Summer TV Roundup, Week 15

September is achingly close, and that means the fall TV season. But before we get there, networks and streaming services are still providing a flood of new content. In these weekly posts I review the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this summer. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Tuesday Nights:
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on HBO (Premiered August 8)
About: "Hard Knocks" is the original football documentary series, following a different NFL team through training camp, pre-season, and cutdowns each year. This is the 12th iteration, and this year we get the 2017 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I love the series for the inside look it gives to the life of an NFL team, and gets you hyped for the NFL season. But as a piece of entertainment, it really lives and dies on the players it finds to follow and connect with. Unfortunately for HBO, this Bucs team doesn't seem to have a lot of personality or drama. I think they'll be a good team, but the first two episodes mainly found drama centering on the battle between Roberto Aguayo and Nick Folk as place kickers. Since Aguayo got cut at the end of the second episode, so who knows what they'll find drama in for the rest of the episodes. I still enjoy the deep dive on football, but this is easily one of the most boring installments of the show.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C

Wednesday Nights:
Mr. Mercedes, Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Audience (Premiered August 9)
About: This latest drama from David E. Kelley, based on the novel from Stephen King, is more of a detective story than a horror story. It began with a crazy man plowing through a group of job seekers waiting in line for a job fair. It was a case that went unsolved. But the detective assigned  to the case (Brendan Gleeson) couldn't shake it. Now retired and in the process of drinking himself into an early grave, he's drawn back to the case as the killer continues taunting him. I enjoyed the first episode and the way it set up the characters and the story. I thought the second episode did a good job of continuing that idea, though it wasn't quite as solid. I like the characters and performances, particularly Gleeson and Harry Treadaway as the unbalanced killer. This is shaping up to be a fascinating and interesting deep dive.
Pilot Grade: B
Second Episode: B-

Marlon, Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC (Premiered August 16)
About: When a sitcom is picked up by a network during May sweeps and finally airs in the middle of the following August, it isn't a great sign about how the network feels about its decision. When you watch "Marlon," it's easy to see why. Marlon Wayans, who stars in the show, is a talented comedian, and in the right project I could see him being a decent TV star. But this isn't that. I didn't love the characters or story here, but also the tone felt off in a trying-too-hard, retro sort of way. This felt like a throwback in terms of structure and style, and I don't mean that as a compliment. There's a reason it's getting a summer burn off (two a week for the next few weeks).
Pilot Grade: C-
Second Episode: C-

Streaming Series:
The Defenders, Now Streaming on Netflix (Premiered August 18)
About: Back in the winter of 2015, Netflix began a long-term partnership with Marvel. They released "Daredevil," a series that was unlike a lot of what I'd seen, and a show I liked quite a bit. But much like "Iron Man" in 2008 was paving the way for "The Avengers" four summers later, "Daredevil" was just the first piece in a grander vision. It was followed by "Jessica Jones," "Luke Cage," and, most recently, "Iron Fist" in March. And as a result of rolling out seasons for all four of its primary heroes, Netflix was ready for their team up, "The Defenders," which dropped on Friday. Unlike previous installments, this is a crisp eight episodes. Better than that, a few of the episodes are in the 45 minute range, and most hover around 50 minutes. That's a welcome departure from a format that has been, at times, too bloated with 13 episode seasons and 57 minute installments. That's not to say "The Defenders" is perfect, it's not. I loved "Daredevil" season one, and enjoyed the second season. I thought "Jessica Jones" was Netflix best superhero series. "Luke Cage" was OK, but the "Iron Fist" series, and Iron Fist (Finn Jones) himself as a character suck. Sadly, "The Defenders" first season revolves around Iron Fist, and that's a problem. I've seen six of eight episodes, and the series does get better as it goes alone. Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones), and Mike Colter (Luke Cage) are all good in this series, and there's some fun interactions here. I'm convinced a buddy dramedy with Daredevil and Jessica Jones would be my favorite show from Netflix. But this series, for my praise of its compact nature, takes a long while to get where it's going. It spends a lot of time picking up threads from each individual series, some of which last aired nearly two years ago. It isn't until the end of the third episode that it really gets going. But, I mean come on, it's a superhero mash up show and we're in the dog days of summer. You know you want to watch it.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C

White Gold, Now Streaming on Netflix (Premiered August 17)
About: This comedy is an import from England. It follows a group of salesmen trying to make a living in England in the 1980s. It's a brisk six episodes, each about 29 minutes. So it's not a big time investment. I watched the first two, and I'll say it's not even worth three hours of your time. Maybe it's a cultural context issue, but I didn't care about the stories or characters, and I thought the show was boring and dragged, despite the compact running time. This wasn't for me, and it's probably not for most people.
Pilot Grade: C-
Second Episode: D