Summer TV Roundup, Week 7

We're in the middle of June, and the flood of summer content is heating up. Last weekend the Streaming Sites offered plenty, as did a number of cable networks launching new series. And it's just going to get more crowded. In these weekly posts I look at the pilot and second episode of new scripted (and the occasional unscripted) series this summer. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Monday Nights:
Grand Hotel, Mondays at 10 p.m. on ABC (Premiered June 17)
About: This new series, which airs following "The Bachelor," is a prime time soap opera set at a family-owned hotel in Miami. It's based on the Spanish series "Gran Hotel," and features a strong cast and a light, fun location. The pilot introduced the characters and a lot of plot threads that will play out over the course of the season. It's anchored by the hotel owners, played by Demian Bichir and Roselyn  Sanchez. There is intrigue, drama, romance, and some comedy. The pilot's story played out somewhat as expected, but it's not really a show steeped in mystery. It's about the execution and characters, and that worked pretty well. This also feels like an ideal pairing with "The Bachelor" for ABC on Mondays this summer, creating some light and frothy entertainment for the night. I can see this working well for the network.
Pilot Grade: B-

Friday Nights:
Los Espookys, Fridays at 11 p.m. on HBO (Premiered June 14)
About: HBO has continued to expand its original programming past its typical Sunday night slot. That has included Monday evenings, and Friday late night. "Los Espookys" is a new comedy that comes from a team that includes Fred Armisen, who co-stars in the series. It's done mostly in Spanish with subtitles, but has occasional English scenes with Spanish subtitles. It focuses on a group of friends who find a calling setting up spooky scenes. They start with a family party then fake an exorcism to help get some publicity for a local priest. I thought the pilot was mildly interesting, and it's a unique format. The late night slot on Fridays coupled with the subtitles will probably limit the audience, but if you enjoy off-beat horror comedy you could do worse.
Pilot Grade: C+

Sunday Nights:
City on a Hill, Sundays at 9 p.m. on Showtime (Premiered June 16)
About: Showtime launched its latest new venture, a hard-boiled crime tale set in Boston in the 1990s, on Sunday night. The cast is led by Kevin Bacon, as a corrupt FBI Agent, and Aldis Hodge, as a crusading prosecutor. They get turned on to a crew of violent armored car thieves led by Frankie Ryan (Jonathan Tucker). And by the end of the pilot, they'd formed an unlikely partnership to look into these crimes. I thought the pilot moved along at a decent pace. The story wasn't overly engrossing and there felt like a lot of cliches, from accents to dialogue, that were meant to make it feel more "Boston." That being said, the performances were solid and this could be the kind of pulpy series that could be a fun diversion during summer. I'm curious to see where the second episode goes.
Pilot Grade: B-

Euphoria, Sundays at 10 p.m. on HBO (Premiered June 16)
About: With "Game of Thrones" in the rearview mirror, HBO is moving on to the rest of its 2019 content. The surprise second season of "Big Little Lies" launched June 9 and on Sunday launched its new series, "Euphoria." This one comes with a lauded cast, led by Zendaya, and will definitely court some controversy for its content. It was created by Sam Levinson, based on an Isreali show of the same name, and features teens struggling with addiction, desires, and a myriad of other issues in suburban America. The pilot featured a boatload of difficult content, particularly when it comes to some very graphic sexual content and drug abuse. This won't be a series that appeals to everyone, and it is definitely edgy. There were some strong visuals and some good performances, so that may appeal to some. This will definitely be a series that viewers should approach with caution. I found a lot of the pilot deeply unsettling in terms of content, and the artistic merits of the production didn't tip the scale that direction for me in episode one. Being as some have suggested that is the most mild episode of the series, I would expect this to be incredibly polarizing.
Pilot Grade: C

Streaming Series:
Too Old to Die Young, Now Streaming on Amazon Prime (Premiered June 14)
About: Like him or not, Nicholas Winding Refn has a unique style as a storyteller. He brings that unique style to Amazon Prime with "Too Old to Die Young," a new series that follows a corrupt cop and a gang member who are drawn in too deep. The 10-episode series runs about 13 hours, and there is no uniform length for an episode. The pilot is an hour and 33 minutes, while the finale is a crisp 30 minutes. Some are around an hour, many are around an hour and a half (including the first two). And it's clear that Refn had a specific look and sound in mind for the series, which is led by Miles Teller as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy whose partner is murdered mere minutes into the 93-minute pilot episode. The rest of the first episode dives into his character, including an affair with a teen, and the way he stumbles into being a hitman for hire. The second episode, which is almost entirely in Spanish and subtitled for its 97-minute run time, centers on co-lead character Jesus (Augusto Aguilera) and dives into his backstory and motivation. Presumably over the run of the rest of the series, which also features William Baldwin and Jena Malone, those two storylines come together in some way. I'll never know. While I appreciate the artistic vision that went into this, the first two episodes were ponderous and, to me, badly needed an editor. The performances are so sparse as to come off as ridiculous at times, which is obviously part of the style this is meant to convey. This was a slog in every sense of the word and even after three hours of content I still wasn't sure what I was supposed to take from this "story" or who these characters really are.
Pilot Grade: F
Second Episode: F

Trinkets, Now Streaming on Netflix (Premiered June 14)
About: This latest series centers on a teen, Elodie (Brianna Hildebrand), who moves to a new town but gets caught shoplifting, and not for the first time. So her parents send her to a shoplifters anonymous group, where she becomes fast friends with Moe (Kiana Madeira) and Tabitha (Quintessa Swindell), a couple other girls that go to her school. The brief episodes, none more than a half hour, flow crisply. The first episode introduced the characters and the world, while the second showed the forming of a friendship and began to dive into deeper episodes. Unlike "Euphoria," which really pushes the envelope, this feels like a more familiar tale of teen angst, outsiders, and friendship. I liked the actors, and I thought the first two episodes moved along well, even if it wasn't overly compelling. There is a flood of content on streaming providers, and there needs to be a hook to really grab audiences. I'm not sure this show has that hook, but I was interested enough to possibly give it a longer look.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C+

Das Boot, Now Streaming on Hulu (Premiered June 17)
About: In 1981, Wolfgang Peterson delivered the classic World War II film "Das Boot," about a German U-Boat crew. It has endured as a classic, and now nearly 30 years later he's back with a continuation of the story, this time as an eight-episode series released on Hulu. This one picks up later in the war, focusing again on a U-Boat Crew and also on the French Resistance. It is done in the native languages, meaning French and German scenes are subtitled, while there are also American and English actors that speak in English. Among the cast this time is Lizzy Caplan, who is working as a spy. I watched the first two episodes, and they were well done. Like the original, this is based on a follow up novel from Lothar-Günther Buchheim. It wasn't incredibly engaging, but I could see some potential here, especially given the cast and production.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C