Winter TV Roundup, Week 15

We're nearing the end of April, and with it the end of the traditional broadcast season. So the flow of new shows is slowing to a trickle as the networks and streaming sites prepare to switch gears toward summer programming. In these weekly posts I look at the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this Winter/Spring. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Tuesday Nights:
The Last O.G., Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. on TBS (Premiered April 3)
About: Tracey Morgan is a talented performer, and "The Last O.G." is his big comeback vehicle. This one comes, in part, from Jordan Peele and co-stars Tiffany Haddish. It centers on a man who went to prison for 15 years and comes out into a world that's much different than the one he left, especially in his home of Brooklyn. He also finds that he has two kids he wasn't aware of, and it's a lot harder to be a productive member of society than he'd imagined. There is plenty here to like. I thought the pilot was OK and hit on some interesting social commentary. The second episode was a bit more dry and less interesting to me. I think there's potential in the concept, and I like the cast, but the first two episodes didn't quite come together for me.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C-

Sunday Nights:
Killing Eve, Sundays at 8 p.m. on BBC America (Premiered April 8)
About: The latest series from BBC America is a spy drama centered on an analyst for MI-5 who stumbles unto a female assassin and works her way to a job with MI-6 hunting down the assassin. But this isn't just a one-way pursuit. While Sandra Oh plays the spy, Eve, who is too excited to realize she's in over her head, Jodie Comer plays the assassin, Villanelle, a ruthless psycho that takes pleasure in her work. In the first episode, we met the characters and learned a bit about the world, seeing Eve and Villanelle crossing paths, briefly. The second episode set up the hunt, with Eve heading a task force and Villanelle continuing her work. But the episode ended with the both of them realizing their chance meeting in the pilot was really a face-to-face meeting between adversaries. That sets up the remaining episodes to be a pretty exciting exploration of what that meeting might mean. I enjoyed the performances and the story — crafted by writer/producer Phoebe Waller-Bridge — and I think there's plenty of potential here. I'm curious to see where it goes, and excited to have Oh back in a leading role.
Pilot Grade: B-
Second Episode: B-

Streaming Series:
Lost in Space, Now Streaming on Netflix (Premiered April 13)
About: In the 1960s came a series, "Lost in Space," famous for the robot and the catchphrase, "Danger, Will Robinson!" In 1998, the story was re-born as a film starring William Hurt. And now, 20 years later, it's been re-born again as a new series from Netflix, the first 10-episode season of which debuted on Friday, April 13. This new series features Molly Parker and Toby Stephens as the parents, and also features the kids, including Will Robinson, and the robot. It also features a new take on Dr. Smith (Parker Posey) and some stunning visuals, of the kind that come from big-budget productions in 2018. The first two episodes, in fact, were directed by Neil Marshall, who worked on several of the biggest episodes of "Game of Thrones." And I enjoyed the visual style and some of the elements of the first two episodes, but there's some weakness in the characters and the story. It could be overcome, but it's a big commitment to dive into a new series hoping it gets better. Still, I kind of enjoyed the potential, and there's something interesting in the property. That's the thing with Netflix, and their incredibly large budgets. They can afford to make some big swings and see what comes of it. There's potential here, even if it wasn't totally realized at the outset.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C