Fall TV Roundup, Week 13

We've reached the final Fall TV Roundup of the year. In these weekly posts I look at the pilot and second episode of new shows. If you don't see a new show listed below, check previous weeks. I'll start the Winter TV Roundup in January.

Tuesday Nights:
The Expanse, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on SyFy (Premiered December 14)
About: This is the latest drama from SyFy, which got a two-night roll out last week. It debuted on Monday and then got its second episode during its regular time slot on Tuesday night. Both nights it bowed behind the highly anticipated mini-series "Childhood's End." It will be interesting to see if it brings people back this week. I kind of appreciate the pilot. I didn't love it but I thought it offered some promise. Then I saw the second episode, which felt like a giant step backward. It wasn't what I expected, and I didn't really care about the arc it started to take its characters. That's a problem. Given that, I don't see this show developing much beyond the standard SyFy network following. The idea and cast had potential, but the execution felt off to me.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C-

Friday Nights:
The Magicians, Fridays at 9 p.m. on SyFy (Premiers January 22)
About: "The Magicians," a series based on the novel by Lev Grossman, got a preview screening on Wednesday following "Childhood's End." It was a commercial free take on the pilot, which is set in a world where magic is real and many are gathering at a special school to learn how to hone their skills. Of course a darker war is coming. This is in the vein of "Harry Potter" but not nearly as compelling. It is Americanized, features older characters, and seems like it wants to be edgy. It didn't work for me. I wasn't drawn in by the characters or story in the pilot, so it felt like a miss. It might get better, but there was nothing compelling in what I saw from this pilot presentation.
Pilot Grade: C-

Streaming Series:
F is for Family, Now streaming on Netflix (Debuted December 18)
About: It's hard to make broad family comedies work. It's even harder when it's a period piece. And making it an animated series aimed at adults adds a further layer of complexity. Such is the challenge undertaken by Bill Burr for "F is for Family." The show feels like it wants to be in the vein of "All in the Family" or sitcoms from a different era. It works in that sense, capturing family life and some stereotypes of the 1970s, when family roles were starting to shift. It's entertaining and done pretty well, but it wasn't incredibly compelling to me. It's creative and different, adding to the host of original series for Netflix, but it feels like the kind of show that would most appeal to a certain demographic that doesn't include me.
Pilot Grade: C-
Second Episode: C-

Making a Murderer, Now streaming on Netflix (Debuted December 18)
About: Real crime documentaries are all the rage right now. "Serial" is the biggest thing in podcasts. "The Jinx" was wildly popular for HBO. Now Netflix, which is having an incredible 2015, adds to its online catalog with its own real crime series, "Making a Murderer." This follows a true crime story and, through the first two episodes, lays out an incredibly compelling story with rich characters. Does it need to be as long as it is? Probably not. But it is incredibly compelling and engrossing. Once you start, you'll want to know what happens to Steven Avery, who might be a killer or might be a victim of a corrupt system.
Pilot Grade: B
Second Episode: B