sequence that, potentially, sets the tone for what's to come. This isn't "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," it's something darker, and it works well.
Pilot Grade: B-
Second Episode: B

Other Space, Now streaming on Yahoo (Premiered April 14)
About: "Star Trek" is practically a cultural institution, but it's also a property that's perfect for parody. That's what I get from "Other Space," a new sitcom from creator Paul Feig that debuted on Yahoo. The second original series to debut — and a great improvement over "Sin City Saints" — "Other Space" spends its first two episodes building its world and characters and adding some humor. It doesn't nail the parody bit perfectly, but there's something here that's entertaining. This feels like the kind of comedy that, given a few episodes to spread its wings, might find the voice it needs to capture an audience.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C