Summer TV Roundup, Week Five

In these weekly posts I look at the pilot and second episodes of new shows this summer. If you don't see a new show listed below, please check previous weeks.

Monday Nights:
Making of the Mob New York, Mondays at 10 p.m. on AMC (Premiered June 15)
About: This new series is part live-action re-enactments and part documentary, narrated by Ray Liotta. It's about the rise of organized crime in New York City in the 1920s. Many of the people explored here were also part of HBO's "Boardwalk Empire," which chronicled this ground in a much more interesting way. The documentary part is somewhat interesting, but the whole project is bogged down by the re-enactments, which are poor. That kind of drags the whole thing down and makes it somewhat cheesy.
Pilot Grade: C-

Tuesday Nights:
Stitchers, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC Family (Premiered June 2)
About: "Stitchers" maintains the youth vibe of ABC Family while verging into a procedural mode. The show is about a group of cops and scientists who can enter the consciousness of victims to find out why they did and bring people to justice. On paper, that seems interesting, and the show did a better job of building characters and a world in the second episode. But the characters aren't that interesting, and the procedural aspect is somewhat trite and boring. It's nice to see ABC Family stretching its brand, but this show doesn't feel like a compelling fit.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C

Friday Nights:
Dark Matter, Fridays at 10 p.m. on SyFy (Premiered June 12)
About: SyFy has its own unique brand. For geeky science fiction enthusiasts, "Dark Matter" will probably be appealing. For the rest — that's less clear. This is a show full of unknowns that doesn't have a huge budget. The effects in the pilot were OK, but not incredibly compelling. And the story wasn't incredibly compelling, either. The pilot took a long time to set up the conflict and doll out information about the premise of the series. Based on that, it's hard to see how this will work long-term.
Pilot Grade: C-

Saturday Nights:
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Saturdays at 10 p.m. on BBC America (Premiered June 13)
About: Based on the novel by Susanna Clarke, this latest series on BBC America is set in an alternate England where magic is real, but its practitioners have practically disappeared. Now two men — Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell — are the last hope to bring it back. Honestly, if I'd read and loved this book I would probably have had an easier time following the pilot. As it is, the story was dry and a bit confusing. Some have compared this series to "Game of Thrones," but that is a massive reach. At least through the pilot, this isn't an overly compelling story.
Pilot Grade: C-