Summer TV Roundup, Week 11


We're in the midst of July, and the flow of new summer shows hit a hiccup with the holiday week. But several more are teed up as July wanes on. In these weekly posts I review the pilot and second episode of new scripted shows this summer. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Sunday Nights:
Sharp Objects, Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO (Premiered July 8)
About: This latest for HBO is a limited series based on the novel from Gillian Flynn. This was her first novel, and the "Gone Girl" author worked on the scripts for this adaptation with showrunner Marti Noxon, which was directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, the man who did "Big Little Lies" last year. And clearly HBO would like this to have the same kind of impact and run as "Big Little Lies" did. And it certainly boasts the cast for it, with Amy Adams in the lead and Patricia Clarkson part of the ensemble. The pilot introduces the characters and the world, and to say it's dark and downtrodden is to suggest that "A Handmaid's Tale" is a bit of a bummer. It feels like 2018 hasn't offered much of an escape when it comes to premier TV series offerings. There has been some powerful shows, to be sure, and "Sharp Objects" is well-made, but like many of these offerings it is a massive bummer. It follows a struggling, somewhat broken reporter (Adams) who returns to her home town to cover a pair of murders that suggest a serial killer may be on the loose. There she connects with her difficult mother (Clarkson) and her curious and difficult teen sister (Eliza Scanlen). And being back home isn't doing wonders for her psyche, as she's re-living a painful loss from her past. I thought the pilot was well shot and Adams is a great performer, really sinking into the lead role. That being said, this show was a bit of a bummer for me and I wasn't as engaged in the overall narrative as I'd hoped. If something is going to be dark and difficult you really need to latch on to the story and characters. I wasn't there yet, but it could get there.
Pilot Grade: C

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