Summer TV Roundup, Week 14



We're just about to August, and just about to make the turn from the last of the summer series to the new fall series. But we're not quite there yet. There is still a handful of new shows out in August to watch out for. 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.

Wednesdays Nights:
Burden of Truth, Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW (Premiered July 25)
About: This latest series for the CW is a co-production with Canada, where the first season has already aired. It stars Kristen Kreuk, formerly of "Smallville," as a lawyer assigned to defend a drug company against charges their product is poisoning girls in her old home town. She travels there and begins to make it all go away. But along the way, she discovers her client can't be the cause, and she's moved by the condition of these girls. So she stays to help discover what's causing it and help a former classmate (Peter Mooney) to get justice. That's a lot to pack into the pilot. She also doesn't get too warm a welcome because her father has done something shady to the town that she's not aware of yet. Doubtless that will all come out in the 10-episode season. But so far the performances and the story is engrossing, and I think this has the potential to be the kind of entertainment that pulls you in and hooks you during the slower summer season. In comparison to the other new CW summer series, this one is great. I'm curious to see how it develops in episode two.
Pilot Grade: C+

Streaming Series:
Castle Rock, Now Streaming on Hulu (Premiered July 25)
About: This latest series comes from producer J.J. Abrams and is set in the world of books and characters created by Stephen King. It isn't a King adaptation, but rather culled together from pieces of his world. The town of Castle Rock, the prison at Shawshank and even characters like Alan Pangborn, played here by Scott Glenn. This is a little like the Hulu attempt to capitalize on King's work like F/X did with the anthology series "Fargo," except that this is actually based in the world of King's novels, to the point that the episodes reference things from the books and films. But this is an original story. One that focuses on a mysterious prisoner (Bill Skarsgård) who is found in the bowels of Shawshank after the previous warden (Terry O'Quinn) committed suicide. The prisoner has no name, and simply requests a meeting with a lawyer, Henry Dever (Andre Holland), a former Castle Rock resident who is despised by the town owing to an incident in his youth that led to the death of his adoptive father, the town minister. The first three episodes were released last Wednesday, with subsequent episodes to be released each week on Wednesday. I watched all three, and there are some good elements and a strong cast. But the story has been slow to develop. If you're a fan of the genre, and King's work, there is enough to keep you hooked to see how it turns out. If not, it's possible there isn't enough momentum in the three episodes available to keep you going. As for me, I'm curious to see how it turns out and I trust in Abrams, and the team he's put together.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C

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