Fall TV Roundup, Week Nine


We're nearing Thanksgiving, which means new fall series are preparing for their winter break. Still, some new series continue to debut. In these weekly posts I look at the pilot and second episode of new series. Don't see a new series listed below? Check previous weeks.

Tuesday Nights:
Donny!, Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. on USA (Premiered November 10)
About: This is allegedly a comedy. It centers on Donny Deutsch, and is a lightly-satirized send up of his life. That seems bad to me, because the pilot was one of the most painfully unfunny half hours I've seen in quite some time. USA is moving away from sitcoms after bombing in the genre. I've liked some of their stuff, but this show is an example of why comedy isn't their thing.
Pilot Grade: F

Saturday Nights:
Spotless, Saturdays at 9 p.m. on Esquire (Premiered November 14)
About: This is the latest scripted series -- a British import -- that is appearing on Esquire Network. Never heard of it? Don't worry, I hadn't either. This is a prime example of the over proliferation of original content and channels. The show itself is fine, I suppose. It's about two French brothers, reunited in London and drawn into some dark dealings. One is married with kids and runs a crime clean up business. The other blows into town with an ill-conceived plan to make money that takes his brother down a dark path. The show was fine, but not overly compelling. In a hyper-saturated market, there isn't enough of a draw here for me.
Pilot Grade: D

Sunday Nights:
Into the Badlands, Sundays at 10 p.m. on AMC (Premiered November 15)
About: AMC badly needs new blood. "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men" are gone. "The Walking Dead" is still great, but it's spin-off didn't do a lot. "Better Call Saul" has gotten great reviews but middling ratings. Into the frey comes "Into the Badlands," a show that aims to play to the kind of action and violence loving audience for "The Walking Dead." This isn't a prestige drama, but an action piece. When you think of it on those terms, it does OK. It feels a bit like a spaghetti western, but it's also got some martial arts and kung fu. It's an interesting idea, and I could see some potential here. I didn't love the pilot or the characters, but I was intrigued. And I could see this show thriving in the post -"TWD" time slot.
Pilot Grade: C-

Streaming Shows:
Man in the High Castle, debuts November 20 on Amazon Prime
About: "Man in the High Castle" drops its first season Friday, but I saw the first two episodes already. And it is great. This is easily the best new show of the fall for me. I haven't loved a lot of what Amazon has done with original programming, and their current pilot season is garbage, but I loved "The Man in the High Castle" pilot when it debuted, and the second hour was just as strong. It's based on a Phillip K. Dick story, and set in an alternate United States during the early 1960s. In this timeline, the Germans and Japanese won World War II, and they split the United States afterward. The eastern United States is controlled by the Nazis and the West is now the Japanese Pacific States. Colorado sits in no man's land between, and a resistance is trying to take America back. The tone of the show is great, as are the performances. And the look is astounding, shocking, and incredible. Seeing a red, white, and blue version of the swastika is a sight you won't soon forget. Everything about this series -- from its story to its mystery to its production -- works. I can't wait to see the whole thing.
Pilot Grade: A-
Second Episode: A-

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