Summer TV Roundup, Week 6

We're into June, and plenty of new shows are bursting forth for us to sample. In these weekly posts I look at the pilot and second episode of new scripted shows this summer. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Monday Nights:
Dietland, Mondays at 9 p.m. on AMC (Premiered June 4)
About: AMC is a network that needs new blood. I've mentioned this a number of times. "The Walking Dead" is aging (and losing its lead after the next season), and the network hasn't had a lot of new hits. "Dietland" is a million miles from "The Walking Dead," but it comes with its own pedigree. It's based on the 2015 novel by Sarai Walker, and follows Plum Kettle (Joy Nash), an overweight woman who is trying to shed the pounds, considering surgery, and pining for a different kind of life. She's also the ghost writer for an advice column in a woman's magazine, writing on behalf of the vapid editor Kitty (Julianna Margulies). The pilot and second episode premiered Monday, and the series hails from TV veteran Marti Noxon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "UnReal"). There is a lot going on. You meet Plum, and get a feel for her world, her desires, her difficult past, and the struggle to lose weight. In addition, she gets pulled into different groups and there's some kind of murder mystery element out there as well. The first two episodes don't really pull all those threads together, so at times it feels like there's a few different shows going on. That being said, I was drawn to Nash in the lead role. Her journey, and her performance is the heart of the show, and was what kept me engaged throughout the first two hours. I'm not sure that I love all the elements of the show, or will enjoy the whole journey (I haven't read the book), but at this point I'm intrigued. I also think this is a different direction that could provide a little shot in the arm for AMC. Only time will tell.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: B-

Tuesday Nights:
100 Code, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on WGN America (Premiered May 29)
About: Rather than investing in original content, WGN America switched gears a year ago and now is the American location for foreign productions. Over the spring they aired a couple from Canada, and now comes "100 Code," which is a European co-production. It stars Dominic Monaghan as a New York detective on the trail of a serial killer who heads to Sweden to track down leads. There he's paired with a local detective (Michael Nyqvist) who is on the verge of retiring and doesn't want this complicated case to be his last. In the pilot the details of the case come out, and the leads clash. The series originally aired in 2015, and has only 13 episodes, so while it's new for American audiences (at least some American audiences), don't get too attached. This will have a short run. The two leads do a decent job in the pilot, but I wasn't too drawn into the case. In addition, it felt like a lot of narrative cliches for the genre. If you're bored and it's summer, this might work. I was on the fence after the pilot.
Pilot Grade: C

Wednesday Nights:
Reverie, Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on NBC (Premiered May 30)
About: This latest NBC drama stars Sarah Shahi and Dennis Haysbert, and it feels like a series that didn't quite make the cut after getting picked up last May, so it's making its way to the air during the summer season. Haysbert plays the head of security for a tech company whose leader (Sendhil Ramamurthy) has pioneered technology that allows people to create a rich, vivid dream world. The problem is some have been so enamored of the world they built they won't come out, and it threatens to kill them. That's where Shahi's character, a former hostage negotiator, comes in. Mara (Shahi) was the best in the business, but when she couldn't use her skills to save her own family, it broke her. Now her former boss (Haysbert) is pulling her back into the game, sort of, asking her to enter these dream worlds and convince those trapped to come out. At least that was the set up in the pilot which, at times, had an "Inception"-like quality. I like Shahi and Haysbert, and I think there's potential in this concept to be something different, especially during a summer season typically dominated by reality and game shows. I liked the pilot enough to be intrigued to see if the idea can hold up, and where some of the clues lead into Mara's past and how that might impact her present.
Pilot Grade: C+

Sunday Nights:
Pose, Sundays at 9 p.m. on FX (Premiered June 3)
About: Ryan Murphy is a prolific showrunner and storyteller, and his brand has practically defined FX for decades. He does that again with "Pose," a period piece set in the late 1980s in New York City to shine a light on the LBGTQ community and its struggles. I'm not the target demographic here, and this isn't a story that greatly appeals to me. I will say the series did a nice job in the pilot of establishing the world and the characters. But in some ways, it feels like two shows right now. In one, we focus on the "houses" where the marginalized and disenfranchised find acceptance, a family, and a place to ply their creative talents, going against one another in competitions weekly. A good chunk of the pilot was devoted to that, and that was the element that seemed more fleshed out. But there is a secondary arc about a seeming family man (Evan Peters) who works for a brash boss (James Van Der Beek) and tries to build a life for his wife (Kate Mara) and kids while secretly hiding who he is, what he likes, and who he wants to love. That storyline features the more famous actors, and it intersected with the other in the pilot, but it felt like the kind of arc we've seen many times in many different ways over the years. Perhaps the more recognizable actors in that strand provide a hook, but to me it was part of the reason the pilot felt like it had a duel focus. It will be interesting to see how those might blend together better in the future. And, again, this isn't a series for everyone, as the base story likely won't appeal to everyone. But Murphy and his team are great at what they do, and they've once again found a way to bring the human drama out in these characters.
Pilot Grade: C

Succession, Sundays at 10 p.m. on HBO (Premiered June 3)
About: The latest HBO drama focuses on a family-run media conglomerate, and all the behind-the-scenes fighting about who will take the top post. Oldest son Kendall (Jeremy Strong) believes he's about to be named to the post, but at the last minute his father (Brian Cox) decides to shake things up and remain atop the company he built. With blood in the water, Kendall's siblings are all vying to muscle him out. The show was stated to be an edgier "Empire" without the music. It also lacks the charisma and charm, at least it did in the pilot. There were NO likeable characters, and I didn't really care about the story, either. The lead character is rumored to be patterned after Rupert Murdoch, so doubtless there will be some political points made in future episodes, too. But mostly this was a family that didn't seem to like each other, and one I don't want to spend time with on a weekly basis. Perhaps it will grow in future episodes, but I thought the pilot was a turn off, and another creative misfire for HBO, which has had a rough 2018 as it looks for its next generation of shows.
Pilot Grade: D